Friday, April 15, 2011

NBA Playoffs Predictions: Round 1

In the next 3 months the NBA playoffs will be taking over the airwaves and our lives. The NBA Playoffs in my opinion is by far the best post season among the four major professional sports in America. As far as the playoffs are concerned I believe that this year is a pretty wide open year and I don't see it being as predictable as it was the past 2-3 years. Without further or do these are my predictions for the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Starting out with the east. In the 1 vs. 8 matchup the Chicago Bulls are taking on the Indiana Pacers. With this matchup I think Derrick Rose and company are just too much for the Pacers. I do think the Pacers will take 2 games and expose some of the weaknesses that are being overlooked with the Chicago Bulls because of the well deserved love for Derrick Rose. At the 4 vs. 5 matchup I think the Orlando Magic will beat the Atlanta Hawks in 7 games. I just think that Dwight Howard will be too much for the anemic post players on the Atlanta Hawks roster. The 3 vs. 6 matchup is probably going to be the best playoff series this postseason where the Knicks take on the Celtics. Despite the Celtics recent troubles I think they will have enough to  beat the Knicks in 6 or 7 games, but mark my words this will be the series that everyone is going to be talking about this postseason. Last but not least is the 2 vs. 7 matchup where the Miami Heat will take on the Philadelphia 76ers. I honestly like the 76ers as a team. However, I'm not sure about Andre Iguodala's ability to carry the 76ers past the big 3 of the Heat. I got the Heat in 5 games.

Now for the Western Conference. In the 1 vs. 8 matchup the Spurs in my opinion will defeat the Grizzlies in 5 games. I just think that the Spurs bench is too deep for the Grizzlies and there offensive output will overbear the Grizzlies in a 7 game series. At the 4 vs. 5 matchup I like OKC over the Nuggets. I think Kevin Durant is going to have a break out postseason (I'm going to leave it at that cause I got a couple surprise picks in the next round). At the 3 vs. 6 matchup a lot of people are picking Portland to win the series. However, I'm going to go the other way and choose the Mavericks. I just think that Jason Kidd and Dirk will be able to carry the Mavs over the young Portland team in a 7 game series. For the 2 vs. 7 matchup I think the Lakers roll over the Hornets in 5 games. The Hornets will miss David West and I think the Lakers bigs are just too much for the Hornets. 

All in all, I don't really see any opportunities for upsets in the first round, however I do believe the majority of the upsets will take place in the second round. Stay tuned and enjoy the nights at the bars and the playoff parties and if you're lucky enough enjoy the games at the arena.


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Time to Say Hail Mary.

I officially started going back to MAS this week and as usual the experience has been rather eye opening. So much has changed since I left three months ago. The alter is still the same and the private sanctuaries remained the same. However, there were some differences in the hallways and it seems that there are some new members that I don't recognize. Whatever the case it felt good to be back and attending MAS. Thus far I have taken three classes. Sound bites which has been a cool class in that we are learning how to refine our audio skills for video purposes. Another class I'm taking is portfolio development, this is the make or break class because MAS students must have an exceptional portfolio before graduating MAS. The other class that I had taken thus far was a brand called you. This class seems as if it will be helpful in the long run and especially helpful in getting the first job in advertising. I am hoping that this quarter at Miami Ad School (MAS) will be equally as effective as my previous quarter.

I will add that I am getting a nice consistent dose of basketball on a weekly basis. Just having the opportunity to make someone else a better player always seems to make my day.

One cool thing I want to share is this audio track that we had to listen to during our Sound Bites class and it's kind of cool. When you listen to this track close your eyes and be sure to have headphones in your ears. I think it's awesome but you be the judge.