Redeem

Well looking at this field I did have Curry and Billups in the finals but Pierce? He embarrassed himself last time. But Paul Pierce last night became the first Celtic to win the 3-point Shootout since Larry Bird took the first two titles in 1986 and ’87. Pierce (20 points) outshot Stephen Curry (17) and Chauncey Billups (14). Pierce wanted to make up for a poor performance in the 3-point competition in 2002, when he scored only 8 points. Pierce used gamesmanship to disrupt the rhythm of his opponents. Pierce knocked a ball off the rack and pulled the velcro on one of Curry’s shoes when Curry had a chance to surpass Pierce in the final round. I was not impressed just upset when he claims to be one of the best shooters in Celtic history. But I guess you win 1 ring you can say that....

All-Decade Defense Team (NBA)

Time for the edition of the NBA All-Team of the Decade. There was a few disputes for the guards but the forwards and the center was hands down. Let me get straight to it:


PG

• Steve Nash (There was a dispute between him and Kidd but back-to-back MVP awards and in 04-05 he averaged a double-double, enough said. I know Kidd has the rings but the only PG in history to have back to back MVPs is Magic Johnson)
• Jason Kidd (Kidd's best years of the decade came in his first few seasons with the Nets. Kidd led the Nets to 2 NBA Finals appearances)

SG

• Kobe Bryant (By far the easiest choice for SG. He has been hands down the premier scoring guard of the last decade. Kobe has reached the playoffs in 9 of the 10 seasons of the decade, reaching the NBA Finals 6 times, and winning 4 NBA Championships.)
• Dwyane Wade (driving Miami to the 2006 championship and earning a ring before LeBron and Carmelo Anthony. Some even call him the East Coast version of Kobe. Whatever it is he has IT and may be better than Kobe if he gets the right people under him)

SF

• Lebron James (How could you not put this guy up there? By his fourth year he was in the NBA Finals. He's already on his way to being one of the all-time greats. I know I may get heat for not picking KG but who would you start your team behind?)
• Kevin Garnett (K.G. shook the label of being one of the greatest never to win a title when he joined the C's 2007-08. In Minnesota, he was 2004 league MVP and lead them to the playoffs 5x. No doubt Garnett will go down as one of the great defenders)

PF

• Tim Duncan (The greatest power forward in NBA history. Led the Spurs to the playoffs for all 10 years of the decade. Duncan brought the Spurs to 3 NBA Finals and winning all 3; two of those times he was the Finals MVP)
• Dirk Nowitzki (One of the best and most versatile 7-footers ever to play on the offensive end. Nowitzki led his Mavericks to the playoffs 9 seasons in the past decade and one Finals)

C

• Shaquille O'neal (To me he is the only one to give credit to. In this day and age a center is something that does not come around every draft. Dwight Howard maybe next or Yao but this decade it was Shaq. He won three titles with the Lakers and another after being traded to Miami. Shaq might be remembered as one of, if not the greatest center to ever play the game)

Few notable not named: Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce, Chauncy Billups

Welcome Back!

With a 119-92 victory, the Lakers will be moving on to the NBA Finals next week[2nd straight season]. The Lakers played an almost perfect game which was surprising compared to their recent games where they had problems winning back to back games. Any other team would have celebrated tonight's victory, not the Lakers though. They knew they were suppose to return back to the Finals, they are focused on winning it this year. What may help them in the Finals is the fact that they have been tested a lot more than last year's run. I mean they are really focusing, Ariza said he will not sleep until they win that ring. Kobe played superb though scoring 35 points on 12 of 20 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 10 dimes. He played so great George Karl said that Jesus would have had trouble guarding him. Now I don't know if I wouldn't take it that far [Karl better watch himself] but Kobe played extra good. Of course you have to give his team credit because they are the reason they are advancing. He had help from Ariza [17], Gasol [20], and they key Odom [20]. You have to blame the Nuggets for not winning this series because if they would not have turnover the ball at the end of Game 1 & 3 they would have swept the Lakers. Oh well good season though Nuggets

Note: Today was Carmelo's birthday. I am sure he is "thanking" Kobe for the present. Oh yeah almost forgot have to give credit to JR Smith. He had a great night and that's why I thought they would win. Billups only had 10 which was definitely not enough. 

Nuggets Lose it at Home

Game 3 [in which I thought the Nuggets would take] the Lakers came away feeling a little bit better about themselves after winning 103-97. Tonight was not a 1 or 2 point final score but the game still was not decided until the end. Not to be out done by his counter partner, Kobe scored 41 to lead all scorers. Pau Gasol continued to step up for the Lakers has he chipped in 20.  Denver was leading by 8 until the Lakers Kobe sparked a comeback scoring 13 4th quarter points [you could blame JR Smith since he did draw a technical]. Bryant hit a 3 himself that was big because it put the Lakers up 96-95. What sealed the game was a repeat of Game 1. Trevor Ariza stole the ball for what looked like the Nuggets ran the exact same play & got the same result. Ariza would make the two FTs to put the Lakers up 99-95. If the Lakers could have made some more of their FTs the game could have been a little less stressful as they went 31 for 45 [68%]. It may have been from something in Denver because they all looked exhausted after the game [even Kobe missed some FTs]. I mean I understand this is the playoffs but they looked more tired than a high school team after first day of tryouts. The Lakers did catch a break as they held Melo to just 21 points [shooting 4-13]. Billups had a decent game but not enough points to lead his team to a victory [18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists]. Game 4 will be in Denver again and will be big because anything but a win for Denver may wrap this series up. The key will be their front court picking up their shooting percentages [30.6%] and they keep people out of foul trouble.

I love the NBA Playoffs still! Especially after Lebron & Kobe keep going back and forth with their performances. I wonder what Lebron will have in store for his fans & the NBA tomorrow. 

