Ok, I know I've done a poor job of keeping up with the 2010 Playoffs, but to be real, school and life have been getting the best of me lately. And seeing as I have finals in the beginning of next week, I probably won't be back for good (as in, blogging on a constant basis) till about Thursday. However, since some big cuts have been made since the last time I posted, I had to step in for a second.
The Playoffs started out with eight teams from the East, and eight teams from the West. The Cleveland Cavs, the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Charlotte Bobcats and the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers, the Dallas Mavs, the Phoenix Suns, the Denver Nuggets, the Utah Jazz, the Portland Trailblazers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. For the most part, the teams that advanced made sense, but not in every case.
The Cleveland Cavs beat out the Chicago Bulls 4-1, which hurt, but was not unexpected. The Bulls barely made the Playoffs as it was, and with Lebron and his sidekicks hungry as ever, the Bulls stood little to no chance. In my opinion, Bulls fans should just be happy they weren't swept 4-0. They played hard and gave it their all, and thats what matters.
The Charlotte Bobcats weren't so lucky on the other hand, as the Orlando Magic took them 4-0. But again, they too have come a long way, and for the most part tried as hard as the could to keep up with the Magic, so not a whole lot of disappointment should come out of this series either. The Magic are a deep, perhaps the deepest, team, and especially at a time like the Playoffs, are going to be hard to tackle.
As for the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, they are still battling it out, which at least to me, is quite a surprise. Not one that I am angry about though (in fact, I am wearing a "fear the deer" tank top as I type this) but generally speaking I think most people expected a sweep out of this series as well. I go back and forth on my opinion of who will take it overall, as in one game the Hawks seem unstoppable, and the next the Bucks seem like born-again players, but it has for sure been a fun one to watch, and I'm very curious to see what the final outcome will be.
Sadly the Boston Celtics took out the Miami Heat 4-1, mimicking the Cavs/Bulls series, and beyond that, there is not much else to say. I think the Heat are a much better team than they are given credit for, but I also think they themselves don't have the confidence they should, greatly affecting their game. Clearly, as I have said time and time again, I am bias against the Celtics, but I really do think this series should have been a closer one, especially with Dwyane Wade trying to save his team before the summer of free agency begins. Whats done is done though, and I have no doubt that the Celtics will be out of the Playoffs very soon.
Moving onto the west, the LA Lakers took the OKC Thunder 4-2, which to me, is also pretty surprising, as I gave the Thunder little to no credit. However, Kevin Durant (along with Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook) refused to go down without a fight, and extended the series to six games before they were eliminated. Although I know he already is, KD should be very proud of himself for making it this far, and I truly believe within the next two years, he is going to blow-up beyond anyone's expectations.
Perhaps the most surprising series of all was the Dallas Mavs taking on the San Antonio Spurs, and getting knocked out 4-2. I for one am glad this happened, as I enjoy watching the Spurs a lot more than the Mavs, and thought the Mavs were getting a little too cocky at the end of the season, but I do feel Dallas' pain. A two seed getting schooled by a six seed is never a good thing.
The Phoenix Suns also won 4-2 over the Portland Trailblazers, but for a while there I wasn't sure that the Suns would advance. The Blazers played a lot better than I expected, especially for a team plagued with injuries, but in the end the series came out as most predicted, Nashty leading his team to victory.
The Denver Nuggets, and this is the series that pains me the most, fell short to the Utah Jazz, and following the pattern, also only won two games. I will not dwell on their shortcomings, as to be honest I'm still fairy stunned, but I will say that had George Karl not fell ill (I continue to wish him the best, day by day, and pray he makes a full recovery), this would be a totally different story. You can say I'm looking for excuses, or that I'm trying to comfort myself, but that is not the case. The Nugs are talented beyond words, work their butts off, and wanted to prove themselves perhaps more than any other team in the league. However, they got hit with a horrible situation, both in terms of Coach Karl being ill at all, as well as the timing behind it, and were simply unable to work past it. Its sad, and demoralizing, but I hope the Nugs don't give up. They are fully capable of getting the ring. And will. It just won't come as easily as it could.
Though the first round is not fully done with, as the Hawks and Bucks are still battling it out, most of the second round teams have been determined, and so, this is where it all stands. To the teams knocked out, keep your head high, and be proud of everything you have already accomplished, and to those advancing, good luck. Its about to get interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment