Babzilla:
HEEEEYYY!
NO ONE IS ROOTING FOR NEW YORK EXCEPT THE NEW YORKERS
NEW YORK SUCKS
THE ONLY THING GOOD IN NEW YORK IS MIKE WOODSON ( THE COACH)
AND JR SMITH
EVERYONE ELSE ON THAT TEAM STINKS... INCLUDING CARMELO
NEW YORK KNICKS ... WHAT A JOKE

The only guy that does it for me in New York is Stoudemire. Too bad injury got the better of him

The only way I see heats not reaching the finals or getting the ring is an injury to their major players. They got veteran players, MVP, improved Wade, 3 point kings Chalmers and Allen, offensive rebounders in Andersen and Bosh and reinforced with Beasley on the bench

Who go carry 4 games from these people?

^^^Yes, the back-court is Indiana's biggest problem and I wish they could get a decent traditional PG with better ball handling than George Hill. However, Hill is doing fine for now. And the Brooklyn bulldog, Lance Stephenson is playing lights-out, at the moment. I just hope Lance Stephenson can maintain the tempo into the play-offs. They also added veteran versatile player, Luis Scola, and he's giving them something different from the bench. So this team has all it takes to win it all. David West, Paul George, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, Lance Stephenson and Luis Scola should definitely not have a problem beating the Heat in 6(not 7), if they can get busy.

As for Greg Oden, he's just another Brandon Roy in Minnesota uniform, waiting to happen. I doubt he'll add anything to the team and stop Roy Hibbert and David West combo in the front court would always be a myth. Tell Oden to go drink codeine with fellow bust, JaMarcus Russell. They both have something in common. Only Michael Beasley can add a little bit to the Heat and that's if he isn't high on Sour Diesel, when the play-offs kick off.

kobikwelu:
^^^^

in the east, it will still be a Heat v Pacers finals....and guess who will come out tops THE HEAT...
know why Lebron!! You cant teach Lebron!! ...you think the Pacers can beat the Heat 4 out of seven times?? ...
Lets break down the key matchups in a hypothetical Eastern conference finals...

BackCourt
This is by far the Pacers greatest weakness, and it showed glaringly last year...turnovers killed the pacers in the back court...They do not have the 3 point shooting in their backcourt to help make their inside game devastatingly potent.

FrontLiine
This is where the Pacers crushed Miami last year...infact it wasn't even a contest last year in this area..that was why the Heat were willing to release Mike Miller (and also for the luxury tax as well because they were not ready to pay him what Memphis were ready to pay him) for Greg Oden JUST FOR THE MATCHUP WITH HIBBERT (what a long way he has come from his GeorgeTown days, then he was a clumsy fvck)...That would push Bosh to match the smaller David West..which would be an advantage for the Heat. IF (a big IF!!) ODEN is ready to play then i say the advantage for the pacers would not be soo glaring ...

3 point shooting
This is Miami's bread and butter..no need to say much ...Chalmers, Ray Allen, Shane battier.....

LEBRON VS PAUL GEORGE

Now that Paul has told everyone that he has arrived, CAN HE SUSTAIN IT ALL THE WAY INTO THE PLAYOFFS??..we saw 2 years ago when it was Durant (who was then touted as a more lethal player) vs Lebron..how that matchup went (Insert that layup miss by Durant in the last play of game 2)..
Lebron has proven it twice ...can Paul carry the Pacer Nation in prime time?? will he get those one-on-one calls against Lebron..which Durant suffered from 2 years ago? Because you can be rest assured..Lebron can take out a teams best player and still be effective on the offensive side..LAST season, he just faded when he (paul) tried doing so against lebron..to the point that the coach had to take paul out of Lebron's assignment...because it was affecting his offensive output
REMEMBER...Paul is like what...21 or 22 years young....

Experience and Smarts

The Miami heat have the experience at the highest level and have been pushed to the brink many many many times and yet, still find a way to pull it off....they have The lebrons, Wade's, Ray's..a coach that has been tested and knows how to made adjustments on the fly....yet again, i ask have the Pacers ever done that??
Last year. no one expected much from them, they flew under the radar till the playoffs....
This year, things are now different...


