2012 NBA Playoffs Thread

[DJariya]

With the NBA Playoffs starting this weekend, it's time to get the playoff thread going.

Here are your matchups:

http://www.nba.com/statistics/playoff_picture.html

The full playoff schedule will be released later tonight.

[sleepyhead55]

Best first round series:

Clips-Grizz
Hawks-Celtics

Outside of the 4-5 matchup, are any of the East matchups going to be remotely competitive at all?

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead55

Best first round series:

Clips-Grizz
Hawks-Celtics

Outside of the 4-5 matchup, are any of the East matchups going to be remotely competitive at all?

I think the Knicks and Heat could be pretty fun to watch. OKC and Dallas could be interesting too.

[sleepyhead55]

NBA Playoff schedule:

Western Conference - First Round
San Antonio vs. Utah

Game 1 - Sun April 29, Utah at San Antonio, 1:00PM ET, ESPN
Game 2 - Wed May 2, Utah at San Antonio, 7:00PM, TNT
Game 3 - Sat May 5, San Antonio at Utah, 10:00PM, TNT
Game 4 - Mon May 7, San Antonio at Utah, TBD
Game 5 * Wed May 9, Utah at San Antonio, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 11, San Antonio at Utah, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 13, Utah at San Antonio, TBD
Oklahoma City vs. Dallas

Game 1 - Sat April 28, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 9:30PM, ESPN
Game 2 - Mon April 30, Dallas at Oklahoma City, 9:30PM, TNT
Game 3 - Thu May 3, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 9:30PM, TNT
Game 4 - Sat May 5, Oklahoma City at Dallas, 7:30PM, TNT/R
Game 5 * Mon May 7, Dallas at Oklahoma City, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 10, Oklahoma City at Dallas, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 12, Dallas at Oklahoma City ,TBD, TNT
L.A. Lakers vs. Denver

Game 1 - Sun April 29, Denver at L.A. Lakers, 3:30PM, ABC/R
Game 2 - Tue May 1, Denver at L.A. Lakers, 10:30PM, TNT
Game 3 - Fri May 4, L.A. Lakers at Denver, 10:30PM, ESPN
Game 4 - Sun May 6, L.A. Lakers at Denver, 9:30PM, TNT
Game 5 * Tue May 8, Denver at L.A. Lakers, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 10, L.A. Lakers at Denver, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 12, Denver at L.A. Lakers, TBD, TNT
Memphis vs. L.A. Clippers

Game 1 - Sun April 29, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30PM, TNT
Game 2 - Wed May 2, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30PM, TNT
Game 3 - Sat May 5, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 4:30PM, ESPN
Game 4 - Mon May 7, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD
Game 5 * Wed May 9, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 11, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 13, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, TBD

___________________________________________________
Eastern Conference- First Round
Chicago vs. Philadelphia

Game 1 - Sat April 28, Philadelphia at Chicago, 1:00PM, TNT
Game 2 - Tue May 1, Philadelphia at Chicago, 8:00PM, TNT
Game 3 - Fri May 4, Chicago at Philadelphia, 8:00PM, ESPN
Game 4 - Sun May 6, Chicago at Philadelphia, 1:00PM, ABC
Game 5 * Tue May 8, Philadelphia at Chicago, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 10, Chicago at Philadelphia, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 12, Philadelphia at Chicago, TBD, TNT
Miami vs. New York

Game 1 - Sat April 28, New York at Miami, 3:30PM, ABC/R
Game 2 - Mon April 30, New York at Miami, 7:00PM, TNT
Game 3 - Thu May 3, Miami at New York, 7:00PM, TNT
Game 4 - Sun May 6, Miami at New York, 3:30PM, ABC/R
Game 5 * Wed May 9, New York at Miami, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 11, Miami at New York, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 13, New York at Miami, TBD
Indiana vs. Orlando

Game 1 - Sat April 28, Orlando at Indiana, 7:00PM, ESPN
Game 2 - Mon April 30, Orlando at Indiana, 7:30PM, NBA TV
Game 3 - Wed May 2, Indiana at Orlando, 7:30PM, NBA TV
Game 4 - Sat May 5, Indiana at Orlando, 2:00PM, ESPN
Game 5 * Tue May 8, Orlando at Indiana, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 11, Indiana at Orlando, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 13, Orlando at Indiana, TBD
Boston vs. Atlanta

Game 1 - Sun April 29, Boston at Atlanta, 7:00PM, TNT
Game 2 - Tue May 1, Boston at Atlanta, 7:30PM, NBA TV
Game 3 - Fri May 4, Atlanta at Boston, 7:30PM, ESPN2
Game 4 - Sun May 6, Atlanta at Boston, 7:00PM, TNT
Game 5 * Tue May 8, Boston at Atlanta, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 10, Atlanta at Boston, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 12, Boston at Atlanta, TBD, TNT

* if necessary
All times are Eastern

[fumanstan]

I'll be going to the Laker game on Sunday.

[DJariya]

Wow, are the playoffs all National games this season?

KCAL and FOX Sports West normally had a few Laker home and road games in the 1st and 2nd round. It doesn't look like it this year. Guess tonight is the last game for the Lakers on KCAL.

[Arpeggi]

Bulls in 5
Knicks in 7
Pacers in 4
Celtics in 7

Spurs in 5
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 4
Grizzlies in 4

Celtics in 6
Pacers in 5

Grizzlies in 7
Lakers in 5

Celtics in 6
Lakers in 4

Lakers over Celtics in an epic 4 game series

[JumpCutz]

First round....

Bulls in 5
Heat in 6
Pacers in 5
Celtics in 6

Spurs in 5
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 6
Grizzlies in 6

[fujishig]

Clips losing homecourt works out well for Staples Center, which has to schedule the Lakers, Clippers, and LA Kings home games. I wonder if they would've played back to back games on Sunday in the same arena if that hadn't happened.

[Noonan]

Too bad Dallas/OKC are playing each other in the first round. I was hoping to see that match-up later in the playoffs.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead55

Best first round series:

Clips-Grizz
Hawks-Celtics

Outside of the 4-5 matchup, are any of the East matchups going to be remotely competitive at all?

Hey, nobody thought that the Nuggets/Sonics series would be close in '94, or (after the move to first round 7 game series) the Mavs/Warriors a few years ago. But I think a fair number of people thought that Memphis could beat San Antonio last year...

[MWB]

Originally Posted by JumpCutz

First round....

Bulls in 5
Heat in 6
Pacers in 5
Celtics in 6

Spurs in 5
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 6
Grizzlies in 6

Agreed with all these winners, though not necessarily the games. Only one I'm kind of unsure about is the Grizzlies/Clippers.

[fumanstan]

Originally Posted by fujishig

Hey, nobody thought that the Nuggets/Sonics series would be close in '94, or (after the move to first round 7 game series) the Mavs/Warriors a few years ago. But I think a fair number of people thought that Memphis could beat San Antonio last year...

I remember plenty of people thinking the Warriors had a chance to beat the Mavs, as they had beaten them in the regular season.

[DJariya]

Honestly I don't think the Clippers will get out of the 1st round. Their lack of experience is going to hurt them. If Chauncey Billups didn't get hurt at the beginning of the season, I think they might have a better chance. Paul is solid, but they could have used Billups leadership and clutch shooting.

The Lakers will probably beat the Nuggets in 5 or 6, but they are going to have massive problems against the Thunder in the semis (I don't think Dallas will be any competition to them)

[sleepyhead55]

Originally Posted by DJariya

Honestly I don't think the Clippers will get out of the 1st round. Their lack of experience is going to hurt them. If Chauncey Billups didn't get hurt at the beginning of the season, I think they might have a better chance. Paul is solid, but they could have used Billups leadership and clutch shooting.

Oh I agree, I think you could add that they have some horrible FT shooters (Griffin, Jordan, KMart) and are pretty soft in general. Blake is going to see a lot of hard fouls against the Grizzlies.

