Author Topic: NBA Playoffs - Prediction Contest - FINALS begin Thursday (Read 1068 times)

octoinky · « **on:** April 16, 2009, 01:33:00 am »

You know the drill. 10 points or a correct series winner, 5 bonus points or correct # of games (assuming you got the winner, of course

).

NBA doesn't re-seed, so feel free to talk about how you think the whole playoffs will go, but we'll re-pick every round when matchups are set.

1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs 8 Detroit Pistons
2 Boston Celtics vs 7 Chicago Bulls
3 Orlando Magic vs 6 Philadelphia 76ers
4 Atlanta Hawks vs 5 Miami Heat

1 Los Angeles Lakers vs 8 Utah Jazz
2 Denver Nuggets vs 7 New Orleans Hornets
3 San Antonio Spurs vs 6 Dallas Mavericks
4 Portland Trail Blazers vs 5 Houston Rockets

bcks · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2009, 01:45:00 am »

1 Cleveland Cavaliers over 8 Detroit Pistons in 5
2 Boston Celtics over 7 Chicago Bulls in 6
3 Orlando Magic over 6 Philadelphia 76ers in 4
4 Atlanta Hawks lose to 5 Miami Heat in 6

1 Los Angeles Lakers over 8 Utah Jazz in 5
2 Denver Nuggets over 7 New Orleans Hornets in 6
3 San Antonio Spurs lose to 6 Dallas Mavericks in 5
4 Portland Trail Blazers over 5 Houston Rockets in 5

Lovins · « **Reply #2 on:** April 16, 2009, 09:12:00 am »

Cavs in 4 (and I'm a Pistons fan

)

Celtics in 5 (assuming a healthy Garnett)

Magic in 5

Heat in 7

Lakers in 5

Nuggets in 6

Spurs in 7

Rockets in 6

Any MVP opinions? For me it's Lebron > Wade > Kobe. I think Kobe is the best player in the game with Lebron a close 2nd, but Kobe obviously has a lot more talent around him.

.. · « **Reply #3 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:09:00 am »

Cavs in 4
Celtics in 6
Magic in 6
Heat in 7

Lakers in 5
Nuggets in 6
Spurs in 7
Rockets in 7

dragondragon18 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:45:00 am »

Cavaliers in 5
Celtics in 5
Magic in 5
Hawks in 6

Lakers in 4
Nuggets in 5
Spurs in 6
Blazers in 7

Thiradell · « **Reply #5 on:** April 16, 2009, 01:03:00 pm »

Cleveland in 4
Boston in 4
Orlando in 6
Miami in 6

Los Angeles in 5
Denver in 6
San Antonio in 5
Houston in 6

wishiwasfamous · « **Reply #6 on:** April 16, 2009, 03:52:00 pm »

LBJ in 4
Keltiks in 6
Superman in 5
El Heat in 7

lala-kers in 5
Thuggets in 5
Spurs in 6
Spaceshuttles in 5

octoinky · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2009, 07:14:00 pm »

1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs 8 Detroit Pistons
-Cavs in 5. Detroit can win a home game, where the Cavs really aren't a great road team. They'll win game 5 at home and this series is never in question, though. Detroit has too many winners to get swept, even if Billups is gone.

2 Boston Celtics vs 7 Chicago Bulls
-Boston in 7. Garnett is out, the Bulls are hot, etc., I just don't think the Bulls match up well enough to get the job done. I will give them some respect and take this one all the way out to 7, though.

3 Orlando Magic vs 6 Philadelphia 76ers
-Magic in 6. Put the Bulls here, and I'm taking the Magic out. Orlando isn't built for the playoffs. They have some good players, but their style of play is unpolished, and they simply beat up on the fact that most teams can't handle an inside AND outside threat in the Eastern conference. However, the 76ers are on a skid, and one of those teams as well. Good luck down the road, Magic..

4 Atlanta Hawks vs 5 Miami Heat
-Hawks in 6. I'll be rooting for Dwade vs Lebron in round 2, however I don't really respect the Heat enough this season to win a series. Dwade will try too hard to pull his team out, and they'll get shut down.

