BOOM!

That's the sound of the Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal trades blowing up in the faces of the Mavs and the Suns. Although both teams lost in the first round in 5 games, I see the situations quite differently. I'm going to use a blackjack analogy.

The Mavs before the Kidd trade were not contenders to win the West so in a desperation move to compete they traded for an big name player. I see this as having 16 when the dealer is showing a 10. If you stay you are very likely to lose and if you hit you are very likely to lose. But Dallas did neither, they doubled down (by losing key depth and messing up their salary cap) and busted and lost more money than they had to. Avery Johnson is very likely to be fired and that team needs a lot of changes.

The Suns before the Shaq trade were fringe contenders to the win the West so in a less-desperate move they traded for a big center to compete with the Spurs and the Pau Lakers. I see this as having a 12 while the dealer is showing an 7. You should hit (very unlikely to win if you stay but possible) but there's a good chance you can bust. Well the Suns swung for the fences and doubled down and busted. Shaq is old and is owed a lot of money and Grant Hill is back to his injury prone ways. Not looking good for them but Amare is very young and still has a lot of potential.

In the other two games.....

The Rockets did what they had to do at home and blasted the Jazz. This has been a very even series since Rafer Alston came back in Game 3. I hope the Rockets force a Game 7 because Game 7's are GREAT.

The Pistons finally played up to their potential and dominated the Sixers from the start. I have a strong feeling they will win Game 6. They're just a lot better than Philly.

In tomorrow's games, I see the Cavs closing out the Wizards and the Celtics taking a 3-2 lead over the Hawks.

My first thoughts on the 2nd round matchup of Hornets vs Spurs are that it should be a great series. One of the best pg's in the game vs one of the quickest. Quite possibly the best power forward of all-time vs an up and coming all star power forward. Full breakdown and prediction will come before the series starts Saturday.

Hell Yeah!

The Lakers ended their postseason drought with their 1st series victory since 2004. Denver fought hard in Game 4 but they still got swept aside. Even with Boston and Detroit playing supposed pushovers Atlanta and Philly, the Lakers will be the only team to sweep a team this 1st round. Very impressive performance from the Lakers this series and Kobe showed why he's a MVP candidate. He shrugged off missed FT's and some silly fouls to completely take over the end of Game 4.

In the other games....

The Celtics lost again to Atlanta. I assumed after what happened at the end of Game 3, that the Celtics would come out and handle Atlanta. Instead they let Joe Johnson torch them for 20 pts in the 4th quarter and now the series is 2-2. I am really surprised by these turn of events. I'm glad to see fans go crazy in Atlanta even if they might be bandwagoners. Boston seems bothered by the Hawks' athleticism.

The Magic ended the NBA-TV invitational (3 of the 5 games have been on that channel) in 5 games. Dwight Howard is a beast. Had his 3rd 20-20 game of the series which hasn't been done since 1971 by Wilt Chamberlain. I underestimated the Magic and they look to be a formidable foe for Detroit (they will beat Philly) in the 2nd round.

In non-playoff news...

Pat Riley stepped down as the Miami Heat coach and was replaced by assistant Erik Spolestra. He remains the team's President.

Larry Brown is back coaching as the coach of Charlotte Bobcats. He should be able to get that team to the playoffs in a weak Eastern conference.

The Celtics Lost?!

That phrase almost started a riot in the bathrooms at BeerFest. While waiting in line I checked my phone and was amazed. I started to taunt my friend who was a Celtics fan and somehow started pandemonium in the bathroom with almost everyone chanting and cheering that the Celtics lost.

Safe to say I was very surprised by the Hawks' victory. I am happy for them and I hope they can make it an interesting series. It would be hilarious if the Suns, who a lot of people saw as a title contender, got swept and the Hawks didn't.

