NBA Playoffs Preview: Eastern Conference

 

1^st Round:

(1)   Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Indiana Pacers

(2)   Miami Heat vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers

(3)   Boston Celtics vs. (6) New York Knicks

(4)   Orlando Magic vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks

Chicago Bulls:

The Bulls are likely to become “America’s Team” in the next couple weeks as they are the ones who pose the biggest threat to derail the “Heatles” (Miami Heat) from making a run to the NBA Finals.  The Bulls clinched the number one seed in the Eastern Conference through the inspired play of MVP Candidate Derrick Rose and a stifling Defensive Scheme from Coach Tom Thibideau.  The Bulls have a flawless front court with different players that complement each other well.  Carlos Boozer scores in the low block while Joakim Noah protects the rim defensively.  Both are very capable rebounders as well.  Luol Deng has been an unsung hero this year by doing a little bit of everything (scoring, rebounding, and defense).  Off the bench the Bulls can go to the young and energetic Taj Gibson, grizzled veteran Kurt Thomas and rookie Omer Asik.  The Bulls backcourt begins and ends with Derrick Rose.  Rose is essentially unguardable now that he has an improved jump shot to go with his ability to get into the paint anytime he pleases.  The shooting guard position is the team’s “Achilles Heel.”  Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, and Keith Bogans each see minutes at this position but they all would be backups on other teams.  People on ESPN (cough couch Colin Cowherd) compare this Bulls team to recent Cleveland Cavaliers teams (with LeBron) because they are led by a volume scorer that simply have overachieved due to a solid defensive coach.  Cowherd even went as far to say that Deng, Noah and Boozer compare to last year’s Cavs team (Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao, Antawn Jamison).  While I don’t agree with Cowherd, I do wonder if the Bulls do not win the Eastern Conference, will it be due to a lack of a starting caliber shooting guard?

Miami Heat:

In this “Post Decision” NBA World, teams are following Miami’s example of adding multiple superstars.  The Heat are simply LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and not much else (although they did make a nice late year deal by signing Mike Bibby).  The one thing that ails this Heat team is late game situations when either Wade or James goes one-on-one against their opponents while their teammates stand in the corner.  Another problem is the season long disappearance of Mike Miller and the injury to Udonis Haslem.  With these two flaws, will the Heat have enough to win a Championship due to having two of the top five players in the league (Wade and James)?

Boston Celtics:

Scheme wise, the trade of Kenderick Perkins should not have hurt that much.  Perkins was out when the Celtics were playing their best basketball early in the season (even though they had an old Shaquille O’Neal who is now even more immobile due to recent injuries).  However one can never tell how trades and transactions will affect a team’s mood and chemistry.  Since the Perkins trade, Boston has struggled to find its groove due to star Rajon Rondo sulking due to the trade of his best friend.  Even other Celtics were disheartened by the trade of “Big Perk (see ESPN’s Series “The Association” for further evidence).  Many pundits and fans are starting to count the Celtics out, but I won’t due to the leadership of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen who can probably sense that this is their last run at title.  For Boston to get back to the Finals, they need Shaq, whatever’s left of Jermaine O’Neal and Glen Davis to try and replace Perkins’s toughness and defensive presence.

Orlando Magic:

This Magic team is different than previous versions that have had success in the playoffs.  Dwight Howard still controls the paint both offensively and defensively by himself for the Magic.  Orlando made two big mid-season trades that landed them Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, and Hedo Turkoglu.  The Magic have essentially “F’d” themselves up for when Dwight Howard becomes a free agent by adding the long-term contracts of Turkoglu and Arenas.  If I were the Magic’s General Manager, I would have made the trade with Phoenix (netted Orlando both Richardson and Turkoglu) while not making the dumb trade for Arenas.  The Magic would have had a much more balanced roster (which would have had the depth of the Denver Nuggets with a bona-fide superstar) with Howard, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Rashard Lewis, Turkoglu, Richardson, Quentin Richardson, J.J. Redick, and Jameer Nelson.  However even this roster wouldn’t be good enough to reach the Finals but it would have made the Magic much more interesting.  One can only dream.

Atlanta Hawks:

They have played horribly as of late and it is a farce to why this team is seeded so high.  They have always been a better collection of players rather than an actual team. Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Joe Johnson are each star players but their talents don’t complement each other well.  I thought the mid-season acquisition of Kirk Hinrich would have helped them but they have gotten worse.  Look for a quick exit for the Hawks against Orlando.

New York Knicks:

“I'm Coming Home, I’m Coming Home, Tell the World I’m Coming Home” as MSG runs another promo proclaiming Carmelo Anthony is a Knick.  Essentially the Knicks are a lesser version of the Miami Heat built around three stars (Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Chauncey Billups) but unlike the Heat they don’t play defense.  The Knicks will probably win one game against Boston in front of a playoff starved crowd at Madison Square Garden but that will be it.  They simply do not have ANY playoff quality defenders to make a deep run this year.  The future is bright for the Knicks, but delusional fans need to get a grip and realize they have no chance at beating the Celtics in this series.  The offensive wizardry of Anthony and Stoudemire will keep the games close for a while but look for the Celtics to get the key defensive stops in late game situations to propel them to an easy series victory.

Philadelphia 76ers:

The 76ers remind me so much of last season’s Charlotte Bobcats.  Philadelphia has overachieved this year under the guidance of a veteran coach (Doug Collins) and feature’s a plethora of young athletic players such as Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holliday, Thaddeus Young and a renaissance season from Elton Brand.  The Sixers would actually matchup pretty well against other playoff contenders but have got a poor matchup against the Miami Heat.  The Heat will simply out-athlete Philadelphia with James, Wade, and Bosh.  Look for the Sixers to lose the first two games by double figures and then two close games at the Wells Fargo Center.

Indiana Pacers: 

Do they even deserve to be in the playoffs.  No, but actually they will give the Bulls a tough five game series.  Indiana matches up favorably against the Bulls because they have a hardworking frontline led by Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert.  Much like last season’s eighth seed (the Bulls) the Pacers will steal a game against Chicago at Conseco Fieldhouse but will end up falling short in following the footsteps of the 2007 Golden State Warriors as an eighth seed who knocks off a number one seed.

Bracket Breakdown:

Look for the Bulls, Heat, Celtics and Magic to each win their first round series’ in five games or less.  In the second round, look for Orlando to give matchup problems for Chicago with their three-point shooting and the presence of Dwight Howard.  The Magic narrowly lost to the Bulls last week without Howard.  I do see the Bulls outlasting the Magic in six though.  Boston and Miami should go seven games.  The trade of Perkins evens out the two teams now that Boston doesn’t have a resounding advantage in the front court anymore against the Heat.  I believe the series will come down to home court advantage which the Heat have.  I’m taking the Heat to win a classic seven game series.  In the Eastern Conference Finals, I really want to take the Bulls because they exemplify how my ideal NBA team would be built.  But I think the Chicago’s lack of a shooting guard and the playoff inexperience of Rose and Noah (they haven’t won a first round series) will ultimately doom them. Remember Chicagoans, it took Michael Jordan seven seasons to reach the NBA Finals.  It is only Rose’s third season and he will eventually win one if not two titles.  Not this year though, “America’s Most Scrutinized Team (Miami Heat)" will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals after defeating the Bulls in six games.

I Went To A New Jersey Nets Game And A Circus Broke Out

When I went to my first pro basketball game in over ten years, Celtics @ Nets, a few weeks ago, I was less than impressed by the lackadaisical efforts displayed by the millionaire ballers I’d paid to see.

So, I guess it shouldn’t have come as a major shock that my second game on Monday night, Bobcats @ Nets, was even more of a letdown given that both teams had long been eliminated from playoff contention.

I knew going in that both teams would be without almost every decent player on their rosters due to injury, but Zach has never seen his beloved Bobcats in person so I went along for moral support.

I figured I was going to see high school level basketball, but I never expected to witness a three-ring circus.

Apparently, the Nets are well aware that their actual on court product leaves something to be desired. Last game I remember there being some sort of entertainment during literally every TV timeout, but what I saw Monday night took it to a whole new level.

The entertainment MC was a young man with corn rows tucked under his backwards hat and a Nets jersey that designated him “Glorious.” Throughout the game, he feigned excitement over T-shirt cannons, countless dance routines, an impressive halftime talent show, and a male fan makeover sponsored by Nivea.

One fourth quarter stoppage was a pretty good summation of the night. Play halted and out paraded two ladies on stilts, the Nets’ mascot, Sly, his Mini-Me accomplice (dubbed Mini-Sly) on a siren-toting bike, dancers with streamers, and trapeze artists flying down from the rafters. OK, I made that last part up, but needless to say, Glorious was pumped.

I get that the Nets are trying to provide their fans and families with as diverse an entertainment experience as possible, but they might want to focus a little more on the actual basketball aspect of the event.

