THE EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
Hardware on the shelf
No need for lefty free throws
Two years, new outcome
Prediction: Cavaliers in 6

Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks
Howard well rested
Raining three’s at block party
War won in the paint.
Prediction: Magic in 5

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
A coaching duel
Mamba. Underbite. Focused.
Who needs ligaments?
Prediction: Lakers in 6

Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs
There is no love lost
Drinking from fountain of youth
Suns get their revenge
Prediction: Suns in 7

THE EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls
Get the rods ready
Over before it begins
The King busts a move
Prediction: Cavaliers in 4

Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Bobcats
GOAT on the sideline
But Superman on the court
Stan don’t need a suit
Prediction: Magic in 5

Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Squad 6 can’t save them
Fear the Deer but not the team
Joe, Josh, Jamal. Dagger
Prediction: Hawks in 5

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat
Fine wine they are not
Depth not required, youth wins
Old folks home awaits
Prediction: Heat in 7

THE WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oaklahoma City
A team ruled by Zen
Present vs The Future
It’s showtime once more
Prediction: Lakers in 5

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs
Pop may pop a vein
There will be no straws needed
Dirkus Circus time (©TBJ)
Prediction: Mavericks in 6

Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trailblazers
Suns will use their pace
The stretcher is on standby
Nash, he still got IT.
Prediction: Suns in 6

Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets
Denver Ink at work
Melo makes it look easy
Jazz with no answer
Prediction: Nuggets in 7

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Congrats Kobe Bryant on #4 – Maybe we can get the Nike puppets in the video for “Shaq How My Ass Taste?”

(Photo Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congrats Phil Jackson on #10 – Hands are full… walk away. Now where can I buy that cap?

(Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congrats Lamar Odom – How SWEET it is to be on that cover – just another thing money can’t buy you

(Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congrats Derek Fisher - Big Shot Bob Who? You made them when they counted.

(Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congrats Pau Gasol – Puppy dog face + NBA trophy + Bear hug + Invisalines= Priceless! … Now go thank Chris Wallace

(Photo Credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congrats Trevor Ariza – You can now spend the rest of the summer planning what to do with all the money coming your way.

(Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Congratuls Andrew Bynum – You finally got your hands on the only thing you can grab without getting called for a foul.

(Photo Credits: Getty Images)

Congrats to the rest of the team – Sasha Vujacic , Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Shannon Brown, Josh Powell, Didier Mbenga, Sun Yue, Adam Morrison – Each of you now have 1 more ring than Malone, Barkley, Reggie Miller….

I may not have written a recap but the rest of the blogosphere was all over that…
Hardwood Paroxysm: Sometimes You’re Just Better Than Everyone Else
The Baseline: All Things Being Equal, That Happened
True Hoop: Nine Things to Remember About the 2009 NBA Finals
Silver Screen and Roll: Lakers Win 15th Championship
Straight Bangin’: The Unraveling of a Good Idea
Dino Nation Blog: Lakers Are Defending Champs…Let Off-Season Begin
Talk Hoops: 2009 NBA Finals -Lakers/Magic Game 5 Recap

Mentioned this on Twitter last night. No joke, I think my heart skipped a few beats as the Magic crumbled in OT to the Lakers. These playoffs have been as good as it gets. When the Raptors blew the season I went ahead and picked two teams to ride with through the playoffs – The Blazers and The Magic – and what a ride it has been. Truthfully, I believed the Blazers had a better chance of doing anything this year but with no real vested interest in either team, I have surprised myself at how emotional these playoffs have gotten me. Night after night of upsets, overtimes and buzzer-beaters have proven costly to my health and my wallet. I have been trying to quit smoking (yes ugggh I know) but all this stress isn’t helping the cause. Last night as Fisher drained a 3 with 4.6 seconds left, I picked up my pack of smokes and the warning was staring me right in the face. Instead of taking a cigarette out of the pack I tweeted – This years playoffs should come with a surgeon generals warning

Looking back at last night, we saw both teams play come out with more of a defensive mindset. The odds that the Magic would repeat their shooting performance were slim and though it was looking good for them in the first half, they ended the night shooting at a 41% clip. They didn’t do themselves any favors by shooting only 59% from the charity stripe and coughing up the ball 17 times. When your star player has more turnovers(9) than the entire Laker team(7) you better hope for everything else to fall in place, but as the time ticked down they were still “One errand elbow” away from tying up the series.

