Hoops

Biggest NBA Playoffs Surprise...

Kriss, there will be challengers to Lebron. Lets not forget that he hasn't even won one championship yet. He should have a great shot this year, but there is still plenty of ball to be played, and if he makes it to the finals, his opponents aren't going to lay down and die. I think the Lakers have had the wood on the Cavs this year for one thing.

Lebron will be 26 next year and unless KG, Pierce or Allen get injured, you'd better believe the Celtics will be big challengers next season. They could possibly be a threat for one more year after that too, if they all age well!

Kobe will be good enough for at least another 3 years, especially with Gasol and Bynum likely to develop to make up for any decline in #24.

I think there is an argument that there is very little to separate Dwayne Wade and Lebron. Both get to the rim and finish very well, but Wade is a better outside shooter to this point in their careers. Both create for the team-mates pretty well too. Lebron of course has the edge on rebounding.

With the right team mates, Chris Paul will be a big threat for many years. Howard still has some room to grow and could anchor a serious challenger as well.

Derrick Rose looks like he could be very special and lets not forget about Durant, who has every chance of being the league's most prolific scorer for the next decade.

I'm pretty sure some other special player will emerge from college in the next couple of years too - they always do!

Hey anon, are you talking about the Boston Globe message board fans? I recall a debate back and forth about whether Davis or Powe was the better player earlier this season. That was a good debate that ended prematurely because Powe unfortunately did his knee again. Before that it was hard to pick one over the other from my perspective.

I like both guys, firstly because they both work so hard on the court and constantly over-achieve. Secondly, because Davis is just a friendly, articulate guy with the right attitude about the game, and Powe because he is this quiet, humble guy who keeps getting back up when the world knocks him on his @ss.

Davis has played so well since KG went down, I now believe he can be a great sixth man or a good complementary starter for years to come. I now doubt that Powe can match that with yet another knee injury taking its toll, but you can't rule it out because the guy never gives up. I really hope he can rehab it and return to the Celtics for the long term.

Rose and the Bulls played phenomenally hard and with a lot of poise for such a young team.

Chauncey has finally got Denver playing to its potential. Birdman has been a great revelation for them too.

I can't go past Big Baby though for his play since KG went down. I never thought he had it in him to be so consistent under pressure in the playoffs. I remember watching him trying to develop his mid-range jumper part way through this season. He missed a lot of shots, including a couple that cost the Celtics games and I didn't think he'd ever be great with it under pressure. But I gotta hand it to him, he has turned himself into a clutch shooter. I just hope the Celtics can afford to sign him as their sixth man next year!

And yeah, props to the Celtics for stealing a huge game 5 today. That was the Magic's game to lose, they were on all game, but couldn't make plays when it counted. The Celtics sense of self-belief is just phenomenal, keeping them in games and then allowing them to close out under pressure. Unfknblvbl!!!

Nuggets & the frailty of the Lakers. As a Lakers fan I thought they would be better than they have been in this series.

I thought the Nuggets would have a much tougher road to the WCF. Props to Chauncey and Co for getting it done (just gotta stick the final one in against the Mavs to take the series). I was surprised how bad New Orleans played against denver, I thought that was going to be real tight and the bulls/celtics blowouts...how wrong was I. Props 2 Houston for getting it done without Yao ming against LA, would be dope if Houston got through to play denver in the WCF

LeBron coming of age, he has always been a beast, but now he has a jump shot (3ball) and is making incredible dagger in the heart shots.

If he can get his free throw shooting into the high 80's / low 90's he will be unstoppable (even more so). How do you stop him? You can't go under screens anymore (which his what teams used to do) because he will hit the three. You can't double or triple him because he is such a great passer.

Hindsight is great, but how many people tipped the Mavs to beat the spurs first round?


Nuggs have been terrific. Shows what happens when you add a 'play maker' and subtract a 'shot taker'.

I enjoyed the bulls celtics series. appart from the game 7 result.

As for suprises probably the Nugs