May The Best Man Win - Playoffs 2005

First of all, my apologies for not having had the time to post anything since February…you can blame the I.B. Diploma programme for that! But anyway, onto more important things.

Since the tip-off back in October, basketball fans across the world have been waiting for today…the first day of the NBA playoffs. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the playoffs have finally arrived! Yes, they have been a long time coming!
Regular favourites, and usually playoff-contending teams like the L.A. Lakers, Minnesota, Portland, New York and Orland have had less than stellar seasons…in fact they could be considered incredibly sub-par. Lucky for them they have an extended summer vacation, which they would be wise to use carefully to regenerate and regroup to become forces to contend with next season! On the flip side, teams like Washington and Memphis managed to claw their way into playoff positions.

Obviously the movements of Shaq to Miami and Steve Nash to Phoenix have created some kind of alternate universe which has lead to the Heat and Suns being the number one team in their respective divisions (although for the record it is Phoenix who has the advantage.) There are some other big contenders for the title – Detroit would dearly like a repeat of their almost-Lakers sweep last season (sorry Detroit fans, it’s not going to happen1), and TD is hungry to establish himself and score a ring (for his Spurs as well, I suppose). But honestly, after looking at the stat sheet, I am predicting a Miami-Phoenix finals…it will be a clash of the Titans (more so than any Lakers-Miami match, despite what a previous posting has said!), it will be a long drawn out series, that will probably go up to 7 games because neither team wants to get that close and lose out, but Miami will take it in the end. There’s just nothing you can do when Shaq is on your team, playing well, and WANTS to win (as opposed to last year, when it was obvious he didn’t really care anymore). Book it. Miami in 7!

Well the first round of the playoffs has begun, and here are the results from today, the first day:

Philly 85 Detroit 106
Houston 98 Dallas 86
Indiana 82 Boston 102
Sacto 82 Seattle 87

There you have it!

Oh and in case you were wondering about the team standings as they lie at the beginning of the playoffs, you may want to check out this link:
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Cnf.html

Last thing: go out right now and grab the latest issue of Slam mag (ish 88, with Vince on the cover). It's a great issue, and watch out, because Slam's Scoop Jackson is leaving for ESPN! His last editorial will be in ish 89...definitely not to be missed!

I promise more updates as the race for the Larry O’Brien trophy progresses!

-Gayatri.