The Collective Reprieve

Last night saw three teams previously down 2-0 (Rockets, Raptors and Wizards) battle back to reclaim some semblance of control over their respective series. No sweeps here, folks. In some senses the Rockets win was most commendable since it happened on the road, but it still seems to me that Houston has the least chance of these three teams to actually battle back and win their series. The Wizards' win was easily the most convincing, as they absolutely destroyed Cleveland, 108-72, a score that begs the question of how the hell the Cavs could lose a playoff game by 36 points with all that "veteran toughness" they traded for a few months back. If you're looking for one series to truly turn around this one might be it, although the Wizards are known for similar problems of focus, so it's possible these teams could go to seven games by exchanging blowouts. Oh yeah, and Toronto beat Orlando. I know, I know, I don't care either, but it warrants mention.

From David Stern's perspective it's probably good to avoid any of these teams falling into 0-3 holes, since no one finds that particularly interesting, at least not in the first round. I, for one, am not entirely sure that the vaunted Game 3 victory means a whole lot: ask any inveterate gambler and s/he will tell you that the best bet in a seven-game series is on the underdog going home for Game 3. Tonight we've got Detroit-Philly, NOLA-Dallas and SAS-PHX, as the Mavs and Suns will hope to duplicate the legendary feats of last night's players. Best of luck to the Suns; not so much the Mavs, whom I'm sort of hoping will get swept, if only because I'm sick of them and also because Cuban will go absolutely batshit if his team gets ousted in the first round in two straight seasons.