Best playoff series?

[rayallen20]

Best playoff series?

My pick is the Bulls-Celtics first round matchup in the 2009 playoffs that went up to 7 games with amazing scores in each game.

SCORES:
Gm 1: 105-103 (Bulls)
Gm 2: 115-118 (Celtics)
Gm 3: 107-86 (Celtics)
Gm 4: 118-121 (Bulls)
Gm 5: 104-106 (Celtics)
Gm 6: 127-128 (Bulls)
Gm 7: 99-109 (Celtics)
Celtics win 4-3

[shadowgrin]

How old are you?

[Jeffx]

Where do I start? There are too many to mention, lol. Knicks had some classic series against the Bullets and Celtics during their championship years. And again during the 90s against Chicago, Indiana and Miami.

One of the best I ever saw was Philly/Boston, 1981 Eastern Conference finals.

[George7]

Because I'm not that old to have watched Playoff Series before the 00's I vote Bulls-Celtics,which for sure was the best series of the last decade.

[deihatein]

I'd go for Dallas-Spurs during the 2006 second round.

[Mandich]

Has anyone else noticed rayallen20, is spamming the forum with many topics ?
Chicago - Jazz 1998

[Andrew]

For the most part they're legitimate topics, so there's no problem. We're all free to post in threads that interest us, not post in the topics that don't interest us and create topics about things we'd like to talk about.

[Martti.]

2010 Playoffs, Magic-Hawks (2nd round). +101 for the Magic in 4 games.

But really, probably one of the Pistons-Bulls series in early 90s.

[The X]

Rockets-Suns back in '95. They came back from 3-1 down to sink Barkley & the Suns

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[NovU]

Back in the days, I remember the Knicks' series always being pretty damn good.

Reggie + Rik Smits vs Knicks
Tim Hardaway, Mourning vs Knicks

[Stress Fracture]

Rockets-Lakers, 2009.

Hawks-Celtics, 2008. Notably, game 4 of that series when Joe Johnson "pecked" the Celtics in the 4th.

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[Houndy]

I'd go for Dallas-Spurs during the 2006 second round.

I loved that series, I watched every game of.

[Fresh8]

Lakers-Kings Western Conference Finals 2002

[benji]

Well thank god Jeffx is still around here to mention that matchup which cannot be ranked any lower than third all time by anyone sane. Bird-Dr. J alone is enough, but the teams also are close as you can get. (Sixers just hitting their peak pre-Malone, Celtics still not quite there and shuffling veterans around.)

Because I'm not that old to have watched Playoff Series before the 00's I vote Bulls-Celtics,which for sure was the best series of the last decade.

How could you say this when there were the Kings-Lakers and Spurs-Mavs series? These were series that decided the title, went the distance AND had tons of legitimate controversy around them. The Bulls and Celtics were battling for an extended playoff share.

Nothing else from the decade can come close unless you hate the Lakers like an actual American, in which case the Spurs liberation of the NBA from the tyrants in 2003 and the Pistons suppression of the terrorist Laker plot in 2004 are close.

Oh, and the first great playoff series was the 1957 NBA Finals. Which still has and probably will always have the greatest Game Seven of all time even though it was only a year after the color barrier was finally stamped down. Let me quote, yet again, for the youthful haters of history on here:

With just seconds to go in the second extra period, Macauley went to the bench after fouling Loscutoff. The muscular forward hit two free throws for a 125-123 Boston lead.

With only one chance to tie, the Hawks had to take the ball inbounds with a full-court pass to Pettit. Player-coach Alex Hannum, the last eligible player on the Hawks' bench, entered the competition for the first time in the series. He planned to bounce the pass off the backboard in the hope that Pettit could tip it in. Incredibly, Hannum banked the pass off the board to Pettit, but the final shot rolled off the rim as time ran out.

The Celtics dynasty started because Bob Pettit, the best player you've probably never heard of, missed a shot that was off A BANKED PASS FROM FULL COURT, THAT ROLLED OFF THE RIM with no time left on the clock. And the pass was thrown by the COACH, who was the ONLY PLAYER LEFT.

Anyone who thinks Jordan shoving off Byron Russell can compete is a lunatic or was born after the cut off date for the Great Culling.

And anyone who thinks the Knicks played in anything approaching a watchable playoff series, who is not Jeffx who watched them battle the Bullets every single year for seemingly a decade without end (as the Knicks peaked and faded and the Bullets bipolar method of peaking and trading their players TO THE KNICKS continued), is factually wrong. Just because the media is obsessed with everything the Knicks do doesn't make them grandiose. Remember why the Heat-Knicks series got attention, it wasn't because of the basketball.

A couple personal favorites from 2003 which I'd never call the best but I enjoyed for one reason or another were Dallas v. Portland and Detroit v. Orlando. Both had one team seemingly (ala The X's choice) to have won the series, both had a guy who should have been playing all along play a key role in the revival of a team, and the latter had McGrady's "feels good to be in the second round" which made Prince shutting him down and the Pistons viciously tearing them apart over the last three games so much more enjoyable.

[shadowgrin]

My pick would be Sixers-Raptors in the second round of the 2001 Playoffs where the series went to the full 7.

[koberulz]

My pick would be Sixers-Raptors in the second round of the 2001 Playoffs where the series went to the full 7.

That reminds me, I need to go track that one down.

Bulls-Celtics wins it for me, but then I haven't seen any of the other series mentioned in this thread, given that I've only been following the league since 04-05 and paid little attention to the playoffs pre-2008.

[benji]

given that I've only been following the league since 04-05 and paid little attention to the playoffs pre-2008.

Well then.

[deihatein]

That Dallas vs Portland series you mention is interesting, the Mavs up 3-0, then the Blazers make it 3-3 in which the Mavs finally take them out.

[benji]

My pick would be Sixers-Raptors in the second round of the 2001 Playoffs where the series went to the full 7.

Jaesus Christ, you would pick something involving Canada. It's not bad enough to be Phillipino.

[shadowgrin]

The Canadian team lost. Any win against Canada is a victory to hold off the great evil at bay.

[benji]

And like true Americans, Antonio Davis revolted against their propaganda and lies and Vince Carter proved how bad Canada was by bailing out to New Jersey of all places.

And then Alonzo Mourning proved how terrible Canada and their health care is by refusing to report.

[NovU]

The hell... Go Raptors!

[Jeffx]

1977 saw some great playoff series:

Bulls/Blazers western conf. opening round - Blazers won 2-1

Warriors/Lakers - western conf. semis - Lakers won 4-3

Celtics/Sixers - eastern conf. semis - Sixers won 4-3

[Jeffx]

Well thank god Jeffx is still around here to mention that matchup which cannot be ranked any lower than third all time by anyone sane. Bird-Dr. J alone is enough, but the teams also are close as you can get. (Sixers just hitting their peak pre-Malone, Celtics still not quite there and shuffling veterans around.)

Remember, Philly came off a brutal seven-game series against the tough, young Bucks. They took a 3-1 lead, then Boston won three straight to take the series, and went on to win the championship.

Game 1 @ Boston: Philadelphia 105, Boston 104
Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 118, Philadelphia 99
Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 110, Boston 100
Game 4 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 107, Boston 105
Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 111, Philadelphia 109
Game 6 @ Philadelphia: Boston 100, Philadelphia 98
Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 91, Philadelphia 90

That Game 7 was an all-time classic. I'm sure there's footage on YouTube. Go check it out.

[koberulz]

That Game 7 was an all-time classic. I'm sure there's footage on YouTube. Go check it out.

The entire game is on the Boston Celtics Dynasty Series DVD.