BRISTOL, Connecticut - Three of the top four seeds in
the NBA playoffs will host a series opener Sunday, beginning
with the Miami Heat facing the New Jersey Nets in Game One of
their Eastern Conference first-round matchup.
A month ago, the Heat were 52-16 and appeared unbeatable.
Despite easily attaining the top seed in the East, they split
their last 14 games and endured a pair of absences by Shaquille
O'Neal, their unstoppable superstar center who is nursing a
swollen thigh.
The Nets snared the eighth seed by winning 15 of their last 19
games to overtake Cleveland. They are tremendously undersized
and will have their hands full with O'Neal.
"We have to play our A game, it's plain and simple," Nets guard
Vince Carter said. "The level that we played the last 10-12
games, it's going to have to be that every night, if not better
than that. Some people may say that (we) can't play any better
than that. That might be true."
The top seed in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns will
host the Memphis Grizzlies in the opener of their first-round
series.
Powered by point guard and MVP candidate Steve Nash, the Suns
led the NBA in scoring at 110.4 points per game and won a
league-best 62 games. But the pace usually slows in the
postseason, which may limit Phoenix's effectiveness in the
transition game.
"I know plenty of teams that were high-octane that won
championships," Suns All-Star center Amare Stoudemire said.
"(Teams) haven't stopped us the whole season. How are they going
to stop us now?"
The eighth-seeded Grizzlies were swept by the top-seeded Spurs
last year's first round. Since the NBA went to 16 playoff teams
in 1984, only two No. 8 seeds have won a first-round series.
Although seeded second, the San Antonio Spurs are favored to win
the West and will host the opener of their first-round series
against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
The Spurs have a concern about Tim Duncan, their superstar power
forward and two-time NBA Finals MVP who is not totally
recovered after missing 12 games with a severely sprained ankle
late in the season.
San Antonio also may be without injured center Rasho Nesterovic.
That could be a factor against Denver, which is 32-8 under
coach George Karl and has a fleet of active big men it can run
at Duncan.
"We match up OK (against Denver)," Duncan said. "They are really
hot right now, playing well, and with a lot of confidence."
Also on Sunday, the fourth-seeded Chicago Bulls host the fifth
seed Washington Wizards.
Washington has only two players on its roster with playoff
experience, while five of fourth-seeded Chicago's top seven
players will be in their first postseason.
"We're happy where we are," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said.
"But we don't have that playoff tenacity and that playoff
personality. ... We got a lot of preparation to do. We have to
get some type of playoff personality, we don't have it."
The first day of the playoffs was devoid of drama as the four
games were decided by a combined 58 points. In the East, the
defending champion Detroit Pistons rolled to a 106-85 home
victory over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics
cruised to a 102-82 home rout of the Indiana Pacers.
Even the day's only close game saw the host Seattle SuperSonics
nearly blow a 21-point lead before holding on for an 87-82
victory over the Sacramento Kings.
But the battle of Texas took an interesting turn as the
fifth-seeded Houston Rockets upset the fourth-seeded Dallas
Mavericks, who had won 16 of their last 18 games and were being
touted as a dark horse for the NBA championship.
Tracy McGrady scored 34 points, Mike James added a playoff
career-high 16 and the Rockets allowed the Mavericks to shoot
just 35 percent (24-of-68), including 5-of-19 by Dirk Nowitzki.
The Pistons and SuperSonics host the second game of their
respective series Tuesday, a day after the Celtics and Mavericks
attempt to increase their leads at home.