Round 1 West Spurs-Get the broom out Mavs-Too many weapons for Jazz to handle Kings-This could go either way, Kings have no one to stop Marion Lakers-Blazers are overpaid as well as overrated Round 1 East 76ers-Pacers have no one to stop Iverson (who does) Knicks-Homecourt advantage is HUGE for the Knicks Heat-Hornets will be lucky to win 1 game Magic-Gotta love the job Doc Rivers is doing. Karl not a good coach. Round 2 West Spurs-Very good series with Mavs Lakers-Too much for Kings to handle Round 2 East 76ers-Too much Iverson Heat-Keep on rollin Round 3 West Spurs-Duncan, Robinson too much for Shaq Round 3 East Heat-Zo, Mason, Grant dominate the boards. No rebounds=no shots for Iverson Finals Spurs-Been there done that. ------------------ "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."- (Aldous Huxley)
San Antone will NOT sweep the first round. KG is a stud, you said it yourself. he will steel one game from the Spurs(sure they have championship written all over them, but I am sure the Wolves will get one win. NY in 4, or 5 over Toronto seriously, they WILL WIN. the Knicks NEVER sweep series, but they also NEVER loose in the first round. a verry good well rounded playoff experienced team. the Raptiors are VC + crap= a couple of highlights and maybe a win or two. also Philly WILL lose a game or 2 ot the pacers. they are hot right now, and the pacers are sooo experienced as well. the Bucks will rock the Magic Miami will sweep. barring injuries the other west gamers i think you ahve pretty well. I would probably have the Jazz losing though. but Mavs lack of experience makes that merely a gut feeling, and not based on actual facts. good luck SAN ANTONE frome west Miami/Philly from east ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball www.hanta-force.com
After a long, arduous season, the fish come out on top, baby! I attribute my success to: (i) Having a stud like Kevin Garnett to carry the team all through the year. (ii) My three-pronged point guard attack (Bibby, Rose, Cassell). (iii) An early-season trade for Sprewell. (iv) Getting Brad Miller off waivers. (v) Steady, dependable production from Ray Allen. I have to say, this has been the funnest fantasy basketball league I have ever been in. Looking forward to doing it again next year. Now I get to compete for TVs and stuff in the playoff game. You are all highly knowledgeable about basketball, so I would like to hear your opinions of who will go all the way. Sort of like a group brain trust to predict the winners. I have until Saturday to make the picks, and here is how I see them happening as of right now. The number of games is just as important as who wins each round. <u>Round 1 - West</u> San Antonio & Minnesota San Antonio - in 3 games. Minnesota will put up a fight and the games will be close, but there is no doubt in my mind that San Antonio will Sweep Minnesota. Utah & Dallas Utah - in 5 games. This will be a hell of a series, and I think it will come down the last play of the final game (Like Utah-Sac last year). In the end, however, the Jazz should scrape by. Sacramento & Phoenix Sacramento - in 4 games. Phoenix could be dangerous in the playoffs, but I think Sacramento will handle them fairly easily. They should win one game, but overall they have no answer for C-Webb. Los Angeles & Portland Los Angeles - in 4 games. I think there is a very good chance that LA will sweep Portland, but the Blazers should be good enough to win one game. LA is hot right now, and Portland is having team chemistry (and injury) problems. <u>Round 1 - East</u> Philadelphia & Indiana Philadelphia - in 3 games. Reggie Miller comes alive in the playoffs, but so does Allen Iverson. Don't get me wrong, I think Indiana has a great young team, but I don't think they can get by Philly. The 76ers have done very well in recent playoff history, and should continue to do so this year. Then again, Indiana went all the way to the finals last year, so they could be dangerous. Maybe Philly in 4 or 5 instead of a sweep?? What do you think? New York & Toronto Toronto - in 5 games. This is by far the toughest matchup to predict in the 2001 playoffs. Both teams are so similar, and they both had a great first round battle last season. It's hard to go against the Knicks.. the team is custom made for the playoffs, but Toronto has been looking very good lately. Tough guys like Jerome Williams, Antonio Davis and Charles Oakley should make the difference in this series with their rebounding. It should be an ugly, defense-oriented series, and I think Toronto will pull off an upset and come out on top. It could just as easily be the