NBA Playoffs Review

Hey everybody, long time since my last Blog post, no excuses, let’s get right into it with a review of the 2010 NBA playoffs so far.

Music to listen to: Exodus by Bob Marley



This is what I’m listening to while doing this post. For some reason, Bob Marley came up in a conversation I was having a few days ago so I’ve decided to post my favorite song of his.

So the NBA playoffs are in full swing and I’m loving every moment of it. This is my favorite set of playoffs out of the big four sports because while it does last a little too long for my taste (thank you television rights), you see the most intriguing matchups and the true meddle of teams. While MLB is seems even lengthier, NFL crests with the Super Bowl and the NHL seems like a war of attriction, the NBA seems like the perfect balance.

I didn’t know the best way to do this but decided to make general statements and roll from there.

-Denver is an absolute mess and I don’t know where to point the finger. I could go with the unfortunate health decline of its head coach, George Karl, the eroding skills of Billups, the pouting and immaturity of J.R. Smith, the joke of an attitude that Kenyon Martin has. In the end, I have to look at Carmelo Anthony. He should have taken the reigns on this team and carried them to a win over Utah in the first round.

-Have no idea what to make of Charlotte after its first-round series against Orlando.

-Dwayne Wade is, at worst, the fourth-best player in the league and he may need to be higher. That game four performance against Boston was inspirational. When he is a Bull next year, look out for those guys, speaking of which…

-The combo of Derrick Rose and Noah in Chicago in its series against Cleveland, should be an open letter to every wing free-agent, including LeBron, that you can go to the Bulls and compete for the East, maybe even an NBA title. Its rare to find an elite point guard and a high-production forward together and willing to do whatever it takes for the team. If the Bulls hire someone competent as head coach, even though with the ownership’s continued support of the incompetent general manager Paxson you don’t know, that team can be a force.

-I’m buying into what Kenny Smith said on Inside the NBA that Kevin Durant will be the best player in the NBA in three years. Think about it. Kobe and Duncan will definitely be on the downturn. Dwight Howard will actually regress as a player and I’ll get to him in my next point. Deron Williams, Rose and Chris Paul will continue to do their thing but Durant will have a size advantage over them. Anthony is solid but not better.

That leaves Wade and LeBron. We’ve seen Wade’s body break down so I’m leaning against him. I think that Durant is a better shooter right now, LeBron is a better defender, both can score even though I would put Durant as a better “scorer.” Just think about it.

The Thunder showed me some maturity in losing to the Lakers and will be a force to recognize in the next few years.

-Portland was borderline idiotic in playing Brandon Roy with a bum knee. I don’t care that he came on the court, hit some shots and the Blazers actually won that home contest. You can’t risk your franchise player in a first-round series like that. Furthermore, your team has a history of injuries, hello Greg Oden, and you do that. That was one of the most unsmart moves I’ve seen from a professional organization

-OK, back to Dwight Howard. We should have seen more development from him as a post player by now in his career. I know he had a nice game against Atlanta last night but Orlando will NEVER win a title if he is the main option on offense.

-Fire Mike Woodson. As a passive Hawks fan, I’m disgusted at the fact of the Bucks series going seven games and the embarrassment of last night’s game against Orlando. He has been an incompetent coach during his entire time in Atlanta and now the rest of America gets to see it.

Now on to the current series

Lakers vs. Jazz: While Deron Williams is playing like the best point guard in the league right now and the Jazz will always play hard, it can’t beat the Lakers. Too much size. Lakers in six.

Suns vs. Spurs: Classic series that will be enjoyable to watch because of the matchups. I think this is the year that Phoenix breaks through. Suns in seven.

Orland vs. Atlanta: This has the chance of being a sweep but I’ll give the Hawks one game assuming that Joe Johnson gets hot in one contest. Magic in five.

Cleveland vs. Boston: Saved the best for last. I’m as big of a LeBron mark as you can find but two things are disturbing me about this series and the Cavs in general. First, the elbow injury is legit and it can affect him physically. The second point worries me even more and it’s the mental state of the Cavs. They seemed a little too happy to get their butts whipped at home by an aging Celtics squad that they should be double-digit favorites over in each game. Mike Brown, aka LeBron’s puppet, needs to gain some strong testicle power and tell his team that if they don’t get their act right, they can be down 3-1 quickly. I don’t see that killer instinct in LeBron and it may never come, at least in this series. With all that being said, I’ll take the best player in the world. Cavs in seven.