It’s been fascinating to see which series were competitive and which weren’t. After that first game, people saw Suns-Spurs as a potential run of seven nailbiters. Nope. I’ll be stunned if it doesn’t end tonight. My sense was that people saw Utah-Houston as an even match. Nope! Magic-Raptors, probably even because both were irrelevant? Nope! Pistons-76ers, cakewalk for Detroit over an undeserving playoff team? Didn’t happen. And now the Hawks are even at 2-2 with the Celtics. I thought that was an easy sweep - has there ever been such a large difference in win total between two playoff teams?
I’ve never been a Cavaliers fan. I’ve got nothing against LeBron, but I thought they were, and are, a crummy team that pretty much lucked into the finals last year. But their last game against Washington was something to watch. Stevenson hit James in the head, he got pissed, and Cleveland kicked some real ass.
Thing is, the Hawks actually have a lot of talent. Their problem (IMO) has been that they have been poorly coached. So it really doesn’t surprise me to see them kick things up a notch in the playoffs. I see it as simply a case of the Hawks playing up to their potential. (Hey, you keep piling up lottery picks, it has to pay off eventually, right?) I don’t expect them to beat the Celtics, of course, but it’s nice to at least see a competitive series.
Here’s hoping the Hawks find a coach in the offseason who will help them reach their potential more consistently.
(Nothing against Woodson personally. He seems like a decent man. He’s just not getting it done as a coach.)
It’s really too bad that the Spurs pulled out that first game (and not just because I’m cheering for the Suns in the series). You’re probably right that it ends tonight, and the perception will be that the Suns got demolished, that the Shaq deal was stupid, and so on. But change one play in that first game and it’s 2-2, and people are still talking about an all-time great series.
And the Wizards respond by talking more trash & ridiculous cr^p. They need to knock it off and let the floor play do the talking. I love them but this is very embarrassing.
Anybody who says they saw this coming is full of it.
In other news, the Jazz appear to have the Rockets on the ropes, and the Cavs dispatched the Bullets after we witnessed King James drop a triple double. Second round should be exciting, gang!
I fully expect Boston to crush Atlanta at home, but the fact that this game has gone 7 is remarkable. I thought I was going out on a limb picking Boston in 5!
If Atlanta pulls this one out, this is one of those rare times that the phrase “one of the biggest upsets in history” actually applies and isn’t hyperbole.
I certainly didn’t, it was the only series I saw as over in 4. In retrospect I think Ray Allen, now 33 and never a great defender, has really been exposed by Johnson and I think we are going to see more of Posey as the playoffs roll on & more teams take advantage of it … and I think the playoffs will roll on for Boston which has won every game at home by huge margins. But then, I never expected Atlanta in this position in the first place - I would have given you the horselaugh if you told me this 4-19-08
The Rockets lasted longer and far tougher than I ever imagined after they lost Yao. When he gets back, like Dexys Midnight Runners, we haven’t heard the last of them (Simpsons Joke). Sincerely they will be tough.
Wizards need to get an answer to Lebron. They need to resign Jamison. They need to get real value for Arenas. They need to stop doing this to me.
Orlando - Detroit: Conventional wisdom says Detroit, and I’ll say Detroit in six. They have the better roster, and I think they can keep Dwight Howard under some semblance of control. But if the Pistons still have their head up their collective ass like they did against Philly the Magic will take advantage. Lewis and Turkoglu have got to improve their FG percentages for the Magic to have any chance.
Spurs - Hornets: For all the talk about “playoff experience”, here’s a series where such might really be the deciding factor. I can see Parker and Chris Paul effectively neutralizing each other, so I think rebounding is going to be a key factor. If (and this is a big if) Tyson Chandler can outrebound Duncan, the Hornets have a good chance. In the end, I see Manu Ginobli being the MVP in this series as the Spurs win in seven.
I’ve noticed there is a massive officiating bias aiding the Hawks in this series. The Hawks have shot like 65 more free throws than the Celtics. I’ve noticed a lot of ticky-tacky fouls called on the Celtics and a lot of no-calls for the Hawks.
So far as the Detroit series goes, they’ll treat Dwight Howard like they did Kobe/O’Neal a few years back. He’ll get his points and stats. They’ll just focus on everyone else and shut them down. You’re a hundred percent right. For the Magic to win, they need to equal the Pistons’ superior frontcourt play.
This is absolutely right, there’s no reason the Pistons need to be worried about Dwight Howard. Shut down the other 4 guys and Howard can score 50 if he likes.
The Hawks play aggressively and work the ball inside, whereas the Celtics are mainly a jump shooting team. There’s always going to be a big difference in free throw attempts in that situation.
Dudley, I think 5-HT’s observation is dead on. Also, if there was a “conspiracy” going on, surely it would be in favor of the Celtics. Commissioner Stern is on record as saying a Celtics-Lakers final would be great for the league, and I doubt he’ll be thrilled if the Hawks, of all teams, spoil the party by gumming up the works.
Sometimes, I feel like the refs have it in for a team I’m rooting for, then conclude after calm reflection that they pretty much got it right.
Well, night one of the 2nd round is complete, even if round 1 still isn’t. Pistons-Magic played pretty even through a rather uninspired 1st half, and then the Pistons “flipped the switch” and demolished them in the 2nd. Orlando will need to find a way to make Detroit pay for single teaming Howard to have a chance, because Detroit’s modified zone absolutely smothered the Magic’s outside shooting. It also probably wouldn’t hurt if Orlando tried not missing half of their free throws.
Detroit seems to always slack their way into 1 or 2 lackluster games every series, but thus far they seem to have heeded the wake up call Philly sent in round 1. The past 3 games the Pistons have showed a really killer instinct and profound mean streak. Still far too early to tell how the whole series will turn out though.
Only watched a bit of the NO-SA game but I was impressed with how the Hornets handled Duncan. NO is not nearly the one dimensional team that Phoenix was, and the Spurs are going to have to come up with a MUCH better gameplan than they had tonight. note, trying to turn Hack-a-Shaq into Hack-a-Tyson is not a gameplan.
I didn’t expect a Spurs sweep but I was surprised they lost Game 1 the way they were playing. I still expect the Spurs to win, but man if the Spurs go out my nightmare scenario of Kobe or Lebron winning hoisting the big silver basketball trophy might come closer to reality (I know Kobe’s done it before and the odds are still long for LeBron).