Their defense has gone down the tubes during the 2nd half of the season. They're also depending on Mo Williams (playoff choker in Cleveland).

[DJariya]

I watched NBA TV the other night and Chris Webber and Shaq said that Griffin is not a good post up player. I can see them having trouble with their inside game against the Grizzlies.

If they get eliminated in the 1st round, which I expect will happen, I can see Donald Sterling canning Del Negro. Del Negro has already been on the hot seat this season.

[fujishig]

Originally Posted by DJariya

I watched NBA TV the other night and Chris Webber and Shaq said that Griffin is not a good post up player. I can see them having trouble with their inside game against the Grizzlies.

If they get eliminated in the 1st round, which I expect will happen, I can see Donald Sterling canning Del Negro. Del Negro has already been on the hot seat this season.

Which is absolutely what they need to do. Better to get tossed in the first and get a new coach than to get booted in the second and have Del Negro come back, I think. Of course, Sterling will just get whomever will take the least amount of money, so that doesn't bode well, but he's seemingly turned a new leaf so we'll see. I'd think with that talent there would be some decent candidates that would actually want the job for once.

[argh923]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead55

Best first round series:

Clips-Grizz
Hawks-Celtics

Outside of the 4-5 matchup, are any of the East matchups going to be remotely competitive at all?

Apparently some people actually think the Knicks will give Miami a series, which just makes me laugh.

Bulls in 5
Heat in 5
Pacers in 5
Hawks in 7

Spurs in 4
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 6
Grizzlies in 7

Bulls in 6
Heat in 5

Grizzlies in 6
Thunder in 5

Bulls in 6
Thunder in 7

Bulls in 6 over the Thunder

[fumanstan]

Bulls in 5
Heat in 5
Pacers in 6
Celtics in 6

Spurs in 4
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 5
Clippers in 6

I guess i'm the only one that thinks the Clippers will win.

I think the Knicks will put up a good fight; not necessarily take them to 6 or 7 games, but I think the games will be close and not easy wins.

[Larry C.]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

Bulls in 5
Heat in 5
Pacers in 6
Celtics in 6

Spurs in 4
Thunder in 6
Lakers in 5
Clippers in 6

I guess i'm the only one that thinks the Clippers will win.

I think the Knicks will put up a good fight; not necessarily take them to 6 or 7 games, but I think the games will be close and not easy wins.

That's what I'm expecting. Knicks/Heat games are always tough. I hate to admit it but for some reason I'm less confident this year than last year. I wanna believe that the Heat will really amp it up for the playoffs and play different schemes they haven't used and totally surprise.

[argh923]

Originally Posted by fumanstan

I guess i'm the only one that thinks the Clippers will win.

I definitely think they could.

If they had a different coach, I would've picked them to win in 6.

[bootsy]

Originally Posted by sleepyhead55

Best first round series:

Clips-Grizz
Hawks-Celtics

Outside of the 4-5 matchup, are any of the East matchups going to be remotely competitive at all?

I hate this whole East-West nonsense. You really need to ask this question about the West because up until last year the West series were hardly ever competitive. The East has always had far more compelling series as a whole than the West.

[FanofComedy]

The most suprising thing about the playoff series TV schedule...."That the Bulls/Sixers and Heat/Knicks are the first two games of the weekend"

The least intriguing playoff matchup...."pacers/magic"

The most intriguing playoff matchup..."Mavs/Thunder"

Series that will most likely end in a sweep...."Magic/Pacers"

Series that may go 7 games......."Nuggets/Lakers" or "Mavs/Thunder"

[Mordred]

As a Mavs fan, I don't see them taking more than 1 game from OKC. We're pretty thoroughly outclassed in my opinion.

[FanofComedy]

Originally Posted by Mordred

As a Mavs fan, I don't see them taking more than 1 game from OKC. We're pretty thoroughly outclassed in my opinion.

The Mavs still have Dirk, the Jet, and J-kidd and I think that's good enough for 2 wins