1 Los Angeles Lakers vs 8 Utah Jazz
-Los Angeles in 5. Utah is too good of a home team to predict a sweep, even if it is pretty likely.

2 Denver Nuggets vs 7 New Orleans Hornets
-Nuggets in 5. Nuggets with Billups are looking good. I don't like the Hornets much this season, especially playing the underdog role. They couldn't get it done as a favorite last season, I'm not taking them from the bottom this season.

3 San Antonio Spurs vs 6 Dallas Mavericks
-Spurs in 7. As much as I want to Mavs to win, I think even a banged up Spurs team has the edge at home in a 7-game series, which I think this will be.

4 Portland Trail Blazers vs 5 Houston Rockets
-Rockets in 6. Portland is young. They have the ingredients, Houston doesn't impress me THAT much, but I think it's time for the Rockets to finally win a series.. even though TMac is out. I think this will be a great series though.

wheatrich · « **Reply #8 on:** April 17, 2009, 04:43:00 pm »

Cavs in 4. Pistons suck
Celtics in 7. The bulls really blew this by not playing the magic.

Sixers in 6. Magic=injured
Hawks in 5.

Cavs in 5. Hawks don't take this team to 7.
Sixers in 6. doesn't matter because no matter who it is

Cavs in 5. This road is the easiest I've ever seen thanks to injuries. Who can possibly beat the cavs twice in a series other than atlanta right now in the east?

Lakers in 7
Nuggets in 7
Spurs in 7
Portland in 7

Lakers in 5
Nuggets in 7

Lakers in 7

Cavs in 7

none of this predict round by round crap out of me! (predictions sure to fail or your $ back)

TheFlash · « **Reply #9 on:** April 17, 2009, 06:47:00 pm »

Quote

5 Cleveland Cavaliers
5 Boston Celtics
6 Philadelphia 76ers
6 Atlanta Hawks

5 Los Angeles Lakers
4 Denver Nuggets
6 San Antonio Spurs
5 Houston Rockets

Ngamer · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2009, 02:29:00 am »

1 Cleveland Cavaliers over 8 Detroit Pistons in 5 games
* Cavs should be able to sweep at home, but this Pistons team has too much pride to let this be over in 4

2 Boston Celtics over 7 Chicago Bulls in 6 games
* loss of KG is of course a major blow, they wouldn't have needed him until Orlando in any case

3 Orlando Magic over 6 Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games
* expect Howard to step his game up and strike fear in the hearts of C fans in this series

5 Miami Heat over 4 Atlanta Hawks in 7 games
* Dwade will show the nation why he was a legit MVP candidate in by far the most entertaining series of R1

1 Los Angeles Lakers over 8 Utah Jazz in 4 games
* Lakers will never be threatened by a Jazz team in disarray

2 Denver Nuggets over 7 New Orleans Hornets in 6 games
* Nuggets barely pull it out thanks to home court advantage, but expect Paul to provide several nailbiters along the way

3 San Antonio Spurs over 6 Dallas Mavericks in 5 games
* these playoffs are taking place in an odd-numbered year; obviously the Spurs will compete in the West championship series

4 Portland Trail Blazers over 5 Houston Rockets in 6 games
* Yao falls to 0-4 in R1 series after the Blazers ignite the Rockets at home

Ngamer · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2009, 02:37:00 am »

Odds of winning the title this year based on ESPN's computer projection:
Cleveland 31.3
L.A. Lakers 19.3
Orlando 15.7
Portland 11.8
Denver 4.4
Boston 4.1
Houston 4.1

packattack · « **Reply #12 on:** April 18, 2009, 12:36:00 pm »

Cavs in 4
Boston in 5
Orlando in 4
Hawks in 6

Lakers in 4
Denver in 6
San Antonio in 7
Portland in 6

rshepherd1000 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 18, 2009, 02:51:00 pm »

Pistons in 5
Bulls in 6
76ers in 6
Hawks in 7
Jazz in 4
Hornets in 6
Mavericks in 5
Rockets in 6

octoinky · « **Reply #14 on:** April 18, 2009, 03:33:00 pm »

rofl orlando could never beat cavs or lakers in a 7 game series, GL with that 15%.

