Pierce's Heroic Effort = Celtics Win

Behind Paul Pierce's return to the floor from an apparently serious knee injury, the Boston Celtics took Game 1 by a score of 98-88. Pierce had 22 points along with his Big 3 teammates KG and Ray Allen who chipped in 22 & 17 respectively. In a sary moment, Pierce went down in the 3rd with an apparent leg injury after teammate Kendrick Perkins came down on him, trying to block a shot. Fans were concerned as Pierce was carried off the court and stayed in the lockerroom for quite some time. But he then made a triumphant return, literally bouncing back from out of the tunnel to the court. Upon his return, Pierce hit back to back 3's with Kobe's hand in his face. Truly an impressive comeback and inspirational story for tonight's game!

Kobe scored his number with 24 points in the game. The Celts seemed to be high energy in the 4th. PJ Brown was amongst the bench heroes, pulling down big key rebounds. KG had an impressive put back slam after a missed Posey 3 point attempt. The dunk was basically a posterization of Pau Gasol. Ray Allen was on point as well, hitting several big shots, grabbing rebounds and adding assists. Overall the Big 3 played like they wanted Game 1 more than LA did.

The Celtics lost Center/Forward Kendrick Perkins during the game with a leg injury as well. More news should come about his injury and Pierce's as Game 2 comes Sunday in Boston. Congrats again to Boston for taking a hard fought Game 1. Expect Kobe and his squad to be ready to battle come Game 2, but so far this is a good start to the NBA Finals!

SI's Fortunate 50 features NBA Starpower

Sports Illustrated has released its 2008 list called "The Fortunate 50". The list is composed of athletes from all sports who are earning the most between their endorsements and actual sports salaries. Topping the list this year easily was Tiger Woods, the pro golfer who's also seen pitching products on almost every commercial break. Tiger's endorsements make up $105, 000, 000 of his overall total.

Several NBA stars made it into the top 10, thanks to their hefty contracts. Lebron James comes in at #3 thanks to a high NBA salary and his endorsements from the likes of Nike, Vitamin Water and Powerade. Also included on the list are both Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett who will appear in the 2008 Finals starting Thursday evening. Kobe still makes a decent amount of endorsements despite his legal trouble in the past. Kobe's former pal in Los Angeles, Shaq trails him by about a half a million dollars on the list.

Here's the top 10 highest paid athletes (total earnings in parentheses):

1. Tiger Woods ($127,902,706)
2. Phil Mickelson ($62,372,685)
3. Lebron James ($40,455,000)
4. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. ($40,250,000)
5. Kobe Bryant ($35,490,625)
6. Shaquille O'Neal ($35,000,000)
7. Alex Rodriguez ($35,000,000)
8. Kevin Garnett ($31,000,000)
9. Peyton Manning ($30,500,000)
10. Derek Jeter ($30,000,000)

See the entire article and rest of the list here at Sports Illustrated's website.

Celtics Defeat Pistons for 1st Road Win

Just a few days ago the Boston Celtics had the unfortunate distinction of losing their 1st home game of the post-season. Things were tied at 1-1 as the series shifted back to Detroit. Tonight with an impressive performance in Detroit, they picked up their first road win of 7 tries, which many might have called a "much needed win".

Despite what seemed like an energetic pre-game intro show, the Pistons came out lackluster in the 1st. Boston was up 11-0 to start things, but the Pistons stormed back behind a 13-4 run to take the lead. The Celtics started to play great D, shot 55% and pushed the lead up in their favor bigtime. The C's were up by 18 heading into the half, but not because of their Big 3. It was the Celtics bench providing the points, lead by Rajon Rondo, the promising young guard. Garnett had a vicious dunk during the game, which semi-reminds me of the Vince Carter dunk over the French player for Team USA.

The Pistons showed grit and determination in the 4th as they fought back to make it a single digit lead. However, the Celtics pulled away as the game closed out to take it 94-80. Kevin Garnett was leading scorer for the Celtics with 22 points, with Game 4 set to take place Monday night in Detroit.

