Had Breakfast and Lunch, Will the Bulls Make a Good Dinner?

I thought to myself when I witnessed LeBron James fall to one knee after defeating the Celtics, "C'mon Man, that's a little much."  Then the triumphant embrace between him & Dwyane Wade as if they already were holding up the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.  Then I realized why the excessive celebration was actually genuine & well deserved.  This is a team that was hated throughout the regular season with everybody outside of Miami angered by the "DECISION" and mainly angry at LeBron.  The condemnation, the taunts all because he wanted to be on a team, & not have to do it all by himself, contrary to popular belief, Michael Jordan had help along the way to win 6 championships.  He didn't do it alone and LeBron was alone in Cleveland.  It was a celebration with a sense of relief, "a monkey of their backs" if you will.  Boston Celtics being the Eastern Conference Champs and a team that beat the Heat 3 times in a row in the regular season as a big brother would tease his younger sibling.  And finally the younger sibling got the best of the older brother.  Last night LeBron gave respect to the "Big 3" of the Celtics by stating that they were the blueprint that was followed when assembling the "Big 3" of the Heat.  Let's all remember, the 1st year that Paul Pierce got 2 new friends in Ray Allen & Kevin Garnett they went on to win the NBA Finals in 2008.

My hat goes off to the Celtics for their run in the recent years and it's now time for them to add some peices with youth & athleticism.  After trading Kendrick Perkins, Danny Ainge's hair became more gray and after losing the series it's time to bring younger, bigger, more athletic players to put around the aging "Big 3" & Rondo who won't just be the "One Arm Bandit" next year.  Maybe someone like a Dwight Howard, hmmm....  Congrats to Doc Rivers for deciding to come back to the Celtics, your job is not done in Boston.

Let's not forget that the Celtics was the team in the 2010 playoffs that LeBron struggled with.  I knew he wanted out of Cleveland when he started shooting free throws with his left hand as if he knew he couldn't beat them by himself.  Injury or no injury you could tell that LeBron was done with the Cavs.  After that it was time for him to go get his boys, his posse, someone to help him beat his rival.  He found Pat Riley or vice versa and with that came Dwyane Wade, "brother from another mother" & Chris Bosh, the "little brother" who needs a confidence boost every now & then.  I can understand Cleveland fans frustration with LeBron's departure, you never like to see a good thing go but I'm sure they understand after this week why he did go.  He left the Cavs and they finished 19-63 on the year, that is a direct indication that LeBron James was the Cleveland Cavaliers but you can not win a Championship by yourself.  Let's put it in perspective, if an employee at your work place was not holding up his/her end of the job would you not want someone else to work with?  So how could anyone hate LeBron's decision, he wants championships like we want promotions & with both of those things you'll need help from either teammates or co-workers.  But The Thinker statue, the thinking man pose by LeBron at the end of the game, hilarious.

Ray Allen had a great game but he showed up in the series "2 little & 2 late" not like his counter part.  Who had 23 points, 9-12 from the field, 5-9 from the free throw line, 5 rebounds & 3 steals in the 1st half from the only one of the "Big 3" with a Championship Ring.  Dwyane Wade, who finished the game with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.  Attacking the paint vigorously, Dwyane Wade set the pace for the Heat coming out determined to put the Celtics away, LeBron followed suit in the 3rd Qtr, then came Chris Bosh & the rest of the team.  James Jones hit the big shot from deep in the 4th Qtr. to cut a Celtic's 5 point lead to 2 and they didn't look back.  After Kevin Garnett blocked Juan Howard at one end and tossed it to Pierce on the other end only for a mirror image block by Chris Bosh, tossing Pierce's lay up out of bounds, that was the beginning of the end.  LeBron scoring the last 10 points of the game with 2 big 3 pointers, a lay up and a emphatic dunk (after traveling) ending the game.  The fire in there eyes said it all for the Heat, the question is will they maintain that intensity throughout the Eastern Conference finals against Derrick Rose & company.

The Atlanta Hawks has an up & coming star in Jeff Teague, his younger brother Marcus Teague committed to the University of Kentucky Wildcats under John Calipari; my home university welcomes him, GO BIG BLUE.  That's for another subject and another day, last night Jeff Teague went down hard early in the game as did the Hawks.  There was no looking back for the Bulls once the game began.  The Hawks didn't have a chance even on there home floor.  Carlos Boozer must have recalled that he once was a force in the NBA, scoring 23 points & grabbing 10 rebounds.  It'll be Boozer's job to shut down Chris Bosh & vice versa, but the interesting match-up will be who is assigned by Erik Spoelstra to guard Derrick Rose.  Will he start Mario Chalmers over Mike Bibby eventhough neither can actually slow Rose down.  Derrick Rose the heir apparent to Michael Jordan's thrown has shown he can win a game literally by himself but will he be able to carry the Bulls against a stellar Heat defense that likes to build walls in the paint.  Can the MVP stay healthy with all of his violent attacks while driving to the rim against a Joel Anthony who is steadily building confidence defensively.  Rose is "one tough cookie" but one hard legal foul while Rose flies through the air and that cookie could crumble.  He just gots to be careful when giving his body up the way that he does when literally flying into the paint against bigger opponents such as LeBron James, Joel Anthony who shouldn't be scared to put him on his back.  Congratulations to the Bulls for making it to the Conference Finals after more than a decade when his Airness graced the hardwood with his presence.  Will Derrick Rose walk in Michael Jordan's foot steps & win a championship as Jordan won the Bulls last championship in 1998 with a shot over Bryon Russell.  The last time in my opinion the NBA Playoffs was this exciting.

The Bulls vs. the Heat brings up some good match-ups with the 2 teams I predicted to be playing for a chance to go to the Championship game.  Luol Deng takes on the duties of guarding LeBron James with Keith Bogans or Ronnie Brewer assigned to Dwyane Wade.  Chris Bosh will have another challenge with Carlos Boozer or Joakim Noah breathing down his neck the entire time he's on the floor, will Bosh be to nervous?  The Bulls have home court advantage & that'll be a challange for the Heat who seem to be disconnected from the game when they are not getting some "good home cookin'."  The Bulls swept the Heat in the regular season 3-0, but let's not forget the Celtics beat the Heat 3 times in a row in the regular season also & they are at home watching.  LeBron James would be the best option for defending the MVP by being able to fight through high pick & rolls and being able to stay in front of Rose about 65% of the time.

The Heat will definitely try & keep the Bulls one dimensional with Rose taking the majority of the shots while shutting out his other options in Luol Deng & Carlos Boozer.  If the Heat manage to keep Rose's teammates uninvolved and hope to contain his explosiveness then the Heat will win in 6 games.  And the winner of this series will be the NEXT NBA CHAMPS.  Mark my words.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies did not have 3 over times in Game 5.  Fatigue played a major role with both sides starting the game off sloppy.  But in the end Russell Westbrook actually only took 10 shots & got his teammates involved with 6 assist with a Daequan Cook siting, scoring 18 points going 4-5 from 3 point land.  Kevin Durant services wasn't needed in the 4th Qtr. because by that time it was a blow out.  Z-Bo didn't show in Game 5 scoring only 9 points with Marc Gasol's 15.  There just wasn't enough gas in the tank for the Grizzlies and I think Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook will just be too much for the Grizzlies and will close out the series & move on to the waiting Dallas Mavericks.

I predicted an exciting NBA Playoffs & it hasn't disappointed.
R.I.P. Robert "Tractor" Traylor
Friday May 13th at 9pm ET on ESPN Oklahoma City Thunder @ Memphis Grizzlies
Sunday May 15th at 8pm ET on TNT Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls