NBA Playoffs 2007

The NBA Playoffs has arrived with the following matchups:

Eastern Conference:

Detroit Pistons (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8)
Miami Heat (4) vs. Chicago Bulls (5)

Toronto Raptors (3) vs. New Jersey Nets (6)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs. Washington Wizards (7)

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks (1) vs. Golden State Warriors (8)
Houston Rockets (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5)

San Antonio Spurs (3) vs. Denver Nuggets (6)
Phoenix Suns (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7)

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The above matchups are intriguing; and it would ensure an exciting and unpredictable road to the NBA Finals.

I'm gonna break it down series by series:

EAST


Detroit Pistons (1) vs. Orlando Magic (8):

This should be an easy one for the 2004 champions, the Pistons. It is a contrast of experience --Detroit having been to the finals a couple of times with most of its core group while Orlando with its core group having little playoff experience. As a matter of fact, it is the first playoffs for the young Magic duo of Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard. The only Magic with some finals experience is probably Darko Milicic (who played some garbage time for the Pistons themselves in 2004). It is also somewhat interesting to watch Grant Hill in the playoffs after a long absence. It could be his last with Orlando. Overall, the Pistons are the better team with lots of experience.

I believe the Pistons should be able to sweep the series, 4-0.


Miami Heat (4) vs. Chicago Bulls (5):

This, to me, is the most intriguing and exciting series in the East 1st round. The Heat, of course, are the defending champs. A big reason for this is because of Shaquille O'neal. Don't get me wrong, Dwyane Wade is clearly the best player on their team, but without Shaq, they wouldn' t be able advance far in the playoffs. The key would be the play of Shaq, who quite impressively, has been playing well (and healthy) the past month. But then, if we come to think of it, who in the NBA has been able to handle Shaq? The answer, if you watched the 2004 NBA Finals, is Ben Wallace. He's, of course, now with the Bulls, to strengthen their interior defense. Another factor that's favorable to the Bulls is that D-Wade is still not 100%. Add that to the fact the he has to guard the likes of Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. If you recall, also, when the Heat had their ring ceremony at the start of the regular season, the Bulls demolished the Heat 108-66. Lastly, since the Bulls have a better regular season record, they have homecourt advantage. However, we still can't underestimate the defending champs. They won't give up without a fight.

Nevertheless, I look for an upset: Chicago in a full 7 games.


Toronto Raptors (3) vs. New Jersey Nets (6):

The most surprising team this year is the Toronto Raptors. The last time they were in the postseason was when they were led by Vince Carter, who's now with the opposing team. The Raptors have a good mix of foreign and young players. The Nets, on the other hand, is the more experienced team. The Nets will rely on their big-three: Jason Kidd, Carter, and Richard Jefferson. They will perform, but whether they win or not might depend on the role players like Bostjan Nachbar and Mikki Moore. After all, who's gonna contain Chris Bosh? The series could go either way.

But I think, youth will prevail in this series. Raptors 4, Nets 2.


Cleveland Cavaliers (2) vs. Washington Wizards (7):

This is a rematch of last year's thrilling 1st round series where the Cavs won 4-2 (with 3 games decided by 1 point). It would have been as thrilling had Wizard all-stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler not been injured. Thus, it should be an easy series for King James and company. As long as they stay focused, the Cavs can sweep the series. Otherwise, the Wizards may squeeze out a win at home.

The Cavs should easily win the series 4-1.

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WEST


Dallas Mavericks (1) vs. Golden State Warriors (8):

Since I'm a big Mavs fan, I already was hoping for the past month that they won't face the Warriors in the 1st round. I'd rather have them face the Lakers or the Clippers. The Mavs have the league's best record (67-15), but the Warriors have all the confidence heading into the series. They barely made it to the playoffs and have nothing to lose. The Mavs, on the other hand, have been out of sync the past games, mainly due to the resting of their key players. Rust might be a factor since they haven't played together as a complete team for a while. What I'm worried about is the the Warriors play well against the Mavs. A proof of this is that the Warriors swept the regular season series 3-0, and they had a couple of lopsided victories. A reason for this is because of Don Nelson, the current coach of GS who was the Mavs coach for several years and was responsible of turning the Mavs from being a lottery team to a playoff contender. The Warriors today are similar to the Mavs 3 years ago - very talented, fast, and high-scoring -- but do not play good defense. Still, they could win games, and win big, too. They're a very opportunistic team - once they get on the groove, it's hard to stop them. This has the makings of a major upset. Nevertheless, since I'm a huge Mavs fan, I'd still have to go with them in 7.

