Eastern Conference: Who's going to the playoffs?

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He's an emotional guy and just heard his hometown fans cheering for a FA-to-be who plays his position, he took it personally. He played a good game in response, maybe the ACC needs to start cheering for opposing SF's too At times like this you realize how young some of these guys are.

Also Boston related, a few around here have enjoyed mocking all the "Brad Stevens love" on this forum after seeing Boston get off to a slow start. Never mind the fact that they were incorporating a new core player and had key injuries to start the year, but they've clearly turned a corner and are hot on the Raptors' heels. While we've been dreaming of the #1 seed, there's an equally good chance the Raps will be #3 by the end of the year. Either way, I wouldn't mind a Celtics/Raptors round #2.

As a card carrying no holds barred FUCK BOSTON and anything they do hater I am one of those few.

I am looking forward to the semi's where we hopefully draw these overhyped chowderheads, their "limitless trade assets" (the leprechauns must think there is a trophy for that eh ? the way they drone on endlessly about it ) and a current roster which is chock full of less than mediocre "budding stars" and mercilessly kick their green asses all the way back to Cape Cod....

Nuthin to read between the lines here....

Go Raps !

[S.R.]

As a card carrying no holds barred FUCK BOSTON and anything they do hater I am one of those few.

I am looking forward to the semi's where we hopefully draw these overhyped chowderheads, their "limitless trade assets" (the leprechauns must think there is a trophy for that eh ? the way they drone on endlessly about it ) and a current roster which is chock full of less than mediocre "budding stars" and mercilessly kick their green asses all the way back to Cape Cod....

Nuthin to read between the lines here....

Go Raps !

It's ALWAYS good to beat Boston. KG being a dick and clapping in Jose's face is like a gif burned into my memory. Also remember somebody punking Bosh and standing over him, none of the Raptors came over to stand up for their best player or pull him off the floor. Don't miss those limp Jose/Bargs/Bosh teams at all, even though some nice guys were on the roster. All wins vs Boston now feel like retribution.

[white men can't jump]

It's ALWAYS good to beat Boston. KG being a dick and clapping in Jose's face is like a gif burned into my memory. Also remember somebody punking Bosh and standing over him, none of the Raptors came over to stand up for their best player or pull him off the floor. Don't miss those limp Jose/Bargs/Bosh teams at all, even though some nice guys were on the roster. All wins vs Boston now feel like retribution.

The guy who stood over Bosh was Pierce after deliberately kicking him in the nuts on a drive. Like flagrant 2 level of garbage and only Triano got mad.

I didn't hate Boston until they got Pierce, and that hate swelled to new levels when they got KG. I can't stand Pierce and think he'll go down as one of the most overrated player in the history of the league.

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[KeonClark]

It's ALWAYS good to beat Boston. KG being a dick and clapping in Jose's face is like a gif burned into my memory. Also remember somebody punking Bosh and standing over him, none of the Raptors came over to stand up for their best player or pull him off the floor. Don't miss those limp Jose/Bargs/Bosh teams at all, even though some nice guys were on the roster. All wins vs Boston now feel like retribution.

Yeah those raptors teams had no pride in each other, no anger, no bite. They were doormats. Basically every year between Charles Oakley departure and kyle lowry arrival I'd like to forget

[golden]

The guy who stood over Bosh was Pierce after deliberately kicking him in the nuts on a drive. Like flagrant 2 level of garbage and only Triano got mad.

I didn't hate Boston until they got Pierce, and that hate swelled to new levels when they got KG. I can't stand Pierce and think he'll go down as one of the most overrated player in the history of the league.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

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O for 3... pretty pathetic.. consistent though with the Raps performance in San Antonio last evening.

Tonight time to get off the schneid

OKC vs Charlotte Charlotte coughed one up against the Bulls the last time out and with Boston playing well can't afford to let this one slip. Russell and 14 guys named Moe he lets play with him lost to the Bucks last time out. The Thunder are 6 and 4 in their last 10 but Charlotte really could use the win against a quality team. Nod to the home team who play well at home.

Hawks into Disneyland The Millsap watch is on .. at least in Toronto and its epicentre RR. The Hawks are in the thick of the playoff race and the Magicians are trying their best to stay close to the last seed. They have to leap over the Knicks/Bulls/Whiz and Pacers to get there. So yeah they are completely within their rights to be optimistic about getting to the playoffs. Dwight n Paul take on Serge and Biz and Vuc... pretty even. Elfrid Payton vs Dennis Shroeder... edge to the Hawks... Close one... the Magicians come second in this one.

