Finally!

5/26 

 

            After the Celtics lost game two of the Eastern Conference Finals at home, everyone knew what had to happen now.  The Celtics had to win on the road against the Pistons at some point in the series; otherwise they could not win the series.  For any NBA follower they knew it would take a miracle for this to happen. 

Well I guess miracles do happen because the Celtics did beat the Pistons in game three on the road.  The Celtics really handed it to the Pistons in this game.  At one point in the game, the Celtics were winning by over twenty points.  Everyone was playing well for the Celtics as they were firing on all cylinders.  Something finally clicked for the Celtics in game three.  The “Big Three” played well for the Celtics as they combined for 47 points.  But the real story was the role players coming out and giving a good effort.  They combined for 47 points as well.  It is important for the Celtics that the role players match or exceed the point count of the “Big Three.” Even Ray Allen continued to come out of his shooting slump as he had fourteen points.  The Celtics were due to have a break out game on the road.  I mean, they were the best road team in the NBA during the regular season, so you have to figure they would win on the road soon.

Game four is tonight in Detroit and is a pivotal game for the series.  If the Celtics can get a win tonight, they will be leading the series three games to one as the series heads back to Boston.  The Celtics would then be in terrific shape to win the series at home.  If the Pistons win tonight, they will have leveled the series as it heads back to Boston. The Pistons have showed they can win in Boston no problem.  This would give the advantage to the Pistons.  As you can see, game four can really throw the series in the direction of one team, giving them the advantage.

If the Celtics are going to win tonight they need two things tow happen.  They need their bench and role players to step up again and have another great game.  The Celtics also need Ray Allen to play well.  Ray Allen had been in a slump, but has started to get rolling again.  If he has a stellar game, the Celtics have a superb chance of winning.  When each member of the “Big Three” is playing well, the Celtics are a tough team to beat.

The Pistons, however, need to seriously regroup.  They looked very unorganized and abnormal in game three.  The scary part for coach Flip Saunders is that the game was on their home floor.  The Pistons had a young point guard, who I had never heard of, playing major minutes in place of their star, Chauncey Billups.  At one point, most of the starters were benched for the Pistons for a significant amount of time in game three.  The starters for Detroit just didn’t have it in game three.   

Overall the Celtics definitely have the momentum in this series.  I think they will come out fired up for this game knowing that they can win on the road in the playoffs.  The game three road win gave them a lot of confidence towards winning on the road.  I expect a big game from the Celtics tonight just like in game three.

5/16 Cheap Foul, Injury Trouble for Hornets in Game 7?

5/16 Cheap Foul-Trouble for Hornets in Game 7?

 

            The situation:  It was game six between the Hornets and Spurs.  The Hornets were leading the series three games to two.  The Spurs had to win the game to stay in the playoffs.  The Spurs were starting to pull away when all of a sudden, Robert Horry of the Spurs, committed a cheap offensive foul. He jammed his arm into the back of David West while setting a screen.  West went down and had to leave the game with a back injury.  West already had aggravation in his back in game five and this hard foul from Horry, in game six, did not help his cause.

            With game seven approaching, the Hornets could be significantly affected by this injury.  West provides many advantages for the Hornets and match up problems for the Spurs.  West is a starter and provides scoring in the post for the Hornets.  He also has the ability to hit big shots when the Spurs have gone on runs in this series.  In addition to this, he is a tough player to guard for Duncan, Oberto, and Horry, the three main post players for the Spurs.  West also plays relentless defense.  Duncan has been frustrated by this in previous games. 

For all these reasons, West will be an important factor in game seven.  If his back is bothering him, he will not play his best basketball.  This is what could be problematic for the Hornets.  In the games that the Hornets have won this series, West had 30 points, 10 points, and 38 points.  So as you can see he is a big part of the offense and can really put up points.  In game seven, West needs to come out and play aggressive like he did in games one and five.  The Hornets will win if he is close to full strength and playing game one and five caliber basketball. 

As for Robert Horry, the foul on West was extremely cheap and unnecessary.  When you watch the replay, it is evident how Horry leaned into the screen and jammed his arm into David West.  The foul was very deliberate and was no accident.  Some people are saying it was a veteran savvy move by Horry to almost deliberately injure West, who was giving San Antonio fits in the post.  This is an absurd comment because any real veteran wouldn’t do that deliberately.  A real veteran plays the game with a little more respect.  I don’t care how long Horry has been playing in the league (fifteen years), but he is not a veteran. 