Backup point guard Jordan Farmar - who was starting because Deron Williams, the Nets’ lone recognizable player, missed the game with injury - was caught on the Jumbotron yawning during pregame introductions, and it’s a bit of a shock that he didn’t actually fall asleep under one of the hoops.

The game was played with the enthusiasm of a hungover college freshman at a Friday morning lecture and I caught myself nodding off on more than a few occasions. I’m not a huge NBA fan so that’s understandable, but Zach, who watches basketball literally every night and was psyched up to finally catch his ‘Cats in person even admitted to closing his eyes a couple times.

The Nets drew a sizable crowd given the circumstances of the game, but I’ll bet most were like us, picking up tickets off StubHub for literally less than $1.

The Nets will only be in New Jersey for one more season before moving to Brooklyn and something tells me the organization’s circus act won’t be tolerated across the river. Getting Deron was a start, but this team had better figure out how to entertain a crowd during the actual game instead of relying on ridiculous gimmicks to rouse its fans.

New Jersey Nets' Games Still Devoid Of Energy, But The In-Game Entertainment Is Top-Notch

Last Monday I attended my first NBA game in over 10 years, a clash between the powerhouse Boston Celtics and the cellar dwelling New Jersey Nets.

I’ll confess that the Nets’ acquisition of Deron Williams, one of my favorite players, goaded me into browsing for tickets and the Celtics, who I admire for playing as a team, were an appealing opponent. I figured that for the StubHub total of $37.95, I’d surely get my money’s worth.

Thanks to some basketball crazy friends at college, I’ve gotten much more into the NBA over the last few years, and my existing love for college basketball made me think it was time to give pro basketball another shot in person.

Little did I know that my negative perceptions of the NBA from afar were completely accurate.

Before anyone says, “Come on, it was the Nets! What did you expect!?” I must inform you that this crowd was quite sizable not just for the Nets, but for most NBA teams. Granted, the 18,711 fans that showed up at the Prudential Center were mostly shamrock supporters, but still, there were plenty of bodies in the building.

I showed up with GSG's own Zach Pletchan about an hour before tip-off, and we made our way down to the court hoping to get a glimpse of Deron, or rather, Nets fans going ballistic over Deron the way Knicks fans are Carmelo Anthony. Evidently Williams had either already warmed up, or was hanging out with his newborn son until the last possible moment (can’t blame him there). The ancient Celtics, who had played the night before, must have been involved in an intense locker room game of Bingo, because they never came out for warm-ups. That meant we were treated to a steady diet of Kris Humphries, Dan Gadzuric, and Sasha Vujacic. To their credit they all signed autographs and seemed like decent enough folks, but sadly there was no sight of Kim Kardashian.

The ushers sent us to find our seats and we climbed up until we were parallel to the rafters, but for the price I wasn’t complaining.

Until the game started.

The Celtics arrived clearly of the belief that they could loaf around for three quarters and snatch a victory from the hapless Nets in the closing minutes. That’s exactly what Boston tried to do, but sadly the Celtics didn’t exactly seem broken up when the game didn’t go as planned.

The Nets hung step for step with the Celtics before pulling away in the fourth, but they too seemed more than content to play at half-speed. Even though the game became suddenly dramatic in the closing minutes and Deron hit a clutch shot to ice it, real energy never entered the arena.

The most entertaining parts of the game were a goofy looking Celtics fan dressed as a leprechaun carrying a fake pipe between his lips and the in-game entertainment. Normally at sporting events I find the incessant on-court gimmicks during commercial breaks to be unnecessary and obtrusive, but it’s been a long time since I’ve suffered through a mind-numbing March game between two teams at the opposite ends of the NBA standings. So when the Nets trotted out a dance team of grandmas and grandpas called the NETSational Seniors in the third quarter, I slid to the edge of my seat. These admirable performers did some kind of ridiculous dance to the raucous hip-hop music that is constantly bumping at NBA games, and I made a mental note to YouTube them as soon as I arrived home. The Nets also deployed an impressive team of stunt-dunkers at halftime, and the usual t-shirt cannon, cheerleaders, dance team, etc.

So that was good, but the reason I actually went to the game, to see Williams attempt to contain Rajon Rondo, and Deron attempt to prevent the Celtics from dragging the Nets all over the gym, was far from the reality.

I do find NBA games, especially the playoffs, to be extremely engaging on TV where the subplots of a single match often exceed those of any other sport. However, I won’t be shelling out cash, even at the Nets’ discounted rate, to see a regular season NBA game again anytime soon unless it involves Blake Griffin.

But if the Prudential Center puts up $20 tickets to see a two-hour show by the NETSationals, you’ll see me courtside.