5 Questions about the Western Conference Playoffs

As promised yesterday, here are 5 questions about the Western Conference Playoffs. Quick note, the Magic looked like the Magic from two years ago last night. Great defense, perimeter scoring and everything. One good night doesn't make the world. We'll see if I have to eat my words. And here we are...

Most Impressive Team so Far:

Simply put...The Thunder. You could argue Memphis in this spot too, but all year people have been discounting the Spurs. Considering how they slipped late in the season after being on a record matching pace, its safe too say that their collection of talent and age are starting to slip. The Nuggets showed more then just resilience after the Carmelo trade. They actually showed that they could be better moving the ball and using "teamwork". Who knew?. Many experts picked this as an upset, but the Thunder have showed they can live up too the hype, and play a physical brand of Basketball in the Playoffs.

Most Disappointing Team so Far:

Sorry Memphis fans. The Grizzlies deserve a lot of credit for exposing the Spurs' age. But the Spurs have not been the same team since injuries plagued Timmy and Manu. Tim is showing his age. We're waiting for a vintage 25 and 17 from him, but it doesn't look like he has it left. Manu is playing at his usual break neck pace but his only shooting at around 40 % from the field. Looking at this team right now, you have too wonder how they competed for the leagues best record. 

Most Impressive One Man Show:

41.8 Mpg, 30.3 Ppg, 51.9 3p%

Those are Keven Durant's numbers through 4 games this post season. He is having an impressive run. His scoring and minutes are up and he's shooting a ridiculous 52% from beyond the arc. Sorry. I just wanted too show love to the runner up.

24.4 ppg, 11.6 apg, 6.4 rpg, 55.9 fg%

The real one man show is Chris Paul. He's been a double double machine these playoffs. Playing 40+ minutes while still managing too shoot a scolding 56% from the field. Although KD's three point percentage is up, his field goal percentage is down from the regular season. The Hornets went into these playoffs with very little fan fare. You're favorite blogger called for a sweep. But, as CP3 is showing, he is still the best point guard in the league. Even missing David West, he has the Hornets right in the middle of a possible upset. My pick. Chris Paul.

Favorites So Far:

Now, more than ever, the west is wide open. The Lake show has looked more and more flawed this year. Their bigs should be absolutely embarrassed by their performance against an undermanned and undersized Hornets front line. I have trouble trusting the Mavericks. Memories of the implosion in the 2006 finals - however controversial - and the running of the Warriors in 2007 has me wondering about their mettle. The Thunder are a young and physical team. The addition of Kendrick Perkins has definitely made them a legitimate contender. As long as they get consistent production off their bench, they can definitely threaten for a championship. With that said. Maybe I am doing the same thing with Kobe as I am doing with Timmy. I am waiting for that signature performance where Kobe finally puts his stamp on the Playoffs. It's just too hard to go against Kobe regardless of how great Durant looks. I'll stick with the Lake show. For now.

What can we take from this season into next:

As we did yesterday. Here are some thoughts on the top 4 seeds. 

The Spurs are facing the same disease that the Celtics are facing. Unless they can get Dejuan Blair to mature into a legit starting 4 to help save some miles on Duncan, the Duncan era may be officially coming too an end; no matter how much it pains me too say.

The Lakers can still be a legitimate contender for the next couple of years if Pau Gasol can ever take the leap to truly elite. He showed signs early on, but faded terribly late. If Andrew Bynum can stay healthy and consistent that front line can be formidable for years too come. The real question is if Kobe can ever truly relinquish the reigns of the team. A solid 2 guard to help preserve Kobe, and a small forward not named Ron Artest, and the Lakers will still be there in May. (Notice I said May not June)

The Mavericks will leave as the Utah Jazz of this era. Always there. A finals appearance. Great point guard play whether it was from Steve Nash or Jason Kidd. And a great Powerforward. I guess it depends on what you would consider a successful run. Dirk will go down as one of the 5 greatest Powerforwards ever, joining an elite group where, the majority never won a championship. I'm afraid that is where Dirk will end up. The Mavericks are on their way down. We'll see them for a few more years. But I'll be surprised if they win a Championship, unless they can make an unforeseen blockbuster trade or a huge splash in free agency.