All Tied Up in the West

Carmelo and the Nuggets pull out the win [like I predicted]. Melo came out on fire still and scored 34 points, had 9 boards, and 4 assists. Along with him, Billups scored 27 points to led the Nuggets to a 106-103 win to tie the series at 1-1. Although I was wrong in the person who I thought would show up big [JR Smith], the Nuggets did have Linas Kleiza score 16 points and had 8 huge boards. The Nuggets fixed their FT problem but it looks like the Lakers have the problem now. 

The guy [Ariza] who stole the show in Game 1, turned over the ball late in the game when they were only down by two. Even after the happened the Lakers had a chance to tie the game, but good defense allowed Fisher shoot to fall short. Tonight's play of Fisher is what hurt the Lakers as he went 1-9 and had only 3 points. Kobe Bryant had 32 but was not still enough. It looked like they had a Cleveland night as they were up by 13 only to see it be cut down and for them to lose. 

The next two games will be at Denver where they have been good the past 16 games. Kobe did say they were the best road team so we shall see after last round they did not win a game on the road. 

What a Surprised....[not]

Ok, so the Magic and Lakers won Game 7. Wohoo! No, they were suppose to win and end their series a couple of games ago. All is well though.

The Magic won because they finally found their shooting stroke as they went 13-21 downtown. The Magic are hard to beat the days they are own fire from 3-point range. They shot an amazing 51% from the field as for most the series they have been struggling to find any kind of rhythm. Hedo Turkoglu led the attack for Orlando having 25 points and 12 assists. Dwight Howard had 12 points and 16 boards. On the other hand, the Celtics played pretty good considering they were playing short hand for majority of the series [Powe, KG]. Gotta give them guys props for not giving up and playing hard but they really missed KG. This may have been the last year for them to make a run because they are getting older and young teams are giving them a run. Now the Magic are put up against the rested Lebron & Cavs, who are looking forward to another Finals appearance. I say Cavs in 4 but probably 5. Unlike Charles Barkley who was tripping on the show saying the Magic will beat them. Crazy guy, Barkley he is.

On the west side, the Lakers showed dominance as they came out on fire and beat the Magic by 19. The game was never close from the beginning and I did not expect it too. Gasol led the Lakers by scoring 21 points and 18 rebounds. What also helped the Lakers was the fact that the Rockets shoot just 37% the whole game. I mean they started the game by missing their first 12 shots. Aaron Brooks could not get anything going as the Lakers actually decided to play defense tonight [13 points, 4 for 13]. The Lakers better not have a series like this against the Denver Nuggets because I promise Chauncey Billups will make them pay BIG. If Brooks scored easily I expect the same from Billups. I want to say the Lakers in 7 but I have a feeling it could be the Nuggets in 6. Just for the simple fact, you never know what Lakers team will show up. I mean it is like they are bipolar. 

Both series should be good but I am just ready for the Finals right about now!

Not a Game 7

Because the Lakers have two different identities and the Magic did not end the series when they had their chance, both will be playing a Game 7 on Sunday. 

I mean, the Lakers could have and should have ended this in Game 4 & 5 after they heard that Yao was done [EPIC FAIL]. No what do they Lakers do, come out flat and get beat. So what if you won Game 5 by 40 points, you still have to win one more in that's where tonight came in. They thought the Rockets would lay down but once again they were mistaken and took another L. The Rockets opened the game up on a 17-1 run [thanks in huge part to Scola: 24 points 12 rebounds]. They won't get to Finals playing like that I can promise you that. The Nuggets have some veteran players [Billups] and they will take advantage on the road. I mean, I expected the Lakers to play a lot more consistent than what they are playing now. Going into Game 7, I don't know what to think. I want to expect to see Kobe, Gasol, & Odom to actually show up but who knows. They probably need guard play to pick up the most though because Aaron Brooks [26] just have been out playing Farmar and Fisher

The Magic also got a W tonight to tie the series [which was not a surprise]. Another thing that was a no brainer tonight is how Dwight Howard scored 23 points and had 22 boards. This game was not like the others because the Magic were actually down in the 3rd quarter. The only difference was that win it was 75-75 with 3:46 left, they did not choke [it helped that Ray went o-7 too]. I was a bit surprised because the Magic did not have a great night shooting the 3-ball but still won [shooting 23%]. Game 7 will be at Boston where they have been quite successful. I still expect this game to go to the wire, but it maybe like the Game 7 with the Bulls that was not close. 

Well so much for a sweep

The Nuggets missed their chance to close out the Mavs as they lost 119-117. Dirk Nowitzki had another great game as he led with 44 points. This time down the stretch he was clutch [as he scored 19 of his 44 in the 4th].  The good news for the Nuggets is that they get a chance to go home and close out the series. The bad news for the Mavs, nobody has never came back to win a series from being down 3-0. Carmelo was still good as he scored 41 points but it was not enough.

Game 3s

Whew! What a finish to the Mavs-Nuggets game. If you missed it, you missed one heck of a game from both teams. Chauncey Billups was fantastic of course scoring 32 points. On the other side Dirk Nowitzki matched him with scoring 33 points and having 16 rebounds. You cannot blame him for the Mavs not winning. He is doing this thing but the x-factor was probably Carmelo who scored 31 and hit the game winning 3 with 1 second left. There was a little controversy because there should have been a foul but if you are going to foul somebody, foul them. This is the playoffs man knock him into the stands. This is looking like it will be another sweep for the Nuggets as they take a commanding 3-0 lead. Here are the highlights of this game:

News out of Houston is that Yao will miss the remainder of the season with a hairline fracture in his foot. This comes after the Rockets lost game 3. This is a devastating blow to the Rockets chances as the series looks to be all but over in the next two games.