If the Pacers eliminate the Heat...

[Rory Sparrow]

...would you consider it the greatest upset in NBA playoff history? I think it would have to be up near the top. I remember the Nets defeating the defending champion 76ers back in 1984, when everyone was saying the Moses Malone-Dr. J Sixers were one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Even more amazing, in the 5 game series, the Nets lost both games in NJ but ended up winning all 3 games in Philly.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb0bLsolTjg]1984 NBA Playoffs: New Jersey upsets Philadelphia - YouTube[/ame]

[Poohdini]

im throwin a party....even tho i dont like the pacers

[Crystallas]

The Warriors beating the Mavs(what...5 seasons ago?) was a good one. The Mavs could beat anyone that year fairly handedly, except for the Warriors, GO FIGURE LOL! Usually I dig a little deeper than something so recent, but that was just a hardcore upset.

[Uman85]

The Warriors beating the Mavs(what...5 seasons ago?) was a good one. The Mavs could beat anyone that year fairly handedly, except for the Warriors, GO FIGURE LOL! Usually I dig a little deeper than something so recent, but that was just a hardcore upset.

That's the biggest upset to me, in recent memory.

The Pacers taking down the Heat would be a big one, but if the Heat had Bosh it would definitely be the biggest of all-time IMO. Losing Bosh will take away a bit of the upset aspect, but it will still be a big blow to the heat if it happens. If the Pacers can do it in 5 games, there would be a ground for debate though.

[JosMin]

...would you consider it the greatest upset in NBA playoff history? I think it would have to be up near the top. I remember the Nets defeating the defending champion 76ers back in 1984, when everyone was saying the Moses Malone-Dr. J Sixers were one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Even more amazing, in the 5 game series, the Nets lost both games in NJ but ended up winning all 3 games in Philly.

1984 NBA Playoffs: New Jersey upsets Philadelphia - YouTube

I'd have to say not the top upset simply because this Heat team hasn't won anything yet. I agree 100% that the '84 Nets beating the Sixers was mind boggling. That Sixers team had two of the 20 greatest players ever in Malone and Dr. J, and two other All-Stars in Cheeks and Toney.

A few other "huge upsets" come to mind -- the '75 Warriors beating the Unseld/Hayes Bullets, the 'Nuggets upending the Sonics becoming the first 8-seed to beat a 1-seed, and the '81 Rockets (led by guess who? Moses Malone) beat the Lakers.

[FirstTimer]

I'd have to say not the top upset simply because this Heat team hasn't won anything yet. I agree 100% that the '84 Nets beating the Sixers was mind boggling. That Sixers team had two of the 20 greatest players ever in Malone and Dr. J, and two other All-Stars in Cheeks and Toney.

A few other "huge upsets" come to mind -- the '75 Warriors beating the Unseld/Hayes Bullets, the 'Nuggets upending the Sonics becoming the first 8-seed to beat a 1-seed, and the '81 Rockets (led by guess who? Moses Malone) beat the Lakers.

The Warriors one in 75 is mind boggling even with Rick Barry.


The Rockets in 81 is meh just because it was a best of 3 first round.

[JosMin]

The Warriors one in 75 is mind boggling even with Rick Barry.


The Rockets in 81 is meh just because it was a best of 3 first round.

The late 70s in general had some ridiculous upsets. Shit, every single champ from '77 until 79' were all what most would say are unworthy teams. That Sonics/Bullets final was just horrific. The Sonics got destroyed by the Lakers the following season and the Bullets barely made it into the playoffs.

[HeavyD]

In a 66 game season...Pacers won 42 games and the Heat won 46. 4 games difference over 66 games. No matter what star power the heat have it doesn't mean this should even crack the top 20 WHEN the Pacers beat the heat!.

[FirstTimer]

I don't know....

I'd have to say Golden State over Dallas a few years ago would be bigger. Denver over Seattle back in the 90's?

I really like Indiana though and think they are pretty fucking good...and while it would be an upset for sure not sure I could put it over any of the ones I mentioned or the one in the OP

[Uman85]

I don't know....

I'd have to say Golden State over Dallas a few years ago would be bigger. Denver over Seattle back in the 90's?

