[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

If Atlanta and Memphis are able to pull off the upset, do you guys think they can win their 2nd round matchup?  Presumeably the Bulls and Thunder, respectively.

[ilike.panochasParticipant]

Memphis has the two good big man (Gasol-Randolph) so I think that gives them a chance against anyone. Memphis made the Spurs look like a small team because of their size and bulk. So they have a great chance against Thunders.

As for the Hawks, their talent along with their past playoff experience (heartbreak experiences) has made this team stronger and hungrier. I think they are capable of toppling the Bulls.

Here is my prediction if the match up comes into fruition:

Thunders > Grizzlies
Hawks > Bulls

[Jlv2011]

Thunder and Bulls.  btw, grizz and hawks still have a tough road to eliminating.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I Wouldnt call Atlanta Beating Orlando an Upset..Even though Orlando had the better record..Almost everyone will Agree that Atlanta have Underachieved the past few years….Adding Hinrich gives them a defensive boost…

Memphis plays The Thunder pretty well..All their games were close…I think Memphis won the season series between the 2 teams…

[JoeWolf1]

 The Hawks also beat the Magic 3 out of 4 on the season, I’m not surprised at all they have take a lead in the series.

[gopack10Participant]

…I just don’t see us taking down the Bulls.  I like our team and I love what we are doing against the Magic this year after last year’s debacle.  If D-Rose isn’t healthy then I do believe that we could make the series competitive but I’m done with thinking that the Hawks are serious contenders until they show me otherwise.  

On the other hand, the Grizz will be in decent position to take down the Thunder.  The Grizz are playing well right now and have two defensive stoppers in Allen and Battier.  They have talent and a fairly decent bench so that series could go 7 but then again I thought that the Nuggets would fair a lot better than they have to this point so what do I know.

But we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here since neither one of these series are over.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

Anything can happen, this play-offs shows us that (well, unless you were the Knicks). But, I really do not like those odds if either of these teams wins. I think the Bulls will match-up really well against Atlanta, and that Rose and Boozer should give them fits. As far as the Grizzlies go, their bigs are playing well, but I still feel that Durant and Westbrook would end up being too much for them too stop. Both of the teams they would be playing have a chemistry and system intact that is well above their first round opponents.

The Spurs look banged up, even if Manu is faking it, they are not the team that started off the season looking unbeatable. Their remaining dominant required their three best players be at full health, and it does not seem to be the case. The Magic on the other hand, made some terrible trades that destroyed whatever semblance of chemistry and match-up problems they had the past couple years. Honestly, either the Spurs or Magic could indeed make a comeback, but I think the Grizzlies definitely seem to have the Spurs number. The Magic have done this before, though I will honestly be rooting for the Hawks. Regardless, I think both the Thunder and Bulls will be the favorite playing either team, they both appear to be in solid play-off shape even after their recent losses.

[Dc773Participant]

My Bulls go as far as D.Rose. Deng relies heavily on his 20-feet touch and Boozer obstensibly enjoys riding Rose’s back too much; and Thibs, will he play Rasual Butler over Bogans already?! I get it: you know what you’re doing. But this is common sense: Butler>Bogans.

[Real Talk Real TrophiesParticipant]

How many defensive player of the year award votes did rasual butler get?.. albeit dwight really deserved them all, Bogans is still better than Butler… its rasual butler, dude couldn’t even break clippers rotation as veteran shooter.

[BasterdInABasketParticipant]

Other than Durant, JJ is the smoothest scorer in the league (when he wants to) and Josh Smith is a game changer on D and sometimes on the other end too. Overall I think they matchup pretty well with Chicago. They have 2 legit post players to match up with Booz and Noah and Hinrich and JJ are capable of containg Rose. However I wouldnt trust Crawford and JJ enough to pick them in a series over Chicago. Chicago is a great defensive team and I dont trust Crawford in that situation. Hes playing good now but thats against a terrible perimter defensive team. I can see him struggling and Johnson not being aggressive enough against a team like the Bulls. Give JJ the scoring mentality of Crawford and I would give the edge to atl.

I like OKC winning a Memphis series too. That might have been the best thing that could have happened to Westbrook, having an awful shooting night, taking 30 shots and missing several shots late. He’ll be sure to find KD from now on and theyll have everything straightened out. Ibaka Perkins and their other bigs can bang with Gasol and ZBo and Russ and KD will take advantage of Memphiss weak spots: PG and SF.

[surveParticipant]

I like OKC over Memphis too…but if there were a Bulls vs Hawks matchup, I would favor the Hawks.  The Hawks are just so talented and athletic and Heinrich has helped them improve.  Aside from that, I just think the Bulls are like last years Cavs.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 Memphis has no chance of passing OKC. Even if Rudy Gay comes back. They really don’t have an allstar on thier team while OKC has 2. Rudy Gay will help a little bit but in the end the superstar presence of Kevin Durant would just be to much for the Grizzlies to handle. Yes, in the regular the Grizzlies beat the Thunder but that doesn’t mean a thing in the playoffs. Thunder win in 5 games but it wouldn’t surprise me if this ends up being a sweep.

The Hawks have a little better chance at beating the Bulls but it also is not likely. The Hawks do possess the advantage down low with Al Horford beating Carlos Boozer, but Joakim Noah will be tough to handle as neither Jason Collins or Zaza Pachulia aren’t even near the player that Noah is. They also have a huge disadvantage at the Point. It will be interesting to see Derrick Rose go up against his former mentor Kirk Hinrich, but I think we all know who wins that matchup: Derrick Rose, Duh. Jamal Crawford and their bench is the other advantage the Hawks have as well as Horford over Boozer and Joe Johnson over Chicago’s lack of a shooting guard. I think those advantages will allow the Hawks to make this a tough series but I see the Bulls coming out victorius in 6 games.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Thunder have the tools to knock off the Grizzlies, especially with Gay out it gives them an obvious advantage. The Grizz have the two big bodies but it wont be as much of an advantage as it has been against San Antonio. OKC geared up for the playoffs by grabbing Mohommed and Perkins, then they also have Ibaka and Collison. If Rudy Gay was playing it would give Durant nightmares, Gay loves going up against OKC. These two teams have formed somewhat of a rivalry in the past and this should be a great series.

[Real Talk Real TrophiesParticipant]

i get docked a point for my bogans comment by some hater and then keith comes out and goes 5-7 from 3. Lets Go!!!! I let the players do the talking for me

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