AP Photo/Michael Goulding, Pool

By Paul Gotham

Brief notes on the second round of the playoffs.

Eastern Conference

Celtics vs. Cavs

Cleveland grabbed the  one-game advantage. Is it a case of too little, too late for the Cs? Doc Rivers waited until now to call out Rasheed Wallace’s defense. It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. On the offensive end Rajon Rondo is going to need some help if the Celtics stand a chance. Does Boston have a scheme for LeBron? Was the elbow injury a case of gamesmanship by the Akron Hammer?

Hawks vs. Magic

The Hawks offer plenty of foul opportunities for Dwight Howard. Rashard Lewis will need to step up his game for the Magic. Vince Coleman will have to think about putting in some effort when closing out on Atlanta’s shooters. We will find out how good Jameer Nelson actually is. The Hawks struggled to contain Brandon Jennings in round one. Can Nelson take advantage. Al Horford vs. Howard in the paint? That should be a great match-up to watch.

Western Conference

Spurs vs. Suns

A little trivia for you. Who is arguably the best power forward in the history of the league? And on which team does he play? This same team has one of the top five point guards in the league, and this guy is coming off the bench. This team also has maybe the best triple threat guy in the league. Confused?

If Tim Duncan is not the best forward to ever play in the NBA, then who trumps him? How many point guards are there currently in the league better than Tony Parker? Can anyone question Manu Ginobili’s heart? Add to the mix George Hill, and the Spurs look dangerous.

Three years ago a David Stern interpretation of players leaving the bench area slowed the Suns. Since then Steve Nash and company have lost their way.

It will be interesting to watch how both teams try to dictate tempo.

Utah vs. Los Angeles

Jerry Sloan and crew will seek to avoid a third consecutive elimination from the playoffs at the hands of Phil Jackson and his followers. Many are suggesting Kobe has lost a step. He may be playing possum. Pau Gasol looked occasionally dominant as the Lakers took game one. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer can shoulder the bulk of the load, but Utah will need more performances like the one they got from Paul Milsap.

Got a take on the NBA playoffs? Post them here.

By Paul Gotham

Eastern Conference

Bulls vs. Cavs

Maybe the Bulls could show as much spirit on the court as their coach, Vinny Del Negro, and GM, John Paxson, show off the court. I missed the announcement of “Joakim Rules.” Maybe Vinny should consult with Joe Girardi.  It’s kind of nice how the Bulls positioned themselves to be the Cavs’ appetizer. Chicago won 10 of its last 14 to get in the playoffs. Can Derrick Rose continue getting to the basket now that it is the playoffs, and teams will actually play defense? Can Shaq get in stride after a layoff? Does Shaq still have a stride? LeBron should be plenty rested.

Heat vs. Celtics

As far as seeds and numbers go, Miami winning would fall into the category of an upset. How many would be surprised if the Heat took this series? Does it matter any more that Boston swept the season series? The Cs have dropped eight of 13. Of course, it’s not like the Heat have anyone beyond D-Wade that they can actually count on from night to night. Do you hear that Michael Beasley and Jermaine O’Neal?

Hawks vs. Bucks

Has the potential to be the best first round series. Milwaukee will go without Andrew Bogut, but do not discount Scott Skiles and his ability to motivate the Bucks. Don’t forget, the Bucks have John Salmons who has the reputation for playing big in the playoffs. Salmons will need a great performance to thwart the Hawks.

Anyone looking for Marvin Williams will find him in Atlanta’s lineup. Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson average 33 a game. Skiles’s defense should shrink those numbers.

Magic vs. Bobcats

Maybe the Vince Carter acquisition wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “Vinsanity” is averaging 16.6. More importantly, the “Iso King” is not disrupting Orlando’s offensive flow. Jason Williams is getting a second chance and making good on it. His presence along with Jameer Nelson’s make the Magic a contender. Congratulations to the Bobcats for qualifying for the playoffs.

Western Conference

Lakers vs. Thunder

You know things are not right with Lakers when Phil Jackson has to resort to mind games in the first round of the playoffs. Just when Kevin Durant showed maturity beyond his years, he goes and reacts to Jackson’s gibes. It will be interesting to see how many shots Durant takes in the first game or two of this series. He averages 20 shots per game.  What is there to not like about the Thunder’s roster: James Harden, Jeff Green, Nick Collison, and Eric Maynor. They have a good, young lineup. They are just not ready to win this series.  How much of LA’s success in the long run depends on Andrew Bynum’s Achilles’ tendon?

Nuggets vs. Jazz

Denver has lost their way since George Karl’s bout with cancer has taken him off the sidelines.  Carlos Boozer is a game time decision. Both lineups pack plenty of talent. Which team will get the most mileage out of their gas?

Mavericks vs. Spurs

Oh, the intrigue. Dallas looked ready for a title run after acquiring Caron Butler. Dallas has lost just seven games since getting Butler on February 16th. Does anyone want to play the Spurs in the playoffs? How much playoff experience do the Spurs have? Tony Parker is back in the lineup.

Suns vs. Blazers

Probably the most entertaining series. There will be plenty of scoring. Portland without Brandon Roy does not bode for the Blazers making any noise in the playoffs.

Splinters

Remember when Rey questioned Boston’s acquisition of Rasheed Wallace? If you don’t, click here. Bill Simmons added his commentary on the Celtics picking up Wallace. Read it here. Rey saw the smoke months ago.

Cheers to Lionel Hollins for showing Kenyon Martin how it’s done.

Give us your take on the NBA playoffs.

Courtesy of NBA.com

By Paul Gotham

Celtics getting taller.

If  Danny Ainge and his staff took one lesson from the recent playoffs, it’s that you can’t teach height.

With Kevin Garnett dressed to the nines the reigning champs struggled to survive the first round before bowing from the post-season.

Since then, the Cavaliers signed Shaq. Boston responded by getting Rasheed Wallace. Ainge and crew haven’t rested.

Last week, Boston signed Shelden Williams to a contract. Since Atlanta took Williams with the fifth pick in the ’06 draft, ‘The Landlord’ has bounced from the Hawks to Minnesota to Sacramento. If nothing else, the signing of Williams  sent a message to Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis.

After expressing his frustration through various tweets, Davis finally came to terms with the Cs. Perhaps, Davis realized he’s a dime a dozen and to make buzzer beaters in the playoffs, one actually has to play on a team that qualifies for the post-season.

However you cut it, Boston will have plenty of fouls to give with their revamped frontcourt.

Nash signs extension with the Suns.

He may not be a dog, but Steve Nash sure is loyal. Instead of testing the free agent waters next summer, the 35-year-old Nash opted to sign a three-year deal with the Suns.

Two years ago, the Suns lost in Conference semi-final to the Spurs. Since that fateful night when ‘Kindergarten’ Marion and Amare Stoudemire each earned a game suspension for doing their finest Lynyrd Skynrd and ‘taking’ three steps, the Suns have been in decline. The Shaq experiment reaped a first-round exit last year and a playoff miss this year.

The upcoming season doesn’t look much better. No one could blame Nash for wanting a change in scenery. Instead the the 13-year veteran is staying put.

Felton still unsigned.

We should create a new category: head scratchers.

This past season Raymond Felton averaged 14 ppg, 3.8 RPG, and 6.7 APG. All of those numbers are pretty consistent with his previous three seasons in the league. Yet, Felton is still looking for a team. There are no teams out there in need of a reliable point guard?

Got some Splinters? Share ‘em here.

>Boston signs Rasheed Wallace; Celtics showing their desperation?

The 2008 NBA Champions signed Rasheed Wallace to a two-year deal. The thirty-four year old forward leaves the Detroit Pistons behind after winning an NBA Championship and apparently cleaning up his act since his Portland “Jail” Blazer days.

Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images

This signing makes sense on paper. For one, Wallace can play inside or out. He’s someone that can be a valuable substitute for both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins or play alongside either as the four or five. He defends well with a 6’11″ lanky frame – arms that seem to stretch forever.

But isn’t he, and many other of the Celtic players, on the decline? So basically this is a signing to win another ring in the next two years, right? Certainly this group won’t win one after that.

I can’t help but think of Wallace’s lack of performance against an East contender, The Cleveland Cavaliers. With Iverson out, Wallace scored double digits once in the first round against the Cavs. In the final game, he shot 0-7 and scored a big goose egg. Not only was he outmatched athletically (the younger Anderson Varejo just simply beat him up and down the court every time), but he was outmatched in terms of determination.

I thought he “packed it in” after game one of that series. He showed little to no emotion and almost appeared to be pouting most of the series. This signing seems eerily similar to the risk the Celtics took with Marbury. The payoff can be very nice, but if things don’t work out like he wants, then the whole plan can backfire.

I expect to see the Celtics jump out of the gate early in 2009-10. The question will be can they sustain that through the playoffs. If Kevin Garnett is healthy, perhaps. If not, I don’t see an aged Rasheed Wallace making too much of a difference against the Cavs and Orlando Magic.

>Nike only has itself to blame for the LeBron James getting dunked on fiasco

I can’t believe the controversy surrounding Jordan Crawford’s now infamous dunk on LeBron James during a pickup basketball game. If you’re immune to such pointless drivel, let me catch you up to speed. I, too, wondered why this was a story at first.