Gotta give props where they are due. Last night, even though it came ugly, the Lakers did what they had to in order to win a tough game on the road. Early on in the game the refs went whistle happy and most of the calls went against the Lakers’s big men causing Phil Jackson to reach way down his bench and give minutes to Powell and Mbenga. The Zen master must have poured on some wisdom at halftime because everything changed from there on out. The soon to be a lot richer, Trevor Ariza took over in the 3rd Q and almost single handedly outscored the entire Magic team. When it came to closing out the game the ball was put in the hands of the seasoned vets on the team. Phil Jackson’s 9 rings are no fluke and earlier in the series when people were calling for Fisher to be benched he didn’t flinch and on this night that same guy who was being thrown under the bus turned out the hero.

This series could very well be 3-1 in favor of the Magic but as we know, a few seconds is a lifetime in an NBA game and there is a reason you have to play all 48 minutes. The Magic have a lot of maturing to do but I have no doubt they will come back with vengeance next game.

I will leave you with this….

Disneyland 2 – Disney World 0

Courtney Lee may have missed the game winning shot for the Magic to steal home court but the story of the game was written with all the shots the Magic didn’t get to take, courtesy of the 20 turnovers they accumulated in game 2. They improved statistically in every category from game 1 but my eyes kept going back to that number 20.

Post game, Coach Stan Van Gundy couldn’t look past that number either – “If the formula was 20 turnovers and 41 percent shooting, it’s not a very good formula.”

Coming off a crushing 25-point defeat, the Magic would have liked a better start to game 2. Luckily for them, the Lakers were in the same position to start this one as we witnessed a horrible display of basketball through the first 12 minutes of the game. With shooting percentages under 30% for both teams this situation favored the Magic. They came out in the second half with energy and their 3 headed monster got rolling. Some questionable coaching decisions (J.J. Redick with crunch time minutes in an NBA final?) still left them in a position to win the game. Going into the 4th with a lead and Dwight on the court with only 2 fouls, Orlando had done a pretty good job of making up for the turnovers but then there was Kobe. Staring them down, not as vocal as he had been in game 1, but everyone in that arena knows that the 4th quarter is his. Coming off a NBA finals personal scoring high (40pts) Kobe got in the drivers seat and went to work. A block and a missed opportunity took us to overtime. Going into the extra frame, momentum had clearly shifted. 7 points from Pau Gasol in OT essentially sealed the fate of the Magic.

The Magic may be heading home down 0-2 in the series but this is far from over. Home cooking has been good to them this post season but they are faced with a human obstacle – Kobe Bryant. He is a man on a mission right now and if Orlando wants to go back to Disneyland they are going to have to execute or else they may lose their season pass to the Magic Kingdom – Until next year.

In the last segment I covered players who had increased their value during the post season but the reality is every team is feeling the hurt of the economy. In Miami you could catch a game with a friend for $20. At the same time, that $20 would only manage to buy you parking in Toronto to see the Raptors play. If teams were willing to go over the luxury tax they may be thinking twice about that now. With the salary cap yet to be set, I don’t see too many teams handing out max deals and if they are in the position to they might wanna hold off  ’til 2010.

I chose to go with the big ticket players to put it into perspective even though some of them are nearing the end of the careers. Inflated contracts, bad knees, or simply age has put them on here but it is what is is and the players on the list are going to be affected the most.

