After Celtics - Bulls, Now What?

Are the NBA Playoffs watchable going forward? It has been widely assumed, even before the playoffs began, that Lebron and Kobe will be meeting in the NBA Finals. So why would any basketball fan even watch? Then the Celtics - Bulls series happened. Critics can argue all day attempting to rate the series among the best of all-time. At the end of the day who cares where the series ranks. The bottom line is that the series captured people's attention and was the only first round playoff series worth watching. So now that the series is over and the Celtics have moved on, what does the NBA have to offer? None of the second round series have much intrigue and the Finals are more than a month away. The most competitive of the bunch again features the Celtics as they face the Orlando Magic.

Tonight was Game 1 in Boston and most viewers were probably watching Red Sox - Yankees especially after the Magic opened up a 28 point lead. That means most people missed the Celtics near comeback before falling 95-90. One major reason for the Celtics down performance was Ray Allen scoring only 9 points on 2-12 shooting. Anyone paying attention has noticed that the former UConn star is the key to the Celtics success. Lost in all the excitement of the first round was just how poor Paul Pierce played for Boston. As much as he did to win game 5, he did even more to lose game 6 against Chicago. Allen was unstoppable against the Bulls and is a much more efficient offensive player than Pierce. If the Celtics are going to continue their run without Kevin Garnett, Allen must continue to be their top offensive weapon. But in the end, will anybody be watching?