Monday 5/7
> The opening round of the playoffs was just as unpredictable for me as it was on the court. My undefeated first round streak came to screeching halt after three years as I went 4-4. The only saving grace from that shameful record was that in the four series’ I did end up winning, I hit the number of games exactly right. Oh yeah, and my buddy Kenny won big in Vegas betting on the Jazz +5.5 in Game 7 (on my advice).
Cue up the tap dancing music and call me Gregory Hines….
The only person I know of that actually picked Golden State to upset Dallas was Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. Disclaimer: Anyone who gets his or her “inside” information from the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey should immediately reconsider and start reading Sam’s stuff. Simply put, Smith does not print lies.
Taking Miami over Chicago was just a bad pick, plain and simple. If I hadn’t chosen the Heat to come out of the East back in October, I probably would’ve went with the Bulls. Oh well.
As far as New Jersey-Toronto goes, if the Raptor squad that showed up in Game 6 had shown up in Games 1 to 5, then I think this series goes the other way. But they didn’t, which is why experience is so important in the post season.
Houston-Utah really could have went either way in Game 7, but in the end Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming just did not have enough scoring help around them. I picked against the Jazz here because they had looked so poor down the stretch, but they were able to turn things around *during* the series and become only the 19th road team to win in 97 Game 7’s all time.
So there you have it. This first round probably doesn’t stack up to last year’s in terms of overall quality, but what it lacked in top to bottom drama, it made up for in upsets. And no, I’m not going to rip Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamison, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson/Carmelo Anthony or T-Mac/Yao because basketball is a team game. Now, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade are another story…
Chicago v Detroit (Pistons up 2-0) – Can you say big V against the little v? Because that’s what this one looks like to me. Detroit has thoroughly dominated the Bulls from start to finish in every aspect of both games. The Pistons are shooting 48.13% overall and 48.65% from three with 18 makes. As opposed to Chicago’s 33.58% and 24.33% with 9 makes respectively. That’s not all. Detroit has out rebounded the Bulls 97 to 68 overall and 29 to 19 on the offensive glass so far. It’s tough to win with disparities like that.
Chicago is going to have to come out in Game 3 and show me something…anything…or else this series is going five games maximum. It’s time for Bulls coach Scott Skiles to earn his money by coming up with the proper adjustments while at the same time restoring his club’s ailing confidence. It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure.
(P.S. How bad does Miami look now???)
Cue up the tap dancing music and call me Gregory Hines….
The only person I know of that actually picked Golden State to upset Dallas was Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. Disclaimer: Anyone who gets his or her “inside” information from the New York Post’s Peter Vecsey should immediately reconsider and start reading Sam’s stuff. Simply put, Smith does not print lies.
Taking Miami over Chicago was just a bad pick, plain and simple. If I hadn’t chosen the Heat to come out of the East back in October, I probably would’ve went with the Bulls. Oh well.
As far as New Jersey-Toronto goes, if the Raptor squad that showed up in Game 6 had shown up in Games 1 to 5, then I think this series goes the other way. But they didn’t, which is why experience is so important in the post season.
Houston-Utah really could have went either way in Game 7, but in the end Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming just did not have enough scoring help around them. I picked against the Jazz here because they had looked so poor down the stretch, but they were able to turn things around *during* the series and become only the 19th road team to win in 97 Game 7’s all time.
So there you have it. This first round probably doesn’t stack up to last year’s in terms of overall quality, but what it lacked in top to bottom drama, it made up for in upsets. And no, I’m not going to rip Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamison, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson/Carmelo Anthony or T-Mac/Yao because basketball is a team game. Now, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade are another story…
Chicago v Detroit (Pistons up 2-0) – Can you say big V against the little v? Because that’s what this one looks like to me. Detroit has thoroughly dominated the Bulls from start to finish in every aspect of both games. The Pistons are shooting 48.13% overall and 48.65% from three with 18 makes. As opposed to Chicago’s 33.58% and 24.33% with 9 makes respectively. That’s not all. Detroit has out rebounded the Bulls 97 to 68 overall and 29 to 19 on the offensive glass so far. It’s tough to win with disparities like that.
Chicago is going to have to come out in Game 3 and show me something…anything…or else this series is going five games maximum. It’s time for Bulls coach Scott Skiles to earn his money by coming up with the proper adjustments while at the same time restoring his club’s ailing confidence. It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure.
(P.S. How bad does Miami look now???)
posted by D$ at 8:52 AM
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