It’s one of the oldest storylines in all of sports. Two clubs compete against each other with plenty at stake and on paper the matchup appears to be a complete and total mismatch. One side is the epitome of what the best in its sport is all about, the other appears to be nothing but fodder for them on the road to expected glory.

Except no one told the “fodder” of its role, and instead of them disappearing quickly off stage as expected they put up a valiant effort that catches all who watch completely off guard and set themselves up for an opportunity for a victory that fans will remember for years to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series between the Boston Celtcs and the Atlanta Hawks!!!

Yep, the mighty Celtics. Winners of more NBA titles(16) than any other club, homecourt of enough legends to build their own Hall of Fame wing. Owners of the league’s best record this season.

And there’s Atlanta, mediocrity personified. A long history themselves, for being nomadic(Buffalo, Quad(Tri)-Cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis) and pathetic, with one NBA title fifty years ago and not having seen the playoffs this decade. Even this season qualifying with a playoff worst 37-45 record. But hey, Dominique Wilkins was a heckuva player for a while there in the 80’s. Really.

As Dickie V. would say: “A total M&Mer, baby!”

If you’ve been paying any attention at all you know what’s happened. An energized Hawks club came to life in its three games at the suddenly raucous Philips Arena and has forced this series to go where no one thought it would. It is the only first round series to go the distance, the one headed for that classic two word phrase that defines an important game in a postseason series: Game Seven.

What in the name of Lenny Wilkens and Spud Webb is going on here!!!! Game 3 was Atlanta winning purely on their youthful exuberance and athleticism. Game 4 was Joe Johnson taking over down the stretch and refusing to leave the court without a W. And in Game 6 the Hawks saw Johnson become the focal point of the Celtics vaunted D and yet they scored on sixteen consecutive posssesions in the second half to gain control over a game which would be salted away when Johnson nailed a huge three with just over a minute to go.

Game 7 is in Boston ( Sun. 1PM ABC) where the Hawks have lost their three playoff games by an average of twenty two points, so obviously a win would be a tall order. And to make things worse, starting forward Marvin Williams(part of a trio of talented young frontcourt players) is listed as doubtful with a knee injury.

An Atlanta win would be the biggest upset in a postseason series in NBA history and the biggest in ANY sport (MLB, NHL, NBA) in quite some time. Since the NBA adopted the current sixteen team playoff format 1984, only three #8 seeds have defeated a #1 in the first round and really, two of those don’t hold a candle to this one. Last year’s Warriors team beat the Mavs, yet had also had swept them in the regular season and had come into the playoffs on a full head of steam. The ‘99 Knicks over Miami? Please, that was the lockout shortened season and only six games separated the two at season’s end.

That leaves the ‘94 Sonics/Nuggets series which had eerily similar circumstances to this one. The Sonics had the best record in the league and all of the first four games were won by the home club before Denver won the deciding game five in overtime in front of a stunned Key Arena crowd.

This would be a best of seven series that should have been a complete mismatch. And in a sport where you need an entire team to outplay the other in an entire series (unlike baseball where pitching is everything, and hockey where goaltending enjoys similar importance). A bigger and more difficult upset under such circumstances would be hard to find, wouldn’t it?

I’ll make no prediction so as not to be accused of jinxing by anyone. But I’ll be watching. Will you?

Some other thoughts on the first round that was……….

Barkley was right. The Wizards were the dumbest team in the NBA for calling LeBron “overrated”.
How’s this for a stat line: 29.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 7.7 apg vs. the Wizards. Helluva job shutting him down guys. That physical strategy worked wonders for you and put one of your own players out on suspension for the sixth and final game. Enjoy the golf course guys, and thanks! Way to make me look stupid in picking you to win the series.

Another barb going out to the mainstream media concerning James: Remember last year’s Conference Finals against Detroit where LeBron passed the ball off to Donyell Marshall for the game winning shot(missed) and was ridden mercilessly for not taking that shot himself?

I couldn’t help but notice how quiet the same media was after LeBron ran the EXACT SAME PLAY in game 4 with Delonte West taking the shot. Couldn’t have been because West made the shot, right????

Agent Zero….you were exactly that. I applaud your effort, but sit it out if you can’t help the team next time will ya.

Hey! I actually caught some of the Rockets/Jazz series. Just as I thought, it took the NBA’s second longest win streak ever to get the Rockets in the postseason. Since they weren’t on it during the postseason they were easy pickin’s for the Jazz. McGrady notwithstanding.

I REALLY want to know what was said in the Pistons locker room during halftime of Game 4, the entire series seemed to turn on it as Detroit dominated the rest of the game and series.

I thought Philly was a great hoops town. Why were there over five thousand empty seats at the Wachovia Center in the deciding Game 6?

And finally! Your WNYM round 2 predictions!

(2) New Orleans vs. (3) San Antonio

Looks like another great series with some great mano y mano matchups. Chris Paul v. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan v. Mark West highlight the marquee for this one. My heart would love to see the Cinderella story continue in New Orleans, and quite frankly I think this team’s all around balance gives them the opportunity to do it. But my mind goes with the status quo thinking that until I see the Spurs go down I’m not going against them. Spurs in 6

(1) Lakers vs. (4) Utah

The Lakers did to Denver what Boston should have done to Atlanta. Sweep them without breaking a sweat. This series ought to be fun to watch as both like to turn on the jets and have solid point guard play(Fisher/Williams). But how is Utah going to be able to stop the Kobe/Pau combination?? Being able to do so is their shot to beat them, gooooooood luck. Lakers in 5

(2) Detroit vs. (3) Orlando

Detroit’s stifling defensive system gets a big challenge in shutting down the potent Magic offense. Rasheed v. Howard will be interesting as will Billups v. Nelson. But if Detroit is as inconsistent in this series as they were against Philly then……
Magic in 6

One last thing before I go. The Euroleague is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary by naming a list of its fifty greatest contributors. I happened to find a nice little video of the members of the group. While even the most diehard of hoop junkies won’t know many of the names, there are some that are well known. One in particular having strong local ties.

Watch and find out who, til later!!!

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