In fact it was just last year in the playoffs that the comments of “dirty player” were swirling around Horry.  Last year against the Suns, Horry hip-checked the Suns’ point guard Steve Nash into the scorers table.  Nash had a terrible looking gash on his nose and there was blood everywhere.  Players from the Suns’ bench started running onto the court to defend Nash, one of them being their star player, Amare Stoudamire.  The NBA has a rule that players are not allowed on the court that are not in the game.  Stoudamire left the sideline, unfortunately for the Suns, to defend Nash and got suspended for the next game.  The Suns lost the series.  Many people blame the Suns’ series loss due to the flagrant foul leading to Stoudamire’s suspension.  The point here is that Horry has no class and is a dirty player.  The NBA should step in like last year and should at least fine Horry.      

Home Court Importance

5/11 Home Court Importance

 

            During the NBA playoffs, you can’t judge how a team will play based on the regular season, especially for home playoff games.  Teams play with more intensity when it is playoff time.  This has been evident for this year’s playoffs.  That is why it is so important to have home court advantage or at least win the games you have at home.  This fact has been shown in a couple of different series thus far.

            First of all there is the Celtics and Cavaliers series.  The Celtics had one of the best regular season road records, but they can’t win on the road in the playoffs.  The Celtics won the first two games of the series, which were in Boston.  Then the series went to Cleveland and the Cavaliers blew out the Celtics in game three by 24 points.  The Cavaliers looked absolutely dead in games one and two.  The Celtics looked like they could take this series in four games as LeBron was totally shut down.  Not so fast though, the Cavaliers showed that they can beat the Celtics when they are at home and the Celtics showed that they can beat the Cavaliers when they are at home.  Since the Celtics will get home court in game seven, they could potentially keep losing in Cleveland as long they keep winning at home.  That is why home court advantage is so key.  What would have happened to the Celtics had game seven not been at home against the Hawks?  Where would they be now?  Probably out of the playoffs.

            Another series where home court is making a huge difference is the Lakers and Jazz series.  Just like with the Celtics, the Lakers dominated games one and two which were home games.  Then they went to Utah and lost the next two games.  It is really fascinating how the home court can swing a series like that.  All of a sudden the series is tied; just like that the Lakers blew games three and four.  The Jazz looked like a very different team, in a positive way, in front of their home fans as did the Cavaliers.  The Lakers and Celtics both looked extremely different in a negative way when away from their home fans. 

            It is something about playing in front of your home fans that can ignite teams.  LeBron and the Cavaliers had nothing in Boston, but came out firing in game three.  It is just so weird that the playoffs can make a team so much different than in the regular season.  The Celtics were an excellent road team in the regular season.  The scary fact about this home court situation is that the discrepancy in play between home and away games is happening to the two number one playoff seeds.  A lot of people are expecting the Celtics and Lakers to meet in the NBA finals, but will they get there?  Eventually, not being able to win on the road in the playoffs is going to hurt the Celtics and Lakers.     

Western Conference Semifinals

5/4 Western Conference Semifinals

 

            With the first round over in the NBA playoffs, both the East and West began round two last night.  The West has produced two exciting match ups for the second round of the playoffs.  They are the Hornets against the Spurs and the Lakers against the Jazz.  Both of these series will be long and grueling for all four teams.  I don’t expect any sweeps for either series, but then again, the playoffs thus far have been very unpredictable.

            (2) Hornets vs. (3) Spurs- The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this playoff match up was playoff experience.  It is the young and in-experienced Hornets going up against the veteran and battle-hardened Spurs.  The Spurs have won an NBA title four out of the last nine years.  This includes winning the title last year as they swept the Cavaliers.  Meanwhile, the Hornets have never made it past this round of the playoffs.  This is a significant factor for this series, and it will make a difference.  Giving New Orleans credit, Chris Paul seems impossible to stop right now.  He picked apart the Spurs defense in game one with thirteen assists.  The Hornets also showed that they can shut down Tim Duncan, in my opinion, the best post player in the NBA.  If the Hornets get contributions from all their starters like they did last night, then the Spurs will have a difficult time defending the Hornets.  However, the Spurs did show some signs of life as three out of their five starters scored in double figures.  When the Spurs regroup and get back on track, this series won’t be as easy for the Hornets.  When both teams are playing their best basketball and when you factor in playoff experience, the Spurs are the better team.  I like the Spurs in seven games. 