I bet the real odds are like 50% cavs 40% lakers 10% field.

Lovins · « **Reply #15 on:** April 18, 2009, 04:23:00 pm »

Yeah, I don't see how the Cavs could be so far ahead of the Lakers there. Lakers are the favorite in my eyes.

.. · « **Reply #16 on:** April 18, 2009, 04:28:00 pm »

The Cavs are that far ahead of the Lakers because they have a much easier road to the finals, obv.

Lovins · « **Reply #17 on:** April 18, 2009, 04:43:00 pm »

You don't think the Lakers are clearly going to plow through the West?

.. · « **Reply #18 on:** April 18, 2009, 06:33:00 pm »

Nope. I'd say probably 5 teams (Jazz, Nuggets, Hornets, Spurs, Mavs) in the West can beat the Lakers, where maybe 1 (Magic) in the East can beat the Cavs.

Lovins · « **Reply #19 on:** April 18, 2009, 07:03:00 pm »

LOL. Ok, we'll see.

octoinky · « **Reply #20 on:** April 18, 2009, 08:03:00 pm »

How the heck did that list include the Hornets, Spurs, and Mavs, and not Portland?

The Lakers have it "rough" the whole way if it goes Utah - Portland - Nuggets, but still see little resistance. I'll say no series goes to 7 games for the Lakers.

Also, sick win for the Bulls today, as hard as they tried to lose that game

Thiradell · « **Reply #21 on:** April 19, 2009, 12:07:00 am »

ROFL the Jazz can't beat the Lakers (especially not in 4 games Shep).

octoinky · « **Reply #22 on:** May 02, 2009, 03:26:00 pm »

NBA is retarded. Mavs / Nuggets starts tomorrow afternoon, but there is a game 7 being played in the east also. We'll need to do predictions piece at a time. Or, if everybody is late, just say screw it and we can use game 1 to our advantage, but I say just pred the west now...

WEST
------

Lakers vs Rockets
Mavs vs Nuggets

EAST
-------
Both matchups in the air...

Cavs vs Heat/Hawks
Magic vs Celtics/Bulls

octoinky · « **Reply #23 on:** May 02, 2009, 03:29:00 pm »

edited before sunday for the east games.

Lakers in 5
- Rockets are chumps, Lakers have answers across the board. Just like the Jazz did, the Rockets can win a home game because the Lakers aren't totally consistent and don't have their mind on blowing the series out.

Nuggets in 7
- Nuggets are getting a lot of respect after their demolition of.. an awful Hornets team. The media just needs a team who can beat the Lakers, and because the Rockets and Mavs clearly aren't up to the task, they're hyping the Nuggets. Mavs will be no pushover, but home-court will matter here and I'll take the Nuggets.

Cavs in 5
- Don't care who they face, I don't like calling sweeps especially after the first round, but wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Neither team has much of a shot at 6 games, so I'm happy making this one early!

Magic in 6
- Rofl Magic > Celtics, I'm only taking this b/c the Celtics must be so drained. I really wanted to take the Bulls here, oh well.

rshepherd1000 · « **Reply #24 on:** May 02, 2009, 03:54:00 pm »

Rockets in 6
Nuggets in 6
Heat/Hawks in 6
Celtics/Bulls in 6

Thiradell · « **Reply #25 on:** May 02, 2009, 04:10:00 pm »

Lakers in 5
Nuggets in 5

Ngamer · « **Reply #26 on:** May 02, 2009, 04:16:00 pm »

Ngamer Blows Up R2

WEST
-------
Lakers over Rockets in 6
* Boo, wanted to see the Blazers here, as I would have liked their chances better. Rockets should put up a better fight than Utah, but I can't see them pushing this to a Game 7... even my 6 is being generous.

Nuggets over Mavs in 6
* Bah, Dallas got by because of massive injuries on the other side, which won't be the case here- they'll fold under pressure on the road just like usual to cost them a spot in the West finals.

EAST
-------
Cavs over Heat/Hawks winner in 5
* Cavs are too well rested and way too motivated for this series to ever be in doubt. I'll give D-Wade enough credit to steal one at home (if they can get there) but wouldn't be shocked by a clean sweep.

Magic over Celtics/Bulls winner in 6
* This epic R1 series has been too much of a dogfight for either of these teams to have much left in the tank for their next opponent. Magic will use their better rest to jump out to an early lead in this series, and the other team will fight back to make it interesting but just be in too large a hole by then.

Lovins · « **Reply #27 on:** May 03, 2009, 02:06:00 am »

Lakers in 5
Nuggets in 6

Cavs in 5
Celtics in 6

octoinky · « **Reply #28 on:** May 03, 2009, 03:14:00 am »

ROUND ONE (will edit after last game)

Correct me if I'm wrong, it's late...

octo - 95
come - 75
wiff - 75
lovins - 75
thira - 70
bcks - 65
drag - 65
thingy - 65
ngamer - 55
wheat - 60
shep - 40

Thingy was the only person to get the Mavs' series right. Almost everybody got every other series right. 5 called a Cavs sweep correctly. 6 called the Lakers in 5, knowing Utah could take one at home. Octo and wheat were the only to pick Bulls to make it to game 7 - nobody took the Bulls to win. Every other series was pretty hotly contested across the board

rshepherd1000 · « **Reply #29 on:** May 03, 2009, 07:30:00 am »

you missed me off

Invertigone · « **Reply #30 on:** May 03, 2009, 09:56:00 am »

Magic over Celtics- you look at a young, scrappy Bulls team that took the Celtics to 7 games. I mean, Derrick Rose is a star in his own right, but he's no Dwight Howard. The Magic Star Power and a more talented Magic team will be a greater challenge for the Celtics- especially if KG is still out. Magic in 7.

Cleveland over Miami/Atlanta- Cleveland will make it to at least the Conference Finals. I can see a possible upset by Orlando. Cleveland in 5.

Lakers over Rockets in 5- Well Well Well- T-Mac finally made it to the 2nd round, but Kobe will be too much to handle.

Nuggets over Mavs in 7- Chauncey Billups will be the difference maker. Setting up a Denver vs LA Conference Finals.

I know I didn't do first round. Is this ok?

.. · « **Reply #31 on:** May 03, 2009, 01:08:00 pm »

Celtics in 7
Cavs in 5

Lakers in 6
Nuggets in 5

wishiwasfamous · « **Reply #32 on:** May 03, 2009, 02:23:00 pm »

Wah-ston in 6
LBJ in 5

Lawlkers in 6
Nugpuppies in 6

bcks · « **Reply #33 on:** May 03, 2009, 09:15:00 pm »

WEST
------

Lakers over Rockets in 7
Mavs over Nuggets in 6

EAST
-------

Cavs over Hawks in 6
Magic over Celtics in 6

Thiradell · « **Reply #34 on:** May 03, 2009, 10:26:00 pm »

Cavaliers in 4
Celtics in 7

Lovins · « **Reply #35 on:** May 04, 2009, 09:01:00 am »

Quote from: octoinky

ROUND ONE (will edit after last game)

Correct me if I'm wrong, it's late...

octo - 95
come - 75
wiff - 75
thira - 70
bcks - 65
drag - 65
thingy - 65
lovins - 60
ngamer - 55
wheat - 60
shep - 40

Yeah, I should have 75. You probably just missed my bonus points (15).

octoinky · « **Reply #36 on:** May 04, 2009, 10:34:00 am »

Thanks for checking on me! I don't trust myself either :P

.. · « **Reply #37 on:** May 16, 2009, 12:08:00 am »

Dayle and I went down to the Pepsi Center today to participate in the Nuggets playoff ticket lottery. They sat everyone in the arena in 2 different sections and then started picking out rows from the big lottery drum to determine who would get to buy tickets first. At the start, they said they were going to draw 13 rows, but they added a few near the end. Luckily we were in the 13th row that they drew, and then proceeded to stand in line for a few hours and got tickets! By the time we got to the window, home games 1 and 2 were sold out, so we each got 4 tickets (max) for home game 3 (either game 6 vs the Lakers, or game 5 vs the Rockets). Dayle also got 4 tickets for home game 4 (game 7 vs the Rockets), but my teller was an idiot and when I asked her what was available, she said "all we have left is game 3" so that's all I bought.

