As Round 2 comes to a close, there are some teams that have gone out with a whimper (see picture), some teams that exorcised demons in advancing, and some teams that are locked in classic duels to get one step closer to raising the trophy at the end of the season. Let's check the Playoff Pulse as we inch towards the Conference Finals.
1) Biggest Winner - Montreal Canadiens
-The Habs have emerged as the model for all #8 seeds to live by. They got in on the last weekend of the season, and entered the playoffs with the least number of points of any team. Most NHL observers, and us Johnny come lately Stanley Cup fans, figured the team with the most points, Washington, would sweep them. Or, when the series stood at 3-1, we thought the Caps would win in 5 games. Or 6. Surely they wouldn't lose Game 7 at home would they? Oh, they did. Well, Sidney Crosby and the Pens would surely end their Cinderella run.
Except, here we stand at another Game 7, with the Canadiens staring down the defending champs and the biggest star in hockey. It seems impossible, except this team has already done the impossible. The only precedent for what the Canadiens are doing came in 2006 when the 8th seeded Edmonton Oilers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing in 7 games to Carolina. Montreal's similar run has been led by a blueprint that all underdogs should follow - timely scoring, outworking opponents, and being firmly convinced that destiny is on your side. It could take them past Pittsburgh and well beyond.
2) Biggest Loser - Basketball Fans
-Basketball fans just suffered through a Conference Semifinal round with 3 sweeps. I wouldn't even call the Orlando/Atlanta thing a "series", it was more like a 4 game beatdown (more on that in a sec). The Lakers were never challenged against the Jazz like they were against Oklahoma City. After the high of the Thunder/Lakers duel, the Utah series was a total letdown. The third sweep, Phoenix over San Antonio, was at least a tad compelling. We had the side attraction of Los Suns, interesting games, and an underdog finally conquering one team's voodoo spell over them. But, that's 3 sweeps out of 4! Now, we're stuck without basketball for most of the next week... the West Finals don't start until next Monday. That's more than a week off for both teams! Well, at least there is hockey!
3) Best Performance - Rajon Rondo Game 3
-Bill Simmons has another interesting article in which he legitimately compares Rondo's Game 3 performance, and his numbers throughout this year's playoffs to Bird, Magic, Oscar, Wilt, and Jordan. Wow. That's basically the Mount Olympus of basketball players. Even when Mike Breen said we were watching one of the great Celtic playoff performances in history (Rondo's 29/18/13), it was hard to believe until you see the numbers that no other Celtic had ever had a game like that! Only Oscar and Wilt have had games as prodigious as Rondo. Regardless of who wins the Boston/Cleveland series, one thing is sure, the Rondo Era has begun in Boston.
4) Best Game - Game 6: Canadiens 4 Penguins 3
-One fair criticism of this year's playoffs is the lack of unbelievable games. The best game from the past few days has been the Canadiens surviving Game 6 and forcing a Game 7. The Montreal home crowd lifted the home team in an exciting, competitive game, and they were able to hold on at the end. Let's hope Game 7 provides just a little more drama.
5) Biggest Surprise - Not Closing The Deal
-Throughout these playoffs, the NHL version has been the antithesis of its NBA counterpart. Earlier in the playoffs we discussed the lack of home advantage in the NHL vs the NBA... now, NHL teams cannot close the deal in this round while NBA teams get the brooms out. 3 NHL teams (Chicago, Boston, Pittsburgh) have had opportunities to close out series and none have taken the chance. The Hawks and Bruins even blew chances in their own arenas to move on to the Conference Finals. Yes, Philly and Vancouver played well to extend their series, but one has to think its only a matter of time before they bow out. It should surprise nobody if Chicago and Boston bounce back to close the deal on the road... or even if Montreal can beat Pittsburgh and shock the world again.
6) Biggest Playoff Beatdown - Atlanta Hawks
-This has to rank among the all-time great playoff beatdowns, meltdowns, or whatever synonym you can think of to describe a team quitting on its coach, franchise, and each other. Good God. Could Atlanta at least have made one game competitive? At least finished within double digits one time? Would that be so hard to ask? Anybody who thought this was the next young team to take shape and become a legit contender should pack their bags and move to the Chicago or OKC bandwagon. This was such a bad beatdown that I didn't consider watching a second of any game because it was obvious after Game 1 that Atlanta was ready to go fishing. They set a record by losing a 4 game series by 25 points a game! I think that the 3 of us could grab the Van Gundys and the 5 of us could be more competitive than that. At least Stan could probably push Dwight Howard out from the basket a little bit.
**By the way... the Hawks' embarrassment was so profound that it got us thinking about the worst playoff beatdowns of all-time. Stay tuned...**
7) Tuesday/Wednesday Picks
-We'll wrap up the Playoff Pulse by picking the decisive games coming up as we finish the Conference Semifinals...
NHL
Game 6 - Chicago @ Vancouver @ Chicago - Series 3-2 'Hawks (Tuesday)
-Really, but Vancouver hasn't looked close to winning a game at home this series. Chicago has more mental toughness, and will make up for their own lapse of intensity in Game 5. The Hawks go on to face the Sharks.
PICKS: Y1/Y2: Blackhawks
Game 7 - Montreal @ Pittsburgh - Series 3-3 (Wednesday)
-Yes, Halak has done it before, but Sidney Crosby is not Alex Ovechkin. Crosby has won a Stanley Cup and scored the game-winning goal in the Gold Medal Game of the Olympics. Also, don't discount Pittsburgh's victory on the road in Game 7 last year in Detroit to lift the Cup. They know what it takes to win these sort of games, and they know what Montreal will throw at them. The Pens will be ready... I think...
PICKS: Y1/Y2: Penguins
Game 6 - Boston @ Philadelphia - Series 3-2 Bruins (Wednesday)
-There might be nothing more difficult than picking an individual NHL playoff game. I think I've said that before. This series is a perfect example. Just when you think the Bruins are on their way, the Flyers make you think that a 3-0 comeback is possible. So, logic would dictate going against that and picking Boston. That's really the best I can do people!
PICKS: Y1: Bruins Y2: Flyers
NBA
Game 5 - Boston @ Cleveland - Series 2-2 (Tuesday)
-The defining player of this series has shifted from LeBron James to Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been the one putting up sick numbers and taking games over by himself. How will LBJ respond? My take is that he will man up (as the reports indicate) and try to stop Rondo himself while putting up his own ridiculous numbers on offense. This is the most important game of the playoffs so far in either sport, something tells me the King is ready.
PICKS: Y1/Y2: Cavs
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