A LEGEND IS BORN III

[Houndy]

I wish every playoff stretch was like this.... But, Stealth will bring a title to Seattle, for sure.

[Martti.]

You can call me soft, but my stats speak for themselves. I can't do it alone and if there is a team with another star player, I'm willing to leave Memphis. Or hopefully Memphis picks up a star, say Reshawn Tyson.

[Fresh8]

There is talk that Martti Must is thinking of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas.

[Valor]

There is talk that Martti Must is thinking of joining Leo Lai in Dallas.

Fixed

[Fresh8]

There is talk that Martti Must is thinking of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas to lead a team that includes Steve Nash. Third-string Guard Leo Lai is excited at the prospect of an All-Star coming to lead the side.

Fixed.

[Valor]

There is talk that Martti Must is thinking of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas to lead a team that includes Steve Nash. Third-string Guard Leo Lai is excited at the prospect of an All-Star coming to lead the side.

Fixed.

Just you wait till i get my minutes...then the whole world will see the Asian Mamba at work (yea, thats what some of my teammates n buddies call me...)

[Fresh8]

There is talk that Martti Must is thinking of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas to lead a team that includes Steve Nash. Third-string Guard Leo Lai is excited at the prospect of an All-Star coming to lead the side.

Fixed.

Just you wait till i get my minutes...then the whole world will see the Asian Mamba at work (yea, thats what some of my teammates n buddies call me...)

Well, continue earning points in the NLSCer contests and maybe you will break into the Mavs' starting five.

[Martti.]

Join Dirk in Dallas? It's intriguing.

[Fresh8]

It could happen. And it's not me who controls it. Just to clarify!

[Martti.]

Sit, if you were controlling things, I'd request to be in Miami with D-Wade. (Because Jennings isn't in this)

[Fresh8]

Knicks Narrowly Seal Eighth Seed
Preview | Box Score | Recap | Highlights

NEW YORK, Apr 13 (AP) – 2011 second overall draft pick Travis Ward finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks (39-43) into the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Lamar Odom led the team with 26 points and Ron Artest added 22 in the Knicks’ 118-115 win.

The Miami Heat (43-39) had a chance to win the game after a 7-0 scoring run in the final minute and a half of the game. Cuttino Mobley had scored the Knicks’ last points with 1:39 left in the game. The Heat came right back as the home crowd remained silent until the final buzzer. “We’re lucky we held on tonight,” the 7’1” Ward said, “If we lost, the (Chicago) Bulls would have made it through. This is the proudest moment of my career right now.”

Dwyane Wade wrapped up the regular season with 28 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists. JR Smith added 29 points and Michael Beasley had a double double of 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Read More…

Blazers Set Up First Round Matchup With Stealth
Preview | Box Score | Recap | Highlights

MINNESOTA, Apr 13 (AP) – When the season was on the line, the Portland Trailblazers (42-40) knew that they only had one option and that was to win. Ben Gordon paced the Blazers with 30 points. Carlos Boozer added 21 points, 12 rebounds, Greg Oden had 17 points, 14 rebounds and Brandon Roy threw in 18 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists.

The Minnesota Timberwolves (38-44) gave up by halftime and were booed off the court in the 111-83 drubbing. The Wolves got terrible shooting nights from two of their best players. Janis Kalnins shot 5-13 from the field to finish with 11 points and Kevin Martin scored 12 points on 5-16 shooting. Manfred Nissley led the Wolves in scoring with 21 points.

Portland seemed excited to qualify for the NBA playoffs and Coach Nate McMillan noted that it was the first time his squad would be fully healthy, “This is exciting. My team are healthy and they will be ready to take on the (Seattle) Stealth in the first round.”

Read More…

[Valor]

Booooooooooo New York and Portland over Chicago and Lakers

[Eirsej]

Roy almost had a triple double there. Superb performance

[newc]

I'll have to work hard this off-season to get Wolves into the playoffs

Will there be a World Championship this summer in your dynasty?

[megarover]

Damn my money was on the Lakers making the playoffs.

[Lamrock]

Very glad to see Portland make the playoffs. Should be a tough match-up for you.

[Houndy]

Challenging? Stealth in 5

[Lamrock]

Bust is an RFA. He's staying in Memphis.

[kibaxx7]

Lakers out of the postseason... wow...

[dare]

Boo!

You could have cheated man and put the Lakers to the 8th seed or maybe you're scared to them.

[Fresh8]

Booooooooooo New York and Portland over Chicago and Lakers

Boo!