All in all, the Celtics have reason to celebrate as they are back on track. Should Detroit win their next home game, Boston has the advantage heading back to Beantown.

Pistons Steal Game 2 in Boston

Thursday night proved an exciting and close NBA playoff contest in Boston. The Pistons started to really up the notch on their D in the 2nd quarter and locked down the Celts. Pistons went up by as many as 11 in the game, pushing the Celtics to the limit. In the 3rd quarter, Ray Allen finally started to find his scoring touch and pushed the Celtics back. He also had 5 fouls making it tougher for him to give his all on D.

In the 4th the Celtics tried to fight back and got it down to as few as 2 points, but the Pistons prevailed, by hitting shots and free throws consistently. Rip Hamilton was the leading scorer for the Pistons with 25. Chauncey Billups chipped in 19 points and 7 assists. The Big 3 put in a solid effort as well in the loss, with Pierce scoring 26, Ray Allen 25 and KG 24.

The big concern here is this marks the Celtics' first home loss of the playoffs. As mentioned before here, if the Celtics lose a game at home they most likely will lose the series. The experienced and all-around steady Pistons just might have the Celtics number as of Game 2. Now more than ever, the Boston Celtics will need to pull off their first road win to keep their hopes at reaching the NBA Finals alive.

Celtics Control Game 1

With the city of Boston still abuzz over the Red Sox No Hitter on Monday night, the Celtics took to the court against the Detroit Pistons to start their Eastern Conference Finals. Boston came out very energized Tuesday night and ready for business. Behind Garnett's 26 points and 9 rebounds, the Celtics won 88-79 and are now up 1-0 on the Pistons. Paul Pierce added 22 points of his own and the Celtics never really trailed in this one. For the Celts, Ray Allen continues to be cold as he shot just 3 for 10 for field goals. Detroits defense was also out of wack in this game.

Of course this is just one game of 7, so there's bound to be better Piston performances to come. The Pistons may even have been in a bit of a lull after resting for a good week. After the game, Flip Saunders addressed the loss saying the Pistons just couldn't get their offense into a good flow, and they were a step slow on defense. Don't expect that to be Detroit's performance in the rest of this series. It's still going to be a tough series which could go the full 7 games for these teams, unless the Celtics have finally decided to up their game to that next level.

Read about the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery to find out the order teams will pick in June's NBA draft!

Spurs Advance Past Hornets 91-82

In the words of former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, you can never "underestimate the heart of a champion". Perhaps many people did just that, self included, as the Hornets were blowing San Antonio away in New Orleans. Many people expected the champion Spurs to be done as of Monday night.

Monday night marked the final Game of the series, with a trip to the Conference finals on the line. Each team had been really dominating the other on the homecourt, but that wasn't the case here. Experienced champions were consistent here and the younger Hornets couldn't overcome their spirit. San Antonio was up by 9 as the teams headed into halftime. They had a hot 3rd quarter, going up by as much as 12. In the 4th, Janero Pargo narrowed the gap to just 3 points after New Orleans played volleyball with about 4 different offensive rebounds. Tony Parker hit a nail in the coffin type shot and the Spurs ended up winning it 91-82. Despite the loss, Chris Paul definitely had the breakout season of 2007-08 and should continue this heading into next season. Watch out for the Hornets!

We now get a great Western Conference finals matchup pitting Kobe's top LA Lakers against the World champion Spurs. I actually give San Antonio the edge here believe it or not, because I think they do hold the experience factor. While LA still has Derek Fisher and Kobe from the championship Lakers teams of past, I'm not sure they can solve Tim Duncan effectively. The combo of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom inside could work well to stop the Spurs' guards as they guys on TNT's postgame show mentioned. Will Kobe have it in him to bring this Lakers team back to the Finals? Will Duncan and his crew earn a return trip to defend their title? Either way it should be a great series in the Wild Wild West!

Tuesday night will see the start of the Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons series which also will make for some must see NBA TV!

Read more about the Spurs victory over the Hornets at AP.