Mavericks-4, Warriors-3.


Houston Rockets (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5):

This should be another exciting and thrilling playoffs matchup. And to think, these two teams did not even make it to the playoffs last year. Victory could go either way. To me, the Rockets would win with a healthy T-Mac and Yao. They are the new Kobe and Shaq duo of the 3-peat Lakers a few years back. But then again, the Rockets pair has a history of injuries, and it might just be a factor come the playoffs. The Jazz, on the other hand, is the more complete team with what I feel is the most talented frontcourt in Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko, and the point guard of the future in Deron Williams. If they play as a team, it is also hard for the Rockets to stop them. Thus, it could boil down to coaching - Jerry Sloan vs. Jeff Van Gundy and a few bounces going one way or another.

Jass-4, Rockets-2


San Antonio Spurs (3) vs. Denver Nuggets (6):

This is another exciting matchup: the veteran defensive-minded Spurs versus the fast and high-scoring Nuggets. The Spurs have one of the league's best trios: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. They're playoff-tested and should be dependable once more. The Nuggets have the highest-scoring duo in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. They're very good, but have their own share of struggles. The matchups are exciting: Can Marcus Camby and Nene contain TD? Who's quicker - Parker or Iverson? Can defense specialist Bruce Bowen stop 'Melo? It should be one great show.

Experience would prevail. Spurs 4, Nuggets 2.


Phoenix Suns (2) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7):

Another rematch of last year's first round series, where the Suns edged out the Lakers 4-3. It was disappointing for the Lakers who led the series 3-1. It is a chance for redemption for the Lakers, especially Kobe Bryant, who only had 1 point in the second half in their game 7 defeat. The Lakers had an advantage last year as the Suns' Amare Stoudemire was injured. This time around, the Suns have him back a hundred-percent. It is interesting to note that both Stoudemire and Bryant have changed their jersey numbers: Amare from 32 to 1, Kobe from 8 to 24. Will these be enough to change their fortunes?

Suns 4, Lakers 2.


How's that for just the first round!?

The MVP Debate

One thing's for sure - this year's NBA MVP will be a foreigner with a surname that starts with the letter N.

The MVP has come down to a race between two close friends and former long-haired teammates: Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki.

Interestingly, they were Mavs teammates a couple of years ago and were a spectacular duo. Seeing them run the floor with their floppy blond hairdos, hitting some threes was a delight. They came to the Mavs the same year and transformed them into a consistent playoff team. Though the Mavs were Western contenders (even reaching the West conference finals) for several years, they were not able to 'get over the hump'. It seemed that the Mavs organization gave up on the partnership.

You know the story, Mavs owner Mark Cuban did not want to give Nash the big contract, forcing the latter to sign with the Phoenix Suns, which in turn became the a small-ball, running and gunning team (similar to the old Mavs, but even faster). Nash went on to lead the NBA in assists and won back-to-back league MVPs.

This year, Nash's statistics are even better than his two MVP-seasons. This alone would be enough to award him a third straight MVP.

However, I believe it is Nowitzki, who led the Mavs to the finals last year, who deserves the award this time. His numbers have been impressive. More importantly, he is the best player in the best team (in terms of regular season standing) in the league right now. He has improved his passing and has become more of a team player (a big reason for the improvement of Josh Howard). Also, I believe it is quite difficult for a player to win the award 3 years in a row. I know it's unfair but it's actually true. One has two remember that MVP voting is done by 125 members of the media. A lot of factors come into play. One of those is the fact the likes of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson never won the award three straight years. Do you think Nash is as good as those two? Again, it's really unfair coz if there was no other deserving player this year, Nash wins it hands down. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Nash, his best bud is having an equally tremendous year.

a wicked week for sports

It has been a bad week for sports - nope, I'm not a part of any of it (although I'd like to think I am - in spirit), but as a die-hard sports fanatic, the past week sucked!

