FanNation - The Republic of Sport

5/4/08

A poor job by the NBA starting the second round of the playoffs before the first round ended, even though it was an improbable 7 game finish between the Celts and Hawks.  

Of course my beef comes solely because it prevented me from making my second round predictions, in their entirety, before two game 1's were played. 

Now my first round picks were far from perfect, as I had Dallas and Washington winning their respective series over  New Orleans and Cleveland.

I never claimed I knew what I was talking about, and my picks were a clear indication of that.

Nevertheless, of the 8 teams still standing, I did have 6 of correctly advancing, only missing out on the Hornets and Cav's taking care of business. 

Both of those teams now head into the second round, part of a Conference Semi's with 4 stellar matchups.

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston Celtics v. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers

After being pushed to the brink, Boston's big three showed the value of home court advantage, holding serve in their four contests played in front of their hometown faithful.  The Hawks played them physically and certainly got inside their head during the heated 7 game series, but in the end, the better team prevailed.  The Lebron's...sorry...the Cavs took care of a Wizards team who had more to say off the court than success to show on it, and 6 games later Cleveland booked itself a second round ticket.  This series comes down, plain and simply, to how the Celtics plan on defending James, and whether or not Lebron's supporting cast can do anything against a superior Celtics team.

Celtics in 5

(2) Detroit Pistons v. {3) Orlando Magic

(Pistons lead series 1-0)

Despite the outcome of game 1, I was picking Detroit to win this series because they are unquestionably the better team.  The problem with detroit, which they showed during their first round series with Philly, is that if this team decides not to 'turn it on', they are very average, and very beatable.  That being said, I dont expect Dwight Howard's thumb to be a problem, just like I don't expect Orlando to be much of a problem for Detroit.  The Magic were good enough to get by Toronto, but Detroit is in a different league.  If Jason Maxiell is going to play as well as he did in game 1, this series won't go beyond 5.

Pistons in 5

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Utah Jazz

(Lakers lead series 1-0)

Kobe Bryant, the league's soon to be named (and much deserved) MVP and the Lakers face a very formidable Jazz team that took care of the Rockets in 6, proved they can win at home this season and also proved they can win on the road in the post season, taking the first two games in Houston.  However, this Laker game is probably better than people understand, thanks in large part to an exceptional bench.  Kobe will score his points, Pao Gasol is a great Robin to Kobe's Batman, and Lamar Odom has played very well, but the bench is where the Lakers get scary. Farmar,, Turiaf,  Vujacic, and Walton are big time contributors, and even though it seems as though Andrew Bynum won't be seeing the floor again this year, the Lakers won't need him this series.

Lakers in 6

(2) New Orleans Hornets vs. (3} San Antonio Spurs

(Hornets lead series 1-0)

Aside from mascots running through rings of fire, not much else went wrong for the Hornets last night in the opening game of what in my opinion is best second round series.  Tim Duncan was held to 5 points and you can bet that wont happen again, and the Spurs will be back and ready to go for game 2.  The Spurs looked unstoppable against Pheonix, while the Hornets behind Chris Paul ran Dallas packing after the first round for a second straight year and Avery John was out a job as a result.  The Spurs and Hornets match up well, while the difference in this series comes down to experience, which the Spurs looked to leave behind in San Antonio last n night.  I wouldn't bank on that happening again this series, as aside from having the BEST 3 headed monster in the NBA...thats right Boston...the BEST with Timmy, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, the Spurs have the best head coach in the league who will make the necessary adjustments needed to take another step forward in their title defense.

Spurs in 7