Paris9748430 said:

Bulls in 7, baby!

[img:$uid]http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/image/composition/18099099/view/1/producttypecolor/196/type/png/width/190/height/190/da-bulls_design.png[/img:$uid]

Ain't happenin. The clock has struck midnight on Cinderella.

The Heat in 6

phunkdaddy said:

uPtoWnNY said:

You'd think they won the championship the way they were carrying on. Judging from Pat the Rat's face, I don't think he was thrilled either.

Heat vs. Bulls - two teams that have history with the Knicks. So I'm hoping the Thunder take it all.

Is it any different than this one?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Artb5Kuk5ntLvgXtXZxkrQ.8vLYF?slug=jy-ludden_thunder_beat_grizzlies_game5_051211

That's why I'm so glad Nate Robinson is off my team. Dude's a circus act, a fucking clown, who wears out his welcome wherever he goes. Perkins is right to chastise those young cats. That shit always comes back to haunt you.

Bulls have a shot, but only if Rose gets help. His supporting cast has to step up, particularly Boozer. He has to become a wrecking ball in the paint, like Moses in '83.

phunkdaddy said:

Paris9748430 said:

Bulls in 7, baby!

[img:$uid]http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/image/composition/18099099/view/1/producttypecolor/196/type/png/width/190/height/190/da-bulls_design.png[/img:$uid]

Ain't happenin. The clock has struck midnight on Cinderella.

The Heat in 6

Cinderella??? The Bulls are the top seed in the entire NBA! They ain't no damn Cinderella!

phunkdaddy said:

Paris9748430 said:

Bulls in 7, baby!

[img:$uid]http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/image/composition/18099099/view/1/producttypecolor/196/type/png/width/190/height/190/da-bulls_design.png[/img:$uid]

Ain't happenin. The clock has struck midnight on Cinderella.

The Heat in 6

If the BUlls are Cinderella, than the Heat are the evil step mother.

Paris9748430 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Ain't happenin. The clock has struck midnight on Cinderella.

The Heat in 6

Cinderella??? The Bulls are the top seed in the entire NBA! They ain't no damn Cinderella!

That's irrelevant now. Boston was a 4th seed last year and damn near

won the NBA title.

uPtoWnNY said:

I go back 40 years with the Knicks, and the Celtics have always been a thorn in our side. I respect their winning tradition(Bill Russell's one of my sports heroes), but I have no love for that franchise at all. They're a long-time division rival who've stuck it to my guys too many times, whether it was Havlicek/White/Cowens, Bird/Parrish/McHale, or Pierce/Garnett/Allen. During the Bird years, those mfers used to come to MSG, kick the Knicks ass, and laugh about it. I'll always root against Boston, no matter who they play(even if it's another rival like Chicago or Miami). I feel the same way about Dallas and Philly in football.

Got ya. Makes complete sense. For me that team is the Lakers. I don't think there'a any team in the East that gets my hackles up except the modern version of the Heat. In baseball I feel the same way about the Yanks - and it football the Colts.

phunkdaddy said:

SCNDLS said:

That's what I'm referring to. My point is what difference does it make how he announched? In today's world of excessive hype, Cribs and reality shows this shit seemed like a good idea to some publicist and obviously to ESPN who aired that shit. People are naive if they think Lebron came up with and executed that concept all on his own. I guarantee you it was some dude in a suit who was seeing dollar signs at the prospect of exploiting the situation and he was just a pawn in the game and got all the negative press. All the criticism is silly to me cuz ultimately this is a business and ratings and hype are central to promoting his brand AND the league.

The truth

Well this is just gonna have to be a case of different strokes for different folks. There's two aspects of this, and neither of one them keeps me up at night, I just have my own personal opinion on them.

1 - The decision to join forces via free agency. - Phunk you are 100% correct in that it won't have an asterik, it's not like anyone did anything immoral here. It's just for me they took the easy way out. That's why it will be tainted. So when some folks say, "why all the hate" I'm not sure how people wouldn't objectively get that? Two of the best free agents in the market call each other up and say let's form a supergroup with one of the best players in the NBA, and you expect the rest of us to be respectful/excited?

I mean, on a bit of a tangent, it's exactly why I don't follow baseball as much as I used to. The Red Sox are a way of life with anyone from Boston. But my team's identity/soul has been absolutely stripped away by the non salary cap - "just buy anyone and everyone" market. So now my team goes out and spends a gazillion dollars to compete with the Yankees. I H.A.T.E. everything about it. Yet others think it's a sign of ownership's commitment to winning. For some fans it's all about winning at all costs. Not for me, but again, to each their own.

2 - "The decision" Like Uptown said in one his responses, the whole affair was just a senseless three ring circus. As far as Lebron personally, what put it over the top was that "What Should I Do" commercial. My response, "How about show some f*cking class". Not only do you go on national TV to tell Cleveland you're leaving them behind, but now you want to throw it in everyone's faces? Whatever. Again, people are gonna want stick up for their own, but someone exercising "their right" to do whatever they want to and me liking it are obviously two different things. And what part of that whole mess was I supposed to stand up for and say "hooray"! He quit on his home town team, colluded with the best free agent to form a super-team, went on national tv to say "I'm leaving" and then made a commercial basically telling everyone who gave him grief to f off.

