Shaq might not play in first playoff game..is the East even going to be a challenge?

[cardsunsfan]

As I look at the East, I'm not sure if they are going to be even that tough if either the Heat or the Pistons make it the finals. Now Miami might have to play the Nets in the first round who are playing much better now with Carter and will possibly be getting Jefferson back for the playoffs...

I think Detroit's championship was a fluke last yr. I think the Lakers were getting worse and worse throughout the playoffs with all the internal turmoil. To me it didn't even look like they cared in the end. I think another Western team would have beaten the Pistons if they had self destructed a little bit earlier than they did.

 

[Amare32]

Shaq will play in game 1

his injury isn't serious and how was the pistons title a fluke? how can it be a fluke when they have won 50+ games for the last 4 years and their record with sheed last year was amazing. They had been to the conference finals and the semis the year before. What would you call a fluke? not winning the championship year after year? give me a break..... They still have an amazing defense and frontline. I seriously don't know how you can even say this....crazy

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I wonder if RJ is going to play if the Nets get in?

 

[cardsunsfan]

Shaq will play in game 1

his injury isn't serious and how was the pistons title a fluke? how can it be a fluke when they have won 50+ games for the last 4 years and their record with sheed last year was amazing. They had been to the conference finals and the semis the year before. What would you call a fluke? not winning the championship year after year? give me a break..... They still have an amazing defense and frontline. I seriously don't know how you can even say this....crazy

Yes I think it was a fluke..They had the fifth best record this yr, the sixth best record last yr and the firth best record the yr before and they were in the very weak East. I wouldn't say the fifth best record being in a weaker conference isn't a fluke when you win it all.

 

[SweetD]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2041573


Not sure if he will play in the first game...

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said on Tuesday that his thigh still has swelling, and he won't know his playoff status until the game draws nearer.

[size=-2][/size][size=-1]Shaquille O'Neal[/size]
[size=-2]Center
Miami Heat[/size]

You must be registered for see images attach

[size=-2]Profile
[/size][size=-2][/size]2004-2005 SEASON STATISTICS[size=-2]GM[/size][size=-2]PPG[/size][size=-2]RPG[/size][size=-2]APG[/size][size=-2]FG%[/size][size=-2]FT%[/size][size=-2]73[/size][size=-2]22.9[/size][size=-2]10.4[/size][size=-2]2.7[/size][size=-2].601[/size][size=-2].461[/size]

"I really can't bend it," O'Neal told The Miami Herald of his right leg. "It's pretty swollen. I've been doing double, triple treatments. Right now, I just have to see how it goes. If I can bend it, if I can run and jump, then I'll be ready to go."

O'Neal isn't worried about needing a large amount of preparation for Sunday's playoff opener, saying he just needs a little work on Saturday to get ready.

"The playoff season is a different season," O'Neal told the paper. "You have to be mentally and physically ready. I just want to be 95 percent physically ready to go.

"Even though it's been a strange two, three weeks for me, I've been in bed, I've been getting a lot of rest. I've been getting a lot of physical rest and a lot of mental rest. People know usually when I get a lot of rest, I usually come out and do work. I know how to turn the bad into good always."

O'Neal, who didn't participate in the team's shootaround Tuesday morning, suffered the injury in Sunday's 84-80 win over Indiana. He was kneed by Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal while defending a drive to the basket, and left just before halftime.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

[Amare32]

Yes I think it was a fluke..They had the fifth best record this yr, the sixth best record last yr and the firth best record the yr before and they were in the very weak East. I wouldn't say the fifth best record being in a weaker conference isn't a fluke when you win it all.

The Pistons turn it on and off as they please which they have done this year. They are built for the playoffs and their game is more suited to that kind of style. No championship team is a fluke. They didn't have sheed for the full year last season and this year have had injures plus suspensions that have effected them. You can't tell me that hasn't effected their overall record..they always start slow and turn it on. Regular season records doesn't show how good they are..they have had players miss games and had larry brown gone for over 10 games and still will end up winning 55 games..that is no fluke team..thats a championship team.

