NBA Conference Finals quick analysis
Conference Finals Look to be Epic Battles,When the regular season comes to an end fans always hope to see their team in the playoffs. Lucky for NBA fans, 16 of the league’s 30 teams get to move on.
However, as the postseason wears on and teams drop out, it can be tougher for fans to find reasons to keep tuning in. When your team is in the hunt, you do not need anything else; even if they blow the other team away in a game that is an obvious miss match, you are happy because your team wins.
As the playoffs begin to head towards the conclusion, fans of teams that have been eliminated can generally agree on one thing—they want to see a good game. With the season drawing to a close, fans want to see some great basketball played to hold them over till next season.
With the Conference Finals kicking off for the 2009-10 season, fans are sure to be treated to some truly memorable games to close out the NBA season.
The Western Conference: Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Phoenix Suns
The Western Conference Finals pit the #1 seed, the Los Angeles Lakers, against the #3 seed, the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers led their division throughout the season with the Suns close behind; the rest of the Pacific division was at least 25 games back.
A look at their records finds no discernable difference other than the 3 more wins that L.A. had over Phoenix in the regular season. Los Angeles had just two more home wins and one road win than Phoenix. Their division record was only a game apart (13-3 for L.A. and 12-4 for Phoenix) while their conference records were exactly the same at 35-17.
Both teams are chock full of stars. On the Lakers you have one of the best guards to play the game in Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol has been a dominant, consistent force on the scoreboard as well as in rebounding. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are two of the strongest young players in the game today.
Phoenix also has a future Hall of Fame player at guard in Steve Nash, a former two time regular season MVP. Amar’e Stoudemire has averaged over 20 points a season for the last four years not to mention an average of 18 points and 9 rebounds in 24 career games against the Lakers. Grant Hill is no stranger to the Lakers either, averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds in 30 career games against Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is already almsot through, they are two games up and Suns have their work cut-out.
Eastern Conference Finals: Orlando Magic vs. the Boston Celtics
There is a little more of a difference between the two teams in the Eastern Conference Finals than the two in the Western Conference.
Looking at strictly regular season records, the advantage has to go to the Orlando Magic. The Magic won nine more games on the season (59-23) than the Celtics (50-32). The majority of that difference came at home where Orlando won 34 and lost only seven. Boston on the other hand just won 24 while losing 17 at home. Their road records were only a game different with Boston (26-15) winning one more than Orlando (25-16). Orlando also won 6 more in conference than Boston.
The difference in this match up was on display in the first game of the series. Dwight Howard missed seven baskets in the game, more than he did in the entire series against the Atlanta Hawks in the semi-final round. A strong defense kept the sixth best scoring team in the NBA during the regular season
Well below their season average of 103 points a game (with 88).
Unlike the Magic, the Celtics have been to the Finals and won. The trio of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett, along with the emergence of Rajon Rondo, knows what it takes to win clutch games and will look to do just that against the Magic.
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