NBA BEAT - NBA PLAYOFF OUTLOOK

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

As we see it the finals will pit the Lakers against the Cavs with Cleveland taking the title. They have a strong combination of youth, size, well rested and are hungry. The down side is too much rest can result in rust, the lack of sharpness in skills and a competitive game mentality.

THE FAT LADY SINGS FOR THE BOSTON CELTICS - ITS OVER

Wednesday May 20, 2009

As we previously mentioned it would be a rough road to travel for the defending NBA champions Boston Celtics to retain their title without their all-star center Kevin Garnett who couldn't compete in the playoffs due to a knee injury. The aging Celtics were valiant in their effort to defend their title by outlasting the Chicago Bulls in the seventh and deciding game and the series. That series set an NBA playoff record with seven overtime periods.

By the time they took on the youthful Orlando Magic they were too pooped to pop. The series also went seven games with Orlando taking the seventh game decisively 101-82. Including the overtime the Celts played an equivalent of 15 games. It was at that point that the fat lady sang it's over for the Celtics.

NOTE:

For your information many times you will hear sports figures say "It ain't over till the fat lady sings," or "It ain't over till its over."

Former NBA coach Dick Motta came up with "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." The fat lady he was referring to was singer Kate Smith who sang at the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) games.

Motta was one of the winningest coaches in NBA history with 935. He joked about it by saying, "Yea but I lost (1017) more than I won."

"It ain't over till its over" was thought up by former New York Yankee (MLB) player and manager Yogi Berra when he was the manager of the team.

THE MOST RESTED

Should the youthful Cleveland Cavaliers continue their unbeaten playoff streak they could take the title by playing only 16 games. Through the first two rounds the Cavs played only eight games. In the opening series they smashed the Detroit Pistons 4-0 and followed that up with a 4-0 sweep of the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavs are the most rested team in the playoffs but the young Orlando Magic squad can be a tough challenge for LeBron James and company.

The Denver Nuggets are the second most rested team with only having played 10 playoff games. In the opening round the Nuggets took the series 4-1 over the San Antonio Spurs and duplicated that 4-1 effort over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Los Angeles Lakers have played 12 playoff games including winning their opening series 4-1 over the Utah Jazz. They labored with the Houston Rockets minus Yao Ming and were taken to seven games winning the series 4-3.

The Orlando Magic are young but have been busy by playing 13 games and should be the most physically drained of the final four NBA title contenders. In their opening series the Magic took the Philadelphia 76ers in six games (4-2). It was the seven game series against Boston that took them t their limits.

Of the four teams remaining in the playoffs the Magic are the only team without a player who has been a member of an NBA championship team. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher from their three peat days 2000, 2001 and 2002. The Nuggets have Chauncey Billups who was a member of the Pistons 2004 title team that defeated the Lakers in five games (4-1) in the finals. The Cavs have Ben Wallace from the 2004 Piston squad but he's been injured with a strained tendon in his left knee. If he plays his contributions would be limited although his experience can be a mental lift for the squad.

Cleveland's youth, size and a mature LeBron James the NBA's Most Valuable Player is an edge. Coach Mike Brown is the NBA's Coach of the Year. Having been in the NBA finals though being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 gives them a taste of dealing with NBA playoff pressure.

The Lakers possess the most NBA title experience with 16 NBA title rings among them. Three each were earned by Bryant and Fisher but coach Phil 'The Zen Man' Jackson has 10. Jackson led Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to six tiles (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) and the Lakers to their three-peat success. Jackson also earned one as a player with the New York Knicks 1973 title team.

As we see it the finals will pit the Lakers against the Cavs with Cleveland taking the title. They have a strong combination of youth, size, well rested and are hungry. The down side is too much rest can result in rust, the lack of sharpness in skills and a competitive game mentality. . Should they slip they could slide.

The major issue is that the referees need to keep the Lakers elbows and dirty play in check. There is no place in the game for the deplorable actions exemplified by Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher against the Houston Rockets who appeared that they wanted to turn the games into street fights rather than play basketball. Hopefully there won't be a repeat of the 2002 Western Conference Finals where the Lakers were permitted to elbow, slug and draw Kings player's blood in a series that is a part on the game fixing scandal that resulted in a jail term for a referee.

So who will ware the crown? Stay tuned…

SAD NEWS

Chuck Daly the coach of the Pistons during their Bad Boys success passed away at the age of 77. He was a great man and many in the NBA expressed how much they will miss him. Dennis Rodman looked up to Daly as a father figure. Daly was known not only with his knowledge of the game but his management skills of people with massive egos. Daly was the coach of the 1992 gold medal winning USA Dream Team. As an NBA coach he had a 638-437 record including the two Piston NBA title winning teams of 1989 and 1990.