Top 5 Individuals Performance of the First Round

Honorable Mentions:
-Derrick Rose, Game 1 (39 pts, 6 rbs, 6 ast, 10/23 fgs, 0/9 3pts, 19/21 fts)
-Dwyane Wade, Game 3 (32 pts, 10 rbs, 8 ast, 10/19 fgs, 12/12 fts)
-Dirk Nowitzki, Game 6 (33 pts, 11 rbs, 11/17 fgs, 0/1 3pts, 11/11 fts)
-Kevin Durant, Game 1 (41 pts, 9 rbs, 13/22 fgs, 3/6 3pts, 12/15 fts)
-Zach Randolph, Game 1 (25 pts, 14 rbs, 10/15 fgs, 0/1 3pts, 5/8 fts)


5. Dwight Howard, Game 1 (46 pts, 19 rbs, 8 tos, 16/23 fgs, 14/22 fts)
If Orlando had won the game, it would be nearly impossible to keep Howard's Game 1 performance out of the top 3.  Dwight's 46 points and 19 rebounds both remain as the  top outputs so far this postseason.  While statistically the showing was outstanding, the Magic were rarely competing and never in control of the game.  It does mean something to carry the team and all Dwight was able to do was keep them afloat.


4. Carmelo Anthony, Game 2 (42 pts, 17 rbs, 6 ast, 14/30 fgs, 4/8 3pts, 10/11 fts)
While it is difficult to separate Carmelo Anthony's Game 2 performance and Dwight Howard's Game 1 on a statistical basis, a few intangible factors go into ranking Melo over Dwight.  First, while Howard dominated his game, he never took over like Carmelo did.  Anthony put up big numbers all game long but in the 4th quarter of a tight game on the road (without Amaré and Chauncey), he pushed his teammates' struggles to the curb and carried the Knicks to what should have been a meaningful victory (anyone who knows basketball saw that the refs stole that game from New York).  Second, Howard's team was the favorite at home and Carmelo's was the underdog on the road.  Carmelo putting up big numbers against Paul Pierce and the C's is more impressive than Dwight Howard against Jason Collins, Zaza Pachulia, and Hilton Armstrong.

3. Rajon Rondo, Game 3 (15 pts, 11 rbs, 20 ast, 5/13 fgs, 5/6 fts)

Rajon Rondo's first round series must be taken with a grain of salt.  Not only are the Knicks a terrible defensive team to begin with, the way Toney Douglas chose to guard Rondo throughout the series was inexcusable.  Playing off of Rondo in the half-court is the smart thing to do and you cannot fault the Knicks for such (Rondo's 5/13 field goal performance can attest to that).  Where the major issue lied was in the fast-break defense.  It seems as if Douglas' strategy was simply to keep backpedaling until he left the court.  It's not like Rajon was going all Allen Iverson on people and breaking ankles; he went straight down the middle of the lane completely uncontested.  As much as the Knicks defense can be blamed, Rondo must be praised for becoming only the second player in history to record a playoff triple-double with 20+ assists (interestingly Magic Johnson's 1991 performance was almost identical (16 pts, 11 rbs, 20 ast, 4/12 fgs, 6/6 fts).  Setting records like this must be appreciated and Rondo is getting his appreciation here.

2. Chris Paul, Game 1 (33 pts, 7 rbs, 14 ast, 11/18 fgs, 2/3 3pts, 9/12 fts)
I contest that there has never been a deeper position in any sport at any time as there currently is at the point guard spot in the NBA.  There are upwards of ten point guards that could easily lead a championship team and the gap between 1 and 5 is not nearly as big as it is for every other position.  That being said, for anybody that was beginning to reopen the debate as to who may be the best of the best, Chris Paul just spent the first round telling those people to shut up.  The Hornets had no business making the playoffs in the West (without David West) and absolutely no business taking 2 games from the Lakers and yet they did both.  Two words explain why.  Chris. Paul.


