# NBA/NHL Playoff Thread



## mikebarry (Apr 14, 2011)

Really exciting match up this year.

Love the Bruins fans booing PK. 

Lets go Rangers (and Knicks kinda....)


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 14, 2011)

Canadians are lucky to have won, 2-0 tonight, lucky Price was at the top of his game, they will have to play a lot better to win other games. But a win is a win. Tough crowd in Boston!


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## SergeD (Apr 14, 2011)

Series this year are gonna be terrific.


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## mikebarry (Apr 14, 2011)

My Picks First Round:


West:

NUCKS
DUCKS
YOTES
SHARKS

East:
BRUINS
BOLTS
RAGS
FLYERS


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## mikebarry (Apr 14, 2011)

Yes Gionta and Price won that game.

That being said the second Thomas goal was really weak.

I would be happy for the HABS to beat the bruins I just think the Bruins big guys will step up and will fatigue the injury prone habs, taking advantage of the injuries.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 15, 2011)

If the Bruins don't bring their physical game, it's over faster than you can say Kostytò 


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 17, 2011)

Yes, I've been rooting for the enemy for 37 years. There are Yankees fans in Boston, aren't there?

BTW, not making excuses, but half the Bruins are sick with the flu. That's why Chara was absent. A number of their water-bottles had players' numbers on them, and that only happens when there's a virus going around. Just sayin'.

PS: In all my years of humiliation at the hand of the Habs, I've never brought up any kind of excuses to explain my team's poor play. Chara's diarrhea was so bad he was going to dangerously dehydrate. I bet you Lucic is suffering from the same thing.


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## Ryan Scully (Apr 17, 2011)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Sun Apr 17 said:


> Yes, I've been rooting for the enemy for 37 years. There are Yankees fans in Boston, aren't there?



And there are most certainly many Sox fans in NY lol - Sorry, I know this is a Hockey/NBA thread but I had to throw a plug for my Yankees.



Ryan


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 17, 2011)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Sun Apr 17 said:


> BTW, not making excuses, but half the Bruins are sick with the flu.



Might be a better idea to call some back up players if it weakens the team that much. Habs have 6 players on the injury list, the relief is doing not too bad.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 17, 2011)

Claude Julien is not big on making quick changes... unfortunately. If the Habs finish off the Bs this week, bye-bye Julien.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 17, 2011)

Claude Julien is not big on making quick changes... unfortunately. If the Habs finish off the Bs this week, bye-bye Julien.

I hate to say it, but I keep thinking of Dryden and Roy when I see Price become invincible.


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 17, 2011)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Sun Apr 17 said:


> Claude Julien is not big on making quick changes... unfortunately. If the Habs finish off the Bs this week, bye-bye Julien.
> 
> I hate to say it, but I keep thinking of Dryden and Roy when I see Price become invincible.



That's the thing, when you have a wall in front of the net, it's almost impossible for the opponent team to win.


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## SergeD (Apr 17, 2011)

Capitals adopted the same defensive strategy this year which is to put 5 goalers in the front of the net. PK reminds me Larry Robinson, what a great player and also a great leader.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2011)

I went to the Lakers game today. :(


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## Ashermusic (Apr 17, 2011)

Lakers lose, Celtics win. What could be better?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 17, 2011)

You could trip and fall face down in a pile of mud while yelling "centrist" at the top of your lungs?


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 17, 2011)

I'm a Blazers fan. We played a great game against Dallas, really keeping them out of the paint. Too bad Jason Kidd hit six three pointers and had a 24-point night. (He averaged 7.9 ppg during the season.) 

On to game 2...


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 17, 2011)

BTW, here are some interesting Portland/Dallas stats:

Dallas had ZERO points in the paint in the second half.

They had EIGHT points off of FIELD GOALS in the fourth quarter.

The Blazers had 10 more personal fouls called.

The Blazers had 16 fewer free throw attempts.

Portland outrebounded Dallas, had 8 more assists than Dallas, made 8 more baskets than Dallas. 

As one poster at trailblazers.com put it, "0 freaking points in the paint in the entire second half for Dallas, and they get 16 more free throw attempts? What the hell is that?"

Apparently, it's called "home court advantage"...


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## Ashermusic (Apr 18, 2011)

JonFairhurst @ Sun Apr 17 said:


> BTW, here are some interesting Portland/Dallas stats:
> 
> Dallas had ZERO points in the paint in the second half.
> 
> ...



McMillan should be coach of the year. With the injuries to Oden, Roy, etc. the way the Blazers continue to compete is remarkable.


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## robh (Apr 18, 2011)

Ashermusic @ Sun Apr 17 said:


> Lakers lose, Celtics win. What could be better?


+1 !!!!

Rob


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 18, 2011)

Ashermusic @ Mon Apr 18 said:


> McMillan should be coach of the year. With the injuries to Oden, Roy, etc. the way the Blazers continue to compete is remarkable.



No doubt, he's a great coach - and/or has great assistants. Two years ago we were the youngest team in the league, and the team played nearly mistake free. We were among the best at preventing fast breaks. This year, Aldridge leads the league in finishing alley oops - by a wide margin. It all points to coaching great fundamentals and team play. That's kept us alive - and thriving - through the rash of injuries.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 18, 2011)

Anyone who is not a Lakers fan is wrong.


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## RiffWraith (Apr 18, 2011)

Hey - what happens in a Hockey game when a player gets, say, a 3:00 penalty with 2 min left in the period. Does the other min carry over to the beginning of the next period?


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## JT3_Jon (Apr 18, 2011)

RiffWraith @ Mon Apr 18 said:


> Hey - what happens in a Hockey game when a player gets, say, a 3:00 penalty with 2 min left in the period. Does the other min carry over to the beginning of the next period?



Yes, unless the team with the power play scores or the game ends.

P.S. GO KINGS (hockey...dont know if the basketball Kings are even in the playoffs...)


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## JonFairhurst (Apr 25, 2011)

And the Blazers overcame and 18-point 4th quarter deficit to win! 

It was only the third time in the shot-clock era that an NBA team came from 18+ down, entering a fourth quarter, and won a playoff game.


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## RiffWraith (Apr 26, 2011)

So I am watching the Boston/MTL game - what a check by Lucic - HOLY SHIT!!! :shock: 

But why are the Canadiens referred to as the 'Havs'? Is that a French nick, or something?


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 26, 2011)

RiffWraith @ Tue Apr 26 said:


> So I am watching the Boston/MTL game - what a check by Lucic - HOLY SHIT!!! :shock:
> 
> But why are the Canadiens referred to as the 'Havs'? Is that a French nick, or something?



They're not, they're referred as the "Habs"  

The name "Habs", from the French "Les Habitants", is now used by English speaking fans as a nickname for the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team; one of their many cheers is "Go Habs Go".

The "Habitants" were the first settlers or the early farmers of Quebec. 

The first man to refer to the team as "the Habs" was American Tex Rickard, owner of the Madison Square Garden, in 1924.

There you go.


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## RiffWraith (Apr 27, 2011)

There I go!

Thanks!


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## JJP (Apr 27, 2011)

Aw, my Blackhawks were eliminated in overtime last night. :(

Was really hoping the Hawks would come to Los Angeles for the second round, but the Kings were knocked out too!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 27, 2011)

The Lakers won last night and the Celtics are still from Boston.


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 27, 2011)

I'm afraid the Habs will have given everything in the 6th game and may be out energy tonight for the deciding game. But I hope I'll be wrong.


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## snowleopard (Apr 27, 2011)

I have to say, to me this is the most exciting Hockey I've seen since I was a boy. All the series are competitive (sans Washington), and teams have been unable to sit on leads. 

For years I loved the NBA, but now it sucks by comparison. Or just sucks. I'm not at all surprised by some of the referring. I still believe 99% of what Tim Donaghy said about favoritism altering the outcome of games on purpose to be true.


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## RiffWraith (Apr 27, 2011)

snowleopard @ Thu Apr 28 said:


> For years I loved the NBA, but now it sucks by comparison. Or just sucks.



The latter. :lol:


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## RiffWraith (Apr 27, 2011)

Ok - someone explain to me why, right before he drops the puck for a face-off, the ref keeps telling one of the players to take a hike?

I am thinking too much b.o., but maybe that's just me.... :?


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## RiffWraith (Apr 27, 2011)

OMG - _another_ OT??ò Ž   :¹ Ž   :Â Ž   :Âž Ž   :Æë


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## snowleopard (Apr 27, 2011)

Okay, after an awesome first round, we're finally down to eight teams (NHL, I'm completely ignoring the NBA). Who does everyone like? 

Vancouver (1) vs. Nashville (5)

Detroit (3) vs. San Jose (2)

Washington (1) vs. Tampa Bay (5)

Boston (3) vs. Philadelphia (2)


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## Polarity (Apr 28, 2011)

I'm a Lakers fan since I was a child, when italian tv broadcasted the spectacular challanges with Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird! :D


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## robh (Apr 28, 2011)

Polarity @ Thu Apr 28 said:


> I'm a Lakers fan . . .


