Cavs in 6

And that still won't stop me from using a Dwight Howard picture!

Smart money says Cavs in 6, I'll take the smart money. I'm getting a little tired of some people saying the Cavaliers are going to sweep the Magic. I don't see it, they don't have the match-ups. Sweeping the Organization Formerly Known as The Pistons and the Hawks hardly means the same will happen to Orlando.

Cleveland is more disciplined. They have a better defense. They have LeBron James. Orlando has more weapons offensively. They do a great job spreading the floor. They have Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard is the key to this series. If he decides to be great, the Magic can steal this series. The same can't be said for anyone on the Pistons or the Hawks. The problem is Dwight hasn't shown he can be that guy that can take over a series and have a stretch of mind blowing days. I'm talking some 30/20 games that bring memories of a young Shaq. He's the best center in the league right now (Ming is injured to often), but not because he's at that level yet. He's soft of the best by default, the product of an extremely weak group of players that has career power forwards like Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire playing extended minutes at the position. Dwight can elevate his legacy now and regain some of that hype that he had during All Star Weekend. Now the Magic just have to actually get him the ball!

There isn't much to say about Cleveland. They are the best team in the playoffs right now, I can't see anyone stopping them. Both Denver and LA are capable of beating them, but we'll board that train when we get to it. LeBron James is just amazing, and he has his team believing they are good. Mo Williams is doing the exact same thing he did in Milwaukee, except people now care. He seems to be feeling himself a bit too much as well. (Not a Cavs fan. AT ALL.) Courtney Lee is a great defensive match-up for him, I'm looking forward to it. And as much as I'd like to see the Cavs lose, they are just too good. My worst fears might be realized, Cleveland with a major sports championship. Just disgusting. Please end my nightmare Orlando, please...

Once Again Back Is The....Oh Who Cares?

I suck at blogging and getting people to care about what I write, but apparently I'll continue to do it.

First off, what a relief that the Celtics escaped the Bulls. I hate when the teams I'm rooting for get upset. You have to hear about it for a year and see it all on ESPN, it's just annoying. But I assume just avoiding ESPN in general would leave me a lot less annoyed. Anyway, the Bulls put up a great fight and should be able to carry this experience into the next season much like Atlanta. I knew I could count on Ben Gordon to start feeling his own shot a little too much and start becoming a low percentage chucker. Plus you can't rely on John Salmons putting up 30-plus points every game. Ben Gordon hit all those shots and most likely won't get a long term deal with the Bulls because it's Kirk Hinrich has a hard to move contract and it's just easier to give Salmons his minutes. Now some other team is bound to overpay for some streak shooter. Funny how the business works.

Onto the 2nd Round Amigos:

Magic 95, Celtics 90

Tale of two games. The Magic looked good for about the first 32 minutes of this game, absolutely destroying the Celtics. They were up 28 and all of their outside shots were falling. And then someone told the Celtics the game counted, and they quickly mounted a comeback. Orlando's threes stopped falling, Dwight stopped getting the ball, and players such as Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House stepped up and hit big shots. Orlando dodged a couple of bullets when up only four in a Rondo turnover and a Ray Allen three that hit every part of the rim before falling out.

Now I'm well aware that the goal for Orlando was to win one of the first two games on the road, but they went from making a statement to looking extremely vulnerable. The pressure is still on Boston (and Ray Allen) to show up to Game 2 and win, but doubt has definitely been cast in my mind. Before the series I thought Orlando would take this in 6, but I now have some hope that Boston might be able to pull this series out. Orlando still goes away from Dwight Howard, far too often for my taste, to take bad threes. My bias towards everything KG won't let me pick against the Celtics, so give me Boston in 6.

Rockets 100, Lakers 92

When the Rockets first got Ron Artest, it was theorized that they could now compete with the Lakers because of their improved defense added to the tandem of T-Mac and Yao Ming. Subtract T-Mac, add in a motivated Ron Artest, and you have that same team that some experts (Scoop Jackson, mostly) predicted to win the championship. Now while I don't think the Rockets are capable, they can obviously bother the Lakers. No other team can throw a defender like Shane Battier to follow Kobe around, and switch him off with a guy like Ron Artest. Artest also gives them a guy who matches up beautifully with Lamar Odom. Add Yao Ming in the post, and it forces Pau Gasol a little bit further from the rim. It also makes Andrew Bynum more important, because he's the only real size that can bother Ming. The Rockets did a great job controlling the pace of the game, and forcing Kobe to shoot the ball 31 times for only 32 points. It's well known one of the ways to stop the Lakers is to force Kobe to be a volume shooter, and the Rockets did a great job of doing that in Game 1.

As much as I would like to see Houston pull the upset, it's just not likely. Kobe usually responds to a bad game with a really good one, and LA is still the superior team. When Kobe is finishing out a close game hitting clutch shots and drawing double teams, the Rockets really have no one to go to that can match him. Post players don't really thrive in those situations, and you can't really rely on Ron Artest to carry you offensively. The Rockets have all the tools to make this one interesting, but won't be able to pull it off in the end. I think the Lakers take this one in 6 or 7, but it will be better than most people initially anticipated.

