These things are always entertaining.

LeBron James spoke for about 10 minutes before the game to media. Now you’ve got national media here like ESPN and of course TNT is covering the game so there’s plenty of folks to ask last season’s MVP questions.

Some of them are good. Others are weird. Some made James respond, “Ya’ll want to know every damn thing. man. Damn. I’m just saying, dang. You can’t have no secrets.”

Here’s a few examples:

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Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly passed away today.

Former NBA coach Chuck Daly passed away of pancreatic cancer this morning in Jupiter, Fla. One of the greatest coaches ever, Daly lead the Detroit Pistons to three straight NBA Finals.

The Pistons won it all those last two trips in 1989 and 1990. In an era in which the L.A. Lakers and Boston Celtics dominated the NBA, Daly’s Pistons, better known as the “Bad Boys.” broke through that mode.

He then coached the first Dream Team lead by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to a gold medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

I always respected how he was able to handle superstars. He did it before Phil Jackson became the master of it.

Rest in peace, Coach.

Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 99, Atlanta Hawks 72

After NBA commissioner David Stern presented him the MVP trophy, LeBron James took off for 22 first-half points in Tuesday night's 99-72 win.

Analysis: LeBron James celebrated his NBA MVP award by leading the Cavaliers to a Game 1 victory. Josh Smith showed Tuesday he could be a major problem for Cleveland, but likely won’t be because he’s inconsistent (17 points in the first half, five in the second half). Overall, the Cavaliers made it look relatively easy in the sense that they got open shots whenever they wanted.

The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 34 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists in 34 minutes and 19 seconds of play. He scored nine straight points to help the Cavaliers build a double-digit lead in the third quarter they never relinquished.
The brick-layer: Joe Johnson (Atlanta) actually shot 5-of-10 from the field, but only scored 11 points. If Atlanta has any shot of winning even a game in this series, he’s got to score more points than that.
The stunning stats: The Hawks had several. They scored just 28 points in the second half. For the game, Atlanta committed 17 turnovers that lead to 23 Cleveland points. Finally, the Hawks had just 10 bench points.
The play: On the game’s first play, James, off a pick, went to the basket and finished the play with a powerful two-handed dunk. Smith avoided getting dunked on, but his hand was in the picture when James powered the ball through the basket.

What’s next: Game 2 Thursday at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
What to expect: With Cleveland having been off a week after sweeping Detroit in the first round, it didn’t play its best game as a team Tuesday. The Hawks had a chance to take advantage of that and didn’t. Now with a recent game under their belt, the Cavaliers should play better as a whole, thus really take it to the Hawks in Game 2.

Joe Johnson will lead Atlanta into Cleveland for Game 1 against the Cavaliers.

3-for-4.

That’s how I fared in predicting the first round of this year’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

Not bad.

My downfall? Miami. Thought the Heat had enough to put away Atlanta, but the Hawks proved home-court advantage does matter because they did their thing in Game 7 at home against Miami today.

Not going to really brag about the picking the other three first-round series accurately. The Cleveland Cavaliers were supposed to douse the Detroit Pistons with relative ease and did just that in sweeping their Central Division rivals.

The Orlando Magic did what they were supposed to do against the Philadelphia 76ers while the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls gave us a first-round series of the ages. The Celtics finally put away the Bulls in Game 7 on Saturday night.

So let’s look at the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Unlike the Western Conference playoffs, I don’t see how the top two seeds in the East will meet in the conference finals.

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LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons by winning Game 4 on Sunday.

Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 99, Detroit Pistons 78

Analysis: The Cavaliers earned their second series sweep in franchise history by putting away the Pistons in Game 4 of this Eastern Conference first-round series. Detroit is a team in transition while the Cavaliers are rolling to the conference semifinals where they will face either Miami or Atlanta.

The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Just another day at the office for the NBA’s leading MVP candidate.
The brick-layer: Rasheed Wallace (Detroit) shot 0-of-7 from the field for zero points. He also committed four fouls. Just didn’t have the fire in the playoffs.
The stunning stats: Once again, James dominated today, but check this out: James was 16-of-17 from the line. As a team, Detroit was 15-of-18. In addition, Detroit shot 1-of-10 from the 3-point line while Cleveland was 6-of-13 from behind the arc.
The play: With five minutes left in the game, James had Will Bynum on his back in a post-up situation at the free throw line. James spun right and exploded to the basket for a one-handed jam and his ensuing signature scowl to put an exclamation point on this series sweep.

What’s next: Cleveland will await the winner of the Miami-Atlanta series. The Heat lead the series, 2-1, heading into Game 4 Monday at Miami.
What to expect: The Heat have a better chance of beating the Cavaliers because they have someone who can match James in Dwyane Wade, but Cleveland should be able to put away either Miami or Atlanta in the conference semifinals.

Veteran Joe Smith's late 3-pointer gave Cleveland the lead for good in Friday's 79-68 Game 3 victory.

Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 79, Detroit Pistons 68

Analysis: Detroit came out fast in the first quarter (Lead 8-0), limited Cleveland’s starting backcourt of Mo Williams and Delonte West to 1-of-18 shooting from the field and still lost by double figures tonight. LeBron James once again delivered a big game, but Joe Smith came through with a double-double (19 points, 10 boards) as the Cavaliers are a win away from sweeping the Pistons.

