Eastern Conference
There was so much more than met the eye in the Miami Heat’s victory over the Boston Celtics. The combination of age, the physical toll that a series takes on the players, and a clutch performance by King James ultimately doomed the Celtics.
This was the series that the Heat had on their minds throughout the entire season and it could not have played out better for them. Both Dwayne Wade and Lebron James had to deal with their respective teams being eliminated from the playoffs thanks to Boston. For James game 5 against Boston last year was the game that no one will forget. This year he made sure that the Celtics would become the witnesses.
Lebron scored the last 10 points including two huge 3-pointers. He finished with 33 and 7, he shot 5-7 from beyond the arc. Dwayne Wade led everyone in scoring with 34 and 10, rounding out the big three Chris Bosh had 14 and 11.
The Celtics looked extremely sloppy at stretches during game 5, most notably with under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, they couldn’t seem to hold onto the ball. The more opportunities that you give the Heat the more they are going to kill you, especially now that they have figured out how to manage their possessions correctly.
Whoever wins the Bulls-Hawks series has an enormously tough test to take. The Bulls are the number one seed, but they are playing at times as if they came into the tournament as the six or seven. Derrick Rose cannot do all of the scoring for the Bulls. Their defense is well documented and with the right combinations they may find a way to disrupt the Heat’s rhythm, but if they can’t figure out a way to get Deng, Korver, and most importantly Boozer going offensively, it could be a long week for the Bulls.
The Hawks have the athletic ability to hang with the heat on both the defensive and offensive ends of the floor, but it’s keeping that athletic ability up for 48 minutes that is going to be difficult. Miami starts off very slow in the first quarter, we saw this in almost every game of the Sixers series, but they have figured out that if you take the momentum going into half time and then come out in the 3rd and grab the quick lead, they become almost impossible to beat.
Western Conference
There has been so much positive talk coming out of the analysts about the Dallas Mavericks and their championship hopes. They do deserve this because of how they dismantled the Lakers, but remember there is a pretty good basketball team also known as the Oklahoma City Thunder that is still in the playoffs.
The Thunder dominated Grizzlies in game 5. There was just no other way to put it, the Thunder beat them end to end, in every aspect of the game. It will be hard for a relatively young Grizzlies team to bounce back in game 6, even though it is in Memphis where it has suddenly become a very tough place to play.
That shouldn’t effect Kevin Durant and co. The Thunder are the most talented group that is left in the West. Dallas looked great in that series against the Lakers, but it will be close to impossible for them to shoot anywhere near as well as they did against the defending champs, especially from 3.
The Thunder will also not have problems answering the Mavericks on the scoring end. James Harden can be dangerous from beyond the arc at times, Westbrook has become one of the most dangerous point guards in the league and Kevin Durant is well Kevin Durant.
Many things can change in two weeks time, but right now it is looking like we are starring at a Thunder-Heat showdown come June.
Tags: LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA playoffs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Thunder
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