NBA Playoffs Review: After the 1st Games

The Boston Celtics showed that without Kevin Garnett they are not the same team that won the Championship last year. With their 105-103 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, they need to play their hearts out in tonight's game. Which is exactly what they did. The Celtics won in a back and forth drama 118-115 from a last second shot three pointer made by Ray Allen.

The San Antonio Spurs are showing their age. Their 105-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks made them realize that their stars are loosing their steam. Tim Duncan's knees have been questionable for most of the season, while Manu Ginobli has been in and out of the starting line-up due to numerous injuries. If the Spurs want to stay on top they need to make sure Duncan doesn't get knocked around, and keep Tony Parker playing strong.

The Detroit Pistons showed that they too are not the same team that has made it to the Eastern Conference finals numerous times. Their 102-84 loss said that they could not keep up with the strength and speed of Lebron James and his Cavaliers. It honestly will take a miracle for the Pistons to pull off an upset against the number 1 seeded Cavs.

The 76'ers proved that they earned their spot in the playoffs by beating the Orlando Magic with a last second shot made by Andre Igoudala. The 100-98 defeat of Dwight Howard and his team was a shock to most fans. But Howard and his team have more than enough talent to win out the series. The 76'ers however, look like they won't let the Magic win easy.

The Los Angeles Lakers's domination of the Utah Jazz was not unexpected. There seems like there will be no trouble at all for the Lakers through the entire series. Don't expect an upset from this one.

Even with Chris Paul, the New Orleans Hornets got stomped on by Chauncy Billups and his Denver Nuggets. With Billups hitting 8 three-pointers, the Nuggets won easily 113-84. The Hornets look to pull off a win at home tomorrow but Denver looks too strong for the smaller New Orleans team.

Miami discovered that Atlanta is a much better team than most people expected. The Heat's 90-64 loss gave them a touch of reality--in the playoffs amazing actually does happen. Dwayne Wade and his team need to step up in the next game and play like they deserve to be in the playoffs.

Lastly, the Houston Rockets and Yao Ming, showed the young Portland Trailblazers team that it takes more than a young team to win. The Trailblazers lost 108-81. Brandon Roy and his Portland team need to step up their fast paced game and make sure that the giant named Yao doesn't have time to get into position.

The NBA playoffs is where anything can happen. The Miami, Orlando, and Boston losses show that the East might have some surprises in store.

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Verejao Has Andersons of Steel

During Sunday's game Cleveland Cavaliers forward, Anderson Varejao, received an elbow to his nether-regions from Boston Celtics guard, Ray Allen.



The tussle came after Celtics guard, Paul Pierce, took his second free throw. Varejao stepped in front of Allen into the lane, making a clean box out--except for hooking onto Allen's left arm. Varejao then proceeded to use Allen's arm to throw him down to the ground. Allen retaliated by throwing back his right elbow, which happened to run into Varejao's groin.

Both players were given technical fouls for their antics.

The most amazing part of the altercation however, is that the blow to Varejao's jewels didn't even bend him over! It looked as though Allen got a straight shot to where it counts but Varejao didn't even flinch. Even if he was screaming inside of his head, biting his lip, crossing his toes over each other, and flexing every muscle in his body to keep it from hurting, there is no way a man should still be standing from that kind of hit.

Both players made poor choices in acting out towards one another. Allen did not need to throw an elbow after being thrown to the ground. Players get hit hard every game--this was no unusual occurrence. It's stupid to let even an intentional action get a rise out of emotions during a professional game. Varejao also acted out in an unneeded way by throwing Allen to the ground when there was no need or grounds to do so.

The Cavs were up by 23 points after Pierce made his free-throws. Varejao didn't even have a reason to be frustrated. Sure the Celtics were getting frustrated but there was no need to let emotions run wild in a mostly meaningless game.

Both players acted unprofessional. But it looks as though Anderson Varejao has a steel plated groin.

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The All-Mighty Draft

Is leaving college early really the best choice for young athletes? Or is it always going to be beneficial to stay an extra year?

The NBA and NFL drafts are some of the most sought after option for college players. Individual players try to reach for their peak playing ability for being in a college setting. But do the athletes have the power to reach their highest level of playing before their college career is over? Or is that last year something that will be always beneficial?

In the case of USC's Mark Sanchez, his decision to leave school after his Junior year was criticized by the masses, including his own coach Pete Carroll. Carroll said in an Los Angeles Times blog "One more year of running a team is almost priceless, so he lost the chance to fully prepare himself and become the very best he could be before going to the NFL."

If such a prominent coach in the college football realm said "one more year of running a team is almost priceless," then why are athletes in such a hurry to get into the pros?

The same case as Sanchez is happening with Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, except Griffin is only a Sophomore. Griffin's coach, Jeff Capel however, did not see the same problem as Carroll did with Sanchez. Capel said in a Yahoo Sports article "this is the right decision. In my mind, it's a no-brainer."

Griffin is a 6'10 251 pound forward who averaged 22.7 points alongside 14.4 rebounds. But Griffin will have the same problems matching up to the pros in the NBA as Sanchez will in the NFL. With players like Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett as possible match-ups for Griffin, he will have his work cut out for him.

There is one thing however, that the draft can do for college players--money. Playing in college offers the opportunity to enter the draft for a position on a professional team. Professional teams mean money, and even more money to number one draft picks.

It seems as though college athletes are getting more impatient as the years continue. Players are leaving after their sophomore year if they have a great collegiate season. Money is a very tempting thing and when agents are involved, who knows how much of the information about entering the draft is given to the players.

There is no way that staying the entirety of a college career can hurt a players chances in the pros. They get more experience and they are able to sharpen their skills even further. By going into the pros early, they are going to lack maturity and possibly the skills needed to compete with people who have been playing at the highest level for years.

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