2007-08 NBA All-Rookie Teams

On Wednesday, the NBA unveiled its 2007-08 NBA All-Rookie Squads. Rookie of the Year winner, Kevin Durant of the Seattle Sonics headed up the team and was joined by Al Horford of the Hawks. Horford was the only unanimous selection on the first team. Durant enjoys the selection as well as his ROY award, despite a 20-62 record in Seattle this season. The Sonics look to move their team and future star to Oklahoma City next season. Also on the first team were Luis Scola from the Rockets, Jeff Green, who is Durant's Seattle teammate, and Clippers forward Al Thornton.

2007-08 All-Rookie Squad:

Kevin Durant (Sonics)
Jeff Green (Sonics)
Al Horford (Hawks)
Luis Scola (Rockets)
Al Thornton (Clippers)

The All-Rookie Second Team includes the likes of Toronto's Jamario Moon, Houston's Carl Landry, Detroit's Rodney Stuckey, Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young and Spanish guard Juan Carlos Navarro of Memphis.

2007-08 All-Rookie 2nd Team:

Carl Landry (Rockets)
Jamario Moon (Raptors)
Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis)
Rodney Stuckey (Pistons)
Thaddeus Young (Sixers)

Read more here about the All-Rookie teams.

What's Up with King James?

Lebron has started off in a serious slump during the Celtics-Cavs series. While he continues to do more than just score for his team, his heroic scoring performances have been sorely missed. You'd have to believe when things get back to Cleveland, Lebron will be in full gear and ready to go. The Celts are now up 2-0 on the team that was last year's East rep for the Finals.

About the Cavs, they are definitely a talented and deep team. However, people overlook the fact that they really changed up their team midseason, with the acquisition of guys like Sczerbiak, Delonte West and Ben Wallace. I'm a strong proponent of the concept that mixing up a team can hurt its chemistry. The Cavs still compete and are hanging around with the Celtics, but some fans are already calling for the dismal of head coach Mike Brown.

In the other game from Thursday night, the Spurs got themselves back into their series with New Orleans. It's 2-1 Hornets. Ginobli and Parker each had 31 for San Antonio. If the Spurs tie this up I can easily see it going the full 7 games, making for a potentially classic series in the West. I anticipate another classic like that should Billups be healthy and the Pistons meet the Celtics in the Eastern finals. For some reason I think if the Spurs make the next round against the Lakers, I'd give San Antonio the edge. If its Lakers-Hornets it could really go either way.

Friday night the Jazz will look to get back into their series with LA, and should. The Jazz had the best homecourt record of the past season, so many are guaranteeing a W for the Lakers' first playoff loss.

Kevin Durant is 2007-08 NBA ROY

Congrats to the young fellow. On Thursday, the Seattle Sonics (possibly the Oklahoma City Sonics) Kevin Durant was named the 2007-08 NBA Rookie of the Year. The standout 1st year player led all rookies in scoring (20.3) and total assists, despite his team missing the playoffs. Durant was one of the few rookies constantly showing up in ESPN Sportscenter highlights with rim-rattling dunks. Second place went to the Hawks Al Horford who is currently enjoying a nice debut in the playoffs against the Boston Celtics. During his ROY award ceremony, Durant reflected on a fallen mentor, his AAU coach Charles Craig who died 3 years ago.

This for Charles Craig, he said.

"Yesterday when I found out that I won it, that was the same day three years ago that my AAU coach died," Durant said. "I just want to give it to him to show how much I worked hard."

Craig, Durant's former AAU basketball coach, was shot and killed April 30, 2005. He was 35 when he died, and Durant wears the No. 35 to honor his memory.

Read more at Seattle Times.

Durant may soon be adding another jersey to tear off under his Seattle one in his latest NBA store ad. The team is still in litigation to move to Oklahoma City where Mr. Durant will be the team leader next season. In good news the coach PJ Carlesimo has vowed to return to the sidelines next season, wherever the team may be playing.

Now questions are raised if Trailblazer Greg Oden is a lock for the award in 2008-09. Oden missed the entire past season due to knee/leg surgery. Next season will officially be his rookie year in the league, and it's hard to see any other drafted players outplaying the towering force in Portland.