Knicks, though. Mark Jackson could be the difference. I would like your help with this matchup more than any other. Please respond. Miami & Charlotte Miami - in 3 games. The Heat should sweep the Hornets fairly easily. Alonzo and Jones are back, and Miami is clicking on all cylinders lately. How did Charlotte even make the playoffs anyway? Milwaukee & Orlando Milwaukee - in 4 games. Tracy McGrady is damn good, but Milwaukee's high-powered offense should overwhelm the Magic. I pick Orlando to win one game, but it could easily be a sweep for the Bucks. What do you think? Does T-Mac have it in him to win one game? <u>Round 2 - West</u> San Antonio & Utah San Antonio - in 5 games. The Spurs, in my opinion, match up very well against Utah. I can see the Jazz winning game 4 to avoid getting swept, but the Spurs should cruise over them fairly easily. Have fun at the golf course, Karl! Sacramento & Los Angeles Los Angeles - in 7 games. I want Sacramento to win.. I really do. But, I realistically don't see how they can beat the defending champions. Nevertheless, they will make it an exciting series which should go 7 games, with LA winning decisively in the 7th by 10+ points. Sac's strong playoff run will make Webber think about staying in Sacramento, but he will end up leaving anyway (for Orlando). I could be wrong about it going 7 games, though. Do you think maybe LA will win in 5 or 6 instead? <u>Round 2 - East</u> Philadelphia & Toronto Philadelphia - in 6 games. This part of the bracket is so hard to predict. I don't have much faith in Mutombo, especially in a playoff situation, but I still think Philly has enough front-court muscle to be able to hang with the Raptors. Iverson .vs. Carter should be a joy to watch but in the end, Iverson's grit will overcome Carter's flash and the 76ers will advance. Miami & Milwaukee Miami - in 5 games. I really like Miami's chances. Milwaukee is a good team, but can they get past Riley's defense? In the end, I basically don't see how Milwaukee can contend with the Miami big men. Alonzo, Mason and Brian Grant should tear it up inside, seriously taking advantage of Milwaukee's lack of an interior defensive presence. I can see Mourning exploding for a series of back-to-back 20+ pt, 10+ reb games in this series. In defense .vs. offense, defense almost always wins in the playoffs. <u>Round 3 - West</u> San Antonio & Los Angeles Los Angeles - in 7 games. This is where it gets tough. San Antonio has looked totally awesome in the final games of the season, but so has LA! Duncan will always be solid, but a great deal of San Antonio's success has been because of some stellar play by David Robinson. This late in the playoffs, though, I don't think Robinson will be as effective and Shaq should be able to dominate. Also, do the Spurs have an answer for Kobe? Derek Anderson isn't much of a defensive stopper, and I can see Kobe torching the SA defense. Don't get me wrong, the Spurs have a very good chance of winning, but unfortunately, I am predicting a return to the NBA finals for LA. <u>Round 3 - East</u> Philadelphia & Miami Philadelphia - in 6 games. A very, very difficult match up to predict. I honestly have no rock solid answer for this series. Mutumbo .vs. Mourning should be a war. The one problem with the Heat, though, is that Miami has no real defensive answer for Iverson. Allen would tear apart Tim Hardaway. Bowen might have more success containing Iverson, but he would still get blown away pretty badly. The question is, how will Philly deal with Mason, Jones and Brian Grant.. do they have enough front court muscle to contain this three-headed monster? In my opinion, yes. Philadelphia, in the end, will stop Miami's impressive playoff run and go all the way to the finals, even with Mutumbo. <u>NBA Finals</u> Philadelpha & Los Angeles Los Angeles - in 6 games. How long has it been since the NBA finals have gone to 7 games? It's been a while, hasn't it? As much as I hate that b*stard Kobe, I think LA will beat the 76ers. Although in my opinion, Philly matches up very well against LA, the Lakers should come through in the end with the victory, securing back to back championships. Mutumbo has handled Shaq pretty well in the past, but I just don't have much playoff faith in Dikembe. Well, that's my analysis. I think I will post it on the main board in the playoff picks thread as well. I would love to hear your opinion on what I have written, especially if you disagree. So respond already! I want to win the TV!! ------------------ My dream job is to be a Houston Rockets towel boy. [This message has been edited by fadeaway (edited April 19, 2001).]
