Czar’s Playoff Preview

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Mavericks vs. Thunder Game 2

Monday, April 30th, 2012

The Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder will square off tonight in the capital of the Sooner State in Game 2 of their first-round, best of seven series. The Thunder won the opening game 99-98 on a last-second, Kevin Durant foul line jumper reminiscent of his game winner in the first regular season match between these teams.

The reigning 3X NBA scoring champ and 2012 MVP candidate had 25 points, 6 boards, 4 dimes and 4 blocks in a game-high 44 minutes of court time. The West’s second seeded OKC squad is hoping to avenge last year’s WCF defeat, when the eventual NBA champs Dallas took out the up-and-coming Thunder team 4 games to 1.

14th-year, 11X All-Star and 2007 NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 25 points in the loss. The uber-clutch Dirk had 11 of those points in the final five minutes of the game, nearly enough to push Dallas over the top and help them steal a road victory.

However, OKC coach Scott Brooks had enough of Dirk’s late game dominance and decided to run a double-team at him every time he touched the rock. This strategy proved successful, resulting in two key Dallas turnovers late in the game.

Copyright 2012 NBAE - Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty ImagesThese two sides met four times during the shortened regular season. OKC won the season series 3 games to 1 with their only defeat coming in ‘Big D’, 100-87, on January 2nd. The Mavs have endured a rollercoaster of a season with multiple losing streaks, a redone roster and an aging core. But as they demonstrated last season, to count out coach Rick Carlisle’s guys in the playoffs is a huge mistake.

The oldest player on the court, 18th-year, 39-year-old PG Jason Kidd, had 7 steals, 8 points, 6 boards and 5 dimes in Game 1. Dallas also has a solid bench anchored by Jason ‘JET’ Terry, who had 20 points and 5 dimes in the opener. However, the Thunder protect their home court vigilantly. They went 26-7 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena this season, while the Mavericks were a sub-par 13-20 on the road in 2011-12.

Dallas desperately wants to avoid going into an 0-2 hole in this series. Look for the 2011 NBA champions to come out swinging tonight, knowing that they didn’t play their best ball on Saturday and nearly won. Join Matt Devlin and me for TNT’s live coverage of DAL @ OKC Game 2 at 9:30 PM ET to see if the veteran Mavs can even the score or if the super-charged young guns of the Thunder are on a take-no-prisoners trajectory to their first NBA Finals.

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Czar’s 2012 Playoff Preview

Saturday, April 28th, 2012

The 2012 NBA Playoffs start today, less than 48 hours after the conference standings were cemented during Thursday’s regular season finale. This lockout-shortened regular season schedule of 66 games in 124 days has taken a toll mentally or physically on all of the 16 postseason contenders vying for the championship this spring. How the fallout will impact postseason play is one of the various storylines that will color the playoff season, as will many memorable 94’ by 50’ hoops battles fought in years past. Like Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s past is prologue.” Here are some of the questions that will get answered as the plot unravels when the quest for the Larry O’Brien trophy gets underway.

THE EAST

  • Copyright NBAE 2011 - Photo by Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty ImagesVirtually all the pro-ball prognosticators have pegged either the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat to come out on top of the Eastern Conference. Do any of the squads seeded 3-8 have the talent, drive and stamina to make it to the Finals?
  •  Will the pressure on 9th-year, ringless LeBron James elevate his game (if that’s even possible) or be so great that he proves his naysayers right?
  • Does the depth and unselfishness of the 3rd seed Indiana Pacers make them spoilers even without a legitimate star on the roster?
  • Can Boston’s aged core of Pierce, Garnett and Allen stay healthy enough to grind out enough W’s to give the C’s their 18th title banner?
  • Will the banged-up Hawks get enough offensive output from the gifted Joe Johnson and their defensive menace Josh Smith to overcome Al Horford’s absence?
  • Can the Dwight Howard-less Magic rally together after a season-long soap opera surrounding the Association’s top 5-man?
  • Do the Knicks have enough firepower with the super-combo of Carmelo and Amar’e to take down their playoff rival of years past the Heat?
  • And will Linsanity be making a return to the floor and global media these playoffs?
  • Is this the year that the storied Philly franchise can return to prominence and shock the pundits?