NBA FINALS

First and foremost, the team I have been rooting for the past 4 years lost in the NBA Finals. Yup, I'm a big-time Mavs fan! An amazing 2-0 start in the best-of-seven series for the championship ended up with an equally and heartbreaking game six victory on the road by the Miami Heat. Although the Mavs had homecourt advantage, many made them the underdogs. Even 6 out of 10 Dallas journalists predicted a Heat victory (talk about loyalty!). But I was confident the Mavs would win it all, even at the start of the season last November. I predicted the NBA champs (I give out my prediction after each All-Star break) for the past three seasons (2003-Spurs, 2004-Pistons, 2005-Spurs) but that streak failed this year. By the way, I may root for a team, but it doesn't necessarily follow that I predict them to win. This may sound weird but I'm just being realistic. (There are just times when you want a team to win but know that they don't stand a chance) Interestingly, it was only in 2004 wherein the team I rooted for was also the team I predicted to win. It would have been the second time this year. Here's a simple table to illustrate what I mean:

year --- predicted champs --- my team --- eventual champs
2003 -------Spurs---------------- Mavs------- Spurs
2004 -------Pistons --------------Pistons ----- Pistons
2005 -------Spurs --------------- Mavs ------- Spurs
2006 -------Mavs ----------------Mavs ------- Heat

As you can clearly see, the only time I did not root for the Mavs was in 2004. That was the time they had that crazy incompatible lineup (with Walker and Jamison). Then compare the second and fourth columns, as I said, it's only this year that my prediction was incorrect. Blame it on D. Wade.

The Mavs were 2-up in the series and led by 13 points midway through the 4th quarter of game 3. It looked like it would be 3-0 and ready for a sweep, but the Flash just started to "heat" up. No offense to Shaq (who showed glimpses of Superman in the Pistons series - nearly coinciding with the release of the movie "Superman Returns"), Dwyane (that's a "w" before the "y") Wade carried the entire Miami team. Fall 7 times, stand up 8. He is definitely the MVP worthy of MJ comparisons. He was just amazing. Unstoppable. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Wade fan, I just don't like the Heat as a team, mainly because of the old veterans (aka has-beens) who signed for a minimum contract just to have a chance to win a ring.

That come-from-behind Heat victory in game 3 was the turning point of the series. At that time, I already felt the Mavs were in trouble. A disheartening loss like that easily shifted the series' momentum in favor of the veteran Heat squad. And for that, I was correct. The Heat's vast experience (led by Shaq, Payton, and Zo) proved to be the difference.

As for the Mavs, it's not the end of the world. The experience they gained will be valuable as they make another run next year. I'm just a bit worried though because I feel like this WAS their chance. It just got away.

NOTE: That's an old photo of the Mavs. Michael Finley isn't a part of them anymore. Ironically, he's with the team the Mavs defeated in the West Semis - the Spurs.

US OPEN

Next was the U.S. Open Golf Championship. I idolize Tiger Woods (who else?) but unfortunately for him it was his first tournament back after the passing away of his dad, who was a big part of him not only as a father, but a teacher. The world's number 1 golfer just struggled at the extremely tough Winged Foot Course in New York. It was the first time I could recall him missing a cut in a major championship.

Even worse was the fact that sentimental choice Colin Montgomerie (perhaps the best golfer not able to win a major championship) choked at the last hole to ruin his chances (shades of Jean Van De Velde's meltdown at the British Open several years ago). But then again, at least it wasn't Phil Mickelson who won.

WORLD CUP

Third on the list is the still on-going FIFA World Cup at Germany, although this is not totally a disaster. Brazil, without any doubt the favorites to repeat, was unimpressive in their first two games - a 1-0 win over Croatia and a 2-0 win over Australia. The Samba boys didn't show the finesse and flair they are known for, and the intimidating attacking quartet of superstars Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano, and Ronaldo never clicked. They clearly were underperforming, even prompting a Brazilian journalist to call Ronaldo a "wobbling heavyweight".

The good thing was that the Brazilians improved in their 3rd outing against Japan, 4-1, but not after conceding the first goal. Proving everyone wrong, Ronaldo, on his 4th World Cup, showed flashes of his 2002 Golden-boot-winning form as he scored 2 goals, tying the record for most goals in the World Cup with 14. One more goal and he would be the leading goal-scorer in the tournament's history.

In the end, at least the Brazilians are still in, through to the last 16. And I believe we have yet to see the "real" dominant Brazil team. It may not be that wicked after all. Lookout everyone!

and one last shot... The New York Knicks just fired celebrated coach Larry Brown (in the process losing millions). Another episode in the Knicks' never-ending moves. If there's an award for the most unstable team, they'd surely win. And who would replace the former coach of the year? Isiah Thomas, who had stepped down from an executive position. Maybe he's just trying to "pull out a Riley." Get this: the Knicks are nowhere close to the Heat.