Goodbye Suns & Mavs!

Two teams that had been considered amongst the Western Conference elite were dismissed from the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday night. Dallas was booted from the postseason in the 1st round for the second consecutive time. Phoenix who drew the unfortunate task of facing the world champion Spurs in round 1 was also put out of their misery in a 92-87 loss.

The Dallas Mavericks lost in the first round last year in what was a definite shocker. The Golden State Warriors played spoilers as they upset the #1 seed, a team many had penciled in as NBA champs. Now this year, the Mavs had traded to acquire Jason Kidd as their point guard, but were facing a younger point guard in Chris Paul, who may be this year's Most Valuable Player. Dallas managed to pull off 1 win, but New Orleans closed it out for the 4-1 series win Tuesday night. Paul was impressive in his playoff debut, putting up a stat line superior to several other legendary guards, including Magic Johnson. In Game 5, he achieved a triple double with 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, propelling his team to a win. Dirk had 22 points and 13 boards in the losing effort, and Jerry Stackhouse was ejected in the 4th.

Paul's triple-double helps Hornets oust Mavs with 99-94 win

In the other playoff ousting, it was the Spurs putting an end to Phoenix' hopes for a comeback. Despite gaining 1 victory (a rout of 105-86 on Sunday), the Suns faced the impossible 3-1 deficit against a superior ball club. In Game 5, the Spurs shot 20-37 for free throws, and had 7 turnovers in the 4th quarter. One of the biggest came on a bad pass by Steve Nash which went out of bounds. The Suns were only down 2 points with about 30 seconds left and the turnover cost them the chance to tie or win the game. The Spurs now move on to face the aforementioned New Orleans Hornets in what could be a great matchup between quick point guards, as well as the veteran PF Duncan facing the younger frontcourt of Chandler and West.

Kenny Smith of TNT made the interesting point that both the Suns and Mavs made key trades during the season to acquire top stars (Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal), but lost to teams that had stayed in tact and had experience. For the Suns, they brought in a behemoth yet slowed down Shaq, when they had a specific style of play, Run N Gun, which Shaq doesn't fit into. The Mavs didn't really lose much at all and gained Jason Kidd, so they may be the bigger mystery.

See NBA.com for more on Tuesday night's action!

Don't Call it a Comeback...

The Phoenix Suns had a "must win" game on Sunday. Not so much to keep their playoff hopes alive (many feel the Suns are done), but more to keep their reputation in tact. At the start of the season, Phoenix was a favorite of many analysts to make the NBA Finals. They added Grant Hill during the offseason, then the monstrous but aged Shaq in the middle, while losing do-everything-player, Shawn Marion. The Suns had their ups and downs through the season, then drew the unfortunate short straw in the Western playoffs of having San Antonio in Round 1. They had a tough double OT loss to the Spurs in Game 1, and after two more games found themselves down 2-0 to the world champs.

Raja Bell said the Suns felt embarassed by their 3-0 deficit, and the team responded in Game 4 in Phoenix, with an impressive showing. Phoenix jumped up to an impressive lead in the first half of the game, playing with intensity and never looked back. Boris Diaw was the unlikely hero with 20 points. Despite Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni being booted in the 4th, the end result was a big win for Phoenix 105-86. While the Phoenix win makes them a bit more respectable, they will have to pull off the improbable and win 3 more games against the defending champions...

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets could soon be the only team swept out of the playoffs in round 1. It would be curious because the West was supposed to be ultra-competitive, so you'd expect if any team would be swept, it would be Philly or Atlanta. That's not the case, both teams are still alive in their series as of right now. (Philly 2-2 and Atlanta 1-2). After the Nuggets lost Game 3 in Denver, Carmelo Anthony accused his team of simply quitting. AI told TNT's Craig Sager after the game, this wasn't the case, because they gave what they had and it just didn't work out. Denver needs to show up Monday night at 10:30 and achieve at least 1 win for respect's sake. Their coach George Karl has told Denver news sources that he will return for next season as head coach. Nuggets, give your continuing coach something to build upon for next year.

