One more day left in the NBA season...which means Playoff basketball this weekend?...excited yet?...guess it has to start first....surprisingly there are games that mean something tonight and determine ultimately the seeds of Phoenix,Utah,San Antonio,Houston,Denver and Dallas...kind of alot right?....just make sure you pay attention....I cant give the Western breakdown(because of the reason prior to this flowing sentence) so I'll give you the East....
-#1 Boston(65-16) vs #8 Atlanta(37-44)
Playoff basketball is back in Atlanta!....and you're welcome back gift is facing the Kevin Garnett led Boston Celtics....sadly if you are a big fan of underdogs...you may want to go to the next series...there isnt a bigger gap in experience and win/loss record in the playoffs so I'll take it light here...Boston plays defense....alot....Atlanta's scoring sources have been in question all year really(to me)..having Bibby helps in close situations but defender he is not...and Joe Johnson would need to play like a number 1 scorer early and often..but...he hasnt done that consistently....so why now?....best case scenario is 4-1 Boston...but dont be surprised if the brooms are brought out..
#4 Cleveland(45-36) vs #5 Washington(43-38)
This has become a bit of a rivalry(but not really,since Washington hasnt won yet) in the East....Lebron vs Agent Zero....ding!....but I think this year Washington gets the upper hand because of..........defense?....the last few years Lebron got his(given) and then people like Damon Jones,Donyell Marshall got off because of the "defensive" attention....it was weird to see people who shouldnt be factors......be factors!..well this year Wally,Joe Smith,Ben Wallace,Varejao and Big Z are the "non-factors " and I really only expect one or 2 of these guys be factors on offense..somehow without Larry Hughes sucking on the team they have less help(read that again and see if that can be possible)..but with Gilbert playing the 3rd role could help Jamison and Butler get involved more because Cleveland doesnt really have a stopper to contend with both of them....Lebron would be the list really...and you cant expect someone to do alllllllll the scoring and defend Butler....James would die...but that might be the best case scenario...
My pick 4-2 Washington
#3 Orlando(51-30) vs #6 Toronto(41-40)
I think Orlando isnt a 50 win team....and I think Toronto is better than a 1 win above 500 team....the matchup(which means on the floor together,not guarding) of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh is nice....the future of big men in the East(disregarding free agency of course)...both are young,good and having hit their primes yet(*gulp*) but it will depend on a few things
-What will the ratio of jumpers to drive attempts for Bosh be?
-Will Orlando's backcourt regain a pulse?
-Can the combo of Anthony Parker,TJ Ford,Jose Calderon and Carlos Delfino take advantage of the combo of Jameer Nelson,Mo Evans,Keith Bogans and Kenyon Dooling?
-Assuming Rasho guards Dwight...who does Bosh guard?...Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis?...
-Assuming Dwight guards Rasho....who does Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis guard?
All of that considered...(fandom alert!) I'm going with Toronto 4-3
#2 Detroit(58-23) vs Philly(40-41)
This is the matchup that should scare some people....everyone knows about Detroit...really good defense...really really solid starting 5..bench has improved to one of(if not the) best in the league...but in the last 2 years...have....well to put it frankly given away playoff series to Miami and Cleveland(remember?) team wise...they should have one...but that one man team thing is something else for Detroit...but this one is a little different...this is a real team's team...everyone contributes in some way...and it works..now given Detroit's sometime lazy nature with Philly's opportunistic tendency's....there is a way for Philly to win this series...but Andre Iguodala has to be the key...has to be...I just dont know if it is this year
Detroit 4-2
I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not....Barry Bonds needs a job playing again.....and Seattle is a nice place to help that cause....I could regret saying this later but I think he could help us offensively....after a little thought this is how it could work
-No one pays attention to the Pacific Northwest(in anything but Starbucks) so that could help Bonds deflect the overblown attention he got in San Fran(where the Giants are the only team)
-He can hit still....last year 28 HRs 66 RBIs and 132 walks...if that doesnt generate offense...I think you're in the wrong line of business
-Other than Ichiro and Ibanez we lack solid hitting from the left side...Wilkerson and Vidro are decent...but both are playing everyday...decent is good off the bench if you can help it
Now I'm aware he could be a locker room cancer(has been mentioned in Pitt and SF) and the attention could be very bad but I think it couldnt hurt if you are trying to overtake Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...pull out the stops..
By reading and hearing all of the "acclaimed experts" I realize that MVP in the NBA stands for Lifetime achievement award....make sense?.....of course not..I think that if anyone mentions the fact that Kobe Bryant hasnt won an MVP yet...you should cut them off immediately...whatever..
I forgot the NFL is a year round sport now....I guess the schedules were sooooo important that we needed to have an hour show on who has the toughest schedules...before the draft.....also makes sense.....
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2 comments:
Ballsy...and loved the fandom alert....Am i gonna need to do the west or are you finishing this?
that was some insane in-depth analysis. i like.
i haven't paid much attention to philly since (the real) AI left, but if you say they're legit perhaps it's true. i'd like to see that go 7.
raps > orlando= definite fandom. lol. everyone has their moments.
as for your *hate* on Kobe, it's not a lifetime achievement award in that people aren't solely giving it to him because he hasn't won one. it's kind of like a tie between him and CP3 so they're just using that as the tiebreaker. it's an edge for Kobe in the same way superstars get fouls at the end of games that rookies don't get (which i know you hate, but still). it's not entirely fair, but awards (and fouls) are pretty subjective and often are decided by random things...
as for bonds, i've never really understood how one player can make so much difference to a team. it's not like basketball where one person can dominate and take over the game (and say, score 81). you only get to bat when your turn comes up (right?) so you can't really dominate. how much difference can a single player really make?
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