A LEGEND IS BORN III

[Fresh8]

Note to Lamrock and George7, please repost your predictions.

[Lamrock]

Seattle in 6
Milwaukee in 6

[dare]

Stealth in 5, Bucks in 6

Maybe the gif sig will take a lot longer, I'm going to reformat my slow and old computer.

[puttincomputers]

Stealth in 5
Cavs in 7

[The X]

Milwaukee in 6

Seattle in 6

[|)e8*]

Cavs in 7 Stealth in 7

[Fresh8]

In order to speed up the finals, you have 36 hours to post your predictions.

[megarover]

Well give me
Cavs in 6 (I think he makes it to Finals this year)
Stealth in 6 (Beat Chara's punk***)

[Houndy]

Cavs in 6
Stealth in 6

[Justine.]

Stealth in 5
Bucks in 6

[Clutch]

Cavs in 5
Stealth in 7

[Valor]

Cleveland Cavaliers in 6
Seattle Stealth in 6

EDIT: MVP Debate - Moses Chara deserves it over LeBron James. By pure stats, Chara and LeBron are even in terms of points, LeBron edges out Moses in the rebounds by a bit but Chara doubles up on the assists. The Kings play in the tough Western Conference and Chara has taken his team back to the Western Conference Finals once again after a terrific season, he deserves the MVP over LeBron

But Kevin Durant is, in my opinion, the league's true MVP of this season

[Martti.]

Cavs in 7
Stealth in 6

[Fresh8]

May 13, 2013
Second Round: Winners and Losers
By Willard Smith



The Atlanta Hawks were knocked out and that means a new NBA champion will hold up the Larry O’Brien trophy next month. As we get ready for the Conference Finals, it’s time to look at the second round’s winners and losers!

WINNER: NBA vets Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson

Over four games, Jason Kidd averaged 12 points, 8.5 rebounds, 10.3 assists (also recording a triple double in Game 4 and becoming the first 40 year old to do so in a postseason game) and Allen Iverson Managed 21.5 points from off the bench. Not bad for a 40 year old point guard and a ‘disruptive’ has-been. These two players drafted in the 1990s (yes, it sounds like so long ago) continue to shine for Seattle. It may be their last NBA seasons but based on their play, it feels as if they could easily play on next season.

WINNER: Seattle Stealth

Seattle are through to the Western Conference Finals having dropped just 1 game. In comparison, the Sacramento Kings have needed 7 and 6 games to get past the Clippers and Mavs. The Stealth have to be feeling really confident heading into their showdown. Kevin Durant had a series off thanks to the depth of the Seattle side and it’s scary to think that he is rested for the repeat of last year’s Conference Finals.

WINNER: MVP Debate

After being awarded the NBA MVP award, Moses Chara was asked if he deserved it. Chara was cocky as usual and replied, “What do you think? No one is as good as me!” Meanwhile in Cleveland, Lebron James has been crying foul over losing his trophy, “Ridiculous. I am the King!”

It seems that post-MVP debate is now running rife with both rivals still in the playoffs. Chara and James both stepped up as if to try and one-up the other.

Chara: 26.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 10.5 apg
James: 26.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 5.7 apg

What do you guys think about this? Who is the better player?

LOSER: Atlanta Hawks

The defending NBA champions won’t be defending champions anymore at the end of the NBA Finals. For now, they can all go back to the ATL and enjoy being defending champs for another few weeks. This loss might bring the end of a short era for Atlanta. Since the acquisitions of Manu Ginobili and Tayshawn Prince, things really looked up for the Hawks. However, the pair are slowing down quickly and unless Atlanta can bring in a primary scorer on the wing – they are due for a return to the downtimes of the early 2000s and the NBA lottery.

LOSER: Dallas Mavericks

Dallas will be kicking themselves after putting themselves in a terrific situation. They could have won Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead against the Kings but a final quarter collapse cost them big time. They could have won Game 6 to stay alive in the series but allowed the Kings to destroy them on their home floor. These Mavs could have made it further but it looks like Steve Nash will not retire with a ring.

LOSER: Steve Nash

And that brings us to Nash who joined the Mavs in the offseason because he felt that it was his best shot at winning an elusive NBA title. Who knows what would have happened if he had stuck with Portland. While Nash will watch the likes of Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamsion continue in their championship quests; he will no doubt be pondering whether he should reconsider his retirement stance.

WINNER: Martti Must

The Estonian PF created headlines after breaking down in a recent interview. He also created quite a stir with a tweet about ‘HATERZ’. It seems that Must’s antics were quite a distraction for his new rival Jay Gray (See below).

LOSER: Jay Gray

Whether it was a loss of focus, stifling defense from Josh Smith and Al Horford, or both; Jay Gray sure looked rather ordinary after a superhuman first round. We all knew he would struggle but not to the extent that he struggled at. It was lucky for Gray that his Bucks stepped up when he was down and now his reward will be an easier time against the Cavs in the next round. If Gray plays good, the Bucks are a strong shot for the NBA Finals.

LOSER: Martti Must

With everything said, Must’s softness is going to do him no good in free agency this Summer. Many NBA players don’t want Martti ‘Crybaby’ Must on their team. Word has it that the Memphis Grizzlies desperately want to retain him but not at the expense of risking a shot at signing Seattle Stealth SG Reshawn Tyson.

LOSER: Carmelo Anthony

When Melo bolted to the Nets from a very very rosy situation in Denver, he was forgiven by many because he was ‘coming home’ and joining one the league’s brightest young cores. However, it seems as though Anthony has overstayed his welcome. Melo’s propensity to jack up shots and refusal to crash the boards has everyone fuming. Although he averaged 27 points in the second round, the Nets never stood a chance against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The worst part was that the Nets’ faithful seem to have grown apart from the player whom they thought would be their saviour.

[Fresh8]

For extra player points, please post your thoughts on the 'post-MVP' debate (as explained above).

[Eirsej]

Stealth in 5
Bucks in 6

[mp3]

Cavs in 6
Stealth in 6

+1

[Fresh8]

Cavs in 6
Stealth in 6

+1

Do you want a virtual player in this story as well mp3?

[The X]

Willard Smith doesn't know what he is talking about. Even if his numbers were down in the first few games of the series, Jay Gray proved himself as the league's best PF by willing his team to within 4 games of the NBA Finals

In the final 3 games of the series, Gray stepped & averaged 25.7ppg & 11.7rpg to help the Bucks close out the series in 6 games. Now tell me now that he didn't step up? As for Must, he's still fishing

[Fresh8]

Willard Smith doesn't know what he is talking about.

That's why he writes for Ball Don't Lie.

[The X]

Willard Smith doesn't know what he is talking about.

That's why he writes for Ball Don't Lie.

[kaiser_kobe]

Now i see, my psychic powers was accurate, the kings will advance to the next round against the stealth...will i get points for that? haha ...regarding the debate, they're both thrashtalkers, they are like children battling for a lollipop they need to grow up first to be a deserving mvp ...

predictions:
stealth in 7
cavs in 6

[Martti.]

I think I was more of a loser this round then a winner. If the Bucks had been eliminated, then I'd be a winner.

[Fresh8]

I think I was more of a loser this round then a winner. If the Bucks had been eliminated, then I'd be a winner.

Take pride that you are both man.

On another note, I am loving how JKidd averaged a near triple double in the second round. Takes me back to earlier debate about John Stockton v Kidd. If Stealth were knocked out this round, does Kidd rank higher than Stockton? I know that I had concluded that Kidd could only surpass Stockton if he won a ring however in light of these achievements at his old age of 40, is that any kind of merit to push him ahead? Or do the Assists and Steals numbers solidify Stockton's place in history?

[Martti.]

Any publicity is good publicity.