5/3: Hawks Move On, 2nd Round Preview, etc.

Greetings... My apologies on the weekend hiatus... Here we go

• Hawks 95, Bucks 74.... One of the most underwhelming series victories imaginable to be honest.... but on the other hand, the opposite result would've caused mass hysteria... Game 7 is what this series should've looked like... the talent of the Hawks running on (mostly) all cylinders and Milwaukee looking undermanned... Al Horford was the best player on the court and only took 8 shots... Joe Johnson scored 8 points and the Hawks won by 21 points... I could go on for days
• Lakers hold serve... This could be a great series... An efficient (12-19) Kobe Bryant coupled with no answer for Pau Gasol gets LA the win... I tweeted this, but I am so unimpressed with Andrew Bynum every time I see him... maybe it's because of how he runs or the fact that he's more injury-prone than Greg Oden.... Deron Williams is going to do whatever he wants in this series... and I really like the wing tandem of Miles and Matthews... not that either of them are star players, just underappreciated guys who can play D and make shots
• A non-Tiger golf story? Yes... Rory McIlroy (one of the 2 best players under 21 in the world with Japan's Ishikawa) shoots a ridiculous 62 on Sunday to win at Quail Hollow... and when he beats Phil Mickelson in the process? He gets a mention...

A quick 2nd round NBA preview...

• Lakers/Jazz - Lakers in 7.... I got it on the record near tip-off on Twitter... I legitimately think the home team wins every game in the series... and after seeing Game 1, that's even more reaffirmed for me... I don't know that Utah has enough to steal one in LA, and it's as simple as that... p.s. Deron Williams may average 30 and 10 in the series
• Suns/Spurs - Spurs in 6... I'm not off the bandwagon yet... with a healthy Robin Lopez, I would pick Phoenix in 7... but Robin Lopez isn't healthy... and what I saw defensively from the Spurs in the Dallas series really impressed me... Parker is going 100% now, and Phoenix has no one to hide Nash on defensively... San Antonio takes either game 1 or 2 in Phoenix, wins both at home, Phoenix wins game 5, and the Spurs close it out at home...
• Cavs/Celtics - Cavs in 5.... Okay, I know Game 1 has been played... too much talent for Cleveland and I'm still really down on Boston... Rasheed is a trainwreck (to the point where Doc actually dropped a reference to giving SHELDEN WILLIAMS his minutes...) and they couldn't win even with Rondo playing his best possible game...
• Hawks/Magic - Magic in 5... before I get the angry messages, I would hate this result... but this isn't a wishful thinking prediction... Orlando is deeper, the Hawks have had (and continue to have) no answer for Dwight Howard on the block, Jameer is playing out of his mind, and Mike Bibby has to guard Jameer, Vince, or Rashard... good luck with that... Only way Atlanta can be competitive? Keep Dwight under wraps (something they've never been able to do) and move....the....ball.... the iso-Joe offense isn't going to win you anything... especially when Joe has been underwhelming... and I can't believe I'm going to say this... but Josh Smith is the key... check out his #'s in the wins against Milwaukee... and then look at the losses... when was efficient/effective (aka playing his game) the Hawks look much better on offense... when he's content to shoot bad jumpers and not use his developing skills as a high-post passer, the offense gets even more stagnant... I hope I'm wrong...

To Baseball....

• Pitching Line of the Night - Doug Fister... (again?!?).. 8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER.. it's Greg Maddux-lite apparently... and oh, Seattle didn't get him any runs... shocking (sorry Ryan)
• Batting Line of the Night - Hanley Ramirez - 3-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI... best shortstop in the game... top 5 player in the game...
• The Braves get a sweep... 21-4 total score in the series... Houston was just what the Doctor ordered... the pitching has been good all year... I'm asking for 4-5 runs per game... seems like a simple request, yes? More encouraging? The defense all weekend... Only 2 errors... I can handle that... oh yeah... and Troy Glaus woke up...
• San Diego is 16-9... I bet you can't name 3 hitters on that team... go ahead... try... don't cheat

What to watch for tonight...

• Celtics/Cavs Game 2 - TNT 8:00... Celtics in an almost must-win already here...
• Spurs/Suns Game 1 - TNT 10:30
• Angels/Red Sox - ESPN 7:00 - Joe Saunders vs. Clay Buchholz... if you don't like basketball and enjoy 4.5 hour marathon baseball games.... this is for you!