NBA PLAYOFF TIME IS FINALLY HERE

Hello my six followers, here are some first round picks, just in time for the first round to start:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

1 San Antonio vs. 8 Memphis

Ginobili being hurt makes this one a little more interesting. I actually think the Griz have a chance to push this one to six or seven especially if Manu isn't back for a few games, or not playing at 100%. Memphis has a decent defense with Tony “Kobe stopper” Allen and Marc Gasol as a pretty good shot blocker and without Manu on offense the Spurs might have a little trouble scoring.

Pick: Spurs in 5, Memphis puts up a good fight, but they have less experience and will be out-coached in addition to being a worse overall team.

2 Lakers vs. 7 New Orleans

It looks like Bynum will be back and that means the Lakers are in the best position they could be in. If Kobe and Pau Gasol catch Steve Blake's chicken pox and miss some time then I'll reevaluate.

Pick: Lakers in 5, much better team, but their inconsistency might show up when the get up a couple games and allow the Hornets to grab a game.

3 Dallas vs. 6 Portland

I said it before, and I'll say it again. “So tempting to pick the upset with the new look Blazers who have won 63% since they got Gerald Wallace, but if it weren't for a 2-9 stretch from Dec. 28th to January 17th, they'd be the one seed right now. The Mavs are first in assists per game and I think too many people are underrating them, Dallas in 6” (Englehart 4/5/11). Yes. That's a direct quote folks. Sticking too it. Portland will definitely push them pretty far though.

The pick: Dallas in 7. Great series.

4 Oklahoma City vs. 5 Denver

Once again, very tough series, don't know who to pick. Both teams have crazy home court advantages. Denver because they have the altitude and great fans and the OKC fans were incredible in the playoffs last year, giving them quite the advantage at home against the Lakers. Based on that, the Thunder should win 4-3, but we'll see. They also have more experience in the playoffs and playing together, with Perk brining them championship experience. Still, Denver has a ton of weapons and more depth.

The Pick: Nuggets in 7. Deep down I think the Thunder will probably win, but I'm picking all the better seeds so I'll go with Denver because I think it's pretty much a toss-up.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

1 Chicago vs. 8 Indiana

Interesting fact I just saw, the Pacers had the worst attendance in the NBA. That's basketball country, come on people! Anyways, Chicago is just so good and Indiana is so average. Still, they were a pretty good home team and beat Chicago once at home. I think they could maybe do it again. Maximum of once. They had a pretty horrendous and worst in the playoffs 13-28 record on the road. I don't even see them coming close in Chicago.

The Pick: Bulls sweep.

2 Miami vs. 7 Philadelphia

I love this Philadelphia team. Which is the opposite of how I feel about this Heat team. Philly is gonna be good very soon, but not quite yet. Still, I think they could give the Heatles more trouble than people think. Andre Iguodala could give Le”Betard”Bron some serious headaches, and a frustrated LeBron could spell trouble for Miami. The 7'1 Spencer Hawes could spell trouble for Miami down low.

The Pick: Miami in 6, Philly might even get one on the road from the fair-weather Miami fans.

4 Orlando vs. 5 Atlanta

Atlanta is 14-26 against teams above .500 this season. That's the second worst of all playoff teams ahead of only Indiana. Bottomline is they won the games they should have won and struggled against good teams. Not a good formula for the playoffs. The Magic absolutely smoked the Hawks in the playoffs last year and even though they have their new look, they still have their coach and general core, and Jason Richardson is a much better scorer than Vince Carter was while he was busy folding under pressure in the playoffs last season.

The Pick: Orlando in 5

6 New York Knicks vs. YOUR BOSTON CELTICS

Saved the best for last. I've been hearing a bunch of people trying to sound smart, pick the upset, take the Knicks. Well I am absolutely not buying this one bit. Yeah, the Celtics have limped into the playoffs and the Knicks are playing pretty good basketball, but look at the facts. Boston in 4-0 vs. New York this year, its not even worth comparing the level of playoff experience these two teams have, and Boston didn't use any of their starting five, or Delonte West, Nenad Krstic or Jermaine O'Neal in beating a decent amount of the Knicks team the other day. The Celtics just have so much more depth than the team that had to trade half their roster to get Carmelo Anthony. And I still don't understand why they bought out Ronnie Brewer? Was he really not worth using off the bench?

The Pick: C's in 5. The Knicks only chance is if they take game one or two and catch the Celtics sleeping, if the Celtics get going see ya later New York. However, Boston has been waiting for the playoffs to start again since June 17th of last year.

Mailbag: Take two

Here we go reader(s?), time for mailbag take two! Once again we were a little short on comments, so make sure you send them in to either henglehart@students.colgate.edu, the comment box at the bottom of the page, or @gregenglehart or twitter. Exciting though is we do have our first real question this week! (Thanks Dad.) I'll get to that one last. Go time:

Five days down in the MLB Season, what do you think? Lots of teams expected to finish well (Red Sox, Angels, Twins, Brewers) not doing as well as teams like the Orioles and Royals.

