May 17, 200917 yr Might as well get it up and running. Looks like it will be the Nuggets and Lakers. I say Lakers in 6 or 7, but definitely a Lakers victory in this series. Why you ask...... this link right here..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_NBA_Playoffs#.281.29_Boston_Celtics_vs._.288.29_Atlanta_Hawks It is a synopsis of the 2008 playoffs in which the Hawks took the Celtics 7 games, the Cavs took the Celtics 7 games and then the Celts beat the Pistons in 6 and the Lakers in 6. Regardless of what happens in the previous series, the better team moved on. I expect the same to happen this year in the Western Conference.
May 17, 200917 yr LA in six, theys steal one in Denver. Denver is a better offensive team than Houston, but they don't have anyone to guard Kobe. That's what helped Houston so much, two guys who can guard Bryant.
May 17, 200917 yr People keep saying how much better Chauncey is than Brooks but the Lakers matchup so much better with him than Brooks. I like the matchups at every position other than PG. It really depends on which Lakers teams shows up. They play like they did today the will sweep them, that's not likely I says Lakers in 7.
May 17, 200917 yr Author LA in six, theys steal one in Denver. Denver is a better offensive team than Houston, but they don't have anyone to guard Kobe. That's what helped Houston so much, two guys who can guard Bryant. That is true, Melo's defense involves him breaking on the shot so he can go play offense and Dahntay Jones will get in foul trouble against Kobe. JR Smith's defense is worse than Melo's because he wants the ball before Melo.
May 17, 200917 yr Author I do recall last year, the Lakers were playing the Spurs and most people thought it would go 7 games and they ended up handling the Spurs with relative ease in 5 games. It wouldn't surprise me if the same happened this year, but I expect it to go at least 6 games.
May 17, 200917 yr LA will stop Denver when they need to. Denver will merely try to outscore LA. LA wins in 6 or less.
May 17, 200917 yr Not sure where this myth comes from the Denver plays a lot of D but they gave up over 100 a game during the season.
May 17, 200917 yr LA will stop Denver when they need to. Denver will merely try to outscore LA. LA wins in 6 or less. Exactly, they will fall in the trap of trying to run and gun with the Lakers. The complete opposite is what you need to do, much like the Rockets play.
May 17, 200917 yr Exactly, they will fall in the trap of trying to run and gun with the Lakers. The complete opposite is what you need to do, much like the Rockets play. :thumb: In order to compete with the Lakers, you need to be athletic at every position as well as being defensive-minded. This is due to the fact that, aside from Kobe and Ariza, I wouldn't consider anyone on the Lakers to be overly athletic (at their position relative to other playoff competitors). This is why the Rockets found success at some times, as even played a bit better with Yao (not athletic) and T-Mac (not defensive-minded) out of the games. The Nuggets have the athleticism but not the mindset. My beloved, aforementioned Spurs had the mindset last year but not the athletic ability. And HT is right that, while Billups is a better player than Brooks without a doubt, he does not cause the matchup problems that Brooks did, especially at this age. Which is partially why I find the AI trade for Billups to be an incredibly stupid move on the Nugget's part- it won't get them to beat the Lakers, and, if I remember correctly, it leaves them in some terrible positions in terms of salary cap issues, and since 2010 (correct year?) is supposed to be huge for free agents (LeBron, Bosh, D-wade, and I believe the other big name is Dwight Howard), the Nuggets won't have any money. As one analyst said after the trade, "It's like the Nuggets front office is acting like the NBA will shut down after next year." Of course, if the Nuggets do win an NBA championship, then I'll have a tremendous amount of crow to eat. :lol:
May 17, 200917 yr Author :thumb: In order to compete with the Lakers, you need to be athletic at every position as well as being defensive-minded. This is due to the fact that, aside from Kobe and Ariza, I wouldn't consider anyone on the Lakers to be overly athletic (at their position relative to other playoff competitors). This is why the Rockets found success at some times, as even played a bit better with Yao (not athletic) and T-Mac (not defensive-minded) out of the games. The Nuggets have the athleticism but not the mindset. My beloved, aforementioned Spurs had the mindset last year but not the athletic ability. And HT is right that, while Billups is a better player than Brooks without a doubt, he does not cause the matchup problems that Brooks did, especially at this age. Which is partially why I find the AI trade for Billups to be an incredibly stupid move on the Nugget's part- it won't get them to beat the Lakers, and, if I remember correctly, it leaves them in some terrible positions in terms of salary cap issues, and since 2010 (correct year?) is supposed to be huge for free agents (LeBron, Bosh, D-wade, and I believe the other big name is Dwight Howard), the Nuggets won't have any money. As one analyst said after the trade, "It's like the Nuggets front office is acting like the NBA will shut down after next year." Of course, if the Nuggets do win an NBA championship, then I'll have a tremendous amount of crow to eat. :lol: I think it is Amare Stoudamire who is the big time name, not Howard, but Howard may be a 2010 free agent also.
May 17, 200917 yr The Nuggest have 58,204,697.00 Invested in Nene, Billups, Melo, and K-Mart and thats in the 2011 season. So yes they don't have much room to work with in 2010 either.
May 17, 200917 yr I think it is Amare Stoudamire who is the big time name, not Howard, but Howard may be a 2010 free agent also. Amare has a player option for 2011 but Howard is locked up for a while. Edited May 17, 200917 yr by HammerTime
May 17, 200917 yr FYI- http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-09-10 Article is 13 days old, but it has Amare there. Granted, a lot of these guys have options (or the team does) and a lot of them will sign extensions. But still, my point is right about the Nuggets going all or nothing this year, as you agreed earlier.
May 17, 200917 yr :thumb: In order to compete with the Lakers, you need to be athletic at every position as well as being defensive-minded. This is due to the fact that, aside from Kobe and Ariza, I wouldn't consider anyone on the Lakers to be overly athletic (at their position relative to other playoff competitors). This is why the Rockets found success at some times, as even played a bit better with Yao (not athletic) and T-Mac (not defensive-minded) out of the games. The Nuggets have the athleticism but not the mindset. My beloved, aforementioned Spurs had the mindset last year but not the athletic ability. And HT is right that, while Billups is a better player than Brooks without a doubt, he does not cause the matchup problems that Brooks did, especially at this age. Which is partially why I find the AI trade for Billups to be an incredibly stupid move on the Nugget's part- it won't get them to beat the Lakers, and, if I remember correctly, it leaves them in some terrible positions in terms of salary cap issues, and since 2010 (correct year?) is supposed to be huge for free agents (LeBron, Bosh, D-wade, and I believe the other big name is Dwight Howard), the Nuggets won't have any money. As one analyst said after the trade, "It's like the Nuggets front office is acting like the NBA will shut down after next year." Of course, if the Nuggets do win an NBA championship, then I'll have a tremendous amount of crow to eat. :lol: I feel it was a good trade. 2010 is the year of the free agent, but HOW MANY TEAMS are going to be in the Market? Everyone is clearing space. Some teams will have cap room that a the Nuggets wouldn't be able to match. And you don't know what these players will do. Bosh will be able to be had, but I think LBJ and DWade could stay. Amare is out for any team with another stud. He has said he wants to be the man. I think Phoenix may dump some players and keep him. 2010 could be a great year for picking up players but it's not guaranteed. Nuggets made the best move they could and got alot closer to a title. Billups is still a good player and has 2 or 3 more good years ahead of him. Plus he is a leader. He will have a good impact on Melo, Nene, JR Smith and others. I see where people are going with the quickness, but a savvy player like Chauncey Billups can be just as terrifying. Outside of speed/athleticism, Billups is better, much better in every other aspect of the game. Look at how the Lakers are successful defensively. They pushed the Rockets out around the perimeter today, and didn't let them run their offense. The Nuggets won't have that problem.
May 17, 200917 yr Why the Lakers will win.... 1. Kobe Bryant. Best player in the series. Jones will match up with him, but who ever option number two is to guard Kobe will be a dramatic downgrade defensively. If he gets to the basket instead of shooting jumpers, the Nuggets will be stressed to find answers. 2. Experience. Outside of Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets are not extremely versed in championship basketball. 3. The high and lows emotionally the Nuggets go through. I could see a few Nuggets possibly getting a suspension or ejection. 4. Gasol. Everyone knows he can score, if he plays tough Denver could be in some trouble. Why the Nuggets will win.... 1. Chauncey Billups brings a different mindset to this team. Defense has improved, offense is more consistent and he provides great leadership. 2. Melo- Outside of Odom the Lakers have no one to matchup with him. Possibly Ariza, but I don't know that he is consistent enough defensively to limit Carmelo. Also, I don't know if Odom is strong enough. 3. The Lakers inconsistency. If the Lakers don't play defense and bring some toughness mentally and physically they will not win this series. 4. The Nuggets are one of the few teams in the league that could hold their own offensively in a shoot out with the Lakers. Keys are 1. Lakers bigs 2. Chauncey vs. Fisher/Farmar. If Chauncey dominates these two Nuggets win. If they are able to hold their own the Lakers will win. 3. Kobe vs. Melo- They probably won't guard each other, but the player who plays better overall, will help their teams win, IMO. I think game one sets the tone. The winner of game 1 wins the series...in 6.
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