NBA Playoff Update…
As the second round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs progress, there are definitely surprises to talk about. Since I last blogged, Orlando has fallen by the wayside in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference top seed San Antonio has been eliminated by the surprising Memphis Grizzlies.
The surprised do not stop there…defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers are down 3-0 to Dallas and are on the verge of being swept out of the second round. Atlanta has given the Bulls a scare. Ditto for Memphis against Oklahoma City.
Here is an up to the minute look at where it all stands at the moment:
Eastern Conference
Chicago (1) vs. Atlanta (5)
After Atlanta jumped the Bulls 103-95 in Game 1 of the series, the Bull have ridden the coat tails of Derrick Rose to two consecutive wins including a monster 44 point effort in Game three. Rose was named the league’s MVP this week and has proven to be deserving of the award.
The board work of Joakim Noah (15 rebounds) and Taj Gibson (11 rebounds) complimented Rose nicely in Game Three. The fourth game of the series is set for Sunday night US time in Atlanta.
The Hawks are not totally done yet and they may well pull of game four to even the series going back to Chicago pending on which Hawks team you get. Chicago will eventually need more out of Carlos Boozer to continue advancing.
Miami (2) vs. Boston (3)
The “Beast of South Beach” may have been awakened!! The Heat has jumped out to a 2-0 series lead over the Celtics. The series heads to Boston for game three on overnight. Boston has started to look their age and is having trouble with the penetration and quickness of Dwayne Wade.
The Celtics may win one; possibly two of the remaining games but the Heat seems to be on a mission of late.
Western Conference
Los Angeles (2) vs. Dallas (3)
The Lakers are finding the quest for a three peat difficult. After showing signs of mortality against New Orleans, they have oozed vulnerability against the seasoned Mavericks outfit.
Rather than go into the “I told you so” to friends or any perceived “Kobe Bashing” I will defer to this article from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-plaschke-lakers-20110507,0,4601320.column
A good thing for the LA future may be the stepping forward and voicing of opinion by young future leader Andrew Bynum. Hopefully the young man will stay healthy and assert himself more in the locker room as he lives up to his potential.
Other articles out of LA:
The Mavericks seem to be remaining calm and focused without doing anything to arouse the beast. Owner Mark Cuban has been reserved over the course of the series for a change.
Views from the Dallas media:
Oklahoma City (4) vs. Memphis (8)
This one could well be the most entertaining of the conference semi-finals. So far the teams are level at 1-1 with game three set overnight in Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies actually won the regular season series and pose problems for the Thunder for the remainder of the series especially in the form of Zach Randolph.
While I think the Thunder can still pull this one out, don’t be surprised if Memphis advances.
I will be back in a few days with updates.
My original playoff picks are at:
