Before moving on to Round Two, some reflections on the carnage that has already occurred. The L.A. Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant, easily dispensed with the defensively-challenged Denver Nuggets 4-0. No surprise there. Utah defeated my Rockets 4-2. Oh what could have been if the Rockets had been healthy. Feel good story New Orleans Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1, prompting the firing of Avery Johnson as head coach just two years after winning Coach of the Year awards and leading the Mavericks to their first ever NBA Finals appearance. And after an epic double overtime Game 1, the once promising San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns series fizzled to a 4-1 victory for the Spurs. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni may be following Avery out the door. On the East Side, Orlando beat Toronto 4-1, Detroit over Philly 4-2, Cleveland over Washington in a contentious, nasty series 4-2. That leaves the most unlikely series to go to seven games set for a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston: Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics. The Celtics had the best record in the NBA, the Hawks had the worst record of any play-off bound team. All predictions (including my own) were that the Celtics would cruise in a sweep, with the Hawks just happy to be there. Not so. That is why I love the play-offs. If the Hawks win, that would be the biggest upset in NBA play-off history. My prediction: The Celtics win. But kudos to the scrappy Hawks.
OK, now for the next Round:
L.A. Lakers vs. Utah Jazz: Since I think the Lakers could go all the way this season, I've got to go with the Lakers. It is questionable whether the Jazz would have even gotten by Houston had Houston been healthy. I say Lakers in 6.
New Orleans Hornets vs. San Antonio Spurs: As much as I am rooting for the Hornets here (I love the team, it would be great for the city of New Orleans), I think that the Spurs' experience and play-off toughness will prevail. This could go to 7 (especially since New Orleans has home court advantage), but I say the Spurs win.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic: The Magic are fun and dangerous, and Detroit has a tendency to play down to its competition, but I still feel that the Pistons will march on to an (almost) inevitable Celtics/Pistons Eastern Conference Finals. So Pistons in 7 (because they always make it tougher on themselves than it needs to be).
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics/Atlanta Hawks: I do not see the Hawks winning a Game 7 in Boston, so this is most likely the Celtics. If that is the case, Boston over Cleveland in 6. If the Hawks do the impossible, then I would give the series to Cleveland in 6.
ABOVE: Congratulations to MVP Kobe Bryant. It was leaked that Kobe will be named MVP next week
These are all great teams at this stage. If my predictions come true, then we should have conference finals for the ages on both sides with Lakers/Spurs and Celtics/Pistons. Wow. I'm glad Kobe got the MVP. Once it became a race for first seed in the West, I decided that the MVP should go to Kobe if the Lakers took the top seed, and Chris Paul if the Hornets held on to it. Since it was a toss-up between those two and the Lakers took first place...congrats to Kobe.
3 comments:
So it looks like I called every series correcty. I was nervous about the Boston one, but they pulled it out.
People have been underestimating CP3 and the Hornets. I think they can pull the whole thing out. Keep in mind this is a team with no national TV exposure so no one knows who they are
Oh, and F**K Kobe. What kind of name is Kobe anyway. Why don't people pronounce it "Kohb" the way it is spelled.
Also, isn't LeBron, when translated in french mean "The Bron." What the hell is a "Bron" anyway?
Put your money where your mouth is, Pocky. Don't say you called the series after the fact. Make predictions here at GNABB at the beginning of the series.
Well, I put my money on the Hornets in Vegas before the playoffs start, so I'm happy to gloat (for now) with how they've been playing against the Spurs. Series is FAR from over, but if you asked me to change one thing about the first two games, I'd pass.
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