NBA Update

We're nearing the end of the first round of the NBA playoffs, so it's time for an update on what's happened so far:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:
Philadelphia (8) defeated Chicago (1) by four games to two.
I know that on the face of it, this appears to be a big upset, and you may be wondering why I didn't bring it to your attention sooner.  But Chicago is basically Derrick Rose and his friends, and Rose tore his ACL in the first game of the series, as the Bulls were cruising to an easy 103-91 victory.  From that moment on, Chicago was doomed.  Without Rose, they lost four of the next five to the Sixers, who will be eliminated in the next round.


Boston (4) defeated Atlanta (5) by four games to two.
I've been watching the Celtics since the early 1970's, and for some reason their good teams always feature a bunch of really old guys.  This version of the Celtics has been around since 2008, and at times it appears to be running on fumes.  But the NBA gave all of us middle-aged guys a throwback series here, and of course the Celtics always beat the Hawks.  Next up, we get another throwback, as the Celtics play the Sixers.  They haven't met this deep in the playoffs since 1985, which was one of my all-time favorite years, so this will make me happy.

Miami (2) defeated New York (7) by four games to one.
One of the fun things about the NBA playoffs is how the folks in New York always manage to convince themselves that the Knicks are going to over-achieve.  I heard serious people suggest that New York could give the LeBron's some real competition in this series.  Instead, they were barely even a speed bump as the LeBron's move on.

Indiana (3) defeated Orlando (6) by four games to one.
With Dwight Howard out for the year, this was never going to be much of a series, and it was not.  The almost completely anonymous Pacers now move on to face the Heat.  I wonder how that will turn out?

WESTERN CONFERENCE:
San Antonio (1) defeated Utah (8) by four games to zero.
Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich are the greatest NBA player and NBA coach who no one has ever seen.  If they manage to win this year's title, they will have five NBA crowns together -- the same number Kobe and Phil Jackson won together.  And yet I'm not sure I've ever seen San Antonio win a single game in the NBA finals -- I always skip their games.

The L.A. Clippers (5) lead Memphis (4) by three games to two.
Last year, Memphis stunned San Antonio in the first round, and gave Oklahoma City fits in the second round.  This year, they were expected to do even better, but they may very well go down in L.A. tomorrow night in Game Six.


Oklahoma City (2) defeated Dallas (7) by four games to zero.
There was a lot of brave talk about how wide open the NBA is this year, but I'm pretty sure the only three teams that can actually win the title are Miami, San Antonio, and OKC.  Dallas stunned everyone (or at least me) last year by not pulling their usual choke job and going all the way.  But this year normal service was resumed, and they gave Kevin Durant and his mates relatively little trouble.


The L.A. Lakers (3) and Denver (6) are tied at three games apiece.
A few nights ago, this series appeared to be over.  The Lakers were up 3-1 at home, and were expected to close out Denver in five games, thus giving Kobe some badly needed rest time.  But the Nuggets shocked L.A.  in L.A. by the score of 102-99, and tonight they have crushed them in Denver.  (The Nuggets lead 109-92 with only a minute to go, and it wasn't that close.)  So everyone will head back to L.A. for Game 7.  I rather like the Nuggets, who are led by the remarkable Ty Lawson (the best player from UNC since Michael Jordan) and who feature our old friend Kenneth Faried, last seen leading Morehead State to victory over Louisville in last year's NCAA tournament.  It would be fun to see them knock out the Kobe's on Kobe's home floor -- but I have my doubts that will happen.