            (1) Lakers vs. (4) Jazz- At first glance this does not seem like a series that will last more than five games.  The Lakers are red hot right now as they swept the Nuggets in the first round and the Jazz finally finished off the Rockets two nights ago.  When you really pick apart the Jazz though, you can see how they could make this a six or seven game series.  The Jazz have a solid rotation of guys on their team, but especially their starters.  Their five starters are all easily capable of scoring in double figures.  The Jazz have very versatile players like their point guard Deron Williams.  Not only does he distribute the ball, but he scores in bunches and can hit the outside shot.  It is the players like Deron Williams that will give Utah an edge in this series.  On the other side of the court though, the Jazz have to deal with one of the biggest superstars in the NBA.  Believe me, Kobe Bryant lives up to this title as he is the MVP of this season according to reports.  Kobe is unstoppable.  He hits ridiculous shots from all over the court.  For the Jazz to have a chance in this series there needs to be a couple games where they shut Kobe down.  He will make the Jazz pay for loose and lazy defense.  I like the Lakers in six games.

Celtic Woes

5/3                       

               Anyone who is a Boston Celtics fan must be going out of their mind right now, because I know I am.  I am sitting on the couch writing this blog and am in disbelief.  Tomorrow afternoon’s game could be the end for the Celtics’ season.  A season that went so smoothly and swiftly for this rejuvenated team.  Is this how it is supposed to end though, a possible first round playoff exit to the eighth seed?  I’ll be honest.  Each time the Celtics lost, I told myself they would end up winning the series overall and would be moving on to the next round, maybe even the NBA finals.  This could still happen, but there is that scenario where they will lose tomorrow. 

The Atlanta Hawks are one win away from the greatest upset in NBA history.  When people saw this first round match up, anyone who follows the NBA didn’t give the Hawks a chance in this series.  Nobody was expecting something as unpredictable as this.  The Hawks obviously deserve a lot of credit for taking the series seven games, but they do not deserve to move on in the playoffs.  They had a terrible regular season as they finished below five hundred.  The Celtics had the best regular season record in the NBA, which makes them worthy of at least a first round playoff win.  But none of that really matters now.  Now it is about tomorrow at one o’ clock where both the Hawks and Celtics will be playing the most pivotal game of their seasons. 

In terms of how this series has played out, the advantage does go to the Celtics.  Whenever they have lost in this series it has only been in Atlanta.  Game seven is a home game and thank goodness for that.  I’m still worried about the game tomorrow, but I would be so tense if it was being played in Atlanta.  It pissed me off that the Celtics couldn’t get even one win on the road in this series.  For some reason the Celtics let their guard down every time they walked into the Hawks stadium.  These just aren’t the same Celtics I have seen all year long.  As a Celtics fan, that is the biggest disappointment of this series for me.  I know I am not the only one infuriated by this whole situation.  I know sports are not about what should happen and I know that any given team can beat any other given team.  But the Celtics losing to the eighth seed should not happen.  This series should have gone four games.  Meanwhile, the second round of the playoffs is already beginning tonight for those teams who took care of business.  Even if the Celtics win tomorrow, they will be tired out for the next round of the playoffs, due to the relentless play of the Hawks.  The Celtics just cannot get rid of the Hawks.  The Hawks are like an infection that has permeated the Celtics.  The only antibiotic for it is to win game seven tomorrow.      

 

 

MVP Candidates

4/29 MVP Candidates

 

            This NBA season has been very unorthodox, between the exciting regular season, surprising playoffs thus far, and tight MVP race.  It is very rare that the NBA has so many different candidates for MVP.  Usually there are two candidates each year vying for the award.  My MVP ballot consists of four players all with a solid chance of winning the award.  My four candidates, in no particular order, are LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Garnet.  As I pick my MVP I really look at who made the largest difference for their respective team.  If you took them away from their team, would the team have bombed or would they have remained strong without their superstar.  The MVP has to have impact and be a leader for their team.

            When Celtic fans heard that their team was getting Kevin Garnet, they were psyched and expected a better season than last year.  Well they were more than right as the Celtics finished with the best record in the NBA.  Kevin Garnet has a good chance at MVP as he has already collected the Defensive Player of the Year award.  Not only was he a monster on defense but he averaged 18.8 points per game.  This is not as high as some of the other candidates which is why he should not be MVP.  The Celtics have two other superstars in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that could carry the load.  The Celtics might not be a one seed in the playoffs, but they would be in there still without him.  Kevin Garnett is on the outside looking in for this award.

Kobe Bryant, the man who had trade rumors swirling around him in the off season.  And where does he find himself now; the first seed in the Western Conference playoffs and one of the for-runners for MVP.  Kobe has battled injury on his team as did LeBron.  He lost his star center Andrew Bynum in January and Bynum has still not returned.  However, the Lakers brought in Pau Gasol which is considered to be the block-buster deal of the West this season.  Kobe did average 28.3 points per game which is a high number.  The problem I have with picking him is that he had some other productive players around him.  I am not saying he was not an impact, believe me he had a “little” something to do with where the Lakers are in the playoffs right now.

            Chris Paul has been an astounding player for New Orleans this year.  After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans didn’t have their Hornets as they played home games in Oklahoma City for the 2006-2007 season.  The Hornets missed the playoffs that season, but are back and better than ever as the two seed in the West.  Chris Paul has led this team to glory.  He has made the people of New Orleans love their team again and love basketball in New Orleans.  Chris Paul averaged 21.1 points per game and 11.6 assists per game during the regular season.  That means he averaged a double-double for the regular season.  That is a phenomenal accomplishment.  Paul was the only player in the NBA this year to achieve this.

      After taking a look at three of the four candidates on my list, it really comes down to the player yet to be mentioned, LeBron James.  The voters could not go wrong by picking this guy.  Cleveland has been so plagued by injuries this season causing them to make a huge deal to get some help for LeBron.  At one point they were bringing up minor league players, which is rare in the NBA.  LeBron has carried this team on his back for the regular season.  He averaged 30 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and 7.2 assists per game.  That’s pretty close to averaging a triple double, which is un-heard of.  This guy is all over the place, he does everything.  James is always hustling on the court and has saved this team from complete destruction this year.  If the Cavaliers lose LeBron, they will not to make the playoffs for a while.  Without LeBron, I really don’t even know where the Cavaliers would be.  Would they still be in the league at all?  Alright I will be honest Chris Paul is a great story with reviving New Orleans and accomplishing what he did, but the fact of how terrible Cleveland would be without LeBron is a scary thought. 

           

 

Some Surprising Turn-Outs

4/29 Some Surprising Turn-Outs

 

            Overall, each series in this year’s NBA playoffs have pretty much gone as expected. The Western Conference Playoff series’ have been right on schedule with the Spurs, Hornets, and Lakers all winning their first round match ups in at least five games.  The Jazz are in a dog fight with the Rockets just as expected.  The Eastern Conference, however, has been very surprising.  The Magic is the only team in the Eastern Playoffs who has won a series the way it was projected.  They were predicted to win, which they did, in five games.  The other three match ups are a much different story however.

            (4)Cavaliers vs. (5)Wizards- This was the most anticipated series for the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  Everyone was talking about this match up and there was even some “smack talk” between the two teams before the series started.  All the analysts have been split between the Cavaliers and the Wizards as to who would win the series.  The Cavaliers have played the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs for the past two years, this year being the third.  The Cavaliers have beaten the Wizards in both instances.  This year was supposed to have a change in scenery as the series between the teams was supposed to go seven games.  It still can, except the Cavaliers are winning three games to one!  I don’t know what happened to the Wizards, they just were flat this whole series.  The Wizards need to step their game up to avoid being eliminated and quite frankly embarrassed.  Especially since they were the ones “smack talking” and calling LeBron overrated.  So much for that theory as LeBron has been as strong as ever this series.

(2)Pistons vs. (7)76ers- The scenario for this series is different than above.  This time something just went terribly wrong for the favored Pistons.  The Pistons are always there in the playoffs year in and year out.  It is just a fact that this team knows how to win.  The Pistons have veteran players as four guys in their starting line up have all won an NBA title together.  The players know each other well on the court and really function as one unit.  Now that description fits the normal Pistons, the typical Pistons.  Let me tell you, they have not been normal at all in this series.  They dropped the first and third games to the 76ers.  The first game was just another case of coming out flat and not being ready to play. Again, not your ordinary Pistons.  The third game however was just a massacre.  The 76ers beat them by twenty points which is absurd for a playoff game.  No team should be losing by twenty points in the playoffs, even if you are the eighth seed.  To give the Pistons some credit, they were able to finally get it together and are now leading the series three games to two. However, they better watch out in game six because this series is not over yet.

(1)Celtics vs. (8)Hawks- Alright, this is the one. The big unorthodox “kahuna” of this year’s NBA Playoffs.  As a Boston fan, it hurts me to even write that the Celtics are knotted up with the Hawks at two games a piece.  Yes, these are the same Celtics who beat the Hawks in every game in the regular season, had the best regular season record in the NBA, and have the benefit of the Defensive Player of the Year in Kevin Garnett.  The Celtics blew out the Hawks in the first two games of the series, which were home games.  They then lost the next two games as they were on the road in Atlanta.  This is a déjà vu for me as last year, the eighth seed Warriors knocked out the one seed Mavericks in a thrilling series.  However, there is no way that will happen this year.  The series is back in Beantown for two more games before it shifts back to Atlanta.  The Celtics will regroup and win both home games in front of the home crowd to win the series.  The Celtics just have too many weapons and the Hawks are just not a strong enough team to go seven games against the best team in the East.  The Celtics will prove this as game five is tonight in Boston.