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The theme of the 2nd round has been the disparity of home/road win ratios, in the end at press time with the lucky San Antonio Spurs dispatching the very very tough New Orlean Hornets in game 7, the total tally from round 2 in the league was 22-3 with only the Los Angeles Lakers eliminating the Utah Jazz on the road in game 6, the Detroit Pistons stealing game 5 in Orlando against the Magic, and of course the aforementioned Spurs amongst a (quite honestly) subdued laid back nervous crowd in New Orleans.  Maybe the copious amounts of bandwagon fans were awestruck by the sparkling presence of famous A-list celebrities like Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and Lil Bow Wow.  =)

*(By the way if you didn’t know, that’s Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints in the picture to your left; and if you watched game 7 tonight, that was Chris Paul NOT Carlton Banks.)

Which brings up an interesting point, in terms of easy press to get your face on TV (if you were a celebrity looking for any excuse for a limelight), Eva Longoria has a bona fide monopoly in this respect.

a) She is already a leading lady for a prime time TV show airing on the same network that broadcasts the NBA Finals.

b) She is the ONLY remotely recognizable celebrity to grace the Spur’s crowd due to many factors which includes San Antonio being too small a city to attract more bandwagon Hollywood wannabes, whereas Houston but more often Dallas being a hot spot of thespian/lesbian/sports stars/rock star gatherings.

c) With the Spurs consistent showing deep into the playoffs year after year, her TV exposure is exponentially greater than one hit wonder-cinderellas like Golden State, New Orleans (at least this season, they will be back next year), and honestly Boston despite their fans claiming to be lifelong when the FleetCenter was desolate in last year’s lottery season and seasons before with all the Bostonians busy yucking it up for the Red Sox and Patriots.  (The key here is that bandwagonning is not inherently bad, as it could lead to real loyalty to said team, its the posers who claim to be lifelong, then jump ship when the rats flee same said ship that tends to give bandwagon fans a bad name.)

Back to the subject at hand, a common reason for the disparity in home teams dominating in their own arena as opposed to road teams ultimately struggling to get a win (compared to 13-10 last year in the 2nd round), I really think it has to do with how even the teams and match-ups were.  In spite of Boston crapping the proverbial bed against the Atlanta Hawks in round 1, the Celtics were a good match-up against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to both teams being great defensive teams.  As much press the Cavs get for lack of scoring punch behind LeBron James, they are and always recently have been a very underrated defensive team that really has given James a punchers chance each year in the playoffs.  The Cavaliers are always a great rebounding team and that allows James numerous chances at the basket.  The Celtics were a great regular season team, and still can be a great playoff team if they can pound Detroit out of commission, but ultimately their coach is killing them.  Yanking your rotation around randomly, plugging in jump shooters late in the game when they are 1-6 so far expecting them to shoot cold with 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter when they have sat the entire 2nd half, are some examples.  In the playoffs it is usually kosher to tighten your rotation to 7-8 guys in order to ensure your best players are always out there and to ensure continuity with guys, lineups who have been through thick and thin together and ensure the chemistry is there.  Far be it for me, one of many armchair QBs to question an NBA coach’s decision, but Doc River’s incessant insistence to play with his lineup like a desperate run at the NBA Fantasy Basketball title was very silly (will still be in the coming round), and he was ultimately bailed out by 2 superstars, Jesus Shuttlesworth who all of a sudden plays like a 60 year old Jake Shuttlesworth, and the Cavalier’s 3 point shooters who couldn’t buy a shot when LeBron James was TRIPLED teamed leaving them open.

The Magic also matched up well with the Pistons and even though Chauncey Billups was injured in game 3, several of their games were close with untimely mistakes by a young Orlando team representing their inexperience vs. an experienced club like Detroit.  Not to mention a solid performance by the backup PG of the Pistons took a lot of pressure off of the team and Billups who got some rest to heal up before throwing down with Boston.

The Lakers fresh off sweeping the Nuggets ran into a determined Jazz team and though each stared at each other at 2-2, the Lakers were able to take their home game 5, and then win a squeaker in game 6 on the road.  The difference was in my opinion simple in that Carlos Boozer never got untracked in the series, and gritty veterans like Derek Fisher and MVP Kobe Bryant keeping the Lakers competitive in every game.

As for the Spurs against the Hornets, the fact that this series also went 7 games should already dictate that both teams were insanely evenly matched, but my theory can be disputed with the fact that 6 out of the 7 games were blowouts in averages of 19 per.  My only counter is as even (talent-level) both teams were, their one extreme contrast may have been their common thread to explaining the score disparity.  The old Spurs were already weary from the Phoenix series, and simply could not match the energy of the young Hornets in their house.  Reverse that and you have the inexperienced young Hornets not being able to rise to the occasion on the road against the old Spurs who yearned for the comforts of home.  Game 7 threw those rules out the window due to San Antonio determined to quiet the critics of their faux-dynasty without a single repeat, the Spurs given 3 days rest b/w games 6 and 7 which helped their older legs more than the Hornet’s healing their wounded.  However the same theme prevailed with the 3rd quarter being the decisive fatality in determining the winner.  Tonight, if not for the Spur’s outburst in the 3rd period, they would have had no chance in withstanding the Hornet’s furious comeback in the 4th.

Indeed 7 is the loneliest number because the beauty of basketball and baseball entails that playoff games cannot be decided by one game but instead a series.  In a best of 7, the 7th game represents the final showdown, the all-in last grasp gamble, where BOTH teams face elimination not just one.  So in truth one game be it unfairly or not was the focus and under the microscope in spite of what happened the first 6 games.

P.S.  Robert Horry isn’t a dirty player, it’s the freaking playoffs! He’s not David West’s nursing home provider, and if he set a soft screen (mindful to be careful with West’s bad back) the way I did in intramural games back at Texas Tech in my college days, then my friend Sean woulda given him a good yelling on the court like he always did me.  :(