Big Games Tonight!
Tonight the Cavs - who lead the series three games to two - take on the Pistons in Cleveland with the hopes of advancing to the first ECFs since 1992. (If my memory serves me correctly, the 1992 Cavs team that reached the ECF were summarily destroyed by the Chicago Bulls in 4 games, who were en route to their second championship in their first three-peat.) I don't think anyone expected this series to ever be competitive, let alone have the Pistons facing elimination. I was right with 'Sheed when, before Game 4, he “guaranteed” a victory. I would have gone 5x odds with someone that the Cavs would crumble and the Pistons would win Game 4 (and probably 3x odds that they'd take take this thing in 5). But the Cavs went and did what no one expected - they won Game 4 and then a tough-fought Game 5 up in Detroit.
As Nike would like us to say, we are all witnesses to LeBron's coming out party. As long as this phenom can, (a) Stay healthy, (b) Stay out of trouble with women/drugs, and (c) Keep the competitive fires burning within well-fanned, then we'll all be treated to 10+ years of jaw-dropping performances. And, should the Cavs front office find the right pieces, who knows how many rings young BronBron will one day adorn. I can't see them winning it all this year - in fact, my money's still on Detroit winning this thing in 7 - but they're obviously playing better than most (myself included) had given them credit for.
Over in the Western Conference, we have Game 6 of the Mavs-Spurs series, the Mavs up 3-2 and playing at home, but without Jason Terry, who was suspended for one game for socking ex-Mav Michael Finley square between the legs. The lesson for you young kids out there - it's OK to yank another man's junk (see Chris Kaman's testicles), but it's not OK to punch 'em. All but Game 2 of this series has been extremely hard fought, close games. While the refs have “injected themselves” a bit more into this series than many would like, each quarter (except for those in Game 2) has been a great back and forth between two top-tier teams. Had the Suns or Clippers dispatched of one another more expeditiously, they might have had the advantage going into the WCFs, facing a beleaguered Mavs or Spurs team. But as things stand, the Clips and Suns have their own Game 7 to look forward to (come Monday night).
Why Monday and not Sunday? I honestly don't know. I guess the League would rather make sure that during that prime watching time - Sunday afternoon, shown on network TV, etc., etc. - we instead have options like the WNBA. Sadly, I'm not kidding. On Saturday, ABC's airing the Mecury/Monarchs game. I think I'm going to vomit. (They - the NBA and ABC - pulled these shenanigans last year, too. Boo.)
I still hold fast to my earlier predictions - Clippers vs. Spurs in the WCFs and Pistons vs. Heat in the ECFs. Both the Spurs and Pistons will need to win the next two in order to advance, making them the underdogs. But I've seen both of these teams pull through when facing similar predicaments in the past, and have learned my lesson. Of course, if Bill Simmons's latest conjecture holds any merit, the past is no longer relevant, as we've reached an age where small, speedy point guards taking the ball hard to the rim are the new model...
In any event, we've got a number of great games left in this 2nd round... and the best news is that we're only half way through these playoffs! :-)