1. Chris Paul, Game 4 (27 pts, 13 rbs, 15 ast, 7/14 fgs, 2/4 3pts, 11/11 fts)
Chris Paul is unequivocally, the best and most well-rounded point guard in the NBA and there is an argument to be had that he is the most well-rounded player in the game as well.  When healthy, he is the best on-ball defensive point guard in the league, the third best passer in the league (Nash and James), the third-best playmaking point guard (Rondo and Nash), the fourth-best penetrating point guard (Rose, Parker, Williams), one of the top ten overall shooters in the league, and, for his size, an above-average rebounder.  If I were a basketball coach teaching point guards how to play the game effectively, I would make them watch Game 4 of the Hornets-Lakers series.  He dominated the game individually, he set his teammates up perfectly, and most importantly he willed his team to win a game that they should not have won.

NBA Playoff Predictions

Ok, here are my playoff predictions.  Have at them.

First Round:
Expect Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles to sweep.  Portland is the only upset I see happening (4 games to 2) but I expect New York to take Boston to at least six games and an upset would not shock me.  With Manu Ginobili's injury I see San Antonio as vulnerable and Memphis should give them a tough series.  Denver could take two games from Oklahoma City, same thing with Atlanta versus Orlando.

Second Round:
Chicago should see a tough challenge out of Orlando.  Noah is a solid player but Dwight Howard is out of his mind lately.  Derrick Rose will have just received the MVP award days earlier and a bitter Howard  should be expected to pull a '95 Hakeem and show the world who is really best.  Chicago will take the physical series in seven games behind its superior supporting cast.
The Celtics and the Heat will go six games.  I see Boston taking Game 2 in Miami and closing the series out at home.  Wade has struggled against the C's all season and Garnett owns Bosh.  A healthy Boston will pull it out but an injury to one of the O'Neal's could spell danger.
Oklahoma City should sweep San Antonio.  The injury bug has plagued the Spurs' big three in the second half of the season and they seem vulnerable.  The Thunder, with the addition of Perkins, are too tough on both sides of the ball and should coast.  If healthy, the Spurs could take a game but it is unlikely.
Assuming Bynum is healthy, which he says he should be, the Lakers should get by the Blazers.  Portland is a sneaky team and if Brandon Roy steps his game up they could give Los Angeles a run for their money.  With Bynum I see Portland taking a game maybe two.  If Bynum is out then I see it going seven games and possibly a Portland upset.

Conference Finals:
Chicago-Boston should be a great series.  The two teams put in a classic performance two years ago on route to a Boston win in seven games.  Chicago's young core has never won a playoff series and Boston's core has only lost one (last year's NBA finals).  I see this series as a concrete changing of the guard.  Rose versus Rondo will be the primary matchup but I expect Ray Allen to be the key for Boston.  Deng and Pierce, as well as Garnett and Boozer, match-up nicely against each other so the burden will fall on Bogans and Korver to keep Allen in check.  Expect Boston to push the Bulls to six or seven games before succumbing.
In last year's playoffs the Thunder sent the Lakers, and the rest of the league for that matter, a message, "We're coming."  Save for an inability to box Pau Gasol out at the buzzer in Game 6, OKC would have taken the eventual champs to seven games in a great match-up.  Oklahoma City has not only improved through experience, they have also added the biggest difference maker in the series, Kendrick Perkins.  The Perkins trade was great for Oklahoma City as a whole but it was a move made to counter Los Angeles.  The Lakers size hurt the Thunder last season and Perkins was continually the key for Boston in its match-ups with LA.  Artest plays Durant well and the Lakers will throw Brown, Barnes, and Bryant at Westbrook.  This series should go seven and an upset would not surprise me but expect Kobe's willpower and Odom's length and versatility to be the difference.

NBA Finals:
The Lakers have face the Bulls one time in playoff history, it did not go their way.  In 1991, Chicago beat LA four games to one behind the force that was Michael Jordan.  You can expect Chicago's new force Derrick Rose to make this into a difficult series.  Chicago will have home-court advantage and expect them to take Games 1 and 2 at home before being swept out in six.  Los Angeles's length should be the difference.  Give Kobe Bryant his 6th ring and his 3rd consecutive Bill Russell award.