Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics beat (8) Atlanta Hawks, 4-3
If the Celtics can’t win on the road in Atlanta how are they going to win on the road against teams that aren’t Atlanta? That’s fine if they don’t lose games at home but you figure they’ll probably drop one at some point. What’s more troubling is that it really wasn’t that flukish. The Hawks were able to use quickness and athleticism to just abuse the Celtics from the free throw line. If they could do anything on defense, protect the ball, and stay close on the glass the Hawks would be there because of that advantage from the stripe. While the Celtics clearly have some issues to address if they want to hang a banner, the Hawks have a nice little future ahead of themselves. Johnson and Smith are real good, Bibby maybe could be good even if I think he dominated the ball more than he should at times when he has guys like Johnson and Smith on his team, and Horford has a chance to be really, really special. The Hawks are not all that far away from being pretty good and I’d be excited to be a fan.
(2) Detroit Pistons beat (7) Philadelphia 76ers 4-2
In Game 6 the Pistons showed that the 76ers really had no business winning two games this series. That lack of consistency won’t fly in any subsequent round. I really don’t get how the 76ers made the playoffs this year and you can save your “They’re in the Eastern Conference” jokes because this roster doesn’t look like much even in the East. I mean, Miller is a nice if old point guard, Iguodala would make a real good third option on some team, Dalembert is nice defensively but not reliable to do much of anything on offense, and they have some young guys led by Young that could be solid contributors but still appear to be role players. I feel like they might have been better off sucking for another year or two and trying to get some better help via the draft than to make the playoffs this year.
(3) Orlando Magic beat (6) Toronto Raptors 4-1
Going into the playoffs this was maybe my most highly anticipate series, which is funny considering most of these games were on NBA TV or whatever that channel is. Both of these teams look like they’re not only pretty good now but they figure to be pretty good for a while (although you might be able to make the argument with the Raptors that I made with Philadelphia that they’d be better off collecting a lottery pick before really making a run but I think the Raptors’ talent is substantially better than the talent in Philadelphia). Anyway, the Magic seem to be a forgotten team but they looked pretty good against Toronto and I would not be remotely surprised to see them knock off Detroit. Howard is a beast, Turkoglu has had a terrific year, Lewis is an effective shooter even if overpaid, and I like Nelson far more than is warranted still because of how much I loved his career at St. Joseph’s.
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers beat (5) Washington Wizards 4-2
It turns that that L. James character is not terrible at basketball. It’s tough to expect the Wizards to do much without a healthy Arenas and taking this series to six was good enough (even if they only won Game 5 because the Wizards completely gave it away). God bless DeShawn Stevenson though, because nothing makes a series more fun than to have some journeyman player calling the best player in the sport overrated. It’s a shame that Cleveland still only has one player on their team because it will be awfully difficult for that one player to beat the three players that Boston has.
Western Conference
(1) Los Angeles Lakers beat (8) Denver Nuggets 4-0
I couldn’t be more disappointed that the Nuggets beat out the Warriors for that final playoff spot. I don’t watch a ton of NBA basketball but I was surprised to see just how bad Melo is. He was pretty brutal. Naturally I refuse to say anything positive about the Lakers.
(2) New Orleans Hornets beat (7) Dallas Mavericks 4-1
It’s been said to the point that it would be really obnoxious if it wasn’t so true but Chris Paul is really good at playing basketball. I mean, he has David West on his team, who is really good, and what else? Nothing really. Like, without Paul I don’t think this team is a playoff team in the East. Instead I wouldn’t want to bet against them even if I’m not completely convinced they can match up against Duncan. The Mavericks, by the way, might be done. Kidd looks cooked so they’re basically trying to get by with Dirk and Howard and while they’re good it’s not enough in the West.
(3) San Antonio Spurs beat (6) Phoenix Suns 4-1
Is there a team in basketball less fun to watch than the Spurs? I mean, before I used to just get annoyed by the fact that they’re good and pretty boring. Now I spend the whole time watching them jump on the ground flopping everywhere and whining when things don’t go his way. Next time Duncan opens his eyes that wide someone should pull them out of their sockets. And that doesn’t even begin to go into their obnoxious use of the Hack a Shaq philosophy (which was even used when the Spurs defense was completely shutting down the Suns and as a Suns fan I would have actually been happy to have Shaq on the line and have a shot at maybe getting at least one point). Anyway, speaking of the Mavs maybe being done, the Suns may be done too. Nash just killed them more than I can ever remember Nash killing his own team and Shaq is just a shell of his former self. It’s the potential demise of the Suns and Mavs that should give Western Conference teams like Portland hope for next year.
(4) Utah Jazz beat (5) Houston Rockets 4-2
I was feeling a bit bad for TMac until he started up with the whining about everything being his fault. He’s right; it isn’t all his fault. Again, I don’t know much about the NBA but this seems like a flawed roster especially with Yao out. Beyond McGrady where are points going to come from? Rafer Alston? Luis Scola? Those are pretty scary answers and it makes it pretty remarkable that the Rockets have even done what they have done. For Utah, I would feel all right about their chances against the Lakers but I want to know how a game like Game 5 happened. Do championship caliber teams have games that bad? That’s a real question because I don’t know the answer to it but that was pretty atrocious.
