Here we go. More teams were eliminated and only 4 remain vying for an NBA Championship. There’s a lot to discuss so let’s get right down to it.
First off I have to apologize for slacking on my posts lately. I am trying to do a post every week but I get lazy/busy/or just plain have nothing to talk about. I guess you could say I’m like the Houston Rockets of sports blogging, just wait till the last minute and come together to finish something. A total team effort, me, myself, and I. I’m the real MVP.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: (1) ATLANTA HAWKS VS (2) CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
HAWKS LEAD REGULAR SEASON SERIES 3-1
Once again let’s pour out a little for the Bulls and Wizards. Both teams entered their Game 4s up 2-1 and both ended up losing 3 straight. Such a shame to see D-Rose and his squad have their best season ever just to turn around and be knocked out of the Semifinals to once again the Cavs. Once Coach Thibs gets the ax, the Bulls could bring in a coach to please the organization but maybe not the players. Also with Dunleavy a free agent and Taj Gibson a potential trade piece, who knows how this team might shape up next season. It’ll be something to watch for once the season ends.
And Paul Pierce and the Wizards were 2 fingertips away from Game 7 in Atlanta, which more than likely the Hawks would have won. But my hat goes off to John Wall this past series. From being told he could possibly not play again for the playoffs to coming back in Game 4, helping his team have a fighting chance. I really hope this Washington team doesn’t break up in the offseason. They now have 2 Conference Semis under their belt and a pretty decent bench. One can hope a fellow NC native can get a NBA title but if not, I’ll still enjoy watching Wall and the boys play.
So on to the series, Hawks vs. Cavs. The most surprising team of the season versus the team most expected to actually be in the Conference Finals. I really wanted Wizards versus Cavs. And the Bulls and Wizards wouldn’t have been that bad of a series to watch either. But I guess I’ll have to settle for watching potentially 4 games in Atlanta…which means maybe 4 games of Sir Foster!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT’S RIGHT LADIES AND GENTS! HE PLAYS THE SAXOPHONE TOO! GOD BLESS HIM AND AMERICA!!
I never realized Atlanta has some great pieces on their team. Especially on the defensive end. I should have known that the Hawks would win the series against Washington because they have better coaching to begin with. Need I remind you guys about the whiteboard fiasco of the 1st round. The Hawks also don’t have any major injuries that the Cavs are dealing with right now. Well, they don’t have any major role players suffering through injury. We’re still wishing you a speedy recovery Thabo Sefolosha.
The Cavs on the other hand needed some rest after beating the Bulls to prevent losing players for the rest of the playoffs. Kyrie is battling ankle and knee problems, Lebron has a sore back, and there are a couple of players with some hamstring issues as well. Just overall a banged up series for Cleveland. And they’ll need all the help they can get. As shown above, the Hawks have won the regular season series against Cleveland. Fun fact, they are the only team to win 3 games against Lebron and company throughout the whole season. That’s surprising. I don’t think Golden State could even boast that record if they played in the same conference or division.
It’s going to be an interesting series for sure. If the Cavs stay healthy I think they can win. But the Hawks will give a push especially since I trust their coach before I trust David Blatt. Seriously if he called that timeout in game 4 and got the technical, I probably would be talking about the Bulls and Hawks in this Conference Finals.
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR ATLANTA: AL HORFORD, DEMARRE CARROLL, MIKE MUSCALA
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR CLEVELAND: LEBRON JAMES (OF COURSE) MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA, JR SMITH
PREDICTION: CAVS 4-3. (LEBRON GAME WINNER)
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: (1) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VS (2) HOUSTON ROCKETS
WARRIORS OWN REGULAR SEASON SERIES 4-0
Once again, let’s pour out some for Chris Paul and the Clippers. 10 years in the league, 10 times not making either the NBA Finals or the Conference Finals. Doc Rivers is the first coach to lose a series after being up 3-1 twice. The Clippers won’t make their first franchise Conference Finals appearance ever once again, and everybody who’s a Laker fan rejoices. Seriously even Magic Johnson was out there throwing shade.
I’m not so much going to feel sorry for Memphis. We all knew that they weren’t going to win that series, even with FIRST TEAM ALL DEFENSE Tony Allen out there shutting Steph Curry down. Granted there was that 2 game slide the Warriors had which I figured would happen. But regardless they pulled it out and won the series.
So we are stuck with Golden State and the Rockets. I really like how the Rockets came back against the Clippers. Even though I think it’s starting to be the end of Dwight Howard’s prime, he has great teammates around him helping them out. And not to mention Mr. Second Place MVP himself James Harden is the best 2 guard left out of the 4 teams left and arguably the best in the league. Kevin McHale finally has this team playing well and they might even get Patrick Beverly back from injury, but that seems like it is a stretch, for now at least. They even got Mark Cuban apologizing to the team for talking trash about them…
But much like my man Brian Scalbrine,
Minus the Warriors in 4, I got to admit the Rockets proved me wrong. After the failed Hack-A-Jordan I thought this team was done-zo.
But…
Warriors still have Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. They still have Harrison Barnes playing lights out. They still have Draymond Green pushing people around under the basket. They still have Andrew Bogut wearing what looks like a cut off white tee under his jersey. I’m still banking on the Warriors to win this series. The things I’m interested to see though is if Steve Kerr goes Hack-A-Howard if they find themselves down in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. Will Kerr also run small like he was basically forced to do to keep the defensive genius in Tony Allen away from his guards? Will he put Curry on Harden to prove who is the real MVP of the regular season? Only time will tell but I think it’ll be something to look forward too.
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR GOLDEN STATE: EVERYBODY MINUS JAMES MICHAEL MCADOO
PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR HOUSTON: JAMES HARDEN, TERRANCE JONES, BENCH PLAYERS WHO ARE PLAYING JUST TO FOUL
PREDICTION: WARRIORS 4-2 (STEPH WINS MVP BATTLE AGAINST HARDEN AGAIN)
OK, so I’m biased in this one because I want a Cleveland-Golden State Finals match up. I wouldn’t mind seeing Houston make it either but please no Atlanta Hawks. Only unless Sir Foster plays his 2014 NBA All Star playlist, then I’ll accept it. Either way, again I don’t get paid to do this. This is all in my opinion. Feel free to argue or comment below, on Twitter, or in person if you see me. Here’s to another exciting NBA playoff series.
Sportz With Kinchen 