Playoff Thoughts

1.  Finals Time: After a mostly forgettable playoff season, we finally have the matchup most expected/wanted---Golden State v. LeBron.  As we discussed during the playoff preview, the Warriors have been so dominant that they are a prohibitive favorite to beat the all comers. Is there a scenario where the Cavs could beat GS? Let’s look at the reasons for the Cavs to have hope: LeBron:  Stephen Curry might’ve been the best player in the NBA this season statistically but LeBron James has … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Preview

With the Hawks getting swept and the Rockets on the verge of losing 4-1, we are faced with the obvious question: is this the worst Conference Finals ever?  Well…maybe.  Certainly we are looking at one of the briefest.  The Hawks are the first team to get swept in the Conference Finals since 2002-03, when the Nets swept the Pistons (helped in part by an ankle injury to Chauncey Billups).  We’ve looked at the import of sweeps earlier in the playoffs, but how often do they happen during Conference … [Read more...] about The Quickest Conference Finals

The tussle between the top seeded Hawks and the eighth seeded Nets has ended up being one of the better match ups in the first round.  While the Hawks were able to eke out a win at home last night, there is a pretty good chance that they could be facing needing to win a Game 7 to advance against the lowest seeded team in the playoffs.  The Hawks should ultimately win this series but does the failure of Atlanta to dominate an eight seed mean anything?  One the one hand, one series is a small … [Read more...] about What’s In A Sweep?

The 2014-15 NBA playoffs presents an atypical playoff scenario.  There aren’t several contenders to assess.  Really, we are talking about the Golden State Warriors and everyone else.  Only five teams have ever had more wins in an NBA regular season than the Warriors (GS is the fifth NBA team to win 67 games in a season).  Seven of the nine other 67+ win teams won a title.  The two exceptions are the 1972-73 Celtics, who lost in the Conference Finals to the Knicks (though Boston did have the … [Read more...] about 2014-15 Playoff Preview