NBA Conference Finals and Other Tidings

Cavs Wrap-Up
After days of mourning, it's finally time for me to get back to blogging. The amount of material written about the Cavs and LeBron is extraordinary. Here is my two cents:

The Cavs Loss was 90% Mike Brown
Basically, it comes down to this: Mike Brown has no spine or Mike Brown is a moron. Here's why: this year's Cavs team could go small, big, or fast. It could matchup with any team. Some say it's a problem when your team goes 10-deep in the NBA. Well, I've learned it's only a problem if your coach does not know how to utilize the talent. The Cavs basically acquired Shaq and Jamison to compensate for the shortcomings of last year's Cavs' loss to the Magic, to matchup against Dwight Howard down low and against Rashard Lewis on the outside. If you would have told me back in February that the Cavs would be acquiring Jamison for nothing... and then using him for 30 minutes a night against KG I would have said you were frickin' out of your mind.

So basically, instead of playing the matchup at hand (the Celtics), Mike Brown decided for some reason that he would play Shaq and Jamison for over 30 minutes per night just because they were the starters. All Mike Brown had to do was look at the February game versus Boston (yes Pierce didn't play, but the game is still a good illustration) that the Cavs obliterate the Celtics when they play a lot of Varejao and Hickson (and no Z or Shaq). You could also look at the March game too if you want. You could also look at the Hawks domination of the Celtics during the season, as they play an athletic lineup at all times. Let's also not forget... you acquired Leon Powe as insurance in case you played Boston because he even said, all he wanted was revenge against his former team.

Back to the question at hand... either Mike Brown did not have the cajones to stand-up to Shaq and Jamison and play them reduced minutes (in favor of better matchups)... or Mike Brown is an idiot. Either way, he needs to be fired (the timing of which is a question, as LeBron may like Brown because he can boss him around). In addition, yes, LeBron was not healthy in the series. But that paled in comparison.

I think one quote by General Patton really is apt for the Cavs and Mike Brown... "A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." Sadly, Mike Brown's plan for Orlando was meaningless because he failed to have a decent plan against the Celtics.

Western Conference Finals
The Suns-Lakers finally kicked off last night. Robin Lopez played and had 14 pts, 6 rebounds, and a +2 rating... and everyone else on the Suns played awful outside of Jason Richardson (including 2 of 12 3-point shooting from Frye and Dudley off the bench). I can't believe Robin Lopez made it back. I'm very intrigued to see how the Suns play or if they can even stay in some of the games. Stoudemire will have to do better than 3 rebounds... while Odom gets 19! Don't worry, Stoudemire claims Odom was just "lucky." Right.

Eastern Conference Finals
I dislike both teams but it should be an interesting series. Say what you will about Howard, but any team that has the luxury of going one-on-one with Howard to some degree of success has a great chance of being in every game. Luckily for the Celtics, Kendrick Perkins always gives Howard fits. The other centers on the list that give Howard trouble are... Samuel Dalembert (helping the Sixers push the Magic to 6 or 7 games last year in the 1st round), Shaq (even at his old age), and maybe the Lakers combination. That's it as far as I know. You can't really beat the Magic in a playoff series otherwise at this point. Should be a long, exciting series.

I've been wrong about every prediction so far in the playoffs. At this point though, I'm assuming the Eastern Conference wins the championship no matter what.