I was originally going to do a huge breakdown of the NBA Finals, but I decided not to.  Why?  Honestly, I just can’t stomach writing about these two teams in depth.  I can’t stand the Lakers, and the Magic ended the Sixers and are coached by one of the most annoying people in the NBA, and that’s saying something.  I love NBA basketball and I will be watching, but I just can’t subject myself to a full breakdown.  At least, not for free.  I will instead just do a brief breakdown and give you my pick for the series.  I should mention that I almost always pick against the Lakers and am usually wrong when I do.

I think conventional wisdom says that now that the Lakers have reached the Finals, they will win.  Their propensity to get bored and not show up likely won’t happen now that the end is in sight.  Everyone is saying that Kobe Bryant can cement his legacy by winning a championship without Shaq.  On the other side, you have the Orlando Magic, who are seemingly occupying the space that was supposed to be reserved for LeBron James and the Cavs.  I’ll admit that they have surprised me.  They are firing on all cylinders now.  This series will be closer than some people think.  It comes down to how well Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol guard Dwight Howard and how well the Lakers cover the Magic shooters.  If the Magic somehow continue to shoot at a blistering rate, they can win.  Kobe Bryant will do his thing, but I think the key will be Rashard Lewis.  If he can be huge in this series, the Magic can pull the upset.  He creates matchup problems for every single team in the NBA.  On the other side, Kobe needs either Gasol or Odom to contribute somewhere around 20 points and 10 boards.  The Magic beat the Lakers twice during the season, because they are pretty much impossible to guard when they are moving the ball.  It will be an exciting, high scoring series, that’s for sure.

My brain tells me to pick the Lakers, but it is extremely hard for me to that.  I really don’t want to see that smug look on Bryant’s face when he wins his 4^th ring.  Unfortunately, I think that’s what we’ll see.  Although, maybe my pick can put a reverse jinx on the Lakers and then watch as Kobe disses his teammates.  LAKERS IN 7

It is time for my breakdowns on the NBA Conference Finals.  I have been accurate on all but one of my series predictions so far.  I felt the Celtics had enough in the tank to pull out another 7 game series win, but it turns out they didn’t.  It’s funny because so many fans, including myself, were looking forward to a possible Celtics/Cavs series, but would the tired and short handed Celtics been able to give the Cavs even a little resistance?  I doubt it.  So, maybe the two Conference Finals series that we are left with are the best possible match ups we could have asked for.  So, on to my picks…

Orlando vs. Cleveland

I have been hearing a lot of talk about the Magic being confident after their Game 7 win on Boston’s home floor.  I don’t want to take anything away from Orlando, but…Well, maybe I do want to take something away.  The Celtics had nothing in the tank after Game 5!  Nothing!  Brian Scalabrine was getting tons of minutes.  Seriously, people, winning that game was nice for the psyche of the Magic, but once they hit the floor against Cleveland they are facing a whole different animal.  Cleveland didn’t need some bogus win against a dead legged team to validate themselves, they already know they are good.  Very good.  Like, haven’t even come close to losing a playoff game good.  Don’t get me wrong, the Magic will pose some problems for the vaunted Cleveland defense to solve.  They run a unique offense that surrounds Dwight Howard with 4 shooters.  The Cavaliers must decide how they are going to defend Howard, but my guess is they will mix it up with a variety of defenders and defensive looks.  They will certainly double team, especially given the fact that their rotations and close outs are a staple of their defense.  When the Cavs, double, they may decide that the double team will come from whoever is guarding Rafer Alston.  If Alston is draining jumpers, so be it.  I know that the Magic had quite a bit of offensive success in their two home victories over Cleveland during the regular season, but I think the playoff version of the Cavs is too focused to allow the Magic to score at will.  LeBron James has the ability and energy to play shut down defense on either Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu.  The interesting thing will be how Orlando guards the combo of and Ilgauskas.  No matter which one Howard guards, the Cavs will use screen and rolls to get him away from the basket, and both big men for the Cavs can hit the outside shot, particularly Ilgauskas.  For the Cavs, defensively Ilgauskas may be a bit of a liability because he does not have the athleticism to guard any of the Magic big men.  It will be a battle of strategy, as usual to create as many mismatches and uncomfortable defensive situations as possible.  The Magic will likely look to push the tempo whenever possible so that Cleveland does not have a chance to set their defense.  Both teams have solid benches that can contribute on a nightly basis.  I think the Magic will make this series competitive, but there are 2 words that will likely be the difference: LeBron James.  There is no one on Orlando’s roster that has a prayer of stopping James.  They will have to do their best to make James pass out of traps and double teams and keep him out of the lane as much as they can.  I just don’t think that will be enough.  He may average a triple double in this series.  CAVS IN 5

