The seemingly invincible Boston Celtics have shown a weakness

When you really think about it, the playoffs are truly the NBA’s second season.

Seeding really just equates to home court advantage, as all sixteen teams records are the same 0-0.

Some teams see it that way. Others just follow the proverbial script.

Enter the match up between the first seed Boston Celtics and the eighth seed Atlanta Hawks.

The Boston Celtics (66-16) are the NBA’s most prolific team this year—breezing through the regular season and finished as the top dog (along with the highly coveted home court advantage throughout the playoffs). Their match up with the Atlanta Hawks was projected to be a laugher—a sweep. But after the Hawks won all of their home games and clearly diverted from the “script,” the Celtics are in the fight of their lives and “adlibbing” from here on out.

If not for quirky NBA Eastern and Western Conference Playoff format, the Atlanta Hawks (37-45) really don’t have any business being in the NBA Playoffs (especially with a team like the Golden State Warriors that finished with a 48–34 record and still didn’t make the playoffs). But here they are and they are showing that they belong after sending the Celtics to their third loss in a week to even their best-of-seven first round series at three-a-piece.

What are these highflying Hawks doing right?

Well, they are attacking the basket strong on offense. Going for offensive rebounds. And most importantly, they are running.

Running.

The kink in the vaunted Boston Celtics defense has been exposed.

Don’t get me wrong, the Celtics play a great brand of basketball, but I believe that they haven’t been in enough of these situations wherein they play the same team over-and-over again. A team—these eighth seed Atlanta Hawks—that have had some medium of success over them.

I’ve always wondered if the bench of the Celtics would be good enough this year to lend a helping hand to “The Big Three” of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen.

So far, it’s been sketchy.

The Boston Celtics are 27-0 lifetime whenever they have lead 3-2 in a best-of-seven series.

The Atlanta Hawks have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Come game seven, their records will be 0-0.

Can these Hawks become only the fourth team since 1994 to upset a first seed?

Watch.

It could happen.

Just ask Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks.

Addendum:

•Only three eighth seeded teams have managed to win a series versus a first seed: These are the 1994 Denver Nuggets when they finished off the George Karl led Seattle SuperSonics in six games; the underdog New York Knicks that went on to the 1999 NBA Finals after they eliminated the Miami Heat (3-2) in the first round; and most recently, last year’s feel good team—the Golden State Warriors who trumpeted the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in their 2007 First Round Western Conference match up.

•With their win over the 67-15 Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors also became the first eighth seed to beat a first seed in the best-of-seven format.

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Jason Kidd: From a Net, back to a Maverick

Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks.

Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks.

Amazing.

Current Mavericks owner Mark Cuban must have really been impressed with Kidd's performance in his Mavericks loss last Sunday (February 10, 2008) at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kidd finished with that contest with 13 points, 14 assists, and 6 rebounds (falling 4 caroms short of his 100th career triple-double); while orchestrating the Nets to a 20-4 run at the end of the first half.

By the time the smoke cleared, Kidd's (then) eight-place Nets beat the (then) Southwest division leading Dallas Mavericks 101-82.

Now, when the proposed blockbuster deal, which would send the soon-to-be 35 year-old Jason Kidd back to the team that originally drafted him in 1994, clears--Kidd will again be running the show for the Dallas Mavericks.

But this time, Kidd has an edge. Instead of making people like Jimmy Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, Roy Tarpley, and (current Mavericks player-development staff member) Ron "Popeye" Jones better; Kidd's new ensemble includes his new partner-in-crime Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason "The Jet" Terry, Eddie Jones, Juwan Howard, and (most likely returnee after the trade and buyout) Jerry Stackhouse.

This is a very old group with Kidd, Jones, Howard, and Stackhouse in their mid-thirties.

The window of opportunity is small.

But it's there.

Now the $100 million dollar question is--can the Mavericks take advantage of it?


Trade Breakdown:

New Jersey: Jason Kidd and Nets forward Malik Allen.

Dallas Mavericks: Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, Devean George, Maurice Ager, two future first-round picks (2008 and 2010), and $3 million dollars.

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The Gary Payton Rule

Jerry Stackhouse to the New Jersey Nets in a potential deal involving Jason Kidd and Devin Harris?

A possibility if both parties cooperate and crunch up the right figures.

Stackhouse being released and the Mavericks welcoming him back with open arms?

Yet another possibility, given Stackhouse's relationship with Mark Cuban and the Mavericks organization.

So right now, this is all said in a hypothetical tone.

Let's say it did happen, the trade goes through and the Nets were even nice enough to release Stackhouse on or before March 1, 2008 in order for him to still be eligible for the playoffs.

Wait! Wait! Wait!

Enter. The Gary Payton Rule.

The aforementioned rule is unofficially named after then Boston Celtic-Atlanta Hawk-Boston Celtic Gary Payton when he was moved a few years ago (2005) by Boston in order to re-acquire Employee #8 Antoine Walker (whom they chose not to resign anyway at the end of the season). The newly acquire point guard was immediately released by the Hawks and the next thing you know, three days later, Payton is back in Bean Town.

Now those leprechauns sure earn their pay over at Boston.

So back to the "Gary Payton Rule."

Since the summer of 2005, players who are traded and then waived by their new team are forced to wait 30 days before re-signing (while only a spell of 20 days during the off-season) with the team that had just let them go.

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The Sun Has Set On The Dallas Mavericks

May 3, 2007. No matter how much Mavericks owner Mark Cuban downplays his team's first round exit against the 8th seed Golden State Warriors, this date stands as a day of infamy for the Dallas Mavericks. After garnering the best overall record (67 wins and 15 losses) in 06'-07' season--which guaranteed them home court advantage throughout the playoffs--the Mavs were still unable to upstage the up-and-coming Warriors who seemed to have had their number over the last two years.

TNT Analyst Steve Kerr put it best when he likened the slumping Mavericks to last year’s Detroit Pistons. Kerr mentioned a conversation that he had with Pistons Head Coach Flip Saunders wherein Saunders talked about his team “losing their edge” entering that year’s NBA Playoffs due to a number of lackluster games in the tail end of their regular season schedule.

The Mavericks made NBA history as being the first number one seed to lose a best-of-seven first round series to an eight seed (The previous two occasions were best-of-five affairs wherein the 94’ Denver Nuggets upset the favored Seattle Supersonics and the 99’ New York Knicks which bested the Miami Heat on an Allan Houston runner at the buzzer). Despite winning 67 games (which tied them for 6th best overall record all-time); having three ten-game winning streaks (with a high of 17 straight games (they were unable to extend it to 18 as they lost to the Warriors in their next game)); having the best home record; best road record; and winning the southwest division title, it just wasn’t enough to best the Golden State Warriors who played their hearts out despite having an injured and inferior lineup to that of the Dallas Mavericks.

Then again, it’s pretty hard to win a basketball series or game for that matter when your star player—German native Dirk Nowitzki—in not so many words, conceded the series should the Warriors win Game 4. (Which they did! It also gave the Warriors a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead in the series).