BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was the debut of the other two second round games, but first a funny story.

First up, the #1 Chicago Bulls facing the #8 Atlanta Hawks.  Everyone usually likes to write-off Atlanta as more of a place-holder playoff team (i.e. the obligatory team that is good enough in the regular season to nab the #5 seed, but poses no real threat).   The Hawks are aware of their reputation, and this year… they’re doing something about it.  They beat up the Magic in Round 1, and more notably, Magic point-guard Jameer Nelson.  Why?  On April 10th, Jameer Nelson was spotted saying to Bulls point guard Derrick Rose “See you in the second round”.  Nelson assumed they would coast by the Hawks in the first round.  Hawks star Joe Johnson said, “They never talk about the Hawks. They talk about Orlando, Chicago, Boston and Miami. We’re always sneaking under the radar.”  He’s right, so the Atlanta organization left Jameer Nelson two tickets so he could indeed see Derrick Rose in the second round.

In the game, the Hawks brought their same winning energy to Chicago.  From the beginning, the Hawks came soaring in.  Joe Johnson absolutely lit it up for the Hawks, finishing the night with 34 points.  The Bulls did make a comeback, as the newly named MVP of the NBA Derrick Rose got hot in the second half, putting up 24 points.   But the Hawks just pulled away and the Bulls couldn’t catch them.  Typically, if the Hawks have a comfortable lead, they will keep it.  You have to have a commanding lead going into the 4th quarter to beat them.  And, at the end, not only were the Hawks on top, but Derrick Rose apparently re-injured his ankle.  Bulls fans better pray he’s ok to go to the next game.  Atlanta 103, Chicago 95.

Next up, Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers.  The Lakeshow are finding their groove now, and appear to be in playoff form.  But, the Mavs have no intention of an early exit this year.  They truly think they can win this Western Conference, and won’t be scared by those golden Lakers uniforms.  The Lakers basically controlled the game throughout.  Kobe had another phenomenal night with 36 points, but, the the end, the Mavs came surging back and found themselves with a chance to win it.  They sent Dirk Nowitzki to the line with just a few seconds left and he put them up by 2.  So, with 3 seconds left, you knew the ball was going to Kobe.  He got it off a screen, spotted up from 3, and… NO GOOD!  Wow, everybody in there thought it was going in, but no luck this time around, and the Mavs take a 1-0 lead in the series.  Dallas 96, LA Lakers 94.

FOOTBALL

The NFL Draft has come to a close.  We let you know about some of the first round highlights, but in the second — even more.  It looks like the Cincinnati Bengals are moving on from the Carson Palmer era, as they selected Andy Dalton — the quarterback star from TCU.  The Bengals said they consider Palmer retired, and that it was time to move on.  And the Bengals didn’t even have to trade up to get him.  Then, the 49ers added a great quarterback to their roster in Colin Kaepernick, the guy who led Nevada to a great season and an upset win over Boise State.  The sheep of the draft was Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett.  He just kept falling and falling, but Bill Belichick took a chance on him and drafted him to the Patriots in the 3rd round.  He will now have the opportunity to learn from two masters:  Belichick and Brady for the next few seasons.  People had concerns about Mallett, but he was a great at Arkansas and should be a solid NFL QB.

BASKETBALL

And in the NBA, the second round was underway.  The Memphis Grizzlies pulled off a shocking upset knocking off the San Antonio Spurs Friday night.  And, in what seemed like an unfair amount of time, they had to travel to Oklahoma City for their early afternoon date with the Thunder.  People thought they might be on a high from their victory, but the Grizzlies came to play.  These guys are jelling on all cylinders right now.  It’s team ball at its best.   Zach Randolph is playing the best basketball of his career right now.  He finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds as the Grizz routed the Thunder.  Who is going to knock this team out?  Memphis 114, OKC 101.

Finally, it was the much anticipated match-up between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.  This is the series that people had been talking about as soon as LeBron made his historic “Decision” live on air, with everyone asking, “Can they beat the Celtics?”  Plus, most thought that this would be the Eastern Conference Championship, not a round 2 match-up.  Either way, the battle was underway Sunday afternoon.  The Heat came out on fire and NEVER cooled off.  They were up and down the court and seriously exposed the Celtics age.  And you could see that Boston was missing the presence of Kendrick Perkins (whom they sent to Oklahoma City before the trade deadline).  Dwayne Wade finished with a whopping 38 points in the punishing of Boston.  Now, don’t be fooled, Boston will still turn this into a series, but the Heat look like a very tough team to beat now.  Miami 99, Boston 90.