Really. Someone needs to develop a cure for that.  

Rob


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 28, 2011)

Polarity, the difference between you and me is that I wasn't a child. 

(Never mind that I also became less interested in basketball when I met my wife in the late '80s...)


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## EastWest Lurker (Apr 28, 2011)

Polarity @ Thu Apr 28 said:


> I'm a Lakers fan since I was a child, when italian tv broadcasted the spectacular challanges with Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird! :D



Ahm, so that's where you took the wrong turn in the road :lol:


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## snowleopard (Apr 28, 2011)

Yeah, I honestly can't understand why anyone with a choice between watching the NHL and NBA would choose the NBA these days. Well, I guess if that's the only sport in your town, and your team is likely to win the championship every other year or so like the Lakers, but the NHL is just way more dramatic if you ask me. 

:?


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## robh (Apr 28, 2011)

I prefer watching NBA to NHL. It's because I play basketball. I don't play hockey. 
A bit of an OT rant here, but in my location I get three sports channels on cable TV, and sometimes there is fake wrestling on one, a poker tournament on the second, and another poker tournament on the third. POKER?!? Since when is poker a sport? OOOH! I get to watch people play cards! Surely there must be something better to include in the programming?

Rob


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## JT3_Jon (Apr 28, 2011)

snowleopard @ Wed Apr 27 said:


> Vancouver (1) vs. Nashville (5)
> 
> Detroit (3) vs. San Jose (2)
> 
> ...



I think the west is easy to pick. Detroit will slaughter SJ, and Vancouver should have no problem against Nash. 

East should be closer, but I like Washington over TB, and Boston edges Philly.

I guess I like teams on the left.


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## Ashermusic (Apr 28, 2011)

snowleopard @ Thu Apr 28 said:


> Yeah, I honestly can't understand why anyone with a choice between watching the NHL and NBA would choose the NBA these days. Well, I guess if that's the only sport in your town, and your team is likely to win the championship every other year or so like the Lakers, but the NHL is just way more dramatic if you ask me.
> 
> :?



Whaaattt? Basketball players are among the finest and best conditioned athletes in the world. They have to have more various kinds of athletic skills than any other sport. I grew up with the Celtics, Red Sox and Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins and rooted for all at the end of the day, for me basketball is king.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 30, 2011)

Huh, the Bruins are killing the Flyers. Nice.


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## wst3 (Apr 30, 2011)

Boston spanked Philly today - very disappointing, and it wasn't a case of the Flyers didn't show up, there were there, but they were out-played!


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## Guy Bacos (Apr 30, 2011)

Ashermusic @ Thu Apr 28 said:


> snowleopard @ Thu Apr 28 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah, I honestly can't understand why anyone with a choice between watching the NHL and NBA would choose the NBA these days. Well, I guess if that's the only sport in your town, and your team is likely to win the championship every other year or so like the Lakers, but the NHL is just way more dramatic if you ask me.
> ...



What I never liked about professional basketball is that if you're over 7 feet tall, you have 10 X more chances to make it in the NBA than if you're 6 feet tall, with equal abilities. i know there have been some great short players, but very few. As ridiculous as it sounds, the tall players should have the basket net higher for them.


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## snowleopard (May 1, 2011)

What was that about Detroit slaughtering SJ? :wink: 

Today's game 2 sure was exciting. Very tough hockey also. I won't be surprised if the series is 2-2 though after games 3&4 in Detroit. 

I listed before why I don't care for the NBA. Not enough parity, the same teams winning all the time, questionable refereeing, way too many stops at the end of the game, etc. Hockey by comparison has me on the edge of my seat almost all the time. 

I always joke that Golf isn't a sport, and I don't think it is. But poker? That REALLY isn't a sport.


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## Guy Bacos (May 4, 2011)

Bruins are about to take a 3-0 lead against Philadelphia. Wasn't this the exact same scenario of last year with the same team and the Bruins ended up loosing the series 3-4?


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## Ned Bouhalassa (May 4, 2011)

True, but this is a very different team with many new players!


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 4, 2011)

My only problem with hockey is that doesn't involve giant black men running up and down a court. But it's fun to watch once in a while.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (May 5, 2011)

My only problem with basketball is that it's too slow.


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## robh (May 5, 2011)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Thu May 05 said:


> My only problem with basketball is that it's too slow.


Poker is slower.

Rob


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## JonFairhurst (May 5, 2011)

Go Winterhawks!

http://www.winterhawks.com/


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## Guy Bacos (May 5, 2011)

BTW Ned, I thought we had a deal!



Ned Bouhalassa @ Tue Apr 12 said:


> Ça, mon homme, c'est de la grande classe - bravo! Your reward? I'll give your Habs two games, at the Bell Centre. :lol:


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## germancomponist (May 5, 2011)

Guy, you new avatar is cool!


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 5, 2011)

> My only problem with basketball is that it's too slow.



Hello? Record it and watch it at 2x speed!

Don't you Canadians know anything?!


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## Guy Bacos (May 5, 2011)

I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters last year, floor seats. THEM, I found entertaining!


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## Ned Bouhalassa (May 5, 2011)

And often, when the Bruins play the CH, I feel like my team is the Washington Generals!


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## snowleopard (May 6, 2011)

Guy Bacos @ Thu May 05 said:


> I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters last year, floor seats. THEM, I found entertaining!


One of the perks of working in TV is that I actually got to meet and shake hands with Medowlark Lemon last year.

Now, after trashing the NBA for a lack of parity or drama, the normally hapless Mavericks are now up 3-0 on the LA Lakers. Still time for them to cave I suppose, though no one in NBA history has ever come back from being down 0-3.


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## snowleopard (May 8, 2011)

Wow! What a monumental collapse by the Lakers. Total meltdown.


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## robh (May 9, 2011)

snowleopard @ Sun May 08 said:


> Wow! What a monumental collapse by the Lakers. Total meltdown.


I cried tears of joy! (Not really, I just said that to bug Nick.)  

Rob


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 9, 2011)

You're not bugging me. I sort of felt this coming after they gave away the first game.

And Bynum almost makes me not a Lakers fan anymore. He deserves a medal for bravery - the biggest guy on the court sucker punches the smallest guy on the court while he's flying through the air in a vulnerable position.


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## Polarity (May 9, 2011)

I'm a Lakers fan since I was a teenager...
but I say that the foul by Bynum was a real shame!!
Why doing something like that? :roll: 

Lakers lost 0-4.
Well amen. They have won the last two years!
Disappointed how they lost but sure I won't cry...
The day before my city team has just won italian soccer championship!!  
So I'm happy the same. :mrgreen:


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## JonFairhurst (May 9, 2011)

Who cares about the Lakers. The Portland Winterhawks are 1-1 against the Kootenay Ice in the WHL finals. Can Portland win the cup!?

http://www.winterhawks.com/article/hawk ... -win/98439


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## mikebarry (May 13, 2011)

NY Ranger Derek Boogard found dead @ 28.

Very sad.


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## snowleopard (May 13, 2011)

Well, the Portland Winterhawks lost the WHL championship. Congrats to the Kootenay Ice for winning, and pulling out some very close games. I believe Kootenay is the smallest market in all of junior hockey. So what a great win for them. 

I believe both teams will go to the Memorial Cup though. Portland won the 1992 Memorial Cup after losing the WHL Championship to Lethbridge, so who knows.


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## JonFairhurst (May 14, 2011)

Dang.

Oh well. Congrats to the Ice of Northern Idaho from us here in Southern Alaska.


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## Guy Bacos (May 14, 2011)

Finland vs. Russia 1:0 with awesome finnish

This is the prettiest goal I've even seen! Watch it in slow motion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTMwB_utAQE&feature=


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## PasiP (May 14, 2011)

Mikael Granlund is our next superstar for ice hockey. That is one amazing goal indeed. I posted it into Choco's 'Cool Links Thread' before cause I didn't want to hog this thread but thanks for posting this here too Guy.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jun 20, 2011)

I just had to share Charazilla with you. I don't know who the artist is, as this was passed on to me.









Original size: http://i.imgur.com/DwlVx.jpg


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## Guy Bacos (Jun 20, 2011)

Just to talk about hockey in general for a minute. I miss the days of having a power house team, a dynasty, the team to beat, the team with the highest scorers, the team everybody feared. Ok, today the way it is, any of the top 16 teams could win the cup if they play a hell of a series and this is great for business and the fans. But I hate it that way, I enjoyed hockey much more in the era of the dynasties of the Oilers, Islanders, Canadians, Flyers. This isn't possible anymore with the way the system is now. Teams that win the cup one year sometimes don't even make the playoffs the next year. But at least Ned is happy. :wink: Having said that, i'm glad the Bruins won the cup this year, they waited a long time!


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