I really like Indiana though and think they are pretty fucking good...and while it would be an upset for sure not sure I could put it over any of the ones I mentioned or the one in the OP

Completely forgot about that one. I was 6 at the time, so I didn't really see it live, but I watched a few of those games on youtube and that was pretty shocking. Mutombo was a hell of an advantage and a key difference maker for the Nuggets. That Sonics team was very talented.

[FirstTimer]

Completely forgot about that one. I was 6 at the time, so I didn't really see it live, but I watched a few of those games on youtube and that was pretty shocking. Mutombo was a hell of an advantage and a key difference maker for the Nuggets. That Sonics team was very talented.

Kemp had a fucking terrible series. Mutombo owned the paint and really neutralized him inside. Prime example of a "matchup" in a playoff series. Denever played Mutombo on Kemp because Perkins loved to float outside a lot more. IIRC the Nuggets went small and had Reggie Williams on Perkins a lot and let Mutombo deal with Kemp inside. Kemp wasn't able to use his athleticism on Mutombo because everyone else on the floor for Denver was pretty quick and Kemp wasn't going to do much trying to go over Mutombo every possession.

[houheffna]

Completely forgot about that one. I was 6 at the time, so I didn't really see it live, but I watched a few of those games on youtube and that was pretty shocking. Mutombo was a hell of an advantage and a key difference maker for the Nuggets. That Sonics team was very talented.

I was 19...and Seattle were straight beasts at the time. Best record in the league, went to the WCF the year before...it was supposed to be their year, and that is their best team of the 1990's I believe. But Scottie's Bulls played them tough both times and split that year if I am not mistaken...here in Chicago, Kemp punched the ball while trying to rebound it...which is illegal, which caused a critical turnover. I don't know if its on youtube or not.

But the biggest playoff upset was the 2004 Finals.

The 1984 Series (that I didn't know about) would be much higher on the list than this Heat/Pacers series.

The thing about the Sixers series is, I don't know who was missing. I don't believe anyone was missing in that 1994 Series. The Mailman was out for most of that 2004 Finals.

[FirstTimer]

I was 19...and Seattle were straight beasts at the time. Best record in the league, went to the WCF the year before...it was supposed to be their year, and that is their best team of the 1990's I believe. But Scottie's Bulls played them tough both times and split that year if I am not mistaken...here in Chicago, Kemp punched the ball while trying to rebound it...which is illegal, which caused a critical turnover. I don't know if its on youtube or not.

People seem to forget what a fucking grinder the WC was back in the early to mid 90's. Between the Suns, Rockets, Jazz, Spurs, Sonics, Blazers, Lakers(to an extent), the Warriors(prior to Run DMC breaking up) the West was a fucking gauntlet.

You had some seasons were the 6 seed in the West won 50 games and was a legit force ...most other years they were within a few wins of 50. Hell in 1994 the Blazers were a 47 win team and the 7th seed and still had all the core players from the NBA Finals runs. While the 6 seed in the East was some awful 43 win team like New Jersey or an old lame Boston squad.

The West was top to bottom so much better than the East it was scary.

[CODE_BLUE56]

People seem to forget what a fucking grinder the WC was back in the early to mid 90's. Between the Suns, Rockets, Jazz, Spurs, Sonics, Blazers, Lakers(to an extent), the Warriors(prior to Run DMC breaking up) the West was a fucking gauntlet.

You had some seasons were the 6 seed in the West won 50 games and was a legit force ...most other years they were within a few wins of 50. Hell in 1994 the Blazers were a 47 win team and the 7th seed and still had all the core players from the NBA Finals runs. While the 6 seed in the East was some awful 43 win team like New Jersey or an old lame Boston squad.

The West was top to bottom so much better than the East it was scary.

well duh....

#michaeleffinjordan

[Diddy1122]

I was 19...and Seattle were straight beasts at the time. Best record in the league, went to the WCF the year before...it was supposed to be their year, and that is their best team of the 1990's I believe. But Scottie's Bulls played them tough both times and split that year if I am not mistaken...here in Chicago, Kemp punched the ball while trying to rebound it...which is illegal, which caused a critical turnover. I don't know if its on youtube or not.

