After two weeks of first round action, it's finally over. And there's really no good reason that the first round has to be best of 7--and I know T-Mac would agree with me, but more on him later.
The East is pretty boring, 3 sweeps and a Toronto-New Jersey matchup that sounds better on paper than it actually was. Looking forward it's going to be Pistons (in 5)-Cavs (in 6) and I think Detroit will easily advance to the Finals.
In the West, the Warriors are the story. That was an incredible series and really shakes things up. In a normal circumstance, the winner of the Jazz-Rockets series wouldn't have much to look forward to (getting swept by the Mavs) but now who's going to be the favorite in the Warriors-Jazz series? My gut says the Warriors and I think they'll win in 6 or less.
But the real after effect is that the NBA Championship is going to be decided in the conference semifinals: Spurs vs Suns. Make no mistake, this series determines the title. I bet it's going 7, and my money's on the Spurs, even though I'd prefer for the Suns to advance.
Oh yeah, Deron Williams has gotten further than Tracy-McGrady and Yao Ming (and Stephon Marbury, btw) in the playoffs. For the second time T-Mac has lost a first-round series after having won 3 games. He's had 9 years in the league, and he's now 0-6 in the playoffs.
I feel bad for McGrady, but I gotta root for "Smooth Hands" Williams.
ReplyDeleteI do think you're underestimating the Pistons. They can win the championship and I think the West is closer than you think as well.