The Miami Heat played a series that looked on paper as if it should have been a cake walk for their opponent, the Atlanta Hawks. Dwayne Wade proved once again why he should be (at least in my opinion) the league MVP. He simply carried a team that wouldn't even have sniffed the playoffs but he and his supporting cast of over achievers pushed the "Jerkyll and Hyde" Hawks to a seventh game.It would have been GREAT to see Wade go up against his good friend Lebron James.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Cleveland vs 4. Atlanta
Recent history of the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs will have you believe that they are an enigmatic team that find ways to play at a much higher level at home and then play a woeful brand of basketball on the road. They either blow you out or get blown out. In last years playoffs, they pushed the much better Boston Celtics to the bring of elimination. This year, they let a team that was pound for pound not on their level to take them to a game seven. Will they continue their perplexing style of play and keep the trend going? My answer to that will be revealed shortly!
Whenever a player or team is very good or basically considered by most to be great; the consensus tends to have blinders on and in turn make predictions that seem on the surface to be very logical. In this case, the very good player is Lebron James and the team is his Cavaliers. The "presumed" logical thinking here is that Lebron is too good (great is more like the right adjective here) and his supporting cast too strong for them not to have a easy time with their opponent. Not as easy as beating on the Pistons but presumed easy nonetheless. He definitely has a much better supporting cast than he did two years ago when he led his team into the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The tone that you might be catching from this paragraph would be that I think that the Cavs will not be sweeping this series versus the Hawks. I have been discussing/arguing with a few friends about the outcome of this series. The consensus is a sweep or maybe that the Hawks will win at least one game at home. I think that the way this series will unfold will be determined by the win/loss margin in the second game.
The Best player on the Hawks is Joe Johnson but he sometimes disappears for long stretches and often is lackadaisical on offense. When Lebron takes it easy on offense, it is often because he is setting up his team mates and playing smart and aggressive off the ball defense. He (James) is the arguably the best player in the league and because of his dominant performances that I will not waste my penmanship on any of his supporting cast....well, except to say that they are better than the supporting cast that Joe Johnson has.
My Prediction: Game one will be a blow out but game two will be close. Cleveland will win both games but will lose a close game three in Atlanta. The two close games back to back will give the Hawks the confidence they need to feel like they can win more than just one game. When confidence is on high, teams and players tend to play beyond their talent level but that confidence can not sustain them for a prolonged period of time. They do get their second win but that's were it ends. The Cavaliers win the series 4-2.
2. Boston vs 3. Orlando
I might have predicted the Boston Celtics to win their first round series but I sure was hoping that the Bulls would upset them. I try not to be biased in my writing and I think I have been able to do that so far. I want the Magic to win this series but I am afraid that this might just be wishful thinking. Orlando is a good team but they are inconsistent and can easily be considered a hit or miss when it comes to how hard or smart they play.
The weaknesses in Dwight Howard's game is magnified in the playoffs. His lack of post up moves and his proneness for turnovers makes it hard for me to give him the edge over Kendrick Perkins. Howard
is still learning how to effectively exploit or pass out of double teams. If you study him whenever he is double teamed, you will notice that he can pass out to the man closest to him on the wing but if the defense collapse to his side, his passes at times will result in turn overs. Perkins is not the focal point of his team offensively and this makes it easy for him to focus on defense, rebounds and garbage points. His job on this series will be to physically frustrate Howard and put him in constant foul trouble. Easier said than done because Howard is a freakishly athletic robot designed by NASA....(pssst...so is Lebron). Howard will average a double double and in turn get Perkins in foul trouble. If Perkins sits for too long then the Magic have strong chance. Am I hinging the success or failure of the Celtics on Kendrick Perkins? No, but I am saying that his role in this series is going to be more elevated than usual.The back court play for both teams is in favor of the Celtics because Rajon Rondo will have a field day against this team and also because Rafer Alson sucks on defense. Courney Lee is the better option at the back up point guard spot (Tyronn Lue is on the team but......it's Tyronn Lue!!!) but he is not expected to even play in the first game of the series after having surgery to repair a fracture sinus bone. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen should be pleased that they will be playing in a series against a team that sometimes looks as if they are allergic to playing defense.
My Prediction: Celtics win series 4-2
Sportacularly yours,
The Vicarious Athlete
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