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NBA Playoffs: The Contenders, The Threats and The Ones to be Elminated

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  • NBA Playoffs: The Contenders, The Threats and The Ones to be Elminated

    In any NBA Playoffs there's three types of teams: The Contenders, The Threats and The Easy Ones.

    The Contenders are those who will be fitting not only for a spot in the NBA Finals but the chance to lift the title. In my opinion, in the Western Conference, obviously the Lakers are one, Dallas and the multi-dimensional/ versatile squad and the Denver Nuggets. In the East, the only team I believe will have a chance of lifting the trophy is the Cavs. The Magic do not have the type of squad like last year, which will be able to defeat the Cavs, the Hawks are yet to reach the NBA Eastern Conference Finals and their inexperience could be costly in big time moments and the Boston Celtics are not the type of team they were back in 2008. Sure enough their experience is immense but will those "old legs" be able to keep up with the Cavs.

    The Threats are those teams most likely to make an upset not only in the first round but possibly in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. In the East, I believe that the Hawks if they finish 4th will be a definite "threat" as long as they take care of business in the 1st round. They have the athleticism and determination to finally bypass the Cavs and reach the Conference Finals. They have had the same coach for the past few seasons and have been eliminated by the "Big Boyz" of the East thus, they're determined and very, very hungry to finally crack the East. The other "Threat" is the Miami Heat because they have a special player who can rise up to the occasion and dominate a game by his versatility, athleticism, leadership and defense. In the West, there is one team that will definitely come to my mind of possibly shaking up the pecking order: San Antonio Spurs. Like Boston, they do have "old legs", RJ has not been the type of player that they had expected him to be, Tony P is injured and Timmy as well as the Argentinian Sensation both have had an inconsistent season and are not the same like they were back in their championship winning seasons. However, they have probably the second best coach currently in the NBA or one could say the best defensive coach in the NBA and on top of that they know how to play "playoff basketball". Their wealth of experience and guidance from one of the best coaches of all time could lead them to possibly winning in the 1st round and possibly doing some heavy damage to whoever they take on in the Western Conference Semi Finals.

    Finally, "The Easy Ones" are those who are pretty much there to make up the numbers only to be brushed aside by one of the big boyz of their conference. Toronto, Charlotte and Memphis are the ones I believe would be considered "Easy Ones".

    In summary,

    Cleveland: Title Contenders
    Orlando: Threats
    Atlanta: Threats
    Boston: Threats
    Miami: Threats
    Milwaukee: Was a Threat until Bogut got injured and now I would consider them Easy Ones
    Charlotte: Easy Ones
    Toronto: Easy Ones


    Los Angeles: Title Contenders
    Dallas: Title Contenders
    Denver: Title Contenders
    Utah: Threats
    Phoenix: Threats
    Oklahoma City: Threats
    San Antonio: Threats
    Portland: Easy Ones
    "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
    -El Padrino

  • #2
    IMO

    Contenders: Lakers, Cavaliers, Magic.

    Lakers and Cavs are self explanatory, but the Magic proved their worth getting to the finals last year. They were supposed to struggle without Hedo, but Vince has filled in nicely. It helps that Dwight is living up to the Superman nick. Somehow he's found ways to become more dominant!

    Threats: Hawks, Nuggets, Suns, Jazz, Mavericks

    The Hawks are a team I think that's a piece or two away, that said Orlando and the Cavs would prefer not to play them. For the West that 2 seed is wiiiide open. The Lakers have looked mortal and recent weeks and I do not consider them a lock for the playoffs. Out of the choices above I believe the Nuggets have the best shot of beating the Lakers but only if George Karl returns. No matter the Lakers will face stiff competition from the second round through the championship.


    Easy Ones: The remainders
    The Bucks even when healthy aren't a threat to the Magic and Cavs imo. Without Bogut they have no shot. The Heat are Dwayne Wade, and while that's pretty damn good, it's not good enough against the top two. The Celtics are just too inconsistent. They can give the Cavs and Magic a fight, but I don't believe they can win.

    In the west the Zombie Sonics (Thunder? What Thunder?) are probably the toughest matchup outside the top 5. They're really young, and I don't expect much from them. The season's already a success. They will push who they play to 6 though.

    The Spurs, they will be a tough out, they're getting healthy, they're hella experienced, and very very talented. I pity the team that faces them in the first round. The only team I think that's guaranteed to beat them is the Lakers. They can knock off a threat team, but I don't think they can knock off more than one.
    Pistons: 2021-22 Let the Motorcade begin!!

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    • #3
      This is how I see things shaping up



      Cleveland: Title Contenders
      Orlando: Threats
      Atlanta: Threats
      Boston: Threats
      Miami: Easy Ones
      Milwaukee: Was a Threat until Bogut got injured and now I would consider them Easy Ones
      Charlotte: Easy Ones
      Toronto: Easy Ones if they even make the Playoffs.


      Los Angeles: Title Contenders
      Dallas: Title Contenders
      Denver: Title Contenders
      Utah: Threats
      Phoenix: Threats
      Oklahoma City: Threats
      San Antonio: Threats
      Portland: Wouldn't really say easy ones. I can see them possibly making the second round

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      • #4
        I would downgrade the Denver Nuggets to "threat" from contenders as George Karl and the likes of Carmelo and Billups we're openly admitting that they are less of championship caliber team without Martin's presence.

        While the Celtics believe that they are contenders through taking a citation in history where the 1968-69 Celtics were able to do it through veteran ruggedness in which today's semi gray cast of the Celtic roster would like to emulate.

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        • #5
          cleveland will take it this year

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          • #6
            For me it's:

            Cleveland: Title Contenders
            Orlando: Title Contenders
            Atlanta: Threats
            Boston: Threats
            Miami: Easy Ones
            Milwaukee: Easy Ones
            Charlotte: Easy Ones
            Toronto: Easy Ones


            Los Angeles: Title Contenders
            Dallas: Title Contenders
            Denver: Title Contenders
            Utah: Threats
            Phoenix: Threats
            San Antonio: Threats (if Tony Parker has fully recovered and is playing in the playoffs)
            Oklahoma City: Easy Ones
            Portland: Easy Ones

            Comment


            • #7
              Cleveland: Title Contenders
              Orlando: Title Contenders
              Atlanta: Threats
              Boston: Title Contenders (it would be a fatal mistake to rule them out)
              Miami: Easy Ones
              Milwaukee: Easy Ones (borderland threath with Bogut)
              Charlotte: Easy Ones
              Toronto/Chicago: Easy Ones


              Los Angeles: Title Contenders
              Dallas: Threaths
              Denver: Title Contenders (if Martin gets back)
              Utah: Threats
              Phoenix: Threats
              San Antonio: Threats (if Tony Parker has fully recovered and is playing in the playoffs)
              Oklahoma City: Title Contenders
              Portland: Threaths

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Wu-Tang View Post
                Oklahoma City: Title Contenders
                ... amazing ... well everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

                Though I don't see their "mini Big 3" winning it all this season, I can definitely see them winning within 3 years time.
                "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
                -El Padrino

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                • #9
                  There are only three teams i can consider "serious contenders": Lakers, Magic and Cavaliers. One is a defending champion, another was a finalist last year and the last has Lebron.

                  No disrespect to the other Western "threats" namely, Mavs, Jazz, Nuggets and maybe Spurs.
                  If there is no basketball in heaven, i am NOT going.

                  SMALLBALL, bitches..

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Saskibaloia View Post
                    ... amazing ... well everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

                    Though I don't see their "mini Big 3" winning it all this season, I can definitely see them winning within 3 years time.
                    Check who's playing at center in okc

                    Seriously, i think the suns, dallas, and even the spurs on various levels proved in the (semi recent) past that the final standing don't mean much except for LA or utah - they need home advantage -.

                    I am pretty surprised to see people rank portland among the easiest opponents, camby & miller have fixed a lot of their weaknesses thinking of the PO, and the bench is not going to keep struggling the way it is right now. There is some talent over there and a decent mix of young & experienced players. And way less stereotyped games by mc millan between his 1st and 2nd unit rotations. Their most difficult match up is denver (despite the results against utah this year) and there are high chances that they don't get them in the 1st round.

                    Even if western conference is as usual the hardest one to predict, i think Dallas are really overrated imo for sure, just like the suns or utah for various reasons - bench, home advantage and poor performance on the road, match-up against other western conf teams etc.

                    Eastern conference being way easier to predict, unless the bulls manage to kick toronto for the 8th - and still, they are coming from too far imo, but i wanna see lbj try to dance during 1st game of the serie to see what it might trigger

                    Anyway, my own "ranking"

                    Western conference
                    LA : title contender
                    Denver = title contender
                    Utah = threat
                    Dallas = easy one (sorry dirk fans )
                    Suns = threat
                    Okc = easy one (lack of experience and no respect from ref most likely)
                    SA = threat
                    Portland = threat

                    East conference
                    Cleveland = title contender
                    Orlando = threat
                    Atlanta = threat
                    Boston = title contender
                    Milwaukee = easy one
                    miami = very easy one
                    charlotte = threat (if injured ppl come back)
                    toronto = very easy one
                    bulls = easy one

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      East

                      truly Title contender:
                      the is only one team that fits this description:
                      "Cleveland"

                      1st tier Threat
                      Orlando

                      2nd tier Threats:
                      Atlanta (the only reason they are not title contenders is because they have no bench, btw Crawford does not count as bench player)

                      Possible Second round teams:
                      Boston
                      Charlotte

                      Possible First round 7 game series teams: (Easy ones)
                      Miami
                      Milwaukee (with Bogut the were and ok team, but is not like Bogut was going to get them to the Finals, or even the second round)

                      Garbage ones:(teams that will we sweep, and possibly lose one of their best players in free agency next summer as a consequence)
                      Toronto/Chicago



                      West

                      truly Title contender:
                      like in the east, there is only one team in the west that fits this description:
                      "Los Angeles Lakers"

                      1st tier Threats
                      Utah
                      Phoenix

                      2nd tier Threats:
                      Dallas
                      Denver
                      Oklahoma City

