Nosebleed » Ryan Cates

NBA Playoffs Round 2

Ryan Cates — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:00:33 +0000

West #1-Los Angeles Lakers vs. West #4-Utah Jazz

(Lakers Lead Series 2-0)

The Lakers are in control of another series. Utah couldn’t ask for a better place to play their do or die game. They were 37-4 at home this year in the regular season. The Jazz may get one game at EnergySolutions Arena, but they probably won’t get more than that. Utah has yet to find an answer for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are starting to play some defense. Seventeen blocks and seventeen steals in two games is a strong statement. I like the Lakers to wrap this up in 4 games, but the Jazz do have the talent to steal one game away.

West #2-New Orleans Hornets vs. West #3-San Antonio Spurs

(Hornets Lead Series 2-1)

This great series has turned into a highly skilled schoolyard battle. The Spurs got a much needed home victory to avoid going down 0-3. They also keep their hopes of a second straight championship alive. The matchup of the playoffs so far is the fight between last year’s Finals MVP Tony Parker and NBA MVP Runner-Up Chris Paul. these two are playing their own little game of HORSE on the court. I think this is going to be a tremendous 7 game battle with the Hornets advancing to face the Lakers.

East #1-Boston Celtics vs. East #4-Cleveland Cavaliers

(Celtics Lead Series 2-0)

Can someone please get a hold of Lebron James and alert him to the fact that two games have already been played in his best of seven series with the Boston Celtics. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce seem to have found their shooting touches and with anything noteworthy from James this series is going to be over very quickly. Now that the Celtics seem to be firing with all three cylinders it may be too late for the Cavaliers to get back into this. I like the Celtics to end this series in five games.

East #2-Detroit Pistons vs. East #3-Orlando Magic

(Series Tied 2-1)

I guess the Magic are ready to play some ball. Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds with Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu each contributing 18. The Magic were lead though by Rashard Lewis and his 33 points. Despite the possiblity of losing Chauncey Billups for game four the Pistons have got to feel good going into the game with Richard Hamilton, Tashaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace in the lineup. I like the Pistons to win this hard fought series 4-2.

NBA Playoffs Week 1

Ryan Cates — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:34:22 +0000

West #1-Los Angeles Lakers vs. West #8-Denver Nuggets

(Lakers Lead Series 3-0)

The Lakers have controlled every game winning by an average of 15 points. Kobe Bryant and Pao Gasol are leading this team easily through the first round while getting help from someone different every night. The duo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony have received any help and not been able to do it all themselves.

West #2-New Orleans Hornets vs. West #7-Dallas Mavericks

(Hornets Lead Series 3-1)

The Hornets are for real. Tuesday night’s game in New Orleans is a must win for the Hornets. They have Dallas right where they want them and should deliver the final blow insuring they don’t have to return to Dallas for a difficult game six. Tyson Chandler has come a long way from the skinny high school kid on the Bulls and has complimented Chris Paul well.

West #3-San Antonio Spurs vs. West #6-Phoenix Suns

(Spurs Lead Series 3-1)

A career night from Boris Diaw kept the Suns from getting swept out of the series. Tony Parker is having a magnificent series along with Tim Duncan. As the series heads back to San Antonio I’d look for the Spurs to get their game faces back on and finish Phoenix off.

West #4-Utah Jazz vs. West #5-Houston Rockets

(Jazz Lead Series 3-1)

It takes a big man to admit his mistakes and did I make a big one with the Jazz. I like this team. The Jazz have a well balanced core and are just flat out playing good solid basketball. Can this series go six games? Yep, but it’s going to take a tremendous effort from the Rockets to send this game back to Utah.

East #1-Boston Celtics vs. East #8-Atlanta Hawks

(Celtics Lead Series 2-1)

Atlanta doesn’t want to just roll over and die in this series. They are out to prove something. Al Horford was a force in Atlanta’s Game 3 upset of Boston, scoring 17 points, grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds and doling out six assists. He’ll need to keep it up Monday night when the Hawks try to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. This was just a wake up call for Boston’s Three-Headed Monster. I’m expecting a big game from them in Atlanta.

East #2-Detroit Pistons vs. East #7-Philadelphia Sixers

(Series Tied 2-2)

This series isn’t getting any easier for the Pistons. The young Sixers are giving the older Pistons all they can handle. Not wanting the go down three games to one, the veteran Pistons should why they are the number two seed. This is the series to watch in the first round.

East #3-Orlando Magic vs. East #6-Toronto Raptors

(Magic Lead Series 3-1)

Dwight Howard’s continued domination of the series has moved the Magic to within one game of moving on to the next round. After stumbling in game three, Orlando came out strong in game four and can now wrap up the series in Orlando.

East #4-Cleveland Cavaliers vs. East #5-Washington Wizards

(Cavaliers Lead Series 3-1)

Lead by the calm, cool play of LeBron James the Cavs have won the two closer games of the series. Each team has a blow out in this series, but Cleveland has show themselves to be the superior team series. The Cavs have been doing a nice job of getting someone new every night involved in the offense. They should end this series on Wednesday in Cleveland.

NBA Playoffs, Day 2

Ryan Cates — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:50:04 +0000

East#3-Orlando 114 East6#Toronto 100

(Magic Lead Series 1-0)

The first game of the day saw the host Magic cruise to a victory over the Raptors. Dwight Howard lead Orlando with a fantastic game pouring in 25 points and grabbing 22 rebounds while blocking five Toronto shots. Anthony Parker had 24 points and 8 rebounds for Toronto. The Magic did well holding Chris Bosh to just 21 points. The presence of Bosh and Howard make this series mildly interesting, but nothing else about this 3 vs. 6 matchup is noteworthy. Hey Orlando and Toronto fans, tell me why I should care about this series?

West#1-Los Angeles 128 West#8-Denver 114

(Lakers Lead Series 1-0)

The Lakers started slow but finished like champions. Lead by Pao Gasol’s 36 points and Kobe Bryant’s 32, the Lakers 1-2 punch showed why it’s going to be tough to knock them off this postseason. The Nuggets big guys, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, each put in 30 points. The Nuggets are a very good 8th seed. Their 50-32 record would be good enough for a 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, but this is the Western Conference and this is the year of the well-balanced Lakers who will end this series in four games. The top to bottom strength of the Western Conference will help the Lakers become stronger in their quest for the championship.

East#7-Philadelphia 90 East#2-Detroit 86

(Sixers Lead Series 1-0)

Wow, someone forgot to tell the Sixers that this was suppose to be an easy series for the Pistons. They took the lead halfway through 4th quarter after being down by as many as 15 points to stun the host Pistons. Philadelphia was lead by Andre Miller and his 20 points while Willie Green contributed a career playoff-high 17. The Pistons’ top scorer was Rasheed Wallace who had 24 points, nine rebounds and matched a franchise playoff record with seven blocks. The Pistons and their inconsistent effort will need to be fixed and quick. The Sixers showed tonight that they are here to play and that this is going to be an interesting series.

East#1-Boston 104 East#8-Atlanta 81

(Celtics Lead Series 1-0)

The final game of the NBA Weekend Playoff Marathon was a foregone conclusion about midway through the 3rd quarter. Once again the Celtics didn’t have a single player score in the twenties, but they had six players in double figures. The Celtics three-headed monster of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined for 50 points. The Hawks were lead by rookie Al Holford’s 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics asserted their number one seed tonight and reaffirmed that the Celtics-Lakers matchup in the finals is still on.

The first two days of the playoffs were fun, now the NBA starts to really stretch out the playoffs with some teams waiting till Wednesday for their next games.

NBA Playoffs, Day 1

Ryan Cates — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:11:00 +0000

East#4-Cleveland 93 East#5-Washington 86
(Cavs Lead Series 1-0)

In the first game of the day the host Cavs pulled out a victory behind the clutch play of LeBron James. James was strong in the second half scoring 20 of his 32 points in the final two quarters. The Wizards were lead by Gilbert Arenas and his 24 points. Areas played just 27 minutes and doesn’t appear to be 100% yet after coming back from his knee surgery that kept him out for 66 games. This may be one of the more interesting series to watch because of the bad blood between these two teams, but in the end these teams are playing for the chance to lose to the Celtics.

West#3-San Antonio 117 West#6-Phoenix 115 (2OT)
(Spurs Lead Series 1-0)

Game one is an instant classic? Indeed. This will be a much better series than I originally thought. The return of Manu Ginobili makes the Spurs a very legitimate contender. The spotlight was on Duncan today for his performance but I believe it’s Ginobili’s presence that fueled the Spurs. He finished with 24 points, the final three of which won the game. It’s put up or shut up time for Shaquille O’Neal. He was brought in to get this team to the promised land and more 11 point performances like today’s aren’t going to get them anywhere. I liked the Suns before the series started, but I think it’s going to be the Spurs moving on.

West#2-New Orleans 104 West#7-Dallas 92
(Hornets Lead Series 1-0)

The Hornets are for real. They play with urgency and youthful energy. In a league without Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul is the hands-down MVP. Paul lead the Hornets in his first playoff game with 35 points, 10 assists and four steals. The Mavericks aren’t going to go down without a fight. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 31 points, but only tallied four during Dallas’ fourth-quarter let-down. The Mavericks are a veteran team and will make the young Hornets earn this series. This is going to be a good series with youth battling experience.

West#4-Utah 93 West#5-Houston 82
(Jazz Lead Series 1-0)

The final game of the NBA Saturday Playoff Marathon was a good one. I have been wrong about the Jazz. This is a good team. I admit that their lack of high-profile player (Carlos Boozer is good, but he’s not Tim Duncan) kept them off my Laker flooded radar. Boozer finished with a strong 20 points and 16 rebounds without a Yao Ming to contest him underneath. Deron Williams chipped in with 20 points and 10 assists as Utah held Tracy McGrady to 20 points for Houston. Playing without 2 starters and no one to seriously challenge Boozer inside the Rockets are going to have to play perfect basketball in every game to win this series. In the first game of the series, they didn’t and now they are down 0-1. We’ll see what happens Monday night.

Day two brings us the Lakers, Celtics and the rest of the (yawn) Eastern Conference.