Hawks vs Celtics

Well after winning the two games in Atlanta, the Hawks chances certainly look better than they did a couple a few days ago. Atlanta has a young, and extremely athletic basketball team. Joe Johnson was unstoppable in game 2 and he has the Celtics scratching their heads for answers. Josh Smith is a player who has really been under the radar due to lack of Hawks coverage over the last few years. This guy can really play and he is showing the "Boston Three Party" that he and the Hawks are not going to be an easy out. I have a hard time seeing Atlanta winning in Boston in game 5, but if they can win game 6 in Atlanta I like their chances in Boston for game 7. Good luck to the Hawks

How about the Orlando Magic?? With Boston and Detroit struggling, this has to favor Dwight Howard and company going on in the playoffs. It doesn't look like the Detroit series is going to end anytime soon, and either way I really like how the Magic match-up against the Pistons. Detroit really lacks a presence in the middle that can stop Howard, and Hedo Turkoglu is an x-factor that could make them a serious contender out of the East. The only thing that could hurt the Magic, is relying too heavily on the three-pointers. They really jump out to huge leads when they're shooting them well, but when they go cold, they tend to let teams back into the game. When you have a dominant player in the post, there is no reason to shoot threes with a 20+ point lead. That could really be the achilles heal for Orlando going forward in the playoffs.

i'm a huge lakers fan. I remember Magic and Kareem in the 80s and I think this year's team is actually better than those teams. Does anyone else think that LA should cruise to another nba championship?

No way. They are pretty good this year and they might win the Finals, but they aren't near as good as the teams from the 80s.

Well Rick, I am not old enough to compare the Lakers teams of today with the teams of the 80s, but I will say that even Magic and Kareem would struggle getting out of the Western Conference this year. It looks like the Lakers will face Utah and Rick I am telling you this could really be a trap series for the Lakers. Utah has outstanding point guard play from Derron Williams, and I can't wait to watch the inside battle between Gasol and Boozer. Let's say for your sake that LA does indeed survive this series, they would face either the defending champion Spurs, or Chris Paul's Hornets. Nobody really believes in the Hornets yet, but the way they are schooling Dallas, I'm telling you right now that San Antonio will lose some sleep thinking about guarding Chris Paul. Either one of those two teams could be trouble for Kobe and the Lakers. The Western Conference is wide open, and I would not be shocked if any one of the 4 teams I just mentioned advanced to the Finals. No offense Rick, but I really don't see the Lakers surviving two grueling series in a row. The Nuggets were a breeze for them, but that is not a preview of things to come.

None of those teams have anyone that can guard Kobe. Lakers will beat Utah in 5 and San Antonio in 6. Spurs are too old to play against Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Fisher.

I don't think anyone has people that can guard CP3. Hornets baby!

This is my last post for today because I have to go to Kissimmee for tonight's baseball game between Apopka and Osceola (7:30pm only at http://www.centralfloridasportscasting.com) You guys just keep putting things on the board that makes me want to respond. Gentlemen, you are crazy if you think that San Antonio won 4 championships without playing great defense. They have a guy by the name of Bruce Bowen who has made a career out of guarding NBA superstars and shutting them down in the playoffs. This guy is notorious in the NBA for being a nasty defender. I use the word nasty because Brent Barry once told a reporter that he would rather be "punched in the face" than have Bruce Bowen guarding him. I'm not saying that he will shut Kobe or Chris Paul completely down, but he will bring their numbers down to Earth a bit. I hate to say it, but San Antonio is on their way to the Finals again. I hate watching them just as much as every other NBA fan, but they just have the pedigree for winning playoff basketball games. I think the Finals will feature Boston vs. San Antonio with the Spurs winning in 6.

Well, I said I would be totally shocked if the Hawks won another game against the Celtics and I was (Shocked!) after last night's game! Being a Hawks fan I was thrilled to see them pull it out but I have to admit that when they got down by 10 going into the 4th quarter I really thought they were out of it. But, thanks to some real heroics by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith they came back and beat the Celtics and I think earned a lot of respect from other NBA teams and fans across the country!

I am not sure this year's Lakers team is better than all the Laker's teams of the past (there were some GREAT TEAMS!) but I do think that this year's team has a great chance (in fact I think they will reach the Finals and win the Championship this year) to win it all this year. I think getting Pau Gasol in that trade during the year put the Lakers over the top and made them the best team in the NBA. And, I am not a Laker fan.

Well, my Atlanta Hawks came down to reality last night! I didn't really expect them to win but I was hoping that they could at least make the game a little more interesting! But, I will say that even if they don't win tomorrow night I think they far exceeded all expectations by winning two games in this series. And, hopefully, by winning those two games I hope they also won some respect from the other NBA teams and fans.

Well, the Hawks season DID come to an end yesterday! Although, I think the Hawks far exceeded all expectations by winning three games against the Celtics I am disappointed that they did not put on a better showing yesterday. I did not expect them to win but I was hoping they would put on a respectable game. But, as a Hawks fan I have to admit that I never expected them to win one game much less three games in their series against the Celtics.