Playoff Thoughts

1.    Harm But No Foul?:    Perhaps the only thing we will ever remember the Dallas-Denver series for is Carmelo Anthony's shot at the end of Game 3, where Antoine Wright attempted to intentionally foul only to have the refs ignore him and allow Melo to his a ridiculous three to knock the Mavs down to 0-3 in the series.  The NBA immediately came out and acknowledged that the refs blew the call but let's go a little deeper with a quick little FAQ: … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts

1. Round 2 Begins: What is there to say so far this round of the playoffs? Let's go series by series: -Denver/Dallas: This series has been all Denver so far. So far, Denver has not used it super depth up front to frustrate Dirk Nowitzki. In fact, Dirk has looked really good. No, Dallas' downfall is that they don't have Josh Howard, who has struggled with an ankle injury, as well as the fact that Denver is shooting very well so far. Can Dallas hold serve at home? They are a very good home team … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts

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:  … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts

1.    It's Over Johnny:    Count me in the crowd that thinks there isn't much reason to watch Cleveland-Detroit, Los Angeles-Utah, or Denver-New Orleans.  Still, let's take a look at what's happened so far to see if there is anything to learn about these series:  -Cleveland/Detroit:  This is playing out like your typical one-eight series.  Cleveland has pretty much controlled both games behind LeBron James and the rest of the cast has been perfectly fine.  What seems noteworthy is how much … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts

1.    Celtics Take Control:    One of the fun things about writing about sports is that we can chew the scenery a little bit and really delve into some points that aren't mentioned on the television or in the newspapers.  After something like Game 4 of the Finals, there really isn't too much to say.  The Celtics played great defensively and did just enough offensively, thanks to James Posey and Eddie House, to comeback and put the Lakers in a huge whole.  While it is easy to bash the Lakers for … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts

1.    Boston Beaning:    With the outlier of the Detroit series, the Finals appear to have mirrored Boston other playoff series quite a bit.  The Celts are playing like a formidable 66-win team at home.  They've controlled most of the first two games, with the exception of the Lakers flurry at the end of the Game Two.  So far, the difference in the series really has been Paul Pierce, who has 26 ppg on .615% and is shooting 7-8 from three.  Throw in the fact that Ray Allen has been more efficient … [Read more...] about Playoff Thoughts