Eastern Conference Playoffs: One Week In

As expected, the Beasts of the East have prevailed over their less illustrious brethren and are now ready to move onto the next round. Here are the things that surprised and didn't surprise us.

SURPRISING:
FIRST GAME UPSETS. No one really saw the Magic winning over the Raptors or the Nets winning over the Sixers in the first game. But it was really more the case of the higher seeds acclimatizing to the playoff atmosphere while the lower seeds went for the haymakers from the get-go. Of course, soon the NBA universe righted itself and the Raptors and Sixers won the next four games.

THE BOSTON SWEEP. The only matchup that truly seemed compettitive was also one that went via sweep. Boston leveraged on their playoff experience to bully their way into the next round, pounding the relatively less inexperienced Pacers into submission.

NBA Eastern Conference Playoff: Thoughts and Predictions

It's the NBA playoffs and here are some thoughts before we start with our do-or-die games.

Eastern Conference

(1) Bucks vs (8) Pistons - Bucks win, 4-1

The Bucks are the scariest team in the league. Yes, scarier than the Warriors, the Rockets, and the Sixers. And that's because they not only have the current best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, but also stud players like Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, and Brook Lopez, with starter-quality role players in Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell, and Nikola Mirotic ready to contribute. The Pistons, on the other hand, are of the Eastern team favorites who underperformed in the regular season. There were modest expectations of this team, considering their roster, and they barely lived up to it. As things get tougher in the playoffs, there is no indication that they will suddenly find that higher gear they need to move up.

Matchup to watch out for: Giannis Antetokuonmpo vs Blake Griffin. The best players of each team will need to be even better. The Greek Freak should have no trouble stepping up while Griffin needs to fire up on all cylinders to give the Pistons a fighting chance.

Rockets Fall Back To Earth, Warriors March On

We always knew that Rockets needed to be near perfect to beat the Warriors. And when Chris Paul went down with that hamstring injury near the end of Game 5, that window for perfection just went from small to infinitesimal.

Add to that a flurry of unexpected areas of momentary incompetence that helped sink that (Rocket) ship, including:

I'm Not Going To Say I Told You So...

But I told you so.

Game 7 Lebron James is real...and he's unreal. And the best way to avoid that juggernaut is to not let the Cavs get to Game 7.

Tonight, Lebron's numbers may not be as gaudy compared to other games (35 points on 50% shooting, 15 rebounds, 9 assists) but he was definitely everything the Cavs needed him to be.

The Boston Celtics Are For Real, So Deal With It.

So, let's talk about the elephant in the room.

Lebron James is still the best player in the planet (sorry, Kevin Durant).

Still, as the Indiana Pacers and, just this morning, the Boston Celtics have proven, basketball is a team game, and the better team has a better chance of going through.

How do we know the Boston Celtics are the better team (versus the Cavs, the Raptors, the Pacers and the Bucks)?

Because they've lost 2 franchise-level players in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward and yet, here they are, not just in the Eastern Conference Finals but in the Eastern Conference Finals and dominating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1.

Must-Watch Match Ups of the NBA's First Round

Of course we'd like to watch all the matchups. But that's just not possible. If you have to choose, then pick these three matchups.

TOP PICK: OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets.
Russell Westbrook versus James Harden, in the first round? The basketball gods must be crazy! This series should put a giant punctuation mark on someone's MVP candidacy...or raise even more questions. Either way, expect this series to be about firepower and not much defense. Plus, Westbrook knows he's got to get past Harden if he wants a shot at Durant.

SECOND PICK: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers
On paper, this shouldn't be an easy out for the Cavs. Paul George may not be Lebron James but he's a top 15, maybe top 10 player in the league. Kyrie Irving may be better than Jeff Teague but again, not by a lot. Kevin Love is where they have a big advantage  (over Thaddeus Young) but the youngster Myles Turner is already much better than Tristan Thompson. Cavs should win but I have a feeling they're gonna bleed in every game.

THIRD PICK: Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are who I thought the Minnesota Timberwolves were going to be, a young, frothing-at-the-mouth-pack-of-rabid-ballers who will keep on swinging until the final buzzer rang. Also...Giannis Antetokounmpo in a playoff series? I'm salivating already at the thought of him throwing down from the freethrow line at the Bradley Center.

Rose Demolishes Hawks!

And the Derrick Rose show continues.

This time, it was to the tune of 44 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists as Rose hit everything from threepointers to floaters to midrange jumpers to running hooks.

And while only two other Bulls scored in double figures (Kyle Korver had 11 and Taj Gibson scored 13points), the rest of the Bulls contributed heavily on other fronts. Five Bulls had a least 5 rebounds, with Joakim Noah grabbing 15 and Gibson collaring 11. Noah also blocked 5 shots.

The Hawks had a more balanced offensive game, with all five starters scoring in double figures. The only problem was that 4 Hawks starters barely outscored Rose, scoring 47 points to Rose's 44. Jeff Teague had another sensational offensive game (21points) but could barely keep in front of Rose.

Josh Smith scored 17points and grabbed 13 rebounds but was booed by Hawks fans whenever he took a jumpshot instead of driving to the hoop.

More of the story here.  

Mavs Shock Lakers Again!

The Mavs pulled off a shocker by beating the Lakers in Game 1. Could they do it again?
Evidently, they can and did, winning Game 2 93-81.

The Dallas Mavericks scored just 17 points in the third quarter but they also held the Lakers to 13 points to take a 6point lead into the fourth. They then continued to choke the Lakers offense to submission as Kobe Bryant (9-20), Ron Artest (4-10) and Lamar Odom (3-12) had less than stellar shooting games.

MVP-Worthy!

First, Derrick Rose accepted his MVP Award.
Then, he spent 48 minutes reminding people why he's the MVP.

With the Hawks trying to upset the Bulls for the second time in a row, Derrick Rose kicked it up another gear and almost singlehandedly willed the Bulls to a Game victory 86-73.

Heat Wins Over Celtics!

It felt like the NBA Finals already. Or at least, the Conference Finals.

There were a lot of tough D, a lot of tough shots made and a lot of T's flying around. There was even an ejection, courtesy of Paul Pierce. In the end, there was only one winner...and they hail from Miami.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR! (just Red Auerbach's)

This was a loss that showed just how possible it is to beat the Celtics.

The Celtics had the Big Three firing, with Pierce scoring 28 and Allen and Garnett scoring 17 each.
The Celtics had Rondo fuelling and orchestrating the offense magnificently, with a Nash-like 16 assists.

The Celtics had a 28-10 advantage in free throws (meaning calls were going their way).

And yet, they still nearly gave away a 24point lead with just 8 minutes left in the fourth, as Kobe brought the Lakers to within 2points with 30seconds left in the game.

It actually took a herculean 21pt effort in just 14minutes from unheralded Leon Powe and a blocked Vujacic three pointer to finally close the deal for Boston.

Now just imagine one of those things not happening.

PS Kobe is such a phenomenal player. In the fourth, I saw a Laker execute a perfect crossover on Pierce, drive to his left, then rise for a lefthanded teardrop in the lane that hit nothing but net and I thought "Damn, that Odom sure is smooth!"

Then I saw the number. Who else but Black Mamba? He is so good with his offhand that I'm not sure he has an offhand.

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT: LAKERS VS CELTICS

As a denizen of the 80's, this image is one of the most enduring memories from my childhood.

Cool Larry Bird against exuberant Magic Johnson.

Intense white and green versus flashy purple and gold.

Stoic Celtics versus trash talking Lakers.

And they are back.

This time, the Celtics are no longer stoic and are probably more intense than ever before, with the arrival of the Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett and babyfaced sharpshooter, Ray Allen. But they are still as good as any veteran Celtics team of yore with Paul "The Truth" Pierce leading the charge, as well as rising star Rajon Rondo and solid role players like James Posey and Kendrick Perkins.

The Lakers aren't as flashy as Magic's Showtime Lakers, as hardworking Pau Gasol and reliable Derek Fisher are more about solid fundamentals and high basketball IQ's than athleticism. But all you need for Showtime is Kobe Bryant around the rim and Lamar Odom running free and determined. Add to that underrated Luke Walton, solid Sasha Vujacic and better-than-ever Jordan Farmar and we have got ourselves a hell of a series.

My take? Celtics over Lakers in overtime in a Game 7 for the ages (Kobe ends up with 60+pts, Allen, Garnett and Pierce each with 25+)

But then again, I've always been a fan of the Basketball Jesus.

PLAYOFFS PROOF THAT ALL STARS RULE

Let's stop fooling ourselves.

The NBA playoffs is not about the team. It's about the superstars and All-Stars who play the game. And chances are, the more All Stars you have, the longer yo play in April.

Take a look at this list of past, present, should-have-been and will be All Stars...

Lakers - Kobe, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol
Jazz - Deron Williams, Memo Okur, Calros Boozer
Spurs - Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, TonyParker, Michael Finley
Hornets - Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, David West
Celtics - KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell
Cavs- LBJ, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Wally Szcerbiak, Ben Wallace
Pistons - Chanucey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince
Magic - Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis

Teams that were eliminated had their share of All Stars but in less dazzling form or less in quantity, teams like Atlanta (Josh Smith and Joe Johnson), Houston (McGrady), Denver (Carmelo, Iverson, Camby) even Dallas (Nowitzki, Howard amd Kidd).

And how about those who didn't have any All-Stars like Chicago, Memphis and Minnesota?

Which just goes to show that basketball is, slowly but surely, becoming a superstar's game.

CAN THE SPURS STEAL GAME 2?

They can but they probably won't.

The Hornets' biggest advantage is that they are an unknown playoff team. No one really knows their identity and character, things like who steps up, who chokes, who passes up his normal shots and stuff like that.

I think the Spurs need another game to determine how to attack the Hornets...then the fun begins for them.

Popovich is among the best coaches in the game (in fact, second only to Jerry Sloan, in my humble opinion). He'll figure out how to take West away, maybe with Robert Horry or with Kurt Thomas. He'll figure out how to tire CP3 out and maybe get Bowen to shut down Peja.

All in all, I think it'll come down to championship experience...and the Hornets just don't have the bling to bring down the defending champions...yet.

Spurs in 6games.

THAT'S THE WAY, A-HA A-HA!

The real Boston Celtics play only on their homecourt.

They hire stunt doubles to play in Atlanta, which is why this particular series went to 7 games.

Jeff Van Gundy said it best during halftime when he commented "This game is already over. Too bad we don't have a mercy rule."

I have to agree with JVG on this one. There is nothing more boring than 24 minutes of meaningless basketball, when the subs are playing for more playing time next year and the fringe players are showing off in the hopes of landing another 10day contract.

I mean, come on! Glen "Big Baby" Davis passed up two open teammates in the paint just so he could run to the three point line and launch one. How pathetic is that?

But thank God this one is in the books already. Now we can move on to a more intriguing match up: Boston versus Cleveland.

My pick. Lebron's gonna have a great series but would I really pick LBJ over KG, the Truth and the Baby Faced Assassin? No, I don't think so. I think it'll be Boston in 6.