The Cleveland Cavaliers wrapped up their first round series rather quickly (and painlessly, I might add), but the same cannot be said for any of our fellow Eastern Conference foes. However, we almost have our conference semi-finals opponent decided now. It looks like Atlanta will advance to play us in a best-of-7….barring a Miami miracle.
The Hawks lead their series with the Heat 3 games to 2, with Game 6 being played Friday night.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade has been playing with a tight back throughout the series, and he’s not going to last much longer. Plus, the Heat have nobody else ready to step up and help him out. Much as I hate to say it, the Heat might be the worst team left in the playoffs. Two years from now they might be dangerous with Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook lighting it up. But two years from now, Wade might be in another uniform.
As for Atlanta, they are good enough that they should have buried this series by now. But they struggled with Miami quite a lot and have found themselves in a series that will test your confidence if you’re a fan of either team. There has been NO consistency from either team so far and that will get you killed when a 70-16 team is currently scouting you for their next meal.
Here’s the outcomes of each game so far;
- Game 1 – Atlanta 90, Miami 64 (Hawks by 26)
- Game 2 – Miami 108, Atlanta 93 (Heat by 15)
- Game 3 – Miami 107, Atlanta 78 (Heat by 29)
- Game 4 – Atlanta 81, Miami 71 (Hawks by 10)
- Game 5 – Atlanta 106, Miami 91 (Hawks by 15)
Atlanta wins Game 1 by 26, then loses Game 2 by 15? A 41-point swing? That’s not going to cut it. Neither is Miami’s 39-point swing from Game 3 to Game 4.
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The opening game of the second round has been tentatively scheduled by the NBA.
If Atlanta wins in Miami Friday night, they have to get on a plane and fly 1,247 miles to Cleveland and play again Sunday afternoon.
If Miami wins on Friday, the winner of their Game 7 on Sunday will again have to hustle to an airport and make it to Cleveland for a Tuesday night matchup.
Personally, I want Atlanta to win tomorrow. I have three reasons for this wish;
- They’ve played in a rough series so far and a quick flight to the Q is not a good taste of medicine. Playing in the NBA’s toughest environment less than 48 hours after that series will not be good for them.
- Atlanta center Al Horford has a sprained ankle and is doubtful for the next two games (which would include our first game if they win tomorrow). The Hawks only beat us once this year, and that was with a healthy Horford and Zydrunas Ilgauskas sitting on the bench. We can beat them up badly inside without Horford.
- The entire staff of The BBC have tickets to Game 1, but we can only go if it’s on Sunday.
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Looking around the rest of the Eastern Conference, you can’t help but get confident over the Cavs’ outlook.
Orlando-Philadelphia should have been a quick 4 or 5-game series. The Magic are healthy and hungry. They should NOT be in this dogfight.
All year long, the Magic have been poking their heads in and reminding everybody that they are an elite team. But the past 3-week stretch has shown everyone that they aren’t ready yet.
Since April 10th, they’ve played 9 games, all of them against teams that are .500 or worse. They are 5-4 in those games, and their mega-star has resorted to swinging elbows. Seriously, if Samuel Dalembert is in your head, they you’re not mentally prepared for the later stages of the NBA Playoffs.
Tonight, Philadelphia gets the chance to tie up the series at 3-3 at home, and Orlando has to play without Dwight Howard (suspended for swinging elbows) and Courtney Lee (injured by another Howard elbow) Howard and Lee have been the leading Magic scorer in every game this series so far. This game looks like a Sixers win unless they fall apart.
And there’s no excuse for Orlando to let a 41-41 team like Philly take them to a Game 7.
Meanwhile, Boston is lucky to be alive right now. Chicago could have….and should have….ended this series already. But they don’t have a closer yet and because of that, they allowed Boston to escape Game 2 with a 3-point win, and they blew a chance to win Game 5 at the end of regulation.
Most of us expected Boston to be less than sharp without Kevin Garnett, but not in the first round. As a matter of fact, if Rajon Rondo wasn’t playing against a rookie defender, this series would be pretty ugly for the defending champions. But then again, if the NBA would have called Rajon Rondo for the flagrant foul like they should have, this series would be 3-2 Bulls headed back to Chicago for tonight’s Game 6.
Either way, the way the playoffs have looked thus far, there are only 2 elite teams playing like they are ready….Cleveland and L.A. Maybe Denver too.
Tonight should be fun. Let’s see if Orlando can win without their thug, and if Boston can close it out on the road (they were 3-9 on the road during their title run last year)
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