WESTERN CONFERENCE:
First off, the Suns are in them! The team expected to be knocked out by the Spurs. The Spurs this year were not a true 7th seed team. Granted no one really expected them to move past the Mavs, but they did, and with a vengeance. When it came to the Suns, the Spurs, as history of NBA Playoffs has shown as of late, have dominated the Suns ousting them in 4 straight playoff meetings.
When it comes to the Lakers, everyone predicted the sweep of the Thunder. It wasn't until game 5 and 6 that the Lakers really dominated the Thunder. In fact, it looked to be headed to a game 7 in LA until a last second tip in by Pau Gasol ended the dream for the young Thunder squad. The predicted sweep didn't come until the Lakers played the Jazz where 3 of 4 series of the second round ended with sweeps.
The Jazz were another surprise. With a roster that was more than short handed with the likes of Kirilenko and Okur being out and with no experienced big to step in and defend and score against the likes of Carmelo, Billups, and Martin. Yet they defeated the Nuggets and made it to the second round!
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
The Bucks/Hawks series was pretty interesting. The Bucks continued their season long push and almost made it past the Hawks, but veteran play and perhaps a little luck pushed the Hawks into round 2. It was there where they played worse than any team played in the playoffs this year. After the first two horrible games against Orlando, they held their own through the first half in then it was like they flipped a switch to OFF! I would prefer to see the Bucks play, at least they would have appeared to want it.
Charlotte made their playoff debut looking to be contenders against the Magic. Whatever that was all about the Magic swept them in an uneventful series. The Magic went on to sweep the Hawks as mentioned above! Now they are playing the surprise Celtics as they are playing with the poise and skill that they did when they won the championship in 2008.
The biggest surprise of the whole playoffs...the Celtics ousting the favored Cavilers! There is a team that played with no urgency in most of the games. The series was just weird. The first time in NBA history that BOTH teams in a playoff series lost HOME games by 35+ points. WHO DOES THAT! King James...MVP...where was your skill in the games? You were more off than Craig Sager's suits! And all this talk about LeBrons elbow!!! It's a body part that clearly after tests nothing was technically wrong with! Just a weird bruise that creeps up and attacks at random moments.
So now it's down to 4 teams...I for one and pulling for the Suns to stun the Lakers in LA tomorrow's game 5 to take it back to Phoenix to win and advance to the finals...FINALLY! Anything to see the Lakers out of it really. Where logic, and history say, a team cannot go down 0-3 in the playoffs to come back and win...it's bound to happen sooner or later in the NBA and perhaps the Magic have it in them to be "that team" as they are playing well these past 2 games. Even with a game 6, I'm pretty sure Boston takes a game 6 at home, but it would be nice to see a game 7 there. Logically I suppose the finals looks like Lakers/Celtics 2008 rematch. In any case, I'm hoping for the same result...CELTICS!!!
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