NEW YORK KNICKS
The 7th seeded New York Knicks are facing the incredibly strong Miami Heat in the 1st round. If any of the bottom 4 seeds can give Miami a fight, it's the Knicks. Not saying they will win but I see the series going to at least 5 games. New York is a fire powered offense and renewel of team philosophy after Mike D'antoni stepped down has given the team new life. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire are two of the leagues top players with my own personal rankings of top 15 players and are constant all-stars. Carmelo is the best scorer in the league with Amare being a dynamic offensive forward. With the Knicks being one of the top 3 point shooting teams in the NBA they can beat any team any night. Their one downfall is that they are not a good defensive team. They are better than at the beginning of the season but that says nothing in terms of overall defensive effort. It's probably for the best that the Knicks don't have one year sensation Jeremy Lin on account of not having a good team chemistry if they did. Mike Brown has given the Knicks a new life and I would not be surprised to see Miami beaten by these Knicks but do not see it happening. The Knicks are team that can beat anyone but also can get blown out by bad teams on any given night. These Knicks could be very entertaining throughout this series.
Monday, April 30, 2012
ORLANDO MAGIC
The Orlando Magic has the task of knocking off the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs this year. The 6th seeded Magic lost their superstar and leader of Dwight Howard who is the most dynamic big man in the NBA with a back injury that put Howard out of the remainder of this season. If Orlando was facing any other team in the Playoffs I'd say they would have a tougher matchup but Indiana is a superb matchup for the team and ultimately a huge break. Indiana is a well coached team who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Orlando is a scrappy team who can get turnovers and push up the court. Orlando has more depth even though they're lacking a star player right now. For the Magic to upset the Indiana Pacers they will need good games out of Howard's back up Bass who isn't too bad of a big man himself. I do not see Orlando advancing past the second round however seeing that they would be facing the Miami Heat who had their way with the Magic in the regular season. I give the edge to Orlando just soley on coach Van Gundy and not knowing too much about the Pacers other than key players. Orlando has been in the playoffs the last few years with a finals trip so they are experienced and know what to expect.
The Orlando Magic has the task of knocking off the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs this year. The 6th seeded Magic lost their superstar and leader of Dwight Howard who is the most dynamic big man in the NBA with a back injury that put Howard out of the remainder of this season. If Orlando was facing any other team in the Playoffs I'd say they would have a tougher matchup but Indiana is a superb matchup for the team and ultimately a huge break. Indiana is a well coached team who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Orlando is a scrappy team who can get turnovers and push up the court. Orlando has more depth even though they're lacking a star player right now. For the Magic to upset the Indiana Pacers they will need good games out of Howard's back up Bass who isn't too bad of a big man himself. I do not see Orlando advancing past the second round however seeing that they would be facing the Miami Heat who had their way with the Magic in the regular season. I give the edge to Orlando just soley on coach Van Gundy and not knowing too much about the Pacers other than key players. Orlando has been in the playoffs the last few years with a finals trip so they are experienced and know what to expect.
ATLANTA HAWKS
The Atlanta Hawks are the 5th seed in the eastern conference playoffs after finishing second in their division. This rising team has a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in the first round if Boston doesn’t stay healthy or loses any key players. They are a young team who can outrun and out hustle any team in the playoffs. They are a dangerous team with Josh Smith running the power forward position. If they happen to beat the Celtics (which I doubt will happen) they would face the Miami Heat in the second round and I can't see them advancing past Miami especially when Miami is in their same division. Atlanta doesn't have a coach I feel confident in and I can see the team making mistakes that will carry over to fast break points and easy baskets for the Celtics. Don’t count Atlanta out though they have the pieces to make a deep run if they play like a team and don't make crucial turnovers. Atlanta is a contender but I think their lack of depth will ultimately make them loose to the deep Boston Celtics. Atlanta’s starting five are young and can play a lot of minutes but it will be important for each of the 5 starters to score double figures or for any of them to be able to score 30+ points if they need too. I don’t see much leadership with this team but the raw talent and athleticism could be a potential problem for any opponent they might face.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
BOSTON CELTICS
The 4th seeded Celtics look like they did in their prime 5 years ago when they won their title. They had a rough start of the season with injuries to key players but have had the 2nd best record since the all-star break and they look very strong. One of the only if NOT the only team that can play with and match up with the Miami Heat are the Boston Celtics. With star players in Garnett, Allen, Pierce, and Rondo, this is a team that can beat anybody in the league. The issue for the Celtics is their age and lack of speed which could present as a problem facing young, fast players in the playoffs. Also, health is an issue with this aging team. 3 of the 5 starters are above 35 years old and are facing retirement within the next 3 years. If they want to win another title in the distant future than this is the year they have the key components to do so. They face a good Atlanta Hawk team in the openeing roung who should be a very obtainable task. Not to mention they have the 2nd best active coach in the country in Doc Rivers. I look for Boston to be in the Eastern Finals against Miami the winner of that series depends on every Boston player to be able to play in every game.
