Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Playoff Tid Bits Part Duex

Well we are nearing the end of Round 1 and it's time for a new set of Tid Bits about what we are seeing and in some circumstances, what we are not. From Part 1 we have Dallas and Denver hanging on for dear life after impressive games 1's and OKC and Portland making their respective series interesting when most wrote them off 10 days ago. Without further ado here we goooooooooo ...

-T - LeBron might be the best player in the NBA and is certainly playing that way in the playoffs as well but if I had to pick someone to be numero dos? Hello Deron Williams. Carmelo has done everything he can do to keep Denver rolling but the way DWill is controlling the series (and Chauncey), Utah looks poised to roll into round two.

-I- Sticking with Denver. Us here at HoopsBar love B'More's finest but when you say "I need some help, I can't do it alone", you are pointing fingers. I'm not mad because your 100% right but you're pointing fingers. And calling out your teammates in the playoffs generally works the opposite way you want it. Have a nice summer Nuggs.

-D- Orlando, to me, still looks like the team to beat in the East. LeBron can't do it alone and as much as I love the way the Celtics took care of business in round one, they still need to step up another level before they are beating Orlando four times in seven tries without home court.

-B- With a series with the likes of future HOF Kidd, Nowitzki and Duncan and studs like Parker, Ginobili, Butler and Marion it is becoming more and more clear that the most important player is turning into George Hill. Not only does he give the Spurs that all important 4th option but just might as well pave the way for Tony Parker out of town after next season when his contract is up.

-I- I have been very skeptical the past two years about whether Derrick Rose was going to become truly ELITE. I am now officially sold. It has nothing to do with this blazing speed or ease getting to the basket. It has nothing to do with his shaky jump shooting because I believe he will get there with that as well. It has to do with the fact that he is 21 years old, does not seem phased at all by the big moment in the playoffs and clearly is already the leader of that team. Oh and next year when big Free Agent X signs there, he is still going to be the leader.

-T- Can somebody please put a picture of Micheal Beasley on a milk carton and let me know when he is found. I remember when Riley didn't want to take him #2 and wanted Mayo instead but felt he had to make the pick. Follow your gut Riles, follow your gut.

-S- Last night on twitter Rudy Gay said that Jason Terry's head looks like a gumdrop, haahaa. Feel like I just needed to put that out there.

One closing thought on some of the awards handed out. No complaints at all. Crawford deserved the sixth man for sure. Good for him to get some recognition. I always thought he was the spitting image of Jason Terry. Looks like his career is heading the same way and you know what, there is nothing wrong with that. Hey Ben Gordon, pay attention.
As far as ROY goes, it has been leaked that Tyreke Evans is going to take it home. Can't argue with 20-5-5 from a rook and consistent start to finish. Nice year young man. That said if I had to choose one rookie this year it would be Brandon Jennings. It takes more than people realize to be in such a bad shooting slump for the past 4 months and still keep your confidence, composure and lead a team to the playoffs. Yes Bogut had a great year before he was injured and the addition of John Salmons certainly helped, but it was "The Young Buck" who is breathing life into this franchise again.

P-E-A-C-E

Monday, April 19, 2010

Playoff Tidbits

It's Monday Morning, the first slate of of NBA Playoff games are in the books. Some big wins, unexpected performances and series altering injuries have occurred and all I'm hearing about this morning is Roethlisbergers wandering hands and the NFL Draft. What's it gonna take for us hoops junkies to get some respect?

Oh well, Here are a few random thoughts from the first weekend of the NBA Playoffs.

- T - 87, 79, 76, 85 and 83. Do you want to know what those are? Those are the final scores for the Lakers, Thunder, Heat, Celtics and Bulls in the opening games (respectively). For everyone who says that NBA teams don't play defense? Choke on that.

- I - 5 points, 7 rebounds. Superman puts up these modest numbers (also 9 blocks) and the Magic win with relative ease in the first game. This is why Orlando should still scare Cleveland.

- D - Staying with the Magic. 32 points and 6 assists by Jameer Nelson on Sunday. Kind of makes you wonder how last years final would have shaken out if he was healthy.

- B - Dirk drops 36 out of the gate but it was the 22 by Tough Juice and and the 18 boards by Dampier and Haywood that will make these guys a real contender in the West.

- I - Melo was on point (42 efficient buckets), Earl showed up in the 4th Quarter but I think the injuries in Utah are going to be the 6th man for the Nugs in this series. Tough pill to swallow.

- T - KG doesn't have the athletic ability to change games the way he used to. Due to that he needs to control his temper because he can't bail the C's out of the jams he gets them in anymore. That being said he might have just lit a fire under the rest of his teams asses and if this actually makes Sheed try in the playoffs then it is clearly the cherry on the Big Tickets HOF career.

- S - Would Portland play this well without all of the injuries and adversity or is that the reason they are playing well? Tough to say but adding BRoy, Oden and the Vanilla Gorilla to this team would sure look like Western Conference Champs. No?

No shock to this guy that the first weekend of the NBA playoffs were fantastic and I'm looking forward to it controlling my consciousness for the next two months as well.
(Oh and have a nice summer OKC, Charlotte and Chicago).