At the Nike sponsored LeBron James Skills Academy held in Akron, Xavier sophomore Jordan Crawford dunked on the reigning NBA MVP in a pickup game. The game was being filmed, according to a press release from Nike, when it wasn’t supposed to be. The film was confiscated by Nike officials because the cameraman broke the video footage rules of the camp.

Ironically, Nike has created quite the hubbub by confiscating the video in what some are allegedly saying is a way to protect the “King” James image. Certainly getting dunked on by some college kid at a camp bearing your name is bad, right? But did Nike really think this would be that big of a story? Crawford has said in a few interviews that the dunk wasn’t even that big of a deal when it happened. Why? Because it happens more times than we realize. Nike created the very media blitz they THOUGHT they were avoiding by confiscating the tape.

Ryan Miller, the young videographer, wrote on what really happened in the exchange after the dunk. Seems as if Nike doesn’t tell the story behind the tape confiscation too accurately. According to him, he was being allowed to tape the whole time. Only after the game and a friendly exchange with James did Nike officials approach Miller. They asked for the tape and said they’d give it back the next day, which we now know never happened.

Thank goodness Ryan Miller shed some light on the ridiculousness of this public image obsession and the lengths companies like Nike will go for good business.

In case my paraphrasing is off, you can read Ryan Miller’s accounts here:

Witness Protection Program: Notes from My LeBron James Camp Confiscation

Ryan Miller’s Response to Nike’s LeBron James Skills Academy Video Statement

If you have an extra five minutes, here’s an interview with Jordan Crawford concerning the “incident.”

Since we’ll never see Crawford dunking on LeBron James, here’s evidence that “King James” is not immortal in the game of basketball. Courtney Lee, from little ol’ Western Kentucky, throwing a couple down on James in the playoffs.

Got some NBA news or comments? Take a seat on the bench and let your ‘pickins’ be heard.

We are more than a week away from the British Open and it has been an interesting weekend of discussion surrounding one position on the baseball field. So I thought I would keep it light and just comment on a few interesting topics that have happened throughout sports in the past week. Here we go:

- Lance Armstrong has quickly moved up to second place in the 2009 Tour de France. The 37 year old wasn’t expected to contend for the Tour’s championship and has been under heavy scrutiny since he stepped foot in France. There is certainly a long way to go, but if Armstrong was to win his 8th Tour de France – will the French cycling world finally stop the witch hunt? At what point will the French finally just accept Armstrong’s dominance in the sport?

- While I salute Dustin Pedroia for being elected to the All-Star game – I hate to break it to him – Aaron Hill and Ian Kinsler should be starting.  In fact, if Kinsler doesn’t make the team, I would consider it a travesty. It is nice to see Tim Wakefield finally be selected to an All-Star team. Personally, Wakefield has been the unspoken MVP for the Red Sox for many years. Wakefield has done just about everything they have asked of him – including being a reliever.

-  Joe Sakic is finally calling it quits after a 20 year NHL career. Sakic finished with 625 career goals and 1,016 assists almost guarantees him a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame in  5 years. Sakic may play for Team Canada in the 2010 Olympics, as they are in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia.  Regardless, Sakic will surely be inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in Toronto.

-  The balance of power of the NBA seems to be shifting to the Eastern Conference, as the Cavaliers ( Shaquille O’Neal), Magic (Vince Carter) and the Boston Celtics (Rasheed Wallace) have all made major moves this offseason to upgrade their rosters. The Celtics are certainly looking a 2 year window to compete for another championship and if the C’s can add Grant Hill to their roster – I expect them to be the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

-  Someone please explain to me, Trevor Ariza’s and Hedo Turkoglu’s decision process. I can understand Ariza’s desire to start, but Turkoglu’s decision to choose Toronto was questionable at best. First impressions are that Turkoglu’s main focus is money and not the desire to win a championship.

- There should be rule on the PGA Tour – if you host a tournament, you can’t win it – Tiger.

- Rough week in the golf world, as Phil Mickelson’s mother has been diagnosed with breat cancer. As many know,  it is the second person  in the Mickelson’s family to be diagnosed with cancer in recent weeks. I don’t anticipate seeing Mickelson return to the PGA tour until 2010 at the earliest. Regardless, a speedy recovery to everyone in the Mickelson family.Count me as one golf fan who will be rooting for Kenny Perry at the British Open.  With Perry’s mother diagnosed with cancer and placed under hospice care, Perry came under critcism for potentially skipping the British Open for a second year in a row. But after consulting doctors, Perry is going to play. Here is hoping Perry will win the tournament and quiet his critics.