mr. synellinden
04-24-2007, 11:56 AM
After a subpar first game, last night Carlos erupted for 41 points (17-30 shooting) and 12 rebounds. He did a lot of his scoring while going up against the 7'5" Yao and one of the best defensive teams in the league. When you have a game like that in the playoffs you are really making a statement and I think that Carlos is proving now that he is going to be an elite level (all nba first second or third team) player for many years to come. As long as the Jazz remain a top team in the West, he will also be an MVP candidate for years to come.
I remember when he was in college I used to argue with my Duke friends about his pro prospects. I always said that he could be a Karl Malone type player and his game reminded me a lot of the Mailman's. Many of my friends thought I was crazy but he is closely approaching that level now.
Even though the Jazz are down 2-0, I still think they have a chance in the series but they need two things if they are going to be able to win a game in Houston -- 1) Deron needs to be more aggressive and take more control of the pace of the game; 2) they need consistent contributions from either Okur or Kirilenko. Speaking of Kirilenko, how has he fallen so far so fast? It can't just be injuries, can it? What happened to those days when he'd put up a line like 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 5 steals? With the old Kirilenko, I think the Jazz could compete with the Suns, Spurs and Mavs in the West.
Speaking of which, I think the Mavs could be in real trouble against the Warriors. After losing game 1, they have now lost six games in a row (I think) to GS and they are facing a team that is really firing on all cylinders after having to really turn it on at the end of the regular season to make the playoffs. Baron Davis went off in game 1 and when healthy he could be the most talented player in the league (he's like Dwyane Wade with an outside shot when healthy). Golden State has nothing to lose, they have a great coach who just happens to be the previous Dallas coach and they obviously have a lot of confidence against the Mavs. On the other hand, Dallas is coming off of a tremendous regular season and their mind frame is that only a championship will do this year, especially after the hugely disappointing loss in last year's finals. There is a lot of pressure on Dallas. I am very curious to see what happens in game 2 - whether Dallas was just rusty in game one due to essentially taking the last week and a half of the regular season off, or whether GS truly has their number.
Interestingly, I could see both the Dallas - GS and SA - Denver series going seven games, which would be huge for the Suns, who I see beating the Lakes in 4 or 5. The Lakers are a complete mess - and unless Kobe goes beserk, they are dead (and even a few 50 point games from him might not be enough). The first two halves of game 1 demonstrate exactly where LA is right now.
Is anyone really interested in what's going on in the Eastern conference? I'd like to see the Bulls advance to the finals because I think it could be a coming out party for Luol (people forget that Deng was the #2 player in LeBron's class coming out of high school - and many said that Luol was a clear #2) and an opportunity for him to take the step to superstar level. The Bulls are mildly entertaining and the Raptors are fun to watch but I really don't have much interest in watching any of the games in the East.
I remember when he was in college I used to argue with my Duke friends about his pro prospects. I always said that he could be a Karl Malone type player and his game reminded me a lot of the Mailman's. Many of my friends thought I was crazy but he is closely approaching that level now.
Even though the Jazz are down 2-0, I still think they have a chance in the series but they need two things if they are going to be able to win a game in Houston -- 1) Deron needs to be more aggressive and take more control of the pace of the game; 2) they need consistent contributions from either Okur or Kirilenko. Speaking of Kirilenko, how has he fallen so far so fast? It can't just be injuries, can it? What happened to those days when he'd put up a line like 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 5 steals? With the old Kirilenko, I think the Jazz could compete with the Suns, Spurs and Mavs in the West.
Speaking of which, I think the Mavs could be in real trouble against the Warriors. After losing game 1, they have now lost six games in a row (I think) to GS and they are facing a team that is really firing on all cylinders after having to really turn it on at the end of the regular season to make the playoffs. Baron Davis went off in game 1 and when healthy he could be the most talented player in the league (he's like Dwyane Wade with an outside shot when healthy). Golden State has nothing to lose, they have a great coach who just happens to be the previous Dallas coach and they obviously have a lot of confidence against the Mavs. On the other hand, Dallas is coming off of a tremendous regular season and their mind frame is that only a championship will do this year, especially after the hugely disappointing loss in last year's finals. There is a lot of pressure on Dallas. I am very curious to see what happens in game 2 - whether Dallas was just rusty in game one due to essentially taking the last week and a half of the regular season off, or whether GS truly has their number.
Interestingly, I could see both the Dallas - GS and SA - Denver series going seven games, which would be huge for the Suns, who I see beating the Lakes in 4 or 5. The Lakers are a complete mess - and unless Kobe goes beserk, they are dead (and even a few 50 point games from him might not be enough). The first two halves of game 1 demonstrate exactly where LA is right now.
Is anyone really interested in what's going on in the Eastern conference? I'd like to see the Bulls advance to the finals because I think it could be a coming out party for Luol (people forget that Deng was the #2 player in LeBron's class coming out of high school - and many said that Luol was a clear #2) and an opportunity for him to take the step to superstar level. The Bulls are mildly entertaining and the Raptors are fun to watch but I really don't have much interest in watching any of the games in the East.