And now on to the East Coast, with a little extra room at the end to talk about my Cavs and how much a championship would mean to Cleveland.
It is no surprise that I once again find this to be the most intriguing matchup. The 4/5 series tend to be pretty evenly matched, making for good games. The Cavs and Wizards also played an epic 4/5 series recently. Atlanta has followed a strong showing in the playoffs last year by moving into the status of great (albeit not championship-caliber) team this year. The Hawks are still pretty young, but they learned a lot in the playoffs last year and have an underrated superstar in Joe Johnson. Al Horford and Josh Smith are young players who have really come into their own. The key will be how healthy Marvin Williams is after a recent injury.
I know I am going to get hater comments from my FL friends, so let me get this out of the way. I like the Heat, and I love Dwayne Wade. I love the way he plays the game and how he would do anything to win and help his teammates. But Dwayne Wade would not be the MVP this season even if the Heat won more games. He scored 1 more point and half an assist more per game than LeBron, but he doesn’t play as good as defense (see John Krolik’s blog on the Cavs for the numbers to back this), lacks significantly in most other numbers, and can’t control an entire game to the extent of James. But I will give Wade this, he carried a god-awful team to 43 wins! The Pistons have 3 All-Stars on their roster and only got to 39. I am a fan of both Udonis Haslem and Jamario Moon…as great bench players…not your starting 3 and 4. Not to mention Jermaine O’Neal, who despite being only 30 has been over-the-hill for 3 years now. (Sidebar: This is a trend we are starting to see with players, particularly big men, who went straight to the pros from HS. It is no longer how old you are, but how many miles have you logged in the league that determines your prime.)
Hawks in 7: Normally in the playoffs you go with the team with the biggest star, but I think Joe Johnson is only a mild step down from Wade, and the rest of Wade’s cast are a big step down.
#3 Orlando Magic vs. #6 Philadelphia 76ers
The Magic have played well all year and have begged to get the respect they rightfully deserved. They have the best young big man in the game, and if I was starting a team today, and could pick anyone besides LeBron to be my anchor, it would be Dwight Howard. They can make it rain 3’s, but that can be a detriment too. However, they sputtered down the stretch, and I’m curious to see how they hold up in the playoffs.
The 76ers gave it a nice run. Considering they put so many eggs in the Elton Brand basket, who never gelled with the team and then went down for the season, this season was a success. But Andre Iguodala is a very good player, not a franchise guy. On top of that, with playoffs seeding on the line, they almost lost to a Cavs team whose entire starting lineup in suits on the bench.
Magic in 5: Samuel Dalembert meet Dwight Howard, fortunately you won’t have to know him for too long.
#2 Boston Celtics vs. #7 Chicago Bulls
Yesterday, the news finally broke. Kevin Garnett is out to start the playoffs and may not return at all. Paul Pierce is a superstar, and Ray Allen is very good. The Celtics are another team who has put the right role players around their “Big 3”. But there is no questioning that Garnett was their physical and emotional leader during the championship run last year. Can Coach Doc Rivers orchestrate a return to the Finals without him? If so, he deserves a recount from whoever does end up winning the Coach of the Year (hopefully that’s Mike Brown).
The Bulls have become a solid team since the trades for John Salmons and Brad Miller. Derrick Rose will likely be the Rookie of the Year and has a solid career ahead of him. Vinny Del Negro should be considered the Rookie Coach of the Year and also has a solid career ahead of him (as opposed to a career of bad hair and short shorts, like he did as a player). I think this scrappy team can give Boston a series, but I just don’t think they have enough to pull the upset even without Garnett out there, especially when you start Joakim Noah at center (you may be noticing a pattern in the East that the team with the better center has the better record/forecast…that is no accident).
Celtics in 7: A tired and injured Celtics team heads into Rd 2 versus the Magic…can they continue to find the luck o’ the Irish?
The Pistons and the Cavs have developed a pretty good rivalry over the last few years. As recently as 2 years ago, this was an Eastern Conference Finals matchup, and when LeBron willed them to a Game 5 OT victory followed the Game 6 clincher, it was probably my happiest moment ever as a Cavs fan. The Pistons are still a team loaded with talented veterans who play hard: Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Tayshaun Prince. But they have steadily declined this year and are headed for a rebuilding phase (although I believe it will be a short one because Joe Dumars is a very savvy GM).
