Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 5

Boston Celtics 86 Atlanta Hawks 87

In a very wild finish, the Atlanta Hawks overcame a strong Celtic run by shooting a torrid 70% field goal percentage in the fourth quarter, led by their big man Al Horford. Nevertheless, Rajon Rondo stole the inbound pass from the Hawks with 10.9 seconds left in the game with the potential to win it and close out the series. But his pass attempt to an open Kevin Garnett was deflected by Atlanta forward Josh Smith, which went out of bounds as time expired, thus keeping the Hawks alive for another day.

Boston leads series 3-2.

[Edited 5/8/12 19:50pm]

Cerebus said:

Graycap23 said:

Lol................Noah wished he was a Rodman type player. Rodman brought it EVERTY night. Noah brings it every 5th game.

Well, I'm not sure exactly what you're saying as I've never seen him not try, which is actually what I'm getting at. I said he's not as good as Rodman, so of course he's not going to have the same results. But like I said, every time I've seen him play (which is like, hundreds) he always makes an effort to do his job. A lot of higher paid "stars" don't. Maybe I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. I'll be watching for it now... next season.

I agree with you on Noah. A lot of teams would love to have him play and do the dirty

work. You could also classify him as a Kurt Rambis type player.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 5

Philadelphia 76ers 69 Chicago Bulls 77

In another ugly game reminiscent of the old Bad Boy Detroit Pistons teams, the Bulls play some stifling defense and limit the fast break opportunities the Sixers have taken advantage of during this series. The Bulls were led by Luol Deng, who scored 24 points, Carlos Boozer scored 19, and Taj Gibson contributed 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots. The Bulls stave off elimination for now but have to go back to Philly to even the series and force a game seven.

Philadelphia leads series 3-2.

Western Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 5

Denver Nuggets 102 Los Angeles Lakers 99

Andrew Bynum told his fellow players that this game should be easy to close out for the Lakers, but the Nuggets had other plans, as they went off to an early lead. However, the Lakers came storming back in the fourth quarter thanks to Kobe Bryant's 43 points, but it wasn't enough, as Denver hung on to win the game and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Lakers must now try to close out the series in the Mile High City.

L.A. Lakers lead series 3-2.

[Edited 5/9/12 4:45am]

phunkdaddy said:

Cerebus said:

Well, I'm not sure exactly what you're saying as I've never seen him not try, which is actually what I'm getting at. I said he's not as good as Rodman, so of course he's not going to have the same results. But like I said, every time I've seen him play (which is like, hundreds) he always makes an effort to do his job. A lot of higher paid "stars" don't. Maybe I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. I'll be watching for it now... next season.

I agree with you on Noah. A lot of teams would love to have him play and do the dirty

work. You could also classify him as a Kurt Rambis type player.

Honestly...............trying is not good enough. U need TALENT and effort in the NBA. Noah is 100% a liability on offense, and on defense he only plays a good game every 3rd, 4th, or 5th game. The guy is no where near as good as his so called reputation. I watch all of the Bulls games, I even go 2 a few even I live in Ga. Noah is not as good as advertised. Trying at $10,000,000 plus a season? I'd take dependable, consistant talent instead.

Will Memphis finally smarten up and take the ball outta CP3's hands tonight? Can't wait to see if they do!

phunkdaddy said:

Cerebus said:

Well, I'm not sure exactly what you're saying as I've never seen him not try, which is actually what I'm getting at. I said he's not as good as Rodman, so of course he's not going to have the same results. But like I said, every time I've seen him play (which is like, hundreds) he always makes an effort to do his job. A lot of higher paid "stars" don't. Maybe I'm just not seeing what you're seeing. I'll be watching for it now... next season.

I agree with you on Noah. A lot of teams would love to have him play and do the dirty

work. You could also classify him as a Kurt Rambis type player.

How is a career 8.9 points, 8.6 reb per game player anything other than a role player?

