2012 NBA Finals

Last night not only gave the Thunder their opponents in this year’s NBA Finals, it also gave us one of the best Game 7’s ever. Miami and Boston slugged it out for 27 quarters but 28 was just one too many for the experienced Boston Celtics squad.

LeBron James showed what he is really capable of

Miami took a 2-0 series lead and it all seemed comfortable but most notably Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo were not finished, winning the next 3 games taking a 3-2 series lead and looking to close out the Heat in Boston. Miami and LeBron James however were not finished either. In Game 6 LeBron put up numbers that had only been done once before in a play-off game, this was by none other than Wilt Chamberlain. LeBron posted 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, a game like this only deserved a game 7 to finally decide such a brilliant series.

The Eastern Conference Finals Champions for 2012 would be decided in Miami. Boston came straight out the gate taking an early lead with Rondo piling up the assists; he had 10 by the half. Shane Battier was doing his best to give some help to James and Wade. He hit three 3’s early to keep Miami in touching distance as they had problems turning over the ball.

Miami’s missing link however was going to really show his worth when it was needed. Chris Bosh who had missed some games with an abdominal injury really came back on the scene hitting a career best three 3 pointers on his way to 19 points and 8 rebounds.

It was all tied up at 73 after 3 quarters and it all came down to the final 12 minutes of the 2012 Eastern Conference playoffs. These final 12 minutes would prove too much for Boston. James, Wade and Bosh scored all 28 for the Heat in the 4ht quarter. James hit a massive 3 from way downtown with the shot clock running out that seemed to deflate the Celtics and prove somewhat of a dagger. Wade then hit an almost impossible shot after he was hit, on one foot fading away, he would make the free-throw and this would really stick the knife into the heart of the Celtics. The game petered out into a 101-88 win for the Heat as they advance.

It may be the last time we see Boston’s big three play together and Doc Rivers pulled them out of the game with under a minute to go so they could receive a standing ovation from the fans in South Beach.

Miami it is who go to the finals with another big three of Durant, Westbrook and Harden waiting for them in Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Much has been said about James’ play when he is needed most but he certainly showed he can do it when his season is on the line. Will he take the final step that has previously eluded him and claim his first championship, or will Kevin Durant pick up his on the first time of asking. Be it 4, 5, 6, or 7 games we will have a winner and I am sure the 2012 NBA Finals will not disappoint

2012 NBA Playoffs

Here we are then, after a shortened season due to the Lockout, the 2012 NBA Playoffs are upon us. The top seeds in each Conference remain the same as last year, with Chicago and San Antonio topping the rest and setting up matchups with Phillie and Utah respectively. Meanwhile outside the playoffs the Toronto Raptors finished with a record of 23-43 which is an improvement on last year.

Kevin Durant took the scoring title for the third season in a row after passing Kobe Bryant near the end of the season. He led his Oklahoma City team to 2^nd in the West and a match up with the defending champs the Dallas Mavericks. With another year of experience behind them it the Thunder should advance to the finals and stop the Mavs at the first hurdle.

Jeremy Lin and LeBron James

Last year’s losing finalist and most people’s tip for this year the Heat have first round series against the New York Knicks. The Knicks were languishing outside the playoff spots until Stanford graduate Jeremy Lin exploded on to the NBA scene and won the heart of the world. Game 1 tips off tonight in Miami. LeBron James, the front runner for this year’s MVP will be looking to add a ring to his multiple MVP trophies and this year seems as likely as any.

LA was the place of revolution this year. The Clippers and Lakers both made the playoffs and the Clipper were leading the Lakers until Kobe Bryant decided that he was having none of it gave his Lakers the 3^rd seed and a series against the Denver, with the Clippers picking up the 5^th albeit only 1 game behind their rivals.

Memphis a team who surprised many this time last year finished the season string over taking the Clippers and drawing level with the Lakers with 41 wins. Rudy Gay was their catalyst putting in 19 PPG; he did however have a deep supporting cast in Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Z-Bo and floor general Mike Conley. The Grizz will be looking to cause major problems in the West play-offs stating Sunday night against the Clippers.