THE WEST

  • Will last year’s champs Dallas be able to come close to replicating their 2011 title run from the 7-spot after having suffered through a roster redo, multiple prolonged losing streaks and aging superstars?
  • Will Gregg Popovich’s superb coaching job (maybe his best ever) of resting his trio of stars and developing a group of young ballers while still finishing with the 1-seed get the Spurs back to the Finals and a chance at a 5th ring?
  • Are the OKC Thunder poised to take the next step with the 3-time NBA scoring leader Durant, super-athlete Westbrook at the 1 and a strong supporting cast?
  • Will 5X champ Kobe Bryant’s MVP-like production in his 16th season be augmented enough by Gasol and Bynum to get to the ring round in Mike Brown’s first year as Lakers head coach?
  • Can the Grizzlies pseudo-shock the league as they did in last year’s first-round upset of SA now that they are a 4-seed, playoff-tested and expected to do well?
  • Will the Clippers be just the ‘CP3 & Blake Show’ or will the rest of the cast step it up now that they’re in the playoffs for the first time since ’06?
  • Can the post-Melo Nuggets make the mile-high fandom smile with their up-and-down attack, which ranked first in points per game and dimes per game?
  • Will the Jazz’s points-leader and boards-leader, power-power forward Al Jefferson be able to lead the 8th seed to an upset stunner now that he’s back in the playoffs for the first time since ’05, his rookie season in Boston?

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat vs. Bulls Game 5

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

The Bulls turned up the heat in Game 4, but Miami made out with the 101-93 overtime win at home on Tuesday. The spoils of war add up to a commanding 3-1 lead for the Heatles in the Eastern Conference Finals. Once again, limiting King James to a mere mortal’s game proved a tough assignment. LeBron kicked it into gear and closed out Game 4 with a 35-point finish, his biggest of this series.

Chris Bosh contributed another solid 22-point performance. And the Heat got an extra dozen-point, nine-board boost from Mike Miller off the bench, as well as nine points from Mario Chalmers. Dwyane Wade still hasn’t broken out yet. The Bulls have done a great job containing him so far, but he’s like a sleeping giant who could bust out at any moment.

Whether or not Wade plays at the top of his game tonight, MVP Derrick Rose has to figure out how he’s going to attack Miami’s defense in Game 5 if he wants to keep his team in title contention. And Coach Tom Thibadeau must devise a plan to get him away from LeBron, who put a blanket on Rose for Chicago’s two most critical shots down the stretch in Game 4. Carlos Boozer needs another big game. And the bench has to contribute more to give Chicago the edge in tonight’s elimination match.

Miami knows that Dallas is ready and waiting to meet the winner of this grueling series. Every day that they allow it to go on gives Dallas that much more of an advantage in terms of preparation time and rest. Erik Spoelstra and his team are just one win away from manifesting their three-star master plan to compete for an NBA Title. But unlike last night’s contest in which the Mavericks’ execution and experience enabled them to seal the deal, I think Chicago has a good chance to capture the W and send this series back to Miami for Game 6. The Central Division Champion Chicago Bulls will host the Southeast Division Champion Miami Heat tonight in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals at 8:30 PM ET on TNT.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Thunder vs. Mavericks Game 5

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Led by the unstoppable Nowitzki, the Mavericks bounced back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in overtime 112-105. It will be interesting to see how the very young Thunder team responds in Game 5 after that crushing defeat. Oklahoma City have to claw their way out of a daunting 3-1 hole against a veteran team that is playing outstanding ball. Will the deflated Thunder collapse, or do they still have the belief that they can take down Dallas on the road and get back into this series one win at a time?

Dallas only needs to grab one game at home to advance to the NBA Championships, and they will be very eager to get it in front of their faithful fans tonight. The Mavericks can use all the rest they can get before facing whichever formidable Eastern Conference opponent awaits the winner of this series. And more importantly, they know OKC is too dangerous to let them hang around. Dallas wants to put them away as soon as possible. After beating OKC twice in their own building, the Mavs will come out in Game 5 with tremendous confidence in their ability to best them again. It’s been a thrilling, hard-fought series so far and I expect another spectacular effort in this evening’s elimination match.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Bulls vs. Heat Game 4

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

The Miami Heat protected their turf in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Chris Bosh scored 34 points to lead his team past Chicago 96-85. The Bulls haven’t suffered consecutive losses since early February. They must win Game 4 on the road tonight in order to reclaim home court advantage and salvage a legitimate shot at advancing to the NBA Championship.

It will be interesting to see whether Chicago changes up its defense in order to shut down Bosh and prevent him from having another huge game. However, in doing so they risk the possibility of allowing LeBron James and/or Dwyane Wade to put up big numbers. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau will have to decide whether to implement a new strategy or to play the same way in order to contain James and Wade (who were held to 22 and 17 points respectively) while doing a better individual job on Bosh.

On the offensive end of the court, Chicago needs to figure out a way to score more points against Miami’s outstanding defense. Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer both produced in the last game, combining for 46 total. But a third starter needs to step up and give the Bulls a boost. Ball movement and bench productivity will also be critical to their success.

The Heat see the opportunity in front of them to end the Eastern Conference Finals in five games and will be anxious to seize the pivotal Game 4 in front of their enthusiastic fans. This is a veteran Miami team that will try to take advantage of the younger Chicago squad’s relative lack of experience in order to take control of their series like Dallas was able to do last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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