2016 NBA Playoffs

Anyone watching? Anyone have a team in the playoffs or a preference?

My Detroit Pistons are finally in. They should have won Game 1, but are looking alright in Game 2, and play Games #3 and #4 in Detroit.

OKC-Dallas game was nuts!

Yeah, the Raptors. Too bad they're pretenders.

Spurs. One of the 3 teams that actually matters this year. NBA playoffs are cool when they get to the good games, but the Warriors, Spurs, and Cavs are going to win every game against the other teams either without tension or without trying.

I'd like to see the Thunder win a championship. I'm a huge fan of KD & Westbrook.

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[ J ] - [ S ] - [ F ]

I'm with the Pistons, too.
Too bad they've lost steam in the second half.

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“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” ~ Rocky Balboa

Celtics are who i'm supporting since they are my team*, i'm under no illusion of them winning the Eastern Conference never mind the title so i'm just enjoying them while i can.

I support the Thunder from the West really want Durant and Westbrook to get a title, still i'm definitely partially rooting for the Warriors to win the title to add to their season; going to be a bit 2007 Patriots if they don't.

*I've been asked multiple times if i became a fan of the Celtics simply because they had won the most titles and no i became a fan of them for even more shallow reasons haha. As a kid Allen Iverson dragged me into the sport during his peak with the 76ers but i never really liked the team much and seeing a team that used green and white with celtic in their name as a fan of Celtic FC (Soccer) that was enough for me to go for them it also helped that i quickly fell in love with Paul Pierce before we became championship winners/contenders.

Too bad for the injuries. Boston has a good young team though, but Avery Bradley is a big piece. I like two-way players.

I'm rooting for the Spurs. They've been my 2nd favorite team for a while.

I'm an OKC fan, so that's who I am rooting for.

One of my best friends is a Celtics fan, so I usually keep an eye out for those guys. Isaiah Thomas is a blast to watch, so that's a plus.

Out of principle, I root against the Cavs and the Heat.

If OKC can't win the chip, I'd probably be rooting for the Spurs out of the West. I used to like the Warriors, but that was before they were a juggernaut. They can be fun to watch, but when a team passes up the Thunder, I tend to fall in hate with them.

Good win for the Raptors.

I root for whoever is playing the Cavs. I can't stand what's his name. And really, I don't think they look that together this year, but the East is pretty weak, so they very well might make it to the Finals again. The Hawks were a complete pushover in the playoffs last year, which didn't surprise me, so I'm hoping they're a little more mentally tough this year. I'd like to put some faith in Toronto, but it's a lot to ask of an organization to go from nothing to competing in the Finals in one large step, The Heat could very well end up in the mix, who knows.

I've really liked the Spurs for a long time, and would love to see them get another championship before Duncan retires. But I love this Warriors team too and would love to see them cap off this year with a championship, and if they're playing the Cavs, I'd really love for them to just crush them. They did tick me off with the way they went after 73 wins, and then look Curry gets hurt the first playoff game, which might not have happened if they'd rested him a little more. Maybe. I think ultimately this is their year.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

The Pistons-Cavs series has been great (unless you're a Pistons fan like me).. But to be realistic, I'm rooting for the Spurs. I love teams that play the right way. It's a very simple system. Team > Ego

I saw where the NBA said James Harden's game winner against the Warriors shouldn't have counted because he committed an offensive foul, and I cringed. I don't like Harden and I'm rooting for the Warriors to complete their dream season, so I wanted the Warriors to win the game, but I don't like the idea that the refs should be jumping in and deciding playoff games in the closing seconds. Obviously some fouls have to be called and you want possessions and all that to be right, but as much as you can argue it really was an offensive foul, I'm in the camp that says let them play when the game is on the line. And I think what really annoyed me is the NBA never admitted how they let Lebron get away one offensive foul after another in last year's Finals. Every single game on multiple occasions he either pushed the defender away with his off hand or lowered his shoulder into the chest of the defender to get space.

I know others think the game should be called the same no matter the situation, but I wonder if they really know what they're asking for. Some examples. A guy at work (and I know he's not alone on this) once told me Jordan should have been called for an offensive foul on his famous last shot with the Bulls. I think it's debatable how much of a "push" that really was, and the defender was beat, plain and simple. Now as huge fan of Jordan I might be biased, but then the year before I remember watching Reggie Miller run right through Jordan to receive the inbound pass and nail a three. I watched that live and as much as that shot was a killer, I thought even then that it was the right no-call, no matter how much it hurt. Then there was the Heat-Dallas Finals, the one before Lebron joined the team, and you had the refs bailing out an out-of-control Wade in the last couple seconds to send him to the line to win the game (I think it was game 3), and totally change the series. That's what you get when the refs step in and decide the game in the closing seconds, a game that feels rigged and unfair.

Sorry for the mini-rant, but it's a game where not all fouls are clear-cut and there's going to be contact, and at a certain point, especially in the playoffs, the game is much better when you let them play through the contact. I can't stand how whiny some fans are and I really can't stand how whiny some of the players are. And Lebron is a prime example, as he's become so self-entitled he now whines constantly. Just look at game 3 against Detroit, and even when his team was up ten points with 22 seconds left he was whining like a spoiled kid about a call. It drives me crazy.

I watched the Celtics game last night and it was painful. I just don't like watching anymore, too much 3 point shooting.

The great Bull's teams with Jordan would handle Golden State btw.

I agree, Jordan and Pippen would make those shooters work like they never have before.

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Letterboxd

People mostly remember the Bulls because of the points that Jordan and Pippin would score, but what made them great was elite defenders at shooting guard and both forward positions. They were an absolute matchup nightmare.

Absolutely, there defense was amazing. So smothering. I really believe the key to those teams was conditioning. They still had their legs in the 4th quarter. I can't count how many games I watched where they would go into the fourth with the score close to tied and Jordan with 15 points. They wore you down like no team I have ever watched.

Matt will probably get in here and remind me of those Piston teams, and he may have a case.

If I were still a betting man, I'd be hammering the Hawks today getting 2 points here in Boston. I hope I'm wrong.

Warriors would be swept by the Bulls, Pistons, Lakers, Celtics.. Imagine if the Warriors had to play with the late 80's rules, instead of calling fouls every minute. GS is a great team because most of their rotation players made the All-Defense team - Draymond Green (runner-up to DPOY), Klay, Bogut, Iguodala... Their offense is great because they move the ball - their big man (Green) leads the team in assists, and #7 in the league overall. It also helps to have a coach with a winning mentality.

GS, SA, Cleveland I think are the three best teams in the league. I'm looking for a great 2nd round. I really hope my Pistons can win tonight; they've been competitive all game long, until the last few minutes, but that's what great teams do - play great for all 48 minutes.

I hope Bronntown Cleaves have meltdown at some point with all those egos going at it in a fist fight. I would had rather changed teams than root for the returned LeBron.

The playoff just got interesting with Steph Curry out at least two weeks, and Chris Paul out for the season. I think the Warriors can make it to the Conference Finals without Curry, but they are going to need him against the Spurs. Most likely they will now have to face Portland the next round, and it won't be an easy series, but they can certainly do it. I think it's a real shame Curry is out, unless you've been rooting against them.

And in the East, you have to take notice of how the Pacers came alive the last game. If they can start stringing together games like that, they can become a very dangerous team. At least in the East. We'll see if that was more of a fluke or if they can emerge as a real playoff team.