NBA Playoff Preview

The regular season has come to an end...finally. Is it just me or does the NBA season seem a little too long? With a lockout looming (I'll send my check to you Mr. Stern), maybe the NBA can make the season shorter and the playoffs back to the format of 5-7-7-7. The first round won't be over until late May. The NBA certainly has had one of the best seasons in over a decade. This year there was a lot of story lines, big trades and less injuries to the main players in the league. The Playoffs seem to continue the trend of story lines as there has potential for several upsets. America has a team to back and I'm not talking the Mavericks. I think we can all agree, if you're not a Heat fan, Go Sixers! I'm looking forward to a great postseason. Who is going to win? Well, if the past serves me the same as my wrestling picks, bet the opposite of what I tell you from here on. I must tell you, not tooting my horn, I did have the Packers in the Super Bowl in my NFL preview. Everyone seems to like one older team and a young squad to make the Finals. Before we get there, we have to dissect how those two teams will make the Finals.

Eastern Conference

Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers

No one can match the stellar play of Derrick Rose. It's a fact. Rose is the MVP of the league. He has asserted himself as the best point guard in the league. The other thing the Bulls have going for them is a lot of size. Luol Deng plays big for a small forward grabbing close to 6 boards a night. Carlos Boozer isn't the best post defender but when you add Joakim Noah behind him, the two are quit the pair. Omer Asik also contributes in small doses off the bench. Indiana is playing well and I like Darren Collison. I don't love him. The Bulls won't let their guard down with Thibodeau. Bulls in a sweep.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic

The real surprise to this match up is Atlanta won 3 out of 4 during the regular season. You figure with Orlando's size and outside shooting, Atlanta wouldn't be able to keep up. In fact, I felt the Hawks were regressing a bit even with such a talented roster. The only real problem I have with the Hawks is Joe Johnsons' contract. That is not a reflection of anything on the court, I just had to say it because it's ridiculous. The key is Howard staying out of foul trouble. If Al Horford and Jason Collins can beat up on Dwight and get a few cheap fouls, it will throw him off his game. Howard can't be getting T'd up and keep his composure. The wild factor is Turkoglu. He has to find his offense in order for the Magic to move on. The Hawks have to run at a slower pace. Josh Smith is a nightmare for Orlando. He averaged a double double against them in the 4 regular season games. Most people are picking Orlando to win in a long series. I'm going the opposite, Hawks win in 6.

Miami Heat vs Philadelphia 76ers.

America's team is set to do the unthinkable. Okay, probably not. The 76ers have played better ball with Doug Collins as the head coach. Doug has gotten the most of Elton "Off" Brand since uh ever. Andre Iguodala is playing in the perfect role now. He's not the main focus and more of contributor. Andre is a great player and would be a fantastic second star on a championship caliber team. The Heat are rolling now after several speed bumps along the season. Lebron is still the best player in the league. Bosh is their true x-factor though and it has to do with his defense. Chris will almost always get his on the offensive end but needs to step up his interior defense in the playoffs for the Heat to have a run to the finals. Luckily, it's just Elton Brand in round 1. Heat move on in 5.

New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

The old time rivalry is renewed in 2011. By next year, the Knicks will be ready for a moment such as this. They haven't been together with Anthony long enough to win this series. It's been 4 years since KG, Allen and Pierce were united in Boston. Even with the stumbles down the stretch, the old veteran team can get this done. I still can't believe they traded Kendrick Perkins away. Boston needs that kind of heart and grit inside. They lack that now with Kristic. The Celtics better pray to the basketball gods that Shaq reverts back to Shaq of 2000. Kazzam, that's not happening. Boston moves on winning the series in 6 games.

Western Conference

San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies

The talking heads every where point out the fact Popovich played the big 3 against the Suns but rested them against the Lakers Tuesday night. How about the tank-a-plooza job the Griz did trying to avoid the Lakers. They might as well have thrown out a high school junior varsity team. Yes, Manu got hurt in the final game of the regular season in a meaningless game. To Pop's credit, he has 4 rings and knows this team inside and out. The injury happened 2 minutes into the game, not 35. I'd rather have Ginobli hurt in that game than say Game 1 of the series against Memphis and miss the rest of the series. The Spurs need a healthy squad to take down the Griz. The major factor is Tim Duncan though. I realize his minutes are down and he averaged the lowest totals of his career. You should know why all his numbers are down. Timmy is now rested and ready for the playoffs. I expect his numbers across the board rise. Rudy Gay is hurt and won't be back until next season. I think Zach Randolph and the Grizz steal a couple of victories. In the end, experience will prevail. Spurs in 6.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets

Since trading Carmelo Anthony, the Denver Nuggets have played better over all team basketball. The Melo-drama is over and the team has flourished. Felton and Gallinari have filled the roles left by Anthony and Billups. The rest of the team seems relieved as does Coach George Karl. The Thunder traded away a quality piece of their young core, Jeff Green. In return, they added the quality of size needed in the playoffs in the aforementioned Kendrick Perkins. Without Anthony, Denver doesn't have the scoring option to match Kevin Durant. How is it possible Durant is underrated? He's the best young player in the league. The focus this year was Blake Griffin and the 8,000 dunks. I hope you don't read that wrong because I love Blake. If I were to start a franchise though, I'd be picking Durant before Griffin. The Thunder are poised for a long run starting with the dismantling of the Nuggets. Thunder take the series in 5 games.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers were another team who didn't sit around and watch all the moves. They made them. Adding Gerald Wallace was a brilliant move since Brandon Roy's knees are an uncertainty. Wallace seems to be getting more comfortable in their offense, averaging 19 points the last 10 games. Meanwhile, for all the crap that spews out of Mark Cuban's mouth, the Mavericks didn't do a whole lot this year. They added Peja "don't ask me to play any defense" Stojakovic and Corey Brewer but not in trades. I do like Brewer and think he's a good player. He needs a long term home and a coach that believes in him. Tyson Chandler's career has been salvaged from the dumpster in Dallas. He stayed relatively healthy and had a good season. Dirk was Dirk doing Dirk things. He's so consistent. The regular season series tied at 2 games. I expect a long hard fought series. The Mavs fail in the first round. Blazers in 6.

Los Angeles Lakers vs New Orleans Hornets

Phil and Kobe should be very happy playing the Hornets. Seriously, if Memphis was completely healthy, they would have been a nightmare. The Hornets don't have the size to contain Pau and Bynum. Kobe and company are primed for the playoffs even if they struggled to finish the season strong. People tend to forget the Lakers won 18 of 19 after the All-Star break. LA should have a very easy time taking down Chris Paul and the Hornets. Paul get the hell out of there as fast as you can. The Hornets are going down. I predict they missed the playoffs next season. The Lakers in a sweep.

To recap the second round will look like this:

Eastern Conference

Bulls vs Hawks, Heat vs. Celtics. I have the Bulls and Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals with Bulls taking it in a 7 game series.

Western Conference

Spurs vs Thunder, Lakers vs Blazers. The Thunder will upset the Spurs (my heart is broken) and the Lakers will take down the Blazers. In the Western Finals, Lakers beat the Thunder in a 7 game series.

NBA Finals

Bulls vs Lakers. I hope Magic and Jordan show up for a few of these games. They can be shown on the big screen laughing at each other. All the while, Jordan is fuming on the inside because Kobe has a chance to match his ring total of 6. I'm taking the Bulls to oust the defending champions. Bulls in 7 and a changing of the guard in the NBA. The future is now for these young kids. The lockout will stall their development which is unfortunate.

J Call

Remember Griffey

I believe it's safe to say America has ADD. I know that sounds harsh. The best way I can describe way I can show you is by looking back at the latest in the sports world. We all saw what happened to Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. A perfect game is hard to come by and we could have saw history with 3 in one year. However that should not have overshadowed one of the biggest and greatest stars of our generation retiring.

Ken Griffey Junior will go down as one of the greatest Center fielders in baseball history. We all look at the negatives to often in life. Ken is the perfect example. Fans continue to ask the what ifs from his career. What if he didn't get hurt in Cincinnati? What if he never left Seattle? The what ifs are irrelevant. Stop talking about the what ifs. The truth is Ken Griffey Jr. should be hoisted high on top of the baseball mountain along with guys like Ruth, Mays and Mantle.

Griffey's career was in the height of the steroid era. His prime should have been during the home run chase with Sosa and McGwire. Ken never failed a steroid test. I would be shocked if his name was on any of those lists who tested positive. The what ifs could be answered had Griffey juiced up. He didn't break all kinds of baseball records. Ken didn't get to 700 home runs. He did win 10 golden gloves. He did have one of the greatest swings in baseball. He passed 600 home runs. He was the kid that made people second guess Willie Mays as the best Center fielder in baseball history. Finally he is gold standard for any center fielder ever to lace up the cleats from now on.

I will always remember Griffey for three things: his swing, love for the game and being one of my brother's favorite players of all time. He emulated his swing when my brother played baseball in high school. One more quick story and we will get to Game 1 of the Finals. My brother wanted the infamous Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie card when he was younger. He had a friend who had that very card. My brother traded an entire Bowman baseball card set for the Junior rookie card. I don't know the values today. I do remember the Bowman set never went up while the Junior card sky rocketed.

The NBA Finals got off to a chippy start. Twenty seconds into the game Ron Artest and Paul Pierce received double technicals. Not deservedly never the less they got them. I guess that is how this series is going to be played. Very tight. I know there have been many debates about legacies, where to rank Kobe and rivalries.

We can all breakdown numbers and talk about rivalries. I get tired of everyone bringing up Kobe and MJ in the same sentence. The debate is simple. Kobe has been the best overall player since Michael took off his shoes for good. You can make arguments for Kobe. However, the biggest thing is MJ was the Finals MVP every year they won the title. Kobe played second fiddle to Shaq for three years. What happened during those years without Shaq? He struggled to get them out of the first round. I also look back a few years ago when LA was up on the Suns 3-1 and lost the series. Jordan never failed to close a team out. Kobe no showed in Game 6 of the 08 Finals. MJ didn't do that either. Kobe is a great player and possible top ten. He will never get to the top two with MJ and Russell.

I won't break down Game 1. The match ups were predictable with Kobe guarding Rondo instead of Ray. I think every fan wants a tough long series. My plan was to have a preview earlier in the week but something came up. The two teams are about even but I think the Lakers have the edge. The luck of the Irish may have finally ended for Boston. Boston makes it back to LA for Game 6 where Kobe gets his fifth ring.

J Call