After watching day one of the NBA playoffs and being called on to observe and report, I share my humble ramblings with the world. And this should just wet your whistle for what is to come in these 2009 NBA Playoffs. It is where amazing … cough, cough, cough.
Chicago v. Boston
The Bulls are back! Well, at least they are for a day thanks to the amazing play of their rookie sensation, Derrick Rose. He singlehandedly made everyone take notice of the Bulls for the first time since the mirage called the “Baby Bulls”.
WithKG out, the Bulls have a chance. Granted it’s the same chance asthe sober band nerd has with the drunken cheerleader at the frat party:still highly unlikely, but the drunker she is the better he looks.
Other observations about the game:
#1 – Rajon Rondo makes 99 percent of players in the NBA look like they are carrying a refrigerator as they try and stay with him down the court, not so with Rose. Chris Paul is the fastest player with the ball in the NBA and I can say Rose is a close second with his vapor trail. He made Rondo look like the fat kid trying to run the mile in gym class, and that is saying something.
Detroit v. Cleveland
The only hope Detroit has to making it to a seventh-straight Eastern Conference Finals … wait, the only hope of making it out of the first round is if King James pulls a Dave Chapell and heads to Africa in the middle of the night. If they somehow make it past Cleveland they would need another miracle to make it through round two.
Other observations about the game:
#2 – When I was a young boy we had a dauschaun and I would take a sock and spend hours teasing it. I would put the sock close enough to the dog’s mouth and when it would lunge to bite the sock, I would yank it away just in the nick of time. I was always in control and a step in front of the ignorant K-9. Evidently, Cleveland is just toying with the Pistons also because they were always in control and made Detroit look like wiener … dogs.
#3 – The major difference between Cleveland and Detroit (other than heart!) was evident in the last 2-seconds in the first half. The boys from Detroit relaxed as LeBron pushed the ball down the sideline and hit the half court shot at the buzzer. Yep. Detroit quit early and Cleveland’s star, wait … the NBA’s greatest star and MVP, never quit or even took a break. Cleveland = three pointer, Detroit = embarrassing.
#4 – Coach Curry should sit down with Joe Dumars and get permission to deactivate Rasheed Wallace and take control of the team. New Team Rule: Anyone not found playing hard, they sit. If they do it more than once, they are done! Eradicate the cancer now so it doesn’t harm your young upcoming players or your rookie coach.
#5 – Cleveland is good. Really good.
Dallas v. San Antonio
Awful. These. Teams. Are. Awful. The Spurs minus Manu look terrible, and yet the Mavericks with the complete compliment of their team look just as bad.
Other observations about the game:
#6 – If you are going to miss any series, miss this one.
Houston v. Portland
It was a blowout, and Houston looked all-world. The first round curse is surely over, as the Rockets will have no problem putting the young pups of Portland to bed early. Get out the brooms.
But I can hear crazy Lee Corso giving out a, “Not so fast!” Let me just say that it couldn’t have gone better for the Portland Trailblazers during that first game, and worse for the Houston Rockets. Houston, after the 27-point drubbing of the Blazers, will relax. It is only natural. The young Blazers will hear everyone say they don’t deserve to be there and that they have no chance to advance. This will loosen the young, naïve players on the Portland roster, who have the most comeback wins in the NBA. They will play loose and with nothing to lose making them very, very dangerous.
Other observations about the game:
#7 – Great matchups are found throughout this series, but none better than when Dikembe Mutombo squares off against Greg Oden. We have the oldest player in the NBA, Mutombo, against the oldest looking player in the NBA (and maybe in the world), Oden.
#8 – Portland cannot allow Yao to just turn and shoot or just spot up and shoot. They need to make him move his size-18 feet. Pick and rolls. Double teams. Or the old having someone bend over behind him as someone else pushes him in the front maneuver.
#9 – Note to Brando Roy: Use Protection. Artest is all over you.
#10 – Is Scola the most annoying player in the NBA? I think so.
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With all that said, I still believe the best series in the first round could be Houston/Portland, although New Orleans/Denver might have something to say about it. Just think, in four more months the NBA will be crowning a new champion … yes, I know what that means. Sorry Celtic fans.
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J.David has never won an award for his writing, but he is a former collegiate athlete for a small college where everyone makes the team. Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying the archaic form called, Print Journalism. J.David points to the Bad Boys of the Pistons’ Dynasty as the birth of his love for NBA basketball, and the Bad Boys of the Pistons’ Dynasty as the death of genuine basketball.
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[...] the Detroit Pistons (we will save that until they are officially ousted…so next week). 2) J.David gave an excellent recap on many of the series (but not all) and no one is as eloquent as he. 3) Only two series deserve [...]
[...] the Detroit Pistons (we will save that until they are officially ousted…so next week). 2) J.David gave an excellent recap on many of the series (but not all) and no one is as eloquent as he. 3) Only two series deserve [...]