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NBA Playoff Matchups in the East

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:02:32 +0000

Cleveland has secured the top spot in the East for quite some time. As for the rest, here they are.

The matchups in the East for the 2010 NBA playoffs are finally… um… finalized and while the Cleveland Cavaliers have secured the top playoff spot in the conference a few weeks ago, the remaining few seeds were not determined until the final few days of the season.

As it turned out, the no.1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the no.8 seed Chicago Bulls, who secured the last playoff spot in the East after beating the playoff-pound Charlotte Bobcats, hence denying the Toronto Raptors of postseason play for the second straight year.

Kudos to coach Vinny Del Negro and the rest of the Chicago Bulls for overcoming a late-season injury to Joakim Noah and the publicized rift between coach Del Negro and team manager John Paxson. Congratulations guys, you’re in the playoffs.

Your reward? LeBron James. (I don’t know if the Bulls would still be happy about that in a few days…)

The Orlando Magic will be this year’s no.2 seed as they look to make a return to the NBA Finals when they take on no.7 seed, Charlotte Bobcats. Thanks to some key additions to the Magic roster, more specifically the addition of Vince Carter, the Magic have become an even bigger threat in the East.

And since the Magic will have the Charlotte Bobcats, a team that will be making their very first appearance in the playoffs, there should be no problem for Orlando to get past the first round. Who do the Bobcats have to guard Dwight Howard anyway?

Probably the most surprising team in the East this season is the Atlanta Hawks, who have secured the no.3 seed in the East this season. Yup, those high-flying Hawks are now one of the East’s three kings, supplanting the Celtics in the food chain to join the Cavs and the Magic.

They have the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round...

Betting on East this 2009 NBA Season

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:26:18 +0000

It’s the East’s turn to have a champion.

I’m more of an East Coast kind of guy, I always find myself rooting for the East in All-Star Games and in the NBA Finals. Coming to the 2009 NBA basketball season, I have this theory that suggests this year is going to be the year of the East. Don’t believe me? Here’s why.

This somewhat weird theory of mine started in ‘04 when the Detroit Pistons won the title and shocked arguably the most talented Los Angeles Lakers team ever assembled with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant joined then by two other Hall of Famers, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. The Spurs won the title the following year only for the Eastern Conference to win it again when the Miami Heat won their first title in franchise history.

The following year, ONCE AGAIN (ho-hum…) the Spurs took it only for the East to take it back the following season when the Boston Celtics took the title in six games. In case you haven’t noticed it yet, the NBA championship has been alternating between the Eastern and Western conferences since ‘04 and since the Lakers won it last season, I bet it’ll be another team from the East that’ll be crowned champions come June.

Silly? Not quite. And since the Cleveland Cavaliers arguably made the biggest move of the offseason with the NBA title firmly in mind, this little theory of mine doesn’t sound too silly at all.

The Cavs learned winning 66 games in the regular season doesn’t mean a thing without a ring. LeBron James has a lot at stake this season with big Shaquille O’Neal in town.

Kobe won with Shaq. D-Wade won with Shaq. At 37, Shaq can still get it done 20 to 25 minutes a night. So with basically the same unit returning along with O’Neal, there’s no excuse for LeBron James not to win the championship this year. Fail and off to New York he goes.

So if the Cavaliers are your odds on favorite to...

Rasheed Wallace to sign with Celtics

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:21:39 +0000

This offseason just keeps getting better and better.

Everybody should be hyped up for the coming 2009 NBA basketball season now as early as July with the number of blockbuster deals we’ve seen.

Get this; Richard Jefferson is now in San Antonio, Shaquille O’Neal will now play with LeBron James in Cleveland, Vince Carter returns to his home state in Florida to play for the Orlando Magic and Ron Artest just joined the defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers. And just when you thought it won’t get any better, another deal comes out.

And the latest is Rasheed Wallace agreeing to play for the Boston Celtics for at least two seasons. Although nothing is final yet since free agents can’t officially sign with new teams until July 8 this Wednesday, ‘Sheed has committed his 34-year-old ass to Boston, grabbing this opportunity to play for a legitimate title contender now than waste the remaining few years of his career with the inept management skills of Joe Dumars in Detroit.

The Boston Celtics wanted him bad too. A contingent from the Celtics organization, including owner Wyc Grousbeck, president Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and Boston’s ‘’Big Three'’ of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all descended on Wallace’s suburban Michigan home for a three-hour meeting with the free-agent forward.

During the course of the meeting, the Boston Celtics offered Rasheed Wallace a contract using their entire mid-level exception. And since everything is just whacked as fas as the Detroit Pistons and their chances of playing for a title again are concerned, ‘Sheed didn’t think twice.

Besides, he’s good friends with Kevin Garnett already...

Can Magic beat the Celtics in Game 6?

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:45:32 +0000

Has the magic fizzled away from Orlando after one Glen Davis' shot?

After making the game-winning shot at the buzzer to tie their best of seven series in the 2009 NBA Playoffs to two games each, Glen Davis instantaneously made every Celtic fan forget about Kevin Garnett.

