The Wonderful Time of the Year: The Conference Semifinals
Recap
That was basically April Madness. That was fun. The Barnburner Alert series delivered as Young Dame staked his claim with his series-ending buzzer beater. Houston is who I though they were. They were playing their equal and Portland just make one more play than they did. Indiana...I do not know what to say. They are lucky Atlanta just sucks. I knew Dallas would provide some competition for San Antonio as they are a very solid veteran team, but they lack that star two-way player. I am still shaking my head as the little Lowry decided to take on 3 Brooklynites all a foot taller than him rather than passing the ball. The two mild surprises were the Clippers taking a long time with Golden State since they did not have to contend with Bogut who could at least provide some resistance against The Lob Brothers. The other mild surprise was OKC actually being taken to the limit and needing a Z-Bo quasi-punch to make them comfortable. Then there is that team in D.C. What the hell? We all knew a starting five of Wall, Beal, Ariza, Gortat, and Nene was legit. However, they were not impressive for all or most of the season. It is one thing to beat the Bulls, but they ran through them like nothing and probably should have swept them.
Donald Sterling is a very old rich [Jewish] guy that came up in a culture that subscribed to blacks being inferior. It is unfortunate he lacked the character to evolve from that nonsensical thought. He has been this way for a while and he made the mistake of letting his team get good which shed light on him. Blah, blah, blah. All I will say is that life is gray. I hope we all really think about all the issues in this situation rather than throwing the racist label out and patting ourselves on the back while we anxiously await Tha Carter V (not me though, I just not a Wayne fan...I will be waiting for The Roots' to drop later this month. But you get my point).
Western Conference
(1) Saint Anthony Spurs vs. (5) Portlandia Trail Blazers
To steal a little thunder from Adrien Broner, the Blazers are a problem. They have almost everything covered. They have a point guard, a couple wing defenders in Batum and Matthews, and a formidable front court with Aldridge and Lopez. They do not have a lot of depth, but benches tend to shorten during the playoffs anyway. Parker has apparently found his footing and he is now looking like the MVP candidate he was a year ago. This will be very interesting as the Spurs struggle with athletic teams that are long. They split 4 games during the season. The Blazers shoot a lot of jumpers, but it worked against a team that shoots a lot of jumpers themselves. This will probably be another ridiculously good series and go the distance; a battle between raw power and skill versus savvy and skill. The Spurs will win yet another close one in seven games.
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (3) Lob City Clippers
The West keeps on delivering. This should be another epic series. Griffin and Jordan will not have as much free range in the paint as OKC has four players in Perkins, Ibaka, Collison, and the agitator Adams to occupy some significant space in the paint. The Clippers have more players that can get buckets on a consistent basis and by far and away are deeper. However, OKC can defend more consistently. What the Clippers are going through will not help them too much once actual games are played, which tends to be overblown. They needed a late run to finish a team lacking a true center. They have a quick turnaround and have to travel to OKC for game one while OKC has been at home for several days, but it should not make that much of a difference. I will go Thunder in 7 essentially because they will have game seven at home.
Eastern Conference
(1) Naptown Pacers vs. (5) Washington, District of Columbia Wizards
Why should I bother with a prediction? Both of these teams have totally shattered expectations and forced us all to predict randomness. Indiana has the equipment to neutralize the Wizards' front court, assuming Hibbert is at least a little competent. Wall will be the best guard in the series. Will Indy muster the synergy to win another four games? It is sad that they get to be that way and still advance because the East is a joke. Are the Wizards a joke too? This is stupid. I am not sure if I will watch this series. In fact, this will be my I-can-do-something-productive-or-spend-quality-time-with-my-girlfriend series. Naptown in six, for the sake of the integrity of this entry.
(2) El Heat de Miami vs. (6) Brooklyn
***Brooklyn's team name was omitted for valid reasons*** Brooklyn would be in much better shape for this series if Brook Lopez were healthy. That would force Miami to play line ups they prefer not to play or get lit up on the low block. Brooklyn owned Miami during the season; but with Miami, we can never tell if something is a real problem or they happened to have an off or uninterested night mixed in with a Wade injury or mandated "rest." When Miami turns it on, I still think they are the best in the East because they can play a brand of defense that make teams uncomfortable. They will be rested and motivated to convince Brooklyn that they should be scared of them. Miami in five.
