The most wonderful time of the year in sports continues. NHL and NBA playoffs are in full swing. I touched on the NHL yesterday, and today it's time to take a look at what’s happening around the NBA.
I normally find the NBA early rounds to be quite predictable and usually don't find the ball to be all that competitive, but this season has been a bit of an exception.
The Celtics got a huge run for their money (again) in the first round from a scrappy Bulls team. The loss of KG for the playoffs had lots to do with that, but the Bulls did prove that their future is bright, especially with rookie of the year Derrick Rose running the team.
The Celts escaped in seven, only to have to face "Superman" Dwight Howard and the Magic next. The loss of Garnett will now be much more pronounced as the Celt s really don't have anyone that can handle Howard. Kendrick Perkins will try, and fail, and with Leon Powe done for the season, this leaves just "Big Baby" Davis to shoulder the load. Not a good look for the reigning champs. Is this the end of the road for these banged up Celtics? Afraid so. Pierce, Rondo & Allen will do their best, but Howard's presence will be the difference for the Magic.
The other series in the east is what I'm talking about when it comes to predictability. Lebron and the Cavs versus the Hawks. Key word here: Lebron.
It's "Bron, Bron's" year and he's on a mission to take the Cavs all the way. Dwyane Wade took the Heat on his own to seven games with the Hawks. If the Hawks barely handled Wade, what do you think they can do to contain James. If this isn't a sweep, then the Cavs will take it in five. ZZZZZZZ…
Now to the west where its things are getting wild!
Let me start with who I picked to win it all this year, the Lakers, and their series with the Rockets. The Lakers cruised in round one as expected, while the Rockets handled the Blazers, which really surprised me. I've watched the Rockets through the regular season more than a few times and didn't know what to make of them. One thing I knew was certain with these Rockets, Yao is Yao. As long as he's healthy and on the floor, he's basically unstoppable. The loss of McGrady I thought wouldn't hurt too much as Artest can fill that scoring void. What I didn't know about this team was the strength of their role players in Scola, Landry, Brooks, Lowry, Hayes and Wafer. One of the main reasons I took the Lakers was their depth, but the Rockets are just as deep. Game one was a huge win for the Rockets. Taking down the Lakeshow on their home floor at anytime of the year, let alone in the playoffs is tough. I'm gonna sit on the fence on who will win this series as it's a tough call. With what we saw in game one, this will be a battle. What I really would like to see, is the Rockets come through so they can flip the script on these playoffs, and make me once again be proven wrong!
The Mavericks getting to the second round is a little surprising. What surprised me was the way the Mavs handled the Spurs with relative ease in round one. Now they have the feisty Nuggets to handle.
"Disco" Dirk is doing his best to get the Mavs competitive dropping 28 and 35 in games one and two. Not an easy task with Kenyon Martin up in his grill most of the game. The Nug's just seem to be on another level than the Mavs. They run the floor so well in transition and can score in bunches. They have three deadly scorers in Carmelo, Billups & JR Smith, and their bench chips in plenty (39 points in game one, 37 in game two.) I love the energy of this Denver squad and can see them challenging either the Lakers or the Rockets for the west title. The series isn't wrapped just yet, with things shifting to Dallas for games three and four. Don't be surprised if the Mavs take one of the next two, maybe even both. I think the Mavs have fight left in them and can make a run, but once the smoke clears in this series, it will be the Nuggets who prevail.
I normally find the NBA early rounds to be quite predictable and usually don't find the ball to be all that competitive, but this season has been a bit of an exception.
The Celtics got a huge run for their money (again) in the first round from a scrappy Bulls team. The loss of KG for the playoffs had lots to do with that, but the Bulls did prove that their future is bright, especially with rookie of the year Derrick Rose running the team.
The Celts escaped in seven, only to have to face "Superman" Dwight Howard and the Magic next. The loss of Garnett will now be much more pronounced as the Celt s really don't have anyone that can handle Howard. Kendrick Perkins will try, and fail, and with Leon Powe done for the season, this leaves just "Big Baby" Davis to shoulder the load. Not a good look for the reigning champs. Is this the end of the road for these banged up Celtics? Afraid so. Pierce, Rondo & Allen will do their best, but Howard's presence will be the difference for the Magic.
The other series in the east is what I'm talking about when it comes to predictability. Lebron and the Cavs versus the Hawks. Key word here: Lebron.
It's "Bron, Bron's" year and he's on a mission to take the Cavs all the way. Dwyane Wade took the Heat on his own to seven games with the Hawks. If the Hawks barely handled Wade, what do you think they can do to contain James. If this isn't a sweep, then the Cavs will take it in five. ZZZZZZZ…
Now to the west where its things are getting wild!
Let me start with who I picked to win it all this year, the Lakers, and their series with the Rockets. The Lakers cruised in round one as expected, while the Rockets handled the Blazers, which really surprised me. I've watched the Rockets through the regular season more than a few times and didn't know what to make of them. One thing I knew was certain with these Rockets, Yao is Yao. As long as he's healthy and on the floor, he's basically unstoppable. The loss of McGrady I thought wouldn't hurt too much as Artest can fill that scoring void. What I didn't know about this team was the strength of their role players in Scola, Landry, Brooks, Lowry, Hayes and Wafer. One of the main reasons I took the Lakers was their depth, but the Rockets are just as deep. Game one was a huge win for the Rockets. Taking down the Lakeshow on their home floor at anytime of the year, let alone in the playoffs is tough. I'm gonna sit on the fence on who will win this series as it's a tough call. With what we saw in game one, this will be a battle. What I really would like to see, is the Rockets come through so they can flip the script on these playoffs, and make me once again be proven wrong!
The Mavericks getting to the second round is a little surprising. What surprised me was the way the Mavs handled the Spurs with relative ease in round one. Now they have the feisty Nuggets to handle.
"Disco" Dirk is doing his best to get the Mavs competitive dropping 28 and 35 in games one and two. Not an easy task with Kenyon Martin up in his grill most of the game. The Nug's just seem to be on another level than the Mavs. They run the floor so well in transition and can score in bunches. They have three deadly scorers in Carmelo, Billups & JR Smith, and their bench chips in plenty (39 points in game one, 37 in game two.) I love the energy of this Denver squad and can see them challenging either the Lakers or the Rockets for the west title. The series isn't wrapped just yet, with things shifting to Dallas for games three and four. Don't be surprised if the Mavs take one of the next two, maybe even both. I think the Mavs have fight left in them and can make a run, but once the smoke clears in this series, it will be the Nuggets who prevail.
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