The season has now just ended, and the teams are set. Shockingly, after what most considered to have been a dismal season, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to eke their way into the postseason, albeit without Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics will attempt to make another attempt at a title run without Rajon Rondo, and the Chicago Bulls will apparently soldier on into the playoffs without Derrick Rose. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, will attempt to defend their NBA title and are heavy favorites to do so.

#8 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #1 Miami Heat
#7 Boston Celtics vs. #2 New York Knicks

#6 Atlanta Hawks vs. #3 Indiana Pacers
#5 Chicago Bulls vs. #4 Brooklyn Nets




#8 Houston Rockets vs. #1 Oklahoma City Thunder
#7 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #2 San Antonio Spurs
#6 Golden State Warriors vs. #3 Denver Nuggets
#5 Memphis Grizzlies vs. #4 Los Angeles Clippers

The Playoffs begin on Saturday with the following schedule:

Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks, 3:30 pm EST (ABC)
Golden State Warriors @ Denver Nuggets, 5:30 pm EST (ESPN)
Chicago Bulls @ Brooklyn Nets, 8:00 pm EST (ESPN)
Memphis Grizzlies @ Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 pm EST (ESPN)

They continue on Sunday with the following schedule:

Atlanta Hawks @ Indiana Pacers, 1:00 pm EST (TNT)
Los Angeles Lakers @ San Antonio Spurs, 3:30 pm EST (ABC)
Milwaukee Bucks @ Miami Heat, 7:00 pm EST (TNT)
Houston Rockets @ Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 pm EST (TNT)

Huey, you crack me up with your sports appropriate emoticons.

East

Heat

Celtcis

Pacers

Bulls

West

City Thunder

Spurs

Golden State

Clippers

TD3 said:

Interesting lineup considering who's out...

phunkdaddy said:

TD3 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Golden Graham's ain't beating Iggy and the Nuggets!

Golden State, is my upset pick. Deal with it.

Sounds like we need to put a wage on this like we need

to put a wage on the Bears at Steelers week 3

phunkdaddy said:

Barring injury,if Heat don't win it all,there needs to be an investigation.

Theý finished the season 37-2 with their best players missing chunks of games.

For the Knicks, anything less than the conference finals is a failure.

I'd love to see the Thunder go all the way this year.

Should be an exciting playoff.

I'd be shocked if the Heat don't win it all..................again.

Knicks take Game 1!

uPtoWnNY said:

Knicks take Game 1!

It's going to be a good series....

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Boston Celtics 78 New York Knicks 85

This initial playoff game was a grind out affair, and while the Knicks looked shaky at times, especially late in the third quarter after the Celtics took a seven point lead, thanks to the clutch shooting of Jeff Green, the Knicks stormed back thanks to Carmelo Anthony's 36 points, but mostly because they played stifling defense down the stretch, holding the Celtics to a career playoff low 8 points in the fourth quarter. Kenyon Martin was huge off the bench, grabbing nine rebounds and scoring 10 points, including a huge bucket off a Carmelo Anthony assist with about a minute to go in the game which sealed the victory for New York.

New York leads series 1-0.

[Edited 4/20/13 14:53pm]

Western Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Golden State Warriors 95 Denver Nuggets 97

This was mostly a back and forth affair throughout the entire game, though Denver went on a 14-2 run at the end of the third quarter to take an eight point lead. But the Warriors would not go away, thanks to yeoman efforts from Carl Landry, Jarrett Jack, Klay Thompson, who led Golden State with 22 points, Andrew Bogut, who had 9 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocked shots, and Stephen Curry, who scored 19 poimts including a game tying three pointer with just 14 seconds remaining in the game. But Denver would be carried to victory by the veteran Andre Miller, who led all scorers with 28 points including the game winning layup with just 1.4 seconds remaining.

For Golden State, this may have been a more bitter defeat than just losing at the buzzer, as their All-Satr forward David Lee left the game in the third quarter with an apparent groin injury. His status is uncertain for the next game.

Denver leads series 1-0.

the West Playoffs would look like an April Fool's joke or something some years ago: Clippers, Oklahoma, Golden State, the Nuggets??

some franchises do change FOR THE BETTER

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Chicago Bulls 89 Brooklyn Nets 106

Unlike the first two games of the day, the outcome of this game was never in doubt, as the Nets dominated the Bulls in the first postseason sports game in Brooklyn since 1956. The Nets shot at a torrid 60% from the field, with Brook Lopez and Derren Williams annihilating the Bulls in the paint. Willimas scored 22 points while Lopez scored 21, most in the frst half. Joe Johnson got hot in the second half, scoring 16 points, while Gerald Wallace added 14 points and Reggie Evans grabbed 13 rebounds. Carlos Boozer led the Bulls scorers with 25 points, but other than that Chicago looked flat and shellshocked for much of the game, only getting into rhythm after the game was long decided in favor of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn leads series 1-0.

JoeTyler said:the West Playoffs would look like an April Fool's joke or something some years ago: Clippers, Oklahoma, Golden State, the Nuggets??

some franchises do change FOR THE BETTER

Don't forget the Knicks - they were a joke for 11 years under Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas.