Stephon Marbury – $18.6 million in 2008 – I truly believe that this guy got shafted – Bad timing, bad situation but some of its on him all leading him into being a casualty of the system. He is way past his prime and will be lucky if a team threw out MLE money at him but when you been raking in the millions sitting on your couch, it can’t be all that bad.

Jason Kidd – $21.37 million in 2008 – A Guaranteed Hall of Famer with some off the court blemishes, Kidd is running on fumes. Dallas took a gamble on him trying to win now and I would be shocked to see any team give him contract longer than 3 years and it would probably total the salary he made this past season.

Allen Iverson – $22 million in 2008 – A new team, a new look. Iverson had his most disappointing season, riddled with injuries and a situation where he wasn’t comfortable. Another future HoF’er who isn’t quite ready for his new role, nor is he ready to slow it down. Teams will want him but probably for 2 years, I would love to see him do a full circle and reunite with Larry Brown.

Wally Szczerbiak – $13 million in 2008 – Wally sure didn’t help his value in the playoffs. His contract was way too inflated and spent the last few years being used in trades for salary cap space. He has one thing going for him, he can shoot and every team needs one of those just not at $13 million a year. He will find a team or stick with the Cav’s but his bi-monthly paycheck will likely be half of what he is used to.

Mike Bibby – $15.2 million in 2008 – It worked out well for Atlanta making it to the playoffs for 2 straight years and I wouldn’t be surprised if they re-signed Bibby but he is not a $10+ million player anymore. He would be a good veteran for them and with most teams keeping their wallets shut this off season he may not have too many options going forward

Shawn Marion – $17.2 million in 2008 – He wanted to be the man and once he left Phoenix he was exposed for all his weaknesses. He cheats on D, tries too hard for the big plays and is pretty weak in the half court sets. He can still jump out the arena and is an above average rebounder for his position but I don’t see him getting more than $8 million a year from any team.. we are in a recession after all.

Rasheed Wallace – $13.7 million in 2008 – Talks about walking away from the game are premature. There will be the teams that wouldn’t touch him with a 10 foot pole but that has nothing to do with basketball. He may not see offers in the double digits but I think there are teams that could use his services at 7-8 million and he should command more than Marion just on defense alone.

Malik Rose – $7.65 million in 2008 – I had to look back at the history on this one. Career Averages of 6ppg to go along with 4rb’s earned him this fat contract? He has been in the league 12 years but I think we will see him back next year warming some bench and being the veteran voice the locker room, but there is no way he is making more than $2 million a year to do that.

Rasho Nesterovic- $8.4 million in 2008 – A serviceable backup center, that’s about all he is now and won’t command much attention in terms of sought after free agents. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes a lot less to go play for a contender again – San Antonio anyone? There have been rumblings of him returning to the Raptors and I love the idea but only for the right price. Let’s NBA!

Andre Miller – $10 million in 2008 -It got ugly towards the end in Philly even though the team has enjoyed some level of success since he joined them. His averages are still good and he has stayed relatively healthy and will be high on the list of teams like Miami but they are worried about 2010 and may not have the $$ he wants to see on the offer sheet.

Players who missed the cut but will feel the pain nonetheless: Lamar Odom, Drew Gooden, Chris Wilcox, Jason Collins, Stromile Swift

We may have seen the last of them on the court: Juwan Howard, Antoine Walker, Steve Francis, Raef LaFrentz, Adonal Foyle

Over the past 3 days I have gone on a rampage with lists that covered blogs, tweeps, movies and books but as game time nears I am  going back to the hardwood. Today’s lists will look at two category of players – Those whose value is on the up and up and another that covers players who will be settling for pay cuts next season.

Player Options,  Free Agents, Role Players, All-Stars or just a guy vying for playing time. These 10 players have upped their value and let their game do the talking for them.

Trevor Ariza A 5 year career of being a 30% shooter from behind the arc, Ariza has added that weapon to his game since joining the Lakers. He is now a viable option on offense to complement his athletic and defensive abilities. After his playoff performance you can bet the Lakers will do everything to keep him in LA LA Land next year and beyond.

