 The Underdogs
In case you missed it, and I know a lot of people have, there were two sub-.500 teams in the playoffs this season. Those teams were pitted against the team with the best record in the entire league and the team with the second-best record in the entire league. As of tonight, two playoff series have ended, Orlando took down Toronto in 5 games and the Lakers swept the Nuggets. Four other series are on life support, with the Hornets, Cavs, Jazz and Spurs all holding commanding 3-1 leads.
Only two series are truly in doubt. Those two horrible, sub-.500 teams are all knotted up with the big bad Pistons and Celtics, two games apiece. Honestly, isn't this why we watch? I've heard enough about reseeding. It's time the underdogs got a little bit of credit. They played their asses off to get here, and they're doing a pretty good job of representing their cities, a much better job than the 50-win team from Denver did. 7 p.m. tonight the live blog will be happening right here. The first four games were about strategy and posturing, this one will come down to desire. The pivotal game 5. I can't wait.
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Glad you posted this, Bryan. I've listened to the argument that both the Sixers and the Hawks don't even belong in the playoffs before they started. Most analysts thought the West series were going to be dog fights while the East were going to be sweeps.
Somebody forgot to tell Atlanta and the Sixers to roll over and die, though. That just makes the Celtics look like even bigger chumps that they can't put away a team they have 29 more wins than in the regular season. Atlanta and the Sixers are young, fast teams while the Pistons and Celtics are showing their age. If I were a Pistons or Celtics fan, I'd be worried that it's now or never for my team, as they are going to look even older and slower next year.
No matter what happens, I'm proud of the Sixers this year. They have surpassed expectations and earned some respect.
Awesome post man, you're absolutely right. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about the NBA. Let's go Hawks!
Denver. Wow.
I love what Atlanta's doing, but why is it that when the Hawks win, it's all about them, and when the Sixers win it's all about the Pistons? OK, I'll stop whining now.
As for tonight, the lesson seems pretty clear. If we rebound the ball and don't commit stupid turnovers we win.
All this talk about reseeding...what about in football when teams have made the playoffs at 8-8 (2006 NY Giants) and good teams have missed the playoffs at 10-6 (Eagles in 91?). this is equivalent to 40-42 team getting in sometimes and 50-32 teams not getting in somtimes.
Please Stern, do nothing about this, but please enforce the leaving the bench rule for the Hawks/Celtics game....if only for the sake to make us think that the amare, diaw suspensions that cost Phoenix a championship weren't made for nothing.
Who left the bench? Does anyone have the video of this?
Kendrick Perkins approached the court a little but but not far. Marvin Williams on the other end was on the court trying to see what was happening but not really moving.
Celtics fans should be more concerned that KG accidently elbowed a ref.
If they set foot on the floor, shouldn't they be suspended? That's all that happened in the Suns' game last year.
@1:05
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKsS-3j9sfg
You can clearly see a Celtic on the floor when the camera pans to the left.
Perkins should be gone for a game.
I have no video, but I did see Marvin Williams on the court when I watched the game last night. He, as the previous poster says, was on the court mostly to get a good view as to what was going on. He was all the way on the other side of the court and did not step towards the spat.
KG gets headbutted, does nothing, is considered smart and acting cool
Dirk gets slapped and is considered Soft?
Does this make sense?
As a sixer fan living in Boston, I would be more than happy to have KG and Perk out for the next game.
Boston fans are the most cockiest group I have ever heard in my life. Anything to shut them up is gravy to me.
Stern was in attendance last night, and when the pushing/shoving/posturing took place on the floor, Garnett is shown inadvertently shoving a ref while looking in the other direction at the Hawks. Did he know it was a ref that was restraining him? Probably. Did he try to hurt him? No, but then again, Stern has made examples of guys before for less.
As for the guys from the bench that were on the floor, there was one Celtic and one Hawk on each side that set foot on the court. They did not join the melee, and basically were only a couple of inches on the floor. But again, Stern has been unflinching in enforcing this rule in the regular season.
The question in my mind is,
Will Stern change the rules in the playoffs,
especially if the possible League MVP (Garnett) is one of the rule breakers? And if he does, doesn't that look like special treatment for star players?