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Covering the results from 1st round playoff action 04.22.08!

Good evening everyone, I'm BL Anderson. Let's get right to the night's exciting playoff action!

(7) Dallas Mavericks..........103
(2) New Orleans Hornets....127

Mavs
Dirk Nowitzki 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists 7-11 FG w/ 4 turnovers
Brandon Bass: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5-5 FG w/ 3 turnovers
Jason Terry: 16 points, 4 rebounds 5-8 FG

Hornets
Chris Paul: 32 points, 5 rebounds, 17 assists, 10-16 FG w/ 3 turnovers
David West: 27 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 11-17 FG
Peja Stojakovic: 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists 8-13 FG

BL's Take: The Hornets did exactly what they were supposed to do as a higher seed, by taking the games that they are supposed to win at home. However, it doesn't exactly look like the Mavs are even putting up much of a fight. Jason Kidd MUST take more of a scoring role, and must step up his game to the next level, if the Mavs hope to win this series.

Chris Paul is dominant at his position, and is showing everyone the world over that he is the best point guard out there right now. He is a legit MVP candidate, and he is what drives this team. 17 assists is a monster statistic, and shows exactly how he is taking Jason Kidd and whatever defensive scheme that Dallas is going to throw at him apart. Jason Kidd did not have much of a chance at guarding him before, but now that Chris Paul has ascended into the Meteoric Level of basketball play, Kidd can only hope to deny him a couple of scoring opportunities. If I could change my pick, I would. But I can't, so I'll have to remind everyone that I picked Dallas in 6. Or was it 7? Or did I pick New Orleans? Did you see what I did there? Tried to change my pick? Nevermind, I'm an idiot.

(6) Toronto Raptors.........103
(3) Orlando Magic...........104

Raptors
Chris Bosh: 29 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists 9-19 FG
Jason Kapono: 20 points, 5 rebounds 8-12 FG
Jose Calderon: 18 points, 5 assists 7-11 FG

Magic
Dwight Howard: 29 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks, 12-17 FG
Rashard Lewis: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists 7-21 FG
Jameer Nelson: 18 points, 6 rebounds 6-10 FG

BL's Take: This one was a tight one that the Raptors may have stolen if it weren't for a very poor start to the game, as the end of the first quarter score was 35-18 Magic. Dwight Howard continued his dominance down low and on the glass, and no one can really contain him at this point once he gets under the basket. It was good to see Jameer Nelson step up and contribute, considering that his inconsistency all season has been a curse more than anything. And the Magic did what they needed to do, which is win their first two playoff home games. Now they'll need to go back to Toronto and win at least one of those games to finish this out in 5.

The Raptors stepped up, especially in the 2nd half, but could not get the job done against a determined Magic team. The Raptors continue to underachieve, which has been and will ultimately be their ultimate downfall. Chris Bosh has a great game, and got some help from the bench, but the rest of the starting lineup was nonexistent offensively. If they hope to take both games at home, they'll need more production from the likes of TJ Ford (1-8 FG) and Jamario Moon (1-7 FG). Going to be a long summer for the Raptors...

(3) San Antonio Spurs.....102
(6) Phoenix Suns............96

Spurs
Tony Parker: 32 points, 7 assists, 13-25 FG
Tim Duncan: 18 points, 17 rebounds, 3 blocks 8-20 FG
Manu Ginobili: 29 points, 9-17 FG w/ 4 turnovers
Suns
Amare Stoudemire: 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks 13-25 FG
Steve Nash: 23 points, 10 assists, 10-15 FG
Shaquille O'Neal: 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, 6-13 FG

BL's Take: It's good to see Shaq step up and have a good game. Just wasn't enough, because the Spurs come playoff time are not foolin around. The Suns could've gotten past just about anyone else in the NBA in a first round match-up, but they had to play the Spurs. And the Spurs are taking them apart, dictating the tempo of the game, getting good shots for all 3 of their stars, and making the Suns look like they are about 3 steps behind.

The Suns will need to go back to the drawing board in Phoenix and try to figure out exactly how to contain Manu Ginobili, who just won the NBA's 6th Man award. How good are you offensively when you are scoring 29 points in 33 minutes of action. Just...ridiculous.

Be back tomorrow with the roundup from all of Wednesday's action!