Hedo Turkoglu He has a player option for next year and its unlikely he will pick it up. He may pull the occasional disappearing act during the game and take some bone headed shots, but when the game is on the line he is the guy whose hands you want to have the ball in. He has bounced around the league but has finally been utilized well in Orlando giving him the chance to show off his range on the floor. Going into this off-season he will probably garner the most interest and nab the best contract going forward.

Ben Gordon He wanted more money… took a 1 year deal… recession hit… but he kept playing. Regarded as a streaky shooter, when he is on he is unstoppable. He is a SG but can’t defend others playing his position, yet averaging 24ppg against the mighty Celtics showed that he is still going to be one of the more sought after free agents this summer.

Rajon Rondo Averaging a near triple double in this years playoffs surely added an extra few million on his next contract. He took a lot of heat on the interwebs from fans of other teams, but this guy can flat out ball! He has to get more consistent with the jump shot, other than that he should be regarded as a top 10 PG in the league for years to come.

J.R Smith You may question his attitude but you can’t question his ability. He averaged nearly 15ppg and managed to play solid defense on Kobe in the Conf. finals. Rough around the edges, he surely has managed a MLE contract at the least from a team looking for an athletic shooter (I could name about 20 who need one of those!)

Marcin Gortat Polish Hammer has struck the NBA and he is only going to get better from here. Playing behind Dwight, Gortat has slowly developed into a very serviceable center , managing to hold his own when getting playing time due to Dwight’s penchant to foul out as of late. For $700 grand he is a steal and is sure to get a major pay raise this summer.

Mickael Pietrus Orlando got a deal and Golden State could have used him as he has developed into a solid 2/3 guy. He is athletic, can hit the 3 ball and slash to the rim making him versatile on the offensive end. There is room to grow on both ends but he can be relied on to play man defense on some of the best in the league. Above all else its about #frenchrevolution!

Jose Barea Playing behind Jason Kidd can’t be easy but Barea stepped up this post season and gave his team a different look. He was great in the first series and not so in the 2nd, overall he is showing signs of becoming a solid contributor to the team that is going to be figuring out their PG situation this off-season.

Luis Scola They were dropping like flies in Texas but Scola was the constant – He brings it every night. You wouldn’t call him athletic, or a force but he has high basketball IQ and does all the little things right. He upped his averages in almost every cat across the board this year and is a perfect role player for a team in need of a guy who does what he is told without having the spotlight on him to make him shine.

Glen Davis Big Baby with the Big Shot! He upped his averages in almost every category through the playoffs and came through for the C’s when they went into the post season sans Garnett. He is still a fouling machine but that will sort itself out as he matures and understands his limits within the game.

I love to read and but there is just never enough time to read all the books I want to. Over the years I have tried to read as many basketball books that I have stumbled upon or have been recommended to me and I can’t get enough! I like the biographies but sometimes they feel too forced, I love the fiction works that lead me to feel that I have interacted with the characters on the court but most of all, I love the books that cover the business of the game, the relationships between player & coaches and the life of these men outside the confines of a 94′ hardwood floor.

Seven Seconds or Less (Jack McCullum): A year behind the bench of the “Run ‘n Gun” Phoenix Suns – If you didn’t love them already you will after you read this.

The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac (FreeDarko) A game changer when it comes to sports books – A true almanac for the basketball fan supported by phenomenal illustrations

The Breaks of the Game (David Halberstam): The first basketball book I ever read and I keep going back to it. Its about the ’79 Blazers but its more than just basketball… its about the life that comes with

The Last Season (Phil Jackson): Coming from someone who has managed the ego’s of some of the best to ever play the game this book is filled with wit and wisdom.

The Inside Game (Wayne Embry): I was hesitant to read this at first but came out pleasantly surprised  – 40 years of experience in an NBA front office…Imagine the stories!

