by Myles Nelson » Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:49 pm
We're dealt the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, a team we had some troubles with in the regular season, as they took 3 out of the 4 regular season games. What is also hurting us is the loss of Chandler.
Yahoo! Sports put out their annual playoff matchup articles, let's see what they have to say.
Point Guard
Luke Ridnour vs. Mo Williams
Ridnour turned out to be a pleasant surprise, taking care of the ball well and shooting at a very high clip. His lack of defense is a bit concerning, but offensively he's been quite steady.
Williams is almost the same as Ridnour: a good outside shooter who can handle the ball, but has suspect defense. Williams is a better shooter and a ball handler though.
Advantage: Cavaliers
Shooting Guard
Xavier Henry vs. Delonte West
Henry was thrust into the starter's role when Chandler went down with a broken arm. He has been a catalyst offensively, knocking down shot after shot and has had quite a few big games this year.
West is a defensive guard, who can hit the occasional jumper but prefers to drive to the basket. West will be counted on to slow down Henry, but offensively he will likely be a non-factor.
Advantage: Knicks
Small Forward
Danilo Gallinari vs. LeBron James
Gallinari is a good outside shooter and that's about it. He can handle the ball well enough, but it's his ability to stretch defenses with his shooting that makes him valuable to this team.
James is the MVP of the league. He will tear apart Gallinari, both offensively and defensively. If Chandler was healthy, at least they could match up athletically, but James is just better than Gallinari at everything but 3-point shooting.
Advantage: Cavaliers
Power Forward
David Lee vs. Antawn Jamison
This could very well be the deciding factor of the series. Lee was an All-Star, but injuries have slowed him towards the end of the season. He's still one of the better power forwards in the league, and his play will be big here.
Jamison used to be an offensive force, but age has slowed him considerably. He still scored 11 points this year, but he shoots too many jumpers and isn't efficient enough at the PF slot. His defense is not good enough here, either.
Advantage: Knicks
Center
Chris Bosh vs. Al Harrington
Bosh is actually a PF, but he has adapted to the C role very well this year. He was an absolute beast, and carried this Knicks team. Let's see if he can shake his poor playoff performances of the past and start anew in NYC.
Harrington is actually a SF masquerading as a PF playing the C role. He will get punished here by Bosh. Harrington shot an abysmal 42.2% as a C and Bosh will make life hell for him.
Advantage: Knicks
Bench
The Knicks bench was thinned out by the injury to Chandler, but Shannon Brown is a valuable piece of this bench as an offensive weapon. Shaun Livingston, Craig Smith, and Eddy Curry will be called on to give the starter's a rest, but nothing more.
The Cavs have Anderson Varejao to provide energy and rebounding off the bench, with Shaquille O'Neal and Anthony Parker to a provide scoring punch. No one else on their thin bench was used very much.
Advantage: Draw
Final Thoughts
While the Knicks have a better starting 5 all around, and certainly the better post players, LeBron James is too hungry for a ring to see his quest end in the first round. His star power will be too much for the balanced play of the Knicks.
Prediction: Cavaliers in 6
It will be a tough series. I hope we can win, but the Cavs are a real tough first round draw, especially without Wilson Chandler.
Game One
I try everything I can think of, even putting Bosh on LeBron at one point, but nothing can slow him down as he scores 36 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 99-87 win in Game One. We have 6 players score in double figures, but like Yahoo! pointed out, our balanced play couldn't beat the star power of LBJ.
New York 87 Cleveland 99
Game Two
Bosh scores 24, Gallinari scores 20, and Smith scores 18. We also hold LeBron to just 15 points. But it's not enough as we still drop Game Two to the Cavaliers. Our 20 turnovers to their 8 is the deciding factor really.
New York 98 Cleveland 107
Game Three
We need to get the two games at home. I don't want to face elimination at all this series, if that's possible. With that said, LeBron and Mo Williams combine for 60 points as we get blown out at home. Bosh and Gallinari were in foul trouble all game, and only Craig Smith could get it going on offense, scoring 21 points. I'm not sure what's going on, but so far Smith is averaging 18.3 points per game and is leading our team.
Cleveland 121 New York 81
Game Four
At least let us avoid the sweep. That's all I ask at this point. I understand we're without Chandler, Lee is still battling a sprained ankle, but we're not so bad that Cleveland would sweep us. Bosh battles hard, scoring 26 points, five other players chip in with double figures, and it comes down to the final shot of the game. Unfortunately, that shot belonged to LeBron James, he of his 34 points, who beat us at the buzzer, at home, to sweep us.
Cleveland 111 New York 109
It's an empty feeling, being swept. Chandler was 15 days away from being able to rejoin us, Lee was almost over his sprained ankle, and Bosh gave his best effort to carry us, night in and night out. We aren't the only team swept though, as New Jersey swept Charlotte and Dallas swept New Orleans.
The Lakers eliminated the Thunder in 5 games, leaving 4 series left to decide.
San Antonio, Utah, and Milwaukee all completed their upsets in 6, taking out Denver, Portland and Orlando. Pretty surprising given how dominant these teams were and that Utah/Milwaukee were hardly .500 teams.
The Celtics took 7 games, but they beat the Bulls and moved on to the next round.
Wade, Iggy and the Nets beat LeBron in 5 games, ending his title quest. Boston beat the upstart Bucks in 5, San Antonio eliminated Utah in 5, and Kobe would not be denied a chance at number 6 as he carried his team in Game 7 to beat the Mavs.
The Nets swept Boston, and the Lakers beat San Antonio in 5 for a rematch of the 2002 NBA Finals.