The 4th seeded Celtics look like they did in their prime 5 years ago when they won their title. They had a rough start of the season with injuries to key players but have had the 2nd best record since the all-star break and they look very strong. One of the only if NOT the only team that can play with and match up with the Miami Heat are the Boston Celtics. With star players in Garnett, Allen, Pierce, and Rondo, this is a team that can beat anybody in the league. The issue for the Celtics is their age and lack of speed which could present as a problem facing young, fast players in the playoffs. Also, health is an issue with this aging team. 3 of the 5 starters are above 35 years old and are facing retirement within the next 3 years. If they want to win another title in the distant future than this is the year they have the key components to do so. They face a good Atlanta Hawk team in the openeing roung who should be a very obtainable task. Not to mention they have the 2nd best active coach in the country in Doc Rivers. I look for Boston to be in the Eastern Finals against Miami the winner of that series depends on every Boston player to be able to play in every game.
INDIANA PACERS
The Indiana Pacers are a 3 seed with a daunting task of facing the Orlando Magic in the first round. Good news for the Pacers is that the Magic's superstar, Dwight Howard, is out for the playoffs with a back injury. Without this break I could not see Indiana being able to out play the Magic. With a young star of Danny Grainger, the Pacers look to stay strong and continue their successful season. I don't see the Pacers being able to beat the 6th-seeded Magic even with the injuries to the Magic. Indiana is a good fast paced team that plays whistle to whistle but they are missing key components to match up well with the elite teams. They don't have a dominant big man that they can rely on night to night and the team is too young to be successful in this year’s playoffs. Even if they happen to beat the Magic they will be playing the Miami Heat or New York Knicks in the next round. Either one of those teams shouldn't have a problem being able to outscore this inexperience team. I see the Pacers losing in the first round to the Orlando Magic and will have a tough series. I would not be surprised if the Pacers got swept. Their successful regular season was a fluke and I don't see Indiana going anywhere this year.
CHICAGO BULLS
The 1st seeded Chicago Bulls will have an easy opening round against the unraveling Philidelphia 76'ers. Philidelphia was one of the hottest team midway through the regular season being one of the top seeds, but after the All-Star break they fizzled out dropping all the way to the bottom seed. Chicago lost their best player to a torn ACL, but they hope the absence of Derrick Rose doesn't affect their title hopes.
The team was succesful with 28-9 record with the reigning MVP out for games so the team hopes that they are able to fight through the absence of a superstar point guard. With a strong front court of Noah and Butler and a scrappy team they have a shot at winning the east but the injury does have an affect. They will need to re gather as a team and players will need to step up to fill the gaping void. Chicago should be able to pull of the series win this round but will face Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks, two very good teams, in the next round so they will have their work cut of for them. I see Chicago winning this round but losing the next round to the Celtics.
The 1st seeded Chicago Bulls will have an easy opening round against the unraveling Philidelphia 76'ers. Philidelphia was one of the hottest team midway through the regular season being one of the top seeds, but after the All-Star break they fizzled out dropping all the way to the bottom seed. Chicago lost their best player to a torn ACL, but they hope the absence of Derrick Rose doesn't affect their title hopes.
The team was succesful with 28-9 record with the reigning MVP out for games so the team hopes that they are able to fight through the absence of a superstar point guard. With a strong front court of Noah and Butler and a scrappy team they have a shot at winning the east but the injury does have an affect. They will need to re gather as a team and players will need to step up to fill the gaping void. Chicago should be able to pull of the series win this round but will face Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks, two very good teams, in the next round so they will have their work cut of for them. I see Chicago winning this round but losing the next round to the Celtics.
MIAMI HEAT
With the post season in its awakening I've decided to highlight each and every team in the playoffs and their match up. The Miama Heat are the 2 seed in the eastern conference and wll be facing the surging New York Knicks in the first round. It should be an easy series for the defending eastern conference champs. The Heat look to repeat in the east and hope to finally achieve their first ring since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team two years ago. Expectations are high and with Derrick Rose out for the remainder of the post season it should be easy for Miami to get back to the finals as long as LeBron doesn't take too many shots and Dwayne Wade plays well. They had a dominating regular season but looked weak at times in close games at the end. With LeBron not being too significant in the finals it will be a hump for arguably the best player in the league to be able to win a NBA champion. Miami Heat are true contenders.
With the post season in its awakening I've decided to highlight each and every team in the playoffs and their match up. The Miama Heat are the 2 seed in the eastern conference and wll be facing the surging New York Knicks in the first round. It should be an easy series for the defending eastern conference champs. The Heat look to repeat in the east and hope to finally achieve their first ring since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team two years ago. Expectations are high and with Derrick Rose out for the remainder of the post season it should be easy for Miami to get back to the finals as long as LeBron doesn't take too many shots and Dwayne Wade plays well. They had a dominating regular season but looked weak at times in close games at the end. With LeBron not being too significant in the finals it will be a hump for arguably the best player in the league to be able to win a NBA champion. Miami Heat are true contenders.
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