The Last Shot (Darcy Frey): On Coney Island – Basketball is Life. A heart wrenching non-fiction book about a group of high school basketball players… Oh yeah, Stephon Marbury was one of them.

Taking Shots (Keith Glass): A different perspective, looking at the league through the eyes of an agent its full of sarcasm and it has a foreword by Tony Kornheiser which makes it ohh so much better.

When Nothing Else Matters (Michael Leahy): An account of Jordan’s final years playing for the Wizards and my favorite of all the books written about him.

Season on the Brink (John Feinstein): Indiana- Synonymous with Basketball & Bob Knight, Feinstein spent year amongst both, giving a graphic account of college ball and the drama that surrounds it.

Can I Keep My Jersey? (Paul Shirley): From Baller to Blogger to Buthor, Paul Shirley may remembered more for this funny, honest biography than his jump shot.

Honorable Mentions: Heaven Is a Playground, Shaq Talks Back, Keepin’ It Real, Foul Lines, The Fab Five: Basketball Trash Talk the American Dream

Any recommendations for other good reads would be much appreciated

Hoosiers
If you are a fan of the game and haven’t watched this movie you should stop reading this list! If you never understood all the hype about basketball in Indiana this movie answers that too

He Got Game
Two words: Denzel Washington – Another two words: Jesus Shuttlesworth. ’nuff said! Every time i hate Ray Allen on the court iI think back to this movie and get through the game

Love and Basketball
It sounds like a chick flick… you may think it was a chick flick but I thought it was awesome! Fav line in the movie: “Who you going to prom with? SPALDING??”

Above the Rim
Tupac, some great cinematography and a dramatic ending – One of Spike Lee’s better works. I dare you to try and hold back the tears

Coach Carter
Feel good, Inspirational and the Samuel L Jackson factor bumped it up about 2 spots on my list. This is also one of the more realistic representations of high school basketball

White Men Can’t Jump
Even with Rosie Perez’s voice, bad 80′s wardrobe “It’s hard god damn work” not to like this movie. The cast makes this movie an instant comedy classic

The Air Up There
Kevin Bacon, freshly footloose, heads to Africa to scout the talent in order to save his job – funny stuff ensues!

Blue Chips
I had to put one of the totally cheesy movies on here and this one made the cut! Space Jam could easily be swapped out for this one both brng a similar level of entertainment

Glory Road
Based on a true story about the first college to field an all black team and aside from the acting this movie has it all

Hoop Dreams
The only Documentary on the list and even though the two guys never made it to the NBA this movie brings out all sorts of emotions.

Honorable Mentions
Forget Paris, Basketball Diaries, The Pistol, Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot, Through the Fire

If you are a fan of the game I am sure your RSS reader is locked and loaded with the main blogs like True Hoop, Ball Don’t Lie and Fanhouse but there are some that you may not have heard of and you are missing out. The following is a list of some of my hidden gems (they may not be so hidden but I like the way that sounds … Okay?? Thanks!)

Talk Hoops Zach has been mentioned here before for his game recaps. The regular season is over but he keeps rolling out some great posts. Check out his most recent post pondering upcoming NBA retirements

Both Teams Played Hard Jared would take Bird over Magic every time,  he would donate both kidneys to Chris Paul and his daily “All the News, Fit to Six” post is one of my favorites

A Stern Warning He may not reside on this continent, but that hasn’t stopped Mookie from waking up at odd hours to catch games. He blogs about things old and new- Read his take on NBA age limits

The Hoop Doctors The site is filled with videos, humor and news from around the league all written by writers who get the title of Dr! Check out one of their latest on the Lebron /Kobe puppetry

NBA Musings Michelle is a hardcore Celtics fan, she loves Craig Sager’s suits & even though her team went fishing a couple weeks back she keeps bringing the hilarity – Nuggets going fishin’

The 5th Corner Probably the most intensive blog I have seen dedicated to a single university, a Tar Heels blog that follows players right through to the majors with a  “Heels in the League” feature.