After months of upset in Orlando with Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy the Pacers will be looking to knock off a jaded Magic team as quickly as possible. The Pacers picked up the 3^rd seed, very quietly going about their business, while the 4^th and 5^th seeds Boston and Atlanta may be looking at the prospect of a 7 game series because I can see very little difference between them, Rajon Rondo will decide whether the C’s advance or go out in the first round this year.

My prediction for the 1^st round will bring progression for the; Bulls, Heat, Pacers and Celtics. While over in the West, The Spurs, Thunder and Clippers will advance and I fancy the Nuggets to beat the Lakers in 6.

LeBron James will be looking to finally get himself a ring, His quest is laid out in front of him and it all begins tonight in South Beach.

2012 NBA Allstar Game

So the 2012 NBA Allstar weekend is approaching us. This will give teams a few days to set themselves end of season goals and more importantly most players a few nights of well earned rest. I realise I have not written a blog post in a long time, even though I have said before that I would try and post more regularly. Here is a post nonetheless.

Where the 2012 Allstar Game will be held

Miami (23-7) were tipped by many to go one step further than last year and win the Championship and although they have had a few minor blips and numerous injuries they are half a game back of the Bulls (24-7) a top the East. LeBron James is on the way to what could be another MVP trophy but this time he looks like taking his team to glory as well. The aging Celtics seem to have run out of steam and sit 7^th in the East, although they are still on course to make the play-offs they have had a very back and forth season and their age is starting to show. Languishing nearer the bottom of the East are the Raptors (those of you who have read these before will know that is who I support) and with a pretty poor record of 9-22 they have looked much improved since the addition of new head coach Dwane Casey. Finally in the East a Charlotte side that nobody predicted to do well are still turning out despite having lost 16 straight and have only picked up 3 wins along the way.

Over in the Western Conference the OKC Thunder (22-7) is leading the pack into the Allstar break. While below them there has been a lot of jockeying for position. The San Antonio Spurs (21-9) are on a 9 game winning streak and have got themselves up to 2^nd. Last year’s Champions Dallas (19-11) are in 4^th place and are splitting the two L.A sides with the upstart Clippers in 3^rd and Kobe’s unpredictable Lakers’ 2 spots below. Although they are only 5 games back of the number 1 seed, this Lakers’ side have not been anywhere near that of the last few years. As before they could get help from other players it seems this year they are 100% relying on Bryant to get the W’s. Veteran PG 2 time MVP, Allstar, future hall of famer Steve Nash has been having another brilliant season. Leading the league in assists and the only man averaging above 10 has been selected for the Allstar game as a reserve. Although many disputed this due to Phoenix’s poor record 12-18 there is no doubt in my mind that he deserves to be on that team this year.

From this position I predict that Miami will win the Championship overcoming Oklahoma City in the Finals. It was only a matter of time until LeBron won a ring and only a shorter matter of time that it would be going with him to South Beach.

I suppose I should write about the Allstar Game as that is the title of the post. Rose, Wade, Antony, James and Howard will start for the East. They are best 5 players of their positions in the East so it only makes sense. For the West, Paul, Bryant, Durant, Griffin and Bynum will look to try to put on a show in Orlando. Many people could have probably predicted those 10 players would be starting the game when the ballots first opened up. With Paul and Griffin representing the Clippers Lob City will be moving to Florida on 26^th February. The West came out on top 148-143 with Kobe Bryant taking the MVP for the night.

In the other events on Allstar Weekend, James Jones will be looking to defend his 3 point title against Kevin Love and Joe Johnson most notably. Blake Griffin will not be coming back for another go at the Slam Dunk challenge, instead T-Wolves rookie Derrick Williams, Pacers Paul George, New York rookie Iman Shumpert and Rockets forward Chase Budinger will be looking to light up the Amway Centre.

It promises to be a brilliant weekend and run in to the play offs that could end up anywhere. There will be another post after the Allstar game to round up the ins and outs.

ESPN's NBA Rankings Part 1

ESPN asked 91 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, in terms of the current quality of each player and over the past month they have been releasing the results from 500-1.

