The
Celtics make a statement in Game 7 against Atlanta and survive
to take a 1-0 lead against LeBron and the Cavs. LeBron had a
dreadful game, going just 2-18 from the field and turning the
ball over 10 times. Kind of reminds you of Michael Jordan
huh?!?! Enough with the comparisons to MJ, James isn't even
close to having what Jordan had. Sure he's big, 6-8 250lbs. and
has unusual athleticism for a man his size, for a man any size
for that matter. But let's not forget what we saw when MJ took
the court, for my money he is the best athlete to ever walk the
planet in any sport.
I think it boils down to having this guy shoved in our face
since he was 14 years old and billed as the next Jordan then.
And why is everyone compared to MJ right away, why not compare
these up and comers to Kobe first. He does have three titles
remember. And let's not just dismiss Kobe's three rings because
he won them with Shaq. We judge players based on their
Championship rings or lack thereof, just ask Charles Barkley,
Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing. With that said, we can't just
forget about Kobe's because he won them with the Big Fella, that
is just ridiculous. Kobe was just as big a part of those titles
as Shaq and Phil Jackson. Maybe when Kobe gets his fourth ring
this year, people will appreciate him a little more. The Jazz
are a good team, but they can't match-up with the Lakers.
Back to the LeBron case, he has been exposed a bit this year. I
really don't think he wants to take that last shot, he looks
scared. He passes up to many open looks in big moments, not
necessarily at the end of the game, but throughout. As strange
as this may sound, I think he tries too hard to do the "right"
thing. He is a lot like Alex Rodriguez is many ways, they are
both thought of as the best in their respective sports, but yet
there are many guys you'd rather have in a big spot. Talent wise
they are both unparalleled, yet they don't seem to have that
"it" factor and that is something you can't teach, if they don't
have it now, they never will.
Speaking of the "it" factor, how about Chris Paul and the New
Orleans Hornets? They have held home court and appear to have
the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on the ropes. Paul has
made Tony Parker, who has never been much of a defender, look
lost. Gregg Popovich said this of Paul, "He runs an organized
playground." Hey, whatever works. The Spurs have found
themselves in a must win game in San Antonio for Game 3. No one
is counting them out yet, but the chips are certainly stacked
against them. The Fact they had leads at halftime in both Games
1 & 2 and were blown out in the second half, has to be alarming
to Popovich. The Spurs have suddenly looked old on the court,
Duncan has yet to get going, Manu Ginobili has been average and
Parker has been humbled by CP3. We all know the series doesn't
really begin until the home team loses, the Hornets took the
first two in New Orleans so it's the Spurs turn to protect the
Alamo. There may be a new sheriff in town and I think you know
his name.CP3.
The Magic got a win, albeit it took Chauncey Billups straining
his right hamstring to assure it, but in the playoffs you take
it anyway you get it. Billups will be reevaluated and his status
is uncertain for Game 4 and without him, the Pistons might
be in trouble. Orlando's big three have been big this post
season. Rashard Lewis dropped 33 in Game 3, Dwight "Super Man"
Howard and Hedo Turkoglu have both been a model of consistency .
I'm sure Jameer Nelson is eagerly anticipating whether or not
Billups will return. Rookie Rodney Stuckey filled in nicely, but
Chauncey Billups is the Pistons quarterback, they can't afford
for him to miss any more time. Orlando has played well this post
season and maybe deserved a little break like this, they
certainly took advantage of it, blowing the Pistons out of the
gym, outscoring them 38-17 in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Even
if Billups does come back, this may have instilled just enough
confidence in the Magic to get another win or two or maybe even
three.
THE WIDE-OPEN EASTERN
CONFERENCE
April 30, 2008
The
playoffs are off and running and with all the hype surrounding
the parity of the West and the top heavy East, let's just say,
that's why they play the games. All year we've heard how the
Celtics and the Pistons just may be the best two teams in the
NBA, let alone the East. Now they are both locked into to first
round dogfights.
The Lakers made quick work of the defenseless Nuggets. Just
seven games separated these two teams in the regular season. The
playoffs are a different beast. The Nuggets became the first
50-win team to be swept in the opening round. I'm not sure what
to make of that. I guess it means the Lakers are real good. I'm
sure I'm the first to write that. That is what you get here,
original content.
The Spurs are pretty good also. They took care of the Suns in
five games, although this series was a lot closer than the 4-1
final may appear. The Shaq experiment didn't go all that well,
but let's be honest, the Spurs were just better. The future is
looking a little cloudy for Phoenix these days. Steve Kerr put a
lot of eggs in that Shaq basket. I'm not sure it was a total
failure though. I don't see Shawn Marion getting the Suns past
the Spurs. If Mike D'Antoni is out, I'm sure he could expect a
call from Donnie Walsh, the Knicks have a vacancy you know and
so do the Bulls. You have to wonder if a team will ever win in
the NBA with that run and gun style? But heck, what do the
Knicks have to lose?
The free fall is complete. Marc Cuban has officially made a mess
of the Mavs. I'm not sure this is what he had in mind when he
acquired Jason Kidd. I'm assuming another first-round departure
was not it. Getting removed as the head coach was certainly not
what Avery Johnson had in mind. The Mavs were lost in this
series and I was surprised they won a game. In Game 3 Dirk
imposed his will and reminded us he still is a great player, 32
points and 19 rebounds will do that to a memory. This Hornets
team has a shot to make some more noise. Chris Paul's greatness
has been well documented, but let's look a little deeper. David
West is turning into a star and Peja Stojaovic has had a
reawaking, but how about sixth man extraordinaire Jannero Pargo.
Where did this guy come from? He's made his rounds in the
league, was a Laker, a Bull, a Raptor and now a Hornet. He only
averaged 8.1 points a game this year, up to 14.6 in the
playoffs. He's been instant offense off the bench for the
surging Hornets and a bargain at $2 million a year. If the
Hornets are to continue to move on, Pargo will be play a big
role.
The Magic ousted the Raptors in five games and I have to say
this one surprised me. I actually thought the Raptors would win
this series, but Dwight Howard was just too much to handle. He
averaged 22.6 points 18.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks for the series
(all numbers are up from the regular season) including three
games of 20+ points and rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu lived up to his
Most Improved Player award by being a worthy side kick to both
Howard and Rashard Lewis. Or maybe Lewis is a sidekick to
Turkoglu and Howard? I guess it doesn't matter. Either way the
Magic advance, thanks to all three. Almost like a big three.
Almost.
Speaking of a Big Three, how about those upstart Atlanta Hawks?
No one saw this coming, including Hawks management. They are too
busy fighting amongst themselves. But their play on the court
has the Celtics and their Big 3, fighting for the playoff lives.
You could almost see Atlanta getting Game 3, I didn't, but some
may have. But Game 4, c'mon, they were trailing by 10 points
going into the fourth quarter. 60 win teams are not supposed to
lose these games in the playoffs. The Celtics look scared. Maybe
I'm getting ahead of myself here, but would a first round exit
for the Celts be worse than the Patriots finishing 18-1? Not
sure that we'll find that out, but it makes ya' think. With that
said, I think this one is going seven and then all bets are off.
Joe Johnson's (pictured above) 4th quarter performance in Game 4
(20 points, while the Celtics had 17 as a team) was the stuff
that legends are made of. Now let's see if he can repeat it in
Boston.
The Pistons appear to have taken back control of their series
with the 76ers. It's not over yet and I put nothing past this
Sixers team and as talented as he is, Rasheed Wallace could
change the series with a untimely blowup. Watching these games
Detroit just doesn't look in sync. For a team with all of their
playoff experience, they appear to have that deer in the
headlights look first time playoff teams tend to have. These are
the big bad Pistons though, I think Flip Saunders days are
numbered if this team doesn't at least make it to the Conference
Finals. The big question is, who will be there to play them? The
top heavy East is all shook up.
LeBron and his Cavs appear to be on the verge of knocking out
the Wizards for the third year in a row. What can you say? I
don't think Cleveland is that good, so by that math, the Wizards
must be worse. Does that even make sense? Anyway, Washington
appears to be heading for rebuilding. Antawn Jamison is heading
for free agency and will have many suiters. With the top dogs
(Celts and Pistons) showing vulnerability the Cavs could come
out of the East again. I'm not knocking LeBron here, well I
guess I am, but he seems more concerned with being liked by
everyone than winning games. He is ultra talented and he wins
games with that, but I personally think he lacks that killer
drive that it will take to carry this Cavalier team to a
championship. I think he will get a ring before he's done, but
it's gonna take a while.
And finally it's the forgotten series between the Jazz and the
Rockets. Without Yao, the Rockets have no chance in the West.
The Jazz, on the other hand, have a legitimate shot of winning
it all. They play in Utah, so let's just say they fly under the
radar a bit. The rest of the league is aware though, that is for
sure. They are a complete team, Boozer is a stud, Mehmet Okur is
a player, Andrei Kirilenko does it all, Kyle Korver can stretch
a defense and Deron Williams is right there with Nash, Paul and
Tony Parker. Jerry Sloan knows how to get a team ready to play,
he's been doing it for many years. The Rockets have hung tough
winning two games, one of them coming in Utah, where the Jazz
lost just four games all season. So it looks a little bleak for
Houston.
TAKING YOUR LUNCH MONEY
April 22, 2008
The post season has begun and not a moment too soon. The 2008
playoffs may be the most anticipated of all time. With just
seven games separating first and eighth in the West and the
resurgence of the Boston Celtics in the East, this should be an
enjoyable ride. Early on some questions have already been
answered, Chris Paul is ready for prime time, the Lakers are
good and the Pistons better wake up.
The Mavericks have been free falling since there first round
collapse last year against the Warriors. They traded for Jason
Kidd and preceded to limp into the playoffs with a seven seed.
If Game 1 was any indicator, they may have been better suited to
hang onto Devin Harris. I'm certain he could have played matador
defense on Chris Paul, who thoroughly embarrassed Kidd to the
tune of 35 points 10 assists 4 steals and just 1, yes 1
turnover. He seems to really enjoy taking Kidd's lunch money.
It's no secret the role Kidd played in getting Byron Scott fired
as the New Jersey Nets coach after consecutive Finals
appearances. Be careful what you wish for. I realize it's only
Game 1, but I think the writing is on the wall for this one.
All in all, maybe I'm being a little hard on Kidd, Chris Paul is
playing on another level. I'm not sure anyone could slow
him down. I'm sure the Mavs will try, I'm assuming they didn't
try in Game 1, but it will ultimately be for naught. Other
than Kobe Bryant (this years MVP, Paul is a close second) no one
is playing better that the aforementioned Mr. Paul.
On to the Lakers, who are as good as advertised. Pau Gasol had a
pretty impressive playoff debut himself. Coming just two assists
shy of a triple double with 36 points 16 boards and 4 blocks.
Kobe was just being Kobe scoring 18 of his 32 in the final eight
minutes of the Lakers 128-114 win over the Nuggets. Let's just
say it, Denver plays NO defense, I know it's cliché, but we
should refer to them as the Enver Nuggets (that was just too
easy).
They may steal a game in Denver if they can get Melo and A.I.
going, but I doubt it. Los Angles is just too deep and lets not
forget the lynch pin of the whole team, Lamar Odom. At 6-10, he
is a nightmare to match-up with, Kenyon Martin has no shot.
George Karl's team looked unprepared, which could lead to him
looking for another job. The Lakers look well on their way, but
I'm sure the Spurs will be prepared if that match-up comes to
fruition. Stay tuned.
The biggest surprise thus far has certainly been the 76ers going
into the Palace and taking Game 1 against the Pistons.
Detroit blew a 15 point 3rd quarter lead and got out scored
27-16 in the 4th. That is certainly very un-Piston like. This
is a veteran squad that should be able to rebound from a home
loss in Game 1, but you never know. The Pistons are a team that
has plenty of playoff experience, 678 games compared to just 95
from the Sixers roster, so you have to wonder how this happened?
Game 2 has turned into a must win for the Pistons, the Sixers
had a great second half to the season and are certainly playing
with house money now and that makes them very dangerous. Look
out Detroit.
As expected the Celtics took care of business against the Hawks
and the Spurs won an overtime thriller against the Suns.
Orlando got 25 points and 22 rebounds from young stud Dwight
Howard as the Magic won quite easily over the Raptors. Despite
the return of "Agent 0" the Wizards find themselves trailing the
Cavs 2-0 heading back to Washington and the Jazz will head home
to the comfy confines of Utah leading the Rockets 2-0.
The
Celtics make a statement in Game 7 against Atlanta and survive
to take a 1-0 lead against LeBron and the Cavs. LeBron had a
dreadful game, going just 2-18 from the field and turning the
ball over 10 times. Kind of reminds you of Michael Jordan
huh?!?! Enough with the comparisons to MJ, James isn't even
close to having what Jordan had. Sure he's big, 6-8 250lbs. and
has unusual athleticism for a man his size, for a man any size
for that matter. But let's not forget what we saw when MJ took
the court, for my money he is the best athlete to ever walk the
planet in any sport.
