Slightly More Competitive

Just as I post the two blogs about how noncompetitive the playoffs were, multiple teams that were in danger of getting eliminated stepped up and gave themselves a chance. It started on Friday with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets getting some much needed wins at home. The Celtics dropped the first two games in Atlanta, and they really needed a win. Isaiah Thomas scored 42 points to propel his team to a 111-103 victory, which means Atlanta now leads to series 2-1. The Celtics have a good roster full of players who can defend, and do their role. The one thing they are missing is a couple of true stars to take on the bulk of the scoring, and that's what Isaiah Thomas did on Friday night.

The Rockets looked to take advantage of an opportunity, with Steph Curry sitting for the second game in a row. The Rockets took an early lead in the first quarter, but the Warriors slowly chipped away throughout the game. I actually thought the Rockets looked much better in this game, but they could improve defensively, and the role players need to step up more. James Harden played very well, he dished out well placed passes, and scored in volume, although he could definitely be more efficient. I believe that the Rockets have a strong veteran bench, highlighted by Michael Beasley, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, and Jason Terry. They need these players to make the most out of their limited time, and come in and knock down the shots that Harden creates for them. It is looking like Steph Curry will be back for game four, so the Rockets will have to play at an extremely high level in order to pull an upset.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs used Friday night to extend their series leads to 3-0 each, and will look to sweep their respective series' today.

On Saturday the Indiana Pacers tied up their series with the Toronto Raptors 2-2, behind another strong defensive and offensive performance from Paul George. George had 19 points which is good, not great, but he also shut down Toronto star Demar Derozan, holding him to just 8 points. It's not hard to see why Toronto lost this game, they only got 12 points from Kyle Lowry, 8 from Derozan, 16 from Valanciunas, 12 from Carroll, and 1 from Scola. They need to have much more production from their starters if they want to win this series. I believe Toronto needs to tell Derozan to stop shooting so much, because he hasn't been able to do much of anything on offense the whole series, and he's letting Paul George score in volume against him. So Derozan needs to put most of his effort into defense and try to create plays for his teammates on offense.

Also on Saturday, the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trailblazers each won their first game of their respective series, but I doubt either will do much more from here on out. Meanwhile the Oklahoma City Thunder handled the Dallas Mavericks to take a 3-1 series lead, which means they have a chance to close out the series at home on Monday.

Uncompetitive Playoffs: East

The Eastern Conference Playoffs have been only slightly more competitive than the West, with three out of the four series at 2-0. In one of the least exciting playoff series, the #4 Atlanta Hawks own a 2-0 series lead on the #5 Boston Celtics. The Celtics just don't have enough firepower on offense, partly because they don't have a true star. Isaiah Thomas is pretty good, but needs some help, which is why the Celtics should be a big player in free agency this summer.

The Miami Heat have been the one team to really prove me wrong, they were the lower seed, and yet they won the first two games on the road. Now they have a serious advantage in the series, and will likely win the series in four games. The Heat have been red hot from the field, shooting at just below 60% in their first two games. They have also been getting good contributions from their bench and their veteran players. If their role players keep producing at the rate that they are, then I wouldn't be surprised at all if they made it to the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Players like Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, and Joe Jackson are all veteran players who have playoff experience and can be very good in moderate roles. I don't think however they can beat any of the true playoff contenders, but it is possible if they continue to shoot like they have been.

The #2 Toronto Raptors and #7 Indiana Pacers are tied at a game apiece, and this is the one series in the East that has the highest chance at making it to six or seven games. The Raptors are trying to exorcise their demons by finally winning a playoff series. Toronto has won a couple playoff series since 1995, but recently the Raptors have had a lot of trouble advancing out of the first round.

The most interesting series has been Cleveland vs Detroit, even though Cleveland won the first two games in the series. LeBron is usually unstoppable in the playoffs, but he really hasn't had to "carry" his team, they have been getting good contributions from Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and some of their role players. They are having trouble guarding Detroit center Andre Drummond, who is nearly perfect when he is in close to the basket. But the farther away he gets from the basket, the less capable he becomes, so the Cavs have been trying to deny him the ball at all times. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pistons win a game or two in this series, because they have been playing very hard and pushing the Cavs more than most thought they would.

Uncompetitive Playoffs: West

The first round of the NBA Playoffs is two games in and of the 8 series only two of the series are tied as of now. We will start in the Western Conference where the #1 Golden State Warriors won the first two games of the series, which were played in Oakland. So far the main story line in this series has been superstar Steph Curry injuring his ankle. This is big news one because everyone in the media has been treating Curry like the second coming of Jesus this year. Also Curry has had a history of serious ankle injuries, so this is cause for concern. Steph only played 20 minutes in the first game which the Warriors won 104-78, and was held out of the second game, which the Warriors won 115-106, and he remains questionable for game 3. Personally I don't think that Curry is that injured, I think he is just slightly sore, and the Warriors don't want to injure him even worse. 

Elsewhere the Spurs are up 2-0 on the Memphis Grizzlies, and it hasn't even been close. The Spurs have won by an average of nearly thirty points and the Memphis has yet to top 80 points. So yeah there isn't much to talk about there.  The Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks are tied at one game apiece, but I don't see the Mavericks winning another game. After all in the second game, where the Mavericks lost, the Thunder's top two players shot a combined 15 for 55, which is pretty awful. That was probably a combination of good defense by the Mavs and also a bad night for KD and Russ but either way I don't see that happening many more times. 

The #4 Los Angeles Clippers have been taking care of business too, winning game one against the Portland Trailblazers 115-95, and the second game 102-81. This was a little more surprising, because Damian Lillard has been an absolute force since the All-Star break. But the Clippers have played very well, but it still remains to be seen if they can make it far into the playoffs. I think that the Trailblazers need to have a big name free agent to sign with them this summer if they expect to contend in the West. 

NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is approaching, with the first round selections coming on April 28th, and there has recently been a big shake up in the draft order. The Rams, who recently moved from St. Louis to Los Angeles, traded numerous draft picks including this years 15th overall picks, a couple second round picks, a third round pick, and first round pick in 2017. In exchange the Rams received the number one overall pick from the Titans, and they are expected to draft a "franchise" quarterback. That quarterback is expected to be either Jared Goff out of California, or Carson Wentz, who is from North Dakota State. Other quarterbacks in this years draft class are Paxton Lynch from Memphis, and Connor Cook, out of Michigan State, although these two wouldn't be considered "franchise" quarterbacks. Whichever quarterback that doesn't get picked by the Rams, will likely be picked second by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns are missing many pieces from their roster but they still don't have a franchise quarterback. Another route the Browns could take is to build up the rest of their roster and try to get a better quarterback in the next draft, but I see them taking a quarterback with their pick. Another player who has been making a lot of buzz is Florida State's Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey is a hybrid cornerback/safety that can make plays all over the field due to his length, hands, and closing speed. Laremy Tunsil will probably make his way somewhere into the top five, he is a dominant Offensive Tackle who many projected to go number one before the Rams-Titans trade.

Outside of that it is difficult to project the rest of the picks, but there are some top players who should be picked up in the first round. In terms of Offensive Lineman, the Tackle position is a popular first round pick. The top OT's outside of Laremy Tunsil are Ronnie Stanley, Jack Conklin, Taylor Decker, and Jason Spriggs. Another position that is a common pick in the first round is linebacker, and Myles Jack out of UCLA is the the top LB in the 2016 draft class. Other top linebackers are Leonard Floyd from Georgia, Darron Lee out of Ohio State, Reggie Ragland out of Alabama, and Jaylon Smith from Notre Dame.

Defensive ends are very valuable in today's NFL so they are commonly picked in the early rounds of the NBA. The top five end rushers are Joey Bosa (Ohio State), DeForest Buckner (Oregon), Shaq Lawson (Clemson), Noah Spence (Eastern Kentucky), and Kevin Dodd (Clemson). Lawson, Buckner, and Spence are very fast and will use that speed to get around the offensive lineman. Dodd and Bosa aren't necessarily slow, but they will need to use their hands and technique to get to the quarterback.

Wide receivers usually go in the last half of the first round, and some of the top WR's are Laquan Treadwell (Ole Miss), Corey Coleman (Baylor),  Tyler Boyd (Pittsburgh), Will Fuller (Notre Dame), and Michael Thomas (Ohio State). The speedy receivers are players like Boyd, Fuller, and Josh Doctson (TCU). Whereas Laquan Treadwell is better at catching in traffic and catching "jump balls".

NBA Playoffs Predictions: First Round

The NBA Playoffs match-ups are officially set, and the first game is underway as I type this. The Eastern Conference series are #1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #8 Detroit Pistons, #2 Toronto Raptors vs #7 Indiana Pacers, #3 Miami Heat vs #6 Charlotte Hornets, and #4 Atlanta Hawks vs #5 Boston Celtics. The Eastern Conference playoffs will probably be much more competitive in the first round because other than the Cavaliers and Raptors, the teams are packed together closely. By that I mean that the Miami Heat are 48-34, and got the three seed, and the Detroit Pistons are 44-38 and got the eight seed. So the series between the Heat and Hornets could go to six or seven games, as could the series between the Celtics and Hawks. I'm going to go with the Heat in seven games over the Hornets, although I think that will be the most competitive series. Another series that should be close is the Boston-Atlanta match-up, I see Atlanta taking it in six games. The Celtics will be a very good team in the years to come, but as of now the Hawks have more playoff experience. I believe that the Pacers will test the Toronto Raptors, but ultimately won't have enough firepower, so I will say the Raptors in six games. In the last Eastern series the Detroit Pistons take on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Pistons actually took three out of the four regular season games versus the Cavs. Still LeBron is a force in the playoffs, so I'll say the Cavs win in four, maybe five games. 