 

[cardsunsfan]

The Pistons turn it on and off as they please which they have done this year. They are built for the playoffs and their game is more suited to that kind of style. No championship team is a fluke. They didn't have sheed for the full year last season and this year have had injures plus suspensions that have effected them. You can't tell me that hasn't effected their overall record..they always start slow and turn it on. Regular season records doesn't show how good they are..they have had players miss games and had larry brown gone for over 10 games and still will end up winning 55 games..that is no fluke team..thats a championship team.

There have been several teams who have won over 50 games over the past several yrs.. You don't think if you put the Spurs, Mavs, Sonics, Suns in that conference they wouldn't have gotten a much better record than them..and they all had injuries too and went hot and cold... I still say that if the Lakers weren't self destructing when they played Detroit they would have won. I also think several teams in the west could have beaten them, especially the Spurs...

 

[Cheesebeef]

There have been several teams who have won over 50 games over the past several yrs.. You don't think if you put the Spurs, Mavs, Sonics, Suns in that conference they wouldn't have gotten a much better record than them..and they all had injuries too and went hot and cold... I still say that if the Lakers weren't self destructing when they played Detroit they would have won. I also think several teams in the west could have beaten them, especially the Spurs...

that's a joke. No one was talking about the Lakers "self-destructing" as they beat SA and then kicked the crap out of Minnesota. They ran into a buzzsaw and got their asses kicked - plain and simple. You act is the Lakers stuff was all brand new and hadn't been going on all season.

 

[cardsunsfan]

that's a joke. No one was talking about the Lakers "self-destructing" as they beat SA and then kicked the crap out of Minnesota. They ran into a buzzsaw and got their asses kicked - plain and simple. You act is the Lakers stuff was all brand new and hadn't been going on all season.

It just got worse and worse, they looked like lethargic crap in the finals. They didn't even look like they gave a damn... and yes I think the Spurs would have played better than the Lakers did in the final...hell I actually think the Spurs would have beaten the Lakers in the Finals if the situations had been reversed...

 

[Amare32]

the pistons amazing defense made they look even worse..has nothing to do with anything else.

the Pistons were the best team last year..plain and simple.

 

[cardsunsfan]

the pistons amazing defense made they look even worse..has nothing to do with anything else.

the Pistons were the best team last year..plain and simple.

Ok, well they should be even better this yr.. I guess we'll see won't we?

 

[cardsunsfan]

the pistons amazing defense made they look even worse..has nothing to do with anything else.

the Pistons were the best team last year..plain and simple.

Also when the Lakers lost a couple games to the Pistons it looked like they just gave up and didn't care anymore. I don't think they gave maximum effort. Am I the only one who thinks this?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Also when the Lakers lost a couple games to the Pistons it looked like they just gave up and didn't care anymore. I don't think they gave maximum effort. Am I the only one who thinks this?

I think the Lakers will to win was just CRUSHED by the Pistons D - THEY CAME OUT IN EVERY GAME FIRED UP - CLOSE INT HE FIRST AND THEN REALZIED - OH CRAP - THESE GUYS AREN'T JUST GONNA ROLL OVER AND DIE like the weak ass punks in Minnesota or the choke artists in SA. It was the classic case of a bully being punched in the mouth and not knowing how to respond so they tucked their tails between their legs and took a beating - like the Losers they were.

(sorry for the caps - didn't realize they were on earlier).

 

[cardsunsfan]

I think the Lakers will to win was just CRUSHED by the Pistons D - THEY CAME OUT IN EVERY GAME FIRED UP - CLOSE INT HE FIRST AND THEN REALZIED - OH CRAP - THESE GUYS AREN'T JUST GONNA ROLL OVER AND DIE like the weak ass punks in Minnesota or the choke artists in SA. It was the classic case of a bully being punched in the mouth and not knowing how to respond so they tucked their tails between their legs and took a beating - like the Losers they were.