Denver vs. Los Angeles

At the beginning of the playoffs, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Lakers would be back in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year.  Then we all watched the Lakers Jekyll and Hyde act throughout the playoffs.  Add to that the fact that Denver has been almost as dominating as Cleveland in the postseason, and we may have a helluva series on our hands.  The Nuggets are a much improved defensive teams, but they are still vulnerable, especially against a team like the Lakers.  If the combination of Gasol, Bynum, and Odom are clicking and playing well, they can create issues for Denver.  Kenyon Martin is an athletic and aggressive defender, but he does not have the size to defend Gasol or Bynum, nor does Nene.  Dahntay Jones will go toe to toe with Kobe Bryant, and Bryant will need to be extremely aggressive in this series, especially with Derek Fisher struggling.  Jones cannot stop Kobe Bryant.  On the other end, the Lakers will likely use Ariza to guard Carmelo Anthony and use Bryant on Billups to try and neutralize Billups a little bit.  Billups is very good and getting buckets in transition, so the Lakers will need to find him immediately.  I have never been impressed with the Lakers defense.  There are games where it looks pretty good and games where it is horrible, and to me that is the sign of a team who doesn’t have the right kind of attitude to maintain consistent defensive effort. A team like Denver should be able to rack up the points on Los Angeles, in my opinion. This has a chance to be a high scoring series, but I feel like the Nuggets have more consistent offensive weapons.  Gasol and Bryant are the only two Lakers playing with any consistency right now.  The Lakers have the home court advantage and they have Kobe Bryant, so my pick scares me.  I keep bouncing back and forth on this one.  I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Lakers win in it seven games, but I going the other way.  NUGGETS IN 6

I was at the

What bothered me about last night is the team clearly had no interest in fighting for their playoff lives.  There was no sense of urgency.  I never once saw any Sixer talking to each other on the bench during timeouts.  They looked like a combination of a team running in quicksand and being stoned at the same time.  Trust me, that isn’t a good combination.  What we saw last night from the Sixers is inexcusable.  There is nothing else to say about it.  The one thing I would tell any naysayers during this season was that the Sixers are a young team that fights and plays hard.  I can’t even say that anymore.  Not after last night’s game, and especially not after what they said after the Magic embarrassed them in their home building.

“I”m going to sit down with Ed and discuss what I think will get us over the [hump].”- Andre Iguodala

Really, Andre?  Dude, you are a good player, but come on!  Who the hell is he?  What has Andre Iguodala done to earn the right to even utter those words?!

“We weren”t always there.”

“We had mental lapses.”

“We had inner turmoil.”- Andre Iguodala

Maybe try being a leader and doing something about it instead of using it as an excuse after the season ends in a disappointing way.

“The coaches are responsible for guys [being] prepared and playing,”  “They have to hold guys accountable. It’’s been that way all year, so you couldn”t expect anything different.

“You have to step up and get into guys. If [as the coach] you don”t have that type of personality, to be able to go at guys . . . “

 “At the same time, it’’s your position. You”ve seen the mistakes and all that going on. Was anybody getting talked to about that? To me, this is losing if you have situations like that.”

“[The lack of that] has bothered me, and I”ve told them it’’s bothered me, that it’’s something you”ve got to deal with,”

“When you see the lack of effort, the lack of concentration, the lack of being able to get things done, and to stick with the same thing, to me you”re just trying to play guys, and I don”t feel good about it.”