Just as I said about the Heat yesterday, The Thunder are going to be impossible to ignore from here on out. The difference is the Thunder did it how you would hope every team could do it. A small market team that made good draft picks and were never hamstrung by terrible contracts. Welcome to the way up. The Thunder are the model, and they'll be competing for the next 7-10 years provided there are no major injuries and that KD and Russel Westbrook can still coexist. Don't be surprised to see a Thunder - Heat finals very soon. Unless of course Dwight Howard swings the next ten seasons by ending up on the Knicks or Lakers.

5 Questions about the Eastern Conference Playoffs

Through eleven days of the playoffs, this has easily been one of the most exciting playoffs we've seen in years. We have 8 seeds challenging 1 seeds and undermanned teams fighting for the respect of their colleagues. So, today we're going to do something a little bit different. Its an idea stolen from ESPN *sshhhh*. We're going to do a little five on five. Today We'll answer 5 questions about the east. Tomorrow, 5 questions about the west. So let's take it away:

Most Impressive Team so far:

I think without a question it has to be the Boston Celtics. Boston has been repeatedly counted out by pundits and experts, but somehow they're the only team to actually complete a sweep in the Playoffs. You can cry that the Knicks have dealt with injuries, however, KG and Paul Pierce are visibly getting older by the day. Somehow Ray Allen continues to play at a high level, but that's also because his game never required much athleticism. I would also like to suggest that the Celtics are an extremely physical team. Sometimes, you get injured playing them. That can happen to anyone in the Playoffs.

Most Disappointing Team so far:

I'll avoid the Heat bashing for this paragraph. This is really a toss up between the Bulls and the Magic. The Bulls are playing an inspired Pacers team thats ranked 8th in the east. You would hope that the team with the best record in the league would dispatch of an 8th seed easily, but as the west is proving, teams with nothing too lose play as such. The Magic dispatched the Hawks last year in one of the most embarrassing playoff defeats in recent history averaging a +10 ppg differential. Now, they are on the brink of being eliminated by that same team. Are you telling me Kirk Hinrich is making that much of a difference? The show that Dwight Howard is putting on, you would hope, would be enough to carry this team past the Hawks. The Magic are playing uninspired and are showing that if your name is not Dwight Howard, you may as well mail it in.. I'll go Magic.

Most Impressive One Man Show:

Before I make the obvious choice, I just want too point out some numbers. 

32.3 ppg, 17.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg

28.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 6.3 apg

The top line is the averages of a player on a team in a 3-1 hole. Those are Dwight Howard's averages through 4 games this Playoff. Those are historic numbers. I guess what this comes down too is, who is more valuable. Dwight Howard is putting up ridiculous numbers on a team about to be checked out of the Playoffs, while the second line - Derrick Rose - is up 3-1 on a competitive Pacers team. I'll take a 3-1 lead. D. Rose.

Favorites so far:

It's always dangerous too go out and say who are the favorites too win the east in the first round of the Playoffs, but, let's give it a try. The Bulls are the Cinderella story of the season so far. After being spurned by "King" James and D. Wade, Derrick Rose made it a point too come in this season and make teams pay. However, a one man show hasn't won a championship ever. You need the sum too equal a better whole. Not one too equal a team. I'm not even going to indulge in a debate about the Hawks/Magic. The Heat have looked dominant at times, and have also looked too lackadaisical for a team who has yet too win anything except the Lebron sweepstakes. They have no depth past their big 3, and have problems executing down the stretch. They can be out-toughed and even out-willed at times. Guess who has both those strengths. That's right. I'll go Boston. Playoff meddle and experience plus phenomenal teamwork have won championships well before 2 superstars and 1 almost have ever done it. 2004 Detroit pistons anyone. My pick is Boston.

What can we take from this season into next:

I'm going to rattle off random thoughts for each of the top 4 seeds going 1-4. After the first round of eliminations I'll give thoughts about the eliminated teams.