Bucks in the Mecca Parker and the Alphabet take on the Zinger and Melo... in the Mecca...Spike Lee is courtside. The Bucks are playing well lately and the Knicks are not with a not so good 2 and 8 in the last 10. A loss here will put more blood in the New York Media's waters. They love it. Bucks with a win start to solidify their spot in the 6 to 8 range and the Knicks start to hide in the training room as the questions from the press begin on whats wrong.

Da Bulls visit Lebron Jalen Roses second best team in the east is on one game winning streak as the Bulls pay a visit to Cleveland. Lebron still likely remembers losing to this rag tag band of can't shoot straight collection of mediocrity a few weeks ago when he had to wear a cubs uniform and tank the game as part of a bet with DWWAYYYYYYYYYNE WAAAAAAADE. Tonight .Lebron and Love and a cobbled together lineup are still better than the sinking Bulls... Look for Lebron to even the season series with a win over the geriatric Wade and the sullen Rondo and the one man show that is Jimmy Butler..By the way... Freddy Hoibergs deal is a guarnteed 5 year 25M dollar deal. Nice work Freddy. Watch for the Jimmy BUtler to Boston rumours start to pick up speed as the stark realization begins to set in that the Bulls are NOT a playoff team and don't have much in the way of youngish long term talent to grow with.

OK.. got off the Schneid on a 3 for 4.. but the one game that I was sure was a Lebron rear naked choke hold lock didn't happen as the flu ridden Cavs lost to Da Bulls. Rondo is on his way to Europe.

To say its packed is an understatement... Its 4.5 games difference between 12th and a lottery pick to getting home court in round 1. Stratification is beginning to become more defined even though half the season is left. The Cavs and to a degree Raps have pulled away from the herd. The Celts and Hornets and maybe.. maybe the Hawks.... are the next layer and they will all have a battle to see who doesn't draw Lebron in round 2. Then its wide open from 6th to 12th with only 3 and half games separating the playoffs to the lottery.

And on to tonights games.

Hornets at Pistons Big game for both teams. Hornets can draw within a game of 3rd with a win but its a B2B for them. The Pistons NEED a win to stay in the chase. This is one of those litmus type games to see which team is mentally tougher. Something is just a little off in Motown as even with the return of Reggie the Pistons still aren't firing in sequence and look a bit choppy right now. The Buzz win a roadie.

Hawks at Pelicans Hawks are hanging around in 5th and with a win and a Hornets loss could move into 4th. They are 500 on the road which is good for any NBA team and 7 and 3 in their last 10. The Pelys are 1.5 back of 8th in the West and have been playing well lately winning 6 of their last 10. Dwight vs the Unibrow and the recently signed Montejunas. Buddy Hield is starting to justify his 7th overall status...all that.. and you go with the better team. The Hawks win tonight and start throwing monkey wrenches into the grand plans of acquiring Paul Millsap.

Nets vs PacersThe Pacers are at home for this one and the Nets have exactly 1 road win all year in 17 tries. Unless the Pacers all have the flu its hard to see the Nets coming out on top tonight. Not that they won't try.. its just that the curse of Billy King is still in effect for another couple years.

[Maury]

As much as you hate him, he's the kind of player you want isn't he?

The guy who stood over Bosh was Pierce after deliberately kicking him in the nuts on a drive. Like flagrant 2 level of garbage and only Triano got mad.

I didn't hate Boston until they got Pierce, and that hate swelled to new levels when they got KG. I can't stand Pierce and think he'll go down as one of the most overrated player in the history of the league.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[slaw]

Yeah those raptors teams had no pride in each other, no anger, no bite. They were doormats. Basically every year between Charles Oakley departure and kyle lowry arrival I'd like to forget

Can we forget Charles Oakley, too, please?

[Demographic Shift]

OK.. got off the Schneid on a 3 for 4.. but the one game that I was sure was a Lebron rear naked choke hold lock didn't happen as the flu ridden Cavs lost to Da Bulls. Rondo is on his way to Europe.

To say its packed is an understatement... Its 4.5 games difference between 12th and a lottery pick to getting home court in round 1. Stratification is beginning to become more defined even though half the season is left. The Cavs and to a degree Raps have pulled away from the herd. The Celts and Hornets and maybe.. maybe the Hawks.... are the next layer and they will all have a battle to see who doesn't draw Lebron in round 2. Then its wide open from 6th to 12th with only 3 and half games separating the playoffs to the lottery.

And on to tonights games.

Hornets at Pistons Big game for both teams. Hornets can draw within a game of 3rd with a win but its a B2B for them. The Pistons NEED a win to stay in the chase. This is one of those litmus type games to see which team is mentally tougher. Something is just a little off in Motown as even with the return of Reggie the Pistons still aren't firing in sequence and look a bit choppy right now. The Buzz win a roadie.

Hawks at Pelicans Hawks are hanging around in 5th and with a win and a Hornets loss could move into 4th. They are 500 on the road which is good for any NBA team and 7 and 3 in their last 10. The Pelys are 1.5 back of 8th in the West and have been playing well lately winning 6 of their last 10. Dwight vs the Unibrow and the recently signed Montejunas. Buddy Hield is starting to justify his 7th overall status...all that.. and you go with the better team. The Hawks win tonight and start throwing monkey wrenches into the grand plans of acquiring Paul Millsap.

Nets vs PacersThe Pacers are at home for this one and the Nets have exactly 1 road win all year in 17 tries. Unless the Pacers all have the flu its hard to see the Nets coming out on top tonight. Not that they won't try.. its just that the curse of Billy King is still in effect for another couple years.

2 outta 3....
The Pistons win one despite coughing up a 15 point lead to start the 4th Q .. maybe Stan can get the Men from Motown going again.
The Hawks despite putting up the "for sale no reasonable offer refused" sign win again and move into 4th overall.. no don't try to make sense of it.. its just the NBA
Pacers win one they were supposed to...The Nets just don't have enough talent even though they give it their all each and every night. It must sting a bit that Donatas Montiejunas signed for the vet minimum in Nawlins as league rules prevented DMo from being able to sign with the Nets who wanted him and would have made it more competitive. Hoping that somehow karma pays a visit to that prick Daryl Morey with an injury or two to his team just as the playoffs start.

Tonights matchups in the still very congested East
2 games separate 8th from 4th
2.5 games separate the 12th place Magic from the 8th and last spot currently held by Da Bulls

Houston Vs Orlando Gotta take the Rockets over the Magic tonight. 6 in a row for Team Beard. The Magic are now in tough. After tonight they hit the road for a 6 game western swing and ....lucky them .. when they get home they have the Warriors and the Bucks waiting for them. A loss tonight ... a 2 and 4 road swing and then the Warriors and Bucks. Cue the fat lady on the season if the Magic go 2 and 7 in the next couple weeks.

Minny vs WhizThe Whiz's season is pretty straight forward. They just have to catch the Bulls.Its that simple. I think the Whiz aren't all that great but they are better than the gang who can't shoot straight. Minny comes to town resembling the Edmonton Oilers of the past 5 years. Lots and Lots and Lots of young offensive talent that can't win games. They'll lose this one too. Watch for Thibs who has had about enough to make a trade for one of his young guys for someone who is old enough to get a drink in the hotel bar and play defense. Who goes ? I think its Lavine.

The Lebrons vs Nets Lebrons win by double digits. Nothing to see here ... move along.

Sixers vs Celtics Celtics should beat the hapless Sixers tonight but with the trade rumour mill working overtime now it will be interesting to see how the Celtics players react as the daily trade drum beat continues on. Millsap to the Celtics. Jimmy Butler to the Celtics. Cousins to the Celtics.... Noel to the Celtics... Bryce Harper to the Celtics... JJ Watt to the Celtics. Yes its part of pro sports but these guys are human and their play for the next few weeks may be affected wondering if they are going to be packaged up like steaks at the meat counter.

Knicks vs Bucks Two teams going in different directions. After having their souls sucked out of them by the Bucks on a buzzer beater the Gang from Gotham goes on the road to face their tormentors on the second game of the home and home. The Bucks are winning the ones they are supposed to in order to make the playoffs and they'll win another against the Knicks tonight. The Knicks are starting their slide back to the lottery while the Bucks might get .. with a bit of luck..... home court in round 1.

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2 outta 3....
The Pistons win one despite coughing up a 15 point lead to start the 4th Q .. maybe Stan can get the Men from Motown going again.
The Hawks despite putting up the "for sale no reasonable offer refused" sign win again and move into 4th overall.. no don't try to make sense of it.. its just the NBA
Pacers win one they were supposed to...The Nets just don't have enough talent even though they give it their all each and every night. It must sting a bit that Donatas Montiejunas signed for the vet minimum in Nawlins as league rules prevented DMo from being able to sign with the Nets who wanted him and would have made it more competitive. Hoping that somehow karma pays a visit to that prick Daryl Morey with an injury or two to his team just as the playoffs start.

Tonights matchups in the still very congested East
2 games separate 8th from 4th
2.5 games separate the 12th place Magic from the 8th and last spot currently held by Da Bulls

Houston Vs Orlando Gotta take the Rockets over the Magic tonight. 6 in a row for Team Beard. The Magic are now in tough. After tonight they hit the road for a 6 game western swing and ....lucky them .. when they get home they have the Warriors and the Bucks waiting for them. A loss tonight ... a 2 and 4 road swing and then the Warriors and Bucks. Cue the fat lady on the season if the Magic go 2 and 7 in the next couple weeks.

Minny vs WhizThe Whiz's season is pretty straight forward. They just have to catch the Bulls.Its that simple. I think the Whiz aren't all that great but they are better than the gang who can't shoot straight. Minny comes to town resembling the Edmonton Oilers of the past 5 years. Lots and Lots and Lots of young offensive talent that can't win games. They'll lose this one too. Watch for Thibs who has had about enough to make a trade for one of his young guys for someone who is old enough to get a drink in the hotel bar and play defense. Who goes ? I think its Lavine.

The Lebrons vs Nets Lebrons win by double digits. Nothing to see here ... move along.

Sixers vs Celtics Celtics should beat the hapless Sixers tonight but with the trade rumour mill working overtime now it will be interesting to see how the Celtics players react as the daily trade drum beat continues on. Millsap to the Celtics. Jimmy Butler to the Celtics. Cousins to the Celtics.... Noel to the Celtics... Bryce Harper to the Celtics... JJ Watt to the Celtics. Yes its part of pro sports but these guys are human and their play for the next few weeks may be affected wondering if they are going to be packaged up like steaks at the meat counter.

Knicks vs Bucks Two teams going in different directions. After having their souls sucked out of them by the Bucks on a buzzer beater the Gang from Gotham goes on the road to face their tormentors on the second game of the home and home. The Bucks are winning the ones they are supposed to in order to make the playoffs and they'll win another against the Knicks tonight. The Knicks are starting their slide back to the lottery while the Bucks might get .. with a bit of luck..... home court in round 1.

4 outta 5.. .maybe Rocwell who seems to be financing his drinking through betting might give me a small 3% of his overall wininngs if he followed my free RR insider touts. I might have very happily gone 3 and 2 but the Hinkies found a way to lose it late to Boston as is their custom.

A big slate of games on for tonight.

Knicks in Indy The Knicks found a way to beat the Bucks last night coming all the way back from 15 down in the 1st half. Carmello is giving it a run. Indy is a team the Knickerbockers have to beat to make the dance.. but its a B2B and Indy is pretty durn good at home and has won 4 in a row. Nod to Paul George and the Pacers.

Pelycans in Leprechaun-land The peat bog breaths are playing a b2b... but... both ends of the b2b are at home. Still they had to expend a ton of energy to overcome the wretched Sixers late in the first one. The Pelicans are in the hunt for 8th in the west and are but 1.5 games away from their goal. They Uni-brow can win games by himself and he is getting some help now from the return of Tyreke Evans and the possible sighting of another Lithuanian not named JV in Montiejunas. Tonights upset special...

Raps vs Da Bulls The Bulls caught the flu ridden Cavs the other night and beat the Lebrons on the road. They preceeded that by beating a pretty good Hornets team by home. They also had their asses handed to them by the Bucks and Indy. The Bucks and Indy are two pretty athletic teams who play solid ball. The Raps aren't flu ridden and are by all accounts pretty athletic .. The law of averages begins to even out as the Raps take one on the road from the Bulls. On a side note Rajon Rondo was spotted taking Berlitz Spanish lessons in preparation for his eventual move to Europe.

Hawks in Dallas The Hawks have signalled throught the trade of Kyle Korver they are sure they can't beat either of Toronto or Cleveland and maybe Boston ..yet there they sit in 4th with a for sale sign out on their best player. Go figure as jerry says on the blue jays broadcasts. Dallas is bad.. Cuban says they aren't tanking. Cuban is fibbing. Hawks win and to the shagrin of all in RR the price goes up on Millsap as they really don't have to trade him as they begin to cement a playoff position.