“You don”t know if you”re going to get back to this position,”  “This is my 14th year. It’’s not guaranteed that I”ll be in the playoffs again. To not get the effort, to see how things went, the lack of hustle, that leaves a distaste.

“I”m not a coach, I don”t make the substitutions. But if you”re going to do it like that, then that’’s the way it’’s done, then you get that type of game. You”re going to get whupped, plain and simple.

“If you see mistakes and you don”t address them when it’’s going on, guys get comfortable . . . That’’s why you lose seven games while you”re trying to move up [in the seedings].- All made by Theo Ratliff

I understand what Ratliff was saying, but please enough with the finger pointing.  The Sixers for the most part did not stand up and hold themselves accountable.  Now we find out, that certain players on the team feel that other players lack focus. 

Believe me, that was just a sampling of the quotes from the spoiled mouths of the Sixers.  I am just glad I wasn’t holding anything that could have been thrown thru the window when I read them.  There is blame to go around on all sides here.  I personally don’t think Tony DiLeo should be back.  I think they need a tough minded proven coach who will figure out if these kids have any desire to be winners.  There are some pieces on this team, but tons of problems.  Questions surround this team at every position.  Like I said, we will be discussing all that in the months to come.  For now, I will just say I am disappointed and shocked at what I saw from this team, and especially at what I heard from their mouths after the fact.  I have been wanting this team to grow, and based on how this season ended, you would be hard pressed to convince me that they did any growing at all this year.  I am not sure if they “get it”.  I am going to step away from thinking about the Sixers for a bit, but we will definitely be looking at this team and its future very soon.  Until then, maybe we should just watch the Bulls and Celtics series to remind ourselves what NBA basketball is supposed to look like.

The human psyche is a funny thing. That is why I am a little worried about tonight’s Sixers game. The Orlando Magic will be without their “Mr. Everything”, Dwight Howard, and with out Courtney Lee, their starting two guard who has played very well in this series. So, on paper, naturally the Sixers should win. The odds say they should win and most fans and experts can’t see how they could lose a home elimination playoff game to a team that is missing two starters. I mean, it has seemed like without Dwight Howard, the Magic wouldn’t be a very formidable opponent, and tonight he will be in street clothes (although it remains to be seen if anyone is injured by his elbow when he is getting in and out of his chair). I am like most people in that when I think about tonight’s game I realize this is a game the Sixers should be able to win. But, my experience in playing and watching sports has me a little worried.

Yesterday, on 950 ESPN Radio, Mike Missanelli referred to what he called “the back up goalie syndrome”. I had the same thought in my mind. Most people, including professional athletes have a hard time controlling their mind. Unfortunately, when the mind isn’t entirely focused, the actions of the body follow suit. You see, everyone expects the Sixers to win tonight. The Sixers have been battling and trying like hell to figure out a way to conquer Dwight Howard, and now they know he won’t be on the floor tonight. They can breathe a little easier. Two things can happen in a scenario like this: 1) The team who is playing short handed and is given no chance to win collectively plays above their heads and out of their minds because they all know they have to at least twice as good as usual to have a chance; 2) The team who is playing with a decided advantage feels too comfortable and confident, expects the other team will just mail it in, and their lack of intensity and focus causes them to play poorly. Like I said, it’s a human nature thing. It isn’t something that can be explained, but we all know it happens. The human psyche works both ways in this scenario because on one side a team fails to play up to its normal capabilities due to an over confidence, and on the other side you have pride. From the time we are young kids, we as people do not like to be told we can’t do something. It fuels our fire. If games were merely about talent, the same team would always win. But, they don’t. That’s why in sports we have phrases like “letdowns”, and “trap games”, and “playing down to the competition”. It is also why there are so many occasions when teams adopt a mantra that “nobody believed in us”. Tonight’s game has all the criteria for any of the above phrases. If the Sixers had Michael Jordan on their roster, I wouldn’t be the least bit worried. But, they don’t, and I am. I think back to games that I played in over the years where what I am talking about took place. I think about the countless times it has happened in every professional sport. How many times have you uttered the phrase, “How the hell did they lose that game?”

