Playoff Surprises

Surprising turn of events in the playoffs. Cavs beat the Wizards, and Atlanta somehow fought off the seemingly invincible Celtics to force a game 7. Who would have predicted that? On my bracket, I had the Celtics sweeping their way to the second round. With any luck, the Hawks will knock out the Celtics. And even if Boston survives, they have to deal with the likes of Lebron, who has already singlehandedly defeated them before in the regular season. Unfortunately, Houston also lost tonight. I suppose it was inevitable, but I had still hoped that T-Mac would get to the second round for the first time in his career. Oh well. Next year, the Rockets are sure to be an unstoppable force with a more experienced Scola and Yao returning (hopefully for a full season). The Lakers will certainly have their hands full against the Jazz, one of the deepest teams in the league. I don't envy Derek Fisher's return to Energy Solutions Arena, though, as he is booed every time he touches the ball. Nevertheless, I have faith in LA, as they're one of the four teams that have managed to win in Salt Lake City in the regular season. Then again, Houston was one of those four as well... At least the Lakers have had plenty of rest after completing their sweep of the Nuggets on Monday. And on the bright side, Trevor Ariza may return for this second round series, so we'll have better defense against the deadly guards to come. The only problem is that Andrew Bynum officially announced that he w ill not be returning this season. I was really hoping to see the twin tower effect in play, but it looks like I'll have to wait until next season. I'm also looking forward to this summer's Olympics. I heard that the US team is matched up with the defending champion, Spain. Kobe vs Pau. That should be fun to watch.