NBA: The Playoffs
Most of the teams have played four games already and some clear trends have emerged and one team has already been eliminated, sorry Knicks good bye until next season. The series so far are Celtics onto the next round in so far the lone sweep, Bulls up 3-1 over the Pacers, Lakers and Hornets tied at 2-2, Miami up over Phillie 3-1, Atlanta up over Orlando 3-1, Memphis up 2-1 over the Spurs, Portland and Dallas are all tied up at 2-2, and Oklahoma City up over Denver 3-0. Lets take a look at some these match-ups and see where the teams can improve and potentially force game five, game 6 or just avoid sweeps.
We can say a little something about the Celtics as they did kind of demolish the Knicks, granted they were playing without Amare and Carmelo for a time. But still this was kind of just retribution for me because of what Carmelo did to Denver, no not bitter at all that one of my favorite players was traded just because one player wanted out due to his fame loving wife. Also though the Celtics are an experienced play off team and they do know how to finish the game and get the win, they may play just hard enough to the get into the playoffs and then they turn it up. I see them going pretty far but the East is quite strong so we shall see, some teams are playing really well and I'm slightly shocked that Atlanta is up over Orlando.
So now lets discuss the Orlando vs Atlanta match-up, ok come on really Magic you go to step it up and play better ball, I know that you have lost by 3-7 points in all of your losses but that shows that you need to work on finishing the game. Orlando has the players and the skill to play and to win. The only thing I can say is that they don't want to win, which is very strange because why would that be the case, or is it the Arenas effect, he plays strong for the first few months and then becomes a liability, well then don't play him as much and play other stronger players. I do know that JJ Redick has been out for a while but he is a strong player who does need to work up to playing 100%. Also you have Dwight Howard the defensive player of the year, use him and play him and make him work. I have no idea what is going on but the Hawks are not that strong of a team at least not compared to the Magic. This next game is a must win for Orlando to force it to game 6 and then again to game 7.
So the next match up I want to discuss is the Pacers vs Bulls match up because this has been heartbreaking to watch for me. The Pacers have always come out strong and taken leads in all four games to lose in the fourth quarter in three of them. They have the skill and the players to beat the Bulls, finally this last game they won and pushed it to Game 5, I hope that they now can see how they need to finish the game so that they can force it to Game 6 and maybe Game 7. They have been playing up to the level of the Bulls and that is amazing, now Hansbrough just needs to realize how to find the shots that he used to be able to find against NBA size defense, I know he has it in him to do so and he is a key to them winning, he needs to have a good game. Danny Granger has been amazing as well in this series. Now hopefully for the Pacers, Rose will be out for Game 5 due to an injury he sustained in the last game so that may help them out a little bit.
The last match up I'm going to discuss in this post is Denver vs Oklahoma City because I do like Denver and this is also really sad to see that they are on the brink of being eliminated when they are so amazing and have some great players. I really don't want to see them being swept but they do need to step it up, I understand that they are pretty much a brand new team after a late season trade that completely changed the look of their team. I know they can do it, they have an amazing point guard in Ty Lawson, a great shooter in Gallinari and amazing 6th man in Andersen. The Nuggets have all of the pieces to win without Carmelo but they just need to use them better. I see Denver winning the next game if they want to and I really hope they do.
I hope you all enjoyed this post and keep reading my love affair with sports.
We can say a little something about the Celtics as they did kind of demolish the Knicks, granted they were playing without Amare and Carmelo for a time. But still this was kind of just retribution for me because of what Carmelo did to Denver, no not bitter at all that one of my favorite players was traded just because one player wanted out due to his fame loving wife. Also though the Celtics are an experienced play off team and they do know how to finish the game and get the win, they may play just hard enough to the get into the playoffs and then they turn it up. I see them going pretty far but the East is quite strong so we shall see, some teams are playing really well and I'm slightly shocked that Atlanta is up over Orlando.
So now lets discuss the Orlando vs Atlanta match-up, ok come on really Magic you go to step it up and play better ball, I know that you have lost by 3-7 points in all of your losses but that shows that you need to work on finishing the game. Orlando has the players and the skill to play and to win. The only thing I can say is that they don't want to win, which is very strange because why would that be the case, or is it the Arenas effect, he plays strong for the first few months and then becomes a liability, well then don't play him as much and play other stronger players. I do know that JJ Redick has been out for a while but he is a strong player who does need to work up to playing 100%. Also you have Dwight Howard the defensive player of the year, use him and play him and make him work. I have no idea what is going on but the Hawks are not that strong of a team at least not compared to the Magic. This next game is a must win for Orlando to force it to game 6 and then again to game 7.
So the next match up I want to discuss is the Pacers vs Bulls match up because this has been heartbreaking to watch for me. The Pacers have always come out strong and taken leads in all four games to lose in the fourth quarter in three of them. They have the skill and the players to beat the Bulls, finally this last game they won and pushed it to Game 5, I hope that they now can see how they need to finish the game so that they can force it to Game 6 and maybe Game 7. They have been playing up to the level of the Bulls and that is amazing, now Hansbrough just needs to realize how to find the shots that he used to be able to find against NBA size defense, I know he has it in him to do so and he is a key to them winning, he needs to have a good game. Danny Granger has been amazing as well in this series. Now hopefully for the Pacers, Rose will be out for Game 5 due to an injury he sustained in the last game so that may help them out a little bit.
The last match up I'm going to discuss in this post is Denver vs Oklahoma City because I do like Denver and this is also really sad to see that they are on the brink of being eliminated when they are so amazing and have some great players. I really don't want to see them being swept but they do need to step it up, I understand that they are pretty much a brand new team after a late season trade that completely changed the look of their team. I know they can do it, they have an amazing point guard in Ty Lawson, a great shooter in Gallinari and amazing 6th man in Andersen. The Nuggets have all of the pieces to win without Carmelo but they just need to use them better. I see Denver winning the next game if they want to and I really hope they do.
I hope you all enjoyed this post and keep reading my love affair with sports.
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