Thoughts on the first-round of the NBA playoffs...

From another blog of mine,

East:

Celtics vs. Hawks
-7 games? Don't make me laugh. Wait, nevermind.
-real physical series - both sides. Nice to see Zaza Pachulia not back down from Kevin Garnett. It's the NBA playoffs, show some emotion.
-Josh Childress in a Raptors uniform next season. Make it happen B.C. The guy's been compared to Tayshaun Prince in terms of team value, which is a fair comparison. Just a solid, underrated player who could fill a lot of the Raptors' gaping holes.
-Hawks get crushed in game 7. Way to show some passion and desire. Marvin Williams pulls a "Horford" on Rajon Rondo - that's not passion - that's pure bush league.

Cavaliers vs. Wizards
-the much anticipated match-up between Soulja Boy and Jay-Z.
-would I call this a rivalry? No, the Wizards need to actually win a series for it to be a rivalry.
-Lebron gets roughed up by the Wizards and that's how it should be. You don't allow players to waltz in the paint coming out unscathed in the playoffs. Foul them hard. Dare the wimps (such as Vince Carter) to enter the paint again.
-are the Wizards a better team without Arenas?
-the Deshawn Stevenson, "I can't feel my face" thing got old, real fast.

Magic vs Raptors
-Dwight Howard averaged 20 and 20 in the series. The guy's a beast, man-child, Superman, whatever.
-finally, Sam Mitchell decides to play Jason Kapono. A little too late Smitch.
-some of the bi-polar Raptor fans on the team forums are requesting the trade of Chris Bosh. Ridiculous.
-This could be the end of either T.J Ford or Jose Calderon. If you're the G.M, who would you choose?
-if indeed Sam Mitchell gets the axe, word is Mike D'Antoni is on the market.

Pistons vs. 76ers
-Sixers steal game one, yet the Pistons didn't seem fazed at all.
-Tayshaun Prince did an excellent job defending Andre Iguadala. He's tall, about 6'9, and really lanky. A match-up nightmare for most SG/SF's in the league, on both ends of the floor.
-Mo Cheeks did an amazing job this year coaching the young Sixers. Big time ups.

West:

Lakers vs. Nuggets
-Nuggets get swept which was a little surprising. I had them getting at least one game at home. Lakers did what they were expected to do, and there's not much more to say.
-Allen Iverson wants the team to focus on defense next year. I laugh at the thought of Carmelo, AI and J.R Smith playing gritty defense for 48 minutes. Camby, K-Mart and Najera are the only true defensive minded players on the team, so I wish them luck.

Jazz vs Rockets
-T-Mac still remains a second-round virgin.
-But I've gotta give the Rockets some credit, they didn't go down without a fight. Skip, Scola, Battier and the crew, scratched and clawed all the way through the series, however, in the end - Jerry Sloan's boys executed like they always do - and put an end to the Rockets' semi-magical season.*
-It will be interesting to see (depending on Yao's health, as always) how the Rockets will play next season.

*Aside from the Yao season ending injury, it was an amazing season for the Rockets' organization.

Spurs vs. Suns
-Phoenix TO's late in the final game were painfully costly.
-After the thrilling game one of the series, I thought for sure this game would go at least 7.
-So who's to blame, Shaq? Nash? Steve Kerr? Pat Burke? Why must there always be just one guy to blame, is this not a team sport?
-The window of opportunity for the "Nash era" of Suns is closing quickly, and I think that next season is their last legit chance at contending.

Hornets vs. Mavericks
-Huge Jason Kidd fan, but I'll be the first to admit that he's lost a step. No way he can play heavy minutes dueling MVP candidate Chris Paul in the playoffs.
-Dirk the choke? If Dirk doesn't get to at least the conference finals next year, I might start believing the Dirk haters' in that "he's not a winner".
-Mark Cuban's wasn't too thrilled with the second consecutive first round playoff loss, and Avery Johnson became the scapegoat. Saw that coming from a mile away.

And, finally:
Second round series to watch: Spurs vs. Hornets. Should be a fun series to watch, especially the Chris Paul - Tony "Longoria" Parker match-up.