Last night the Pistons put the Toddler Bulls out of their misery in what was awkwardly the only the game of the night. I hate when double-headers go away. I just felt so empty afterwards. Kudos to Detroit for letting the Bulls win two so I could look smart with my “Pistons in 6” prediction. I can’t believe that people actually let the Pistons dupe them into thinking this was a series again. People, the Pistons have been to the Eastern Conference Finals the last 5 years…they know what they are doing. And this is the second time the Pistons franchise has pulled this off…starting in 86-87 and ending in 90-91 they appeared in 5 straight conference finals. That team went to the Finals three of those times and got two titles out of the deal. It is strange but the two most consistent teams in the NBA are about to be in the Finals. They are the two teams that have been consistently dangerous going back to when I was in high school. Kudos to them, but I wonder if their fan bases are getting a little spoiled. Oh well…
Four days away from the Lottery….mock draft lotteries from myself and Couper coming soon. Why did I have a nightmare that the Blazers got the #1 pick and then picked Yi the big Chinese guy because Chad Ford said so.
The Sports Guy dared someone to come up with the Top 10 Moments from the 2007 Eastern Conference Playoffs…here goes nothing..
- LeBron’s remarkable fall from grace. He has gone from the ‘next Magic’ to a guy who cruised through the regular season and now a guy who cruises through playoff games. As of this second I put him behind Wade, Melo and Bosh in that draft. Yeah I said it. He has it on cruise control far too much for one of the all-time greats and he has yet to show any sort of clutchness about him. This is the same guy who passed the ball to Eric Snow in a clutch situation. You just don’t do that. MJ has passed to Paxson, BJ Armstrong and Steve Kerr but a) they were deadly shooters and b) they knew it was coming and knew if they missed it he would murder them the next day. LeBron tried to “act” like a good teammate by getting in Mikki Moore’s grill after the “flagrant foul” but it was soft.
- Vince Carter going from the elite to Mitch Richmond status in these playoffs. VC played his ass off down the stretch to carry the Nets into the playoffs and to get to Toronto. He was getting triple-doubles, attacking the baskets, showing glimpses of how great he can be when he wants to be. All of a sudden the nation was believing; oh shit Vince is on a mission. And then he laid an egg in Game 1. Finally in Game 3 of that series he was an assasin attacking the basket…but then he stopped. He got banged up and hurt as usual and started settling for jumpers. To me his career officially was downgraded when Eric Snow caused a turnover at the end of the game. I mean VC could have easily attacked the basket but he turns it over? He can’t score on Eric Snow??
- The phenomenal play of Jason Kidd…he has been a pleasure to watch. I wrote that he was going to look old compared to Calderon and TJ Ford. I have never felt as dumb as after I said that. The man is averaging a triple-double. He is the only reason that the Nets are still in this series and are still a threat. The man is averaging a damn triple-double in the playoffs. What more do I have to say? He has made some brutal games semi-watchable.
- The return of Canada to playoff basketball. They had some raucous crowds and a young team that excelled at sharing the ball. Unfortunately their inexperience showed and their superstar struggled in his first playoffs. That being said they were one stop away from forcing a Game 7. The crowds were loud and on their feet and it was good to see a crowd who truely seemed to appreciate being back in the playoffs. Also they wanted to kill VC.
- The Baby Bulls growing up…a little bit. Sure they had no low post scoring, an overpaid center, PJ Brown and no real bench…but they made the first step. They had the perfect matchup against an aging, sluggish and unmotivated Miami team. I hesitate to say they “pushed” the Pistons but it took them six games so oh well. They got out of the first round and this will be a big summer for them. They have to make some moves, if they come back with the same team they are destined to fall in the first round. But the team from the Windy City got out of the first round and finally made a little noise for the first time since MJ left.
- The exact moment you knew D-Wade wasn’t right and the Heat were doomed. Was it the great move that should have been finished with the left hand but was attempted with right? Or how about when he got ripped by Luol Deng and then Deng scored an And 1 on him down on the other end.
- The stupidity of Mike Brown…the guy refused to double team Washington’s only scorer (Antawn Jamison) and then refused to give his guys a sense of urgency in Game 5. Ya know because his team is really experienced and knows the importance of closing out a team at home and how the closeout game is the most difficult. Oh wait they don’t know that. He must have known that is team is really good at giving effort all the time and would never think to themselves that they are up 3-1 and it will be easy to win at home. Oh wait they do phone it in and set themselves up for letdowns. Good coaching job Mike good to see you have a pulse. By the way, I love when the camera cuts to him and he’s making his faces…you know the faces like ‘Damn…I have no clue what the fuck I’m doing and I look like Al Roker.’
- Color-coordinated shirts falling by the wayside…the White-Outs died early. Orlando tried to bust out all blue….didn’t help or work. I think Toronto did it once which was weird because New Jersey’s uniforms were the same color as the shirts. Speaking of crowds, another reason why this Nets/Cleveland series has been a chore to watch is because their crowds are silent. I mean holy crap the building in Jersey wasn’t even full the other night. What the hell Jay-Z?
Oh my god I give up. Seriously.