NBA 2012 Playoffs

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:03 pm

I will be covering the 2012 NBA Playoffs in this thread.

You (yes, you) fall into one of three categories:

01. You are interested in the NBA playoffs and are following them. In that case, welcome to the thread! I look forward to our interaction!

02. You are somewhat interested in the NBA playoffs, but are not really following them. In that case, welcome to the thread! Here you will find comments, summaries, and news involving the NBA playoffs!

03. You are not interested in the NBA playoffs. In that case, please do not post in this thread. Go ruin someone else's thread, Commander.

Regardless of which group you are in, welcome to the 2012 NBA Playoffs! Unless you are in group 3, in which case this is your cue to go away.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:04 pm

Here is what the 2012 NBA bracket looks like.

Western Conference

San Antonio vs. Utah
Oklahoma City vs. Dallas
Lakers vs. Denver
Memphis vs. Clippers

Eastern Conference

Chicago vs. Philadelphia
Miami vs. New York
Indiana vs. Orlando
Boston vs. Atlanta

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:12 pm

So, let's make some predictions.

The west is where it's at this year. Let's look at the bracket again:

San Antonio vs. Utah
Oklahoma City vs. Dallas
Lakers vs. Denver
Memphis vs. Clippers

San Antonio will crush the Utah Jazz and the Lakers will demolish Denver. In the Memphis vs. Clippers game, I believe the Clippers will win, but it won't be easy. I also believe that your Oklahoma City Thunder will beat Dallas in the first round.

Round two (I predict) will be San Antonio vs. the Clippers and OKC vs. the Lakers. San Antonio will beat the Clippers. In OKC vs. the Lakers, it depends on how our starters shoot vs. their shooters. I hope OKC is able to pull it out.

That will make it San Antonio vs. OKC (or the Lakers) in the Western Conference finals. We'll have to re-evaluate how the teams are playing at that point to pick a winner.

Now, let's look again at the Eastern Conference:

Chicago vs. Philadelphia
Miami vs. New York
Indiana vs. Orlando
Boston vs. Atlanta

Nobody cares about six of those teams. The only two teams in the east that matter are Chicago and Miami. Well, Chicago star Derrick Rose hurt his knee at the end of game one about an hour ago and is getting an MRI so ... without Rose, Chicago is done. It doesn't really matter who beats who in the east. Miami will win the east.

Also, iman Shumpert (#21 on the Knicks) also just went out with a knee injury. Of course that's not the Knicks biggest problem. The biggest problem is that Miami went on a 24-2 run at the end of the first half and are currently trailing by 31 in the third.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:30 pm

So at the end of Day One ...

Chicago vs. Philadelphia: 1-0
Chicago wins game one, but loses Derrick Rose for the season with a torn ACL. Buh-bye, Chicago. This pretty much ensures Miami will take the east.

Miami vs. New York: 1-0
Miami embarrasses the Knicks, 100-67. LeBron looked focused and mean.

Indiana vs. Orlando: 0-1
Orlando Magic wins. Who cares.

Oklahoma City vs. Dallas: 1-0
Dallas brought their A game and led most of the second half by between 3 and 5 points, but the Thunder rallied at the end and, thanks to a shot by KD with 1.5 left on the clock, Thunder wins Game One of Round One, 99-98.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:41 pm

This IS where I am getting all my NBA news from.

Although I know that the Nuggets are playing the Lakers, because that was posted in front of the urinal at a Hooters.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:25 am

Yes, the Nuggets will get destroyed today, but I am rooting for them. Actually I am just rooting against the Lakers.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 2:59 pm

The Nuggets got destroyed today. They were down by 15-20 most of the second half. I think the final was 103-88.

Spurs also beat the Jazz, although most of the game was closer than I thought it would be.

I won't watch the Atlanta/Boston game. Nobody cares about it, and I haven't left the house or showered yet today.

Tonight will be the Clippers/Grizzlies. I'd like the Clippers to win for a few reasons -- one, we did better against them than we did the Grizzlies, and two, the Grizzlies gave us hell last year in the finals. I don't think the Thunder should fear either team.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 9:20 pm

Only other highlights from tonight:

Rondo (Celtics) got ejected for chest bumping a ref. He says he tripped and that it was an accident. Here's the video.

[youtube][/youtube]

The Clippers/Grizzlies game was unbelieveable. In the third, the Clippers were down by 27 (!) before turning on the burners and taking the lead with a minute left in the game. The lead changed a few times in the last minute and the Clippers, after blocking Rudy Gay in the final plot, win by one. They are calling it the greatest comeback ever in NBA playoff history.

By the way, if you want to hear what a million disappointed Chicago fans sound like, here it is:

[youtube][/youtube]

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:48 pm

Good, I'm glad that crybaby NBA fanbases like Chicago and Boston are having shitty things happen to them. I'll never forgive Stern for fixing the Kings/Lakers game 7. Or game 6. Whatever it is, I haven't forgotten (for the most part) and I haven't forgiven. OH THE HORRORS of a small market team earning a trip to the finals one fucking time.

So go forth, Meph... Mephs... I Don't know how to spell that city. Go forth Grizzlies, Denver, and Oklahoma City. Rise from your graves, Sacramento, Vancouver and ... well Denver isn't really a tiny market, but it is in the NBA. Like how the Pirates are a small market team but the Penguins and Steelers aren't.

Rise!

Oh, and fuck the Heat for having a team photo taken with hoodies. I'm quite certain the guy who hasn't had his trial yet appreciates that. The next time there's a news story of a black guy doing something wrong, we'll all know the Miami Heat said it's OK to fan the flames and escalate the situation. What a 12-pack of cocksucker.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:23 am

In 2011, the Celtics traded Perkins and Nate Robinson to the OKC Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic ("ker-check"). And how did that pan out for everybody?

Four months after going to Boston, Nenad left and now plays basketball in Russia. Jeff Green failed his physical due to an aneurysm and sat out the entire season. Nate Robinson was waived by the Thunder and ended up going to Golden State.

That leaves Kendrick Perkins, who is playing in the Western Conference playoffs for YOUR Oklahoma City Thunder!

---

As for Chicago, hindsight is 20/20, but people are calling for the coach's head. The Bulls were up by 10 with a minute left in the game when Derrick Rose was injured. Who's to say it wouldn't have happened in game 2? If a starter can't play a full game, too bad for them I say.

What's stupid about the Boston "chest bump" from Rondo was, it was in the last minute of the game when they were down by 10. It's too late to be whining about calls at that point. And now the guy that scored 20 points for them might be suspended for game 2. Dumb, dumb. dumb.

Tonight we've got the 1-0 Thunder vs. the Mavericks, the 1-0 Heat vs. New York, and 1-0 Orlando vs. Indiana.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:29 am

I also had to edit my previous post like 8 times during the game because it started with "The Grizzlies murdered the Clippers" and then before clicking submit I changed it to "The Clippers made a run near the end, to no avail" and they just kept fighting and scoring and ... I was like, there's no way they're going to make up a 27 point deficit and then they went on a 26-1 run and I was like, holy crap, what happened to Memphis?

To me, the Clippers are Chris Paul (CP3), Blake Griffin, and a bunch of other guys. So CP3 sets up the offense and either shoots a 3, drives to the hoop, or dishes inside to Big Blake. If you can stop those things from happening you should be able to kill them, and Memphis did that for 3 quarters. Then all of a sudden they just started standing around and CP3 never quit and ... well, the Clippers won by 1.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:01 pm

And the EXCITEMENT in ROUND ONE continues!

Up for "Dummy of the Year" is Amar'e Stoudemire for, after going down 0-2 against Miami, punched something or someone so hard in the locker room that he lacerated his hand so badly that EMTs had to show up. So good job, dummy, way to help your team. (They're now saying it was the glass covering a fire extinguisher.) Stoudemire left the locker room with his arm in a sling and stitches on his hand so ... wow. He was their #2 scorer tonight so, boy, can't wait to see them in game #3.

LeBron looked strong, again. The Knicks trailed by 5-10 the whole game.

Indiana vs. Orlando ... I don't even think they aired the game here, that's how little people care about this series and how little matters. There are people living in Indiana and Orlando that don't even know these teams are playing.

But what you REALLY want to hear about are YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER. And I know you are wondering, can the OKC Thunder hang with Dallas? Well late in the 2nd, the Thunder were up by 16, so, yes. OKC is not afraid of last year's reigning champions.

During the second half it was neck and neck (I think they said 16 lead changes). At least Dirk knows how to keep his composure! (That's SARCASM!)

[youtube][/youtube]

Between Dirk and the Jasons (Terry and Kidd) raining threes, the Mavs took the lead by 1 in the 4th. But could they keep it? NOOOOOOOOOOOO ... YOU DOWN WITH OKC? YEAH YOU KNOW ME! THUNDER WINS, 100-97. Series 1 moves to Dallas with the defending Mavericks 0-2 against the Thunder.

Ice Cream Jonsey · Post by **Ice Cream Jonsey** » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:51 pm

Indiana fans are pretty passionate, aren't they?

I gotta say, I like Amare slugging that fire extinguisher. He has probably played NBA Jam and realized that if he got hot there was one thing in that building that could stop him. Target acquired, target eliminated!

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Tue May 01, 2012 4:39 am

I know, right? Behind those stupid goggles is a gamer who thought there might be a power-up inside that fire extinguisher glass.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Tue May 01, 2012 4:51 pm

One of the ways the LA Lakers dealt with the absence of Metta "Ron Artest" World Peace was for Jordan Hill to step up to the plate.

Yesterday, Jordan Hill was charged with felony assault for choking and attacking his girlfriend. In Hill's defense, he choked her in February and was hoping this incident wouldn't affect him in the playoffs.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Tue May 01, 2012 9:12 pm

Surprise, surprise, the now Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls lost to the 76'ers; that series is now 1-1, and things will only get worse for the Bulls.

The Celtics managed to pull out a victor, even with Rondo sitting out due to that stupid technical. Never, ever chest bump a ref.

Amare Stoudemire is confirmed out for at least the next two games. I don't know who's happier, the Heat or the Knicks.

Tomorrow night is Spurs/Jazz, Memphis/Clippers, and Indiana/Orlando.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Wed May 02, 2012 10:35 pm

I'm sure there are a few loyal Jazz fans out there (not here, but out "there") hoping that their 8th seeded Jazz were going to even the series tonight against the Spurs. Unfortunately for those fans, they got kicked in the nuts by the Spurs tonight in a punishing 114-83 loss. The Spurs are 2-0 in the series and headed to Utah. I don't think home court is going to help them in this one.

In game two of the Memphis/Clippers bout, the Memphis Grizzles (after getting embarrassed at home in game one) turned up the heat and bounced back with a 105-98 win, taking the series 1-1 before it moves back to LA. The Clippers have two or three shooters out right now with injuries, but I think everybody is expected to return for the next game.

I didn't watch the Indiana/Orlando game, but I read that the Pacers won. I didn't even look up the score.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Fri May 04, 2012 8:58 am

We shall refer to last night as "3-0" night, as both Miami Heat and YOUR Oklahoma City Thunder both went to 3-0 in their respective series.

First up was Miami vs. New York. If New York had a chance to win a game in this series, it was last night. Everybody on the Heat was having a bad shooting night. In the fourth however, LeBron came alive, personally outscoring the Knicks 17-14 in the fourth quarter. Not the Heat; James himself. Kudos to New York for making it to the playoffs, but the road will end for them in round one. The Carmello/Stoudemire combo is not working, and Tyson Chandler may have been voted Defensive Player of the Year, but if nobody can score it doesn't much matter.

Next up was last year's defending champions, the Dallas Mavericks, against YOUR Oklahoma City Thunder. Last night's Game 3 took place in Dallas, and before the game started, here's what I told my son: "Expect Dallas to come out blazing and go up early in the game. They're mad, and they're not going to lose at their first game at home. Expect the Thunder to shoot poorly, foul a lot, and (hopefully) at least keep the score close."

Somehow I managed to get every single prediction wrong. Kevin Durant came out raining three's on the poor Mavs, who never quite got it together. The Thunder leaped up 9-2 in the opening minutes, and quickly moved to a 14-7 lead. The Thunder never trailed in the game. Dirk Nowimpski was the first Mav to get T'ed up, followed quickly by coach Rick Carlisle. Then I guess the Mavericks decided they couldn't win a basketball game they would play hockey instead and sent some goon in cause a double technical between him and Durant. Ridiculous. At least lose with dignity, Dallas!

Even with the third string in, YOUR Oklahoma City Thunder took the series to 3-0 with a 95-79 victory.

The best part of the game was TNT's frequent close up shots of Mark Cuban's red face cursing all night long.

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Fri May 04, 2012 1:26 pm

This is what "not being a team player" looks like:

Flack · Post by **Flack** » Sun May 06, 2012 3:53 pm

There's no better way for this thread to end.

Last night, YOUR OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER swept the reigning champions, the Dallas Mavericks. The first quarter was close, and by the end of the second, the two teams were tied? Who wanted it more? In the third the answer seemed to be Dallas, who came up with everything they had and charging ahead by 13 points.

But their desire did not match their gas tank. With the Mavericks tanked, the Thunder went on a 35-16 run, ending the night 103-97 and a Mavericks sweep.