On to the next one.....

In Jay Z-s best terminology, this summer has been defined as "on to the next one". On to the next challenge, on to the next team. So much hype as gone into the summer of 2010 free agency. Its all we heard about during the season, and all we have been talking about since the day after the Lakers won their title. So did it live up to the hype?? Well it started out a bit uneventful with a majority of the big names signing with their current teams. Joe Johnson back with Atlanta, Dirk Nowitzki back with Dallas, and Pierce and Allen back with the Celtics. Then Amare made his move to NYC to attempt to resurrect the lost Knicks. The Knicks need a few more pieces to that puzzle, but scoring Amare Staudemire is a damn good start. But we all knew the hype wasn't about all those guys...It was mainly about where Lebron would land, and where would Bosh go. We knew that Dwayne Wade wanted to be back in south beach with the heat, so when he entertained the thought of going back to Chicago, we all didn't look to far into that. Lebron claimed that Cleveland had the best chance to retain him, but we all saw the frustration in his eyes as the Cavs got booted from the playoffs. How did the Heat pull off the move of the decade? How did they land the three top free agents of 2010? Any team in the league would have been satisfied with just one of them! But somehow Pat Riley orchestrated the unthinkable and pulled James and Bosh out of Cleveland and Toronto, and got them to take slight pay-cuts to join D-Wade in Miami. Yes of course they will be a force to reckon with. But did Lebron James make the right decision? In Professional sports today, we are very hooked on the term "Legacy". What will people think about you when its all said and done. The NBA has always based players legacy's on how many championships a player won. Did we make such a big deal about Legacy, that we forgot to focus on the other aspect; "Loyalty"? If there wasn't such a big deal about Legacy and Championships, then Lebron would have never left Cleveland. We can't blame Lebron for doing what he did. He has given himself the best surrounding cast to make a run at multiple championships. That is the reason the NBA has "Free-Agency". Gives players the option to play where they would like to play. We are always blaming players for chasing the money, well in this case, Lebron, Wade and Bosh are chasing Rings.....Can't hate them for that...So its "On to the next one"....As for Knick fans, that means chasing Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul summer 2011!

Game 7

The Lakers and the Celtics have once again given us an epic series to watch, and Kobe Bryant has proven to us again and again why he is the best player in the league. Even if the Lakers lose tomorrow, Kobe should still be given the Finals MVP award. The award doesn't read MVP of the winning team....it reads MVP...and that is Kobe! Seriously, if the Celtics win, they really haven't had a consistant player all series that could easily be the MVP. Ray Allen had one game, Pierce had a couple games, and Rondo had a couple games. Kobe has dominated everygame. The injury to Kendrick Perkins is so crucial in game 7. So far, he has had great success in pushing Pau Gasol away from the basket making him have a difficult time to be a huge impact. Rasheed Wallace is decent defender, but nothing compared to Perkins. Also Perkins hits the offensive boards, so for the C's to have a chance, Sheed and Big Baby are gonna have to step it up. It was good to see Ron Artest show up last night and shoot the ball with some confidence, because if they lose, its on him. Where was Rondo last night? The C's need to get their floor general back involved in the game. They need to Rebound and push the ball to get some easy transition baskets to make life a little easier on themselves. Also the bench for LA really played some ball last night. Home court advantage in my mind has to do with the bench players. The bench players from each team have had their great games on their home courts, so look for the Lakers bench to dominate once again in game 7. Well...Game 7...Lakers by 5....Kobe Bryant Finlas MVP....

NBA FINALS

We are finally here...If your a basketball fan, then you have to appreciate what Kobe Bryant brings to the court every night. It is just simply remarkable to watch this guy playing in his prime. You know the ball is going to him, you know hes gonna take a dribble and pump fake....yet he still makes shot after shot after shot in everybodys face. When he's on, theres' no stopping him, and I don't believe he will let the Celtics beat him again in the Finals. Im not saying it will be easy, but expect Kobe to get his fifth ring this year. What will be the key matchup this series? I'm gonna go with Gasol vs Garnett. The C's beasted the Lakers in the post in 08' in route to their title, so watch for Gasol to try and redeem himself. He has been titled as a "soft" player for his career, but not he has his chance to prove everyone wrong. Who's bench is gonna step up the most? The Celtics have an advantage there, with Rasheed, Tony Allen, Nate Rob, and big baby, but I do think that Lamar Odom once again if he decides to show up could be a tough matchup for Boston. Predictions : Lakers win game one by 6

