So there are several topics to discuss after one week of the 2nd round of the 2008 NBA playoffs. For one, the commercial with the split screen from players of the opposing teams reading the same teleprompter has already lost its luster. The only cool one remaining is the one with Baron Davis and Adam Sandler promoting the new Adam Sandler movie "Zohan."
But the main focal point of today is, of the eight teams remaining in the playoffs, none of them are a runaway leader. Before the playoffs started most "experts" would have predicted a NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and the Celtics (because it takes a genius expert to pick the No. 1 seed in both the East and the West).
All teams remaining have weaknesses and they are as follows --
Boston: Can't seem to win a road game. The Atlanta freakin' Hawks tooks this team to seven games in Round 1 because they couldn't take care of business on the road. Bad coaching and "non-clutch" players could spell doom for this team in these playoffs. Lucky for them, they hold home court advantage all they way to the Finals.
Cleveland: This team has the advantage of having the "best player on the floor" until the NBA Finals, but Lebron is having a so-so Round 2. The rest of the team is average, and the coach is below average. The only thing he's done right is center the entire offense around Lebron, which Paul Silas couldn't figure out, which is why Chuckles is no longer coaching in the NBA.
Detroit: The best all-around starting 5 in playoffs with a decent bench, but an injury to former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, and crappy coaching with Flip Saunders could see this team lose in the Eastern Conference Finals once again.
Orlando: A great coach with Stan "Sonic the Hedgehog" Van Gundy has taken this team really far, but without a premier point guard or interior offensive game, and some bad breaks in Round 2 have this team on the latter edge of the saying "live by the 3, die by the 3."
New Orleans: They did everybody a favor by getting the lil' general "Avery Johnson" fired (even though the guy won 70% of his games), but their confidence was shaken over the weekend. Inexperience and youth may derail this team that is one veteran player away from going to the finals.
San Antonio: The All-Ugly team doesn't represent the ugly mugs, but the ugly style of play as well. But they do have a great coach, the best post-player in the league. Age is a factor, but nobody seems to have told the Spurs that. I can't believe Bruce Bowen got the nod over Shane Battier for the All-Defensive First Team. I guess grabbing, shoving and tripping are now legal in the NBA rulebook, unless you do that to Duncan, Manu, Tony Parker and the soccer-playing defending champions.
L.A. Lakers: Everyone has already crowned them the champs out of the West, except this team hasn't gotten past the first-round since Shaq left, and they are terribly banged up right now. Kobe just hurt his back. Andrew Bynum, Chris Mihm, and Trevor Ariza are out. And, Utah has shown that their bench really isn't all that. Odom AND Gasol have to show up every night, or they are doomed. I think Derek Fisher had more to do to the turnaround of this team more than Kobe's MVP season, and I don't even like Fisher.
Utah Jazz: This team could get to the NBA finals, but as a lifelong Jazz fan, I cannot expect it. I suspect the refs will help the Lakers advance to the next round. Man I hope the Hornets take care of the Spurs. But I feel that with our lineup (from 1-9), the Jazz have the best top-to-bottom rotation in the league, and luckily we have a go-to-player in Deron Williams, something the Jazz never had with Stockton and Malone.
I'll say it here instead of committing and entire blog entry to it. Sloan isn't the greatest coach ever. I know he usually gets the most out of his players. I know that he's been in Utah for 20 years and Miller will never get rid of him, but the guy has never beaten a higher seed, ever. We needed a No. 1 seed to get to the Finals with Stockton and Malone. We have lost our share of playoff series to teams of lower seeds (namely Houston in 1996 and Dallas in 2001), but never have the Jazz won a series that they weren't supposed to win. We've always been competitive, which is why he has kept his job, but we've never sealed the deal. Unless Deron pulls off a miracle, I don't see it happening this year or any year until we have the best record in the league (which could easily happen next year with the current lineup we have)
Ex-Suns Head Coach Mike D'Antoni would have been a much better fit in Utah than in New York, but I guess the Jazz wouldn't rebound the way they do if he were coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment