NBA Playoff Update…

April 30, 2007 on 12:17 pm | In General

OK, so I’m glad I never got round to doing those Western conference predictions that I mentioned! Because it would have just given me another chance to get everything wrong, and judging by the results so far I’d have grabbed that opportunity with both hands.

The Magic got swept in the East, I’m not really surprised by that one. Nice as it would have been for Dwight Howard to prove his star calibre by slapping the Pistons about and winning a couple of games the series was really a foregone conclusion.

More surprising is the Heat’s first round exit. Defending champions and with the benefit of me predicting a series win, what did they do? Got swept. Oh dear. D-Wade and Shaq are the core of that team, and since neither of them really got it going for the duration of the series it’s more understandable to see the reigning champions heading off for a long summer. Massive respect to the young Bulls team though, especially Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. A tough second round matchup with the Pistons awaits, and without wishing to put a hex on their chances I will be rooting for the Bulls.

Moving onto the West, I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have been predicting some of the things that have been happening. As a matter of fact, I’d be surprised if anyone predicted the most surprising thing:

The Golden State Warriors.

This team hasn’t made the playoffs in thirteen years, the longest stretch of any team in recent years. They made the playoffs this year by the skin of their teeth, securing the 8th seed on the final day of the regular season. This earned them a first round series against the Dallas Mavs, the top seed in the west with a regular season record of 67-15. For any team but the Warriors this probably would have seemed like a disaster. But the Warriors were the only team in the league to sweep the season series with Dallas, they’re also the only team whose head coach is Don Nelson, one of the most successful coaches in NBA history and mentor of the Mavs’ current coach Avery Johnson. Four games into the series and last year’s finalists find themselves in a 3-1 hole (teams down 3-1 after four games have only come back to win the series 4% of the time in NBA history) and looking at a likely early exit from this year’s post-season party.

All of which should be making Mike D’Antoni and the Phoenix Suns feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The offensive juggernaut driven by two-time MVP Steve Nash has also rolled to a 3-1 series lead over Kobe and the Lakers. Following the form of the regular season, the only game the Lakers have won was a result of KB-24’s high scoring heroics. Forty-five points from one player is pretty special. Regardless, the Suns continue to play like a team running on pure adrenaline, pushing the break at every opportunity and tiring the other team into submission.

The Spurs are currently 2-1 up on the Nuggets, but Carmelo and A.I. caught the perennial West contenders napping in game one, combining for over fifty points and an away win. Sadly, if predictably, the Spurs took the next game at AT&T center, and then won the next away game for good measure. Game four is tonight, and is probably the Nuggets last chance to swing the momentum back in their favour.

The final series in the West is Rockets vs. Jazz. Currently tied at 2-2 there’s everything to play for. This might be the most evenly matched series being played at the moment, both teams feature a strong line up capable of winning plenty of games. No doubt T-Mac will be hoping to lift his playoff curse too (he’s never made it past the first round).

I’m not going to make any predictions on the final outcome of any of the above!