DemonDave

Been watching most of these games on delay later at night on ESPN, which has been great. Even though knowing the result, its still good watching the machinations of the game. It certainly seems all but a formality it will be Heat-Spurs now. If ever Boston were gonna sneak a win in Miami it was yesterday, a herculean effort from Rondo but still they couldnt get it done down South Beach way. The third cog in the big three wheel in Miami in Bosh is still not back, but they still keep rolling along. Spurs were similarly convincing in their game 2 at home, in fact even more so. They were 20 odd points up at one stage, until a belated third Q comeback led predictably by Durant. The sheer depth of the Spurs roster after the pickups of Diaw and Jackson has meant they can easily cover if one of their stars has a bad night. They certainly run deeper than any of the other 3 teams right now. The tables turned for the first home games for Boston and OKC today and tomorrow, the home fans will be rowdy and hungry for an opening win. I expect these two games to be very close. As for the draft, after the season from hell the Bobcats had, they only end up with pick 2. Devastating that they wont get Davis, who has been the standout in the NCAA this year. His monobrow does scare me somewhat though.

A bit late to see these posts but here goes. The biggest weakness last year for the Niners was their receiving corps. Crabtree is not and i dont think will ever be more than a slot receiver, certainly not the #1 target we were after. Josh Morgan took off to the Redskins after showing a bit, and Kyle Williams and ted Ginn Jnr..well..lets not relive the Giants game again..A team cant be relying, as good as they are, on two tight ends in Davis & Walker to make all of their big pass plays. SO they picked up Mario Manningham from the Giants who had a very good year. We were always going to use our #1 pick on a receiver, but had no hope without trading up of getting Blackmon or Floyd. Jenkins was a surprise to many draft pundits, he has speed but his separation after catch isnt great. Time will tell. They also took a gamble on 36 year old Randy Moss, who is apparently in as good as shape as he's been after a year on the sidelines. Who knows if he will make the final squad or not, it didnt cost us anything to do though. We lost our starting nose tackle Snyder, so used our third round pick on a replacement for him which was also understandable. Not sure about our 2nd round pick, another running back, given we have AllPro Frank Gore, soph Kendall Hunter who showed quite a bit in his rookie year as a third down back, and picked up Brandon Jacobs from the Giants also. I guess like any draft it will take a while to determine if it was a 'good' draft for teams or not. Really looking forward to seeing RG3 in particular, he and Cam Newton may well become the prototype upon which future QBs are based. Luck will be more of a traditional pocket passer, and at the same time this type of QB has also flourished the last couple of years with yard records for passing regularly being broken by teams starters.

Game 1 is underway in the AT&T Centre, at work so only watching the live scores on the box score. What say we for predictions on here? I'm going 4-2 for my Spurs, their win streak is growing but every time we got to 11 or 12 in the regular season we seemed to have a letdown game. Chalk up two at home before dropping one. All we need is Manu Ginobili to fully find his rhythm. In the East, I'm tipping Miami over Boston 4-1. Its a credit to the creaky Celtics that they've got this far, but James & Wade will be hard to beat for youth and athleticism. They will need Bosh back in a hurry though.

Fantastic win for the 76ers today, wow! They were upto 18 behind at times in this game. Certainly lights the spark on this series, will be a fascinating one. We almost saw another big incident between Metta World "Peace" and Westbrook there, I agree with the commentators a double technical in this situation is a bit of a copout. If this game hadve been in Oklahoma the crowd would be absolutely giving it to MWP right now. Spurs are nicely placed in their series against Clippers, the balanced offense really does make it hard to match up on, double team Parker and you open up Ginobli and Neale and the like. Even Boris Diaw is having an impact... D Wades blowup with the coach really didnt look good, in line with his terrible game. On Mike and Mike on ESPN last night they floated the theory that Wade and LeBron are too similar, and that maybe they should try and trade DWade to somehow get Howard. Interesting hypothetical!

So any accusations of Lakers or Clippers players 'getting cold feet' in the playoffs will be not necessarily unwarranted?