In the other games -

the Jazz handled their business at home and took a 3-1 lead over the Rockets. T-Mac had another good game but another quiet 4th qtr. Hopefully they can stretch the series to 6 or 7 games because...

the LakeShow took a commanding a 3-0 lead over the Nuggets with another relatively easy victory. Kobe had a solid all around game and many of his Laker teammates played solidly as well. Melo and AI were terrible and Denver was undisciplined like usual. Hopefully the Lakers can close it out Monday and get some rest.

in the NBA-TV invitational, the Magic pulled away from the Raptors late and took a 3-1 lead and I suspect that they'll close it out on Monday (on NBA-TV of course). Chris Bosh played well but no one else really showed up for the Raptors. I'm starting to think Andrea Bargnani is Italian for Kwame Brown.

thoughts after all the game 2's

Although the playoffs have been exciting so far, only one of the 8 1st round series (Philly-Det) is tied 1-1. Detroit is going to handle Philly but I could see Philly winning one more game. Here are my thoughts on the other 7

Series I think are just about over

Celtics 2 Hawks 0

This series was over before it started and the Hawks only made it worse by talking.

Jazz 2 Rockets 0

The Rockets aren't going to come back from losing both games at home especially without Yao and Utah being so good at home

Cavs 2 Wizards 0

The Wizards looked horrible in Game 2. LeBron outscored the Big 3 by himself. They don't have a way to slow down LeBron and Arenas isn't healthy.

Series I think aren't over yet but not looking good for the teams down

Lakers 2 Nuggets 0
The Nuggets just can't guard anyone. Game 1 it's Gasol dropping 36, 16, and 8 and Game 2 it's Kobe dropping 49 and 10. Denver could stretch it to 5 or 6 but that's it.

Hornets 2 Mavs 0
The Mavs can't do anything to slow down CP3. He's running wild and completely dominating. They don't have the players on their roster anymore (Devin Harris) to even slow him down. They look swagless like they did last year against the W's.

Spurs 2 Suns 0

The Suns blew Game 1 and got dominated in the 2nd half of Game 2. Their late game execution is shaky and they are unable to keep Tony P or Manu out of the paint. I can't imagine them winning 4 in a row or winning 4 of 5 and Game 7 in San Antonio.

Magic 2 Raptors 0

Dwight Howard has been beasting and that will continue throughout the series. With that said, Toronto had a chance to steal one in Orlando and blew it by not running a better play at the end of the game. They've showed they can hang with Orlando (after the 1st qtr) but they haven't shown they can beat them yet.

I know it's early but...

Two of the 1st round series already look finished.

Houston just doesn't have enough firepower to compete with Utah and it would be foolish to think they can win 4 of 5 against the Jazz with 3 of the games being in Utah. This is really looking like a sweep now.

The Wizards can talk the talk but they obviously can't walk the walk. I understand why Arenas is struggling but not Jamison or Butler (Wally is guarding him!). I think they show some heart in Washington but I'll be surprised if the series lasts more than 5.

quick thoughts after the game 1's

Lakers 128 Nuggets 114

Lakers win easily even though Kobe doesn't play particularly well. Denver played zero defense and I don't see any indication that they'll start.

Celtics 104 Hawks 81

No surprises here. The Hawks are simply outmatched and outclassed.

Sixers 90 Pistons 86

The Pistons had control of the game but then they got complacent and arrogant and gave the Sixers' confidence. Could be a longer series than I thought

Magic 114 Raptors 100

The Raptors looked asleep in the 1st quarter but they eventually made it a game in the 4th. Dwight Howard looks ready to dominate and make me look like an idiot.

I didn't see the Saturday games (was in Napa, story not really appropriate for a family friendly blog) but I saw highlights and read recaps.

Spurs 117 Suns 115 2 OT

It doesn't really surprise me that the Spurs out-executed the Suns in the clutch. Shaq has to stay out of foul trouble so he can guard Duncan. Looks like the series might live up to the hype.

Cavs 93 Wizards 86

Close game and LeBron takes over at the end. Very similar to their series two years ago. Looks to be another series filled with very close games.

Jazz 93 Rockets 82

Not a good start for the Rockets. Without Yao, they can't expect to win with T-Mac going 7 for 21. This could be a shorter series than I thought.


Hornets 104 Mavs 92

Chris Paul just went crazy in the 2nd half and the Mavs are going to have do something to slow him down or they have no chance. Talent >>>>> experience