NBA Playoff preview edition!
1) 1 vs 8 matchups:
Boston vs Atlanta
Boston sweeps. Atlanta never gets within 10 points at the end of a game.
To watch: How many more Celtics fans show up in Atlanta than Hawks fans (sic)
LA Lakers vs Denver
Lakers in five. Denver makes it more competitive than the Lakers will care for.
To watch: The number of terrible "Carmelo got a DUI" jokes
2) 2 vs 7 matchups:
Detroit vs Philadelphia
Detroit in five. Philadelphia doesn't have enough talent and depth, but they'll be worthy opponents, even in defeat.
To watch: How many minutes does Flip Saunders play his young/talented/less-untested-than-they-were-before bench now that it's the Playoffs?
New Orleans vs Dallas
Dallas in seven. A pissed off and newly confident Dirk is the difference.
To watch: If New Orleans can get anything out of its bench (and considering that's Bonzi Wells, Jannero Pargo, and Julian Wright, that's asking a lot) it will win instead.
3) 3 vs 6 matchups:
Orlando vs Toronto
Orlando in six. Orlando has three of the best four players in this series which should be enough.
To watch: The Raptors - we hardly ever get to see these guys play, so why not start now?
San Antonio vs Phoenix
Phoenix in seven. Holy. Freakin'. Crap. Best first round matchup ever?
To watch: Every blessed minute.
4) 4 vs 5 matchups:
Cleveland vs Washington
Washington in six. LeBron's aching, his supporting cast still blows, and Washington gets its big three back healthy at the right time against an opponent they have motivation to beat.
To watch: LeBron's inevitable vicious dunk on DeShawn Stevenson's bearded head.
Utah vs Houston
Utah in six. One of the best offensive teams (Utah) against one of the best defensive teams (Houston.) Utah's defense is way better than Houston's offense without Yao, so that's the advantage.
To watch: Can Deron Williams dominate in the Playoffs like he did last year?
5) Keep checking us here for more NBA Playoff coverage. And don't forget to check out The Disciples of Clyde NBA Podcast, which we'll still be doing weekly throughout the postseason.
If you're still not ready, just watch this dunk, and get yourself right.
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3 comments:
I agree with most of what you said Dan. The NBA playoffs come down to this, motivation. Who is more motivated?
Obviously the Celtics are clearly more motivated than the Sixers. The Hawks are just happy to be there and there lazy fan base is just happy they wont be picking in the top 5 again this year. The Celtics want to make sure they don’t pull a Dallas Mavericks and KG wants that ring so bad he can taste it.
Kobe is motivated; I think his consistent play all season surely proved that. The Nuggets are a street ball team that plays with no real urgency, which at the beginning of the year I tried to point out in our somehow defunct Kris and Dan answer NBA questions. I would think Gasol has something to prove in the NBA world too, we know he is talented and on the international stage he achieved Gold now if he can be a big time part of an NBA Championship squad his name would have to be up there with any great ball players you mention.
The Sixers, like the Hawks, are just happy to be there and they should be proud of what they accomplished this year, lord knows I didn’t think they could win 25 games. Detroit is pissed and as Dan points out now has some young spark off that bench who want to help there veteran leaders get back to the mountain top again, the over under for points scored in the entire series by the Sixers is 400 (80 ppg over 5 games, I’ll take the under).
I like the Dallas pick by Dan. Clearly the Mavs have something to prove after last year debacle. We all know that Dirk can be a nightmare match-up when he has his game going and in the playoffs I will always take a savvy vet like Kidd going against a young up and comer like Chris Paul in his first playoff appearance.
The 3/6 match-ups are complete opposites. I don’t think anyone in the Orland/Toronto series is motivated because they know they are still a few pieces away from being serious contenders. Mix those two teams up and I think you have the dreadful unwatchable seris of the first round
On the other hand you have Spurs vs. Suns. Ummmm…..what more do you want people? The Suns traded for the Big Cactus to beat one team and one team only, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are always motivated because they like getting really shiny jewelry and they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the team, what sports are supposed to about.
Fast becoming the most heated rivalry in all of pro hoops, the Wizards and Cavs square off for the third consecutive year in the playoffs. You can’t create rivalries they just have to happen and in this instance all the ingredients are there. You have young, talented, motivated players who hate their opponents, and talk shit. The question is, is LeBron motivated enough to put on another virtuoso performance like he did last season. I personally think he is, the reason why is because he wants to be among the all time greats and the fact is they always brought it come playoff time, every year.
One would have to think there is no greater motivation than that of Tracy McGrady. This is it, his time, his season to prove where he ranks among the all time players in the game. He has never been out of the first round, his team put on a display of greatness this year by winning 22 straight, his all star teammate is out for the year, and they lost to this very same team last year after being up 3 games to 2 & having Game 7 at home in “clutch city.”
Maybe I can pull a non-intersted co-worker who picks based on the uniform colors, nicknames and locations and comes up aces...
Chalk picks:
Celtics green over the Hawks puke maroon
A Piston makes cars go faster than 76 miles per hour
Not so obvious chalk - The original Maverick, James Garner, is alergic to a Hornets' sting. Look it up.
On second thought, don't look it up.
The trendy pick - If Roger 'Rocket' Clemens listened to more Jazz, he'd be a lot calmer and not need to break bats and the like. Music calms the savage beast.
The dumb pick - Call it Hoya pride. Call it a coach coaching for his job. Call it too much talent to be this bad, but I think the most bestest series will turn out to be the Lakers drowning Nuggets in seven games.
The smart pick - My mother's friend's son told me that LeBron is in Gryffindor House and Agent Zero and his Wizard friends are Slytherin. Well, we all know that Gryffindor hasn't lost a house cup to those daffs from the dungeon since Potter arrived, so I'll take the fighting LeBrons.
Speaking of Magic, hopefully this series will go away quickly so we can pay attention to...
THE MAIN EVENT:
Why I've heard complaints about this being a first round game I can't understand. This is exactly what the NBA would want because you now have to pay attention to the early rounds, not just give it a passing glance.
One could argue that Shaq and Duncan cancel each other out, but that's saying a lot for Shaq. What this really does is force the Spurs to find someone to guard Amare off the block.
Despite the glamour of the post players, this series comes down to Tony Parker and Manu against Steven Nash and Grant Hill. Throw in Raja Bell and Michael Finley if you want, but the ability of these guards to run the game at the pace they want is vital for each team.
When push comes to shove, I would rather see the Suns in the next round, hopefully (if you're a TNT exec) on a crash course with the Lakers in the Western Confernce finals, with an overhyped Lakers vs. Celtics final to boot as KG gets his first ring
A not-impossible Final that the league execs would hate:
Detroit vs Utah
On the other hand, I'd watch that whole series wearing my Jason Maxiell Eats Baibes t-shirt.
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