I blogged this a week or so ago, but I think the Wiz will go to the Eastern Conference finals. They match very well with Cleveland and Boston and will pull back-to-back upsets. The Big Three for the Zards are healthy - at least Jamison and Arenas are - but I think it will be my man Brendan Haywood that puts Washington over the top in both series.
Haywood may have more trouble with Cleveland that with Boston. He is coming off his best season as a professional, and generally plays very well against Cav center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. But last year, Z dominated the first round sweep of the Wizards. If Haywood rebounds he should out play Ilgauskas this year.
The Wizards have beaten the Celtics three times this season, and Haywood has been a big reason. In each win, he has kept KG in check, even getting in his face a few times. For whatever reason, the Cs bring out the best in the Wizards. As critical as Haywood will be, I think this will be Arenas' series. Look for Agent Zero to use this series to redeem a season lost to injury, AND to remind the rest of the league that he is one of the NBA's elite players.
Not much else happening in the East - the Pistons will march to the conference and NBA finals with only a few speed bumps against inferior competition. The Wizards will probably be the most and probably the only intriguing story in the East.
That is not the case in the West.
It's still hard to accept that the Spurs play the Suns in the first round! The Suns appear to have figured out the Shaq thing, going 15-5 in their last 20 games. Stoudamire has really excelled with Shaq around, but I have trouble seeing the Spurs losing this series. My bet is that Shaq and Duncan, and Nash and Parker, cancel each other out. It will come down to who plays better - Stoudamire or Ginobili. As much as I like Stoudamire I have to go with Ginobili (one of the three most exciting players on the planet).
Though not as marque as the Suns-Spurs series, there are other great first round match ups. I see the Jazz taking down the Rockets and Tracy McGrady. My guess is that Jerry Sloan will figure out how to dismantle Houston in a seven-game series.
The Lakers will handle the Nuggets, but the other first round match up - between the Hornets and Mavs - is a toss up. I'm still not a believer in the Hornets, though Dallas does not inspire much confidence either. This series, like much of the playoffs actually, is full of talented players, but many of whom do not have IT. KG, McGrady, Pierce, Allen, Kidd, Nowitzki, are all veteran stars whose teams - for whatever reason - never seem to win the big game. Calling them 'losers' is too harsh, but when in doubt pick against their teams.
Nats Notes
Nice win for the Nats last night, mainly because they finally got a big hit. Hopefully, Nick Johnson's bases loaded double will ignite more clutch hitting from the Nats. Zimmerman got two hits last night, and has hit in three straight so he may be getting his stroke back. Let's hope that Kearns and Pena start hitting soon too.
Sean Hill got called up by Washington yesterday and makes his 2008 debut today against Florida. He's got the stuff to be a number one starter if he stays healthy.
As bad as the Nats have played they are only 5 back with 145 games left to play!
2 comments:
Wow, the Celtics aren't compelling? I'm not a fan of the franchise, but they are compelling--most historic franchise in NBA history coming off a long dormant stretch, with a compelling subplot--can Kevin Garnett get it done in the playoffs?
I think that's a bit bigger deal than the 'Zards, even if the Wiz beat the Celts 3 of 4 in the regular season.
Go Brendan Haywood & Antawn Jamison, Go!
If the Celtics beat the Wizards, their quest could be the most compelling story. Washington becomes the most compelling story once they beat the Cs, again.
The Celtics first round match up will be a yawner, as will all the others save the Wizards-Cavs series.
Post a Comment