Well, not really, but after Glen Davis helped the Boston Celtics win Game 4 in Orlando, a game the Celtics can’t afford to lose, you can bet your ass that he just tripled his little fan base in Boston.

If it wasn’t for that 21-foot jumper at the buzzer, the Boston Celtics would’ve been down in this series 1-3 to the Orlando Magic, facing elimination in Game 5 at home. But thanks to Davis, the Celtics now have homecourt advantage back with an opportunity to take the series lead for the first time in the second round.

Of course, Glen Davis could’ve just ran along happy with his improbable buzzer-beater in Game 4 to tie the series, but NO, he had to shove a 12-year-old kid while he ran like a ‘’raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety'’ towards the Celtics bench.

Yup, a ‘’raging animal with no regard for fans’ personal safety'’ was exactly the way the kid’s father, Ernest Provetti, described Boston’s new hero. The kid’s father was, in fact, so freaking pissed about the whole thing that he’s demanding an apology from Boston’s homicidal maniac.

Provetti said that he already e-mailed the NBA office demanding an apology from the 300-pound Celtic. NBA spokesman Tim Frank already confirmed the league received the e-mail but declined to comment on it.

Glen Davis scored 21 points in the game, that includes TWO crucial shots he made in the final minutes of the game. Yes, Davis made one crucial shot prior to the game-winner he made that led to him shoving a poor 12-year-old kid in Orlando.

If Glen Davis makes another...

Can Boston beat Orlando in Game 2?

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:30:51 +0000

Apparently, the Magic didn't buy the ‘’KG out for the playoffs'’ news they’ve been hearing about lately.

In case you haven’t heard, the second round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs are finally underway and in the East, we have two teams that were just fortunate enough to hold on and win over their pesky first round rivals.

The Philadelphia 76ers got the attention of the entire Orlando Magic roster when they were able to steal the precious homecourt advantage from Disneyland during Game 1 of their best of seven first round series.

They even got Dwight Howard suspended for the critical Game 6, setting themselves up for what would’ve been one of the biggest shockers in this year’s playoffs. Unfortunately, Orlando pulled through, eliminating the pesky Sixers in six games.

The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, went through an obviously harder hurdle. Unlike Orlando, Boston was extended to a pivotal Game 7 by the Chicago Bulls, a team looking to repeat what they accomplished a couple of years ago when they eliminated then defending champions Miami Heat, in the very first round.

Unfortunately for them, it didn’t happen, and the Celtics managed to close out the Chicago Bulls with Kevin Garnett still wearing a fashionable suit.

This Wednesday, the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics will meet for Game 2 of their best of seven second round series with a spot in the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at stake and as far as the Magic are concerned, they’ll be ready for Kevin Garnett, in uniform or in street clothes.

‘’I don’t have any idea if he’ll play, but we watched film on him,'’ Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said. ‘’Besides that, it’s not like you’re going to go, ‘Kevin Garnett? I never heard of him. What does he do?’ I think we can make that adjustment pretty quickly. I think we all have a pretty good idea of who Kevin Garnett is.'’

The Magic went 0-2 against the Celtics in...

Can Celtics beat Bulls in Game 5?

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:24:27 +0000

This series has been one of the most exciting ones to watch in the first round.

Game 5 of the best of seven series between the Celtics and the Bulls is on this Tuesday as both try to take the 3-2 series lead in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs.

We’re back to square one. After the Boston Celtics took the homecourt advantage back from Chicago after annihilating the Bulls in Game 3, 107-86, at the United Center, the Bulls bounced back, coming up with a double overtime 121-118 win in Game 4.

It looked like the Boston Celtics would take the commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to the TD Banknorth Garden. Luckily for the Chicago Bulls, Ben Gordon just wouldn’t let that happen.

Ben Gordon continued his stellar postseason play in Game 4, scoring 22 points to help the Bulls overcome the Celtics, 121-118, after two extra periods. ‘’This is the biggest game of the year for us, the biggest game of our careers right now,'’ Ben Gordon said.

‘’It was a big win for us. It was exciting.'’

The Bulls backcourt has been a thorn to the Celtics’ side after the first four games of their postseason campaign. And in Game 4, the Bulls backcourt was once again, virtually UNGUARDABLE.

While Ben Gordon had his 22, 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose also came up with huge numbers. He was one assist shy of a triple double, putting up 23 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

The Celtics know they can’t afford to...

Garnett out of the 2009 NBA Playoffs?

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:06:17 +0000

When will KG return to the Celtics roster?

That is probably the only question sports fans from Boston are asking themselves these days with the 2009 NBA Playoffs kicking in high gear this week without the guy that led the Celtics to the title last year, Kevin Garnett.

You read it, the Boston Celtics won’t be having their emotional leader at least for Game 1 of their best of seven first round series with the Chicago Bulls. That however, isn’t the real problem. The real one would have to be the fact that KG could be out for the rest of the playoffs as well.

