WHO MADE ME LOOK GOOD, WHO MADE ME LOOK STUPID

MADE ME LOOK GOOD

Cavs vs Pistons (4-0) I picked the Pistons to win at least a game before succumbing to the obviously superior Cavs but the Pistons seemed more focused on an early vacation than on anything else. The last two games, the Pistons bench actually outplayed the starters. So much for the AI experiment. Cavs are looking championship worthy.

Lakers vs Jazz (3-1) Im still tight on track on my 4-2 prediction but I think Kobe might not give the Jazz another chance. Either way, Lakers seem destined to meet Cavs in Finals.

Celtic vs Bulls (2-2) The best series so far, the Celtics against the Bulls have already given us buzzerbeaters, double overtimes and tons of highlight reels. As the series head back to Boston, I see Boston finall asserting their will on the Bulls to move on to the second round (of course, this wouldn't even be a close series if Garnett was playing. But he isn't is he?)

Hawks vs Miami (2-2) The games the Hawks won, it was a team effort. The game the Heat won, it was D-Wade taking over (either early in the game or in crunch time) with a little help from his friends (O'Neal, Cook and Beasley come to mind). Hawks had better regain their mental toughness if they want to pull this out of the fire.

MADE ME LOOK BAD

Sixers vs Magic (2-2). The only sweep in my mind, the Sixers have surprised everybody by winning Games 1 and 3 in dramatic fashion. Magic sorely miss Jameer Nelson and now seem extremely vulnerable if ever they meet the Cavs or Celtics.

Blazers vs Rockets (1-3) I expected so much more from the Blazers but it just doesn't seem to be happening. Blazers are suffering from youth and inexperience and I doubt if they can win 2 in a row against the suddenly efficient Rockets.

Nuggets vs Hornets (2-1) I don't know if the Nuggets hate my guts or the Hornets hate my guts but, unless the Nuggets suddenly become and ABA team and lose the next 3 games in a row, I have seriously misjudged them.

Spurs vs Mavs (1-3) I picked the Spurs to be tougher than this. I thought they'd be seesawing back and forth with the Mavs until it became apparent that the loss of Manu was like losing your hand (your shooting hand, nonetheless). Spurs may be following the path of the Pistons to an early vacation.

QUICK HITS AFTER GAME 2, ROUND 1!

EAST

Cavs vs Pistons (2-0). As expected. The Pistons have gone from perennial championship contenders to rebuilding, all with one trade. The Pistons should have enough pride to win at the Palace but the Cavs moving on to the second round is all but inevitable. 

Celtics vs Bulls (1-1). The real Celtics finally showed up. Even with KG gone (and key reserve Leon Powe joining him) the Celtics finally won one when the Ray Allen finally morphed into the “Baby Faced Assassin” and nailed a killer three over Joakim Noah. 

Magic vs Sixers (1-1). An unexpectedly tight series, Andre Miller nearly caused another gigantic upset in Game 2. Weird thing is the Magic are not playing bad. The Sixers are just playing way above their heads, considering they were on a 6 game losing streak right before the playoffs started. 

Hawks vs Heat (1-1). You knew Wade was going to take over at least one game. And there he was, taking over Game 2 with 33 points. Good thing Daequan Cook showed up with 20pts too. Hawks played ok, which paved the way for a Wade takeover.

WEST

Lakers vs Jazz (2-0). Not sure what else the Jazz can do. Aside from get Mehmet Okur back. And get the 2008 version of Carlos Boozer back. And get the Euro Championship MVP Andrei Kirilenko back.

Nuggets vs Hornets (2-0) Unbelievable. That sums up this series pretty nicely. Unbelievable is Chauncey Billups going ballistic on Chris Paul and Rasual Butler, Chris Andersen, Nene and Kenyon Martin looking like defensive juggernauts and Chris Paul coming up small in Game 2.

Blazers vs Rockets (1-1). Brandon Roy is something else. His 42 points and LaMarcus Aldrige’s 27 resurrected Blazer-mania and gave the Portland faithful something to cheer about. My question is: why did Yao have just 6 shot attempts? It’s not like he’s an unskilled big man, you know.

Spurs vs. Mavs. (1-1). It took a great game from Tony Parker for the Spurs to finally win one. Still don’t like their chances but you can never count TD, Parker and Pop out. Expect Nowitzki to get some back in Game 3.

QUICK HITS AFTER GAME 2, ROUND 1!

EASTCavs vs Pistons (2-0). As expected. The Pistons have gone from perennial championship contenders to rebuilding, all with one trade. The Pistons should have enough pride to win at the Palace but the Cavs moving on to the second round is all but inevitable. 

Celtics vs Bulls (1-1). The real Celtics finally showed up. Even with KG gone (and key reserve Leon Powe joining him) the Celtics finally won one when the Ray Allen finally morphed into the “Baby Faced Assassin” and nailed a killer three over Joakim Noah. 

Magic vs Sixers (1-1). An unexpectedly tight series, Andre Miller nearly caused another gigantic upset in Game 2. Weird thing is the Magic are not playing bad. The Sixers are just playing way above their heads, considering they were on a 6 game losing streak right before the playoffs started. 

Hawks vs Heat (1-1). You knew Wade was going to take over at least one game. And there he was, taking over Game 2 with 33 points. Good thing Daequan Cook showed up with 20pts too. Hawks played ok, which paved the way for a Wade takeover.

WEST

Lakers vs Jazz (2-0). Not sure what else the Jazz can do. Aside from get Mehmet Okur back. And get the 2008 version of Carlos Boozer back. And get the Euro Championship MVP Andrei Kirilenko back.

Nuggets vs Hornets (2-0) Unbelievable. That sums up this series pretty nicely. Unbelievable is Chauncey Billups going ballistic on Chris Paul and Rasual Butler, Chris Andersen, Nene and Kenyon Martin looking like defensive juggernauts and Chris Paul coming up small in Game 2.

Blazers vs Rockets (1-1). Brandon Roy is something else. His 42 points and LaMarcus Aldrige’s 27 resurrected Blazer-mania and gave the Portland faithful something to cheer about. My question is: why did Yao have just 6 shot attempts? It’s not like he’s an unskilled big man, you know.

Spurs vs. Mavs. (1-1). It took a great game from Tony Parker for the Spurs to finally win one. Still don’t like their chances but you can never count TD, Parker and Pop out. Expect Nowitzki to get some back in Game 3.

RETRO LBJ!

This is your Celeveland Cavaliers...circa 1975!

AFTER GAME 1, ROUND 1!

A gigantic upset, couple of very big upsets, a couple of expected upsets and the rest, well, it's what we expected.

A GIGANTIC UPSET

Sixers over Magic 100-98. Hero: Andre Iguodala had 20pts, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and the game winning jumper with 2 secs left. Unbelievable. Zero: Entire Magic team. How do you relax in a playoff game with a just 16 point lead and half the game still to be played?

VERY BIG UPSETS

Nuggets over Hornets 113-84. Hero: Chauncey Billups, who scored 38 points on 10-15 shooting. He shot a tremendous 8-9 from three and a perfect 8-8 from the freethrow line. Zero: David West, 4-16 shooting for 12pts and a mere 6 rebounds.

Bulls over Celtics 105-103. Hero: Super-rookie Derrick Rose, who scored 36 points (including 13 inthe pivotal third quarter) and had 11 assists to boot. Zero: Ray Allen shot 1-12 for 4 points and PaulPierce missed a game winning freethrow to send the game to overtime, where the Bulls gobbled up the Celtics.

NOT-QUITE UPSETS

Rockets over Blazers 108-81. Hero: Yao Ming with 24 pts in a perfect game (going 9-9 from the field and 6-6 from the line). Zero: LaMarcus Aldridge with 7pts on 3-12 shooting.

Mavs over Spurs 105-97. Hero Dirk Nowitzki with 19 points and 8 rebounds plus a couple of tough, MVP-like shots down the stretch. Zero: Spurs bench contributed practically nothing to the Spurs cause.

AS EXPECTED

Lakers over Jazz 113-100. Hero: Kobe was a facilitator early and a scorer late in the game. Prop to Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown for stepping up. Zero: Andrei Kirilenko had 8 points on 3-10 shooting. Was never effective on Kobe. Should have stuck with Matt Harpring.

Cavs over Pistons 102-84. LBJ is looking like an MVP with 38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Zero: Tayshaun prince went 2-7 for 4 points. Failed to stop Lebron too.

Hawks over Heat 90-64. Hero: Josh Smith with 23 points on 9-14 shooting and 10 rebounds. Zero: Jermaine O'Neal had 5 pts, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. So much for the former Pacers franchise player.

FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF PICKS!

Let's put my basketball analysis skills to the test! Here's how I think the first round of the NBA playoffs will turn out.

EAST

Cavs over Piston (4-1). Cavs have been dominating the league the past month and a half and LBJ is showing us why he is the MVP in a year when at least 3 others had MVP-years. Also, AI has poisoned the team and they are showing how much they need someone like Chauncey Billups.

Celtics over Bulls (4-2) Losing Garnett really hurts but they're still heads and shoulders up on the Bulls. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will eat Salmons and Gordon alive and the Bulls will miss Nocioni as the Celtics manhandle their way to the second round.

Magic over Sixers (4-0). The most lopsided among our match ups. The Sixers will have no answer for either Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis. Iguodala has been inconsistent of late and the Sizers just do not have the guns, especially coming from a late season slump (losing 6 games in a row)

Hawks over Miami (4-2) Wade is a great, great player but 5 good players will always trump 1 great player so my money is on the surprising Hawks. Joe Johnson, Al Horford and Josh Smith will tow the Hawks into 2nd round glory.

WEST

Lakers over Jazz (4-2) The Jazz are a good team but they haven't meshed as well as they should have, making them vulnerable to the Black Mamba. This is the most interesting match up for me, since the Jazz have Kirilenko and Harpring, 2 players who have defended Kobe extremely well in the past. Deron Williams will need to be Kobe-like for the Jazz to upset the Lakers.

Mavs over Spurs (4-3) Tony Parker and Tim Duncan will have to work extra hard without Manu and their supporting cast is just not good enough anymore. For Dirk, this could be his last realistic chance at a title so he'll be motivated. (And no, Bruce Bowen will not be guarding him anymore, which means Dirk will explode for 40 at least once in this series)

Hornets over Nuggets (4-2) Billups will not be able to contain Chris Paul and David West is too good for  Martin or Nene so you can book this one for the Hornets. But if JR Smith has four games like the one he had against Sacramento, all bets are off.

Rockets over Blazers (4-3) Another interesting match up. Despite the loss of T-Mac (or maybe I should say because of the loss of...), the Rockets maybe just be too experienced for the Blazers. Yao Ming should have a great series and Battier, Artest and Scola will prove to be the difference.