Adjustments

Stan Van Gundy made the proper adjustments to keep the Orlando Magic season alive. Lack of penetration from the guards, and defense killed the magic in the first 3 games. Jameer Nelson was getting to the basket with ease in game 4, which finally opened the lane for Dwight Howard to get a few easy baskets. Orlando is not going to win by just throwing the ball into Howard and having him make moves with his back to the basket. He is more affective when he can get some offensive rebounds and easy baskets from other players making moves to the hoop instead of settling for jumpshots. I hope the Magic can make this into a series, because as much as I love the NBA, this years playoffs have been quite uneventfull. Whats going on with Rachard Lewis and Vince Carter?? If they decide to join the game at some point, then maybe the Magic could be the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit!

The X-Factor

Ever since Lamar Odom became a Laker, he has been considered that player that if he plays well, its hard for the Lakers to lose. When you have a guy coming off the bench that could arguably start on any other roster in the league, I'd say your team is pretty darn good. 6"9 with the game of a point guard from NYC, Lamar is an extremely difficult match-up for almost any team. Proven in game one of the western conference finals, Lamar came off the bench hitting shots and grabbing rebounds all over the court, finishing with 19 points and 19 rebounds. I mean as if Kobe dropping 40 on you wasn't enough, you finally see the Lakers bench stepping their games up. Was it mainly due to the much needed 6 day layoff? I guess we will see when they suit up for game 2 on Wednesday night....Expect to see the Suns give a better effort, but the size and strengh of the Lakers just may be too much to handle.

Rondo

Rajon Rondo has emerged as one of the elite players in the NBA. That's right, I said "Players", not just point guards. When the Celtics made their championship run 2 years ago the talk was all about "the big 3" Allen, Pierce, and Garnett. There were even talks of getting rid of Rondo for a veteran point guard. Well aren't the Celtics glad they didn't act on that intuition. Never would I ever of thought that in a series that featured Lebron James, that I would possibly say that Rondo has outshined the King himself. The Cavs have basically made Rondo look virtually unstoppable through 4 games, and if someone doesn't step up and guard him, the Cavs could be in serious trouble. Rondo is averaging an astonishing 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists per game this series. OK maybe I went to far by saying one of the best "players" in the NBA, but put into the right situation, he has definitely stepped his game up, and the C's could have been the 4th team to be swept in the second round if it wasn't for Rondo. I'll sign off by saying....is it me or does it seem as though Mo Williams never shows up in the Playoffs....Lets hope the C's win and James gets so frustrated he goes to New York!

Flopping

The fact that people actually flop in the NBA kills me. Derek Fisher is the number 1 culprit...I'm here watching the Lakers game and I just can't take it. It kills me to watch a grown man playing in the greatest game, fake an act to get a call! Damn...In my mind there needs to be something done so this stops. It takes away from the credibility of the game. The refs do there best job to make the right call, but when someone is intentionally flopping to make it seem as though there was a foul, I have a problem with that. T them up....Start giving a technical for flopping. For those of you that do not know what flopping is, it is acting as if you were fouled when you actually were not, to get a call against your opponent.....Derek Fisher......the worst...thats all I have to say......

Cavs / Lakers

King James seems to be a man on a mission these days. Most likely winning his second League MVP award, his legacy truly begins when he gets that first ring. Now in his 7th season, this year and this team seem to be his best opportunity he has had since entering the league. But the match-up everyone has been waiting for is Lebron vs Kobe. Will it happen this year? I will be shocked if the Cavs don't make the finals...But the Lakers...? They have a much more difficult road for themselves. Kobe's injuries seem to bother him more then he wants to admit, and the Mavericks look like a team the Lakers may struggle with. Maybe this year the NBA should hold off on the Kobe vs Lebron commercials until they are actually both in the finals!