Playoff Trash Talkers Never Win

Talk is cheap in these 2007-08 NBA Playoffs. Mike Bibby was the latest to learn this lesson the hard way on Wednesday night in Boston. Bibby decided to make comments that called the Celtics fans "fairweather fans" and said he remembered them wearing bags over their heads when he played there last year with Sacramento. Bibby's comments were in reference to last year's lackluster season for the Celtics. Unfortunately when you talk bad in Boston, the fans let you know it. Bibby was loudly booed every time he touched the ball during Wednesday's game. The result was another poor performance for Bibby and a bigtime win in Game 2 for the Celts.

The Wizards are also learning this lesson the hard way. Gilbert Arenas stated before their series against the Cavs that it would be hard for a team to beat them 3 straight years in the playoffs. Gil also said this year's Cavs team just wasn't as good as last year's. Then his teammate Deshawn Stevenson decided to get into it by calling out King James himself, saying Lebron is overrated. And Lebron and the Cavs have responded with a win in game 1, followed by a convincing Game 2 win to go up two games to nada.

The last case for trash talkers never winning in the playoffs is Dirk Nowitzki. While Dirk didn't exactly call Chris Paul overrated or say New Orleans isn't good, he said this was the team they'd rather play. Dirk said he was glad they didn't have the Lakers first round since they're on such a hot streak, and also said the Mavs would match up with the Hornets better. Well as NBA nation can see, Dallas hasn't matched up well against New Orleans either.

Talk is cheap, and it goes to show that the guys making the real statements are the players doing so by scoring points, playing well and winning playoff games.

2008 NBA Playoffs Day 3

Just two games on the NBA Playoff slate Monday night with Washington and Cleveland resuming their series, and Utah going back into Houston for their Game 2.

Cleveland gave the most dominant performance of the playoffs so far winning by 30 points over the Wizards. Lebron racked up 30 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the impressive victory. Cleveland had a 13 point lead at halftime, then pulled away in the 2nd half. Clevleand now leads 2 games to none over Washington, who thought it would be a good idea to trash talk Lebron and the Cavs before the games began.

Cavaliers Top Wizards 116-86 for 2-0 Lead in NBA Playoff Series

On the other hand, any of the Utah Jazz could have talked trash about T-Mac before their series and been ok. Utah did more of the same against Houston tonight, picking up a win to go 2-0 in the series. T-Mac was 1 assist shy of a triple double, playing a brilliant game despite the losing effort. A dejected McGrady was shown leaving the court prior to Deron Williams giving his postgame interview to Craig Sager. Game 3 is Thursday night at 10:30 PM. This could be yet another disappointing early exit for T-Mac in the playoffs.

NBA playoffs: Jazz take 2-0 series lead

A look at Tuesday's Playoff schedule:

Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic 7:30 PM (NBA TV)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics 8:00 PM (ESPN)
Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Hornets 7:00 PM (TNT)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns 9:30 PM (TNT)

Also of note, Brendan Haywood had a hard foul on Lebron James during their Game 2 and was ejected. TNT also decided to jump all over the Lebron James comments towards Deshawn Stevenson who called him "overrated". Lebron had said Stevenson calling him out was like Soulja Boy calling out Jay-Z. TNT analyst Marv Albert discussed it during Monday night's game, then later TNT's genius staff superimposed Marv's head on a dancing figure while Soulja Boy's hit "Crank Dat" played.

2008 NBA Playoffs Day 2

On Sunday, the 4 remaining series started up for the NBA Playoffs. In action were the top teams from each Conference with the Celtics and Lakers' series opening. The Pistons, Sixers, Magic and Raptors also got things started, and there was a surprise upset win by a lower seed.

Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic

The Toronto Raptors traveled into Orlando for the first game of their matchup. It featured two of the premier big men in the game in Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh. Earlier in the season, D-Howard was amongst those discussed for NBA MVP, due to his dominance in terms of scoring, rebounding and defense. In this game Orlando prevailed, winning it 114-100 . Dwight Howard had not only 5 blocks but also 25 points and over 20 rebounds. Jameer Nelson helped lead the way with 24 points in this one and Hedo Turkoglu added 21. The battle of the big men Bosh vs. Howard looks to continue its intensity in this opening series. Game 2 will go down on Tuesday night in Orlando.

Magic's scorching 3-point shooting early burns Raptors

Denver Nuggets vs. LA Lakers

Another Game 1 saw Los Angeles win over Denver 128-114 behind Kobe's 32 and Pau Gasol's impressive near triple double including 36 points. This season Los Angeles had a 22-5 record with Pau Gasol. The playoff game was close through the 2nd quarter, but the Lakers blew it open in the third and fourth, up by about as much as 20 points. Pau Gasol had an impressive Lakers debut with a near triple double. Kleiza also played well for Denver in the loss. Allen Iverson picked up 2 quick technicals towards the end of the game and was tossed. In the playoffs, after a player's 7th Tech, they are suspended for 1 game. It may not matter if the Lakers dominate this series.

Lakers beat Nuggets behind Gasol

Philadelphia 76er's vs. Detroit Pistons

Detroit is the most recent amongst Eastern playoff teams to capture the NBA title. They played host to the Philadelphia 76ers, who not many analysts expected to be here right now. In Game 1, the Sixers shocked the Pistons winning it 90-86. Andre Miller had 20 points while Andre Iguodola added 16points, 9 boards and 8 assists. Rasheed Wallace led the way for Detroit with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Chauncey Billups added a mere 14 points. After the game, Rasheed Wallace accepted the blame for the loss.

Fourth quarter surge helps Philly take Game 1

Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics made headlines this season with the greatest turnaround in NBA history. After spending last year at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, they made serious moves to bring in KG, Ray Allen and several key bench players. The talented squad hosted the Hawks in Boston on Sunday night, the first playoff appearance for Boston since 1999. Boston handled business by defeating Atlanta 104-81. Ray Allen had 18, KG had 16 and Pierce added 16. It may be a very quick but painful exit for the Atlanta Hawks this postseason.

Allen, KG spark Celtics to 104-81 rout

2008 NBA Playoffs Day 1

The 2008 NBA Playoffs have started off at a furious pace. On Saturday the playoff gates opened with a classic Western Conference game going into double overtime. It was the rematch of the Spurs vs. Suns, which is now considered one for the ages. Tim Duncan, who hadn't hit a three point shot all year managed to hit one in the first overtime to tie things up. In the second overtime there was a series of wild shots by both teams, ending with Manu Ginobli's drive with 1.8 seconds to go. The Spurs defeat the Suns 117-115 to take Game 1. Duncan recorded a game high 40 points and 15 rebounds in the thriller.

Cleveland and Lebron James handled the trash talking Wizards 93-86 in their game 1 in Cleveland. Gilbert Arenas had made comments that there's no way a team can beat another in the playoffs for 3 straight years, and the Wizards would "try their luck" this year. His teammate Deshawn Stevenson decided to throw in that Lebron James is "overrated". Definitely not the smartest of moves to stir up King James after he made the Finals just 1 year ago.

In other action, The Hornets defeated Dallas 104-92 in Game 1. Chris Paul made his much-anticipated NBA playoff debut scoring 35 points and 10 assists to lead his New Orleans Hornets to a 1-0 start. Dallas was ahead by as much as 12 at one point, but New Orleans gained momentum and played almost flawlessly in the second half. Paul also showed why he may be receiving the proverbial torch from future Hall of Fame PG, Jason Kidd. Dirk Nowitski had stated earlier that he was happy they weren't facing the red hot Lakers, but it looks like the Hornets were just as heated.

In the nightcap, Tracy McGrady's Rockets met Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz. T-Mac has the stigma of being bounced from the first round of the playoffs all 6 times in his career. As Stephen A. Smith of ESPN noted "it's like a black cat is following him around". That black cat sort of hit when it took out Yao Ming for the season, but the Rockets still had an impressive 22 game winning streak, with half of them during Yao's absence. T-Mac was on the receiving end of another loss to start things off as the Jazz defeated the Rockets 93-82. Deron Williams, Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer combined for 61 points for the Jazz.