But the biggest playoff upset was the 2004 Finals.

The 1984 Series (that I didn't know about) would be much higher on the list than this Heat/Pacers series.

The thing about the Sixers series is, I don't know who was missing. I don't believe anyone was missing in that 1994 Series. The Mailman was out for most of that 2004 Finals.

Agree with pretty much all this. Though I wouldn't say 2004 Finals was the biggest upset imho. It did kind of come out of nowhere but that Lakers team was already showing signs of turmoil before they even got to the Finals. Not to mention you had a legit 3 other contenders in the West (Minny, SA, & Sac) that year who all finished within 2 games of each other. Predictions were split across the board that year but almost everyone was predicting the winner of the West would win it all.

Denver beating Seattle really blindsided everyone. That Sonics team was disgustingly good & Denver was a young, upstart team that shut them down for 3 straight games, with 2 incredible OT victories to steal the series. It was exciting to watch & made me an instant Mutombo fan.

Pacers beating the Heat would be an upset but nowhere on par with the ones mentioned already in this thread.

[ChicagoGr]

It would certainly be one of the greatest upsets in playoff history.
I'd love this to happen

[houheffna]

It would certainly be one of the greatest upsets in playoff history.
I'd love this to happen

I don't see it, 2nd vs. 3rd seed...some people said the Pacers would win that series from the start. Indiana is legitimately a top 10 team. Miami is top 3. Especially after Bosh went down, who is much more important than people think, the Heat are vulnerable in my opinion.

[clonetrooper264]

Like a lot of other people said, there were far greater upsets before. That said, people would celebrate this one like no other just because of the hate for the Heat. Definitely not the greatest (I'd definitely take the Nuggets over Seattle and Pistons over Lakers in 04 over this) but perhaps top 5? Maybe...

[Scoot26]

Even though I didnt see the series back then, just from my general study of NBA history, I'd say the 93-94 Nuggets beating the #1 seed in the first round was the greatest upset. I'd take the Warriors over that Mavericks in 06-07 as well before this series.

There's plenty of other series I can think of as well. Just about any of them mentioned here are above what this Heat-Pacers series will be, especially since the dynamics of the series changed when Bosh was lost.

[BNB]

For a moment, I'm going to forget about it being the Heat and Pacers.

If I looked at it as a 3rd seed beating a 2nd seed, or a 42 win team beating a 46 win team without their 3rd best player, I wouldn't think of it as a HUGE upset. Or at least not the biggest upset in NBA history.

[nwfisch]

Blow the Pacers up

[Prope]

Let me say this, with no hyperbole added: If the Pacers beat the Heat it totally vindicates Rose tearing his ACL. As long as King Lebron never, ever, ever wins a title - then and only then, will I be happy.

[Uman85]

Let me say this, with no hyperbole added: If the Pacers beat the Heat it totally vindicates Rose tearing his ACL. As long as Queen Lebron never, ever, ever wins a title - then and only then, will I be happy.

Yep.

[nwfisch]

Let me say this, with no hyperbole added: If the Pacers beat the Heat it totally vindicates Rose tearing his ACL. As long as King Lebron never, ever, ever wins a title - then and only then, will I be happy.

I'd like to have the Bulls win the title first, but second in my NBA fandom is the Heat losing. I like watching them, I enjoy their games, but I hate the team. Being an NBA fan doesn't mean I have to cheer for the best team to win. I consider it enjoying great basketball.

Yes I'd feel differently about Lebron if he were on the Bulls

So idiotz moronz dopez and stuffz.

[scottiepippen1994]

...would you consider it the greatest upset in NBA playoff history? I think it would have to be up near the top. I remember the Nets defeating the defending champion 76ers back in 1984, when everyone was saying the Moses Malone-Dr. J Sixers were one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Even more amazing, in the 5 game series, the Nets lost both games in NJ but ended up winning all 3 games in Philly.

1984 NBA Playoffs: New Jersey upsets Philadelphia - YouTube

It would be the happiest most joyful day of my basketball watching career. Even happier than the Bulls 6 championships.

God is a Larry Bird fan.