(sorry for the caps - didn't realize they were on earlier).

Well I agree with that point... remember the Bucks won as many games as the Lakers did against Detroit in the playoffs... The Pacers won twice as much and New Jersey won three times as much...

I can't believe that the Lakers were three times worse than the Nets..twice as bad as the Pacers..and equal to the Bucks.. Just doesn't add up for me...

 

[Amare32]

In that series you mentioned the Pistons had injury problems with billups, rasheed wallace and ben wallace and weren't really 100% until the finals. Mainly sheed

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Also when the Lakers lost a couple games to the Pistons it looked like they just gave up and didn't care anymore. I don't think they gave maximum effort. Am I the only one who thinks this?

that may be the case, but it was definitely b/c of the pistons ability to demoralize them. give the pistons credit, last year was no fluke. they were the best team in the nba when it counted most. the fact that they've won 50 games both before and after their championship negates the "fluke" theory. i think too many people are accustomed to the same team winning it over and over again (see celtics, lakers, pistons, bulls, rockets, bulls, lakers, and spurs), but before those runs teams routinely won a single championship without returning to the finals and they weren't considered "flukes".

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well I agree with that point... remember the Bucks won as many games as the Lakers did against Detroit in the playoffs... The Pacers won twice as much and New Jersey won three times as much...

I can't believe that the Lakers were three times worse than the Nets..twice as bad as the Pacers..and equal to the Bucks.. Just doesn't add up for me...

it does to me. That Laker team WASN'T THAT GOOD. The West - for all it's pomp and cirumstance WASN'T THAT GOOD LAST YEAR. I mean come on - The T-Wolves as the top seed - the T-WOVLES?! The team that previous to last year could NEVER get out of the first round and this year is out of the playoffs? And the Spurs - have ALWAYS been a choke team - their titles were won in a lockout year and a year where the Lakers absolutely sucked.

Meanwhile - the best record in the entire league last year was the Pacers - 61 wins - pretty damn impressive and the Pistons knocked them around - without homecourt and then went on an kicked the crap out of the Lakers - without Homecourt.

They were a team that could win on the road - against the Lakers - where no one thought they had a chance. They were the better team plain and simple. They matched up well with the Lakers and took advantage. You do realize they kicked the crap out of the Lakers in Auburn Hills when the Lakers were completely healthy and rolling on all cylinders at the beginning of last season also, right?

 

[cardsunsfan]

it does to me. That Laker team WASN'T THAT GOOD. The West - for all it's pomp and cirumstance WASN'T THAT GOOD LAST YEAR. I mean come on - The T-Wolves as the top seed - the T-WOVLES?! The team that previous to last year could NEVER get out of the first round and this year is out of the playoffs? And the Spurs - have ALWAYS been a choke team - their titles were won in a lockout year and a year where the Lakers absolutely sucked.

Meanwhile - the best record in the entire league last year was the Pacers - 61 wins - pretty damn impressive and the Pistons knocked them around - without homecourt and then went on an kicked the crap out of the Lakers - without Homecourt.

They were a team that could win on the road - against the Lakers - where no one thought they had a chance. They were the better team plain and simple. They matched up well with the Lakers and took advantage. You do realize they kicked the crap out of the Lakers in Auburn Hills when the Lakers were completely healthy and rolling on all cylinders at the beginning of last season also, right?

I don't know...it sure seemed like the West crushed the East for most of that yr...

 

[elindholm]

I mean come on - The T-Wolves as the top seed - the T-WOVLES?! The team that previous to last year could NEVER get out of the first round and this year is out of the playoffs?

Given the West's current #1 seed, what does that say about this year?

 

[cardsunsfan]

I mean come on - The T-Wolves as the top seed - the T-WOVLES?! The team that previous to last year could NEVER get out of the first round and this year is out of the playoffs?