In the NBA, you need at least two legit superstars to have a chance at being a contender. It's hard to get those guys unless you: a) suck so bad in order to get a top lottery pick (Spurs tanked the season to get Duncan), or b) clear cap space to sign a superstar. Then you have to surround the stars with solid role players. That shit takes time.

uPtoWnNY said:

JoeTyler said:the West Playoffs would look like an April Fool's joke or something some years ago: Clippers, Oklahoma, Golden State, the Nuggets??

some franchises do change FOR THE BETTER

Don't forget the Knicks - they were a joke for 11 years under Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas.

In the NBA, you need at least two legit superstars to have a chance at being a contender. It's hard to get those guys unless you: a) suck so bad in order to get a top lottery pick (Spurs tanked the season to get Duncan), or b) clear cap space to sign a superstar. Then you have to surround the stars with solid role players. That shit takes time.

Really? The Knicks, Clippers, Bostn, Lakers, and Heat have 1 thing in common....what is that?

They either traded or signed their free agent stars. Laker traded 4 Howard, boston 4 Garnett and Clips traded 4 Paul. U can't depend on the draft unless u have high draft picks.

That's what I meant in point b) - clearing cap space to sign a free agent superstar, which is what NY did. Donnie Walsh didn't want to give up the house for Carmelo Anthony. He was willing to play chicken with Denver, but the owner wasn't. Dolan got impatient and forced Walsh's hand. Turns out Dolan was right for once. That plus hiring Mike Woodson were the best moves he's made so far.

Sorry this is late, but I needed some sleep and had stuff to do.

Western Conefrence Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Memphis Grizzlies 91 Los Angeles Clippers 112

This game went back and forth for most of the contest, but while Blake Griffin struggled and fouled out early, he was picked up by his teammates. Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points and Chauncey Billups scored 14 points while Caron Butler and Jamal Crawford each scored 13 points for the Clippers, but it was Chris Paul who took over the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 23 points for the game. The Clippers dominated the boards throughout the game, grabbing 67% of all available rebounds. Memphis was led by Jerryd Bayless, who scored 19 points while Marc Gasol scored 16 points and Zach Randolph added 13 points and four rebounds, but the Grizzles were plagued by foul trouble throughout the game.

L.A. Clippers lead series 1-0.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Atlanta Hawks 90 Indiana Pacers 107

This game was hardly ever in doubt, as Indiana took an early lead and more or less cruised to victory thanks to Paul George getting a triple double, with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Five other Pacers scored in double figures, thanks to a huge disparity in free throws in which Indiana made 30 out of 34 free throws while Atlanta made only 7 of their 14 free throws in the game. Jeff Teague led the Hawks with 21 points while Josh Smith added 15 points and Al Horford added 14, but Kyle Korver got into early foul trouble and was ineffective throughout the game.

Indiana leads series 1-0.

[Edited 4/21/13 12:49pm]

It's kinda heart warming to see the Spurs in this day and age... I'm kinda rooting for them over the Lakers.

awww shit 67-55 so far

fuck the motherfuckin' Spurs I hate those texan lameasses !!!

JoeTyler said:

awww shit 67-55 so far

fuck the motherfuckin' Spurs I hate those texan lameasses !!!

awww FUCK 91-79

with Bryant out of the picture, the Lakers are basically done

Pau just cannot do it alone

now I'm rooting for the Knicks, or even Miami

anyone but the motherfuckin' Spurs

Western Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Los Angeles Lakers 79 San Antonio Spurs 91

The Lakers opened this initial playoff game with a 2-0 lead. But the Spurs took the lead immediately afterward and never gave it up, though the Lakers hung in for a while before San Antonio ultimately pulled away. It was the Spurs' big three that led the way, with Tony Parker and Manu Ginnobili each scoring 18 points while Tim Duncan scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard scored eight points while grabbing 11 rebounds, and Matt Bonner scored 10 points off the bench. Dwight Howard led the Lakers with 20 points and 15 rebounds while Pau Gasol added 16 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, and Steve Nash added 16 points. But the Lakers' bench production was non-existent, as they scored a total of 10 points.

San Antonio leads series 1-0.

Eastern Conference Playoffs, 1st Round

Game 1

Milwaukee Bucks 87 Miami Heat 110

Not many people expect the Miami Heat to struggle very much to advance out of the first round of the playoffs, yet Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks predicted his team would win this series in six games. Well, they will have to win four of the next five games for his prediction to hold up, as the Heat came out scorching, and while the Bucks stayed competitive for a while, the Heat blew up in the fourth quarter. Lebron James shot the fewest attempts in his playoff career, but it didn't matter; he scored 27 points on 9 for 11 shooting and fell two assists shy of a triple double. Ray Allen scored 20 points off the bench while Dwyane Wade scored 16 points and Chris Bosh scored 15 points for Miami. Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee with 26 points while Monta Ellis added 22 points.

Miami leads series 1-0.

Here come the Spurs!