We're going to take wiff to a game, and probably sell all the other tickets to make a nice profit on them since we got them at face value. Hope we get so lucky when the Nuggets make the finals!

octoinky · « **Reply #38 on:** May 17, 2009, 11:12:00 pm »

ROUND TWO STANDINGS

octo - 95 - 40 (135)
wiff - 75 - 40 (115)
come - 75 - 35 (110)
thira - 70 - 40 (110)
lovins - 75 - 30 (105)
bcks - 65 - 35 (100)
ngamer - 55 - 40 (95)
wheat - 60 - 30 (90)
drag - 65 - 0 (65)
thingy - 65 - 0 (65)
shep - 40 - 10 (50)

Basically nobody called any of the series' # of games right, but most people got 3/4 or 4/4 series right. Though most went as expected

octoinky · « **Reply #39 on:** May 17, 2009, 11:13:00 pm »

Round 3:

Lakers vs Nuggets
Cavs vs Magic

octoinky · « **Reply #40 on:** May 17, 2009, 11:16:00 pm »

I could win this competition by copying wiff's picks, but I'll be a man and start us off...

Lakers in 7
- I don't think they "blew it" against the Rockets - they won when they needed to. They'll figure out when to bring their A game against the Nuggets - and will do so - in more than 4 of the games. Should be enough to hold them off, even if it does take all 7 games.

Cavs in 5
- Magic might win a game somewhere. It wont be from luck, either, but if they win more than one it WILL be luck. The east is a pretty terrible league.

wishiwasfamous · « **Reply #41 on:** May 18, 2009, 02:52:00 am »

Cavalanche in 5
Miners in 6

Lovins · « **Reply #42 on:** May 18, 2009, 11:00:00 am »

Cavs in 5
Lakers in 7

.. · « **Reply #43 on:** May 18, 2009, 11:07:00 am »

Cavs in 4
Nuggets in 6

Ngamer · « **Reply #44 on:** May 18, 2009, 01:32:00 pm »

Ngamer Rocks His Way to the Finals

Lakers over Nuggets in 7 - A team that was less talented than yourselves BEFORE they lost their two best players... and you still allow them to force a game 7? Yeah, safe to say I have a pretty extreme lack of respect for this team's killer instinct. They probably take 3 at home and one on the road, but again fail to show up for 3 games to allow it to reach G7 again.

Cavs over Magic in 4 - I've doubted the Cavs twice and its cost me twice, so this time I'll back LeBron and crew 100%. I can't see the Magic making a series of this after they could barely close out a hobbled bunch of Cs that were shooting like 16% from the field. Only trouble now is I'm not sure if the Cavs will even be seriously tested in the Final!

Thiradell · « **Reply #45 on:** May 18, 2009, 11:32:00 pm »

Nuggets in 5
Cavaliers in 4

bcks · « **Reply #46 on:** May 20, 2009, 05:35:00 am »

Lakers lose to Nuggets in 7
Cavs lose to Magic in 7

SpiderWaffle · « **Reply #47 on:** May 20, 2009, 06:44:00 am »

oh man, wish I saw this sooner.

Cavs in 5
Nuggs in 6

Ngamer · « **Reply #48 on:** May 31, 2009, 02:22:00 am »

Message from Alec on his cell phone:

AlecBoy006 (10:11:16 PM): magic in 7. thanks

As for my own pick... have to think this over a little more!

Thiradell · « **Reply #49 on:** May 31, 2009, 12:27:00 pm »

Lakers in 6, Kobe Bryant MVP

News:

Author Topic: NBA Playoffs - Prediction Contest - FINALS begin Thursday (Read 1068 times)