Given the West's current #1 seed, what does that say about this year?

we were debating before last yr if Minnesota would be the team to beat..everybody thought their additions were huge...people just didn't predict how much those players were headcases... If those guys had the hearts and brains of lets say...Duncan or Jordan they would be one of the best teams...

 

[elindholm]

we were debating before last yr if Minnesota would be the team to beat..everybody thought their additions were huge

Sure, I'm just saying that it's a question of perspective. You can bet that, a year ago, Wolves fans were dreaming about a title and bitching about how they weren't getting the right kind of "respect" from media analysts who preferred the Lakers or Spurs. Now it's the Suns that are in the Wolves' spot. If the Suns don't make the Finals and someone like San Antonio goes in and loses to the Heat, will that prove the whole West was weak? I don't think so.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I mean come on - The T-Wolves as the top seed - the T-WOVLES?! The team that previous to last year could NEVER get out of the first round and this year is out of the playoffs?

Given the West's current #1 seed, what does that say about this year?

I;d say the West was in the same position as it has been for the last three years - up in the air. Ther days of Western "dominance" is over and in the past. Top to Bottom it's still superior but the gap that used the exist in the Jason Kidd Net-Final days are gone. That's all.

 

[elindholm]

Top to Bottom it's still superior but the gap that used the exist in the Jason Kidd Net-Final days are gone.

It's hard to say, since we have so few games to look at. A single seven-game series in one season doesn't tell us anything about which conference has the best teams. Sagarin's rating system has West teams in the top three spots (PHO, SAS, DAL) and then East teams in the next two (MIA, DET). But that's based on the regular season, and given that the two conferences face different strengths of schedule, it's pretty hard to make definitive comparisons between the top teams from each side.

Personally, I don't think that the Pistons were that good, but I wouldn't call their title a "fluke," because they earned it fair and square. I will be very, very surprised if they win again this year.

 

[Errntknght]

I think the WC teams have gotten the idea in their heads that they don't have to respect the EC. I thought that last year which was one of the main reasons I picked the Pistons to beat the Lakers - I'd have picked the Pacers, too, if they'd have won the East.

Would San Antonio fared better against the Pistons - perhaps but maybe they'd have folded up worse than the Lakers did under pressure. Heck, the big fluke last year was the Lakers making it into the finals - take away Fisher's last fraction of a second basket and SA would have rolled right over them without looking back. But the Spurs delicate psyche couldn't cope with losing a game it looked they had in the bag. Does that indicate they'd have held up in the face of the Pistons rugged defense?

Of course, it is possible for a team to win the title in a fluke - somebody is going to be crowned champion even if all 16 teams play like crap. But in the fifty plus seasons of watching I don't recall ever seeing a team win it all and then thought that they won in a fluke. Sure some teams get a lucky break on their way to winning a title but lots of teams catch a break and don't win. Probably the least deserving team, in my estimation, was the Bulls when they won with Rodman - he was holding and grabbing then flopping like a rag doll and the idiot refs gave him call after call. On top of that Jordan was getting his usual favorable treatment by the guys in stripes. They were a danged good team and may have won it anyway, but it was exasperating to see them get it handed to them on a platter.

If the Suns manage to get into the finals against Detroit I hope they don't have any thoughts of the Pistons being there on a fluke or they'll have no chance at all...

 

[jandaman]

I just want to comment on the "Fluke" statement.

The NBA post season are all series(s), that alone eliminates flukey teams, because they have to show consistency of high level playing.

No champions are flukes, its not a one game win-it-all, whoever is shooting bad or shooting good determine the whole championship. Its like a battlefield, who ever uses the right tactics in more than 1 occasion (first to 4 wins) wins. The champions will have to go through 4 series against bare minimum good teams, and obviously as the team progress to the next series, the opponents get significantly better in most cases.

So, No, Pistons aren't flukes.

This season, they can easily turn it on, and sweep anyone, except maybe Spurs, since Detroit's choice of tactic is best played by Spurs.