A Quick Recap of the Playoffs So Far... Conference Finals

As you may have noticed, I'm kind of like Rafer Alston: not exactly the picture of consistency. But I was past due for another update, so without further ado, no more beating around the bush, enough dragging my feet, no more stalling, seriously, you're about to read it... back to the recap.

Fore me, the conference finals were marked by disappointment. One series where I hoped against hope that the Nuggets could prevail, the other series absolutely floored by the Magic's ascension-- causing untold grief to Cavs fans, players, coaches, and puppets alike.


Western Conference:

Conference Final- Lakers vs. Nuggets

Well, I was pretty impressed with the way the Nuggets hung tough with the Lakers for the first four games. They even had a very decent chance (if only they could INBOUND THE BALL!) of winning a few of the games they lost. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough gas in them to push it the entire way. I loved seeing Chauncey Billups step up and lead the team, and it was amazing to see Carmelo Anthony really take his game to the next level with some great moments going toe-to-toe with Kobe. But the fact remains, as I've been saying all year... the Lakers cruise until they have to show up. And when it's required, they do what they have to--and they usually blow the other team out in the process. Game 5 and 6 were just the Lakers going for the jugular and flat out getting it done.

Denver actually has a very good team, and it'll be interesting to see what steps they take in the offseason, how well they can keep this current nucleus together, and if they can escalate their game to the level of serious title contenders.



Eastern Conference:

Conference Final- Magic vs. Cavs

What can you say? The Magic have proved all postseason that their talent level is higher than almost every other team-- I'd say the only possible teams more talented would be LA and Denver. LeBron absolutely dominated this series, and the Cavs supporting cast couldn't help him out at all. Cleveland fans should be panicking at this point, because LeBron could easily be on his way out of town. It's an absolute atrocity that:

1. 
   Mike Brown is still the coach of this team. REALLY? The guy doesn't even try anymore, he just throws LeBron out there and prays. And it's usually a decent strategy, seeing as LeBron is the best player in the league. But when another team is playing extremely well, making adjustments, shooting incredible percentages... well, you have to change up your strategy! I couldn't believe Game 2- when they are obviously, obviously going to Turkoglu for the game winner, how do you possibly justify guarding him with Sasha Pavlovic?? Always put your best defender on their crunch time guy. That's common sense. LeBron should have been on him. They should have lost that one, but won on a LeBron miracle. Which should have been the defining moment in the Cavs playoff run. Not a footnote for the Magic's (...struggling to not say the word "magical") surprising trip to the finals. Brown also didn't even call a play for the entire fourth quarter of one game. Just iso for LeBron. The whole quarter. It was amazing to watch LeBron take over like that, but Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith said it best immediately after the game. There's no way anyone could keep that up for 7 games. He averages a 38-8-8 and your team loses?? That's a sign of a lot of problems. Chief among them I believe is this guy. Mike Brown needs to be fired, and the Cavs need to bring in an actual coach. I hear Avery Johnson's available. He's not great, but he'll outcoach Mike Brown any day. If I lived in Cleveland and I was a Cavs fan I would be officially livid. And I'd probably picket the Q Arena with signs. Signs that say something along the lines of "Mike Brown, get out of town". Anything that rhymes, really.
   
   
2. LeBron has to deal with the likes of Varejao, Ilgauskas, Wallace, Sczerbiak, and Pavlovic. Holy hell did LeBron's supporting cast get exposed. They finally came up against a real team, one that was coming together, figuring everything out at exactly the right time-- and they would have all been blowout wins in the Magic's favor if LeBron didn't pull the superhuman routine. The fact that they won in six speaks volumes about the help LeBron got. Here's a quick rundown of how awful the rest of the Cavs were in this series: Game 1- Varejao doesn't close out on the Lewis three (even though you always let him drive by and deny the 3 in a moment like that, late game, up 2), then they still have a chance to win when LeBron's drive creates a wide open 3 for Delonte West. Brick. Game 3- LeBron looks human, doesn't have an insanely good game, so the Cavs lose easily by 10. Game 4- Choke, choke, choke down the stretch by everyone on the team not named LeBron. Chief among them was the Delonte West dive after a bad pass by the Magic with 5 seconds left, up by 1. He leaves the ball alone, it goes out of bounds, game over. Instead he knocks it out, Lewis hits a 3, LeBron saves them with some clutch free throws. They definitely should have won, but lose in overtime. It warrants mentioning that LeBron had 44 points, 7 assists, 12 rebounds.
3. The Cleveland front office refuses to make any kind of move for a true low post presence to help out LeBron. Ilgauskas has turned into Dirk Nowitzki without the shooting touch, speed, moves, and desire. Which is to say he's turned into a huge white glacier that plays too far away from the basket.

LeBron needs to say forget these losers and jet out of town in 2010, go play for D'Antoni and the Knicks (especially once they draft his good friend Stephen Curry--what an exciting team this would be...seriously, as a basketball fan, I would just about lose my mind if this scenario actually happened) and bring prominence back to New York.

All this being said about this series-- I don't mean to detract any from Orlando's accomplishments. They are a fascinating team, and they have proved that they have more talent than quite possibly any other team in this league. However, they been alternatingly brilliant and infuriating, which is just another example of the rollercoaster ride this year's playoffs have been.

The Magic have a tendency to meltdown in big moments, and then immediately bounce back with a dominant game. They can take over in the clutch and come up huge, like Turkoglu and Lewis did throughout the Cavs series, and then collapse entirely in a different game. It's a compelling team to watch... and even though I've never given them a chance against the Lakers, they're starting to show that if they can put it all together, they aren't just capable of beating anybody-- they're likely to beat just about anybody.