Somebody needs consoling

That man you see in the picture is doing what I envision Tracy McGrady to be doing right now!! In the fetal position balled up in a corner crying and rocking back and forth. Why would I say that you ask?

Well think about this, Tracy McGrady, a 12 year veteran, has been the leader and best player on 2 different NBA teams for 9 of the 12 years he has been in the league. NONE of those teams have won a first round playoff series.

However this year the Houston Rockets (a 5 seed in the Western Conference) were having a decent year, that is until Tracy McGrady got hurt. After Tracy McGrady left the starting lineup to have surgery on his knee, the Rockets actually got better! The Rockets went from being counted out of the playoff race to being a 5th seed in the playoffs.

No big deal, that was a valiant effort, no one expected the Rockets to beat and very young and talented Portland Trailblazer team with home court advantage with out their best player. Most were satisfied with the effort. But the Houston Rockets with their best player watching in street clothes proceeded to do what Tracy McGrady was not able to do WITH them for 5 years, WIN A PLAYOFF SERIES!!

I don’t care who you are, that has to weigh heavy on your mind. That’s like the Lakers getting better with out Kobe Bryant, the Cavaliers getting better with out Lebron…NEVER!!

So why did the team win more games and a playoff series with out the so called franchise player? Just ask the man in the fetal position because he is thinking the same thing.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN....Part 2.

Now for the Western Conference! Let’s start with the odds favorite to win it all, the LA Lakers against the Utah Jazz. Utah is a very good team and fundamentally sound but the Jazz has no where near enough fire power to hang with the Lake show! This one should be quick and painless; Lakers will win the series in 5 games. I have to give Utah at least one win at home, those Mormon fans are off the meter!!

Denver Nuggets the number 2 seed in the West up against the New Orleans Hornets sounds cut and dry with a 2 seed up against 7th seed, but I like the Hornets here. The Nuggets defense is soooo suspect to me that if they win the series it was have to be in 4 or 5 games. If the Nuggets let the Hornets hang around and go 7 games, they will lose this series.

The San Antonio Spurs go head to head against he Dallas Mavericks! Texas 2 step! This one to me belongs to ANYONE! Whoever wins game 5 wins the whole thing. I say that because the Spurs are hurting badly, no Ginobili, Mr. Duncan is not even 100 percent. Dallas could just run away with this thing but Dirk has never showed me the heart needed to put a team away and Popovich and Spurs are full of heart, so I cannot count them out. So my personal analysis is a reluctant Dallas will win the series in 6 games.

Last and really it is the least, Houston Rockets versus the Portland Trailblazers. I am personally torn on this one. I want Houston to win because I would love to them win the series with McGrady out. He has never been past the first round and for them to win the first round without him would give McGrady a complex so huge he would have spend his NBA pension on psychiatric help. On the other hand I would love to see the young feisty Trailblazers win a series. That team has been totally revamped, they got rid of the trouble makers and pot smokers and have a great coach, I am rooting for them. Frankly these are my personal feelings, no one really cares who wins this series, that’s why the NBA needs to go back to 5 game first round series. This one will probably go 7 games and I believe the young Trailblazers inexperience will show up in that game. Houston Rockets take it in 7 games.