NBA Finals Thoughts and Looking to the Draft!
NBA Finals and NBA Playoffs thoughts!
Sorry I hadn't written in a while. I know you all miss me blogging. I will do my best to write a blog here at least once a week. Or once every 2 weeks. LOL! So the NBA Finals started 2 days ago. It seemed like it was just taking forever just to begin. I mean there shouldn't be that long of a rest period between the conference finals and the NBA Finals. I mean everyone thought that Detroit would've taken Boston to 7 but they didn't. If anything they should've started on Tuesday. Now anything on to my thoughts about Game 1. Even though I am rooting for the Celtics to win I thought that it was just total drama how Paul Pierce could carried off the court one minute and then be revived a couple minutes later. I thought that it was just total drama and he possibly could've been faking. But the Celtics did get the win over the Lakers and now lead 1-0 to nothing in this best of 7 series. Who at the beginning of the season thought that the Lakers and the Celtics would meet again in the NBA Finals? I know I didn't. So I do have to congratulate both teams for getting this far to the finals. The Celtics I know when they had the three headed monster with Allen, Garnett, and Pierce they were the team to beat in the east. The Lakers once they made that Pau Gasol trade they just took off with the west and never looked back. If anything the Lakers made teams panic by making sensless trades that didn't really help them. My prediction is Boston in 6 but I think that it will go 7 and whoever wins we'll be in for a good treat. I know the NBA is happy to see this because of the ratings and it is the tale once again of the 2 most storied franchises in the NBA. Maybe we'll see this matchup for years to come just like in the 80s.
Anyway as for the rest of the playoffs my closing thoughts. For the Western Conference, as competitive as it was in the regular season it sure layed an egg in the playoffs. The only thriller series there was in the west was the Spurs vs. the Hornets. It went back and fourth until game 7 when the Spurs finally won on the Hornets home floor. Utah seemed to be the only team in the West that gave the Lakers a run for their money taking them to 6 games. But the rest of it just sucked. Spurs going out 4-1 to the Lakers. You know they got some offseason work to do. Houston with another first round exit, Denver getting swept, and Phoenix and Dallas only getting one win in each of their respective series. Overall some of the series could've been more competitive but the best team did win in each series. As for the Eastern Conference, no surprises really there to report. Detroit got knocked out in Conference finals again. Cleveland knocked the Wizards out in the first round again. Orlando I thought could've performed better against Detroit. But the big surprise was Atlanta taking Boston to 7 games. I really think that the Celtics just underestimated them. It has been a wild ride and now we wait for the finals to end, the NBA Draft and July 1st which will start free agency. And if it all comes together the Los Angeles Clippers will be playing next June out of the Western Conference. HA HA HA HA!
On to Round 2 and First Round Thoughts
Ok so I know I have been slackin' with the sports blog lately. I've been busy and I got this other blog I'm concentrated on. www.jreedandfriends.wordpress.com for those of you interested. I wanted to give my first round thoughts and then make my 2nd round predictions even though the 2nd Round has already begun. Let's begin with the west.
Lakers sweep Nuggets: Ok I didn't see this coming. I thought Denver would at least win one game but after watching game 3 it's like just put them out of their misery already. And they are still going to keep George Karl. Why? He has no control over that team. A team that can dominate in the regular season but just flamed in the playoffs. Another first round exit for them. And they proved why they are the 8 seed. And whats funny is experts actually had Denver winning. HA HA HA! I mean I hate the Lakers but come on! We all know Denver can't beat them. LOL! And for a team with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. Something has to change next season or they might miss the playoffs all together.
Jazz 4-2 over Rockets: Houston put up a fight but without Yao Ming it wasn't enough. Of all the opponents that lost in the west they had the most wins which I found surprising. The Rockets do have a lot of fight in them and are a very good team but it just wasn't meant to be again and another first round exit for Tracy McGrady. I don't see them making any significant changes this off season but it's good that they got rid of Mike James. Hopefully he doesn't have a 3rd stop with that team.
Spurs 4-1 over Suns: Ok we all know that small ball doesn't win you a title. And maybe trading for Shaq won't win you one either. Steve Nash has a lot of miles on his body and that team is built to win now. Not later. They have some things to think about this off season including if D'Antoni is still going to be the coach. This is a team I see dropping off next season if they are not careful.
Hornets 4-1 over Mavericks: Ok so I underestimated the Hornets and the Mavericks are on their way to dropping off. They already fired Avery Johnson and it's a job that I can imagine that no coach wants. And we can all safely say that trading for Kidd was a mistake and now you lost your future in Devin Harris. They have quite a bit of rebuilding to do.
Ok so my predictions in the west for round 2 are:
Lakers 4-2 over Jazz: Well the Lakers already have the lead but I think with the Jazz playing at home it will be hard for the Lakers to in Utah. But who knows it could be another 4 game sweep.
Hornets 4-3 over Spurs: The Spurs are in trouble as they are already down 2 games to zero. But never count out the champions. I think they will make it a series once they play at home. We'll see what happens as the series prevails. As for the Hornets they are definitely for real.
Ok now on the the East.
Celtics 4-3 over Hawks: It took them seven games to beat the Hawks. You are kidding me right? Well Hawks fan hope you enjoyed seeing your team in the playoffs again. It's just horrible how they folded in game 7.
Cavaliers 4-2 over Wizards: The Wizards just like to talk a lot. Saying Lebron is overrated and all that kind of stuff. Come on. Last two years his team has knocked you guys out of the playoffs and they did it again to you. So if you run into them next year maybe you should stop talking your smack and play your game.