In the end, i am sticking with the HEAT VS THE WEST (No one seems like they are the favorites..remember last year)

kobikwelu:
^^^^
Oden wasnt a bust..his injuries crippled him..check his stats when he played in the NBA couple of years ago...Remember the HEAT dont need ODEN's offensive output..all they need is a body (Tall enough) to put in front of Hibbert to prevent those hook shots and gimme rebounds....and if ODEN plays, that will be key as a taller Bosh can now face David west....

You mentioned Lance (Dude that did the infamous choke hold act towards Lebron)?? REALLY....Did you watch him last year..all he did was run his mouth towards lebron and save for a good series against the KNICKS, he was a nonentity...
Also, i heard Scola?? I LAUGH.....that one is a glorified Tiago splitter.....LMAOO....infact, Shane Battier would be conscripted to handle that one.

THE ONLY CHANCE THE PACERS HAVE IS A REPEAT OF WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR....crash the boards, pound the ball in..thats all...and because Miami had no size inside, it was effective....anything else would play into Miami's hands...

not forgetting Paul George performance against Lebron will also be crucial...

shymexx:

No player is better than LeBron in the NBA. He's a freak of nature. And Wade had Shaquille O'Neal in 06,

Yes, Bosh had game in Toronto when he was surrounded by bums. Rudy Gay is doing the same thing now by shooting 37 shots in every game and loading up stats. if Durant can call you "soft" - than you're soft . That's the story of Chris Bosh.

Babzilla:

NO ONE CAN DISOUTE THE POINTS U RAISED
IN FACT I AGREE WITH YOU UP TO THE POINT WHEN U SAY MIAMI WILL WIN IT ALL
NOW ID SAY A HEALTHY PACERS RIGHT NOW WILL GO TOE 2 TOE AND BEAT THE HEAT IN 7 GAMES
THEY HAVE A DEEP ROSTER THEY CAN PLAY D
THE HEAT, ITS JUST LEBRON. HE IS THE MOST CONSISTENT PLAYER
U ADMITTED IT WADE IS DAMAGED GOODS,
BOSH IS AN OFFENSIVE PLAYER NO D AND IS INCONSISTENT
RAY ALLEN IS OLD, MARIO CHALMERS IS INCONSISTENT
REMEMBER 2 YEARS AGO THEY BEAT THE PACERS IN 6 GAMES
LAST YEAR THEY TOOK IT TO GAME 7 AND THE PACERS ARE WAY BETTER THAN LAST YEAR
LAST YEAR, PAUL GEORGE WAS JUST EMERGING AS A FRANCHISE PLAYER
THIS YEAR HE HAS BECOME SOLID, MORE CONFIDENT AND WOULD CAUSE
PROBLEMS FOR A MIAMI DEFENSE.
BUT THEN ITS ANYONE'S GAME

THE SPURS WERE SUPPOSED TO WIN IT ALL LAST YEAR IN GAME 6 BUT BLEW THEIR CHANCES
IN 2006 THE MAVERICKS WERE 2 GAMES UP AGAINST MIAMI THEN BLEW IT ( I WEPT )
IN 2007 THE SAME MAVERICKS WHO WERE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE,
HAD THE BEST RECORDS THAT YEAR, WERE NO.1 IN THE WEST, BLEW THEIR CHANCES AGAINST THE 8TH SEEDED
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN

The question is: is Oden fit and up to tempo? Yes, Brandon Roy was also great for a long time. However, what happened last year in Minnesota? Roy Hibbert is a beast and he shouldn't have a problem making an unfit Oden his wife. Lmao@ putting Bosh against David West. That's going to be a one-sided beat-down. And how would Shane Battier handle Scola? - by flopping and falling like a dead man? I'm not a fan of Battier and his antics. Scola is more versatile than Tiago Splitter.

You're being harsh on Lance now. Last year was his break-out year. However, he's consolidating on that now. And don't forget the guy is still young and he's still learning. He grabbed a triple-double against a very defensive-minded team like Grizzlies yesterday. That should tell you all you need to know about how his game has improved.

kobikwelu:
^^^^

We are talking playoffs here....playoffs, not the regular season....By the Playoffs..after enough insertions he will be fit...remember all they need is a body to be in front of Hibbert..with a Oden who is also 7' 1 (is Hibbert is 7'1 or 7'2) to prevent those gimme rebounds and put backs enough for the HEAT to make it up on the offensive side...
and you think a West would ride rough-shod over a Taller Chris Bosh?? ..last year Bosh never guarded West..all the way, he was on Hibbert..and it wasnt a contest in that regard..

and PHULEEEESE dont mention LANCE.....
and i stand by my saying...Scola is a glorified Tiago Splitter....He could not compete against Omer Asik in Houston.....and was shipped away....

AND BY THE WAY..WE ARE TALKING POTENTIAL MATCHUPS...

by the playoffs, a lot of things would have changed

Babzilla:

NAH DURANT DIDNT EXACTLY CALL HIM SOFT
IN HIS WORDS DURANT CALLED HIM ' FAKE TOUGH GUY'
' THERE ARE A LOT OF FAKE TOUGH GUYS IN OUR LEAGUE AND HE ( CHRIS BOSH) IS ONE OF THEM'

How can you even match a Greg Oden who hasn't played in the NBA for a long time up against a beast? Hibbert is going to castrate him on the boards. That's not even a match-up, to be honest. And I still don't know when Bosh became a good defender, to be honest. The guy is soft! The height difference can't be more than an inch or two. Have you considered the leap and the wing span? David West is too powerful and too strong for Chris Bosh.

Also, Scola left the Rockets because they were rebuilding. It has nothing to do with the arrival of Omer Asik. Scola should be able to avg at least 11 points from the bench. And that's something big.

Warrior X: You all should take it easy with your "information"

Victor Oladipo's dad is a Yoruba from Sierra Leone, his mum is Nigerian (Ibo) and he was born and raised in America. (Funny thing is that Victor is very close with his mum and not at all close with his dad)

Jeff Green's mum is American but she married a Nigerian.

Jahlil Okafor's dad is Nigerian and Jahlil actually visited Nigeria some years ago. His mum is American but she passed away when he was young.

Rasheed Sulaimon's dad is Nigerian, Mum is from Jamaica.

Babzilla:

NAH DURANT DIDNT EXACTLY CALL HIM SOFT
IN HIS WORDS DURANT CALLED HIM ' FAKE TOUGH GUY'
' THERE ARE A LOT OF FAKE TOUGH GUYS IN OUR LEAGUE AND HE ( CHRIS BOSH) IS ONE OF THEM'

shymexx:

How can you even match a Greg Oden who hasn't played in the NBA for a long time up against a beast? Hibbert is going to castrate him on the boards. That's not even a match-up, to be honest. And I still don't know when Bosh became a good defender, to be honest. The guy is soft! The height difference can't be more than an inch or two. Have you considered the leap and the wing span? David West is too powerful and too strong for Chris Bosh.
.

David West is too powerful and too strong for Chris Bosh.

birdman:

Durant was just showing you his maturity level at the time. See, he really didn't understand what it took to be a champ. He thought he would have a ring shortly just cause he could shoot, dunk and beat his chest. 3 years later, Bosh has 2 rings on a team where he played instrumental minutes. Remember how his 3pt shot made Ibaka useless 2 years ago. And how he kept Hibbert and Timmy D honest by making them play D last year. Lets not even talk about "the rebound" in Game 6 finals. In short, Durant now knows who is the fake tough guy. Had to learn respect for the game the hard way

Afam4eva:
His father has never supported his Basketball career. Is his dad from Sierra Leone or probably nationalized there cos an article in yahoo says both of his parents are Nigerians. While his mother is Igbo, his Father is Yoruba, . I've never heard of a Yoruba Sierra-leonian before.

shymexx:

No player is better than LeBron in the NBA. He's a freak of nature. And Wade had Shaquille O'Neal in 06,

Yes, Bosh had game in Toronto when he was surrounded by bums. Rudy Gay is doing the same thing now by shooting 37 shots in every game and loading up stats. If Durant can call you "soft" - than you're soft. That's the story of Chris Bosh.

Babzilla:

CHRIS BOSH DID HIS THING, EARNED HIS RINGS
KEVIN DURANT SAID THAT COS HE WAS PISSED
BUT SERIOUSLY WE BOTH KNOW BOSH COULDNT WIN SHT WITHOUT LEBRON
HECK HE CLDNT EVEN TAKE THE RAPTORS TO A CONFERENCE FINALS

StarBoard:

The same Wade who averaged 34.7ppg in those finals, something James is yet to come close to?
Please.

shymexx:


He's already averaging 13points, and 6rebounds from the bench. And he's one of the top two rookies atm, with Michael Carter-Williams of the 76ers.

Bucks' pick Giannis Adetokunbo Antetokounmpo isn't getting minutes atm, so I can't really rate him.