4.29.14 -- This is my favorite series to watch so far--and that's saying something since this first round has been as wild as any in recent memory. 2-2 after 4 games and I'm not surprised, I knew all these games would be close. Going into this series I thought the teams were so statistically similar that it would all come down to the 4th quarter play. Most folks would go with the veterans in a 4th quarter contest but I've been impressed with the Raptors all year and (controversial statement) I think Kyle Lowry is the best player on the floor at any given moment. Not Deron Williams, not Paul Pierce, certainly not KG (dude, KG has been done for a coupla years now, why do we spend so much time talking about him?). Lowry is going to be the prized free agent on the market this summer (I'm rooting for the Bobcats to get him) and this series is his place to shine out. That said, I think Demarre DeRozan has been the best player. He's hitting his jumpers with poise, looking like next year's big bust out star (and without Lowry he and Valanciunas will have the whole team to themselves).
Looking over the box scores I noticed that the Raptors have outscored the Nets in 3 of the 4 4th quarters and 3 of the 4 1st quarters; the Nets have dominated the middle parts of each game. I think this still favors the Raptors. Whoever starts and finishes the strongest will win each game, I am convinced.
Am I sticking with Raptors in 6? Sure, why not? This series will probably go 7 but I like the Raptors to go up 3-2 after the next game and since each game is an even contest, I'll go ahead and take them to win game 6 back in Brooklyn. The Paul Pierce era will end quietly and I suspect he'll end up with the Celtics next year or the year after.
Nets: Next year they will welcome back Brook Lopez, say goodbye to Pierce and Livingston, silently fret over where to bury KG's corpse, and hope Williams and Johnson stay healthy and Aundray Blatche takes a step forward. That roster is still so over-priced its hard to imagine them making any moves next year or going any deeper in the playoffs. The experiment of over-spending has been a colossal waste of money (but the owner's a multi-gajillionaire so what do I care?) and the luxury cap defiance has hampered them with too many deals that are hard to metabolize. In two years they'll be better positioned to make moves as KG and Marcus Thornton exit. The Nets are still pretty good and in a crappy Eastern Conference that's pretty good. But if 5th was the best they could do with this line-up I can't put them any higher than that next year, unless Lopez and Blatche really dominate.
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