Day 6, 7, and 8 =[

Well I missed the last couple days worth of games, but some interesting developments :)

• Orlando now down 0-3.. Detroit is really exposing Dwight for the raw offensive player he is
• Houston put forth the ugliest game in the history of the playoffs vs Utah.. and sadly they kept it somewhat close anyway
• Bulls 3-0 against the Heat.. Definitely not what I envisioned but I'm not complaining! Injuries and age catching up with Miami
  
• Lakeshow predictably took game 3 to keep things interesting.. Kwame Brown of all people had a monster game, though the Suns looked absolutely terrible apart from the opening 3 minutes.
• Jason Kidd just put up a MONSTER triple double of 16 pts, 16 reb, 19 ast.. to lead the Nets to a 2-1 series lead over Toronto. Wow?
• Golden State absolutely annihilated Dallas. Mavs fans have to be worried.. Outplayed in game 1, held close before imploding in game 2 (with markedly Dallas-loving referees with their 40+ free throw attempts).. and a complete thrashing at Golden State in game 3.
  

Day 5!

The Spurs came back and won the game they absolutely needed. At one point they led by as many as 17, though Iverson got hot and kept it close towards the end.

Nene was absolutely meaty yet again; Denver's got to come away from the first two games feeling good about themselves.. They've been pushing the Spurs and exposing some serious weaknesses. Not to mention that despite a horrible shooting night from Iverson AND Melo, they were still a Camby missed dunk away from making this game turn out differently.

Golden State and Dallas coming riiiight up :)

• MONTA ELLIS is going nuts on the Mavs! 10 points and counting and the first quarter isn't over!

• Warriors finish the half on a 4-0 run to trail by two.

• Shit hits the fan in the 3rd, with Baron picking up a couple of fouls, getting involved in a "fight" with Harris and Diop. Techs assigned to Davis, Jackson, and Diop. Bit more jawing and Baron gets tossed.
  

• In the fourth Jackson picks up his second tech and takes his time leaving the game.

• Mavs (obviously) win.

Now all things considered, the Warriors have to come out of this feeling pretty good. They did what they were supposed to do (steal 1 game on the road), and even during game 2 where Dallas was largely playing very well, they were well within striking distance throughout the game.

I predicted that Dallas would win, and I stand by that if only due to Golden State's maturity (or lack thereof).. but I do want this to go the distance since these games are very entertaining :)

I found it really weird that they didn't run any plays for Ellis after he exploded in the 1st quarter.. go figure though, huh?

To prepare us for tomorrow's games

This is supposed to be an NBA blog, but since it's a related story, I've decided to make a little tangent.

Day 4 of the Playoffs!

Chicago-Miami game 2 is in progress

• Shaq is being very aggressive early.. but a few calls not going his way leaves him with very little actual production

• Miami is getting absolutely wrecked by long rebounds.. Makes me wonder why the heck they are collapsing so much in the paint when the Bulls don't even have a post presence or much penetration..

• Bulls just lucked out to end the quarter, extending their lead to 10 off of a Wade turnover (and a subsequent Nocioni 3)

• Wade's definitely not looking 100%. Seems to be avoiding contact from what I can see, and the Bulls are taking advantage.

• Kapono making a difference in the 2nd quarter, stretching out the Chicago D and making them hesitant to double.

• Why is the NBA so backwards? I have league pass but no NBA TV.. So I don't get to watch Toronto-New Jersey.. Weak sauce.

• So Jersey loses in a fairly close game. Boki had a chance to send it into OT but missed an open 3.

• Chicago gets hot and just plows Miami from beyond the arc. Big loser of this game has to be Wade.. So many plays where he would have finished and gotten 2-3 points but instead kick it out to an inferior player for a miss :( Too tentative.. Wasted a great effort by Shaq.

• After the first quarter, Lakers are looking good. Kobe has played pretty much perfectly, with Odom and Walton getting touches. I keep waiting to see the Suns just go nuts on them but it seems the Lakers are doing a decent job at slowing the pace.

• The fact that the Suns lead is a testament to the kind of difference Amare makes in situations like this.. The man is an automatic 2 points if the catches near the rim; they just didn't have that threat last year.

• BARBOSA

• BARBOSA!!!!!!!!

• BARBOSA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• So yeah, Barbosa ate the Lakers again. This series really looks like a goner the way he's playing. Bell seems to have gotten injured landing on a Referee's foot....Ugh. As if I needed another reason to hate retarded NBA referees.
  

If Nellie says so..

Nellie took it a step further just a little while ago on the Dan Patrick Show. Nellie: "There's a better chance of us being struck by lightning than of us winning tomorrow night." Surely, Nellie must have seen the forecast. Severe weather is headed our way. Better duck."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Good ol' old school mind games..

The man is probably right though, I can't imagine Dallas letting this slip away.

One scary thing about the Rockets

Is that they are the nightmare team to play against if the game is close with the clock winding down in the fourth.

Games like that typically boil down to a lot of burning the block in the halfcourt.. Which isn't the strong suit of teams like the Suns or Mavericks.. Who are both excellent at the line but lack that "must-foul" post player and ultimately will end up jacking up a jump shot.

The Heat and Spurs have obvious issues since their go-to post players are questionable free throw shooters to say the least. The Pistons do have Rasheed, but more often than not it's "Mr. Big Shot" or Rip Hamilton with the ball in that situation.

The Rockets have a beefy center that shoots 60% from the field and 86% from the line.. and one of the most clutch players in the league right next to him.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Yao Ming is just absolutely punishing the Jazz. T-Mac is being his usual unstoppable self in the playoffs. Utah would be dangerous if they could just get a go-to wing guy.. Still, I can't imagine that Houston will sweep a Sloan team :)

Magic lost which is a bit predictable. My man Grant Hill did drop 21 though! CCCCHAYEA

Dwight didn't score much but honestly I'm not too surprised. He's incredibly raw offensively and on the typical night gets points only when he catches deep in the paint. By the way, in my dream scenario Chauncey Billups signs with the Magic in free agency next season.... eeee