Raise your hand if you had Philly beating Chicago? Yeah me neither. Of course I didn’t have Rose getting injured in game one and Noah getting injured in game 3 either. Chicago also got nothing from their reserve PG’s even though they were able to step up for the 20+ games Rose was injured in the regular season. Give Philly credit for playing well against one of the best defenses in the NBA. The question I have is did the 76’ers shut Boozer down or does Boozer stink in the playoffs. I think this is a legitimate question considering Boozer’s prior playoff crapfests.
The reffing was bad to the point of looking rigged in game one of the Miami/New York series. The rest of the series was slightly better on that front. Not that it mattered because the Knicks lost 1 starter per game this series. Shumpert blew his knee out in game one, Amar’e punched some glass after game 2, Baron Davis blew his knee out in game 3 and Jeffries was limited to 4 minutes per game due to his own knee injury. Miami did a good job of completely shutting Novak down to the point where he took 9 shots all series. Even though the Knicks would have been outmatched had the team not been decimated by injuries and the refs not having an agenda it would have been nice if coach Woodson made a few changes during the series. Like going zone before the 2nd half of game 5 or letting Harrellson play since he looked decent during his few minutes on the court. The confetti falling from MSG after the game 4 win was embarrassing as were the plethora of flops Miami did every chance they got.
Indiana vs Orlando looked like it was going to be a fun series after the Magic upset the Pacers in game one. The Pacers then won 4 straight, each one more convincing than the last. I assume this would have been a much better series had Dwight Howard played, but even if he was healthy he probably would have found a way to insult or quit on his team before the series was over anyway. I’m going to pat myself on the back for being right about Big Baby averaging 20-10 for the series.
Another year another playoff disappointment for the Hawks. Most of the games were really close, but with all of the future hall of famers on the Celtic you knew they were going to pull out the close ones. Boston was down with 30 seconds left in game 5 and there was no doubt in my mind they’d end up winning. A hard fought series but the better team came out in the end.
So now Boston will play Philly. Boston already won game one. It was only by a point and Boston has 4 key players playing with injuries, and that’s with 3 key players already out for the season. Philly really needs to steal one of the first two to make it a series and Boston really needs to win quickly so they can rest before the conference finals. Boston in 6
Miami beat the Pacers in game one, but Bosh got hurt and may not play or may be limited for game 2. If Indiana can get James or Wade in foul trouble early (easier said than done, James got his first foul with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Seriously, how is that even possible?) they have a chance at stealing game 2 and making it a series. The usual flopfest and sketchy calls ensued in this series, but maybe Vogel’s rant before the series had and effect because the reffing was much much better than in the Knicks series. Miami in 6
The Spurs killed the Jazz. They are way better. Al Jefferson is overrated and there’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team already. The Spurs have the best/smartest ownership in the league and always seem to find the perfect players to fit into their system. Utah never had a chance.
The Thunder won 3 really close games before blowing out the Mavs in game 4. The Mavs seemed to be one player short of making this a really close series. If only they could have gotten a big man to play off the bench….someone like the former 6th man of the year…..Lamar Odom is a thief!
The west coast Knicks, I mean the Nuggets almost stole the series from the Lakers, but Gasol and Bynum were too much in game 7. The McGee acquisition looks like it was a good move. All the Knicks fans who wanted them to draft Faried are shaking their heads. The Manimal is the real deal. Ty Lawson was great too. Gallinari sucked, Mozgov only played about 15 minutes a game and Wilson Chandler was injured for the playoffs. This should make the Knicks fans feel a little better about the trade considering Melo was the Knicks only good player in the playoffs. That is until you realize that Denver has cap flexibility and two more picks coming. Ugh.
The Clippers upset the Grizzlies. I may have to change my Grizzlies winning it all pick. I guess Chris Paul is that good because I didn’t see much from anyone else on the team that impressed me. I saw some nice shooting and a lot of flopping but I didn’t think that would have been enough to beat the Grizz. Of course giving up a 27 point lead in game one should have been a red flag.
The Spurs will play the Clippers in round 2. The Spurs will beat the Clippers in round 2. The Grizzlies match up much better with the Spurs. I expect this to be a short series, especially if Griffin’s knee doesn’t get better real quick. Spurs in 5
Thunder vs. Lakers will be interesting just for the fact that Metta will end up covering Harden at some point. Gasol and Bynum won’t be able to have a billion offensive rebounds against Perkins and Ibaka. I don’t expect this series to go longer than 6. Thunder in 6
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