Atlanta Hawks 103, Chicago Bulls 95 (Series: 1-0 ATL)

Derrick Rose will be named the NBA’s MVP today, drawing ire and criticism from the people who believe that LeBron James and his multiple Player of the Month awards should have sealed the deal. As for the people who argued in favor of Dwight Howard – like those of us who believe the Orlando Magic would have won 10 games without him this season – they have crawled back into their holes of self-loathing and inner misery.

Anywho, Rose looked more like a Meh-VP (*holds hand up for high five*) last night as the fired-up 5-seed Hawks took Game 1. For the first time in weeks, Joe Johnson looked like a guy who makes $18 million a year, as he scored 34 points to lead Atlanta. Rose, on the other hand, had a respectable 24 points and 10 assists, but he missed 16 shots, including a few doozies near the end, and he didn’t make it to the free throw line once. It also didn’t help that he rolled his ankle by stepping on Jamal Crawford’s foot on the very last meaningless play of the game.

Read the rest of this entry »

*I was very disappointed that CBS Sports used “Bulls on Parade” as their headline this morning. Might have ruined my day. Thank goodness for Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Chicago Bulls 116, Indiana Pacers 89 (Series: 4-1 CHI)

The Bulls finally stopped teasing the poor Pacers with close games and promises of home-cooked breakfast and gave them their bus fare and sent them home. Josh McRoberts was ejected for the Pacers in probably the most exciting non-Bulls scoring highlight, but if you’re going to swing on Joakim Noah at least connect with him so some of us can smile a little.

Derrick Rose was supposedly in a walking boot this week and hampered by – and I believe this is a medical term – a boo-boo on his ouchy footy. But he still dropped 25 on the Pacers to give the Bulls some much needed rest before they find out who they’ll be playing in Round 2. And it’s going to be the Atlanta Hawks.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m only recapping yesterday’s games, despite the fact that Saturday’s games were great. Holy choke job, Dallas. Maybe if Mark Cuban spent less time Tweeting about Shark Tank and more time keeping an eye on his team, the Mavericks wouldn’t be coached like an all-girls AAU squad. Also, good job, Pacers. It was nice to see a few teams show some balls and stand their ground… *stares at Carmelo Anthony*. Anyway, here’s a non-biased and semi-coherent look back at Sunday’s NBA Playoffs action.

Read the rest of this entry »

Orlando Magic 88, Atlanta Hawks 82

I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist when it comes to sports, especially the NBA, so indulge me if you will. Last night’s Game 2 matchup between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks was aired on NBA TV opposite the Boston Celtics-New York Knicks game for one of three reasons:

1) It was a boring game that nobody cared about.
2) David Stern really hates the Magic.
3) The league has lost $300 million in the past year so the network has to make a few bucks somehow.

Despite my tendency to lean to No. 2, the truth is a little of all 3. Regardless, it’s totally asinine to put one of your league’s top stars – Dwight Howard – on a second tier network like he’s George Lopez. But that’s another argument for another day. In the meantime, let’s talk about the main point of the game – the Chicago Bulls are gonna cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals.

I’m not saying the Magic and Hawks are bad, but Colin Firth called them bland. When JJ Redick is the high point of a game, even Lifetime is too good of a venue for these teams. But they have to play, so it is what it is. In the meantime, there’s really only one aspect of last night’s game that is worth noting, and it’s not Howard’s 42nd career playoff double-double in 53 postseason appearances.

Gilbert Arenas makes roughly $20 million a year to be the worst player I have ever seen in my life. He’s Steve Francis bad if Steve had no legs. Even worse, the Magic are rumored to be restructuring Gilbert’s contract to keep him in Orlando for 5 more years. At some point he and I are going to have to sit down and discuss the problems between us. I just hope there’s not a crowbar anywhere near me.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hawks and Magic played last night. I know, I know, try to contain yourself. But the game had a pretty sweet finish when Atlanta’s Josh Smith dunked in the game-winner off a missed three, giving Atlanta a win that they desperately needed as they head into the homestretch of the NBA season.

Joe Johnson drove and pulled up along the left baseline. Josh Smith flew along the right baseline and, with one majestic swipe of a mighty left hand, dunked home the miss.

Then everybody got really excited. Then they had to calm down to see if the hammer of Smoove had beaten the buzzer. Then the refs checked the monitor and ascertained that it had, just. Then everybody got really excited again.

“I knew it was close,” Smith said. “But I had to celebrate anyway. It had been a long time coming.” –Mark Bradley/AJC.

Video of the dunk is after the jump. Sure, he did it during the game, but it still wasn’t as awesome as this kid. Wow, that’ll never get old. Read the rest of this entry »

Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd drew a foul on Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson, who for some reason had wandered onto the court to scream at his team before Kidd essentially drew a technical foul by touching the coach with his arm. That’s rather awesome, but then again Mike Woodson isn’t the most self-aware guy in the world; this is the same dude that misplaced his eyebrows. There’s no word on whether Kidd dished any assists to the towel boy or dunked on the peanut vendor, but it’s probably only a matter of time. Video’s after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »