1.    Finals Preview: It's been a long road this year to the Finals and there have been quite a few twists and turns that were unexpected (notably the fact that the Lakers aren't here).  Still, after all the happenings, the Heat are in the Finals and are prohibitive favorites (as most expected last FAll) and we have a very fun Finals match up with the Mavs, who are far from pushovers.  Aside from the actual games, there are tons of questions being raised.  Let's take a look at the major … [Read more...] about NBA Finals Preview

Round Two is over and this leaves four teams with time to assess what happened in the playoffs and what might happen next year.  The most notable elininations are last year's NBA finalists in Boston and L.A.  Meanwhile, in Memphis and Atlanta we have to decide how real these teams really are going forward.  Let's take a look: 1.  Boston Celtics: Assessing the Celtics' last few years really depends on whether you are an optimist of pessimist.  Here's how the KG Era has … [Read more...] about Second Round Fallout

Continuing our first round fall out column, we turn today to the Western Conference... 1.    San Antonio Spurs: That definitely smarts.  The Spurs managed a last gasp heroic regular season only to be beaten soundly in the playoffs.  The loss to the Grizz wasn't just a random upset either.  It took about half of one game to realize that Memphis was at least the equal of the Spurs talent-wise.  The real pain though was watching Tim Duncan, who just isn't the player he was.  TD is still … [Read more...] about First Round Fallout (Western Conference)

We are now into the nitty gritty of the post season...Round Two.  Before we consider some pretty interesting battles , some of the fun is to look back at the teams that were left behind and we can look to see where their playoff losses leave them.  This our annual First Round Fallout column.  And there is quite a bit of fallout in a few places, particularly San Antonio and Orlando.  Let's take a look at the losers in the East... 1.    Indiana Pacers: The Pacers played a pretty … [Read more...] about First Round Fallout (Eastern Conference)