The Baseline A Sporting News blog, Pulitzer writing, run by some of the best in the biz giving you their take on the association – Check out Shoals’s take on “Is Varejao a Sign of Whats to Come?”

DinoNation Blog A fellow Raptor fan, James interviews Bloggers, beat writers and other NBA personalities. He recently did a great entry called Round Ball Review- Puppets Suck Edition

NESW Sports They say a picture says a thousand words but here we have Video evidence! One of the best sports video sites, Ethan updates it multiple times a day with great finds like this

NBA Noise Stu is a Trailblazers fan (and what a great time it is to be one) he covers the league and is running a 40 Posts in 40 Nights feature through the playoffs.

@russbengtson Pure JOKES… He can make a snooze fest 30 point blowout feel like the game of the week.

@stackmack of SLAM fame, Holly has a weakness for Lamar Odom and was sad to see Lebron gone fishin’.

@courtside The second lady on my list, she blogs over at NBA’s Finest and loves herself some JR Smith!

@thenolookpass Rey, a Laker fan blogs at The No Look Pass. When not talkin ball you may see him tweeting ’bout karaoke nights

@the_tigercub The third lady on my list and she knows her ball. Kat has recently started a blog called Foot on the Line

@adamcbest Adam is the senior editor over at Fansided and thinks the Lakers are going to win it all.

@HPbasketball Bringing you play by play for the times when you can’t get near a tv. (blog: Hardwood Paroxysm)

@ticktock6 Sarah likes to pre-drink before tip-off and brings the entertainment all game long (blogs at Hornets Hype with @mW_ )

@docfunk The man with the one liners… sad that I only recently found him on twitter.

@ArashMarkazi Having credentials from SI, he is at the games giving you the as-not-seen-on-TV goodness

While away, I managed to catch all of 1 playoff game on TV and so lets just rewind to the first round with a quick recap done in haiku’s

That aforementioned jet lag interfered in my getting this post up before the 2nd round started. I made my predictions earlier and will go with them even though some of my picks look like long shots after watching game 1′s from all the series.
Cavs-Hawks: The Cav’s got 9 full days of rest between series and some may have thought they will come out sluggish. That was not the case as coming in on the heels of winning the MVP trophy Lebron James picked up where he left off as the Cav’s destroyed the Hawks in game 1. I don’t see this opponent as being much of a threat to the Cav’s and though the Hawks will probably pull one home game out I say this one will be done in 5 giving the Cav’s more time to rest up and heal up.
Celtic’s-Magic: The Magic had some tough breaks in the 1st round losing Courtney Lee and then Dwight to a 1 game suspension but otherwise came out well considering the way they had ended the season. The C’s had to dig deep just to escape the first round and looking at the match ups I don’t see them having an answer for both Hedo and Shard at the same time. They have had to adopt an offensive mentality since the loss of KG and I don’t see them beating the Magic in a 7 game series with that strategy. I call the Magic in 6
Lakers-Rockets: Kobe Bryant wants another crack at it and he has a full supporting cast to get him to the finals. Standing in the way are the Tmac-less Rockets who advanced to the 2nd round for the first time since the Yao Ming/TMac era began. The Rockets are playing well and have gotten excellent contributions from Sophmore Guard Brooks and veteran Ron Artest but this is not their year. The Lakers have had a phenomenal year and though the Rockets should prove a tough opponent, the Lakers should be able to take the series in 6.
Nuggets-Mav’s: Carmelo Anthony has done it! He was quickly falling into the T-Mac category of guys who never made it out of the 1st round but this year is different. Nene is playing out of his mind and for the first time in a long time the Nuggets are all healthy not to mention they have Mr. Bigshot on their side now. The Mav’s looked good in the first round playing the shorthanded Spurs but are probably too old and too slow for Denver. Dirk needs a better supporting cast so for now I say Nuggets in 6

That should get us back to speed… returning tomorrow will be my number crunching post and I begin recapping the 2008-09 season. LETS GO!!!