In the East, where upsets happen... Not quite.

The Celtics almost fell for the younger, higher-flying Hawks. And now they face LeBron.

When the Hawks won Games 3 and 4 at home and tied the series at 2-2, they made it a series instead of a formality. We might have expected them more to be swept by the Celts, and least expected them to push the best team in the league to a Game 7, but they did the unexpected. The Celtics' weaknesses displayed were also unexpected. The Hawks made the Celtics look old and extremely reliant on their home court advantage, because even though the Celtics capped the series with a 99-65 win on Monday night(Tuesday morning in the Philippines), they never won a game in Atlanta. And what do you know? One day after the clincher, a tired and shocked Boston Celtics team will face a well-rested LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Second round starts for the two teams later.

Emdyey's say: If the Cavs are able to steal the first game later, they have a greater chance of exploiting the Celtics' road game woes. It's all about home court advantage now, or maybe better, road games. LeBron might give the Celtics a hard time defending, or it could go the other way. LeBron has proven a lot in playoff games, but this would be his ultimate chance to turn nonbelievers into die-hard fans. A very exciting match-up, where the team with one of the top three players clashes against the best team in the league.

Detroit exploits clock and ruling mistakes to make it 2-0.

Rules, rules, rules. Every rule should be essential to a game like each letter is in a keyboard, but one rule in the NBA could lead to its undoing. And whoever saw the Detroit-Orlando game on Monday, should know what it is.

With 5.1 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, Chauncey Billups dribbled to the top of the key, passed the ball, got it back and shot a three at the buzzer. But the clock freezed at the 4.8 second mark, and according to clocked replays, it took him more than 5.1 seconds to make that shot. It counted though, as the officials weren't allowed to refer to these replays. So they had to make a decision using a video, showing Billups draining the three before the buzzer. The video, which was also showing a bad clock. So yeah, it counted.

The Pistons won it 100-93, with Billups' free throws sealing it with 11 seconds to play. Game 3 is Wednesday in Orlando. The Pistons won 4-2 against the Sixers in the first round, where a sweep was also expected.

Emdyey's say: The Magic commited a lot of turnovers during the game, so we couldn't blame one wrong call for the outcome of the game. But in a game where every point counts, these officials should do better. The rules just doesn't make sense.


Western Conference, next.

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