Unfortunately bringing up the rear in 500th place was PF Lovay Allen who was drafted in this years draft at a fairly respectable 50 by the 76ers. Allen was given a dreadful rating of 1.22/10 which must be close to my rating. The worrying thing as a Raptors fan was that 3 players were ranked in the 401-500 bracket with our highest ranked player Andrea Bargnani coming in at 81, which is harsh in my opinion.

On October 7th the rankings broke into the Top 50 and this is when it started becoming contentious. One of my biggest issues with these early Top 50 rankings was that Steph Curry was ranked 3, yes a whole 3 places above his Golden State team-mate Monta Ellis. Ellis averages more points, rebounds and assists than Curry and the big argument as to why Ellis was ranked so low was his FG% which is only .29 worse than Curry. Ellis can change and win games on his own but I'm not sure I could say the same about Curry.

Kobe Bryant

The main reason I am writing this is to talk about the Top 10, 15 players and their spots.

Blake Griffin came in at #10 he was undoubtedly the Rookie of the Year but to place him higher than Carmelo Anthony #12 and Amare Stoudemire #13 is purely due to him being over-hyped. He is not better than either of them, full stop.

Number 14, Steve Nash, shoe-in Hall of Famer, one of the best PG's ever ranked 5 spots lower than Deron Williams who has been majorly over-rated in my opinion. Nash lead the league in assists, made 90% of his FT's and lead his pretty awful Suns 6 games away from the West playoffs, on the flip-side Williams was traded to New Jersey from Utah both of whose teams finished with a worse record and with arguably better rosters.

Number 8 was a brilliant choice. Derrick Rose, reigning MVP due to his performance last season, yet after thinking the 7 players ahead of him are all better than him and the 492 players behind him are worse. After taking the Bulls to the East Finals and averaging 25 PPG and 7.7 APG he deserved MVP, he may not win it again but he will not be seen as the 8th best player in the league for much longer.

Wherever Kobe Bryant was ranked unless it was the #1 slot, there would be controversy. If you haven't guessed by now he came in a #7. Maybe he deserved #6 but anything higher wouldn't be correct. On the simple logic that the players ahead of him are better. If this were any season before this up until about 7-8 years ago he would have been 1,2,3 or 4 but he is ageing and players like Rose and #6 Kevin Durant are peaking. There is no doubt that he is an amazing player who has achieved amazing feats over his career and he will be remembered for winning Championships and not being ranked 7th on ESPN's Rankings.

The remaining players which I have written about will be posted on Friday.

End Of The Road For This Bunch Of Lakers?

They struggled to overcome the Hornets, eventually winning 4-2. Then got cleaned up by an inspired Dallas Mavericks squad. Are this group of Lakers finished?

Dallas looked more like the 2-time defending Champions and before the play-offs they were being written off completely. Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks kept the Lakers under 95 points in all 4 games. Showing that not only was their defense top notch, but the Lakers offense was second pushing on to third rate. The 36 point blow-out in Game 4 to complete the sweep was the story of the series. Dallas were immense and the Lakers awful.

After Game 4, former MVP Kobe Bryant was asked. "How shocked are you at being swept?". He replied with all that was needed a simple 'Very', with a look of a defeated man on his face. In stark contrast to the Lakers and Mr. Bryant. Jason Terry of the Mavericks said. "We're locked in and all have the same goal". The unity and good performances was what won it for them and as if to prove that the Mavericks
bench scored 86 points in Game 4. The final score Dallas 122- 86 Lakers. Yes the Mav's bench matched the output of the Lakers whole team!

Speculation that Laker coach Phil Jackson will retire at the end of the season may have dispirited the Lakers, but to be the 2 time defending champs and getting swept in the Conference Semis is embarrassing. What was also embarrassing was how they lost their discipline, when they knew that it was all over. Lamar Odom was ejected for rasing his elbow to Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bynum was ejected for an awful foul on JJ Barea. Barea was inspired throughout the series and it was not the first time a quick, energetic PG had terrorised the Lakers this year. Chris PAul of the New Orleans Hornets. was causing major problems but did not have enough of a backup cast to bring his team past the Lakers. Barea however not being the starting PG evidently did have the players around him to cause major problems to the Lakers.

Without the 11 time champion coach Jackson and with Kobe advancing in years will the Lakers crumble? The uprising of the Clippers and Blake Griffin will also disturb the Lakers camp and fans. Dallas however will be looking forward to the Conference Finals, having slaughtered the Lakers, they will feel they can beat anybody now.

Miami vs Dallas in the Finals. Miami to win.

NBA End of Season Awards

So... The end to another 82 game schedule for 14 teams, whilst the other 16 travelled onto the Playoffs.

The Toronto Raptors finished at a poor 22-60 but promising ends to the season from DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and new boy James Johnson have given me hope for next season. The top draft pick is in our sights after finishing with the 3rd worst record in the league. The honour of the worst however went to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who ended the season losing 15 straight...

Enough ranting about bad teams and onto the Title of this post, the NBA End of Season Awards. Although the All NBA teams have not been released yet, all of the individual awards have.

MVP: Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
Becomes the first Bull to win it since a well known player called Michael Jordan. At 22 he becomes the youngest ever winner. Dwight 'Superman' Howard came in second as he carried a very lackluster Orlando Magic team through to the Playoffs yet again. 2 time reigning MVP LeBron James could only score enough points to finish third and what would an MVP race be without the presence of the ever-green Mr. Kobe Bryant. In my opinion D Rose is more than worthy of this honour. He managed to keep the Bulls on track whilst his supporting cast was getting injured, most notably Carlos Boozer and Joakhim Noah. By keeping them on track he guided them to the best record in the league, this nobody would have predicted at the start of the season.

Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin (LA Clippers)
Slam Dunk Champion, All-Star, numerous records broken. Blake Griffin's rookie year has not been quiet. He was unanimously visited ROY behind John Wall (Washington Wizards), only the 3rd person to do this in the history of the NBA. He had people talking about his scoring, his rebounding, his Clippers reaching the Playoffs and these two monster dunks on the Knicks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2VLEGtRuz4. I am 100% that Flight 32 or Quake Griffin as he has been called will be even better next season and the LA Clippers will make the Playoffs within the next 2 seasons.

Most Improved Player: Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves)
To put it simply, he was unbelievable this season. Posting MVP calibre numbers most nights, he has not helped by the fact that he was on the worst team. 53 straight Double-Doubles.Only 3 other players managed 53 across the whole season. He is the first player for 29 years to average at least 20 points and 15 rebounds a game. When he posted 31 points and 31 rebounds he came the first player to do so in 29 years. To prove he was the 'most improved' he was the only player to rank in the top 10 in biggest jumps from the previous season. PPG went up 6.2, RPG was +4.4 and 3p% was up .089%. An easy decision to make, now all he and Michael Beasley need are other decent players on their roster.

Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau (Chicago Bulls (again))
Thibodeau tied the record for most wins in as a rookie head coach with 62 and led the Bulls to their first Divisional Title since the Jordan era. He is only the 7th coach to win the award in his first season. The Bulls defense was what made for their success, Thibodeau drove them to top 3 defensive stats and they were second in points allowed at 91.3

Sixth Man of the Year: Lamar Odom (LA Lakers)
Odom was a catalyst for the Lakers to achieve another playoff season. Starting Centre Andrew Bynum was out for most of the season and Odom could come of the bench more often than not and provide a spark that would win the Lakers many games. He averaged 14.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG and ranked 19th in Double-Doubles. All of this came after coming of the bench more than he started. Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks) could have won the award for a 3rd time in a row, but that would have been too monotonous.

As for the Playoffs now, Bulls and Hawks are tied at 1-1, I predic the Bulls to go on and win that 4-1 maybe 4-2. OKC and Memphis are also tied at 1-1, OKC will win that in 6. LA Lakers are seemingly in trouble at 0-2 vs the Mavericks, this series will go the full 7 and the Mavericks will win 4-3. Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The Heat are up 2-0 and Boston isnt showing any sign on resistance, maybe a sweep is on the cards but 4-1 seems the most reasonable result. Although I have just tried it is too hard to predict the Winner, but I think it may go to Dallas, if they overcome the Lakers, if they do not, the Trophy will be heading to South Beach, Miami.