NBA Playoffs Round One Recap

NBA playoffs have wrapped up the first round.


There have been a few surprises in the first round, and some expected outcomes.



Let’s do a brief recap by series:

Cleavland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls

I don’t think anyone really expected this series to go any different than it did. The “Akron Hammer” aka King James, aka Bron Bron showed why he won the MVP award for the second straight year.


The Cavs played a little sloppy in Game 5 but were still able to eliminate the Bulls.

LeBron injured his elbow during game 5 and test results show a right elbow strain and bone bruise.

He will continue to get treatment but should not miss any playing time.

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro continues to draw the ire from the front office and rumor has it he may be looking for a new job soon. He does however, have the support of his players. Personally, I think he has done a hell of a job with his players. They’ve gone to the playoffs the last 2 seasons. Is it really his fault they came up against the Cavs?

I read somewhere a stat on the betting line for this series. The basic gist of it was, in any series that the Cavs are in, bet on them to win. After all, David Stern wants LeBron to win a championship and hopefully stay in Cleveland. And as us Suns fans are all too aware, whatever David Stern wants, David Stern gets.

Ponder on that for a minute.

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

The old guys versus Dwayne Wade. That is what this series looked like. Poor D-Wade. He has a rough summer ahead of him. He may test the free agent market, or he may re-sign with Miami. He also is trying to play with Team USA and is facing a tough divorce battle. I certainly would not want to be in his shoes right about now. The “old guys” in Boston once again were able to put it all together and are looking formidable.




The Celtics have a lot and I mean A LOT of experience on their team. They were able to use that experience to handle the Heat 4-1. Next up for the Celtics are the Cavs. This should be a great battle but in the end I predict King James and crew will be too much for the aging Celtics.

 
 

Orlando Magic vs. Charolotte Bobcats

Orlando reached the Finals last year and this is the first year the Bobcats have been in the playoffs.


Dwight Howard and company played the best basketball of any team coming out of the All Star break.

This will mark Michael Jordan’s first time in the playoffs as an owner and he’s hoping his team makes a respectable showing. Unfortunately, they came up against the Magic, who continued their great basketball playing and eliminated the Bobcats 4-0 without much of a struggle.

Looks like swapping players (Vince Carter and Hedo Turkoglu) was the right move for the Magic, but maybe not so right for the Bobcats.

The highlight of this series was Stan Van Gundy running his mouth off about the officiating, the way the NBA schedules games, and everything in between. Even David Stern hitting him with a $35,000 fine did little to slow his mouth.

 
 

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks

Jamal Crawford, swallowing his pride and agreeing to come off the bench for Atlanta after playing for Golden State and starting his entire career received his first trip to the playoffs. He was rewarded also with the NBA’s Sixth Man Award.


The Hawks have seasoned veterans Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson playing for them and looking to make a deep playoff run.



The Bucks came into this series undermanned with the unfortunate loss of Andrew Bogut to a horrible injury. If you haven’t seen it…look it up on You Tube and make sure your stomach is not weak. It is a Thiesmann -esque type of injury. However, the Bucks also have rookie Brandon Jennings and he started his playoffs off right…scoring 34 points in his playoff debut.

This series started out with the home-court team Atlanta winning. Then the Bucks came storming back to tie the series up. As I write this, the Bucks took a 3-2 game lead stunning most people including myself.

A week ago, without Bogut and down 2-0 to the Hawks, many were predicting the series all but over and the Bucks to start cleaning out their locker.

However, with Bogut on the sidelines watching, and behind Jennings, the Bucks have won 3 straight and could have wrapped up the series at home.

However the Hawks showed that they were not to be counted out. They were able to take game 6 and won game 7 at home.

 
 

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Wow-this was a great series and the Thunder put a bit of a scare into some Lakers fans. After playing less than defending champion like in games 3 and 4, the Lakers finally woke up and played like, well the Lakers in a game 5 victory. All it took was finally putting Kobe on Westbrook who up until that point was making it look easy to score on LA.


