AJC > Sports > Hawks > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April > 23
Monday, April 23, 2007
Buckle up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It should be obvious now that every playoff series has completed at least Game 1. The players are going to be absolutely sick this year. People were hoping for a wacky postseason since many decided that the regular season (due in large part to so many key players from so many different teams being hit with injuries) was one of the worst in recent memory.
The playoffs, though, offer a chance for redemption. Even the officials might be able to clean up the collective mess they made during the regular season, though their performance in Chicago Saturday left me sick (Kirk Hinrich and Shaq were eliminated from the game with lousy foul calls).
All that said, I’m far from ready to call for upsets in any of these series. Denver and Golden State pulled of shocking wins (the Warriors were expected to give the Mavericks trouble but as much as they did Sunday). Anytime Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson get it rolling offensively the way they did against the Spurs, it’ll be extremely difficult to combat them.
The most unstoppable guy I saw all weekend was Baron Davis. Doesn’t it make you sick to know that had this guy been able to stay healthy he could have been one of the best of his era? He’s got as much raw talent as anyone and has the best hands (defensively) of any guard in the league not named Iverson. No matter what happens in that series, it’s going to be fun watching him go at the Mavericks.
Now, to catch up (and clear up) a few things from over the weekend:
The grades I dished out for the Hawks elicited some wild responses, in all directions. I knew it would create some chatter. I was particularly harsh on the Hawks’ big men, Speedy Claxton and the Mike Woodson (he was harder on himself than I would have been on him given the circumstances - was thinking a D but he’s the one who mentioned repeatedly in the final 48 hours of the season that he and his staff had failed. It’s a pass-fail scenario for him. If they make the playoffs he’s done the job. If not, he failed. That’s how he saw it and ultimately, he’s right. So that’s where his grade came from).
Greg Oden made it official Friday, and the entire basketball world (college coaches not named Thad Matta included) breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. Brandan Wright joined the party, too, along with Oden’s OSU teammates Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook. Oden’s entry was a no-brainer. Wright’s, despite my fear that he’s a guy that’s probably three or four years away from being close to the player he’ll eventually become, was close to that. Conley and Cook would appear to be the crazy cats for jumping. But I think Conley’s doing what he should. It would be hard for me to pass him up in the late lottery if I were in desperate need of a point guard (cough). He and Acie Law are the only two point guard prospects I can think of right now that belong in the lottery.
Speaking of the lottery, the ties were broken for the lottery order late last week. It didn’t draw a whole lot of attention from the media. But the playoffs had us preoccupied. The quick results were as follows: Portland (32-50) won a tiebreaker with Minnesota; Charlotte (33-49) won a tiebreaker with New York and Sacramento; New York then won a tie-breaker with Sacramento; Indiana (35-47) won a tiebreaker with Philadelphia; Washington (41-41) won a tiebreaker with New Jersey; Golden State (42-40) won a tiebreaker with the L.A. Lakers.
For the lottery odds, here are the teams, their regular season records and their chances (out of 1,000) at the top pick: Memphis 22-60, 250; Boston 24-58, 199; Milwaukee 28-54, 156; Atlanta1 30-52, 119; Seattle 31-51, 88; Portland 32-50, 53; Minnesota 32-50, 53; Charlotte 33-49, 19; New York2 33-49, 19; Sacramento 33-49, 18; Indiana3 35-47, 8; Philadelphia 35-47, 7; New Orleans 39-43, 6; LA Clippers 40-42, 5.
And the rest of the first round goes like this: 15. Orlando (To Detroit), 16. Washington, 17. New Jersey, 18. Golden State, 19. LA Lakers, 20. Miami, 21. Denver (To Philadelphia), 22. Toronto (To Charlotte via Cleveland), 23. Chicago4, 24. Cleveland (To Phoenix via Boston), 25. Utah, 26. Houston, 27. Detroit, 28. San Antonio, 29. Phoenix, 30. Dallas (To Philadelphia).
1 Pick may be conveyed to Phoenix. 2 Pick may be conveyed to Chicago. 3 Pick may be conveyed to Atlanta. 4 Pick may be conveyed to New York.