It turns out that Kevin Garnett continues to have problems with his right knee. In preparation for the postseason hoping to come back to the Celtics roster in time, Garnett was put back on the shelf after a 20-minute workout that left the swollen tendon in his right knee in worse shape than it was a week earlier.

Of course, the rest of the Boston Celtics remain optimistic about the entire thing, probably thinking that; one, KG can still come back at some point of the playoffs and two, they think they can still win without him.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers on the other hand claims that he has, UNOFFICIALLY, ruled out his star forward for the playoffs. Apparently, he’s confident that his team will be just fine without KG, praising the improved play of backup forwards Glen Davis and Leon Powe.

Rivers also said that with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen on board, the Celtics will still be a tough team to beat.

Rivers may have a point. With KG out the last few weeks, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have been stepping up to keep their team afloat. Pierce is playing like the guy who led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2002 while Allen continues to set milestones for Boston this season, tying a career high 48 percent shooting from the field and setting a franchise record for free throw accuracy with a whopping 95.2 percent this year.

STILL, a Kevin Garnett is a huge piece to replace. He gives the Celtics that inside presence and the defensive intensity only a few guys can bring to a team. With Garnett out, Boston could still beat a Chicago Bulls squad in the first round and probably a hungry Magic team in the second.

But beating a Cleveland Cavaliers contingent led by...

2009 NBA Playoffs Preview: East

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:41:22 +0000

Although everybody knows the Western Conference is always better, I always found the East to be more entertaining.

Probably because I’ve always hated watching John Stockton and Karl Malone play in those stupid shorts in Utah or watch the seven-foot Vlade Divac get taken down by six-foot-three point guards in Sacramento. And while those guys’ playing days are over, I’d still keep my eyes glued on the East for the 2009 NBA Playoffs just because this side of the NBA has two of the hottest commodities in basketball today, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Oh yeah, the East still has the Pistons too although I’m not counting on them to win anything this year.

Yup, the Detroit Pistons, after all the struggles they went through all year, still found their way to the postseason as the no.8 seed. How about that huh? Still, the festive mood in Detroit could end sooner than you think since they have the overall no.1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers waiting for them.

Unlike the Detroit Pistons, the Cavaliers have been playing tremendously that the merit the trip to the postseason. They have the best home record and would definitely not lose a home game to the struggling Pistons.

The Pistons have now lost Allen Iverson for the year and Rasheed Wallace now comes off the bench, how in the hell can their fans expect their team to overcome a hungry Cavaliers squad led by an even hungrier LeBron James?

The defending champions Boston Celtics have the Chicago Bulls in the first round and if the 2007 playoffs were to tell us anything, it’ll have to be the fact that you can’t underestimate Chicago. You see, it was two years ago when the no.5 seeded Bulls squad shocked the world when they swept the no.4 seeded Heat contingent led by Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal in the very first round.

The Miami Heat team the Chicago Bulls swept...

2009 NBA Playoff Race Heats Up

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:34:37 +0000

We are less than a couple of months from the postseason.

You read it, and that only means one thing, the 2009 NBA basketball season will just get interesting from here. Unless of course, if you’re a Piston fan like myself.

The second half of the season has already started and we have quite a handful of teams moving up and down the proverbial food chain. One of which is the Detroit Pistons.

The Pistons clearly has some serious problems, no matter how much the team (including their fans…) deny it or not. Detroit suffered the consequences of trading Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson, thinking that the young Rodney Stuckey was already ready to step in for Mr. Big Shot.

Enngggrrrkkk… WRONG! A lot of people thought the Allen Iverson deal was the move that could put the Pistons over the hump. After three straight losses in the Eastern Conference finals, losing to Miami, Cleveland and Boston in three straight years, Joe Dumars felt that the move will finally bring Detroit back in the NBA Finals and change the makeup of the team for the better.

The makeup did change, but it wasn’t anything better. From being one of the powerhouse teams in the East, the Pistons are just hovering above the .500 mark with Rodney Stuckey and Allen Iverson running the backcourt. All that is left for this team is hope that teams in the 9, 10, 11 spots won’t be talented enough to overtake them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, on the other hand, is a team surging in the East. With the injury to Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett, it seems...

NBA Basketball Betting Preview for the 2009 NBA All Star Game

NBA Blogger B — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:02:07 +0000

The 2009 NBA All Star Game which will be held at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona is just a few days away. The 2009 All Star Game would be yet another basketball gambling delight as this would feature the NBA’s top basketball players of the year with the exception of players that were left out of the fray.

Kobe Bryant would be appearing in his 11^th All Star Game and is a favourite to win this year’s NBA All Star game MVP award. With the way the Los Angeles Lakers are playing it would not be a surprise if Kobe Bryant goes home with the award.

On the other end of the court would be Kevin Garnett who would be playing in his 12^th NBA All Game, yet would not be a favourite to win the MVP award. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the reigning All Star MVP and is next in line on the polls to take the award.

Notable NBA Players are...