The Lakers were able to take game 6 in Oklahoma City despite the Thunder really putting it to the defending champs. It took a nice put back by Gasol and a last minute attempt by the Thunder to miss it's mark for the defending champs to walk away with the series win. It literally came down to the last second.

Had the Thunder won game 6 I still think the Lakers would have won game 7 in L.A. but I think they are grateful it didn’t come to that.

Do not think for one minutes that this Thunder team is a fluke. They won 50 regular season games and had they been in the East, would have been a much higher seed.

This team is young and full of talent. They have a bona fide Superstar in Kevin Durant.

A special shout out to my ASU Sun Devil alum James Harden. My family jokes that his beard has magical healing powers. So all hail Harden and the “magical healing beard”. We were able to experience his talent on the college level. As he gains more experience look for him to also become a STUD!

This team in a few years will be a major force in the West. They are that scary good!

 
 

Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets

WOW! That’s about all I can say here. The Nuggets were favored to win. The Jazz are beat down, tore up injured. The Nuggets had the emotional factor on their side. Nothing like playing for a hurt coach to act as a little extra motivation.


Or so you would think. However the loss of Coach Karl just ended being too much for the Nuggets to overcome. Prayers of course out to Coach Karl as he continues to battle throat and neck cancer. We are all hoping for a speedy and full recovery but it’s a long hard road he faces. Major kudos to Adrian Dantley who came in to lead this team in Karl’s absence. However, the players said he wasn’t as “in your face” as Coach Karl was and they needed that. There was also rumored bad blood in the locker room with some players feeling others weren’t doing their part. Added up together and it was just too much for the Nuggets.

And as beat up as the Jazz have been, they are playing good ball. Deron Williams became the first player since Magic Johnson to have AT LEAST 20 points and 10 assists in EACH of the first 4 playoff games in a series. He got a little banged up in the last game but seems to be ok.

Mehmet Okur is out with a ruptured Achilles tendon and as the Jazz now face the Lakers, he will be missed.

 
 

San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks

This was another series that I did not see ending the way it did. This was a very physical series with technicals and flagrant fouls being called on both teams. I do find it ironic that after a VERY physical game 4 Spurs fans were whining calling the Mavs “dirty players”. Really? Pot…Kettle…Black!


Hey Spurs fans, let me call you the “wambulance”. I guess you don’t like seeing your team get a taste of their own medicine. Get over it! Your team has been playing like that for YEARS! Ask Suns fans…the series in 2007 is proof positive of that. But that’s an article for another day!

A few quick notes on this series: In Games 1-3 Tim Duncan scored 25 points each, but in games 4-5 he only combined for 15.

Manu Ginobili was also shooting only 26% after breaking his nose (minus game 6) despite insisting the injury was not a factor.

Another interesting note…the ref’s in the NBA 100% SUCK! I do not know how they earn a paycheck.

Joey Crawford needs to be FIRED! Or at least not be allowed to ref any game in which the Dallas Mavericks are playing.

Disgraced former ref Tim Donaghy had always said when he bet on games, he looked at who the ref was and used that as a factor in his betting.

The Mavs are a horrible 1-16 in playoff games in which Crawford was a ref. Ponder that for a minute…1-16!! No ref should have that much of a factor in a game and yet he does. His personal grudge against Mavs owner Mark Cuban should not have such a negative impact on the team. Hopefully now that more people are commenting on it, Crawford will not be reffing any Mavs games, but I won’t hold my breath. David Stern has blinders on.

Mark my words, just like Jose Canseco who was at first ostracized and ridiculed for naming names in his book on steroid users and who now looks like a prophet, Tim Donaghy will also soon be looking like a prophet. The NBA is fixed all the way up to the top.

