Playoffs Upon Us...Finally (Day 1 Preview)

The seemingly endless NBA season has finally come to a close. Now it's playoff time, which takes more than half as long as an entire NFL regular season. There's three days between games of each seven-game series, and about a week between rounds. Upsets are at a minimum. However, in the NBA Playoffs defense is actually played, and the excitement that lacks for much of the regular season finally appears.

Today's games are Indiana at Chicago (Game 1 is currently being played as this is written), Philly at Miami, Atlanta at Orlando, and Portland at Dallas.

The Pacers have a four-point edge at the half, up 55-51. But the Bulls and the expected MVP Derrick Rose are the heavy favorite, having earned the one seed in the east following a 62-20 record. Danny Granger claimed that if his team can stop Rose, they can stop the Bulls. But the supporting cast of Chicago is not shabby, featuring Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer. Through a half though, led by Darren Collison, the Pacers have slightly outplayed the Bulls, though many expect a Bulls recovery. Prediction: Bulls in seven six.

Before any basketball was played, LeBron James declared the new-look Heat would win "seven or eight" championships. Their quest for number one begins against my Philadelphia 76ers later this afternoon, where Miami is expected to breeze through a young Philly team. Doug Collins' group will try to prove they should not be taken lightly, as the Heat are probably already thinking past them. Andre Iguodala still is not fully recovered from a knee injury, and while he is regarded as one of the NBA's best defensive players, he will have a tougher time limiting Dwyane Wade or LeBron like he's done in the past. Iguodala can only guard one of them though, so Evan Turner will have to step up on D if the Sixers want any shot at the series. Expect the Heat to run screens with wily vet Mike Bibby to get Iguodala off one of the stars. Prediction (sadly): Heat in six.

Orlando seemingly traded away half of their team earlier in the year, but of course Dwight Howard remains, and is hungry for a championship. Not expected by many to go all the way, however, the Magic start off against the Atlanta Hawks. Jameer Nelson's postgame comments to Derrick Rose drew some scrutiny from the Hawks players, when he told Rose he will see him in round two. The well-rounded Hawks, led by Joe Johnson, want to prove Nelson wrong, and certainly not repeat last postseason, when the Magic swept them. Prediction: Magic in six.

Dirk Nowitzki has already won an MVP and been to the NBA Finals. He just has not won it all. Calling this "another disappointing season" if his Mavs group does not go all the way, Dirk's road starts against the potent Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have a great mix of talent including the newly-acquired Gerald Wallace, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews, Marcus Camby, and Andre Miller. Roy was once regarded as an NBA star, but has been hindered by injuries and only averaged a dozen points a game. He's now behind Gerald Wallace on the depth-chart, as Wallace's acquisition has skyrocketed Portland to new heights. Expect LaMarcus Aldridge to be almost unguardable for the Mavs. Portland creates far too many matchup problems in the series for the aging Mavs. Prediction: Blazers in seven.

No Stopping Duke

There is one main question about the Duke Blue Devils basketball team after last night's 82-68 win over No. 4 Kansas State. Are the Blue Devils beatable? Featuring some NBA-level talent, and a legendary Coach in Mike Kryzewski, whose win yesterday was his 800th at Duke, the Devils seem unstoppable. A repeat championship run seems more likely as the days go by. While this team's talent is clearly greater than last season's, it is still not entirely known whether they are a better team than the one that defeated Butler to win it all last year. But like that team, they have the teamwork, experience, and leadership skills to repeat. The undefeated season is also being thrown out there, which might be setting the bar too high, but there's a chance.

The bottom line is this: the Blue Devils are one of the, if not the top team in college basketball this season, and seeing how they dismantled Jacob Pullen and Kansas St. only proves this point. Let's take a look at each of their main players.

G Kyrie Irving: Irving is establishing himself as one of the top guards in college basketball, and compares well to Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. He has breathtaking speed, blowing by Kansas St.'s All-American Jacob Pullen countless times. He sometimes loses control on the break and can turn the ball over a few too many times, but this will improve with experience. An NBA future is a guarantee for him, and this might be his only season playing for Duke before a bolt to the NBA draft. The Cameron Crazies will love this hyped freshman. Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 14.2 ppg, 6.6 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.2 spg

G Nolan Smith: Nolan increased his ppg by 9 from sophomore to junior seasons, largely because of the departure of Gerald Henderson. Averaging 17.4 ppg  last year, he was a key reason for Duke championship run last season. Smith has a decent touch from beyond the arc, shooting close to 40% from three. He has good speed for a guard, as well as what is becoming his trademark floater. He's a leader of this year's team, along with fellow senior Kyle Singler. He will be an NBA player next year if he continues to show his skill.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 16.6 ppg, 5.8 apg, 5 rpg, 1 spg

F Kyle Singler: Making an immediate impact upon his arrival to Duke, Singler has developed into a star and a candidate for the player of the year this season. Along with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, (the three Ss) he starred for last year's championship team. Singler is a very complete player, not outstanding at any one skill, but above average at all for the college level.  However, he seems to have regressed a bit since last season, and through five games his numbers have shown that. It is questionable whether he will transition to the NBA level smoothly, and some scouts say that he should have left after last year. But the fact that he is still playing for Duke only makes the Blue Devils a much more challenging matchup.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.6 spg


F Mason Plumlee: Never really getting to show off his skills last year, partially because of a wrist injury, the sophomore Plumlee is starting to emerge this year. The more talented of the two brothers on the team (a third Plumlee has been recruited for next year, said to be the best of the three), Plumlee broke out against Marquette, scoring a career high 25 points, showing what he's capable of against a formidable Big East opponent.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.8 apg



G Seth Curry: Referred to as "Stephen's Little Brother," (because of former Davidson star and now Golden State Warriors starting guard Stephen), Seth led all college freshman in scoring, averaging over 20 ppg playing for Liberty. Now transferred to Duke, he will have a diminished role, no longer being the go-to option. But the sharpshooter will still make some noise with the Blue Devils, but don't expect him to reach his full potential this season.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 10.2 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 spg


G Andre Dawkins: Dawkins is beginning to find himself this year, after an up-and-down freshman season in which he went in and out of rotation. He came to Duke this season as a much improved player, being able to do more than just shoot from beyond. He is becoming able to create his own shot, as well as defend on-ball better than before. Could break out next year with departure of Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, as could Seth Curry.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 11.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .545 3PT %

Duke's balanced attack also includes Ryan Kelly, who is a starter, but plays limited minutes, and Miles Plumlee, who gets minutes off the bench, both of whom average close to 5 ppg this year. The outright skill of the Blue Devils can be seen by the fact that Andre Dawkins, Miles Plumlee, and Seth Curry come off the bench, all of whom would start on almost any other team, and be a star almost anywhere else. But for the good of the team, every player on this team submits to a role best suited for the team, which makes the Blue Devils the early favorite to go all the way.