The Streaking Suns

The Phoenix Suns are getting hot at the right time. They are playing the best ball they've played all year and are currently the hottest team in the League, riding an 8 game win streak. Could this be the year they finally get to the finals? I'm not sure if I would put them there yet, because the Championship still has to go through LA, but they are playing like they want it. They Suns are 17-4 since the All-Star break, and the monster in the middle aka Amare Stoudemire is averaging 27.6 ppg during the second half of the season. The Suns now find themselves just 1 game behind the Mavericks trying to get the second seed in the west, in hopes of avoiding the Lakers in the second round. At 36 years old Steve Nash is actually playing like hes 26, and shows no signs of slowing down. Leading the league again in assists per game at 11, and also dropping in 17 points a game, Nash seems as though he could play for another 5 years! But this might be the Suns last chance to make a run, because I don't expect to see Amare back in a Phoenix jersey next year as it looks as though he will test the market this summer....Knick bound??? haha

So Young, So Good

The Oklahoma City Thunder. Let me say that again....The Oklahoma City Thunder...Trust me, you do not want to play this team in the post-season. This team is hungry and ready to make some noise in the Western Conference playoffs this year! After a dismal 23-59 record last season, the Thunder have already won 41 games and are currently on a 5 game win streak with 17 games remaining. They hold the tie-breaker with the Utah Jazz, who they are just a half game behind, looking to have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Kevin Durant is capable of doing anything he wants offensively on the basketball court, which would make this team extremely difficult to deal with in a 7 game series. And lets not sleep on the rest of the team either. Russel Westbrook has just about made himself impossible to guard as well, putting up some serious numbers as of late, and they also have Jeff Green playing like the beast he was at Georgetown. If the season ended today, we would see a Thunder vs Jazz first round match up. And who wouldn't want to see arguably the best PG in the league in Deron Williams battle the Thunder in a playoff series? I'll Tell ya what though, If Lebron James wasn't the King, then Mr. Durant would have my vote for MVP of the NBA this season. Averaging just under 30 ppg, and had a 29 game streak of scoring over 25 points. But best of all has the THUNDER in the playoffs! I bet Portland is kicking themselves for not drafting him #1......

Da Bulls

Going into the season, Chicago fans must have been real anxious to see how their squad would carry over after their epic 7 game series with Boston last season. A healthy Luol Deng, an All-Star in D-rose, and an exciting young nucleus to work with. The biggest surprise this year was the emergence of 3rd year player Joakim Noah, who was one of the top rebounders in the league before he went down with injury. The Bulls were on a 5 game win streak at the time, but since then have been 8-10 and riding a 5 game losing streak. They also seem to be a victim of the 2010 free agent class, where they have dumped young players such as Tyrus Thomas to clear money in hopes of bringing Mr Wade or a Chris Bosh into Chi-Town...Good luck...The Bulls have been struck also with recent injuries to Deng and rookie Taj Gibson, which couldn't have come at a worse time for them. With just 19 games left the Bulls find themselves just out of the playoff picture by 1 game behind Miami, Charlotte, and Toronto. I can see them making a strong push to barely get in, but don't expect them to to get past the first round this year Chicago fans....If they can bring in a MAX Salary player next year then watch out, but if not...then like most Chicago sports fans say these days "there's always next year...."

Milwaukee Bucks?

For those of you who are not familiar with the Milwaukee Bucks, maybe you should start paying a little more attention now...Yes they have one of the most exciting young talents in the league in Brandon Jennings, and a surging Andrew Bogut...but really??? We all thought when Michael Redd went down for the season with another knee injury, that the Bucks would once again find themselves out the playoffs, but who would have expected this? They find themselves on a four game winning streak and in 5th place in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Along with the Mavs, they are the hottest team in the NBA right now...And can somebody please tell me why the Knicks didn't draft Jennings???

The Late Game Killer

Welcome everyone to my first unofficial blog! Whats not to love about the NBA??? Watching the greatest athletes in the world performing on the biggest stage. And if you are a true fan of the game, then you would appreciate how great "The Late Game Killer" is!!!! Last night was once again a perfect example of why you want Kobe Bryant to take the last second shot for your team. With a 4 game losing streak riding on his shoulders, Kobe comes through again with 2 seconds left on the clock. Yes maybe King James has taken the reigns of best overall player in the league, but when it comes to that last second shot....Nobody in today's game does it better then Kobe. 6 Game winners this year! Need I say anymore? Didn't think so...