1. Boston-Chicago: This has been a truly great series so far, with drama galore. I’ve truly enjoyed watching this series so far but do fall in the camp that it hasn’t been played at the highest level. With Kevin Garnett, this would’ve probably been a 4-1 easy win for Boston but for us disinterested observers, we get probably the best series of the playoffs. Going into Game 7 tonight, here are some quick reflections:
-Like the other writers, I haven’t been particularly impressed by the coaching tactics on either side. In defending Doc Rivers, he really doesn’t have much to work with outside of his starting five. As for Vinny Del Negro, guarding the perimeter might be a good idea in light of the fact that Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo are collectively 40-94 from three.
-Speaking of Ray Allen, he’s been an absolute monster this series. Just for some fun, let’s look at his regular season numbers versus his post season stats so far:
| MPG | FGA | FGM | FG% | 3PA | 3M | 3% | FTA | FTM | FT% | RPG | APG | TOPG | PPG | PER | |
| Regular | 36.4 | 6.3 | 13.2 | 0.480 | 2.5 | 6.2 | 0.409 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 0.952 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 18.2 | 17.3 |
| Playoffs | 40.7 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 0.455 | 4.2 | 8.8 | 0.472 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 0.897 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 23.5 | 19.5 |
Allen has been bombing away from three and hitting at a ridiculous clip. You wouldn’t think he could keep this up but for one more game who knows what he has left?
-The three are really flying for Boston. They took 13.5 threes per game in the regular season and are now up to 20.5 per game this series. I know we’ve seen a lot of overtimes in this series but the higher rate is quite notable.
-Stephon Marbury continues to be astoundingly bad. While he was in a high stakes game of chicken with the Knicks he might’ve considered that a comprehensive pre-season might’ve made him look better once he left New York. By sitting in Elba fighting over $1 million, he’s cost himself serious cash this off-season. Pennywise, pound foolish.
-Everyone has noticed how crappy Marbury has played but Eddie House was the surprise. He was a key cog in 2007-08 and he’s been almost worthless.
-Conversely, the Bulls have shown some depth. Joakim Noah, Brad Miller, and Tyrus Thomas outnumber Kendrick Perkins and can wear down Boston if this is another battle of attrition.
-Who will Game 7? With KG or even Leon Powe, I think the Celts probably would’ve ended this series earlier. Still, I think it’ll be too tough for the Bulls to win another game in Boston unless Derrick Rose goes absolutely nuts. I expect another close affair but the Allen/Pierce/Rondo troika is just enough for Boston to get to Orlando. Once they get there, however, they won’t be having quite as much fun.
2. Hawks/Heat: This series has been pretty anti-climatic as seven gamers go. The Hawks had more depth going in but now Al Horford and Marvin William are hobbled. Miami has some injuries (Jamario Moon is out and Jermaine O’Neal was concussed, not to mention Dwyane Wade’s back issues). We thought going in that Dwyane Wade could continue his great play, which would be enough to carry the series. In reality, Wade’s injuries (and plain cold shooting by Miami) has kept them fluctuating from good to bad in the series. Heading into the seventh game, I still like the Heat for a variety of reasons:
-If Wade is close to healthy, the Hawks can’t really stop him.
-Moreover, without a healthy Williams or Horford, the Hawks athleticism and depth take a huge hit in all facets of the game, including banging around Wade defensively. Maurice Evans and Solomon Jones just doesn’t quite cut it.
– Michael Beasley seems to be coming on at just the right time. If he puts together a game close to what he did the last two games, the Heat look like the better team.
3. Sweeps: It seems like months ago since Cleveland swept away Detroit but I thought we’d look at sweeps in the first round for a minute. Specifically, was the Cavs sweep the most dominant sweep in first round history since the first round went to seven games series (in 2002-03)? Let’s take a look at the sweeps by year and the point differentials:
2002-03: No first round sweeps
2003-04: Spurs over Grizzlies (+56 points)
Nets over Knicks (+51 points)
Pacers over Celtics (+67 points)
2004-05: Suns over Grizzlies (+44 points)
Heat over Nets (+51 points)
2005-06: Mavericks over Grizzlies (+56 points)
2006-07: Pistons over Magic (+36 points)
Cavaliers over Wizards (+35 points)
Bulls over Heat (+43 points)
2007-08: Lakers over Nuggets (+53 points)
2008-09: Cavaliers over Pistons (+62 points)
So there you have it. The Cavs did quite well this year but they didn’t sweep quite as effectively as 2003-04 Pacers, who slaughtered the Celts in a series with an element of revenge (the Celts had upset Indiana in 2002-03 playoffs). It is also interesting to be reminded how little the Grizz were able to do in the playoffs when they were good, going 0-12 and averaging a double figure loss each time they played. We should also remember whether the Lakers sweep of the Nuggets will have any bearing the re-match this year.