Houston showed us yesterday why they have to be taken seriously. They are good, they are on a roll and they might have a couple of match-up advantages over the Fakers. One game does not a series make, but the Lakers lost a big one yesterday. I still think they come back and win the series, but they lost some mojo especially if you compare them to their eventual nemesis Cavs. We all know the Lakers are good, but the question is, why are they good? They are good because they have talented big-men who are real big in size and they got Kobe. They do have good shooting, a solid bench etc., but those 2 above are the biggest reason why the Lakers are good.
Houston has an antidote to both. They got Yao, World's biggest basketball player period. And they have Ron Artest and Shane Batiier - 2 guys that can bother, if not stop Kobe. Kobe was sick yesterday and went 14/31 for 32 points, with some of the makes coming late in the game against a soft defense. He is going to be back sooner than later with or without Battier hanging all over him. I don't think he is going to stay down for long. The Lakers will win this thing, but it won't be a walk in the park like it was the previous series against Utah. Even in that series, they just didn't consistently dominate. The next 2 games will tell us whether this game 1 was just a wake-up call for the Lakers or if they are in for a real fist-fight.
Speaking of fist-fights the Boston-Chicago series ended on Sunday with a good, but not a great game 7. The Celtics are now in another struggle as they lost another game 1 - this time to the Orlando Magic. This series might be curtains for the Celtics without KG. We may get to see Dwight against LeBron in the Eastern Finals. Speaking of LeBron, the Cavs walked into the Q and spanked the Hawks today. I am amazed at how mature and solid this team is. No rust, no doubts nothing. Another 34-10 game for the newly crowned MVP and his day was done in 34 minutes. The juggernaut just keeps rolling and with every passing game, they look better than the Lakers.
I am always pulling for the Fakers to lose, but like everybody else, I also want to see a Kobe-LeBron finals. Of course I want the Lakers to lose the finals for sure. Even if they get through the Rockets, seems like the Nuggets would be good and ready for them. They are looking really impressive and are handling the Mavs rather easily. I am sure they will be challenged a lot more on the road, but they are playing with authority at home. The threes are falling, the crowd is hopping and big-shot Billups is always lurking in the background. It's amazing how much this guy has meant to this roster. What was Joe Dumars thinking when he traded him for AI? That one move might have negated all the good things Dumars has done up to this point.
Good times in the NBA. But the only think worse than not having the Suns in the playoffs, is still having Cuban and the Mavs and Joe Johnson and the Hawks around this deep in the playoffs. Of course it's not JJ's fault he is not in Phoenix. It is cheapo Robert Sarver's fault through and through. He has repeatedly refused to pay young talent any money and has even traded away draft picks consistently - guys who would have made next to nothing under David Stern's rookie scale. And then he goes and takes on Shaq's gynormous salary when he is clearly over the hill. Talk about being penny-wise and pound-foolish!
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