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Buzzmaster

  (10:12 PM)

JA Adande will be here Sunday to chat about the NBA playoffs! Send in your questions!

J.A. Adande

  (3:00 PM)

Hello from Houston, welcome to this little chatlet. Breaking News! They just passed out the active list and Yao Ming's name was circled among the actives. Willis Reed y'all! Actually, no chance. Yao just addressed the media about 15 minutes ago, wearing a suit. And he's only circled because Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo, who are really, really out, are already occupying the inactive slots.

Houston, Texas

You thing Adelman will use Joey Dorsey at all at the 5 position considering Yao's Injury or Cook will pick up the slack?Thank you

J.A. Adande

  (3:01 PM)

Adelman said he'll go with Chuck Hayes. Hayes has actually played good D.Ron Artest said we'll probably see more Brian Cook today.

J.A. Adande

  (3:02 PM)

Then again, yesterday Artest said Yao told him he was playing in Game 4, and we saw that.

J.A. Adande

  (3:02 PM)

As for Dorsey, he's not on the active list. So I guess we've got a better chance of seeing Yao than Dorsey.

Rocky (Boston, MA)

What do you expect from Jordan Farmar coming off the bench today as opposed to starting and what do you expect to see from Derek Fisher coming back from the suspension?

J.A. Adande

  (3:04 PM)

I think Farmar has less to prove now, so he won't try too hard, won't make as many mistakes when he's in there. As for Fisher...refreshed, maybe? He spent a lot of extra time shooting yesterday. He needs it; 1 for 7 on 3's in the series

Randy(NJ)

Hey J.A., what did you think about Doc Rivers idea that players who earn a suspension in the playoffs shouldn't serve that suspension until the following regular season so no one misses playoff games?

J.A. Adande

  (3:05 PM)

I think that would be an open invitation to clothesline, low-bridge, do whatever it takes to debilitate opponents. Wouldn't a missing a couple of regular-season games (and the lost salary) be worth it for a chance to win a series or the championship? And then you could send in a goon off the bench to do the dirty work. No, bad idea!

colten marion ohio [via mobile]

What do u think about the no call yesterday in dallas?

J.A. Adande

  (3:07 PM)

It wasn't as atrocious as it's being made out to be. If you're taking the foul, wrap up Melo so there's no doubt. (See Chris Sheridan's piece on Doc Rivers' advice to the Celtics today). Wright barely tapped Melo, then threw his hands in the air, which is the symbol for "I didn't touch him."

J.A. Adande

  (3:08 PM)

To answer another question that was put out there (and I can't find in the queue right now), the admission from the NBA does NOTHING for the Mavericks, but it should excuse them for being fined for anything they said or did afterward.

Zach (Denver):

Do you agree with either of these statements: If there was a fould to be called at the end of last night's game, it could have been called on Melo for pushing off with his left arm, and the Mavs should never have been in the position to let the ref decide the game anyway?

J.A. Adande

  (3:10 PM)

I didn't notice the Melo push until the 4th or 5th time I saw the replay. Wasn't as bad as Jordan on Bryon Russell. And your last point is the most important. If Dirk doesn't miss a shot in the lane he probably makes 90 times out of 100, we're not having this discussion

Sam (San Jose)

What will the NBA screw up today? How sad is it that they handed Denver a 3-0 lead and annihilated any chance of a Rockets comeback by throwing out Artest for a clean foul?

J.A. Adande

  (3:13 PM)

It's sad that you wonder what the next mistake the refs will make, but that's state of these playoffs. Overshadowed by the Mavs-Nuggets play was the fact that the NBA has admitted bad calls in the last 2 Lakers-Rockets game. Kobe's elbow in Game 2 got upgraded to a flagrant 1, when he wasn't even called for a foul in the game. And Artest's knockdown of Pau Gasol was downgraded from flagrant 2 to flagrant 1, which means he shouldn't have been ejected. Even though the Lakers would have won anyway, ejecting a player on false premises is pretty serious mistake

Jim (Boston)

What are your thoughts on Orlando-Boston tonight? Seems like the only interesting series now.

J.A. Adande

  (3:15 PM)

It looks like Boston is wearing down. Right now it's the only one that even has a chance of being competitive, but the Celtics could only be prolonging the inevitable. They'd get rolled by the Cavs.

justin (san diego) [via mobile]

Don't you think ron artest has been getting jipped and unfairly treated by the refs in this series. I mean 2 ejections for clean hard fouls, come on now. Or is he just forever going to be a victim of his past?

J.A. Adande

  (3:16 PM)

He's completely being victimized. He's been on good behavior this year, and he keeps getting the quick hook.

J.A. Adande

  (3:17 PM)

By the way, he updated his hairdo today to say "Houston" on the right side. When asked if that's an indication of his long-term plans, he didn't bite

Bill (Boston, MA)

Any chance of having a "play review" system similar to that in the NFL for coaches who may be disgruntled w/calls?

J.A. Adande

  (3:19 PM)

good suggestion. But how many challenges would you give coaches. I'm guessing that even if the Mavs had a couple of "challenge" flags at their disposal, they would have used them already before the final play of the game...probably because Mark Cuban would have run over to Carlisle, taken them out of his pocket and thrown them himself.

Shawn (Scranton, PA)

What makes the Nuggets true contenders during this year's playoffs?

J.A. Adande

  (3:20 PM)

Simple: defense. They're taking it more seriously. And anytime you play serious defense, you have a chance to advance in the playoffs. That and Billups.

Matthew ( Atlanta, GA)

Cleveland seems to be playing their best ball of the year and constantly gaining momentum, with the possbility of the number one seeds on a collision course to meet in the finals do you feel that the Lakers can match their intensity?

J.A. Adande

  (3:23 PM)

In the first round I would have said no. But I sense them slowly gaining momentum. Nice road win in Game 3. There's still time for the Lakers to build some mo'. Remember last year, the Celtics were struggling in the first 2 rounds while the Lakers looked unbeatable. We saw how that turned out. But right now clearly Cleveland's playing the best ball, and LeBron has been the best player.

Justin (Vandenberg AFB, CA)

Does ORL have a decent shot at contending with the cavs in the ECF or do you expect them to roll through. At the high level of play they're playing at - do you see the Lakers or Nuggets being able to beat them in the finals (granted they have homecourt as well)...

J.A. Adande

  (3:24 PM)

Cleveland's playing much more consistently than Orlando. Just don't know what you're getting from the magic from one game to the next. I see the home team winning every game in Lakers-Nuggets, which means Lakers in 7.

Willis l.a. Ca [via mobile]

The cavs are way over rated sweeping a washed up pistons team and putting on a show with a young hawwks team isn't something great. If the 8th seeded jazz were on the east coast you'll see them in the eastern conf finals

J.A. Adande

  (3:25 PM)

I think you have to judge the Cavs on their own merits. It's not about the other teams. Are the Cavs taking care of business? Yep, each and every game.

Alex (LA)

To go the other way, Cleveland isn't playing any stiff competition. Will they have the experience to handle the "tested" Lakers in the Finals?

J.A. Adande

  (3:27 PM)

Even if they do get shocked by the Laker (or Nuggets) in Game 1, they'd stil have 6 games to recover. So I don't think they'll pay a penalty for winning so easily so far.

J.A. Adande

  (3:27 PM)

Time to get ready for tipoff. Enjoy the games today. Hopefully we won't be talking about the officials tomorrow.