Playoff Sprites

- Watch Lamar Odom tonight. He has struggled in taking over games as a part of the Lakers second team. However, he was a force at the end of Game 1 on both ends of the floor. The single biggest play of the game was an offensive rebound/put-back off a Kobe Bryant miss. He was also the most dynamic defender for the Lakers. His ability to switch inside and alter drives and shots greatly affected Utah's offense, as they went cold at the end of the game. I watched Odom thrive during Bryant's run to the championship last year. Perhaps the light is coming back on again in crunch time this season.

- Miro Satan is making sure that people know he still plays hockey. Miro was pretty much dismissed in his final year with the Islanders, as he was rendered fairly useless within an offense that was rendered fairly useless. Many hockey fans were likely hoping he would simply be acquired by the Devils, long enough to print the jerseys, and then fade off into nothing. However, Satan joined the Bruins halfway through the regular season and contributed 14 points in 38 regular season games. However, anyone who is following the Bruins playoff run (which leaves them up 2-0 in their second round series vs. Philadelphia) knows that he has emerged as a leader. Satan leads the Bruins with 9 points in 8 games, including an OT Winner. It's good to see the 35 year old Satan playing his heart out when it matters.

- I have a hard time believing that Daniel Carcillo of the Flyers was trying to pull out Marc Savard's front teeth last night. However, I don't know Daniel Carcillo. If he was, then Savard is allowed to bite him as hard as he wants. It's also hard to believe that Savard went seeking out Carcillo's fingers for biting in a scrum. However, I don't know Marc Savard. If he did, then Carcillo is allowed to rip his front teeth out.

- Props to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks. Young teams putting up a fight is always a great thing to see, especially in the NBA playoffs, where favorites often breeze on through. It was disappointing to see the Bucks drop the last two, although after losing Game 6 convincingly at home, I many thought, as I did, that the Hawks would handle Game 7 easily, which they did. Either way, the Thunder took on the most talented team in the NBA and left them at least mildly frightened after a few games. The only problem with that is that by frightening them, they were asking for it. The Bucks went up against East Sleeper Favorite Atlanta without star big man Andrew Bogut and gave them all they could hope for.

- Props to the Boston Celtics. Old teams putting up a fight is always a great thing to see. The Celtics should have won Game 1, but they let it slip away after a scoring surge by Mo Williams and a great 4th quarter by Lebronious. However, the Celtics went to town in the second half of Game 2. Rajon Rondo has had 3 magnificent halves in the 2 games of the series, and Lebron was kept from shooting in many big moments of Game 2. The Celtics are turning some heads, and perhaps they have a chance to make noise in this series. I personally picked the Cavs to take this one in 7, and I stand by that.

- San Jose has come out firing against Detroit. Many expected the Sharks to struggle right from the get-go in this series against the experienced Wings. If you go by playoff history, this was a no doubt sweep for Detroit, but San Jose is refusing to be a 40 win doormat. Joe Pavelski leads the Sharks with 9 goals (14 points) and is a joy to watch play the game. The series is far from over, as the Sharks now head to the Motor City, where it is likely to be raucous, but things are certainly looking up.

- Jaroslav Halak (needed to be mentioned yet again)

- Steve Nash is the best point guard in the NBA. Whether you want to modify that sentence with "still" or "once again", it needs to be stated. CP3 has been troubled by injury and lack of success the last couple of years, falling out of this blogger's favor as best PG. Nash, on the other hand, is proving that his drop-off had little to do with him and everything to do with the force-feeding of a half-court system to a team that had the personnel to play otherwise. Alan Gentry brought the old style back and now Nash is as good as he's ever been. He does have defensive drawbacks against quick guards, but he makes up for it plenty with his ability to create scoring. He can create it by himself, which he proved, scoring 33 against the Spurs last night, and we all know that he can elicit scoring from his teammates. People talk about Lebron and Kobe, and who is able to elevate the play of their team, to make the people around them better. No one does that with more success than Nash. I've joked on this blog that a team of Nash and me and 3 of my friends could drop 100 against the T-Wolves (I think it was them), and I was only half kidding. Just ask Louis Amundson, Jared Dudley, Channing Frye and Robin Lopez (though he's currently injured) If I had to start a team right now, I'd pick either Deron Williams or Derek Rose to play PG because of the age factor. But if I needed a PG tonight, I would pick Nash hands down.

- Stay tune for more playoff updates. I'll try to keep them coming fast and furious.

-APT