Magic 4-1 over Raptors: Well what can I say? D How is a beast! The Raptors were no match for him. I mean Chris Bosh is good but they have a mediocore team that will continue to make the playoffs as long as the teams in the east continue to suck.
Pistons 4-2 over 76ers: Philadelphia made it very interesting when they took the lead 2-1. But the Detroit just went Detroit and turned on the flip switch as they got off 3 consecutive wins. I think Philadelphia is better off without AI.
Round 2 predictions for the east are:
Celtics 4-3 over Cavaliers: It will take them a long time to put away series until they can start winning on the road. But overall I think the Cavs just don't have enough pieces to compete with the Celtics.
Pistons 4-2 over Magic: Magic is a good team and I am tired of seeing the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. I'm tired of seeing that team together. They haven't won anything since 2004. But realistically I think Magic will only get no more than 2 wins.
Overall the first round was pretty dissapointing. Especially in the west. I mean all the teams in the west won more than 50 games and none of those series went to seven games. I was hoping for some competitive basketball but instead we got some first round flamers if you know what I mean. They pretty much proved to me why all those teams were seeded where they were. I look for teams to drop off next season in the West and some new teams to rise. All it really proves though is that Western Conference teams are increasing their winning percentage against the East. As for the East it was pretty much what I expected. Instead Boston taking seven games to finish off Atlanta. But hopefully we should see some more competitive series in round 2. By the way they really should consider going back to the best of 5 in the first round. Best of 7 is just way too long and it shouldn't be that long at all. Another thing they should try is the best 16 teams. Now that would be interesting.
Playoffs Preview
Ok with the playoffs starting tommorrow here is my prediciton of what will happen in the first round. We'll start with the Western Conference.
Lakers vs. Nuggets:
Well the Lakers are number one again for the first time in a long time and Nuggets are in the bottom four of the playoff mix once again. I'm not going to lie things have been crazy since each conference has 3 divisions now especially in the west. But back to the prediction. Nuggets are just like one of those annoying teams that can make the playoffs but will do nothing when they get there. Kinda like Memphis a couple years back. But overall even though they got a A.I., Carmelo, and Marcus Camby you think that this team would be a whole lot better but they're not. Lakers are going to finish this series quick and the Nuggets won't get out of the first round again.
Lakers in 6.
Jazz vs. Rockets:
They meet again in the first round. Wow this is a series I'm getting tired of seeing in the first round. LOL! Well let's see. The Jazz are impossible to beat at home. The Rockets are without Yao Ming. Even though the team has played well without him I think it won't be enough against the Jazz to move on to the next round. I'm sorry Tracy McGrady but you'll be out in the first round yet again this season.
Jazz in 7.
Spurs vs. Suns
A rematch of what we saw in the semifinals a year ago. This time the Suns have Shaq. They have played fairly well down the stretch with him in the lineup. But they are going up against the defending champions. This is kind of weird match up for me. One team that could possibly win it all will be going out in the first round. It will be dissapointing for whatever team it is. Best first round series by far.
Spurs in 7.
Hornets vs. Mavericks
Well the Hornets are led by Chris Paul. Now that they are in the playoffs for the first time in the west will they make some noise or flame just like Memphis did. They are going up against a team that has been to playoffs year in and year out. And embarrassed last season to be yet a number 1 seed to go down to a number 8. Well the Mavs are the 7 seed this year and we'll see if they can pull the 7 over 2 upset. It wouldn't be much of an upset since the Hornets have never been here before. We'll see what happens but here is my prediciton for now.
Mavericks in 6.
Now that my West predictions are in let me talk about my Eastern Conference predictions.
Celtics vs. Hawks
This series won't be competitive at all. It will be a warm up series for the Celtics if anything. I mean they did sweep the regular season series against the Hawks. Need I say more.
Celtics in 4.
Cavliers vs. Wizards
Another series I'm tired of seeing in the first round. Well for the Wizards Gilbert Arenas is back so they are that much better without him. And Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler have been playing very well. So it will be a competitive series. But Cavs got Lebron. And other players. The trade they made a few months back hasn't really gotten them better but I still feel that they are good enough to get to at least round 2. This offseason the Cavs got to get Lebron some help.
Cavaliers in 7.
Magic vs. Raptors
Well the Magic is a really good team this seaon. Howard is playing good and Rashard Lewis has definitely helped. But Hedo Turkoglu has played incredible. Better than I had certainly thought. It is going to be an ok series for them. It won't be a sweep though. The Raptors will play hard but Chris Bosh won't be enough to get over the Dwight Howard and the rest of the Magic squad.
Magic in 6.
Pistons vs. 76ers
I got to congratulate the Sixers for getting back into the playoffs only a season after getting rid of Allen Iverson. I guess that was the Answer. LOL! But in the eastern conference until they can get some quality ball clubs out there again anything can happen. They won't get passed the Pistons. It will be quick is what I'm predicting. Enough on this series.
Pistons in 5.
Ok those are my predictions. We'll see if I am right and we'll see if there are any upsets. I'm always hoping for those. Some time within the coming days I will post about the teams that didn't make the playoffs and headed for the lottery.
My Playlist
Hey whats up? No sports opinion as of right now! Just wanted you to all check out my new playlist I made on Hypster.com . Check it out! Good quality music. Well good quality music I like. Tell me what you think and if you have any questions about any of the songs feel free to ask. In other words COMMENT! LOL!








