Here’s what I’m thinking so far through this years playoffs:
-Why do some second round series begin before some first round series end? While Detroit vs. Orlando and New Orleans vs. San Antonio kicked off their second round series on Saturday, the Celtics and Hawks still had a game to finish in their first round series on Sunday. Confusing isn’t it? No other major professional sports does this, and for good reason. The NBA playoff format has some serious issues, including the fact that teams aren’t re-seeded in each round. It wasn’t a problem this season because all the higher seeds won, but the NBA should seriously consider making a few fan friendly changes.
-The Hornets are for real. First they made the Mavs look like an NBADL team, now they’ve got off to a 2-0 lead over the Spurs. They’ve pretty much been unstoppable, but will things be different when the series shifts to San Antonio? Probably not. The Spurs have never come back from a 0-2 deficit in the history of their franchise. The Hornets are off the charts, and with a nucleus of Chris Paul, Davis West, and Tyson Chandler, they should be a top contender for a long time.
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Is it just me, or are the Lakers kinda flying under the radar? They’re 5-0 thus far, and have been playing phenomenal. They should continue playing great, but things won’t be so easy against the Jazz. The Lakers are still the favorite to win the conference, but the road through the Western Conference is anything but easy.
-What’s up with the Celtics? There’s no way the Hawks should have taken them to the seventh game. According to the Celts, they’re not used to playing with each other in the playoffs, which I think is a pretty lousy excuse. They had the whole regular season to prepare for the playoffs, and shouldn’t make pathetic excuses when they get out played by a lesser team. The Hornets don’t have experience playing with each other in the playoffs either and look what they’re doing. Either way, it should be a great series against the Cavs.
-How can a team that has Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and George Karl as its coach get swept in the first round of the playoffs? Oh yeah, they completely forgot how to play defense. The Nuggets need a new system.
-Has the window officially closed on the Phoenix Suns? I’d say so. The Suns were very hard to watch in the first round, and were even annoying to watch at times. They blew countless opportunities against the Spurs and their big players didn’t step up when needed. Was Grant Hill playing during the series? He was practically invisible. The Suns are a team that basketball fans root for because of their exciting style of play, and likeable personalities. It’s simply a case of a good team that couldn’t become a great team. The front office got too fancy with roster moves over the years and it came back to haunt them. Expect some changes in Phoenix.
-If the Toronto Raptors ever hope to compete, they’re gonna have to add another scorer. Having Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino as your primary wing men just won’t get it done. The team took a serious step back this season, and Bryan Colangelo will have to earn his money this off-season by improving their average roster. Everyone knows either T.J. Ford or Jose Calderon will be trade bait, but beyond that the Raptors don’t have much to offer. Their best bet is to throw some money at a free agent. Luring a big name to Toronto may not be easy, so Colangelo will have to work his magic.
(By the way, here’s a list of this summers big name restricted and unrestricted free agents: Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, J.R. Smith, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis, Jermaine O’Neal, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Ricky Davis, Shawn Marion, Stephon Marbury, Andre Iguodala, Ron Artest, Jose Calderon, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison. Obviously not all of these players will change uniforms, but if could make for a very interesting summer.)
So the second round is in full swing, and here’s what I expect to happen: Lakers in six, Hornets in six, Pistons in five, and the Celtics in seven. Hopefully round two will have a little bit more fireworks than round one.
Enjoy the rest of round two,
~Joe Osborne
