Sorry this didn't get up earlier my pretties - I went out last night before Thunder/Lakers was over then when I came home I didn't really feel like writing for you in order to have this good to go by my usual 6AM. I'm sure you don't really care though since you're out and about doing fun stuff this afternoon.
The playoffs are relatively simple right now:
Western Conference = Competitive
Eastern Conference = Ugly and boring
Saturday April 24th Playoff Results:
Orlando Magicians 90 Charlotte Bobcats 86 (Recap): This game was tight most of the way but in the end even the home Charlotte crowd in their first playoff game advantage couldn't overtake 32 from Jameer Nelson. If there's any more evidence that the Bobcats need that they aren't nearly as good as Orlando, Dwight Howard has done almost nothing in the series and it's still probably going to be a sweep.
Portland Trail Blazers 96 Phoenix Suns 87 (Recap): Personally I knew this thing was going to be tied the moment Brandon Roy took his warm-ups off. Roy provided the emotional lift Portland needed and now we're looking at a best of 3 for the series. It's hard to be too terribly disappointed that the Suns got the split they needed in Portland - I'll take my chances with the Blazers needing to win one in Phoenix to win the series.
Milwaukee Bucks 107 Atlanta Hawks 89 (Recap): In a series that looked like it was going to be a blowout, the Bucks took a 36-19 lead after the first quarter and never looked back to claim their first win. John Salmons (aka the best mid-season acquisition anyone can ever make) scored 22 to lead the Bucks while old man Jerry Stackhouse added 16 and Brandon Jennings provided 13. Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 25.
Oklahoma City Thunder 110 Los Angeles Lakers 89 (Recap): This series seems a bit reminiscent of Boston/Atlanta from a couple years back when the Hawks were the 8 seed but used awesome home crowds to keep the series alive. OKC got 22 from Kevin Durant and basically blew the Lakers off the floor for the entire game. Now just like Phoenix/Portland this becomes a best of 3. Can Oklahoma City take a game off the Lakers in LA? Probably not, but I can assure you I'll watch.
Series Standings:
(1) Lakers v. (8) Thunder: 2-2 tie
(2) Mavericks v. (7) Spurs: 2-1 Spurs
(3) Suns v. (6) Trail Blazers: 2-2 tie
(4) Nuggets v. (5) Jazz: 2-1 Jazz
(1) Cavaliers v. (8) Bulls: 2-1 Cavs
(2) Magic v. (7) Bobcats: 3-0 Magic
(3) Hawks v. (6) Bucks: 2-1 Hawks
(4) Celtics v. (5) Heat: 3-0 Celtics
Sunday April 25th Playoff Games:
Game 4 - Celtics @ Heat: Call it a hunch but I'll say the Heat lead this game 88-80 with 7:21 to go in the fourth quarter. Again, totally just a hunch. I'm not currently watching this game at all.
Game 4 - Cavaliers @ Bulls: It was nice of the Bulls to make sure this wasn't a garbage sweep like Celts/Heat and Magic/Bobcats but I get the feeling that the King has had enough of the peon uprising.
Game 3 - Mavericks @ Spurs: San Antonio is really starting to play good basketball. Manu Ginobili - even with a busted nose - is peaking at the right time, while Parker and Duncan are also doing their normal playoff thing. Dallas has gotten impressive performances from Dirk Nowitzki but not a whole lot from the rest of the team. Just because this is the Western Conference I'll assume the Mavs will rise up and tie this.
Game 4 - Nuggets @ Jazz: The Jazz have a chance to take control of this series but as referenced above - this is the West, Denver will find a way to tie it.