On the flip side, the Cavs have skyrocketed to new heights this season that no one thought possible at the beginning of the year. The best record in the league (66-16), a near flawless home record (39-2, the 2nd coming on the aforementioned night with no starters), and the presumptive MVP (LeBron James). Mo Williams has been the perfect compliment to LeBron because he can hit the 3 and drive to the hoop to take defenders off LeBron. They also have several other good spot up shooters (Delonte West, Boobie Gibson, Wally) and are deep in post players (Big Z, Andy, Joe Smith, and hopefully Ben Wallace). No team has a deeper bench in my opinion (the only other team that comes close is the Lakers). And on top of all that, their true bread-and-butter is their defense, as they were tops in the league, which allows them to keep games tight even when the shots aren’t falling. While I can never be truly confident, the general consensus among analysts is that this team will make it to Finals for a battle against the Lakers for the championship.
Cavs in 5: Detriot’s veterans have a lot of pride and will use their physicality to win at least one.
-We have not won any championships in the 3 major sports since 1964. That’s over 130 seasons of sports. The next closest city was Philadelphia at around 100, but they just won a World Series, now its San Diego at around 90.
-Our teams come just close enough to get us excited before they find crazy ways to blow it, as evidence by the next several points:
-The Drive – John Elway leads an improbable 98-yard drive to tie game in AFC Championship, Browns lose in OT (I was only 5, and it still hurts to look at this picture).
-The Fumble – The very next year Earnest Byner fumbles away a sure TD that would have given the Browns the lead in the AFC Championship.
-The Shot – The last truly great Cavs team loses on a last second shot by Jordan over Ehlo (you’ve seen the replay or the commercial) and get knocked from playoffs.
-The Bottom of Ninth – Game 7, 2 outs from finally ending the drought, Jose Mesa gives up a Sacrifice fly to tie the game up. 2 innings later, a slow grounder through the middle ends the game and series.
-More recently, the Cavs made it the Finals as mentioned, but got swept by the Spurs. The Indians were up 3-1 on Red Sox, but lose the next 3. Made all the more painful by the fact that Red Sox swept the Rockies in the World Series.
The point of all this being that there are high expectations on the Cavs these playoffs to finally end this drought, and LeBron himself has even said that they will do so. I have sufficiently begun to believe they truly can, which means one thing for me: these playoffs will likely end in tears for me…one way or another.
While I would make a comment about Elway, I won't. As a Denver fan those Super Bowls (after beating the Browns) were not a fun watch.
ReplyDeleteOn another note: You wrote, "Joe Dumars is a very savvy GM". WHAT? Yes, he got them some great players and built some teams (i.e. Hill for Wallace + others, Stackhouse for Rip, drafting Prince at #23, etc.), but he has pulled off some of the worst calls as a GM in recent years. Darko at #2, what? Thank the basketball gods because it gave my Nuggets Melo. Not only was Melo on the board still, but Chris Bosh (#4) and Dwayne Wade (#5)!
And then this year with the Billups + friends trade to Denver for A.I. Wait, maybe I should thank Dumars because Denver is reaping all of the benefits here (think of Jon Lovitz in the scene from The Wedding Singer).
Okay, that was long, but I'm loving your blog. Keep the posts coming!
Yeah, no city should complain since we Clevelanders don't really complain at all considering the last 45 years, especially for how vocal Boston fans were over the Sawx (hello, what about the Celtics, Bruins and Patriots???) or Chicago fans (um, Bulls??), although I'll allow the Cubs (100 years is a bit much for one franchise). The negativity is all too real, just look at those annoying LeBron to NY in 2010 rumors. Outside of how great the Indians were in 95, this is probably our best team since those pre-Super Bowl NFL teams and the 1954 Indians team that ran into Willie Mays. No KG will seriously hurt Boston, the Magic are not to be taken lightly but they don't have that persistent outside threat (like LBJ or Mo or Pierce or DWade), and well, we've seen a one man team in the playoffs, and they don't get that far.
ReplyDeleteGo Cavs!!
I would also like to mention my Ohio State Buckeyes. I know, I know they won it all back in 2002 and that was amazing, but past couple of years have been frustrating. To lose to the Gay-Tors in both the football and basketball National Championships in the same year was horrible, and the fact that I live in Gay-Tor Country just makes it that much harder to deal with. Then I actually get to go to the National Championship against LSU in New Orleans and had unbelievable seats only to be disappointed again. I am still haunted by the chants S-E-C, S-E-C that I heard at the end of the game on my way out. I share all of the Cleveland pain with you my brother but it's been a little rougher for me the past 5 years. At least we kick M*ch*g@n ASS every year!
ReplyDelete