The Western Conference playoffs are different from the East, in that the first round won't likely be that interesting, but the second round and conference finals should be very competitive. The series will be the #1 Golden State Warriors vs #8 Houston Rockets, #2 San Antonio Spurs vs #7 Memphis Grizzlies, #3 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #6 Dallas Mavericks, and #4 Los Angeles Clippers vs #5 Portland Trail Blazers. In the Golden State-Houston series I see the Rockets maybe getting one game, but the Warriors should easily handle them. James Harden could drop 40 points and 10 assists each game and I still don't think that the Rockets could win. The Spurs-Grizzlies series shouldn't even be close, the Spurs are very disciplined, experienced, and talented, and the Grizzlies have won only five of their last twenty games. Spurs in four games. The Thunder-Mavs series should be more of the same, but I think it could take the Thunder five or six games to take the series. Lastly, I think the Los Angeles Clippers will eliminate the Portland Trail Blazers in six games, I think that Portland doesn't have much talent outside of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. 

"Mamba Out"

One of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, Kobe Bryant, is officially retired from professional basketball as of last night. The 37 year old superstar has been in the league for 20 years, and every single one of those years has been with the same team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant was one of the top high school players in the nation, and he chose to forgo college, and declare for the 1996 NBA Draft. He was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets, but was traded to Los Angeles in exchange for Vlade Divac. Kobe went on make 15 All-Star teams, score 33,643 points (3rd in history of NBA), and win 5 NBA Championships. But hindsight is 20/20.

He is often called "the Michael Jordan of this generation", both players are about 6'6", both play shooting guard, and they both had an extraordinary will to win. The only difference between the two is that Michael was a slightly better athlete and defender, and Kobe was a slightly better shooter, especially from deep. Both were exceptional scorers and ruthless competitors, and on top of it all they have a very similar play style, and have many of the same moves.

But as I said last night was the final game for the Black Mamba, and there were very high expectations, but at the same time everyone understood that Kobe was nowhere near the player he used to be. Kobe came out firing, scoring 15 points in the first quarter, and added 7 more points before half time, but the Lakers still trailed by double digits at half.  The Lakers made a slight dent in the lead in the third quarter with Kobe scoring another 15 to bring his total up to 37 points going into the fourth. But the Lakers were still down by nine. Then Kobe flipped a switch and started taking over the game. He hit a numerous clutch shots down the stretch, pouring in 23 points in the fourth quarter. It was a very special performance, because many people were used to seeing Kobe being great, and for the majority of this year, he played pretty poorly, and the Lakers were one of the worst teams in the league. So for Kobe to come out and score 60 points in his final game was very fitting for the Black Mamba, who will go down as one of the top ten players of all time.

Almost Playoff Time

The NBA Playoffs are just around the corner, with the first games starting this Saturday, and only three teams in the league are still fighting for a spot. In the East the eight teams that will be in the playoffs are Cleveland, Toronto, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Charlotte, Indiana, and Detroit. The only thing left to be decided is the seeding of those teams, and that likely won't change that much. All of those teams have winning records, which is a plus because last year featured two teams that had under .500 records. But I believe the Eastern Conference only has a couple teams capable of even competing with the Western Conference in the Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the obvious first choice, followed by the Toronto Raptors and maybe the Atlanta Hawks. But I think I'm being optimistic, the Raptors are 4-4 versus the top four teams in the West, which isn't horrible, but they are 0-2 versus the Warriors this season. The Hawks are just 2-6 though versus the top four in the West, which is pretty bad. It is also interesting that the top three Eastern Conference teams have a combined record of 0-6 versus the Golden State Warriors. 

In the West, Golden State has the number one seed locked down, and now is going for the all time wins record. They have tied the record at 72-9, and now look to break it against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers round out the top four, and Portland and Memphis have also clinched a playoff spot. That means that the 7th and 8th seeds are still up for grabs, currently Dallas is in line for the 7th, and Utah for the 8th, but the Houston Rockets could still sneak into the playoffs and provide an interesting match-up for the Warriors. Now the Rockets are not in the playoffs yet, and they definitely aren't the same team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year. But that being said, I would much rather watch a Warriors-Rockets series than a Warriors-Jazz series. 

Despite all of this, the 2016 Playoffs are Warriors' to lose, they will likely break the all time record for regular season wins. So if they don't win the championship I think it is all for nothing, some people might disagree with me, but that's just how I see it.