NBA Playoffs So Far

I've been down with an ear infection so my apologies for not updating. Here are some of my thoughts on the NBA Playoffs:

Know Your Officials

What turns most people off to the NBA is the isolation's plays that some teams run for players, but even bigger than that is how the officials dictate the game. Look its bad when I can name Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, Joe Forte, Steve Jave off the top of my head. Name another sports where you know the referee's by name. There has always been that suspicion that the games are fixed. The league dodged a big pr nightmare when Tim Donaghy got busted for gambling but I think it really confirmed what most people believe, the league tries to setup its championship games for ratings. At first I was a skeptic but now I am coming over to that side. You want all the exposure that you can get so people are talking about your product. No one will talk about the finals if San Antonio or Utah makes it. Its all about star power or bigger market recognition. That's why rooting for a team like Orlando to knock off Cleveland, even though Dwight Howard is a star in his own right.

Speaking Of The Magic

Can someone please make the Atlanta Hawks disappear Has a team ever played so poorly but been in the playoffs? How can lose by an average of 29 points to a team with a 40 point blowout in the first game. This looks like a 1 seed versus a 16 in the NCAA tournament, but the Hawks are the supposed 3 seed and the Magic are the 2, the match-up should be closer. You can take any of the five starters from the Hawks and you would love them on your team but collectively they are awful. You can tell they have no clue on how to play together as a unit. Some of that falls on Mike Woodson the coach, but I put most of it on the players who have to recognize that the teams around them have better chemistry and understand how to play the game. Look for Joe Johnson to bolt and Mike Woodson to be let go. What should really happen is the management should give refunds to their fans for their teams pitiful play this postseason. That would send a real message to their team. (Two side notes to beat the Magic don;t let them hit 10 or more 3's because if they do it over. Also Dwight Howard shot over 80% in a series which basically sounds like no one guarded him. Tells you how pathetic the Hawks played)

The Suns Rise Again

You have to be happy for Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. They finally beat their long time nemesis the Spurs, and in a sweep which is shocking. The cool thing is no one expected the Suns to be here, the bad side is the Lakers should and will destroy them. This is a different Suns team from the ones in the past. Their bench is young and deeper which gives Steve and Amar'e some help. The only way the Suns beat the Lakers is by outscoring them. The Lakers are way too big and a half court game would end up just killing the Suns on the board. Nash deserves to be in a Finals before the book closes on his career. What I found great is last night Steve got his eye busted and with one eye scored 10 points and 5 assists!! That shows you how talented these guys are.

Cleveland Is Playing With Fire

When the stars align for you to win championship, you shouldn't mess around. But the Cavaliers are not taking the Celtics seriously and it could comeback to haunt them. The Cavs have no answer for Rondo who messed around and got a triple double. Putting Lebron on him could help a little or it could get Pierce, Allen and Garnett going. What I see in the Cavs is a team who relies completely too much on one player. They sit around and wait for LBJ to bail them out, and if they really want to be a great team, they better stop building their team like the Mavericks and get Lebron a solid Robin. What I mean is the Mavericks are built around Dirk and he can't do it alone. Mo Williams, Varajeo, Moon, Parker and now Shaq are role players, not a solid player that takes the pressure off Lebron. The other thing I noticed is the Cavs don;t have a sense of urgency, they have that feeling that they can turn it on at anytime. They better put the Celtics away in the next two games because if its goes seven, the Celtics will win it. The C's are now a dangerous "Big 4" and if they start rolling they are one of the few teams that can unseat the Lakers because of their physical style of play and their defense.

Also I will update where a part of my blog was mentioned on ESPN later on this week. Thanks for reading....