By Don Ellis

I love this game.

Yes, that's an old NBA advertising slogan, but it's true. How could you not like this time of year if you're an NBA fan? I guess if you follow the Pacers, Pistons or Blazers, you've seen better days.

The Pacers were the best team in the East for over half the season, but they went into a tailspin after the All-Star break and never recovered. And now in the post-season, the Celtics have them within one game of being eliminated in the first round. For the Pacers, former Mr. Clutch Reggie Miller is averaging a meager 9.8 points, shooting a dismal 28.6% from the field and 18.8% from behind the arc. Paul Pierce is averaging 28 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6 assists in the series, and one more Boston victory will send the Celtics to the second round. This will be a major surprise to almost everyone who follows the game - but not this writer, who picked the C's to win the series in 6 games.

Of course, I also predicted that the Pistons would represent the East in the Finals, and it looks like they won't even get past the first round. The surprising Magic lead the series 3 games to 1, and barring a minor miracle, the Pistons will become only the third number one seed in NBA history to lose a playoff series to an eight seed. And the surprising thing about this series is that the Magic have been more than TMac and a bunch of bums. Yes, TMac has been the leading scorer in the post-season, averaging an absolutely incredible 36.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.25 steals, but he's actually had some help from his friends. Rookie Drew Gooden - who GM John Gabriel stole from the Grizzlies at the trading deadline - has come up huge in the series, giving the Magic 14.3 points and 11.3 boards. One win in three games will move the Magic into the second round against the winner of the Sixers/Hornets series.

In the wild, wild West, the Blazers failed to show up for the first three games of their series against the Mavs. And if Dirk Nowitzki keeps putting up 34.8 and 10, this series will end on Wednesday in Dallas.

The Lakers grabbed a huge win Sunday to even their series with the Timberwolves at two games apiece. And while Kevin Garnett has put up Wilt-like numbers: 29.8 points and 16.5 rebounds - this series is tied because KG has received some help for once. Troy Hudson, the original "points guard," is averaging 27.3 points while shooting over 48% from behind the arc. But Shaq put up 34 and 23 in Game 4, and if the Lakers finally decide to run their offense through the Big Aristotle, the Wolves will lose in the first round for the seventh consecutive year.

LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony officially declared for the NBA draft last week. Yeah, I know, you're all completely shocked, right?

Time to answer some e-mails...

From Carl:

I respect the opinions on this site so much that I am extremely disappointed in the fact that you guys have also been bamboozled by Joe Dumars' band of bums here in the D. There is no way this team can make the finals. They won't get past the first round and that will put dollars in the pockets of yours truly. When the other team defends also, their "real team" can't score baskets. They are not a true 50 win team, they are actually a 40 win team that wins 8-10 more regular season games because they play them as if they are postseason games and their opponents back down...No one backs down in the postseason!!!

Well, Carl, it looks like your pockets are about to get fuller. After watching the first four games of the Pistons' series with the Magic, I can't figure out how they won 40 games, let alone 50.

From the Mirza household:

Finally i have someone that believes when i tell my family and friends that the pistons will make the finals.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one your family is laughing at right about now.

From Landon:

Amare Stoudemire set high marks for a straight from high school player in every statistical category. Not only was he 3rd in scoring and 1st in rebounding among rookies, he holds the season high for points scored by a rookie and the all-time highs for pts. and rbs. in a single game by a rookie straight from HS (38 and 14, respectively). He is averaging more points and rebounds than any rookie out of high school EVER has. Garnett averaged 10 points and 6 boards a game as a rookie. Stoudemire averages 13 and 9. How he's "second best" to Garnett is puzzling to me.

I can't argue with any of your points. Amare did post better numbers as a rookie than KG did. But my contention is that KG had a bigger impact, simply because he was the first of the new wave of high school players to enter the league. Because of that, he wasn't a starter until the season was half finished. And when he did become a starter over the final 42 games, he averaged 14 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.26 blocks. In my opinion, Amare had a much easier time of it as he went to a team that already had established stars in Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion, while Garnett played for a team that won 26 games.

So yes, Amare had better rookie stats than Garnett, but KG had a much larger impact on the NBA and it's future.

That's it for this week's NBA Runaround. Don't forget to send your questions and/or comments to dellis@insidehoops.net.


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