My sidebar still sucks because I can’t get any good widgets to put in there, and I don’t know where to find those good widgets. Anyway… I’ve been on NBA playoffs mode since vacation started and the second round is just about to start next week.

With the first round almost done, I just want to share some thoughts on the first round happenings and extra-curriculars…

• I didn’t expect the Lakers to have a sweep of the first round, nor I expected the Nuggets to get swept. I was thinking that the series will go 5 or 6, but it never did. Seems like the Nuggets were just a bomb waiting to tick off any moment and they imploded in the worst possible time. Several Nuggets were yapping and were called for technical fouls, and Carmelo blasted his coach and his teammates for quitting. And the Lakers are just starting to unleash their prime-time, championship-caliber basketball at the right time.
• Never yap against a player as good as Kobe Bryant because you just might get what you wish for. This was what the Nuggets did in Game 2. Running out of ways to stop Kobe, they heckled him and trash-talked him. Kobe didn’t give a fuck and he torched the entire Nuggets defense (IS THERE SUCH THING AS NUGGETS DEFENSE?) and scored 49 on them. The best part of it? 4th quarter. JR Smith was yapping in the ears of Kobe, and then Kobe just attacks JR Smith on the next possession drawing a foul, making the shot and completing a three point play in the process. Priceless.
• The Dallas move for Kidd was a failure. For a dominant coach like Avery Johnson who basically wants to call out every play for his team, it’s safe to say that the Mavericks were a disorganized team. Kidd wants to orchestrate plays and with a coach like Avery, Kidd’s options have been limited. Dirk was still his old self but their supporting cast wasn’t. The 3 keys their disaster in the first round: poor defense, with Paul running around Kidd, Josh Howard’s poor play and their supporting cast. They should have kept Diop and Harris all along. If they did that, maybe Avery still has his job in Dallas now.
• I can’t say the same for the Shaq trade but the Phoenix Suns were busted wide open by the San Antonio Spurs. Parker ran around Nash and punished him. Raja Bell was toasted by Ginobili. Amare had a field day in the offense but we all know he really did not care to defend Spurs players. The Spurs employed the old Hack-A-Shaq technique. This series was a a summary of all the bad moves of the Suns’ FO: trading for Joe Johnson, Sarver holding out his cash and being reluctant to spend, the D-League bench, and ultimately the move for Shaq. But as far as I’m concerned, bye Phoenix. Bye Pringles.
• Detroit and Boston are flirting around with their opponents that’s why they had a hard time finishing them off. By the way, Detroit already finished the Sixers in 6 but really, does that series really have to reach 6? I have nothing against Philly and Atlanta but they should be swept given their records and the records of their opponents. But they are doing a good job of fighting back. And I am actually rooting for Atlanta. Go Hawks!
• I don’t expect Andrew Bynum to be back this season. I’m not expecting anymore. Screw it. We’re continuing the championship chase without him. The good thing though is that Trevor Ariza is highly probable to come back sometime in the second round. Disappointing as it may seem that Ariza is coming back ahead of Andrew Bynum, I’m just contented that Trevor is coming back because the Lakers need a steady perimeter lock-down defender aside from Kobe Bryant. Fisher and Farmar won’t do the job, so the return of Ariza is very welcome. His slashing skills are also a plus.
• The league is unfair at giving out sanctions. The league just suspended Wizards’ forward Darius Songaila for smacking NBA golden boy LeBron James and yet they did not suspend Jason Kidd for almost killing Jannero Pargo of the Hornets and for the scuffle that happened in Game 4 of the Hawks and the Celtics. Garnett should be suspended for elbowing Zaza Pachulia and the bench players who stepped in the court should also be penalized. No wonder the Phoenix fans are yapping about the unfairness of the league in meting out suspensions.
• I hope Houston wins so that Tracy McGrady could get out of the first round already. He’s been a second round virgin for almost ten years now. It’s time for him to get out of the first round. And I think they will beat Utah later in Game 6 and march on to beat the Jazz in 7 games to earn them the right to face the Lakers in the second round. But damn the Jazz aren’t rolling over - not in their home where they are 37-4 in the regular season.
• I just started becoming a follower of football. I am currently watching Chelsea matches, including the one that they won over Liverpool to send them to Moscow for a Champions’ League final date with Manchester United. God, Didier Drogba is great. I watched him score 2 goals (1 in the extra time) to help Chelsea win the match. Michael Ballack was a non-show though, or maybe I did not notice him. Lampard hit a penalty kick in the extra time. Chelski Power - well coz the final is in Russia.
• Trash-talking in football is as intense as the trash-talking in basketball. See how this thread is rich of trash-talking, yapping and taunting from the all the sides of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United Fans. The insult that they throw at Chelsea is that they are as boring as fuck. That’s synonymous to equating them to be the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. The level of trash-talking is as great as the boring insults hurled to San Antonio in several basketball forums.

I guess that’s it… and I’m going to be back working to finding ways to improve my ugly sidebar. I’m also looking for new themes because this theme is quite getting old. Suggestions, anyone?