(Submitted by Greg from Newburyport, MA)

Yup, lot of surprises, I was hoping to put this blog up later following a Reds loss so I could mention the FIRST PLACE PITTSBURGH PIRATES, but instead I'll just point out they're tied for the wild card. Anyways, that's a pretty good microcosm of the season so far, lots of "surprises," but you only really notice them because it's the first series so everything gets over-magnified. If the Royals take three out of four from the Angels in July, nobody notices. Still, seeing this is what it's all about and why baseball is so great. You start out with every team having hope (except the 0-3 'stros it won't get much better, sorry Houston), move on to summer (who doesn't love a ballgame on a warm summer evening) and end with a battle for the most competitive playoff spot in all major American sports. Basically, none of it means anything, but its fun to watch. Yeah, the Red Sox lost three already, well they can afford to lose 59 more and still win 100. That's a lot of games. The two series that I thought were most important was Cincinnati sweeping the Brew Crew and the Dodgers taking three out of four from the Giants. Both series saw two division favorites squaring off, which means the game basically meant twice as much if they had played random teams. The 1-3 Twins aren't in as much of a hole as the one and three Giants, because they haven't already lost a chance to capitalize against a division opponent. But that "hole" they are in isn't very deep at all and in the grand scheme of things these games are more fun than meaningful.

Just eleven days till the NBA Playoffs tip off, how do you see this one playing out?

(Submitted by Greg from Colgate University)

Well call me the Boston Celtics, but I am more than ready for this postseason to start.

I'll start out west since I usually give all the love to my Celtics on this blog. (I'll keep my answers brief here, but I may expand on it once the seeds are set)

Let's assume the seeds stay the way they are since that's easiest gives us:

1-8: Spurs vs. Griz-Gotta take the favorite and go with the Spurs here, in four.

2-7: Lakers vs. Hornets-Same thing I'll go with the defending champs (wow that hurts to write that), in five.

3-6: Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers-So tempting to pick the upset with the new look Blazers who have won 63% since they got Gerald Wallace, but if it weren't for a 2-9 stretch from Dec. 28th to January 17th, they'd be the one seed right now. The Mavs are first in assists per game and I think too many people are underrating them, Dallas in 6.

4-5: Thunder vs. Nuggets-This has great series, seven games written all over it. Two of the best home court advantages in the NBA, both teams making big moves at the trade deadline that seem to make them better. I'm going to pick the upset here, partially just because I don't like picking all the better seeds and I think this one could be a toss up. Nuggets in 7 (yup, on the road in OKC.)

On to the East.

1-8: Chicago vs. Indy-Not even a close series. Chicago in four.

2-8: Heat vs. Knicks-Not sure either of these seeds will hold, the Celtics/Heat and Knicks/Sixers are still all possibilities to play each other. I don't know which team is scarier in the playoffs for the Heat/C's, the Knicks or the Sixers, both have a lot of potential and should play either team very tough. I'll say the Knicks are the tougher team mainly because they're up 76-47 on the Raptors and they run a lot. They also beat the Heat with Melo already. Anyways, the point is, either matchup is tough, but both better teams should escape. Heat in 6.

3-6: Celtics vs. Sixers-Scary matchup for the C's, they've struggled against the Sixers all season, and Andre Iguodala gives Paul Pierce fits. The 'tics have also struggled in the first round in the big three era. But I think this team has shown they still know how to turn it on when they have to, and I think ever since the Perk trade they've been eager for the playoffs. C's come out strong and win in 5.

4-5: Magic vs. Hawks-I honestly think the Hawks are worse than the Sixers and Knicks. Magic in 5.

I'll post my predictions for the later rounds when the seeds are set for sure.

How ugly was the NCAA Championship last night?

(Submitted by Greg form Hamilton, NY)

Ugly. Three two's in the entire game for Butler, are you kidding me. I do think the defenses did a great job, watching Butler d-up the UConn inbounds plays was pretty fun to watch, but this was a pretty ugly game. Missed layups galore for Butler. I think the NCAA should look into whether or not they should continue having these games in football arenas, the backdrop is definitely tough on shooters and leads to a less exciting game. Losing 30,000 fans in the seats over three games could be balanced by adding a million viewers if the basketball were higher quality.

You promised more sports than just Basketball, Football and Baseball. Where is it?!

(Submitted by Greg from Mass)

You're absolutely right Greg. And what better week to bring that up than the start of the Champions League Quarterfinals. Big surprise was seeing Schalke 04 win 5-2 at Inter. So much for the defending champs. Schalke is currently 10th in a crazy Bundesliga (Bayern third and not going to win). Real over Totty 4-0 at home today, means both these contests are essentially decided before the second leg. I hate to see Tottenham lose, especially on a red from Crouch in the fifteenth, because it was fun to see this surprise team in the EPL doing some damage with exciting guys like Garreth Bale and Aaron Lennon leading them. With Chelsea playing ManU, only one EPL team will make it through to the semis, which is unfortunate because you definitely want to see at least one English club playing in the final at Wembley. As far as that one goes, ManU is looking too good right now, now that Rooney is back in top form. Chelsea is going to need Torres to figure it out fast and show why he was worth the money they paid if they want a chance. I'd call a draw or a one goal ManU win at Stamford Bridge tomorrow and a win at Old Trafford to seal it. The only other match is Barcelona vs. suprising Shakhtar. Looks like the clock is going to strike midnight on Cinderella, Barcelona wins this one big at the Nou Camp and puts it out of reach.

And finally out first real question:

How will taking a paycut affect Cam Newton in the NFL?

(Submitted by Harry from the Graveyard aka my Dad)

Well, it's not looking like a paycut because Todd McShay today was saying he's hearing a lot of rumors that Newton will go number one overall. Are you kidding me? Did NFL teams not learn anything from Vince Young? Athletic quarterbacks with athletic ability but questionable arms who win Heismans and National Championships but score 9 on their wonderlics don't equate to NFL success. Let's not forget his off court issues, stole a kids laptop at Florida, left Florida because of three instances of academic cheating, went to Auburn and may have gotten paid a boatload of money. I don't see how he possibly seems like a guy who could lead this (or just about any) team to success.

Alright that's all for tonight, keep sending those questions in!