                      Possible Second round team:
                      San Antonio

                      Possible First round 7 game series team: (Easy ones)
                      Portland

                      Garbage ones:(teams that will we sweep, and possibly lose one of their best players in free agency next summer as a consequence)
                      None, all teams from the west are decently good
                      1

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Saskibaloia View Post
                        Cleveland: Title Contenders
                        Orlando: Threats
                        Atlanta: Threats
                        Boston: Threats
                        Miami: Threats
                        Milwaukee: Was a Threat until Bogut got injured and now I would consider them Easy Ones
                        Charlotte: Easy Ones
                        Toronto: Easy Ones


                        Los Angeles: Title Contenders
                        Dallas: Title Contenders
                        Denver: Title Contenders
                        Utah: Threats
                        Phoenix: Threats
                        Oklahoma City: Threats
                        San Antonio: Threats
                        Portland: Easy Ones
                        That's more or less what I would say.

                        Cleveland: Title Contender
                        Orlando: Threat
                        Atlanta: Meh.
                        Boston: Meh.
                        Miami: Easy one
                        Milwaukee: Easy one
                        Charlotte: Easy one
                        Toronto: Easy one

                        Los Angeles: Title Contenders
                        San Antonio: Threat
                        Dallas: Threat
                        Denver: Meh.
                        Utah: Meh.
                        Phoenix: Easy one
                        Oklahoma City: Easy one
                        Portland: Easy One
                        "I really like the attitudes of eagles. They never give up. When they grab a fish or something else, they never let it go. It doesn't matter. In a book, they write they find a skeleton of [an] eagle and there is no fish. It means that the fish beat him and killed him, but he didn't let go." -- Donatas Motiejunas

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Lewis View Post
                          East

                          truly Title contender:
                          the is only one team that fits this description:
                          "Cleveland"

                          1st tier Threat
                          Orlando

                          2nd tier Threats:
                          Atlanta (the only reason they are not title contenders is because they have no bench, btw Crawford does not count as bench player)

                          Possible Second round teams:
                          Boston
                          Charlotte

                          Possible First round 7 game series teams: (Easy ones)
                          Miami
                          Milwaukee (with Bogut the were and ok team, but is not like Bogut was going to get them to the Finals, or even the second round)

                          Garbage ones:(teams that will we sweep, and possibly lose one of their best players in free agency next summer as a consequence)
                          Toronto/Chicago



                          West

                          truly Title contender:
                          like in the east, there is only one team in the west that fits this description:
                          "Los Angeles Lakers"

                          1st tier Threats
                          Utah
                          Phoenix

                          2nd tier Threats:
                          Dallas
                          Denver
                          Oklahoma City

                          Possible Second round team:
                          San Antonio

                          Possible First round 7 game series team: (Easy ones)
                          Portland

                          Garbage ones:(teams that will we sweep, and possibly lose one of their best players in free agency next summer as a consequence)
                          None, all teams from the west are decently good
                          I like your description and attention to detail rather than my three tier category because my categories are too general for the NBA Playoffs. My bad.
                          "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
                          -El Padrino

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Grading each team

                            Here's my "grades" out of 10 for each NBA franchise on their performance in the regular season:


                            Cleveland 9.5/10
                            Orlando 8.5/10
                            Atlanta 8.5/10
                            Boston 7/10
                            Milwaukee 10/10
                            Miami 7/10
                            Charlotte 8.5/10
                            Toronto 6.5/10
                            Chicago 7/10
                            Indiana 5/10
                            New York 4/10
                            Philadelphia 4/10
                            Detroit 4/10
                            Washington 3.5/10
                            New Jersey 2/10


                            L.A. Lakers 9.5/10
                            Dallas 8.5/10
                            Denver 7.5/10
                            Utah 7.5/10
                            Phoenix 7/10
                            Oklahoma City 10/10
                            San Antonio 6.5/10
                            Portland 7.5/10
                            Houston 9/10
                            Memphis 9/10
                            New Orleans 7/10
                            L.A. Clippers 5.5/10
                            Sacramento 5.5/10
                            Golden State 4/10
                            Minnesota 3.5/10
                            "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
                            -El Padrino

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                            • #15
                              My Regular Season Awards

                              Most Valuable Player: LeBron James
                              Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
                              Most Improved Player: Andrew Bogut
                              Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks
                              Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans

                              All NBA First Team:

                              Guard: Steve Nash
                              Guard: Kobe Bryant
                              Forward: Carmelo Anthony
                              Forward: LeBron James
                              Centre: Dwight Howard

                              All NBA Second Team:

                              Guard: Dwayne Wade
                              Guard: Deron Williams
                              Forward: Dirk Nowitzki
                              Forward: Kevin Durant
                              Centre: Amare Stoudemire

                              All NBA Third Team:

                              Guard: Jason Kidd
                              Guard: Rashon Rondo
                              Forward: Gerald Wallace
                              Forward: Pau Gasol
                              Centre: Andrew Bogut
                              "No hay poder en el mundo que pueda cambiar el destino"
                              -El Padrino

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