Since FF and I have a bet, maybe you can set up a bet with OKC involving the Mavs?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Ill take the bulls over the Cavs with +20 a game. Any takers?

Oh, I'll definitely be okay for a gathering because the Spurs will have been long eliminated from the playoffs by the time the WCF rolls around.

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Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

I doubt it. You might be right. The Mavs might have a chance though. I felt their odds went up considerably when Golden State was elminated from playoff contention.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

awesome

No King .no watch, how am I ever to learn the Crab dribble if this mo'fo never plays

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

according to my buds out in portland, the blazers got hosed by the refs in the mavs game a few nights ago.

when i went to the cavs game last week and saw Bavetta was there, I knew it would be close

how about the Thunder losing to the Warriors last night and b/c of tiebreakers, falls to 8th in the West

A Thunder-Lakers 1st round matchup???? not saying the Thunder would win at all, but I don't think the Lakers want that at all

thunder/lakers could be a very entertaining series. could go 7 games.

Thunder/anyone is going to be an interesting series
just don't think they can beat the Lakers. Jazz, Blazers, Nuggets...I'd give them a strong chance

They just need one more big body. One thing that might make the Lakers happy though is I think this is a good team to easy Bynum back in. They really dont have anyone that can bang him up inside. The Lakers length I would think would just be too much. Then again, Westbrook could very well average 25-12-8 this series.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

yeah he would destroy Fisher, Farmar, etc.

I read this morning that Brandon Roy is now likely out for the rest of the season.

Does Nate McMillan win coach of the year? With all the injuries they had this year, the team still wins 50 games and makes the playoffs in the west. Pretty good job.

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true, but they did have Roy all year for the most part. Without him in the playoffs? 1st round exit

I've also read that he can't do further injury by playing so he may try and gut it out. I wouldn't be surprised if he does play - maybe they concede Game 1, which would give him over a week to get some comfort in being able to practice with the injury...perhaps they make him a 6th man so that they aren't overly depending on him.

Either way, this sucks, Portland as a #7 or #8 seed, with a healthy Roy, would have been dangerous.

From Rotoworld:

News: Brandon Roy (bruised knee, torn meniscus) says the team is "pretty confident" that he won't risk further damage if he does return for the playoffs. He will rest and ice his knee until Friday or Saturday, when he'll work out and decide whether he can manage the pain.
Impact: Roy will need surgery eventually -- it's the same procedure he had on his left knee two years ago, and he said there is a four-to-six week recovery. Rudy Fernandez and Martell Webster will assume most of Roy's minutes, if not his production.

in any case, it's not good

Yeah that's a terrible blow. It sucks seeing stars get hurt right before the playoffs. How about Camby and the Blazers performance regardless last night against the Thunder?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Don't get used to him scoring 30 points in a game. He's still a very useful player with his shot blocking and rebounding though.

I wouldnt get used to it, but he can score when called upon.

Also gotta love Andre Miller's performance against Westbrook. They'll make a series of it in the first round against somebody.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

They're be competitive without Roy, or a limited Roy, but they aren't going to win more than 1 game without Roy at full strength. He was their difference maker - Aldridge, Camby, Miller, etc. are a competitive roster, but Roy puts that team into the next level of teams.

Check out Hollinger's piece today. They've beaten some damn good teams after all these injuries. They'll take the 3-4 games in Portland against the Jazz/Mavs IMO.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

If they're facing the Mavs in the 1st round, i'll still take the Blazers minus Roy

I wouldn't disagree against the Jazz. Utah still seems to me to be a very good regular season team, but as good as Carlos Boozer has been during the season, I think he comes up short in helping Deron Williams in getting past other top teams in the West. They will win a round, maybe two, so they are a very good team, just not a Championship level team.

the nuggets have been somewhat disappointing in the post season too. so have the suns. they're not "built" for the playoffs.

Looks like Kobe has lost 2 to 3 steps since December.

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Suns are an entertaining team, but I think a team that plays some level of defense will be able to take them out.

Denver hasn't taken a step forward. They were close last season, gave the Lakers a run, but I think they are a big man short. Nene and Martin are ok players, but with Anthony and Billups, this team might be able to take the Lakers if they had a guy down low who could create on offense.

Yeah if he cant fix his shot they are in "losing in the first round" type of trouble. The West really is wide open this year. I'm pretty sure the Cavs or Magic win it all.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Even though the Western Playoffs in particular should have some entertaining series, there's probably a 75% chance (that may be low, but the Lakers have been struggling for awhile, and have had injury concerns) that the Lakers will come out of the West, and probably a 99.99% chance that Cleveland or Orlando win the East with the Cavs the favorite to come out of that conference.