2008 NBA Round Up

Well I think it is about time I wrote up my review of the NBA season for 2008. It seems like only yesterday I was celebrating another Spurs championship, but alas, this year belongs to the Celtics. Congratulations are in order.

I think this time I will go through the contenders one by one starting with the East:

Atlanta Hawks – Who would have thought they would push the Celtics to 7 games? No one.

Cleveland Cavaliers – Another team to take the Celtics to 7 games, except this time, a lot more people expected it. LeBron James is in desperate need of some support if they are any chance to become a champion side.

Orlando Magic – They had an awesome season and I was hoping they would pull a miracle and win the East, as Dwight Howard is simply awesome. However they succumbed to the Pistons, thus ending my interest in this Conference.

Detroit Pistons – Were always going to be difficult to beat, with all their playoff experience but somehow the Celtics managed to do it. Not only that, but the Pistons were the first team to let the Celtics win away from home, which brought about their downfall (and a smile to my face).

Now on to the West which was extremely competitive and provided some fancy first round match ups:

Dallas Mavericks – Well what can you say about them? Leaving in the first round again. *cough* Choke *cough* I now understand why they are called the Mavericks. It’s because they refuse to play by the concepts other teams choose to play by. You see, other teams enter the playoffs to win where as they do the exact opposite. I hope Rick Carlisle knows how to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre.

Phoenix Suns – Tim Duncan + 3 pointer = End of season. What happened to all that talk of revenge for last season? They had the perfect opportunity here, but it looks like the Spurs were once again too good, even with the addition of old man Shaq.

Houston Rockets – Everyone will remember their longest streak this season but it was nothing more than a schedule in which they played weak teams for a lengthy period of time and had a couple of wins against some stronger teams. This goes to show in that they couldn’t even get past the first round.

San Antonio Spurs – Well they just can’t seem to do it, they can’t win back to back. This time they got the closest to the back to back prize out of all their attempts but the Lakers stood in the way (and possibly the NBA? I mean Lakers and Celtics in the Final? Coincidence?) I laughed when I read Brent Barry’s comment in response to the NBA recognising that he was fouled by Derek Fisher in the dying seconds. “That’s awesome,” Barry said, “because Doc Brown is waiting for me outside, and we’re going to get in the DeLorean and fire up the flux capacitor and we’re going to go back and shoot a couple of free throws.”

New Orleans Hornets – They were the team that kind of flew under the radar, at least for me until I noticed them approaching the playoffs with Chris Paul totally dominating the floor in their games and becoming a MVP candidate.

Those teams which I have omitted, well, I did say I would cover ‘contenders’.
And now for the Finals breakdown:

Los Angeles Lakers – Guess what Kobe, Shaq’s rap, as hilarious as it is, is true. Never have I smiled as much as I did to see the Lakers go down to the Celtics. Maybe if Kobe concentrated on basketball instead of jumping over cars or snakes or whatever it is he does, they might have been a better chance.

Boston Celtics – Surprise, surprise they did what everyone thought they would do at the start of the season and won the championship. Congratulations to the managers who pulled off a miracle in obtaining Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to matchup with Paul Pierce which almost ensured their 17th title. All credit to them though, they achieved so much, with Pierce getting Finals MVP, the biggest turnaround in NBA history and the absolute ownage of the Lakers in the final game which was just the icing on the cake.

Now looking towards next season, it’s hard to see anyone taking down the Celtics in the East, but it all depends on those off season trades. The West will always be competitive. With the extra experience under Chris Paul’s belt, the Hornets will be stronger than ever and the Lakers will continue on their way. The Rockets will be in a better position with a healthy Ming and McGrady and the Spurs will remain a contender even though they are aging. Let’s not forget that next year is an odd number.