<p>It's playoff time son! Who's pumped? This season has been awesome, Lakers gotta be the favorites by virtue of the fact they're the 2x champs and have the experience, butttt they're on a four game slide so we'll see if they can right the ship in time. They don't want to lose that #2 seed because the Blazers are definitely scarier than the Hornets I think. </p>
<p>Can't count out the Spurs but Duncan is old and slow and the rest of the crew don't seem capable of taking the Lakers in a 7 game series. The Thunder would be my upset to get out of the western conference finals. They're young and hungry and the Perkins trade bolstered an already sick line up of Durant, Westbrook, et al.</p>
<p>Out east, I don't see the Celtics getting past round 2. They're old and disoriented. Rondo sucks by himself and gets burned by better point guards (aka my boy Derrick Rose). I think the Heat will get to the eastern finals but their lack of post presence, a PG, and cohesiveness will ultimately make them lose to that team from Chi town.</p>
<p>Anddddd of course my Bulls are kicking ass and taking names. We got the MVP and the #1 ranked defense; I think the Bulls can take the Lakers in 7 in the Finals, especially with home court advantage. </p>
<p>So what are your playoff predictions? Who you got coming out of the east? The west? Any upsets?</p>
<p>i got heat vs bulls in the east finals which will be all kinds of fun to watch. Winner of that series wins the finals imo. I feel like miami will beat them in a 7 games series tho. I now the bulls have the best record i just think miami will win. chiacgo has beat maimi 3 times this year by a combined 8 points and one of those games lebron didnt play in. i believe boston messed up trading perkins away and now shaq is hurt yet again. I dont really pay any attention to the west but you gotta believe its gonna be the lakers. no one else in the west has the size to compete with bynum gasol and odem.</p>
<p>Bulls is going to the east finals fo sho. Don’t look down on Boston because they were like this last year too. Since they’re old, they always slow down after the all-star break and then they start playing hard again in playoffs. However, it’s going to be a bit harder for them since they traded Perkins. Miami has Lebron and Wade but their bench sucks. They have no big men and Bosh doesn’t play like a big man. So it’s hard to decide between Boston and Miami. They both have weak sides. I think it’ll be Boston becase they have more experience as a team and Doc has more playoff experience. It doesn’t really matter anyways. Chicago will slap who ever gets in its way anyways.</p>
<p>For west it’s easier to choose. Lakers definitely going to the West Finals. Spurs can go all the way if they can go back to playing D. Otherwise they won’t beat Lakers. If Spurs starts playing D like they used to, they have a chance to beat Lakers. I don’t really think OKC has any chance. They have Durant, Westbrook,Perking and other good bench players but I don’t see them beating Lakers or Spurs in a 7 game series.</p>
<p>In the end
Nba Champion : Bulls
MVP : D Rose
Playoffs MVP : D Rose</p>
<p>Heck yeah glad to see I’m not the only huge Chicago Bulls fan on this forum! I am so excited for the Bulls this year in the playoffs. We are kickin a*s and taking names! I’m going for Lakers vs. Spurs in the West, Celtics vs. Bulls in the East with the bulls taking it all, but who knows!</p>
<p>The west seems fairly open now. Did not expect the Lakers to drop 5 straight. OKC is looking very legit, I think they have just as much a chance of getting out of the west as the Spurs do. OKC/Denver is going to be a sick 1st round series.</p>
<p>MIA is looking strong and should get to the ECF. The Heat might take the Bulls to 6 or 7 games but they do not have what it takes to beat CHI, especially with the Bulls’ suffocating home court advantage (35-5 in Chicago).</p>
<p>^ I agree! It’s so hard to pick. There are many good teams this year and they aren’t super stacked like 2 years ago or so.</p>
<p>I agree, OKC is good but they don’t have what it takes to win it all.</p>
<p>Miami is looking good but they sometimes fall into a losing streak. I don’t think they have the correct TEAM to win so many games. They don’t have a consistent big man to go to when their jump shots are missing.</p>
<p>Chicago is VERY GOOD. They have a great team composition. I think they’ll make it to the finals.</p>
<p>Boston is getting old. I don’t think they’ll have the energy to make it all the way.</p>
<p>Lakers… they’ve had the same starting team for ages! TBH, I don’t care if they win or lose. It gets boring watching them.</p>
<p>I predict the finals to be: Spurs vs Bulls
Spurs win</p>
<p>Bulls are taking the east and going to finals.
Now for the west, that’s where the action is going on. Tonight is spurs vs lakers, this decides if the lakers go agains Memphis or Portland. Spurs have it easy against New Orleans, Dallas and Okc are right not lakers tail, but lakers are gonna pull through tonight. If lakers lose, they’ll be surpassed by Okc in my opinion, spurs and lakers my play eachother before the the conference finals even come. All in all, west is the best, and the best in the west is Lakers!!! Going for 3 years in a row!</p>
They do rely on Rose a little too much for comfort (offensively) but over the course of the season, Rose has proven to be the most clutch player in the NBA whose name isn’t Kobe; I don’t see Rose faltering in a high-pressure game 7 situation–I think he’s cut from the same cloth as Jordan and Kobe rather than LeBron. </p>
<p>Also, the Bulls don’t resemble last year’s Cavs nearly as much as they do the 2008 Celtics. The Bulls’ team-defense is absolutely suffocating. #1 in opponent FG%, #1 in rebounding differential, and arguably the best bench in the league–it’s gonna be too much for MIA to handle. The Heat bench is a huge liability and the big 3 simply cannot play 40+ min/game throughout the playoffs, they’re gonna get worn out well before the ECF. </p>
<p>Drose is clutch based off what. winning no playoff series in his career and choking in college and high school championship game. a good bench is not real important in the playoffs anyway as coaches usually cut their rotation. most good players average over 40 mins in the playoffs. i think rose averaged like 43 last year when they lost to cleveland. should be a great postseaon. i feel like 5 teams can with the east. and the winner of the east will win the championship</p>
<p>Rose is 2nd to Kobe in clutch scoring this season. I’ll concede that there isn’t much difference between Rose and LeBron, who’s 3rd. But LeBron failed to deliver in the 2 (close) head-to-head games he played in against the Bulls. I think their respective bodies of work this season are far more relevant than what they did in high school. </p>
<p>There’s clearly a difference between Rose and James there. Rose takes more than 33% more shots in those situations and then shoots a much lower percentage.</p>
<p>Anyway, with the total minutes coming to a little over 3 games’ worth, there are huge sample size issues.</p>
<p>Shooting percentages and efficiency are often red herrings in situations where absolute point production is needed. You get the points however you can. I think FT% is a more salient statistic than FG% seeing as the best foul shooters are the ones who have the ball at the end of games. And by no means are those stats the be all and end all but if you’ve watched Heat games this season, you’d realize that as a team, the Heat are atrocious at the end of close games. Like 1 for 18 in the last 10 seconds–worst in the league. I’d bet against MIA in the clutch every time.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m pumped for (hopefully) a Bulls/Heat ECF. CHI and MIA still need to get past ORL and BOS, which are not easy tasks.</p>
<p>Oh and I hope that Bynum injury tonight wasn’t serious. Lakers aren’t looking that good anymore…</p>