The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He’s been a man among boys in this series.
The brick-layer: Tayshaun Prince (Detroit) shot 3-of-10 from the field for seven points and had three turnovers. With various injuries (ribs, back), is a shell of himself.
The stunning stats: Once again, Cleveland was the aggressors and as a result, the Cavaliers attempted 30 free throws and made 19 of them. Detroit attempted only 12 free throws and made 10.
The play: Many will say the two-handed lob dunk James had off a Williams’ assist to give Cleveland a 73-60 lead with five minutes and four seconds left in the game, but Smith hit the biggest shot of the night. With the game tied at 58-58 in the fourth quarter, Smith hit a 3-pointer from the corner off a James assist to give the Cavaliers the lead for good.

What’s next: Game 4 Sunday at 3:30 p.m., The Palace of Auburn Hills.
What to expect: Get the brooms out. This series is a wrap Sunday.

Mo Williams scored 21 points Tuesday in helping Cleveland take a 2-0 first-round series lead against the Detroit Pistons.

Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 94, Detroit Pistons 82

Analysis: Don’t let the final score fool you. The Cavaliers were ahead by 29 points early in the fourth quarter before Detroit made a run with its second unit. The Cavaliers had sat four of their five starters down including LeBron James. Before that time, Cleveland had its way with Detroit.

The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
The brick-layer: Kwame Brown (Detroit) shot 0-of-3 from the field, committed five fouls, had two turnovers and picked up a T after getting into it with a rookie in Cleveland’s Darnell Jackson.
The stunning stats: Cleveland attempted 43 free throws and made 32 of them. Detroit attempted only 16 free throws and made 13.
The play: James took off for an uncontested dunk off a pass from Mo Williams to ignite the crowd and give Cleveland a 61-44 lead with five minutes and 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

What’s next: Game 3 Friday at 7 p.m., The Palace of Auburn Hills.
What to expect: The Pistons will likely play more of their second unit to match Cleveland’s energy, but will that be enough to derail the Cavaliers? Likely not, but at this point, Detroit needs to try anything it can to turn the series around.

Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons tried to play LeBron James with more physicality, but to no avail Tuesday.

The Detroit Pistons tried to tussle with the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.

Case in point: After having LeBron James run through them for 38 points in a Game 1 loss Saturday, the Pistons doubled him from the jump.

Then when they had a chance to lay their hands on him, the Pistons did so.

With five minutes and 35 seconds left in the first half, James began making his path to the basket when Detroit forward Amir Johnson tugged at his shoulders to draw the foul. Then forward Antonio McDyess added a little love tap push that made James react with a defensive elbow.

Johnson drew a personal foul and a technical foul.

Then at the end of the first half, Cleveland rookie Darnell Jackson and Detroit veteran Kwame Brown stood chest to chest jawing at each other and received technical fouls.

The truth is, Detroit didn’t show much more fight than that. If they fall behind early in Game 3 Friday at Detroit, get out the brooms because the Cavaliers will sweep the Pistons.

LeBron James had his way with Detroit on Saturday afternoon.

Final score: Cleveland Cavaliers 102, Detroit Pistons 84.

Analysis: Cleveland looked as if it was toying with the Pistons for most of the game. Detroit had a chance to make a game of it when it trailed 41-38, in the second quarter but missed out on a fast-break opportunity. Cleveland ended the half on a 16-7 run. Detroit only cut the lead below double digits three times in the second half.

The go-getter: LeBron James (Cleveland) had a game-high 38 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The brick-layer: Richard Hamilton (Detroit) shot 6-of-14 from the field for only 15 points. He also had three turnovers.
The stunning stats: Cleveland had only four turnovers for the game. The Cavaliers shot 61 percent in the first half.
The play: James hitting a 41-foot shot at the buzzer off the glass to give Cleveland a 57-45 halftime lead.

What’s next: Game 2 Tuesday at 8 p.m., Quicken Loans Arena.
What to expect: Detroit will try to commit even more attention to force James to pass the ball. If the Cavaliers hit open shots, they’ll win Game 2.

Cleveland star LeBron James has a championship on his mind, but how sincere is the passion for it.

Before Cleveland’s Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference playoffs, LeBron James gave his thoughts about the expectations to win an NBA title.

His answers were interesting to say the least.

On facing the expectations placed on the Cavaliers: “Has there? The great expectations have been placed on the the (Boston) Celtics and the (Los Angeles) Lakers, not us. We just got to go out there and do what we’ve been doing all season and that’s playing good basketball.

Since the Cavaliers finished the season with the NBA’s best record, he was asked if winning a championships the only thing that’s going to satisfy everybody: “Um, we’re not out here to satisfy everybody. We’re not playing for anybody other than the guys in the lockerroom and the coaching staff and this franchise and our fans. We’re not out here to satisfy people who analyze the game or talk about the game. They have nothing to do with what’s going on here.

On will winning a title satisfy him: “It would be satisfying to win it, but it wouldn’t be a disappointment for me. I’m looking forward to the challenge of this whole playoffs.”

Hard to really gauge what all that meant, but James has been more forceful in the past when talking about wanting to win a championship.