The NBA playoffs continued in round 2, as the two teams from last year's Finals were eliminated. As the older veteran teams continue to fall, new up and coming teams continue to shine.
Dallas Mavericks defeat LA Lakers
I expected this to be a hard fought series, with the potential to go a full 7 games. Instead, it ended in a 4 game sweep, but not by the team many would have expected to cruise through this series. It was the defending champion Lakers that fell to the team with a long history of postseason collapses, the Dallas Mavericks.
When the series started it appeared that we'd be treated to a thrilling series, highlighted by the two super stars that somehow had never faced each other in the postseason. Dirk led the Mavs to a narrow 2 point victory in Game 1, defeating Kobe's Lakers on their own court. What should have been a back and forth battle all series long ended up being the unraveling of the Lakers dynasty. Instead of competing for their 3rd straight title (and 6th overall for the tandem of Kobe and Phil Jackson), the Lakers will be headed for an early summer vacation with a lot of questions about their future. Phil Jackson is likely to retire, which depending on his replacement could result in drastic changes that may take time to adjust to. As Kobe Bryant nears the end of his storied career, he may not have the time to spare. Kobe's reluctance to go anywhere near the paint and settle for jump shots all series long is a sign that the window is closing for him.
When a champion falls, they fall hard. A 4 game sweep is bad enough, but a near 40 point blow out loss to end the series is just embarrassing. To top it off, a couple of players, notably Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, showed a total lack of class and sportsmanship by getting themselves ejected at the end of the game. Bynum in particular was a disgrace. When Mavs guard JJ Barrea coasted down the lane for a layup, Bynum checked the defenseless Barrea in mid-air, causing the much smaller player to go crashing hard to the floor. Luckily Barrea was ok, but there's no way you can view that play without classifying Bynum's attack as a dirty cheap shot and a blatant attempt to injure another player. There is no place for that sort of play in the NBA and Bynum and the Lakers should be ashamed of themselves. Bynum will be suspended for the first 5 games next season, in addition to a heavy fine, and he's lucky the penalty wasn't steeper than that.
Let's not make this series all about the collapse of the Lakers. As Kobe admitted, the credit goes to the Mavs, who may be the hottest team in the league right now while performing well above the expectations of most of us who thought Dallas would struggle just to make it out of the first round. They are getting production from a variety of sources, especially from their bench, which combined for 86 points in Game 4, matching the total of the entire Lakers team in the game. Jason Terry tied an NBA playoff record by hitting 9 three pointers in the game. He combined with Peja Stojakovic to hit 15 out of 16 shots from beyond the arc, leading the way for the team, which hit a total of 20 three pointers in the game to bury the rapidly free falling Lakers.
Then there is Dirk, who may be the best player in this year's postseason thus far. Despite the Mav's disappointing track record in the postseason through recent years, the blame can't be tied to Dirk, who is one of the few players in the league who's PER in the postseason is actually higher than his already impressive regular season rating. He's also one of only 4 players in history to average 25+ points and 10+ rebounds per game in the postseason. The other three on the list (Pettite, Baylor, Olajuwon) are already in the Hall of Fame, and one day Dirk Nowitzki will join them there. For now though, his focus is on preparing for the Western Conference Finals, as his journey to acquire an elusive championship ring continues.
Miami Heat defeat Boston Celtics
Last season the Celtics eliminated both Dwayne Wade and LeBron James on their way to the Finals. Boston has been a major roadblock for the two stars over the past few years. Having failed to dethrone the reigning Eastern champs on their own, the duo decided to join forces in Miami, along with Chris Bosh. With a star studded Big Three of their own, they were finally able to cast aside the demons that have haunted them for years by eliminating Boston from the playoffs.
The Heat got off to a fast start by winning the first two games in Miami to put Boston in an early hole. They had some help in Game 1, being on the fortunate end of several blown calls. Before you accuse me of making this observation through green tinted glasses, note that the NBA essentially said so themselves after the game. A bogus flagrant foul called on Jermaine O'Neal was later overturned by the league. It resulted in a 5 point possession, which unfortunately can't be overturned, that swung momentum to the Heat. Later in the game, James Jones committed a blatant flagrant foul against Pierce, who was unable to keep his cool and got into the face of Jones, resulting in each player being hit with a technical foul. After review, the league later upgraded the foul to a flagrant, but since it was not initially called one then the Celtics did not benefit from the extra free throws they deserved. So if you're keeping score at home, that's a 4 point swing due to the free throws that were awarded to the wrong team. Less than a minute later, Wade crashed through a screen set by Pierce, which could easily have been called a flagrant, but wasn't. The hard foul baited an already irate Pierce into a shouting match with Wade, which resulted in another set up double technicals, which meant Pierce was ejected from the game. You would be hard pressed to find anyone outside of Miami that agreed with the call to kick Pierce out of a playoff game for what he did, as even the TV announcers discussed how bizarre the decision was. That's not to say that Boston would have won if not for the blown calls, but the ending to what was a close game surely would have been altered if Pierce was on the court for those final 7 minutes of the game.
In Game 3 in Boston the Celtics were under a lot of pressure to fight their way back into this series, and they delivered. Kevin Garnett led the way with a vintage performance with 28 points and 18 rebounds, while shutting down Bosh on the defensive end. As much excitement as the win brought to energize the team, it came at a heavy cost. Rajon Rondo got tangled up with Wade going for a loose ball and Rondo fell hard to the floor, landing awkwardly on his left arm. The gruesome injury turned out to be a dislocated elbow, which forced Rondo back to the locker room. He would later make an inspiring return to the game, showcasing a gutsy performance to help lead the team to victory while one arm hung uselessly by his side. His "Willis Reed" moment gave the team a much needed spark, but in the long run may have doomed their chances in the series, as Rondo would be far from his usual self the rest of the way.
The Celtics had a chance to even the series in Game 4, but a botched play to end regulation ruined their chances at a game winning buzzer beater. The play was designed for KG to set a screen to free Ray Allen to get to his favorite spot in the corner, while also allowing Pierce to get enough room to try to make a drive to the basket as the clock ran down. But the screen never came, KG and Ray looked at each other in confusion, and Pierce was forced to throw up a contested fall away at the buzzer that clanged off the rim. The Heat would win easily in OT against a weary Celtics squad.
Game 5 was the last chance for Boston to make a stand, but the Heat's stars were too much to overcome. In addition to Rondo's injured elbow, the Celtics were devastated with injuries throughout their roster. Shaq played a mere 10 minutes in the entire series before shutting it down. Jermaine O'Neal battled back problems and an injured wrist, which now requires surgery. Pierce and KG were both banged up while Delonte West's shoulder was in such pain that he required an injection before the game to make it on the court. To beat a team with the talent that Miami has you have to be at your best. This banged up Celtics team, littered with injuries and slowed by fatigue, was far from at it's best. They put up a valiant fight, giving themselves chances to win in each game, but they eventually hit a wall they could not overcome.
While there were certainly plenty of issues that contributed to the team's decline in this series, they won't use that as an excuse. Give credit to Wade and LeBron, who alternated dominating this series. In the final minutes of the close out game, Lebron hit several back breaking big shots, helping to quiet the doubters that have hounded him about his inability to finish in close games. The Celtics defense is a puzzle that the Heat had always had trouble solving, as their team defense of loading up on the strong side to prevent Lebron or Wade from driving to the hoop forced them to settle for jump shots. The plan worked, but unfortunately they managed to hit those shots, while the Celtics struggled to hit theirs. LeBron, who is a mediocre career 32% shooter from 3 point range, hit a scorching 5 of 7 threes in Game 5. It's a shot the Celtics hoped to bait him into taking, but this time he made them pay.
So the Heat will move on to the next step in their quest for a title that will validate their decision to unite their trio of All-Stars, while the Celtics will slip away into the off-season with several questions about their future.
Chicago Bulls defeat Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks weren't given much of a chance in this series, especially with Kirk Hinrich missing the series due to injury, depriving them of their only reasonable stopper to contain Derrick Rose. Yet the Hawks put up a good fight and got off to a good start by stealing Game 1 on the road. Joe Johnson lived up to his hefty contract, at least for that game, as his game high 34 points stole the show.
One of the questions people had regarding the Bulls chances was how effective their rotation would be in the playoffs. One of their strengths in the regular season was their depth. Their second unit consistently dominated the benches of opposing players, which was a big factor in them rising to the top seed in the East. However, in the playoffs the starters tend to play more minutes, making less time for the Bulls to exploit that advantage. That weakness began to show in this series against a Hawks team that didn't have much depth beyond their starters, but for most of this series it didn't seem to matter.
Another reason for the Bulls struggles was the disappointing play of Carlos Boozer, who struggled through a painful turf toe injury. He seemed lost early in the series, before finally turning it up a notch and finishing strong to help lead his team to a clinching victory in Game 6.
One reason that helped Atlanta make this such a hard fought series came from an unlikely source. Jeff Teague wasn't used much in the regular season, but thanks to the Hinrich injury he was forced into an expanded role in the starting lineup, and the speedy point guard didn't disappoint. Not only was he the Hawks leading scorer in three of the games, but he also did a surprisingly good job of staying in front of Rose. While the newly crowned MVP still found ways to get his points, he wasn't quite as efficient as he typically is, in part because the defense forced him to shoot more outside shots.
The series lasted longer than the Bulls would have liked, but in the end the top seed prevailed, advancing them to the Eastern Finals for the first time since Jordan's last title run back in 1998.
Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Memphis Grizzlies
Perhaps the best series of this second round, or at least the one that was most closely contested. It was the only series this round to go a full 7 games and there was plenty of excitement. You could make a case for either team deserving to advance based on how they played, but in the end the Thunder outlasted this year's surprise underdog.
After upsetting the top seeded Spurs in the first round, the Grizzlies looked to keep the momentum going by taking Game 1 in OKC to steal home court advantage in the series. Zach Randolph's big game matched an equally impressive performance by Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook had an impressive stat line of his own, but he once again took some heat for his shot selection by taking more shots than Durant at a less efficient rate. His 7 turnovers certainly didn't help either.
After a breathtaking triple overtime battle, it's safe to say we'll be seeing replays of Game 4 on ESPN Classic for years to come. After the Grizzlies hit a pair of incredible buzzer beaters to force the first two overtimes, Westbrook hit a big shot of his own to force the 3rd OT. By that point the Grizzlies team looked exhausted, while the younger legs of the Thunder helped them cruise through the final period. You know it was a great game when the fans of the losing team give the players a standing ovation at the end. The efforts of fighting through a total of 4 OT periods in the past two games carried over to Game 5 for the weary Grizzlies, who were blown out in OKC.
It should have been all but over after that, but those pesky Grizzlies just wouldn't go away, coming back to win on their home court and force a decisive Game 7. Randolph led the way again, furthering his case for being amongst the best players in the league this postseason.
With the series on the line the Thunder took care of business in front of a frenzied crowd at home. Kevin Durant led the way with a spectacular 39 point performance. Westbrook finally figured out how to get Durant the ball, while producing a triple-double (14 points, 10 boards, 14 assists). As impressive as their two All-Stars were, it was their bench that was the major difference in the game. Led by James Harden's 17 points, the Thunder bench outscored the Grizzlies reserves 42-22. As good as the front line for Memphis had been all series, the combination of Z-Bo and Gasol weren't able to make up the difference for the lackluster performance of the team's second unit.
It was a great run for the Cinderella story Memphis team, but the young Thunder team advance to try to show the world that their future is now.
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