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......