Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Playoffs..
While the first round of playoffs this year have been better in recent years past. Is it a surprise that the best three playoff series' thus far have been in the east? Is the East finally better than the West?
Here is how I see the East the rest of the way through the first round.
Bulls vs. Celtics.
First of all Bulls fans, it wasn't conclusive that Rondo was going for Miller's head. He swiped at it but could have been going for the ball. The point of that is, he missed the free throw, so the only person that it would be fair to blame for the loss is Brad Miller. This series has been back and forth, and quite frankly to me the Celtics still look better. The United Center will be nuts, and it will take everything the Bulls have left to force a game seven. Will they do it...possibly. But looking at the bigger picture, even if they pull off a game six win, they won't win game seven. You won't beat the Celtics if you can't stop Rondo...period.
Magic vs. 76ers
Currently Orlando is up 3-2 over a team that probably shouldn't have taken the series past five games. The thing to watch in this series will be game seven. Dwight Howard was suspended a game for throwing the elbow. The 76ers will take all their momentum into Philadelphia, and come out with a game six win. Will they win game seven? Who knows. As a Cavaliers fan, I'm certainly rooting for Philly.
Heat vs. Hawks
This series was the best looking and most intriguing before the playoffs started. You have in one hand, a Hawks team that can shoot, drive and defend pretty well, and always play insane in Atlanta come playoff time. In the other hand, you have Dwyane Wade and the youngsters he has for a supporting cast. Wade has just gone off since the all-star break, and the Hawks have been able to slow him down a bit. This is also a series that will go seven, and in the end the Hawks will take it in front of their home crowd.
The Eastern Conference has been amazing thus far. Every game has been close (with the exception of the Cleveland - Detroit series) and entertaining . I can't wait for round two.
Here is how I see the East the rest of the way through the first round.
Bulls vs. Celtics.
First of all Bulls fans, it wasn't conclusive that Rondo was going for Miller's head. He swiped at it but could have been going for the ball. The point of that is, he missed the free throw, so the only person that it would be fair to blame for the loss is Brad Miller. This series has been back and forth, and quite frankly to me the Celtics still look better. The United Center will be nuts, and it will take everything the Bulls have left to force a game seven. Will they do it...possibly. But looking at the bigger picture, even if they pull off a game six win, they won't win game seven. You won't beat the Celtics if you can't stop Rondo...period.
Magic vs. 76ers
Currently Orlando is up 3-2 over a team that probably shouldn't have taken the series past five games. The thing to watch in this series will be game seven. Dwight Howard was suspended a game for throwing the elbow. The 76ers will take all their momentum into Philadelphia, and come out with a game six win. Will they win game seven? Who knows. As a Cavaliers fan, I'm certainly rooting for Philly.
Heat vs. Hawks
This series was the best looking and most intriguing before the playoffs started. You have in one hand, a Hawks team that can shoot, drive and defend pretty well, and always play insane in Atlanta come playoff time. In the other hand, you have Dwyane Wade and the youngsters he has for a supporting cast. Wade has just gone off since the all-star break, and the Hawks have been able to slow him down a bit. This is also a series that will go seven, and in the end the Hawks will take it in front of their home crowd.
The Eastern Conference has been amazing thus far. Every game has been close (with the exception of the Cleveland - Detroit series) and entertaining . I can't wait for round two.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Playoffs.
(Photo from USA Today)
121-63.
What does that mean to you?
For a Hornets fan, it means there may be some problems with a team that is supposed to be a contender. Denver went into New Orleans on Monday and laid a beat-down on the Hornets. The Lakers may want to take notes, or at least stop to understand that Denver is a legitimate threat to eliminate L.A. from the playoffs. A 58 point playoff win should not happen under any circumstances.
The Bulls and Celtics series is just about everything as advertised. Back and forth it seems to be going, and tonight the Celtics got the better of the Bulls in yet another pretty good series game.
Not to mention the Magic - 76ers series, and the Hawks - Heat series.
The playoffs already have been a joy to watch, and with a potential LeBron v. Kobe finals, there is much more excitement to come.
What does that mean to you?
For a Hornets fan, it means there may be some problems with a team that is supposed to be a contender. Denver went into New Orleans on Monday and laid a beat-down on the Hornets. The Lakers may want to take notes, or at least stop to understand that Denver is a legitimate threat to eliminate L.A. from the playoffs. A 58 point playoff win should not happen under any circumstances.
The Bulls and Celtics series is just about everything as advertised. Back and forth it seems to be going, and tonight the Celtics got the better of the Bulls in yet another pretty good series game.
Not to mention the Magic - 76ers series, and the Hawks - Heat series.
The playoffs already have been a joy to watch, and with a potential LeBron v. Kobe finals, there is much more excitement to come.
121-63. If that's your all New Orleans, don't even show Wednesday night. You might embarrass yourselves even more.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
I told you so...and those playoffs.
First and foremost, for my awards I am three for three. I feel good about them all being right.
My second I told you so instance is the fact that at the beginning of the year I said that the Celtics would struggle if any of the big three went down. Guess what, one of the big three did go down, and coincidentally the Celtics are struggling. I wouldn't say that is that big of a deal, but literally everyone i said that to disagreed with me. (And when I say everybody, I mean people in class, outside of class, friends, and on and on. They all thought I was crazy.) Don't get me wrong, the Celtics are still a very good team without Garnett. When Garnett went down, the Celtics finished out the season 8-2, to take back the second seed. As i said in class, they are better than the Bulls. Rose won't score 36 a night, and I guarantee that Ben Gordon won't have another 30 point night in this series. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are for real. Sorry Chicago fans but Derrick Rose (Not yet.) and Ben Gordon are not at the same level. In the end, Boston wins this series in six.
Now to the Magic. Allowing the 76ers to come back from 29 points down, should they worry. The short answer is...no. Philly has the talent to take out the Magic, but it shouldn't happen. Philly can do a good job of taking away Orlando's parimeter game, but they shouldn't even try to stop the inside game. Orlando wins the series in five. That's right, Philly won't win another game.
Now to my beloved Cavaliers. All I will say is Coach of the Year, soon to be MVP, and a round one sweep of the Pistons.
The best matchup on the East side of the bracket is the Hawks and the Heat. Atlanta won game one at home, and look for them to win game two as well. Ultimaetly the Heat will win the series, but it will take them seven games to do it. Wade has gone off since the All-Star break, and I don't see him stopping till the Heat are eliminated.
Now on to the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers and the Jazz. Game one had to be frustrating for Utah. L.A. played bad basketball and still won convincingly. Utah is a different team at home, and I seriously think they could take all three games in Utah. I also think that they will win the series in seven games. They came close to taking game two last night, but couldn't finish. It may be a stretch, but Utah over L.A. is my round one upset.
Denver and New Orleans should be another fun series to watch. Denver is a very, vaery good basketball team, and if L.A. escapes Utah, I believe the Nuggets will be the only team able to take the Lakers out. New Orleans is a talented team, but in the end Carmelo and Big Shot Billups are too much for Chris Paul and his Hornets. Nuggets in five.
San Antonio is too experienced to lose to Dallas. Tim Duncan is still a top-5 NBA player, and Parker can take over a game and doesn't buckle during the playoffs. Dallas had a horrible March but turned it around in April. At the end of the day, Parker and Duncan are too much for the streaky Mavericks. The Ginobili-less Spurs win in six.
And finally, the Rockets, Blazers. The Blazers are young but talented, but I think it will take another year for the Blazers to make some noise in the playoffs. Yao is 12-15 from the field so far in the series, the Blazers haven't figured out how to stop him. The Rockets win in six and unfortunaetly for McGrady, he'll not be the reason why...again.
My second I told you so instance is the fact that at the beginning of the year I said that the Celtics would struggle if any of the big three went down. Guess what, one of the big three did go down, and coincidentally the Celtics are struggling. I wouldn't say that is that big of a deal, but literally everyone i said that to disagreed with me. (And when I say everybody, I mean people in class, outside of class, friends, and on and on. They all thought I was crazy.) Don't get me wrong, the Celtics are still a very good team without Garnett. When Garnett went down, the Celtics finished out the season 8-2, to take back the second seed. As i said in class, they are better than the Bulls. Rose won't score 36 a night, and I guarantee that Ben Gordon won't have another 30 point night in this series. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are for real. Sorry Chicago fans but Derrick Rose (Not yet.) and Ben Gordon are not at the same level. In the end, Boston wins this series in six.
Now to the Magic. Allowing the 76ers to come back from 29 points down, should they worry. The short answer is...no. Philly has the talent to take out the Magic, but it shouldn't happen. Philly can do a good job of taking away Orlando's parimeter game, but they shouldn't even try to stop the inside game. Orlando wins the series in five. That's right, Philly won't win another game.
Now to my beloved Cavaliers. All I will say is Coach of the Year, soon to be MVP, and a round one sweep of the Pistons.
The best matchup on the East side of the bracket is the Hawks and the Heat. Atlanta won game one at home, and look for them to win game two as well. Ultimaetly the Heat will win the series, but it will take them seven games to do it. Wade has gone off since the All-Star break, and I don't see him stopping till the Heat are eliminated.
Now on to the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers and the Jazz. Game one had to be frustrating for Utah. L.A. played bad basketball and still won convincingly. Utah is a different team at home, and I seriously think they could take all three games in Utah. I also think that they will win the series in seven games. They came close to taking game two last night, but couldn't finish. It may be a stretch, but Utah over L.A. is my round one upset.
Denver and New Orleans should be another fun series to watch. Denver is a very, vaery good basketball team, and if L.A. escapes Utah, I believe the Nuggets will be the only team able to take the Lakers out. New Orleans is a talented team, but in the end Carmelo and Big Shot Billups are too much for Chris Paul and his Hornets. Nuggets in five.
San Antonio is too experienced to lose to Dallas. Tim Duncan is still a top-5 NBA player, and Parker can take over a game and doesn't buckle during the playoffs. Dallas had a horrible March but turned it around in April. At the end of the day, Parker and Duncan are too much for the streaky Mavericks. The Ginobili-less Spurs win in six.
And finally, the Rockets, Blazers. The Blazers are young but talented, but I think it will take another year for the Blazers to make some noise in the playoffs. Yao is 12-15 from the field so far in the series, the Blazers haven't figured out how to stop him. The Rockets win in six and unfortunaetly for McGrady, he'll not be the reason why...again.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Pre-post season quotes
All of these quotes came from Hootsuite.
They were pretty interesting to me, so without further adieu...
Kobe Bryant - "I really, really, really, really, really, really want that championship. I really, really, really want it."
LeBron James - "To be in a position to be in the playoffs and to fight for an NBA championship, I'm looking forward to it."
Rasheed Wallace - "They've got a pretty good record, a pretty good home record...So I guess it's going to be like David vs. Goliath."
Dwyane Wade - "Last season was memorable in a bad way. Let's make this season memorable in a good way."
Just some fun quotes to wrap your head around before the playoffs start tomorrow. Go Cavs!
They were pretty interesting to me, so without further adieu...
Kobe Bryant - "I really, really, really, really, really, really want that championship. I really, really, really want it."
LeBron James - "To be in a position to be in the playoffs and to fight for an NBA championship, I'm looking forward to it."
Rasheed Wallace - "They've got a pretty good record, a pretty good home record...So I guess it's going to be like David vs. Goliath."
Dwyane Wade - "Last season was memorable in a bad way. Let's make this season memorable in a good way."
Just some fun quotes to wrap your head around before the playoffs start tomorrow. Go Cavs!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
People want to watch the NBA again?
TNT has recorded a double digit percent increase in viewers.
Are people finally finding basketball interesting again?
I really hope so.
There is so much potential in the NBA.
It shouldn't go unwatched.
My Five best players in the NBA right now.
1) LeBron James
2) Kobe Bryant
3) Tim Duncan
4) Chris Paul
5) Dwyane Wade
Are people finally finding basketball interesting again?
I really hope so.
There is so much potential in the NBA.
It shouldn't go unwatched.
My Five best players in the NBA right now.
1) LeBron James
2) Kobe Bryant
3) Tim Duncan
4) Chris Paul
5) Dwyane Wade
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