Well the Nuggets won again, back to 3-2 now! Bulls get one back to force a sixth game, as do the Hawks at home to Celts. Just watching the replay of that game now, Pierce limping around, the creaky old bones of the Celts will not appreciate an elongated series. If some of these games goto 7 it will definitely be an advantage to Oaklahoma and San Antonio who had relatively easy sweeps.

I think Ive watched Chris Bosh pop up about 50 times now, strangely hypnotic! Grab Office Space on DVD, its a cracking movie from the mind of Mike Judge, who bought us Beavis and Butthead. Revolves around life in a cubicle in the workplace and the frustrated employee comically reaching boiling point, a classic!

Haha thats a classic scene from "Office Space" theyve borrowed from there! I think the Knicks are doomed in this series regarless. I've seen the Rhondo incident, and fair enough he got a suspension, you cant aggresively bump up to the ref like that. The pressure is well and truly on the ageing Celtics to get one last playoff series out of the Dads Army trio of Pearce,Allen & Garnett.

Shocking news for Rose and the Bulls. Thats two teams in the playoffs now without their top banana for the entire playoffs (Rose/Bulls & Howard/Magic). just hoping the Spurs can avoid any first round stumbles like last year!

This thread has morphed into a positive ray of light around here in these dark days, I love it! All because I commented on the punny headline from a serious news story.. Carry on...

"Lamb choice cut for Dees" Ugh, who's the funnyman writing these puntastic titles for these articles, Ugly Dave Gray? So does he replace Prendergast, or was his a different title?

Just discovered this thread! Still love the NBA. Its a bit more palatable this year with a shortened schedule too, the normal season is just too long for mine, 82 games! Not as bad as the MLB I guess. I'm a Spurs man, have been since The Admiral got drafted and I decided I needed a team so thats how I chose Spurs. Great to see Patty Mills getting some court time and hit 7 points yesterday for SA. The Spurs and Thunder are clearly the teams to beat out West, the Spurs will be keen to atone for last years first round ousting after being #1 seed at the hands of Memphis. In the East, its pretty clear Chicago and Miami are the two standouts. Some of the rookie class from this year have been pretty good too, Irving as mentioned and Ricky Rubio, although now done for the year with injury, was a joy to watch with his sublime passing game. Roll on the playoffs!

Gee the Broncos didnt really get much in the trade for Tebow either did they? Considering how big "Tebowmania" was during their playoff run this year, youd think he would have a bit more currency. I guess he preferred to be in a 'big' market, it will be interesting how big Rex handles the two QBs, I cant imagine Sanchez, hardly a popular figure with the Jets fans and media at the best of times, wouldve been to happy with the newfound competition. Im with Macca on this one, Sanchez gets the incumbency, and then after one game will be sitting it out by the big cooling fans on the sidelines while Tebow does his usual of offering nothing in the first half before running his team to victory almost singlehandedly. Noo Yoik now has the two biggest pro sport sensations of the past couple of years in the one city! A photo of the two together is surely an inevitability.. The Broncos have taken a big calculated risk shipping Tebow out and bringing in a 36 year old coming off a very serious neck injury. And signing for five years? Hmm. The Dolphins,Texans and Jags are the big losers out of all this. All were in the hunt for his services, as were the 49ers, they still crave and do not have their 'marquee' quarterback. The Niners risked disenfranchising Alex Smith when they courted Manning, but thankfully Smith re-signed after holding talks with Miami. He is no 'star' but he fits Harbaughs system, and with Mario Manningham and Randy Moss as upgrades at WR this year should at least have a viable target long this year that isnt a tight end. Roll on the draft, and Luck and RG3 getting into the pro systems, cant wait to see these two start for the Colts and Skins next year!

The same Redskins that won just five games all year and finished bottom of their division! Just shows that the Giants were not a real dominant force all through the regular season, merely a slightly better than average team. They just happened to catch form at the right time of year...