 
 

Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers

I will be the first one to admit that I am a big time Suns homer. And I knew that the Blazers would play us tough. They had all season.


Games 1 and 4 and the start of game 5 the Suns looked like zombies out there. They had no fire, no spirit, not SPUNK. Then BAM! The zombie trance wore off and the SUNS started to play their ball and game 5 went their way. Games 2-3 were also blowouts by the Suns.

If the Suns stop playing like they are bi-polar I see them going far in these playoffs.

Brandon Roy was pretty much a non-factor for the Blazers. He probably should not have come back from micro-fracture surgery after only 8 days. Hopefully he did not do any more damage to his knee by coming back to play. You never want to see a player suffer a serious injury especially someone as young and as talented as Roy.

The Suns bench continues to play very well when they are in. That is something quite different than Suns teams of the past. Their strong play is allowing the starters particularly Steve Nash to get some much needed rest. With a hip injury flaring up, rest is what Nash needs if he is going to be a factor for this team. As long as this trend continues, and the starters get rest, they should still be fairly fresh and will hopefully allow for a deep playoff run.



Next round will see the Celtics battling the Cavs, and the Magic taking on the Hawks in the East and the Lakers versus the Jazz, and the Spurs taking on the Suns in the West.



I’ll have another recap after the conference semi-finals.

Weekly NBA Power Rankings 04/12/10

It's the last few days of the regular season and the playoffs will be upon us shortly.




I just want to point out that when I do these rankings, I don't neccessarily do them on a "season as a whole" basis but more of a week by week basis.

There will be some major reshuffling in my rankings this week based on performance the past week. This does not mean I think a team is better than another. This is not 100% about overall record. This is about play as of late.



With that being said, here are my rankings for this week:



1. Magic-

Now I know there are plenty of you who are going to let out a collective "WHAT!!?" but bear with me here for a minute. The Magic's win on Sunday gives them a 1 game home court advantage over the Lakers should they meet in the Finals again. The Magic are a league best 21-5 since the All-Star break and have been playing well (boy is that ever an understatement). The Cavs and the Lakers are not even in the top five of that list. And yes, I know the Cavs were without King James when the Magic beat them, but they still beat them.



2. Cavs-

Life sure is good in Cleveland right now. Hopefully LeBron sticks around after the season. The Cavs have been playing so well that they have allowed James to get a 4 game rest before the playoffs. The first few games of the playoffs will also allow Shaq to get back into playing shape before the next series and beyond starts.



3. Suns-

Behind the Magic, no other team has had a better record since the All-Star break. And they still keep finding a way to win without Robin Lopez. Home-Court advantage does not mean more to any team more than the Suns. The Suns are just 2-9 on the road against the other playoff teams. They are almost 9 points better at home than on the road. The games against Utah and Denver are key this week.



4. Lakers-

I could easily drop the defending champs further on the list based on their play of late. I don't think anyone saw the "Champs" finishing so far down the list as it is but their record of 15-11 since the All-Star break leaves a lot to be desired. Sure, they may be saving themselves for the playoffs, but it is often hard to get back on track when you've gotten off. And if the Lakers are truely saving themselves for the playoffs, I don't think we would have seen Kobe in uniform like we have been.



5. Jazz-

Utah has been better off offensively than defensively since Kirilenko has been out the past month. Just a side note I found interesting...the Timberwolves have only beaten three teams more than once this season...The Nets, the Kings, and...the Jazz. If Utah does not finish the season in the second seed in the West I am sure they will be kicking themselves pretty hard.



6. Spurs-

San Antonnio is tied for second in the West for average point margin, just set an NBA record by finishing with a winning ROAD record for the 13th straight season, and they are the only WESTERN team to be ranked in the top 10 both OFFENSIVELY and DEFENSIVELY. Don't sleep sleep on the Spurs come playoff time saturday, even if they are facing the Lakers.



