Posts Tagged ‘Michael Jordan’

Eastern Conference

(1) Cleveland vs (8) Chicago
It’s simply hard to imagine Chicago Bulls, who barely scraped by the Toronto Raptors into the playoff, beating the LeBrons. Bulls simply don’t have anyone who can guard LeBron James. Cavaliers are too tough inside: Brad Miller and Joakim Noah versus Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Verejao.

Have we forgotten Antawn Jamison? Wouldn’t he be excited to get into the playoffs with a title contender?

Bulls are nowhere nearly the team that last year nearly upset the Boston Celtics. They might win one close game at home, but look for Cavs to finish this one early.

(2) Orlando vs (7) Charlotte
Can we expect a franchise in its inaugural playoff series to throw of a team that has been arguably the best in the league since the All-Star break? Bobcats might take one game as they did in the season series with the Magic, but nothing beyond that.

(3) Atlanta vs (6) Milwaukee
Milwaukee Bucks were a team that no one wanted to play, but as Andrew Bogut hit the floor and injured his hand, so did the chances of Milwaukee progressing past the first found of playoffs. Look to the last meeting between these two teams and how the Bogutless Bucks handled the Hawks to show how the series will progress. And imagine how scary Bucks would have been with healthy Bogut and Michael Redd.

(4) Celtics vs (5) Miami Heat
Old legs of the Boston Celtics are on the verge of breaking from the surmounting pressures of the NBA grind. This series reminds me of 80’s Bulls/Pistons battles, Heat have their Michael Jordan in Dwayne Wade going against Pistons who are the Celtics, but with a lot more mileage on their feet.

Sure would be nice for the C’s to win another title and built somehow on the resurgence of the Celtics lore. But, the pieces of the puzzle were put together just a tad bit late.

The longer the series goes, more chances for the Heat to pull off an upset.

What is wrong with the New York Knick? Is it the lack of money? Doesn’t appear so. Knicks boast one of the leagues highest team payrolls, but the return on James Dolan’s investment is iffy at best…who am I kidding, Knicks are one of the best, yet at the same time worst, franchises in all of sports.

It must be hard to stay loyal to the Knicks and support them throughout the tough years. The decline of the great New York Knickerbockers began after the 1999 season and the teams glorious run to the NBA Final’s in the lockout shortened season which I remember for a few reasons: shortly after the league and players agreed to settle their differences and save the fledgling season Michael Jordan announced his retirement, although he would come back and play for the Wizards some years later. And, that was probably the last time that I was truly be on the Knicks side.

What can you say about a franchise that trades away its iconic player? What can you say about a franchise that doesn’t hire its arguably most famous player? I wouldn’t blame Patrick Ewing for staying as far as he can from the Knicks as possible.

It still amazes me to know that New York Knicks fans haven’t started a riot because of the atrocious play of their home town squad. For an organization that boasts of great tradition Knicks haven’t been doing a great job at keeping up there with the likes of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Take a look at the team’s last game against the Atlanta Hawks, a game in which the Knicks led by 14 points in the first half. What separates a good team from a bad team is the ability to close out the games. In their usual fashion, Knicks had their usual performance that has now become commonplace.

Late in the game against the Hawks Al Harrington fumbled the ball on a clear path to the basket and that probably killed the Knicks chances to comeback in the game which any other descent team wouldn’t let get out of hand.

Jamal Crawford, whom the Knicks traded early last season in a salary dump, certainly thought that Knicks could’ve been a better team with him on board. “Yes, we would’ve made the playoffs last year. I think 37, 38 wins is the playoffs last year. We would’ve got there.”

It will be a long time until the New York Knicks finally go back to their good old days of glory. Nothing cures past ills better than success. Fans are sure to forget about tough times when the team is winning now and then they forget about the gloomy past. A matter of concern of Knicks fans is how long will it take for their team to contend again.

Something is rotten in the state of Cleveland, and that something is the play of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Six games into the season there is talk already of how their offseason moves are not having the desired effect…make LeBron James want to stay in Cleveland.

Already it looks like the signing of Shaq isn’t working out. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is off to a horrific start in his new role the back-up center.  Role players aren’t performing how they did last year…oh yeah, Delonte West is trouble with the law!

What else can go wrong for a team that was supposed to tear through this season just as a puppy goes through a kid homework?!?

Probably things can get worse for Cleveland if King James declares that he is no longer interested in playing for the Cavs.

What will happen then? What ensues could be the biggest sports story ever…ever. Imagine Michael Jordan declaring that he no longer to play for the Chicago Bulls after they were unable to get past the Detroit Pistons in the late 80’s.

Many people think that LeBron is ready to bolt for New York if things don’t change soon. Well, they could be at least partially right. The chances are slim that LeBron will want to go to a team that is horridly incapable of getting its act together. There must be much better suitors for the King.

If LeBron wants to play for a major market team, New Jersey Nets are positioned more favorably to lure him out of Ohio. Primed to move to Brooklyn (New York), Nets are partially owned by James’ buddy Jay-Z and that can only boost Nets odds. Besides, if LeBron is intent on becoming a serious businessman, then there is nothing better than learning from a really rich guy, Russian steel magnate Mikhail Prokhorov.

What do Cavs do if they want to keep James in town? Well…there is nothing that they can really do. James’ departure would lend itself perfectly to the case of Kevin Garnett wanting out of Minnesota, so that he can have a real chance to win.

As much as athletes like to tout their horn about being loyal to their teams (and in the end their never do), reality is that some teams are naturally predisposed to winning, while others are just trying to emulate them.

Signing Shaq didn’t help the Phoenix Suns. Why should it work any differently for Cavs? Isn’t it obvious that Shaq is no longer the dominant force of old? He had it in him to bring the Miami Heat to the pinnacle of the NBA. No such luck in Phoenix. And as much as I would have loved for Suns to have won one with Shaq on their side, the chances of that happening in Cleveland are slim to none.

Not many people seem to learn from history. Wilt Chamberlain’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers did bring success, but that success wasn’t achieved by Chamberlain alone. And in as much as LeBron might believe that Shaq will be that missing piece of a championship puzzle, reality is sure to prove otherwise. I will then have the last laugh when LeBron gets fed up with Cleveland and bolts for New York…but not the Knicks, but my New Jersey Nets.