megamanmaniac : What about the detroit pistons there close to the playoffs and also brodan jennings is killing them there on a 3 game winnig streak

I hate my team so much. They are playing as well without Rose as they were WITH him.

I mean I should have seen it coming after watching the last couple years... but what's the point of winning right now? We won't go far in the playoffs, and by playing well we get a crap pick.

Just lose dammit.

I enjoyed All-Star weekend. Gave me something to look forward to since my team wasn't doing well.

Gamelife :

Everything was ok.

Except the Slam Dunk Contest. That was stupid as all hell.

legacyme3 : Yeah that was the worst one I've ever seen to be honest.

Spam. I'm sorry.

   Not really a sports guy, but I think the Pistons made a horrible decision to not make a trade at the deadline. We aren't good enough to make a playoff run of any kind, and aren't really at the point where we can go for the lottery pick. But the GM decided to go for neither scenario. Smith (I think that's who it is) is costing us a ton of money over the next few years, and he hasn't produced enough. Apparently, it was rumored we would trade him, but we wanted more, when really, we should have taken any deal. So now, here we are at 9, and will most likely stay.

Yay the Hawks finally won once affter an eight - game losing streak. I do not even know how they could go eight straight games without a single win. The Hawks may not even make the playoffs o:

I think they can improve with their gameplan, so I have full confidence with them.

This is crazy. You know teams are seriously tanking when the toronto raptors are sitting in 3rd place in their conference. The raptors are a 7th or 8th rank team at best, but I feel like teams are tanking this season because the draft is supposed to be pretty stacked this season. I find it funny that the one year the raptors perhaps may want to play poorly to grab a solid player in the draft, and instead they give their fanbase false hope for the future by having a playoff worthy season. I feel like next season or the year after, the raptors will go back to being a stinky team that scraps it out for the last 2 playoff spots.

bobq : The Raptors are not as bad as you think. They got rid of Rudy Gay, which was a big relief, because DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry's offensive capabilities picked up without him. Furthermore, the depth of their bench improved greatly because of the Gay and Bargnani trades. I will admit that Toronto is a surprise team this season, but they definitely fought for their 3rd seed this year, despite the East being at a historically low point. Toronto could've easily been one of the low East teams, but they made smart moves and are now hanging on to the Atlantic Division and are very close to winning it.

As for the future, I doubt that Toronto will all of a sudden become a crap team after finishing so well this season. They have offensive talent and youth in Lowry and DeEozan, and by acquiring some good free agents, especially in 2015, the Raptors could potentially become a serious title contender.

The eight playoff teams are now set. Memphis beat Phoenix, which means that the 16 playoff teams are locked. All there is to fight for now is favorable playoff positioning. Of course...in the East...we know which 2 teams are probably going to get to the Cobference Finals.

Well, the Knicks have barely missed the Playoffs this year. Out by just 1 game, but I would say they still had a good season considering how bad they had performed for most of the season.

Memphis just had one of the most embarrassing first half postseason performances I have ever seen. They are trailing against the thunder big in the first half, and they look nothing like the previous three home teams that grabbed the win earlier in the day to take a 1-0 series lead. Lets take a look a three of their many major flaws in the first half.

1) HORRIBLE FREE THROW SHOOTING - This team was horrendous at the free throw line. They missed 12 of 20 attempts in the first half and missed 6 (I believe. I'm not 100% sure) in a row. Their inability to score points from the easiest shot in the game is really hurting their lead, and if they were able to hit some free throws, they would be in the big hole they are currently in.

2) THEY CANNOT SCORE OUTSIDE OF THE PAINT - This team did absolutely horrible outside of the paint. They couldn't have been worse if they tried. Their only shot outside if the paint in the first half was a three pointer with literally 2 seconds remaining in the first half (unless you want to count free throws, which was in itself disgraceful to watch). There's no question that their inability to score outside of the paint is a huge blow to both their morale and their chances of winning.

3) AWFUL DEFENSE - Their defense is pretty nonexistent. Looking at some of the looks that Durant and Westbrook have gotten, you would think that D-League players would play better defense. Their defensive ability did not show up, and they're looking as bad as the Bucks have for a majority of the season.

All in all, Memphis has not shown a lot of spirit, and their lackadaisical defense paired with poor free throw shooting and horrid shooting is going to cost thiscte big unless they step it up. With the way they're playing right now, it doesn't look like they're going to go very far.

A lot of the road guys have had good luck in the first game of each series. If not for the Thunder, the road team would have won all the Game 1's the first day. The home team had better luck except for Wizards beating the Bulls.

Really disappointed in the Bulls. That was a very winnable game, and they flopped on their face. The Wizards are good, but they shouldn't be scoring 100+ points against the Bulls.

Augustin needs to get his act together. He played great this season, but 3 of 15 shooting is not enough in a playoff game. If not for his perfect 10 for 10 from the FT line, I'd have to put the loss solely on his shoulders.

However, the blame has to go to Hinrich for getting into foul trouble, and though it pains me to say, Joakim Noah for so many reasons.

He had trouble holding onto the ball, his defense was not as good as usual, he didn't take nearly enough shots, and he just didn't feel like he tried to assert himself in this game.

The Bulls cannot win without Joakim Noah playing how he has all year.

He won't win the MVP because of LeBron and KD, but Noah played like one this season, and he's one of the main reasons they are even in this position.

I still think the Bulls win this series, but he needs to get active, get physical, and play basketball.

-----

How about this Rockets/Trailblazers game though? Intense basketball, even if both sides seem to be giving the ball away a lot (especially the Trailblazers in the 2nd half)

They are in Overtime. Tied at 114 a piece.

Azul Fria :

Yeah, and it's been a crazy game, I still think the Trailblazers steal this game, but it really could go either way.

I hope that happens too. I love the Trailblazers. (not as much as the Bulls or Thunder, though)

EDIT - Scratch that, Aldridge just did an absolutely boneheaded thing and fouled out.

EDIT 2 - Or they can tag Dwight Howard with a ridiculous foul. That works too.

Incredible game between the Trailblazers and the Rockets. Going to be a fun as hell series.

Watching game 2 of the Grizzlies and Thunder. Hopefully OKC can sweep Memphis this first round. They don't stand a chance.

Famous : I wouldn't say that they don't stand a chance. Memphis is a very physical team that can pound the offensive glass and get second chance shots, especially when in the Grindhouse. They're going to give the Thunder a good challenge. The Thunder are probably going to win, but I could easily see a 6 or 7 game series between these two teams.

megamanmaniac : Well lets hope so, because we have Russell Westbrook this time, so last year they were lucky.