You could have cheated man and put the Lakers to the 8th seed or maybe you're scared to them.

Get over it. And Portland are better than the Lakers in this association. And I don't cheat.

Roy almost had a triple double there. Superb performance

He played well but I've seen him play better.

I'll have to work hard this off-season to get Wolves into the playoffs

Will there be a World Championship this summer in your dynasty?

It's 2013... that's not an Olympic of World Championship year.

Very glad to see Portland make the playoffs. Should be a tough match-up for you.

It's a good match-up. The rivalry lives on. This time without Nash!

Challenging? Stealth in 5

What about 4?

Bust is an RFA. He's staying in Memphis.

I'm not too sure about that.

Lakers out of the postseason... wow...

We are 3/3 years into the future. I guess you wouldn't know what that's like.

[Fresh8]

Updated: April 13, 2013
Ranking The Contenders And Dark Horses
Which teams have true championship potential and which ones might surprise you?
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By Woody Hannes
ESPN.com Writer

The NBA playoffs are just around the corner and it’s time to look at who are the contenders for the Larry O’Brien trophy. Here I list my top five contenders followed by a handful of dark horses and pretenders. The NBA title race is close this season and it was just so hard to pick just five squads but I think I’ve nailed this one.

Contenders

1. Seattle Stealth

The league leaders are easily the best attacking team in the league. They have lights-out scoring pedigree from all of their starting lineup to their twelfth player on the roster. Seattle is twelve men deep. The Stealth weren’t favored to be where they are now before the season started but as the season wore on, this team only got better. And since they added Allen Iverson, the team has been playing phenomenal basketball. (Yes, Allen Iverson made an already great team better)

The question for Seattle is whether they can match their offensive brilliance with defensive intensity. The team is a capable defensive team and with the exception of Jason Kidd and Iverson, everyone can be lock down defenders. However, Seattle has never really felt the need to turn it up on the defensive end because of their attacking prowess. This mindset that the Stealth seems to have is driving Head Coach Will Sit insane. He noted in a recent press conference, “I can’t stress enough to my guys that we can’t treat flip this on off switch that will magically make us a tough tough team to beat on defense. We have to do it every single night.”

We all know that defense wins championships. Seattle is capable of matching up with the best of the best on both ends of the floor. They just need to do it every night for at least 16 games in order to get to the ultimate reward for the NBA season. My money is on them to win it all because they will want to at least do it for Kidd before he calls it quits. This is the Stealth’s year.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs started the season off slow. It was probably from the hangover caused by Lebron James’ season ending injury in last season’s playoffs. Everyone strongly believes that was what robbed the Cavs of a championship. Fast forward a year and the Cavs are quietly finishing off another season with the same roster. Everyone knows their roles. Everyone knows each other’s spots. Everyone knows the task at hand.

And that is to win the championship.

The Cavs are quietly confident (well, Lebron is loud as always) that they are the best team in the NBA. They are being smarter with the management of their key players and are resting throughout the regular season. The Cavs came up with an interesting philosophy that they would rather risk home court advantage and be prepared for the playoffs. The Cavs could win it all but it requires Lebron to carry them there. We all know that he can’t wait for the challenge.

The Cavs don’t have the deepest roster but they do have all the intangibles. They have beaten some tough teams down the stretch leading up to this point of the season (including big wins over Seattle and Sacramento). Anything can happen when it comes to the playoffs and in a tight contest in the Eastern Conference, the odds are good that the Cavs will come out on top. It just comes down to them beating the Western Conference Champion. Cleveland is looking good.

3. Sacramento Kings

Could the Kings have ruined their title chances by shipping out second leading scorer Kevin Martin for a more steady low post presence in Al Jefferson? Martin had been a staple for the Kings since he got drafted but Sacramento made a shock deal just before the trade deadline to bring in All-Star big man Jefferson in exchange for Martin.

The Kings have been slow to acclimatize themselves with Jefferson in the fold. The trade meant that sixth man Michael Redd moved into the starting five and the team would slow down their play even more to accommodate for a real low post option. As one Western Conference scout noted, “The Kings aren’t as dangerous as they used to be. Moses Chara and Kevin Martin had an understanding and that really helped them be this high scoring and running team. Now you have Russell Westbrook trying to run an offence and set up his guys. Chara isn’t getting as many looks he used to get.” Martin was the Kings’ best player at getting his own shot. Chara is not creative enough to do that and when he is cold, he can’t spread the floor for others. Redd has lost a step and Jefferson isn’t going to create his own shot either. Westbrook isn’t the pass-first PG that the Kings could probably use right now. Plus they have lumbering Shaq who won’t quit talking despite being the worst starter in the NBA right now.

