Conference Finals Preview: Underdog Suns and the Clicking Celtics

The NBA landscape seemed to change with the Game 6 Celtics win.

Mike Brown is probably going to be out of a job, Lebron might have just played his last game as a Cavalier and the City of Cleveland is going to continue to keep the 'No Championships' streak alive, after losing their best chance in a decade.

The game Thursday night had big implications for the reigning MVP and Cleveland, but it's only one wave in a storm compared to the rest of the playoffs. The Celtics winning still leaves the Magic and the Lakers as the two clear front runners to end up in the Finals, but the general theme of the playoffs has changed now.

Before, people were watching these playoffs to see if this was Lebron's year and if Shaq could get his fifth before Kobe did.

Now, it's about the Celtics fighting against their closing window and whether or not the Lakers can be stopped this year.

Eastern Conference Finals: Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics

This series is a tough one to call. All season the Magic have consistently been the better team, and they haven't showed any cracks this postseason in either their ability to score or defend. On the other side, the Celtics have been rolling, with their offense being nicely spread out over their talent and their defense as stifling as always.
Rajon Rondo has continued his improvement throughout the first two series and the Magic don't have any answers for him (Does anyone have an answer for this guy? How do you defend him?) but I still feel like the Magic's great ball movement and ability to space the floor will overcome the Celtics in the end. Doc Rivers will need to focus on keeping the team's turnovers down and keeping the bench involved for the Big 3 to have another shot at a title.
Prediction: Magic in 7

Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns

No matter how I break this down, it seems like the Lakers size is going to be the dominant factor in this series. Unlike the previous two series, Bynum won't be the main problem in the paint, but rather it will be Lamar Odom's ability to be big and still remain mobile that will hurt the Suns. Bynum will most see his minutes drop to around twenty minutes, as Odom will be used to defend Frye all around the perimeter.
Combine that with Ron Artest having his first true defensive assignment since Durant in Richardson and Gasol's massive mental edge on Stoudemire, and the Lakers should run away with this. Some people will say that Derek Fisher will get played like a fiddle by Nash and while this might happen, it won't be enough to turn the tide. Watch for Grant Hill's sudden change into super defender come to a halt against the Mamba.
Prediction: Lakers in 6

Image courtesy of Doc Funk

Game 2 Preview: Hawks vs. Magic, or Isolation vs. the 3-Ball

Playoff basketball is a much different beast than the regular season brand of basketball. Veterans playing +40 minutes a game, stadiums full of fans, final scores being under 100 and lots of other weird things we don't see when no one really cares during the first 82 games. All of these things help teams win, you can see most of the elite teams (see: Spurs, Lakers, Celtics) all use these tactics to give themselves a better chance at winning.

One thing that we are used seeing in the regular season that really doesn't work come playoff time is the isolation offense. It was the offense that the Mavericks used when they lost as a #1 seed, and it's the offense that gave the Hawks their biggest playoff loss a few days ago in game one.

The offense that the Magic use focuses on two things - 3 pointers (usually from the corner) and shots at the rim (usually dunks.) The Spurs focus on getting these types of shots, the triangle offense tends to result in shots at the basket and open threes, and clearly it has been working for these teams.

This series won't come down to the players in the end, the coaching and systems will decide how the cards fall. Orlando's ball movement allows the whole team to get involved, rather than letting their individual talents decide the fate of the team. Look for the Magic to win again tonight, and in a big way.