I know this is a day after Game 1 of the East Finals, but in my first post about the playoffs I had the Heat and Bulls meeting in these finals, so I'm sticking to what I said in that post, which I'm starting to regret. But, I gotta stick with it.
East
(1) Chicago Bulls vs (3) Miami Heat
Heat in 6. They've been just as dominant as people expected them to be when the Big 3 first came together. They played hard against both Philly and Boston (which they had to because both clubs put up a hell of a fight) and made quick work of them, winning in 5 games both series. The Bulls, on the other hand, struggled against Indiana, who was a sub-500 team. Then, the Hawks gave them trouble as well. In these playoffs, Miami is playing better ball and I dont think Derrick Rose will be enough to stop LeBron and Dwyane over the course of a 7-game series.
West
(3) Dallas Mavericks vs (4) OKC Thunder
I'm not sure how I feel about this matchup for Dallas. They typically struggle facing quicker point guards due to Jason Kidd's age. The first couple rounds he had to deal with Andre Miller and Derrick Fisher. Not the most fleet of foot fellas at this point in their careers. But, Kidd was able to guard Kobe in crunch time which is a positive for Dallas. Westbrook is extremely quick though so either there's going to be a lot of help defense or someone else is going to guard him, but I don't know who else. I don't think OKC has the defense to stop Dallas enough, and as long as Russell doesn't do huge things using his speed, the Mavs should be ok. Kevin is going to have great shooting nights and bad ones, like he did against Memphis. I think the key is containing Russell, and if they do they shouldn't have a problem in this series. During the regular season they were able to contain him, as he shot 14-44 I believe. Granted, this is a completely different time of year but I still think they get it done.
Mavs in 6.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Dallas Mavs
How bout those Mavs, huh?
No one saw that coming. I've loved Dallas all season long, but I didn't expect them to win those two games in LA. Split, but not both of them. Then, not losing focus and winning both games at home to decimate the Lakers was phenomenal. Leading up to the series, no one gave Dallas a chance, except Charles Barkley. I predicted Dallas in 6 in the last blog, but 4? Against the greatest coach in NBA history and a top 10 player? Speaks volumes about Dallas. Even when they were up 3-0, people were saying that if any team was going to come back from 3-0, it was these Lakers, and if any team was going to let it happen, it was these Mavs. Well, Dallas won Game 4 by 36 points. It wasn't even close. In Phil Jackson's last game, he got absolutely slaughtered by one of the greatest shooting performances of all time.
20 threes - tied NBA playoff record
9 threes by Jason Terry - tied playoff record, best in terms of percentage. The REAL 6th man. Lamar is overrated.
6 for 6 from downtown for Peja
Even Jackson himself said he's never seen a team perform that well in a playoff game ever. Lakers deserved this though. Phil Jackson made fun of the city of Dallas. Those Hollywood boys couldn't handle a team that is actually good. Barnes talked trash before the game, claiming he had the blueprint to beat Dallas. Well, they didn't win a single game and he contributed nothing. During Game 3, Lamar Odom was talking to a Dallas fan in the stands saying that they were going to win that game and the series. They did neither. After Game 3, Kobe said he still believed they were going to win the series. They couldn't even make the next game respectable. Not only did they get outplayed, they got severely outclassed, but with Andrew Bynum on your team it's almost a guarantee that'll happen. He cheap shots people like it's his job. Doesn't even make an attempt to go for the ball. Lamar couldn't handle being beaten by the better team, and neither could Ron Artest at the end of Game 2. Funny how two of the three incidents that occurred targeted the smallest player on the court, JJ Barea. Shows how tough the Lakers really are.
LA showed no heart in this series and that's because Dallas took it out of them. Dirk came through in the clutch in Games 1 and 3, something every Laker failed to do, especially Kobe. None of those games were flukes. Dallas was simply the dominant team during that series. As I said before, Kobe struggled against New Orleans, and he didn't perform well in the second round. Everyone was saying, "What is wrong with the Lakers?" after the series. No. Nothing was wrong with the Lakers. The Mavs completely threw them off their rhythm and into a spin cycle instantly after tipoff in Game 1. Everyone talked about the height and length advantage LA had. Sorry to tell you, folks, but if they can't play basketball that's not going to mean a whole lot. Dallas is the reason people are questioning the Lakers. Nothing else.
Phil Jackson stayed in search of a threepeat, but left with the worst whooping of his life. The first sweep of his historic career and the end of a dynasty came at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Even now, people are saying the team that comes out of OKC and Memphis will be favored over Dallas. I'm sure that's just the way they want it, though.
No one saw that coming. I've loved Dallas all season long, but I didn't expect them to win those two games in LA. Split, but not both of them. Then, not losing focus and winning both games at home to decimate the Lakers was phenomenal. Leading up to the series, no one gave Dallas a chance, except Charles Barkley. I predicted Dallas in 6 in the last blog, but 4? Against the greatest coach in NBA history and a top 10 player? Speaks volumes about Dallas. Even when they were up 3-0, people were saying that if any team was going to come back from 3-0, it was these Lakers, and if any team was going to let it happen, it was these Mavs. Well, Dallas won Game 4 by 36 points. It wasn't even close. In Phil Jackson's last game, he got absolutely slaughtered by one of the greatest shooting performances of all time.
20 threes - tied NBA playoff record
9 threes by Jason Terry - tied playoff record, best in terms of percentage. The REAL 6th man. Lamar is overrated.
6 for 6 from downtown for Peja
Even Jackson himself said he's never seen a team perform that well in a playoff game ever. Lakers deserved this though. Phil Jackson made fun of the city of Dallas. Those Hollywood boys couldn't handle a team that is actually good. Barnes talked trash before the game, claiming he had the blueprint to beat Dallas. Well, they didn't win a single game and he contributed nothing. During Game 3, Lamar Odom was talking to a Dallas fan in the stands saying that they were going to win that game and the series. They did neither. After Game 3, Kobe said he still believed they were going to win the series. They couldn't even make the next game respectable. Not only did they get outplayed, they got severely outclassed, but with Andrew Bynum on your team it's almost a guarantee that'll happen. He cheap shots people like it's his job. Doesn't even make an attempt to go for the ball. Lamar couldn't handle being beaten by the better team, and neither could Ron Artest at the end of Game 2. Funny how two of the three incidents that occurred targeted the smallest player on the court, JJ Barea. Shows how tough the Lakers really are.
LA showed no heart in this series and that's because Dallas took it out of them. Dirk came through in the clutch in Games 1 and 3, something every Laker failed to do, especially Kobe. None of those games were flukes. Dallas was simply the dominant team during that series. As I said before, Kobe struggled against New Orleans, and he didn't perform well in the second round. Everyone was saying, "What is wrong with the Lakers?" after the series. No. Nothing was wrong with the Lakers. The Mavs completely threw them off their rhythm and into a spin cycle instantly after tipoff in Game 1. Everyone talked about the height and length advantage LA had. Sorry to tell you, folks, but if they can't play basketball that's not going to mean a whole lot. Dallas is the reason people are questioning the Lakers. Nothing else.
Phil Jackson stayed in search of a threepeat, but left with the worst whooping of his life. The first sweep of his historic career and the end of a dynasty came at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.
Even now, people are saying the team that comes out of OKC and Memphis will be favored over Dallas. I'm sure that's just the way they want it, though.
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