Rambling Thoughts on the NHL and NBA Playoffs

I haven't even talked about the NBA and NHL playoffs since they started two weeks ago, and that is a mistake. So far, they have both been brilliant. Honestly, both sports are in  great shape right now. For the 2nd straight year, the NHL playoffs started a bit late (last year it was because of the lockout, this year the Olympic Break), making the two playoffs run essentially concurrently. That makes it so much better. Since the NBA schedules way too many two-day-breaks, very soon the NBA will lag behind, but for right now, with 2-3 NBA games and 2-4 NHL games a night, this is heaven.

** Just a note, I'm not touching this Donald Sterling thing. I'm happy a piece of shit has been banned from the NBA. I'm glad he was finally publicly exposed as the scum he was. Of course, he should have been exposed as such a while earlier, but that doesn't matter anymore. He's gone, and the NBA is a better place for it **

• The NHL playoffs had added juice this year because of the Realignment, with essentially regions like March Madness. Of course, because of some strange Wild Card rules, we can teams from one division win the other, but this year only one team fit that spot, the Stars, who have since been eliminated. Still, the realignment hung over this postseason, which is nice since...
• I love this new playoff format. Is it unfair that the Bruins have to play Montreal and not New York/Philadelphia (as they would in teh old format)? Sure, but in the NBA that happens all the time. The NHL is unique in that it reseeded a 16-team tournament after the first round. The NBA doesn't. Plus, if the Bruins are that good (and they are), then they'll beat whoever anyway.
• The NHL Realignment has also become a nice converse example for hte people that say we should seed playoffs 1-16 regardless of division/conference. The reason you don't is because it removes rivalries. This new division format was created to get rivalries to play in the playoffs each season. Well, we already have that.The Bruins get to play Montreal. We already have Flyers vs. Rangers, and the winner gets Pittsburgh, both rivalries. Same with whoever gets Chicago in Minnesota or Colorado (who are continuing their own long-standing rivalry), and then either the Kings or Sharks against hte Ducks will make another great rivalry. Honestly, this format created four awesome 2nd rounds.
• My favorite series from a viewer standpoint was Chicago vs. St. Louis. First, both were really good teams, netting 107 and 111 points, which is crazy for a 1st round matchup. The Blackhawks play arguably the most focused, skilled game in the NHL, but with size and depth. They're essentially a perfect team, but that Blues group shed their normal defensive trappings and engaged the Hawks. It made for an awesome series, didn't it? Four of the six games went to OT. Just great stuff.
• Honestly, all the Western Conference series were, have been, great. Colorado vs. Minnesota has been a rivalry in the past, but this has raised that. There is serious bad blood between those teams, most notably with Matt Cooke taking a run at Tyson Barrie. It's a little odd watching Zach Parise play for another team, but there are ex-Devils littering a lot of rosters. What's more fun is watching this young Avalanche team just continue to surpass their ETA. My God, is Nathan MacKinnon awesome.
• Finally, as a quasi-Sharks fan who has been predicting success for them since 2004, I'm obviously nervous. Watching them whip the Sharks and embarrass Jonathan Quick in the first two games was fun, but Quick's become what he was in 2012 the last two games. Now, the Sharks have been here before in the positive sense. Three years ago, they blew a 3-0 lead to the Red Wings, and then won in Game 7, and they were probably less trusted and mroe pressured then than now.
• Since I'm in Mexico right now and the East games start when I'm still at work, I haven't seen too much of them, but I am really excited for Montreal vs. Boston. There's obviously bad blood, but also some recent matchup advantages for the Canadiens. The Bruins are a machine right now, but rarely does that last in teh Stanley Cup Playoffs.
• I still think teh Blackhawks are the best team now that they're healthy - and my God, are Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane healthy, but the Ducks might have the highest ceiling. There's obviously concern since thheir collection of goalies are all untested, but they're as deep as any team in the NHL, and arguably as talented as they were when they won the Cup in 2007. Quietly, they finished just one point behind Boston for the best record in the NHL. The Stars were a bad matchup, but I think they'll beat either the Kings or Sharks.

NBA

• As I'm in Mexico for the NBA playoffs as well, I've also seen far more of the Western playoffs, but this time it is also out of pure interest. The East Playoffs have been terrible. The only team to play up to its level (other than Washington, I guess), is Miami and seeing them be Miami is never fun. I do think the winner of  Toronto vs. Brooklyn will give them a good series. I know people love to discount the Nets 4-0 record against the Heat this year, partially because three of the wins were by a point, but the last two examples of one team having a very good record against the other might portend something bad for the Heat. First was the Warriors beating the Mavericks in 2007 after winning the season series 3-1, and then the Grizzlies over the Spurs in 2011 after winning that series 3-1.
• It's staggering what happened to the Pacers. I get that they built their 18-1 start off a cupcake schedule, but even in their 2nd half malaise their defense remained good, and in their single biggest game of the season, home against Miami, they won. Now they can't even play with the Hawks, even on the defensive side? My guess is Vogel loses his job, but I don't think he's close to the problem. Those players just can't play with each other anymore, and have proven themselves to be the most fragile team in recent memory.
• OK, let;s go to the main event, teh West. Four series, and they're all good. I'll start with the worst series, the one with all the controversy and the one currently in teh midst of Game 5. It may be 2-2, but it has also featured some staggeringly one-sided games. I have no idea who will win this series, but I can't see either team beating Memphis/OKC, who are both 60-win teams had they been healthy all year. The Warriors don't have the size without Bogut,and really, with Big Baby MIA right now, neither do the Clips.
• Speaking of OKC-Memphis, the XXXXXXXXXXXXX just won Game 5
• The Spurs lucked out by having their half of the bracket fall perfectly, other than the Rockets who they are 0-4 against, though it should be said they weren't at 100% in any of those games. The Spurs, of course, have to beat Dallas first. Obviously, they dodged a major bullet in Game 4 by holding their nerve after blowing a 20-point lead, and I still think they win the series, but their falling into the same trap the 2011 and 2012 Spurs did in teh playoffs, namely their bench guys failing. The biggest culprit so far has been Danny Green. They'll need him somewhere to make their run.
• Honestly, Rick Carlisle is the 2nd best coach in the NBA. No one thought the Mavericks would win two games in this series, not with them being so outmatched and with their roster having a glaring lack of players that like playing defense. Yet, in four games, they've held the Spurs below their season average. There's a reason he's the coach of the only team to beat the Heat in The Decision era.
• Finally, let's get to my favorite series, which is Portland vs. Houston. They are both such fun teams to watch, the Rockets in a 'if they just had a coach they should win by 50' way, and in a 'how is Harden this good - remember when he was ON OKC!!!' way, and the Blazers in a 'man is this team fun' way, and in a 'Damian Lillard is a God' way, and in a Wes Matthews and Nicolas Batum have been really good for a long time and they're finally getting a chance to make the 2nd round way. Love both crowds in that series too. I wouldn't be happy if that series doesn't go 7.

I'll probably do picks for both NBA and NHL 2nd rounds and beyond, and I can't wait for hte sakes to be even more raised, but I don't think I have ever appreciated the dual NBA/NHL playoffs like this before, man they are a treat.