Goodbye Knicks - they never had a chance against the Heat.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 5

New York Knicks 94 Miami Heat 106

This game was never in doubt, as the Miami Heat pretty much dominated the injury-depleted Knicks the entire game. LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points while his partners Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each chipped in 19 points. Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 35 points on 15 for 31 shooting. Miami now moves one step closer to returning to the NBA Finals while the Knicks look to regroup in the offseason.

Miami wins series 4-1.

[Edited 5/9/12 18:42pm]

Graycap23 said:

phunkdaddy said:

I agree with you on Noah. A lot of teams would love to have him play and do the dirty

work. You could also classify him as a Kurt Rambis type player.

How is a career 8.9 points, 8.6 reb per game player anything other than a role player?

Every team needs role players. That's what i defined him as a Kurt Rambis type

player that does the dirty work like rebound and play tough d.

[Edited 5/9/12 22:02pm]

phunkdaddy said:

Graycap23 said:

How is a career 8.9 points, 8.6 reb per game player anything other than a role player?

Every team needs role players. That's what i defined him as a Kurt Rambis type

player that does the dirty work like rebound and play tough d.

True but the Bulls and their fans think this is an all-star type of player.

Just heard on Mike Francesca's show that Denver's Chris 'Birdman' Anderson is the target of a child porn investigation - WTF?

Graycap23 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Every team needs role players. That's what i defined him as a Kurt Rambis type

player that does the dirty work like rebound and play tough d.

True but the Bulls and their fans think this is an all-star type of player.

Naw i wouldn't give him that.

uPtoWnNY said:

Just heard on Mike Francesca's show that Denver's Chris 'Birdman' Anderson is the target of a child porn investigation - WTF?

Hope for his sake this isn't true.

uPtoWnNY said:

Just heard on Mike Francesca's show that Denver's Chris 'Birdman' Anderson is the target of a child porn investigation - WTF?

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 6

Chicago Bulls 78 Philadelphia 76ers 79

The Sixers survive a huge comeback from the Chicago Bulls, who came back from a 12 point deficit in the third quarter and tied the game at the end of that quarter. They then pumped up the defense and held on to a precarious 3 point lead with about 42 seconds left in the game. Philly then cut it to one with about 38 seconds remaining but missed on their own end with about ten seconds left. They tried to foul Bulls point guard C.J. Watson in the backcourt but missed, but they got a huge break when they fouled backup center Omer Asik with 7 seconds to go as he was driving to the basket. He missed both free throws, and the Bulls defense, which up to this point had stymied the Sixers transition game, suddenly fell asleep as Andre Igoudala drove in for the winning bucket. He did not make it, but he was fouled on the play. He then made the critical free throws to take the lead with 2.2 seconds left, and the last second shot by C.J. Watson went wide left and short, giving the Sixers the unlikely series win and giving the Bulls a disappointing end to what appeared to be a possible championship season before injuries took them apart.

Philadelphia wins series 4-2.

[Edited 5/10/12 19:51pm]

Part of me wants to be happy that the Sixers won a playoff series for the first

time in several years but i know they did it under unusual circumstances. I must

say this was the ugliest fucking playoff series i've ever witnessed. The Sixers stole

this one much like they did game 3.

Well with the exception of seeing the Spurs strangle the Jazz for 3 games.

[Edited 5/10/12 19:18pm]

In other NBA news....

The possible child porn investigation has already been covered here, and that's pretty distubring, so I'll go on something more positive.

Oklahoma City forward/guard James Hardin was the runaway choice for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He averaged 16.8 points per game on 49% shooting all season on a season average 31.4 minutes per game. He got 115 of 119 first place votes and got more than double the voting points than the second place finisher, Philadelphia guard Lou Williams. Last year's Sixth Man award winner, Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, finished third in the balloting, Denver Nuggets forward/center All Harrington finished fourth, and San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginnobili and Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson tied for fifth.

phunkdaddy said:

Part of me wants to be happy that the Sixers won a playoff series for the first

time in several years but i know they did it under unusual circumstances. I must

say this was the ugliest fucking playoff series i've ever witnessed. The Sixers stole

this one much like they did game 3.

Well with the exception of seeing the Spurs strangle the Jazz for 3 games.

[Edited 5/10/12 19:18pm]

I have to agree with you. It was at least the ugliest series since the old Bulls/Pistons rivalry of the late 1980's/early 1990's. But then again, all of the series involving the old Bad Boy Pistons were ugly. Between Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, and Dennis Rodman, every game was like going into an MMA fight. The Knicks back in the 90's were sort of like that, but they were a lite version of the Bad Boy Pistons.

At any rate, the series was really ugly because the Bulls had issues generating any offense without Derrick Rose on the floor. Carlos Boozer came up in spots, but he still took too many open jump shots and had real issues posting up opposing players in the paint. Luol Deng took forever to get his playoff groove going, and the extended injury time Rip Hamilton had all season showed up here in the playoffs, as his shooting was rather streaky. Pus Philly did a great job of neutralizing the Bulls point guards, forcing them to dribble themselves out of the shot clock.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 6

Atlanta Hawks 80Boston Celtics 83

The Celtics got a monster game from Kevin Garnett, who scored 28 points and got 14 rebounds. Nevertheless, the game came down to free throw shooting. The Celtics made their key free throws, with Ray Allen making his two shots with 9.3 seconds left in the game. The Hawks had a chance to time the game with 2.8 seconds. but Al Horford only made one of his two free throws. The Celtics then iced the game with Paul Pierce's pair of free throws with 1.3 secionds remaining. The Celtics move on to host the Phiadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals while the season ends for the Atlanta Hawks.

Boston wins series 4-2.

uPtoWnNY said:

Just heard on Mike Francesca's show that Denver's Chris 'Birdman' Anderson is the target of a child porn investigation - WTF?

It could actually be worse than just possesing or trafficking child pornography. It could be something relating to physical contact, or attempted physical contact. See the last line of this quote...

Sheriff's spokesman Ron Hanavan confirmed that the search took place Thursday. Andersen has not been arrested and Hanavan said no arrest warrant has been issued.

The department began investigating Andersen in February after receiving information from a law enforcement agency in California. Hanavan declined to release details, including the nature of any pending charges, citing an ongoing investigation. He said they're asking that the case be sealed.

Andersen answered the door at his Larkspur, Colo., home, about 40 miles south of Denver, and let deputies in, said Deborah Sherman, another sheriff's spokesperson. ''He did cooperate. He spoke with deputies,'' Sherman said.

The unit investigating Andersen investigates child porn, Internet luring, child

predators and child pornography.

I'm a firm believer in innocent until proven guilty. But if he is found guilty of any of the above, his prison time ain't gonna be fun. Kind of hard to be inconspicuous when you're that tall, covered with colored ink.

Lakers...

Ugh!

Get your shit together!

I wanted Chicago to go to the finals, so that sucks. But I don't hate Philly, really. I sure as hell hope they pull out all the stops and get by Boston. ..... I hate Boston.

Lakers down by 11 in the first quarter.

@ Denver's 3-point shooting...and L.A.'s inconsitence with getting the rebound.

Timmy84 said:

@ Denver's 3-point shooting...and L.A.'s inconsitence with getting the rebound.

Lakers haven't looked right the last game and a half. The last game really wasn't even close if you take away Kobe's heroic fourth quarter shooting. Denver is going to take the series if they can't play better than this.

^ And with Kobe being sick that doesn't help matters.

Timmy84 said:

^ And with Kobe being sick that doesn't help matters.

He still pulled his weight tonight, though. Kind of looks like everyone else decided to take the night off and try for a game seven win at home. That's not going to happen if Denver keeps them running.

Cerebus said:

Timmy84 said:

^ And with Kobe being sick that doesn't help matters.

He still pulled his weight tonight, though. Kind of looks like everyone else decided to take the night off and try for a game seven win at home. That's not going to happen if Denver keeps them running.

True. Just view he scored 27.