The Playoffs: NBA versus NHL
Garrett ‘Guru’ Eagan
Sports Editor
The grass is freshly cut (and in Carroll County fertilized often) and the skies are blue. It’s spring time and you know what that means- the beginning of a baseball season and the end of two others. The NBA and the NHL are dialing up the beginning of the end of their respective seasons and there are some key match ups and things to look for.
[NBA] First, it’s pretty clear that without KG the Celtics will rely heavily on the guard play of Rondo and Allen aka ‘Jesus Shuttlesworth.’ Paul Peirce obviously needs repeat performances defensively as he did last postseason. Dare I say the Bulls will shock the world? I won’t say it, but now the thought is at least lingering in your mind.If there was a year for the Cavaliers and Lebron to get a taste of the Finals- it’s this year. They are a strong team, but they rely heavily on one person too much. Across the nation in the west are the defending first place losers of last season-the Lakers. They happen to be my favorite to refill the West in the NBA Finals. Kobe has not won a ring without a big man like Shaq in town. Gasol? We will have to see, especially after he go the laxative treatment last year in the Finals. However, even without Manu the Spurs could make a play at the West- especially with Popovich at the helm. It’s up in the air, but I’ll stick to my original thought of Lakers hoisting the gold in 5 against the Cavaliers.
[NHL] It’s not on ESPN anymore, but Comcast and VS. keeps NHL playoffs well stocked. My two teams: Red Wings [West] and the Capitals [East] are seated in the playoffs with some competition early. San Jose the high seed in the West are favorites to make the Stanley Cup. Yet, both the Wings and Caps have a loaded roster to counter the argument. In the east, you have an absolute minefield of talented clubs- Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the Bruins. Washington stocked with Ovechkin and Semin as well as Federov (former Wing in the 90’s) with a strengthened (hopefully) Theodore can put the Caps in the Cup. Yet, the thing that kills the Caps is penalties and a weakness defensively. The West mainly comes down to San Jose and Detroit, two teams who are used to competing with one another in the West. Detroit, in recent years known for an incredible farm system with a veteran core and returning champions, are always getting good odds to repeat. Osgood FTW. My dream Stanley Cup would obviously be the Wings and Capitals. But I’ll keep it centered and predict the Wings and the Bruins. Wings repeat in 6.