More playoff action Sunday with the Celtics vs. Hawks, Pistons vs. Sixers, Raptors vs. Magic and Nuggets vs. Lakers series all opening up.

2008 Western Conference Playoffs Set

The Western Conference playoff matchups have now been set in one of the most competitive races ever. Kobe Bryant's Lakers managed to capture the top spot in the West, and Phil Jackson has the hardware to show for it. Read more about Kobe's West playoff chase here. LA's first round opponent will be the Denver Nuggets who edged out Golden State as the season wore down. Kobe may be on his way to MVP award numero uno, but will the Lakers be on their way to the Finals?

A very intriguing matchup pits the New Orleans Hornets against the Dallas Mavs. Both teams will be hungry, Dallas has the experience, but New Orleans has Chris Paul who's been part of MVP talk all season long. Paul gets to go head to head with one of the all-time best at his position, in Jason Kidd, a recent acquisition via trade with the Nets.

In a playoff rematch, the Phoenix Suns, who now have the services of big man Shaq, will face the world champion San Antonio Spurs. It's tough to call this series yet, and it will be interesting to see if Duncan or Shaq prevails.

The Houston Rockets who had one of the most impressive win streaks in all of sports in some time, will open against the Utah Jazz, who nearly made the NBA finals last year.

Another interesting note here is despite the West being so competitive, the top 2 records in all of the NBA belong to Boston and Detroit respectively. As the playoffs go on it will now be seen which West coast teams have what it takes, and which trades really payed off. The Lakers added Gasol, Mavs added Kidd and Suns added Shaq, all to stay competitive out in the West. San Antonio will once again have a lot to prove to all the teams gunning for them.

2008 Eastern Conference Playoff Matchups

The East side has been set for this season's NBA Playoffs. Even though the Celtics have been without the services of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, they are still the favorites. Detroit and Cleveland also are potential NBA finalists. Overlal, there's not too many matches in which people are calling for upsets here:


1 Boston Celtics vs. 8 Atlanta Hawks

4 Cleveland Cavs vs. 5 Washington Wizards

3 Orlando Magic vs. 6 Toronto Raptors

2 Detroit Pistons vs. 7 Philadelphia 76ers

The match that's getting the most early talk is Cleveland vs. Washington, as this will be the third time the two teams have met in the playoffs. The most famous involved Gilbert Arenas at the free throw line for 2 crucial shots late in the game. Lebron mouthed something to Gil and he missed.

Orlando vs Toronto may also be an intriguing matchup. It's a shame to see both my teams out of it this year, as Chicago and New Jersey both failed to earn a spot. Chicago is enigmatic as they really have no excuses other than poor performance. New Jersey can always say the team was really disrupted by Jason Kidd, although Carter and Jefferson will certainly shoulder a lot of blame.

Stay tuned as the West matchups are still being decided. Denver is now in the driver's seat for the final 8 spot, despite Carmelo Anthony's recent driver seat arrest. The Warriors were eliminated thanks to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Consider the Celtics Champs Yet?

By now unless you're a resident of Boston or a diehard Celtics fan, you just might be sick of hearing about them. However, the Boston Celtics have had two very impressive milestones this season which make a strong case for championship ascension.

The first milestone is the Celtics have had the best turnaround season in NBA history. According to a statistic shown during last night's TNT NBA Game (Nuggets vs. Warriors), the Celtics have 38 more wins than they did last season. This is the biggest improvement in an NBA team, ever. Another team which had an impressive turnaround was San Antonio many years ago, and now they are considered amongst the NBA dynasties. The Celtics are of course a legendary dynasty in their own right, but the several years before this season were considered "Basketball Hell" in Beantown. Chalk up the turnaround to the obvious team clean up and reinstall measures. Hats off to Danny Ainge who most likely has GM of the year locked up, with his moves to bring in Ray Allen, then Kevin Garnett, then an array of great supporting cast members: Sam Cassell, Eddie House, James Posey. Rajon Rondo and Big Baby Glen Davis have also stepped up as youngsters on the team. Barring injuries to KG and Allen this past season they may have had a 70 win season.

