Page 6 May 14, 2015 TORRANCE TRIBUNE NBA Playoffs Take Center Stage By Adam Serrao After last Saturday afternoon’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in Washington, it became clear that the NBA playoffs have officially caught fire and continue to capture the attention of America. Even if you’re not particularly into the game of basketball, you simply can’t deny the drama and the intrigue of the second round of these playoffs. That is, if you’ve been among the fortunate enough to watch. Last week’s buzzer-beater by the Bulls’ Derek Rose combined with old faithful himself, Paul Pierce’s game winner, both showed us all why these playoffs are so good. Maybe the first round fell flat as sort of a dud, but it looks as if the latter stages of this year’s tournament are sure to tickle even the most blasé basketball-onlooker’s fancy. If you’ve been following basketball at all this postseason, then you’ve noticed that it was pretty obvious that the first round of the playoffs were a yawn fest. Almost every team that was expected to win won, and did so handily. The Golden State Warriors swept the New Orleans Pelicans in four games, Memphis and Houston almost swept Portland and Dallas, respectively (each team only gave away one game), Washington and Cleveland swept Toronto and Boston, and Atlanta and Chicago made quick work of Brooklyn and Milwaukee. Too much sweeping going on for my taste. The only thing not sullied and deserved of a good sweeping in the first round was the series featuring the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs. That may go down in history as one of the best NBA playoff series ever. The Clippers eventually won in the seventh and final game, sending the defending champion Spurs into an offseason full of wonder and speculation that their dynastic team may at last be headed for a breakup. The second round, though now almost completely over, began in a way that was distinctly different from the first. As if taking the lead of the Spurs and Clippers in round one, each of the four series was clearly headed for our own enjoyment and satisfaction from the very start. Each team that started off round two on the road won a game to immediately steal home court advantage from their opposition. While that in itself didn’t tell us who was going to win the series, it did tell us that each one was going to be long, drawn out and intense in nature. Even when the first two games of each matchup were played, it strangely felt as if the series’ were yet to begin. Every team, at one point, was tied at 1-1, and after a long and grueling 82 game regular season and first round of the playoffs, every team was dealing with their own set of issues. You always know you’re in for some good playoff basketball when the team that has home court advantage goes down early in the series. In round two, every team that had home court advantage trailed 2-1 after three games in the series. That includes the Cavaliers and LeBron James. What’s interesting about James and his team’s series against the Chicago Bulls is that James and company were forced to play with a distinct disadvantage from the get-go. PROFESSIONAL HEAD LICE HOUSE CALLS Local, Mobile and Discreet All-natural, non-toxic ingredients SAFE for Skin & Hair LETHAL for Lice 323.325.8317 Serving the Beach Cities of the South Bay www.HairForceONE.us Your ALLIES in the Battle Against Head Lice In Kevin Love’s very first playoff appearance ever against the Boston Celtics in round one, he dislocated his shoulder and is now out until next year. J.R. Smith punched a guy in the face and was suspended for the first two games, Iman Shumpert pulled his groin muscle and talk arose that Kyrie Irving’s foot was less than 100 percent. Advantage Bulls, with a healthy and suddenly explosive Derek Rose; that was, until Pau Gasol went down with an injured hamstring. These two teams seemingly always have a way of evening each other out; but hey, at least that makes for good television. So did Rose’s last second shot from beyond the arc that helped his team take an early 2-1 advantage over LeBron. In the next game, LeBron evened things once again with his own buzzer-beating game-winner. Then there are the Houston Rockets vs. the Los Angeles Clippers and the Atlanta Hawks vs. the Washington Wizards. In both series, the team with home court is seemingly expected to lose. Through three games, the series played out that way. Both L.A. and Washington held 2-1 series lead. While the Clippers did so basically without Chris Paul, the Wizards used an old, ex-Boston Celtic to get the job done. After his game winning bank shot, Pierce proclaimed that he didn’t call the bank shot. “I called, ‘Game!’” he declared. The old man’s still got it. After nailing a game winning three-pointer against the Raptors in round one, Pierce exclaimed, “That’s why I’m here.” He showed again against the Hawks that indeed, it is. As for the Clippers, it looks as if their tough matchup of the playoffs was in the first round. They could have beaten the Rockets even if they had to do it without Chris Paul. Perhaps they deserved an easy second round matchup after opening against the Spurs, but now Los Angeles is headed for the Western Conference Finals for the first time even in the team’s existence. Then there are the Golden State Warriors. The team that won 67 games in the regular season has the league MVP in Steph Curry and is expected to win it all this year. Don’t tell that to Tony Allen. He’ll yell that he’s “first team all defense” right in your face. That’s what he’s been doing to the Warriors anyhow. His play has been backing up his shouting as well. A steady dose of size inside with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph mixed together with smothering defense spearheaded by Allen vaulted the Grizzlies to an early 2-1 series lead over Golden State. Looks like the favorites are in for a long series. Obviously there is no way to look into the future and see how each of these series, or even the entire playoffs in general, will end. What is for sure, however, is that with each passing game, the matchups are getting more and more exciting. Whether you’re rooting for your hometown Clippers, you’re in love with Steph Curry or you just want to see LeBron lose and Pau scoop up another ring, the intrigue is there. With football now clearly in the rearview mirror and baseball still in its infancy, why not give the NBA playoffs a chance? With so many good players and storylines remaining, you may even get hooked on the sport all over again. • South Finally Gets Shot at West By Adam Serrao Photos by Osvin Suazo All of the hype has surrounded the West High Warriors this season. High School baseball’s number 1 ranked team in Division 4, West has been the team to beat and has been atop the Pioneer League standings all season long. South, on the other hand, came into the season ranked number 3. Constantly looking up at West High, head coach Grady Sain and his Spartans have been salivating all season long at the chance to prove their own worth. No. 3, after all, isn’t a bad spot to be in. But No. 1? That’s the best. Coach Sain and South High finally got their chance last Wednesday afternoon to take on their bitter rivals from West in a two-game series with Pioneer League title implications on the line. The Spartans relished in their opportunity and swept the Warriors, taking over the much coveted number 1 ranking once and for all. A flurry of late offense was key to the Spartans initial victory over West High last week in game one of a two-game set that wound up determining first place in the division. West came out strong early. Three runs in the bottom of the first inning had Warriors fans believing that their home team was going to come away with the win. Just when it looked as if West was smooth sailing, however, South ramped up the offense against West starting pitcher Taylor Myers. “I felt like he lost a bit on his fastball,” Warriors coach Juan Cueva explained. “They barreled a couple of balls up on him.” South Seniors Josh Rotuna and Ryan Ishimaru did the barreling and came through with key RBI’s in the top of the fifth inning that eventually led the Spartans to victory. While Drake Pingel started things off shaky, South’s ace composed himself and settled down to pitch a flawless five innings after West’s three run first. The Spartans were able to sneak away with a 4-3 victory and control of the series. Game 2 shifted back over to South’s home turf and things weren’t nearly as close as the first game. The main reason for that was Spartans starting pitcher Nick Beardsley. “I was staying ahead and I knew that my defense had my back,” Beardsley described of his performance. “I felt I could go to any pitch today.” Beardsley did just that, even reverting to his changeup at times to come away from the game with a magnificent three-hit shutout, recording nine strikeouts and only one walk in South’s 4-0 victory. “It’s the best he’s been all year execution-wise,” coach Sain said. “He’s been locked in like that before, but it’s been a while. This has been coming.” Perhaps it has finally come at the perfect time for both Beardsley and his team. While the pitcher is at his best, so is the team heading down the stretch and into the playoffs. With their sweep over West and victory over Leuzinger in what was a makeup game, South (19-7, 8-0) claimed at least a share of the Pioneer League title this season. While all of that is fine and dandy, however, Sain and his club still have revenge on their minds. Last year, the Spartans made it all the way to the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship game. With only two games left to play against North High, South has another long playoff run and championship appearance in mind. West (18-8, 6-2), on the other hand, can be nothing but motivated from their two recent losses to South. With two games remaining in the regular season Centennial Apache Pitcher #15 Pierre Brown during the first inning. Torrance Tartar #9 Matthew Hennessey at bat. See South, page 10
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