SPORTS: Second Round Knockout!

 

Anyone who came up in the 90‘s remembers the joint by Canibus, “Second Round Knockout” featuring one of the best knockout artists in his prime at the time, Iron Mike Tyson. The track infamously goes in on hip hop legend and self proclaimed greatest of all time, rap artist LL Cool J, a beef which actually materialized from a previous track the two MC’s recorded together alongside Method Man, DMX, and Redman titled “4, 3, 2, 1”.
After Canibus felt like LL tried to play him on the track they recorded, he unleashed a barrage of insults at LL, challenging everything from LL’s fan base to threatening to snatch the mic off LL’s arm. While many hip hop fans were fascinated by Canibus’ lyrical prowess and delivery, few had any idea LL would return with a lethal attack of his own. LL withstood Canibus’ alleged death blow and eventually came out on top achieving rare longevity in the hip hop game, though many in the hood still gave the victory to Can-I-Bus. Canibus would eventually, and quietly fade to black.

Like hip hop music and more specifically rap battles, since the beginning of time the NBA playoffs has never been about who lands the first punch; it’s always been about the counteraction. The first round is similar to that first punch, where like Canibus, the underdog squads are doing everything in their power to shock the world and defeat a higher seed, playing strictly off adrenaline, defiance and youthful energy. The Chicago Bulls saw this first hand as they battled tooth and nail with the Indiana Pacers who were considered the lesser opponent all season long, but who came focused and with a plan to send the Bulls home early.

Chicago managed to defeat the Pacers in 5 games despite their best punches to advance to the 2nd round where they now face the surging Atlanta Hawks who absolutely dismantled the Orlando Magic. Joe Johnson is finally beginning to earn his pricey contract, showing up in the playoffs and leading a young, athletic Hawks team with a deep bench led by 6th man candidate every year, Jamal Crawford. The Bulls dropped the first game at home to the Hawks, usually an ominous sign for any top seed. To add insult to injury, MVP candidate Derrick Rose comes up limping at the end of the game, further challenging the youth of the Bulls who have not gotten enough veteran leadership from expensive free agent acquisition Carlos Boozer. However based on the Hawks recent playoff history and their penchant for 2nd round exits, look for the Bulls to eventually pull this series out playing the distance.

The Memphis Grizzlies however took center stage and showed everyone not all heavyweights prevail when the first punch from a youthful opponent connects with a resounding thud. The Grizz upended perennial contenders and arguably the best team in the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs with utter dominance. They made the Spurs look old and tired racing up and down the court as if it were a four lane freeway, putting the Spurs on a crash course with one of the best front court tandems in the playoffs thus far in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.
The Spurs made history as one of only two top seeds to lose to an eighth seed, giving the Grizz their first playoff series victory in franchise history.

The Grizz haven’t slowed down either, already stealing a win on their opponent’s home court in the 2nd round. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a team just as athletically gifted as the Grizz, dominant at so many positions particularly at PG and SF. When they acquired Kendrick Perkins from Boston at the trade deadline, it was supposed to be the type of deal to put them over the hump and create favorable match-ups against the bigger teams like the Lakers and Mavs. However the Grizz locked Perkins down in game 1 as Marc, not Pau Gasol is proving to be the better of the two brothers in this year’s playoff competition. Although the Grizz won 3 out of 4 against the Thunder in the regular season, expect the Thunder’s stars to outplay the Grizz budding “neophytes” (a Walt Frazier term) over a seven game stint.

Probably the most exciting and star studded playoff match-up features the Boston Celtics vs the Miami Heat. With a total of 7 All Stars competing in this playoff series, this is easily the most intriguing as the Heat disposed of the feisty Philadelphia 76ers in round 1 in the first formal appearance of Miami’s “Big Three”. Meanwhile the Celts made mince meat of NY in an embarrassing 4 game sweep, the last two games virtually decided at the half despite a valiant effort by the depleted Knicks in Game 4.

The Heat have already captured a Game 1 victory in Boston’s boisterous stadium, with Paul Pierce being ejected after receiving a 2nd technical; the first one acquired from a suspect headbutt to the grill of James Jones after he delivered a hard, but legal foul on Pierce. The Celts were either disoriented from a week long layoff, or their age is finally catching up with them because Game 1 was a track meet led by Dwayne Wade’s 38 pts, and an all around efficient game from LeBron James (22 pts, 6 boards, 5 dimes, 2 steals, 2 blocks).

The Heat’s bench was also impressive considering it’s been arguably the weakest link to this team all season. Jones came off the bench and contributed 25 pts on 5-7 shooting from downtown. The biggest surprise was Mike Bibby, although only scoring 3 pts he played solid defense on Rajon Rondo, limiting the explosive guard and catalyst to the Celts offense to only 8 pts and an unusual 5 turnovers. However it was only one game, expect the Celts to come out energized and determined to even this series in Game 2 no matter how “personal” this series is to the Heat players.

The final playoff series features the defending NBA champion LA Lakers versus the Dallas Mavericks. This is the first time they’ve faced off since 1988! Considering how often both teams frequent the playoffs, this definitely comes as a surprise. The Lakers looked both shaky and dominant at times in the first round, squeaking by a talented N.O. Hornets squad in 6 games. In Game 1 of their round 2 match-up with the Mavs, they relinquished a 16 pt lead to lose by two in the final moments, once again handing over home court advantage to their opponent.

In what is usually a bad sign for the Lakers, Kobe took 29 shots while his teammates pretty much sat around and watched like fans. The Lakers thrive on ball movement from the inside-outside strategy created by their triangle offense, but both Pau Gasol and Bynum were ineffective in Game 1 as they combined for a pathetic 23 pts and 16 boards. Zach Randolph is getting those numbers by himself.

“I’m highly concerned”, said a discouraged Bryant after the game, but it’s clear a different Lakers team will likely show up in Game 2 and beyond. Both the Celtics and Lakers have experience on their side, and proven veterans and coaches who are capable of adjusting their game plan in real time. Still, both the Heat and Mavs have shown neither is going down without a fight. This could be the most competitive 2nd round of the NBA playoffs in recent years hands down. Squad up!

My Predictions you ask?

Oklahoma City over Memphis 4-3
LA over Dallas 4-3
Celts over Heat 4-3
Bulls over ATL 4-2

Once again, Knowstradamus has spoken.