The Jefferson trade made a lot of sense… in the long term. The Kings’ short term chances may have been shot in the foot. These guys will either stink it up and get eliminated in the second round or they will make it all the way to the Finals. They can win it all because they do have depth and the NBA’s leading MVP candidate. But is it going to be enough?

4. Philadelphia 76ers

After years of disappointment, who would have thought Vince Carter’s arrival would have awoken the Sixers and propelled them to the top of the Eastern Conference? It was Carter’s signing from the New York Knicks that gave the Sixers a new leader. Carter, with his many years of NBA experience, came to the team trying to shed the bad reputation he built up in his younger years.

Now he has gone to a new hero status in Philadelphia. Andre Iguodala credits the team’s renewed faith in Carter, “When Vince came, I can say that a lot of us were unsure if he would be more positive than negative. He’s really helped transform our ball club from one trying to even get a seeding to a ball club that could finish first in the East.”

Led by the leadership of All-Star Iguodala and former All-Stars Carter and Elton Brand, Philly are the best defensive club in the NBA this season. The defensive stalwarts are the last team anyone wants to face when the playoffs come around. Philly’s defense and team play reminds me of the mid 2000s Detroit Pistons. The Pistons won a title in 2004 against the much more fancied LA Lakers. If Philly are lucky, history might indeed repeat itself.

5. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are pissed off because they barely get brought up in championship talk despite collecting the silverware last season. They don’t think it’s fair that everyone is calling their feat a fluke. And they don’t like the disrespect despite (at press time) sitting at the top of the East standings. And they don’t like it when people call half their roster washed up and too old.

I must admit that I was going to put these guys as dark horses because I just don’t see the championship pedigree in them. However, I decided to go against the mainstream. So here is a short little argument why the Hawks will contend for the championship.

The Hawks don’t have such a bad squad. Manu Ginobili, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Andrea Bargnani are still all playing quality basketball. The most important thing for Atlanta is that they added a starting PG in Stanley Mayo. Mayo has been exceptional in running the offence since being traded from Dallas. That makes them a better team than last season. But have the Hawks gotten good enough to defend their title and repeat?

Dark Horses

Miami Heat:

When a team has three of the league’s top ten scorers and has surrounded them with defensive stoppers and three point shooting role players, you can’t ignore them. The Heat have always been dangerous and that won’t stop this postseason. Exactly how far the team will go all depends on Dwyane Wade though.

New Orleans Hornets:

Chris Paul is happy again and the championship hunt has been revived with the mid-season acquisition of wing player Mark Moore. The Hornets are an intriguing proposition as they have surrounded Paul with a decent supporting cast. Take into account that Paul is a 1-time champion who knows how to get it done and you can see where I’m coming from when I say that the Hornets might surprise some people.

Pretenders

Golden State Warriors:

There’s been a lot of talk about the Warriors but let’s be frank. The way these guys play, they’re just going to be slaughtered in the playoffs. The Warriors can run up the score as well as the Stealth but they can also go ice cold. Seattle might not play defense but they can if they wanted to. The poor Warriors can’t play defense because it’s not in their DNA.

New Jersey Nets:

It’s baffling why the Nets aren’t performing as well as they should be. On paper, they have one of the best teams in the league. They should be contending but they’re not. I’d probably say it’s the law of diminishing returns. There’s just too much talent on the Nets. Don’t count these guys out of making the second round but don’t put too much money on them either.

Dallas Mavericks

Another team that has gotten a lot of credit for nothing. Steve Nash, likely in his final year, is a shadow of the man he used to be. Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t have it in him either to lead this team like he did years ago. Kenneth Dela Cruz is a brilliant defensive player but can’t score if his life depended on it. The Mavs aren’t going to go far. I doubt that they’re even going to make the second round. The only chance they’re getting past the first round is if they are lucky enough to draw the New Orleans Hornets in the first round whom they have strangely had considerable success against this season.

[dare]

The Cavs are overrated I think Philly will reach the finals. Hoping to see the playoffs soon.

[Lamrock]

Nice playoff power rankings. I'm thinking Seattle will beat Miami in the finals. Cavs aren't deep, while the Sixers don't seem title caliber. 2013 playoffs look a lot like the 2003 playoffs with a couple West juggernauts, and a bunch of East teams with little hope to win a title.

[Valor]

Lets go Stealth! Win a Ring for KIDD!!

I also think either Philly or Miami will make it to the finals, but thats just my two cents