With the lull of football and basketball finally settling in, and with our other sports (which I have no idea about; if you’d like to write on any specifically, hit me up on Twitter) currently in the midst of postseason runs, things are slow.
Of course, the NBA postseason is in full swing and we’re right in the midst of the semi-finals. The first round is now over, and there are still quite a few Bruins out there still fighting for an NBA championship.
Let’s take a look at how well they’re doing.
The Eliminated
Baron Davis: Baron suffered a gruesome knee injury with the Knicks to end his season — and, quite possibly — his career. Check:
Ouch.
Baron wound up starting for the Knicks in Jeremy Lin’s absence, but his team was eliminated by the Miami Heat in just five games.
Arron Afflalo: Afflalo had himself a very nice series against the Los Angeles Lakers in addition to having his best season as a professional, helping to lead the Nuggets to the playoffs and in a tough, 7-game series against the Lakers. The dude had the misfortune of guarding Kobe Bryant, who totally went off by scoring over 29 points a game.
Still in
Ryan Hollins: Hollins is relegated to the bench these days, and sees around 10 to 15 minutes a game. He isn’t an integral part to the Celtics, but he’s a 7-footer, something that the Celtics don’t have outside of Hollins.
Jrue Holiday: Holiday’s been an integral part to the Philadelphia 76ers’ playoff run and is the team’s starting point guard. The dude is a bit flighty with his shooting, but he’s part of the Sixers’ fast-paced offense and gets some serious minutes down the stretch.
Darren Collison: Collison has been replaced by George Hill as the Indiana Pacers’ starting point guard and, the professional that he is, Darren doesn’t seem to mind too much. He’s still contributing off the bench and is a legitimate sixth man for the Indiana Pacers and their only real, true point guard.
Matt Barnes: Matt is playing on a bum ankle and is currently struggling with his outside shooting. He’s still coming off the bench for LA, but because he was the only team’s at-least-average player aside from Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, his inability to shoot from the perimeter is detrimental.
Russell Westbrook: If there were an MVP award for the most important Bruin left in the playoffs, Russell Westbrook would get it, and no one would come close. Westbrook was a huge part of the Thunder’s massive sweep of the Dallas Mavericks and, in Game 1 vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook became the primary source of offense, scoring a ridiculous 27 points in 27 minutes off of 15 shots. The dude’s been brilliant as of late, and I’m not so sure he’s slowing down.
(And that hurts to say, because I’m a Laker fan.)
GO BRUINS!!!