The more games there are, the more Ron Artest soundbites we get. Much like cornbread, "ain't nothing wrong with that."

Cavaliers 99, Hawks 72

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind the Cavaliers will win this series. Atlanta might challenge them once or twice, and even steal a game, but they have no shot to win. They haven't shown near the level of consistency it would take for them to make this a competitive series, and they still struggle on the road in the playoffs (with the exception of Game 4 against Miami). The Cavaliers will make this one quick.

Congratulations for LeBron James for winning the MVP. He's the best player in the league right now, you have to respect that. I still despise the Cavaliers, but credit is given where it is due.

King James
Big Z, The Great
Daniel, The Manservant

Who can stop that?

Nuggets 117, Mavericks 105

For the second time, a close game gets blown wide open in the 4th quarter by a big Denver run. Josh Howard went out early, and Dallas never really had a chance in this one. The Mavericks' opporitunity to pull an upset likely went out the window the same time Josh Howard went out with an injury. I'll admit, I thought this was the year that the Mavericks overachieve and Dirk diverts some of the criticism he's been getting pummeled with since the 2006 Finals. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case. The Nuggets are playing the best basketball of any team in the West, the Mavericks don't look to be the team. But it's too early to count them out, Dallas is a pretty good home team. They also have a nice little 3 day layoff before their next game, so Howard can get heal up an extra couple of days.

The Nuggets are such a feast or famine team in my eyes, because of their erratic play. JR Smith can either bury you with threes, or bury the Nuggets forcing them up. They can make some pretty dumb turnovers between Birdman and K-Mart, and Anthony Carter can play like Anthony Carter. Chauncey Billups really helps this team calm down, and his impact shouldn't be ignored. He's well on his way to his 7th consecutive conference Finals.

Nuggets take this one in 5, but Dirk proves his worth to a small segment of people.

NBA: Grading The New Uniforms

First off, MILLEN GOT FIRED. WOOO! WOOO! WOOO! But they are still the Lions.

Now Media Day 2008 recently passed in the NBA, which brought along some interesting photos and new uniforms. A few teams decided to go back to their 90's roots with stripes, others wanted to modernize their uniforms, while a team like Oklahoma City tries to discover an identity. They failed. Let's jump right into the grading of the league's newest uniforms.

Taking It Back



Both the Magic and the Hornets decided to go back to the 90's with the stripes look. Personally I love it. My favorite jerseys include the Magic back with Penny and Shaq, and the Bulls Black Away jerseys. It's a good look. But for some reason, it just looks a lot more natural on the Hornets jerseys. Plus Orlando's jerseys kind of curbs outwards towards the top rather than being straight. I also want to thank Dwight for the pseudo-inappropriate pose right there. He probably took more time practicing that than his FT's.

Orlando's Grade: B

This doesn't have anything to do with their uniforms, but I really like the Hornets as a team. I'll admit I never was high on David West, but Chris Paul has that man looking beastly. The stripes on the jersey are very well executed and bring back memories of the Charlotte days. They are by far my winner of the meaningless Media Day Jersey Battle.

Hornets' Grade: A+

The Upgrades



Two teams decided to update their uniforms this year. The Kings went with a very subtle change to the side of the jerseys, darkened the lettering, and changed their home jerseys to say "Sacramento" instead of "Kings". It's small, but the jerseys look slightly better. Many people won't get a chance to see them because Sacramento frankly isn't that good anymore. Kevin Martin is one of the better SGs in the league, and Francisco Garcia should have a break-out season with Artest gone, but this team won't be in the playoffs for another 2-3 years.

Kings' Grade: B-



Minnesota made a more drastic change to their uniforms getting rid of the black trim with the green trees and going with a more modern look. The best part about their old uniforms was the font, which they intelligently kept. These new jerseys remind me somewhat of those green Dallas alternate road jerseys, except they look better. I'm liking the large blue sky and tree trim. A big negative for these jerseys is the logo on the back of the shorts. Why do we need an a$$ logo? That's the dumbest thing I see with sports uniforms. Don't draw attention to that area, just let it be. Have we not learned from the Idaho situation (Google it)?

Timberwolves' Grade: B+ (Penalized for butt logo)

The New Kids on The Block

Why the hell did the New Kids on the Block come back? Were they needed?



That's besides the point. I referring of course to the Oklahoma City Thunder. So I guess Kevin Durant is a Thunder now? A Thunder. I got used to the Magic and the Heat, so I guess Thunder isn't so bad. I just wish they went with something that was plural. I'm just calling them OKC from now on.

I'm really starting to lose focus. It's probably because OKC's uniforms are very forgettable. The logo is weak too. I was really hoping they went with some of the Black & Gold designs that some fans created, not this half Bobcats half Knicks colorway they have going on. They look like those jerseys for the created teams on NBA 2K. I'm pretty sure there is a Thunder logo on there as well. These jerseys lack identity, appeal, or style. I'm interested to see how the away jerseys look, they can't get any worse.

Thunder's OKC's Grade: D

And Just to Laugh