Yesterday was the first day of the 2010 NBA Playoffs and as promised here I am to recap all the action that took place.
Starting with game one, the Cleveland Cavs VS. the Chicago Bulls, I am ashamed to say that the Bulls really didn't perform as well as they could, or should have. The first half was almost unbearable to watch, with the Bulls turning over the ball after almost every possession and playing little to no defense. The Cavs, primarily King James himself, had their way with the Bulls, and so by halftime, the Bulls were down 15. And as if that wasn't bad enough, due to refs missing many calls on the Cavs (you can say I'm bias towards the Bulls however many times you want but it goes without saying that all refs baby Lebron James) tension had found its way out of the players, leaving Luol Deng to get into it with Lebron. Luckily the second half was better, the Bulls even coming within 8 of the Cavs in the fourth quarter due to Derrick Rose's hustle and drives to the hoop, and due to the Cavs getting sloppy with both the ball as well as their shot selections, but in the end, the Bulls were unable to take the lead, and the game ended up with the Cavs winning at 96-83.
Game two between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks was also somewhat of a blowout, ending with the Bucks being down by 10 at 102-92. Like the Cavs/Bulls matchup, the first quarter was a disaster, with the Bucks making almost none of their shots, and the Hawks making close to all, leaving the score to be 17-34. The second quarter went basically as poorly, the Bucks down at the half, 62-40. The third quarter also showed no promise until the end when the Hawks only lead by 7, but this didn't last and by the fourth they were back to trailing with no hope in sight. To be honest, in terms of the Bucks, the only thing that went well for them was rookie Brandon Jennings scoring 34 points. However, everyone knows even the best of player can't carry an entire team by themselves, so without help from his fellow teammates, he just couldn't get the job done.
Game three, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, was probably the most exciting game of the night. As expected (and even the Celtic lovers have to side with me on this one), the Celts brought much drama to the table, and it had nothing to do with basketball itself. Starting from the top though, the Heat went hard as they stayed tied up with the Celtics for much of the first quarter. Although Dwyane Wade was carrying a heavy load, the rest of the team was certainly offering a helping hand, and the Heat ended up leading by 1 at the end of the first quarter. As the second quarter came around, the Heat gained even more fire (ha) as they pulled ahead by 8, making the Celtics work for their shots, but still coming close to the Heat with the help of freethrows for a 44-41 score at the half. It seemed as though Wade really came alive during the third quarter though as he dunked, drove, and made freethrows, advancing his team to be up by 13 at one point. However, as before, the Celtics (mainly by way of Paul Pierce and KG), managed to catch up, and someone were only down by 2, 64-66, at the end of the third. Though thus far it had been a captivating game, both teams playing very well and keeping the score close, the fouth quarter is when things got really interesting. In terms of play, the Heat seemed to lose energy and desire, allowing the Celtics to not only catch up, but take the lead, as they were down by 6 at about the halfway point of the fourth quarter. From then on, although the Heat came closer within reach, they never again took the lead, and ended up failing, 76-85. However, due to KG throwing two elbows and getting ejected from the game only a handful of seconds before the end, I am willing to bet the Celtics felt like losers at the end of it all too. With about 40 seconds left on the clock, Paul Pierce was fouled, leaving him on the floor, near the bench, grabbing his shoulder. What happens next for sure, no one knows, but it appears that Quentin Richardson went over to make sure Pierce was ok, but was met by an angry (whats new?) KG telling him to get out of the way. When Richardson tried to explain he meant no harm (but undoubtedly not in the nicest way or with appropriate words), KG threw an elbow at him, starting a whole round of fights. Udonis Haslem and Big Baby Davis went at it, both ending up with technicals, and it seemed as though every player on the court was yelling, whether at someone else or just about the situation in general. In the end, though Richardson got a techinical as well, it was KG who ended up on the losing side of it all, with two technicals and an ejection. Personally, I believe he should be suspended for at least one game as well, but that is still being sorted out, so we will see what happens.
The fourth and final game of the night was the Denver Nuggets taking on the Utah Jazz. Though as I said in my last post, I never found the Jazz to be an exciting team to watch, I am so glad I stuck around for this matchup, as Carmelo Anthony ended up having 42 points, a Playoff career high for him. As the previous game, the first quarter started off tight, with the Nugs and Jazz both playing well but ending up with the Nugs leading by 2, 30-28, at the start of the second. The game was still tight during the second quarter, but took a slightly sour turn when Okur reinjured his foot on a drive. He was taken out of the game and did not return (word on the street is he is getting a MRI today, so we will see if he will be back for game two or not), leaving the already injury plagued Jazz, down another player. However, this did not seem to stress them out too much as halftime, the Jazz were only down by 1, 57-56. I can only assume that with Coach Karl missing (my heart goes out to him and I wish him the best of luck with his cancer recovery) leaders Billups and Melo had a talk with the team during halftime because as the third quarter started, their motivation and drive seemed to have increased ten fold. Though the Nuggets were only leading by 2 at the end of the third, 88-86, Melo became unstoppable, with JR Smith (or JR Swish as I like to call him) doing his part too. At this point many of the Nugs were in foul trouble, so there was heavy rotation going on, but fortunately this did not seem to trouble the team. As the fourth quarter came and went, the Jazz started to become disorganized while the Nuggets only gained power, and in the end, the Nuggets pulled ahead, 126-113.
Overall it was not a good Playoff day for me, as only one of out four of my teams won, however, as it was only game one for each matchup, I still have faith that my picks will find their way to the top. Or at least will play better (cough cough Bulls). On to the next one.
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