Tuesday, May 09, 2006
NBA playoffs - Round 1.
I've been watching the NBA playoffs pretty religiously the past few weeks. This has meant that I've been staying up till atleast around 1 am every night--to say that this is creating havoc in my life might be overstating it a bit--and getting up much later (let's be a little vague about that, shall we?) than I should be. While the playoffs were still in their first round, it was atleast a possibility to watch the early Eastern conference games, avoid the late Western conference game, and still come away with the feeling that your urge to see good basketball had been satisfied. The second round in that respect has been disappointing. More on that later, let me just briefly explain why the first round matchups, in both conferences, deserved my (fickle) attention and (scarcely available) time.
The Nets-Indiana matchup became exciting the moment the Pacers won an away game to level the series. It became even more exciting when they went 2-1 up. Sadly, that was the last game they won--sad only because it didn't go to a 7the game, I wasn't supporting either team.
In the Miami-Chicago series it was the Heat that were the team favored to win. Chicago must have fancied its chances when it won both its home games so convincingly (It was a memorable sight to see MJ celebrating in the rafters), but then Shaq decided to play ball and Chicago was toast. In this case I was definitely rooting for Chicago, it was an adrenaline-rush watching Gordan, Norcione, and Heinrich playing together, and playing so well.
The other two series were not so exciting. The Detroit series simply because Detroit was playing, and the only interesting series featuring them would possibly be the conference finals, and the NBA finals (I'm pretty sure they can only be beaten by a Western superpower). The Washington-Cleveland series was mildly interesting because of the LeBron factor, but the teams themselves are not of very high quality and do not good TV make.
Of the Western conference games, obviously, the most watched and talked about series was the one between the Lakers and the Suns. Nobody gave a chance to the Lakers before the series since they are considered (atleast at the time) a team going through the rebuilding phase. Nobody was saying that when they went 3-1 up, Phil Jackson has indeed worked a miracle here--Kobe, or no Kobe. Now, nobody was giving the Suns a chance of winning three games in a row especially since one of them included the one to be played in Lakers' territory. I'm happy to report that not only did the Suns do the unthinkable, they're also a game up on the other LA team.
The Sacramento Spurs series was supposed to be a no-brainer win for the Spurs but it turned out have a few twists and turns before it went the way of the inevitable. Sacramento was able to level the series at 2-2, in so small part thanks to Ron Artest who was acquired sometime mid-season, before giving in. Another noteworthy player who lived up to his alleged potential was Bonzy Wells who had atleast one 40 point game. The Spurs, unfortunately, just have too many weapons. One player I can't stand on their team is Ginobli who plays the game as if it were some combination of wrestling and kabaddi. I'm firmly rooting against the Spurs, and I hope that the Mavericks can finally find a way of dealing with them.
The Mavericks series was like the Detroit series, very one-sided and boring, as was the Clippers series with the Denver Nuggets.
Coming back to my point, the second round series of the Eastern conference are so uninviting that I'm finding it hard to resist (even mock-resist) the late West-coast game. One of the series is with Detroit--`nuff said--while the other, so far, looks, unexpectedly, like a blowout of the Heat at the hands of the Nets. Now, I'm off (to the TV, if there is any confusion there) to the Spurs-Mavericks game, I hope the Mavericks will appreciate me staying up so late to support them, and have a (the) way of showing it!
The Nets-Indiana matchup became exciting the moment the Pacers won an away game to level the series. It became even more exciting when they went 2-1 up. Sadly, that was the last game they won--sad only because it didn't go to a 7the game, I wasn't supporting either team.
In the Miami-Chicago series it was the Heat that were the team favored to win. Chicago must have fancied its chances when it won both its home games so convincingly (It was a memorable sight to see MJ celebrating in the rafters), but then Shaq decided to play ball and Chicago was toast. In this case I was definitely rooting for Chicago, it was an adrenaline-rush watching Gordan, Norcione, and Heinrich playing together, and playing so well.
The other two series were not so exciting. The Detroit series simply because Detroit was playing, and the only interesting series featuring them would possibly be the conference finals, and the NBA finals (I'm pretty sure they can only be beaten by a Western superpower). The Washington-Cleveland series was mildly interesting because of the LeBron factor, but the teams themselves are not of very high quality and do not good TV make.
Of the Western conference games, obviously, the most watched and talked about series was the one between the Lakers and the Suns. Nobody gave a chance to the Lakers before the series since they are considered (atleast at the time) a team going through the rebuilding phase. Nobody was saying that when they went 3-1 up, Phil Jackson has indeed worked a miracle here--Kobe, or no Kobe. Now, nobody was giving the Suns a chance of winning three games in a row especially since one of them included the one to be played in Lakers' territory. I'm happy to report that not only did the Suns do the unthinkable, they're also a game up on the other LA team.
The Sacramento Spurs series was supposed to be a no-brainer win for the Spurs but it turned out have a few twists and turns before it went the way of the inevitable. Sacramento was able to level the series at 2-2, in so small part thanks to Ron Artest who was acquired sometime mid-season, before giving in. Another noteworthy player who lived up to his alleged potential was Bonzy Wells who had atleast one 40 point game. The Spurs, unfortunately, just have too many weapons. One player I can't stand on their team is Ginobli who plays the game as if it were some combination of wrestling and kabaddi. I'm firmly rooting against the Spurs, and I hope that the Mavericks can finally find a way of dealing with them.
The Mavericks series was like the Detroit series, very one-sided and boring, as was the Clippers series with the Denver Nuggets.
Coming back to my point, the second round series of the Eastern conference are so uninviting that I'm finding it hard to resist (even mock-resist) the late West-coast game. One of the series is with Detroit--`nuff said--while the other, so far, looks, unexpectedly, like a blowout of the Heat at the hands of the Nets. Now, I'm off (to the TV, if there is any confusion there) to the Spurs-Mavericks game, I hope the Mavericks will appreciate me staying up so late to support them, and have a (the) way of showing it!
Labels: Sports
# posted by Mohit Nayyar : 9:05 PM
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