Busy Playoff Weekend, Flip Saunders Speaks with the Media

All eight playoff series got underway this weekend, and there were some early surprises.  Five of the game ones were won by the road team: The Hawks, Nets, Wizards, Warriors, and Blazers all won on the road and gained an early advantage.

It's far too early to come to any conclusions, but the real shocker was the Hawks pulling away from the Pacers.  Things have been a little messy in Indiana over the last couple of months, but still. I thought they had it together enough for the Hawks. I still think they will come through that series, but they are looking pretty dysfunctional.

If they lose in this round, or even the next, I wonder whether it costs Frank Vogel his job. It's hard to imagine, but if things are really falling apart there, he might be the guy to go.

The best game was saved for last: the Blazers 122-120 overtime win in Houston. Though marred by, shall we say, aggressive officiating, which saw three players foul out, including LaMarcus Aldridge who went for 46 and 18 before giving way, it was an exciting tilt throughout with massive performances by several players in addition to Aldridge.

Speaking of coaches...Flip Saunders' post-season presser is taking place this morning at 10:00. It seems unlikely he'll say anything substantive, but we'll have more on it after it happens.  I don't expect an announcement about the future of Rick Adelman today, which is likely the first bit of business for the Wolves off-season.  Assuming he's done, of course, they will have to get to work finding the next coach, and I suspect they want to get that moving as soon as possible.  I actually expect an announcement sometime this week that Adelman is retiring, but we'll see.

There are two games on the slate tonight: Grizzlies at Thunder (7:00 pm Central) and Warriors at Clippers (9:30 pm Central), both on TNT.

Today in History

735 B.C.: Traditional date of Romulus and Remus founding Rome
1509:Henry VIII crowned King of England
1836: Texas wins independence from Mexico in Battle of San Jacinto
1898: Congress passes declaration of war against Spain
1918: Baron Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron) shot down and killed over Somme. 
1956: Elvis Presley's first hit reaches #1: Heartbreak Hotel

Today's musical birthday is Iggy Pop, born in 1947.