OK I'll say it - "Um... HOORAY"!!!!

But just like my team, when KG was acting all thuggish from the bench in 2009, he was K.I.L.L.I.N.G me. It was so embarrassing. I hated my own team in 2009 (even though of course I was obligated to root for them).

Trying to keep it respectfully real but I sense people will probably just think I'm 'ing.

We will have a game seven - should be a great one.

uPtoWnNY said:

We will have a game seven - should be a great one.

I just heard myself. When's the next game? Sunday?

Memphis 95 Oklahoma City 83

Series tied at 3-3.

This has been an exciting series so far, yet I'm sure few people oustide those respective cites have seen this, mostly because the games have been scheduled late and because the two cites are small market teams with few glamorous stars, unlike the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, L.A. Lakers and Chicago Bulls. But this should be a great final game.

728huey said:

Memphis 95 Oklahoma City 83

Series tied at 3-3.

This has been an exciting series so far, yet I'm sure few people oustide those respective cites have seen this, mostly because the games have been scheduled late and because the two cites are small market teams with few glamorous stars, unlike the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, L.A. Lakers and Chicago Bulls. But this should be a great final game.

It's great for the hardcore basketball fan. Both teams have young, upcoming stars, and they're deep. I say OKC barely pulls out a victory. I wouldn't be shocked if Memphis wins.

Yes Timmy, it's on Sunday. Can't wait.

Oklahoma City 105 Memphis 90

Oklahoma City wins series 4-3.

The Thunder close out the series as expected, and now they face the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.

Western Conference Finals, Game 1

Tuesday May 17, 9:00 pm EST (ESPN)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks

Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1

Chicago 103 Miami 82

Chicago leads the series 1-0

Now that's the way to start a crucial series! The Bulls defense was suffocating in the second half, and LeBron James and Dwayne Wade each had an off night. (Chris Bosh did have a monster game, though. )

[Edited 5/15/11 19:37pm]

A total TEAM win for the Bulls. Rose had help offensively, the bench did its thing, and the defense was hellafied. No clean looks for Wade of Lebron. Bulls fans should thank their lucky stars management didn't sign D'Amdummy as coach. They wouldn't be playing this kind of 'D' with Pringles on the sidelines.

Let's see what kind of adjustments Miami makes for Game 2.

Told u guys NOT 2 sleep on the Bulls.

Graycap23 said:

Told u guys NOT 2 sleep on the Bulls.

That is a joke, right? Because I just laughed so hard I cried. There's a couple of pages on this thread with you talkin' a mess about how the Bulls weren't going to do ANYTHING in the playoffs.

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

Told u guys NOT 2 sleep on the Bulls.

That is a joke, right? Because I just laughed so hard I cried. There's a couple of pages on this thread with you talkin' a mess about how the Bulls weren't going to do ANYTHING in the playoffs.

Maybe u should reread my post. I said............Rose cannot do everything by himself. A one man team cannot win a title.

What did I say in reply #2 of this thread?

[Edited 5/17/11 5:51am]

Udonis Haslem??? Daaaaamn!

Still cracks me up on our satellite feed out here how we get to hear the commentators while they think they're off-air (US ad breaks, right?). Van Gundy and them the other night said some pretty disparaging things about the Thunder's coach. There are pretty off-colour comments sometimes, and also some very funny bits of banter.

Fauxie said:

Still cracks me up on our satellite feed out here how we get to hear the commentators while they think they're off-air (US ad breaks, right?). Van Gundy and them the other night said some pretty disparaging things about the Thunder's coach. There are pretty off-colour comments sometimes, and also some very funny bits of banter.

I missed that but I have been enjoying the Princey commercials.

babynoz said:

Udonis Haslem??? Daaaaamn!

Yeah, he did his thing tonight, 13 points. And Lebron took care of business late in regulation. Heat did a better job on Rose defensively.

Now it's on the Bulls to adjust and get a split in Miami.

Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2

Chicago 75 Miami 85

Series tied at 1-1.

Seriously, Udonis Haslem? He brought the Heat back in the game and kept them ahead before the Bulls made the run to tie the game. Then LeBron James took over while Derrick Rose tried to force some bad shots. Actually, D-Rose struggled the whole game, but Miami played defense about as suffocating as the Bulsl played against them in Game 1. If this keeps up, this will a long, drawn out series.

uPtoWnNY said:

babynoz said:

Udonis Haslem??? Daaaaamn!

Yeah, he did his thing tonight, 13 points. And Lebron took care of business late in regulation. Heat did a better job on Rose defensively.

Now it's on the Bulls to adjust and get a split in Miami.

I almost fell off the damn bed, I didn't see that coming.

This is getting interesting.

As expected, Miami ties up the series with Chicago... I'm predicting this will be a long one though.

Still think Rose does not need any HELP?

Where the fuck was Boozer?

uPtoWnNY said:

Where the fuck was Boozer?

Have u ever seen a power forward in the NBA miss this many layups?

Graycap23 said:

Still think Rose does not need any HELP?

He needs all the help he can get.

Western Conference Finals, Game 2

Oklahoma City 106 Dallas 100

Series tied at 1-1.

After Dirk Nowitzki lit the arena on fire in Game 1, the Thunder bench comes through with 50 points and preserves an upset victory.