I am going to the game tonight, and I, like everyone else, am already thinking about the possibilities of a Game 7. I just hope that the Sixers players have a completely different mindset, because if they don’t, then my worry could become a reality.

The NBA playoffs are finally here and the Sixers have made it to the second season for the 2 consecutive years.  Once again, the Sixers are a heavy underdog.  Last year, they surprised a lot of people by taking the Pistons to 6 games, so what will happen in their series against the Orlando Magic? 

The Magic are a very different team since losing Jameer Nelson before the All Star break.  Before Nelson’s injury it looked as if the Magic had a real chance to contend for the best record in the Eastern Conference.  Rafer Alston has done a nice job filling in for Nelson, but the Magic are not nearly as dynamic as they were with Nelson running the show.  What the Magic do have going for them is Dwight Howard.  Although, the Sixers have defended him well in their 3 games during the season, it has led to the Magic having a field day from beyond the arc.  That is exactly how the Magic play, and we all know that the Sixers do not defend three point shooters well at all.  After one game against the Magic this season, Tony DiLeo remarked that the Sixers have to “pick their poison” when defending the Magic.  I’m not sure I agree.  I think if your objective is to stop Dwight Howard from going off at the expense of leaving the shooters open, it plays right into the Magic’s hands.  The Magic surround Howard with 4 shooters, including Rashard Lewis who is as dangerous as anyone in the league when he gets going.  I went back and checked, and the Sixers went 11-22 this season against the top ten 3 point field goal percentage teams in the league, including 3 losses to the Orlando Magic.  Some of those teams were not very good basketball teams either.  The bottom line is that the Sixers do not match up well with the Orlando Magic.  They have lost 8 of their last 9 games against them.  With or without Jameer Nelson, this is a tough match up for the Sixers.  Both teams struggled down the stretch, but the Magic were missing Howard for a game, Turkoglu for a game and Lewis for 2 games.  So, do the Sixers have a chance to pull off the upset?  Here are a few keys…

TURNOVERS- The Magic have a tendency to turn the ball over.  The Sixers need to win the turnover battle and jump start their transition offense.

DEFENSE- This is really their only chance in this series and it includes a million different things.  Every series has adjustments, so DiLeo will have to make them throughout.  But, as I said previously, I don’t think they stand a chance if the focus on Howard too much.  The Magic will shoot 30 threes a game if you collapse on Howard.  I think DiLeo should throw every defender he has in has in his arsenal and use up as many fouls as possible.  Be physical with Howard, and understand that occasionally you will give up some easy buckets to him.  But, what I wouldn’t do is double and triple team Howard and leave the shooters open.  That is a recipe for disaster.  I would hit Howard with double teams once in awhile to change up the looks.  The Sixers need to show up in this series defensively, because if the Magic are able to hit 50% of their shots, this will be a blowout.  Another important aspect defensively will be the Sixers transition defense.  The Magic are not necessarily a running team but what they like to do is spot up for threes on the brak as well as hit Howard on a quick low post.  It is important that the Sixers communicate and match up quickly in transition.

OFFENSIVE GLASS- I think the Sixers should have an advantage here.  Orlando is not a great rebounding team other than Dwight Howard.  The Sixers need to hit the glass hard and look to create as many second chance opportunities as possible.

BE AGGRESSIVE- It’s the playoffs.  The Sixers need everyone to be as aggressive on both sides of the ball as possible.  Take the fight to Orlando.  I don’t care if the miss shots, get it blocked, get called for a charge, or even a flagrant foul, they must show Orlando that they are ready to play.  Orlando has never struck me as a particularly tough team.  The Sixers need to be the tougher team.

I could go on and on, but I won’t.  Orlando is the better team.  They have shown themselves to be better than the Sixers on both sides of the ball.  In order to take this series, Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, Thaddeus Young, and Lou Williams are all going to have to be at the top of their games.  Not just for one game, but for the entire series.  So, is it possible that the Sixers win this series?  Yes, it’s possible.  Do I think it will happen?  No, I don’t, but I will as happy as everyone else if they surprise me and pull it out.

PREDICTION: MAGIC IN 5