7. Mavs-

Dallas has the LOWEST point differential than any other West team, and history has shown that this in fact a big deal. However, if holding both the Grizzlies and Blazers to a combined 161 points the Mavs had one of their best defensive showings yet. Even more impressive was they did it without their best defensive player Shawn Marion.



8. Blazers-

Portland should be celebrating thier win against the Lakers on the Lakers home court, however with Brandon Roy out with an bruised knee, the celebration was short lived if even that. They have a critical game against the Thunder later tonight, with Roy expected to sit the Blazers could end up as the 8th seed in the West.



9. Thunder-

OKC is simply not playing their best basketball of late. The good news is that Durant only needs 26 ppg is LeBron stays sitting to win the scoring title. The bad news is with the collapse against Golden State, the Thunder could have easily set themselves up for a baptism by playoff fire against the Lakers.



10. Hawks-

Atlanta had a shot at thier first winning road record in 11 years but lost to both Charlotte and Detroit. They have had a trend of getting worse defensively each month and April did not see that trend stopping. The Hawks are also 1-6 against the East's top 2 teams. Will this make a differnce when they face the cavs without LeBron? Will that number be more important than winning 50 games for the first time since 1997-1998?

NBA Power Rankings 04/05/10

Many of the top teams suffered losses this week, was it enough to shake up the rankings?

As we are winding down the season, things are getting closer in the West. There are 4 teams tied for 2nd place in the West (Suns, Jazz, Mavs, and Nuggets). With these teams squaring off against each other it will make for some interesting jockeying for seeding.

On to the rankings for this week:

1. Cavs-
Loss to the Celtics aside, they are crusing into the postseason and are anxious to being play as they strive to bring the title to Cleveland. History is on their side as only 11 other teams have gone into postseason play with a 60 win record (the Cavs are the 12th). Of those, 9 have brought home the championship. Clevland is hoping to become the 10th.

2. Magic-
Graciously stole this bit from Mark Stein on ESPN:

The Magic are on a quiet 15-3 roll and rank as the only team in the league to beat the other 29 teams. Even more unique: Stan Van Gundy actually sounded satisfied (pleased, even) when someone gave him that stat.

-that says it all.

3. Lakers-
They still have the top spot in the West and will most lilely go into post season play as the #1, however they have not yet clinched it. On paper, they still look great, but several recent losses including to the Spurs at home has some Laker supporters getting in a panic. Others feel they will be just fine come playoff time. They will be getting Bynum back and that could be the boost they need.

4. Suns-
They had a NBA best 10 game win streak come to an end against the Bucks. During that time they played 8 teams that had a sub .500 record. Their final stretch into the post season will not be as "soft". During these games we will really see how the Suns react to having Lopez out with a herniated disk. He is responding well to treatment but will he back before the regular season ends? Doubtful

5. Jazz-
Finishing up the season strong. The quality of teams in the West will make for an exciting and interesting Round 1 in the playoffs that is certain-who will come out alive is not so certain!

6. Spurs-
This kills me to write this, but they are starting to look like the Spurs of old. They have had great wins recently over such top teams as the Magic, Cavs, and Lakers. Can't count out the win against the Celtics either. Manu is playing some of his best games in recent memory-will it be enough come playoff time?

7. Hawks-
A lot of people were looking forward to see who would face the Bucks in the playoffs, the Hawks or the Celtics. With the Bucks' Bogut injured and out for the season does anyone care anymore?
Good news for Hawks fans, the team is playing well-can they make a playoff run though?

8. Thunder-
This team is fairly young and inexperienced yet they are not playing like that. They have a shot to win their division and are scaring a few teams in the West.

9. Mavs-
They had a 13 game win streak going at one point. How long ago that seems now. They are in a 5-6 slump and their normally tough D is not looking quite so tough. Bad time for a slup guys.

10. Blazers-
Ever since the Blazers traded for Camby, they have gone 15-6. This is the team NO ONE wants to face in the first round of the playoffs.