After going 0 for 2 last weekend with my tips, I feel this could be the kiss of death! After watching both games, I'm going to pick the Giants. They have form and momentum on their side. Having said that, the Pats are on a decent winning streak too, but I just feel the giants three pronged attack of Nicks, Cruz and Manningham are in top form. The Pats have Gronk, Hernandez, Branch et al, but if that catch in the final 20 seconds hadve been caught, we'd be talking about the Ravens right now. Cant wait, as usual for the Superbowl, got the day off work, plan to get settled on the couch for a huge day!

Of course I'll be picking SF for the win. We beat them mid-year, and despite them almost scoring on the final drive (A timely Justin Smith bat-down put paid to yet another Manning fourth quarter TD drive) I felt we handled them well that day, importantly our defence was pretty effective. Admittedly the Giants are peaking form wise but my heart and head are pointing in the same direction of a win for the team in red and gold. As for the other game, its a tough one. The Ravens havent even been tested in the playoffs, despite the Texans best efforts last week. Ray Lewis is a beast. Ditto Ray Rice. The Pats dismantling of an out of their depth Broncos was predictably clinical. I feel against a stiffer defensive setup that the Ravens present, then the Pats will be beaten. So to a dream matchup in the Superbowl, "the Brothers Harbaugh". What a great promoters dream that would be. Only I dont want to see a repeat of the Thanksgiving massacre, where the Ravens D consistently blitzed, and the Niners O-line fell apart. It was the only time Ive seen it all year done so effectively, theres no reason if this game happens we wont see it again. Smith became nothing more than a punching bag for the Ravens. It was brutal, ugly and highly effective. Still Frank Gore was playing hurt that day, hes back in business now. If this matchup does occur, it will be the top two ranked defences playing off, quite ironic in a year where quarterbacks were smashing historical records all over the place!

I dont know how happy Macca will be today, the Giants, somehow, managed to beat the Packers at Lambeau. I've taped the game so cant comment on how it looked, gee not many people saw that coming though! the Ravens did what they needed to against the Texans, who had their chances in the last quarter. So it sets up an AFC Championship game of Ravens @ Patriots and NFC Championship game of Giants @ 49ers I'm going to go with Patriots in a tight one, Brady was sizzling against Denver, and while the Ravens have the second best defence in the League after the Niners, I think NE have too many targets: Welker, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Branch, Ochochinco et al. I think the Niners can repeat their effort from during the season and beat the Giants at home also. Hakeem Nicks and co will find it a bit tougher against SF's secondary next week. Cant wait!

Whos got it better than us? Nobody! I still cant wipe the grin off my face, that was an unbelievably hectic finish to that game.When Jimmy Graham rumbled for that TD I was sure it was all over. Great final drive by Smith who surely now has to be recognised as a legitimate top grade quarterback. Vernon Davis came up with those two huge catches in that drive. Now, bring on the Packers or Giants!

Yeah 16 games in the regular season of NFL, versus 162 regular season games in MLB (zzzz....) or 82 games in the NBA (in a regular, non strike affected year). You can see why all games are so important in football, thats why I love it, the fans rollercoaster of emotions can change so quickly..

Unfortunately for Wing, the most coverage he';s seemingly had on ESPN is for his premature celebration meaning the TD didnt count. Still they have also had a couple of mini features on the "Wing Dance". Lets hope he gets drafted by an NFL side, you can never have too many Aussie Punters in the league! My partner works with a close friend of Matt McBriar, McBriar flew all of his friends and family to Hawaii for his marriage in the last offseason, so clearly the punting wage is pretty good too! Of todays games, I'm only watching the Lions-Saints game now, was kinda hoping the Lions wouldve got up as I fear the Niners having to face a white-hot Bledsoe next week. Houston probably did what was expected against the Bengals today, the Cinci have to be wrapt with the way Andy Dalton's rookie season has panned out. If it wasnt for a certain Carolina Panther, he'd be a shoe in as the pick of the rookie QBs. I expect Baltimore to smother the Texans next week though, that stifling defence of theirs is a game style tailor made for the playoffs. So too is the Niners similar game plan bulit first and foremost on defence, however I think on form of the last 6-7 weeks that the Saints will have the edge, even at Candlestick. Tomorrow mornings Wildcard games (Ive already set the alarm clock!) should see the Steelers crush the out of form at the wrong time of year Broncos (cue endless analysis on Tebows true worth once more!). And I think the Giants with Mannings unnerring ability to orchestrate last quarter comebacks built on long, long scoring drives to be too good for the Falcons, Julio Jones has proven to be an astute draft maoeuvre to get for Atlanta though, hes shown as a rookie he has all the tools to be a great receiver.

Wow! The Colts win their second game of the year, I almost turned this game off, after the first play of the day was a turnover that led to a Texans touchdown within the first minute, I was thinking a route may be on the cards. The game then turned into a bit of a snooze fest, I was that close to pulling the plug, but stuck it out, Orlovsky looked more and more comfortable as the game went on, and thanks to some silly defensive penalties that gifted the Colts succesive first downs in the final drive, they got the W, hitting the lead with only 20 seconds to go, great game! Also stoked at the MNF result, managed to tape it and watch it Monday night, Big Ben was clearly unfit which was kind of disappointing, but the Niners were not. Aldon Smith, the beast, is fast becoming one of my favorite players to watch on defense for the Niners, hes having an outstanding rookie season and justifying his high draft pick position. If we can keep Frank Gore fully fit, and get Braylon Edwards and Patrick Willis back on the field and healthy then i think we can edge the Saints for the #2 seed in the NFC. Still no rushing TDs conceded by the defence this year, clearly the foundation our season has been built on. The battle of New York promises to be the pick of the games this weekend for mine...

A couple of big results today, in a couple of very important divisions. AFC North - The Ravens get smashed by the rejuvenated Chargers, and now leave the door wide open for the Steelers to take the lead in the conference if they can overcome my faltering 49ers in MNF tomorrow (as I expect they will). NFC East - I watched the Cowboys beat the Bucs on Friday they didnt do anything special but just enough to get the job done, and are a now a game clear after the Giants shock loss to Rex Grossman and the Skins. The Eagles are alooking a bit better again with VIck back at the helm but are another game again back, a tough task. The Saints now take the mantle as the most in-form team in the league right now, Breese's streak of touchdown passes in games continues and he is on pace to beat Marinos all time season yardage mark, will he or Rodgers get the MVP? Rodgers is on course to beat a whole swag of Packers franchise records, but for mine it'd be Breese right now. They are marching towards the week off and home field advantage. The Pack lose their first and the Colts actually win one! Lucky I didnt have my multibet this week as those two wouldve been the first two legs I wouldve lost on...

Massive loss today to the Pats for your boys. And yes if it wasnt already, thats definitely season over put a fork in it. Just finished watching the Bears-Raiders game, the Raiders keep their momentum up, although apart from the last ten minutes it was a fairly dull game. Dont think either of these two teams will be going very deep this season.

Well not at work at the moment, I managed to get onto the coach and turn the phone off the hook, Pack continued their unbeaten record, gee they keep on roling with ease! Ndamukong Suh continues to sully his reputation though, got ejected and will most likely face more discipline. The Cowboys-Dolphins game was an interesting one, Miami had their chances, Dallas seemingly havent hit any heights at all, but are crucially winning. Not good for the GIants and Eagles! Just abut to get to the main event. First time ever two brothers have coached head-to-head in NFL history tonight, and Mon & Pop Harbaugh celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary tomorrow, what a weekend for this family. No Ray Lewis its just been announced which is a big plus for the Niners. If I had one of those foam hats with the drinking straws out of the top of them,. I'd be totally wearing one right now sipping away, this is gonna be a treat!

I only read about Cutler being out this evening, huge blow if its for a while, I've never even heard of their backup QB. Just watching the battle of the Bays now on Foxtel, gee they Bucs had their chances didnt they? Definitely an off day for GB, but they still keep winning.. Schaub is supposed to be out for the season theyll have to rely on Matt Leinart from here on in I'd say, a shame as the Texans were going along quite well.. Did you see the last drive Tebow took on Friday against the Jets. He just kept rushing. You knew he was going to do it, but he kept finding holes in the defence and punching through. An amazing final drive. Now if only he could throw as well as he rushes!