If the turnaround isn't enough to show how impressive the Celtics are, consider their other milestone achieved. The Celtics have defeated EVERY NBA squad during this past season. That basically says the Celtics are capable of beating any team on the court with them, including every team in the highly competitive Western Conference. That's the sort of achievement that spells Championship Contender, or has many quickly calling the Celtics the 2007-08 Champs. Of course, the previously mentioned and current defending champion San Antonio Spurs may be standing in the way of the Celtics' return to glory. The NBA Finals just may be a matchup of the newest dynasty on the block vs. the storied Celtics as they return to form.

(Note: To all NBA basketball fans, NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad airs Saturday at 1PM EST on ABC. This Sunday's episode features top NBA Rookie of the Year candidate, the Sonics' Kevin Durant.)

Be Cool Kobe!

Wednesday night saw Kobe Bryant ejected from a crucial game, against the Charlotte Bobcats. It's crucial because in the West a loss puts a team like the Lakers from first down to a 3 way tie for second. LA now trails New Orleans by 1 game for first. Another loss or two could send the Lakers to the middle of the pack, about fourth or even worse. That's how tough the West has become this season.

According to the San Fransisco Chronicle, Kobe earned his two techs within just 29 seconds. The T's came due to Kobe not liking a foul call and jawing with the officials. Sometimes star players aren't afforded too much talking time.

More about Lakers v. Bobcats here

You can now see how simple events could really hurt some West Coast teams. Dirk's recent injury is far from simple and it's unfortunate, but that injury according to Sportscenter could see Dallas not a part of the playoffs. Kobe is in dangerous territory because he's close to the max number for techs, before he starts having to sit out games. So Kobe basically needs to keep his emotions in check, and the rest will follow. If he doesn't, the Lakers could lose homecourt advantage in the playoffs, or even their playoff spot. I expect the Lakers will be in the playoffs, but again the slightest player lost from the roster, or a loss of Kobe could hurt them.

I still give Kobe props because his sick move against the Warriors several nights ago was one of the best I've seen in terms of 2007-08 NBA season highlights. Spinning through traffic and floating towards the basket only to give a no look wrap-around, backwards style pass to teammate Ronnie Turiaf for the basket? That's definitely where Amazing happened.

Celtics Land the Rockets

Last night Houston had a problem. As the luck of the Irish continues, the Boston Celtics were able to use tight D to finally ground the Rockets, with a 94-74 triumphant victory. It not only crashes T-Mac and his crew to the earth, but also continues to prove just how tough and good a contender the Celtics make for NBA champions. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, the last time the Rockets lost, the New York Giants were underdogs in the Superbowl. From there the Giants won an impressive game over the Patriots to become champions, and the Rockets began their ascension into the stratosphere, winning 22 straight. Yao Ming was also lost for the season along the way, but that didn't stop the Rockets from winning 12 games without their Great Wall. The streak lasted for an impressive 48 days and really revved up Houston fans for their team's hopes at winning a title.

Chris Sheridan of ESPNprovided the following about the streak:

“The Rockets did, after all, write their own little piece of history with the streak, accomplishing something the NBA hadn’t seen in nearly four decades,” “But that made it all the more surprising to see them wilt in the toughest test they’ve faced during the streak, a night when a national-television audience tuned in to see what all the buzz about the Rockets was about, then switched their TV sets off shaking their heads at how good the Celtics looked.”

So what we have learned is Houston can succeed without their man in the middle, Yao, and that T-Mac and his supporting cast are definite West coast contenders. We also learned that the Celtics are capable of beating any team, in any place, at any time. This will go a long way towards their momentum and championship hopes. The loss puts Houston into a tie with the Lakers for first, not too depressing for fans of the Rockets. Unfortunately, another loss or two could push them back down to the bottom tier of the Western Conference playoff teams.