Charlotte in San Antonio Looks like a loss for the Hornets tonight against the Annaconda Spurs.. who just slowly choke you to death over 48 minutes by not making any mistakes and squeezing you when you make yours forced or unforced. They Buzz have a pretty tough stretch they are going through right now. They have Spurs, Raps, Rockets, Warriors, Celtics in their next 10. They'll still be in the playoffs but making a move for home court is going to be tough if they can't go at least 6 and 4 in the next 10.

Pistons in Portland. The battle of what so far, has to be two fairly disappointing teams based on expectations, takes place tonight on the wet coast. Portland is currently the last team into the dance in the West. Which given how tough the west is might make Portalands fans somewhat happy. But when those fans realize that their team is going to be over the cap by 33M next year and and is the 8th seeded playoff team that is under 500 by 6 games at present thats when things don't look even remotely good. Ho-Lee-Phuque Batman. Thats scary. Capped out and in dead man walking land. The Pistons have been playing a bit better of late and are 3 and 3. With a road win tonight and with a Bulls loss the Pistons would be one game out of 8th. Portland could create some spearation from the Nuggets who are in OKC with a win but Drummond should just kill Leonard and Plumlee tonight and all those second chance points he creates should be enough to get a win depsite the backcourt of Lilliard and McCollum gettin theirs.

[Ebonhawke]

Knicks down 20 midway through the third

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Still pissed from the Raptors charitable donation to the Chicago Bulls Foundation last night. So its an abbreviated post. Some may cheer that as well.

Today...

Whizzers vs Bucks The Whizzers travel to Wisconsin and post a win over Parker and the Alphabet and begin to turn some heads. Scott Brooks is beginning to look like he knows what he is doing.

Pistons vs Portland A day later. Same prediction as the post above for the same reasons. Pistons over Blazers.

[Demographic Shift]

For those wondering if the Knicks still have a snowballs chance to get into the post season....have a look at this... If the Knicks slide continues (they have 3 wins in their last 13 games) watch for Carmelo to possibly shut himself down yet again. Love him or hate him.. he is still the best player the Knicks have and as Carmelo goes.. so go the Knicks.

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said he's playing through a "bad" right shoulder injury that requires constant treatment, according to a report.

Anthony has been dealing with the shoulder injury for the past four weeks and missed one game last month due to the ailment. "It's bad," Anthony told the New York Daily News

Full story below.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...houlder-injury

[Hotshot]

For those wondering if the Knicks still have a snowballs chance to get into the post season....have a look at this... If the Knicks slide continues (they have 3 wins in their last 13 games) watch for Carmelo to possibly shut himself down yet again. Love him or hate him.. he is still the best player the Knicks have and as Carmelo goes.. so go the Knicks.

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said he's playing through a "bad" right shoulder injury that requires constant treatment, according to a report.

Anthony has been dealing with the shoulder injury for the past four weeks and missed one game last month due to the ailment. "It's bad," Anthony told the New York Daily News

Full story below.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/1...houlder-injury

Knicks management lol one of the worst in the NBA, should have traded Carmelo a while ago.

[Demographic Shift]

You could have set your watch to this one....A day after going super nova against the raps and putting up 42 with 20 trips to the FT line Jimmy Butler is 0 for 4 at the half with 2 Trips to the line for 1 point. He must have exhausted himself .... McDermott and Mirotic return to their normal crappy selves and have 3 points between them. The Bulls trail by 17 early in the third.....Don't think the Thunder take their foot off the Bulls collective throats in this one. At some point we need to beat this crew by 30 and keep running it up to exorcise the demons once and for all.

Edit at 10pm... Its over. The Bulls made a bit of a run at the Thunder after going down by 25 and closed it to 13 but the Thunder put out the starters right away. Not an over dribbling clock management challenged guard to be seen on the floor once the lead started to ebb even a little. The Thunder left nothing to chance. BTW....Butler finished with 1 point in 29 minutes. Hate em almost as much as the Leprechauns.

The Knicks are losing their footing and have begun their slide out of contention down by 27 to the Pelicans late in the 4th. At home. To a non playoff western team thats 9 games under 500.
The New York media circus should be circling as there is more than a hint of blood in the water at the Garden. Can't wait to read the Post on line after this one.