We are a few games into the second round, and, as always, I have a few remarks that I would like to make about what I have seen so far.
1. All of the series look like they are going to be tough, but so far, the one that I thought would be one of the toughest has not turned out that way. The Detroit Pistons have had their way with the Chicago Bulls in both games in Detroit. There are three things that deserve to be pointed out in this series thus far, though:
- They are in Detroit. Things will probably not be so easy in Chicago.
- Chicago IS going to have to win in Detroit. They can’t win this series without winning in Detroit. Detroit can win it without winning a single game in Chicago.
- Chicago won the season series 3 games to 1. They can beat the Pistons. Of course, their season series doesn’t matter much in the post-season if they don’t show WHY they were able to do it in the regular season.
2. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix. I still think Phoenix will win this series even though the Spurs style of play is usually better for the post-season, but I’m thinking that my estimate of Phoenix winning the series 4-1 over the Spurs might be in jeopardy. The Spurs had been looking beatable of late, despite their record. Their players are getting older. Their best players haven’t looked as dominant as they have in the past. The worst part about this, though, is that the Utah Jazz, if they can get past the Golden State Warriors, match up much better with the Suns than the Spurs.
4. Utah managed to out-Golden State the Warriors in the first quarter. It’s a good thing, though, that they stopped trying to do that and started settling down in the fourth quarter. As I watched the game, I could tell that the tempo had changed, even when the ending was still in doubt. One thing that I think all of us have noticed about the Golden State Warriors here in the postseason — those boys can shoot. (The last good Golden State team that I can remember could shoot, too. Could we ever forget Run TMC?)
5. Did Utah make it into the second round because Tracy McGrady was “cursed”. His stats obviously don’t seem to indicate anything of the sort, but you’ve got to wonder if people (teammates, fans, coaches, management) think themselves out of winning games, series, and championships because of trends. (We all know about the long-lasting Boston Red Sox curse.) Would someone think of trading McGrady because of this mythical “curse”? After all Yao Ming might be good enough to win a championship if he weren’t “hampered” by McGrady, right? Just don’t trade him to the Grizzlies where their “curse” doesn’t even allow them to win a single playoff game! Just remember, Tracy, it could be worse.
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