The Bulls have a lot of talent and depth, so they'll always be there in the end. However, they could still use a legit 2 guard that can help spread the floor. If Rose keeps improving he'll end up drawing comparisons too Jordan in terms of greatness and being competitive, not so much in terms of style. Carlos Boozer turned in a solid season, but they didn't sign him to be solid. They signed him to be a 20 and 10 guy. If they get it, they can definitely win.

The Heat are going to be close to impossible to dismiss next year. We can argue that they beat up on bad teams this year. But one season of actually working it out will be the best remedy for what ails them as far as late game troubles. They're going to be the favorites from here on out probably. We'll see if they can actual live up to the hype.

The Celtics are close to done. Their window is more or less closed. How they are remaining relevant is a mystery. Rondo is playing out of his mind right now, but as age continues too creep in they are eventually going to fade.

I don't even know what to say about the Magic. Aside from Howard, this entire team should be up for grabs. Nelson is a solid pg but hasn't turned in another All Star year since the 08-09 season. Hedo needs to be examined by a coroner. Bass is showing that he can't be a starting 4. This teams needs a redo badly, or they're going to have flashbacks of Shaq leaving.

Timmy D - the greatest Powerforward people will forget

    

    
       I struggled for months. Literally. Months. I waffled between a lot of different subjects trying to decide what my first blog post was going to be about. Would it be about this new ridiculous movement to hand out more T's than Ford. The new softness of the NBA. This weird camaraderie that we have going on in the league thats borderline weirder then Magic and Isaiah's first kiss. Literally, millions of story lines could have been explored until I finally settled on Tim Duncan. Fitting. Fitting because Timmy D is going to be, by all accounts the greatest Powerforward, and one of the top 5 forwards ever, with a fundamental game that people settle for but don't prefer to see.

          This particular season has been one of the more interesting seasons that we've seen in a while. With so many exciting and new faces, it feels like the future is trying to hurry up and forget about the past. We'd rather see Blake Griffin put up great rookie numbers and dunk on people like Dominique on HGH all the while falling out of the playoffs on a 30 win clipper team. We adored Kevin Love's Moses Malone impression so much that we almost ignored the fact that the Wolves are a terrible 17-64. Meanwhile the Spurs are contending for best record in the league. Although Tim Duncan has experience a down year, its the intangibles that make the "Big Fundamental" the greatest ever. By no means are Manu and Parker hall of fame candidates - although Manu will go down as one of the best foreign players ever. They have no player in the top 30 in scoring. Timmy is 13th in rebounding, and tony parker, the 07 finals MVP meanwhile ranks 14th in assists. Kevin Love leads the league in rebounding. Blake Griffin leads the league in "omg" factor. Theres something missing here.

          Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnet and Dirk. What do they have in common? Well, they all have MVP trophies, but so does Timmy. No. Add up their championship rings and 4 of the greatest powerforwards of all time can't even say they match him...combined. Even if you discount the two rings that Timmy won with David Robinson - even though the last championship they could've replaced David Robinson with that guy from the street ball court - he still has more championships, and finals mvp's than the four have combined. KG wasted some prime years on some poor teams, but if you sit there and tell me that KG's teams were that much better than Timmy's I'd respectfully disagree. If ESPN paid me I'd run down the numbers why Tim Duncan was the greatest. Why Timmy is one of the few players to capture mvp, and finals mvp in the same year. Why hes one of the few to have a finals mvp and rookie of the year trophy in the same year. Why Karl Malone played with one of the top 5 pg's of all time, and they couldn't get it done when Jordan was gone. Or why Charles Barkley forced a trade after playing with Moses, and a last legged Dr J to go to a 50 win suns team. Then played with Hakeem and Clyde and still came up short. Why Dirk has two MVP's and has been on countless 50-60 win teams, and coughed up his best chance in an albeit controversial Finals series. Why KG ran into the road block of the Lakers/Spurs. Timmy D ran into the same road block, stampeded it. Met it again. Was stopped. Then, stampeded it again.  Or how he saved David Robinson from being the west coast Patrick Ewing. We could do this all day. But it remains, these facts are as indisputable as Timmy's bank shot.