That was basically April Madness. That was fun. The Barnburner Alert series delivered as Young Dame staked his claim with his series-ending buzzer beater. Houston is who I though they were. They were playing their equal and Portland just make one more play than they did. Indiana...I do not know what to say. They are lucky Atlanta just sucks. I knew Dallas would provide some competition for San Antonio as they are a very solid veteran team, but they lack that star two-way player. I am still shaking my head as the little Lowry decided to take on 3 Brooklynites all a foot taller than him rather than passing the ball. The two mild surprises were the Clippers taking a long time with Golden State since they did not have to contend with Bogut who could at least provide some resistance against The Lob Brothers. The other mild surprise was OKC actually being taken to the limit and needing a Z-Bo quasi-punch to make them comfortable. Then there is that team in D.C. What the hell? We all knew a starting five of Wall, Beal, Ariza, Gortat, and Nene was legit. However, they were not impressive for all or most of the season. It is one thing to beat the Bulls, but they ran through them like nothing and probably should have swept them.
Western Conference
(1) Saint Anthony Spurs vs. (5) Portlandia Trail Blazers
To steal a little thunder from Adrien Broner, the Blazers are a problem. They have almost everything covered. They have a point guard, a couple wing defenders in Batum and Matthews, and a formidable front court with Aldridge and Lopez. They do not have a lot of depth, but benches tend to shorten during the playoffs anyway. Parker has apparently found his footing and he is now looking like the MVP candidate he was a year ago. This will be very interesting as the Spurs struggle with athletic teams that are long. They split 4 games during the season. The Blazers shoot a lot of jumpers, but it worked against a team that shoots a lot of jumpers themselves. This will probably be another ridiculously good series and go the distance; a battle between raw power and skill versus savvy and skill. The Spurs will win yet another close one in seven games.
(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (3) Lob City Clippers
The West keeps on delivering. This should be another epic series. Griffin and Jordan will not have as much free range in the paint as OKC has four players in Perkins, Ibaka, Collison, and the agitator Adams to occupy some significant space in the paint. The Clippers have more players that can get buckets on a consistent basis and by far and away are deeper. However, OKC can defend more consistently. What the Clippers are going through will not help them too much once actual games are played, which tends to be overblown. They needed a late run to finish a team lacking a true center. They have a quick turnaround and have to travel to OKC for game one while OKC has been at home for several days, but it should not make that much of a difference. I will go Thunder in 7 essentially because they will have game seven at home.Eastern Conference
(1) Naptown Pacers vs. (5) Washington, District of Columbia Wizards
Why should I bother with a prediction? Both of these teams have totally shattered expectations and forced us all to predict randomness. Indiana has the equipment to neutralize the Wizards' front court, assuming Hibbert is at least a little competent. Wall will be the best guard in the series. Will Indy muster the synergy to win another four games? It is sad that they get to be that way and still advance because the East is a joke. Are the Wizards a joke too? This is stupid. I am not sure if I will watch this series. In fact, this will be my I-can-do-something-productive-or-spend-quality-time-with-my-girlfriend series. Naptown in six, for the sake of the integrity of this entry.
(2) El Heat de Miami vs. (6) Brooklyn
***Brooklyn's team name was omitted for valid reasons*** Brooklyn would be in much better shape for this series if Brook Lopez were healthy. That would force Miami to play line ups they prefer not to play or get lit up on the low block. Brooklyn owned Miami during the season; but with Miami, we can never tell if something is a real problem or they happened to have an off or uninterested night mixed in with a Wade injury or mandated "rest." When Miami turns it on, I still think they are the best in the East because they can play a brand of defense that make teams uncomfortable. They will be rested and motivated to convince Brooklyn that they should be scared of them. Miami in five.
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