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Post by IamQuailman on Dec 31, 2013 13:37:28 GMT -6
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM COMMENTING UNTIL COMPLETED... THANKS! ENJOY!
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Cari Champion: It's been a long time coming, but here we are back again! Ladies and gentlemen, First Take is here just in time for the playoffs to heat up. I'm Cari Champion, and I have with me the ever-confrontational Skip Bayless...
Skip Bayless: Yes ma'am, the king his here.
Cari Champion: ...and Stephen A. Smith.
Skip Bayless: And apparently so is the joker.
Stephen A. Smith: Funny, Skip. Can we at least get through an intro without your shenanigans? Anyway.. good morning, Cari!
Cari Champion: I know it's a bit late, but we are going to touch on the outcome of the first round of this year's playoffs and make some bold predictions for the second round. Any comments before we get started here?
Skip Bayless: I'm excited for this. It's always a good time to time and time again prove that I'm always right and Stephen is 90% wrong 100% of the time.
Stephen A. Smith: 90% perce-- what?
Skip Bayless: Exactly.
Cari Champion: Skip, want to start us off with your thoughts on the first round?
Skip Bayless: Nah, let's let Stephen A. take the lead.
Stephen A. Smith: Well there were some upsets in the first round for sure, notably the #2 seed in the West. I don't think anyone around the league really saw a 4-2 upset coming. I don't know if the Warriors took the title of "underdog" to heart, but they sure as hell played that way. Personally, I had the Mavericks winning the West again... so there's that $50. Another upset that shocked me the most in the first round was the Nets getting swept by the rather defensively-sound and playoff-virgin Orlando Magic. The Nets had a lot of momentum going into the end of the season and looked to make some noise with their backcourt for Strickland, Brown and Harper. But that trio failed to slow down the efforts of Glen Rice. But the biggest surprise of that series was the emergence of Rik Smits down low. That name wasn't very known around the league before that series, but I think everyone has taken notice.
Cari Champion: Alright, Skip. Your turn. Biggest surprises?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2013 15:07:55 GMT -6
Skip Bayless: Wow, where do do I begin? It's really hard to disagree with you on the Mavericks and Warriors series. We all knew coming in that the key to that series would be who could mitigate damage from each one of these team's overpowered stars. Instead of mitigate, Dallas opened up a flood gates for Kemp. Talk about taking a bath in a hapless coaching job then he dried himself off on that cottonelle soft defense.
Stephen A. Smith: So disrespectful
Skip Bayless: I've never been so disappointed in a team in the first round. That was until I started watching the Pacers series. The Pacers had everything going for them. The Bucks were hobbled losing what was considered their best player in Dominique Wilkens. They had the dominant big man and a stopper on the perimeter. They had home court advantage over a , let's be honest, .500 Bucks team. Then they come out and lay an egg in the first game and play a little cat and mouse game with placing Stacey Augmon at the 2 then 3 to try and slow down Dell Curry. They ended up getting completely out coached in this series and that's very disappointing considering I thought this coach could have won coach of the year. The Pacers ran a slow offense and iso offense and the Bucks knew they could throw help defenders in the paint on Ewing all day and held him under 50% for 4 games, which so happened to be games they all lost.
Cari Champion: Wow Skip, really sounding off on the Pacers and Mavericks GM's. What did you think about my Lakers? I can tell you everyone in L.A. is very disappointed.
Skip Bayless: I think the Lakers gave everyone a little bit of false hope starting the season so strong and throw in the fact that they had so many injuries that really hurt their seeding, I can't say i'm surprised. What i was shocked about in that series though was the coach messing with the line-up. You have a rookie who made All League 3rd Team at the PF spot and they experimented with him at the 3 and Beniot Benjamin at the 4, for what I thought was to slow down Daughterly. Well news flash, he and the Mavs coach can give clinics on what not to do in the playoffs after their first round Exits.
Cari Champion: I guess someone is fired up today.
Stephen A Smith: More like overdosed on Diet Mountain Dew..
Cari Champion: Alright well from the first round the the second round we go. Where the Jazz and the Kings each lead their series 2-0. Skip have any bold predictions for this round?
Skip Bayless: Sadly no. I think these series are both going to end in 5 games. As impressed as I was with the Grizzlies and the Warriors, I just don't think they have a chance. The Warriors are just a lesser version than the Kings just like their star Kemp is a lesser version of Malone. Really don't think they can beat a locked and loaded Jazz who probably should have represented the West last year if it weren't for an ill-timed unfortunate injury to what is considered one of the best basketball players of all time in Michael Jordan.
Skip Bayless: For the Kings and Grizzlies series, the Kings have really seized control and outside of the Mavs were the hottest team in the league. The Kings are probably the team that I think "has it together" outside of the dominant Hawks. I'm really excited to see a series between the Jazz and the Kings.
Cari Champion: Stephen A., your take?
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Post by IamQuailman on Dec 31, 2013 15:29:20 GMT -6
Stephen A. Smith: Hold up now. I love me some Jordan as much as the next guy, but you are completely underrating the play of the Warriors. Coming into the playoffs they were one of the hottest teams in the NBA. While they may have suffered a hiccup in their two road games, don't count the Warriors down and out yet. I've talked to some sources close to the Warriors, and they said they had wanted to experiment on the road, try something different. As a result, they were outrebounded and couldn't keep up with the Jazz's 3-pt shooting. But they said that they are getting back to basic Warrior basketball. Get a win or two and shake the Jazz's confidence. As we've seen in the past, the Jazz like to ride Michael Jordan's coattails. If you can ruffle his feathers, the Jazz's coaching staff has the tendency to not make adjustments at critical times in the playoffs. This could be anyone's series.
Skip Bayless: So... what's your pick then?
Stephen A. Smith: Warriors in 7, you heard it hear first.
Cari Champion: Wow.
Skip Bayless: You love picking the underdogs, don't you. But that's alright. I enjoy being more correct than you majority of the time. I can live with it.
Stephen A. Smith: Shut it, Skip. Now for the other series? I think the Grizzlies steal 1 win away, but the Kings win this in 5. Even if the Grizzlies management cared about points, they couldn't buy a 2nd win in this series if they wanted to.
Cari Champion: Stephen A., you're on a roll today. Are you willing to start us off in the East?
Stephen A. Smith: You betcha I'm fired up. Want to know what about the East gets me fired up? The Milwaukee Bucks surging at the right time, and without their main player to boot. They rose up against the Pacers in round one in an exciting series, and got the rematch they were looking for in Round 2. This is identical to last season's round 2 matchup except that Wilkins won't be available for this series and that Parish will be defending against Robinson. But push comes to shove, this series will come down to one thing: containing David Robinson. Limit him to a lower field goal percentage, and you are almost guaranteed a win. This series will be a grinder, going to 7; however, the result will be different from last year. Bucks win it.
Cari Champion: How about the other matchup? Magic and Hawks?
Stephen A. Smith: I like underdogs, and what the Magic have done this season has been pretty, for lack of a better term, magical. But they can't bang with the beast of the East. The Hawks sweep this series.
Cari Champion: Skip, thoughts?
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