Monday, April 4, 2011

NBA's Cinderella

We have all witnessed No. 8 Butler and No. 11 Virginia Common Wealth make historic runs in the 2011 NCAA tournament, so who will be this year's Cinderella in the NBA playoffs?

The playoff seeding is almost complete as the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knickerbockers both clinched  playoff spots as the sixth and seventh seeds a few days ago. Most NBA fans know that it is highly unlikely for a low seed to make a run to the NBA Finals and win the championship, but I think that trend could be threatened this year.

Even though they have many kinks to work out before they can be an elite team in the NBA, the Knicks are still a dangerous team and a nightmare for a lot of teams. As the No. 7 seed, the Knicks will either play the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics in the first-round of the playoffs. The best chance the Knicks have to get out of the first-round is if they play the Heat. 

Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James are an even match up at the small forward position. Even though Chauncey Billups and Dwayne Wade play two different positions, I believe that in each game Billups has the opportunity and skills to match Wade in points and intensity throughout the potential series. Both teams have dismal benches and little-to-no production from their respective center positions, so the match up that will decide who will win four out of the possible seven games and win the series is the power forward match up between Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh.

Stat is a primary target in the Knicks offense and he is guaranteed enough touches to have a chance to score 20 to 30 points a night. As for Bosh, he has taken a backseat to his teammates in James and Wade, which has limited his touches on each possession this season. If Bosh can produce a 20-point and 10-rebound effort each game then Miami will win the Knicks-Heat series in five games, but if he does not then do not be surprised if Melo and Stat take this potential series and advance to the next round in at least six games.

If the Knicks can get pass the first-round of the playoffs then it is possible that they can make a run to at least the East finals this year.

3 comments:

  1. I hope the Knicks play the Miami Heat since this will give them a better chance of staying in the NBA playoffs. Thanks for the update.

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  2. Knicks advancing the first round is a bit much no matter who they play....smh

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  3. It may seem ridiculous, but the Knicks play hard when they play against a good opponent. Don't be surprised if they beat the Heat.

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