Nuggets even Series

Game four goes to the Nuggets and the series is tied 2-2 thanks to an overall team effort by the Nuggets. 7 players including all 5 starting line ups contributed double digits. They out-rebounded LA 58 to 40 and distributed the ball well with a 23 - 19 assist edge over the Lakers. Kobe led LA with 34 points followed by the steady Pau Gasol with 21. Billups was the high man for the Nuggets with 24 points.

5th game will be pivotal!!! Can't wait!!

Magic Win it goes up 2-1

Hi Basketball fanatics!!! Balanced is the term of the day!!! Superman had more help than King James hence the win!!!!! This is turning to a great series!!!!

King James Makes it 1-1

All I can says what a shot!!!! A win is a win!!!!! Congratulations to the Cavs on their victory!! Magic go back home where they are extra deadly!!!!

Congratulations to the Nuggets and what a sorry loss to the Cavs

Hi Basketball fanatics, what a win by the Denver Nuggets, winning it at 106 - 103 courtesy of Melo's 34 points. Excellent team effort by the Nuggets outlasting LA. Sorry loss for the Cavs yesterday, the King should have taken the last shot, strong to the basket, but never the less it was a great effort by the Magic winning it in the Cavs home court.

Lakers go up 1-0 against the Nuggets

Lakers take a 1-0 advantage in the West Series on the score of 103-105 led by Kobe's 40 point output. Tomorrow its the Cavs-Magic game!!!

Conference Finals

So its the Nuggets vs Lakers in the West and Cav vs the Magic in the East. This is a battle of monumental superstars Melo against Kobe, Lebron against Dwight!!!! Who will emerge victorious?? The winner will be the team with the most bench support!!! Lakers have been exhibiting great team basketball, so have the Magic while Lebron and Melo have had individually notable performances.

Let's wait and see!!!

And the Nuggets Get the Win to advance to West Finals

Wow!!! And congratulations to Denver for making it to the West Finals and waiting for their opponent from the LA-Houston Match up!!!Melo led the Nuggets via 30 points and ever reliable Billups delivered 28 points and 3 rebounds shy of a triple double!!! This is the Nuggets first Conference finals since 1985 and a first for Carmelo.

Things are now shaping up in the West!! Next games will be even more exciting!!

Congratulations to the Lakers and the Celtics

Hi Basketball fans the Lakers and Celtics have won their respective games today, both lead their series at 3 games to 2!!!! The Mavs also avoided elimination by winning game 4!!! The next three games will be games of either closing (those leading) or extending (for those behind). Cleveland is the only waiting team via Hawks sweep!

Next games will be very interesting!!! See you then!

CAVS SWEEP THE HAWKS

WOW!! This years CAVS are for real!!! They sweep the Hawks on account of King James' 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists!! Excellent contribution by MO, Delonte, Big z and The Wild thing chipping in clutch baskets and grabbing important offensive rebounds!!

Who would have thought??

Congrats to the Rockets! Who won game 4 over the Lakers! This was done without Yao and T-mAc!

Can you believe it? This Rockets team is for real!! Game 5 should be interesting!!

Game 3 Predictions Cavs-Hawks - This one went to the Cavs

Wow!! I predicted a tight Hawks defense but hey, that is the beauty of being the King!!!! He erupted for 47 points , 12 rebounds and 8 assists!!!!! Save the Wild Thing every Cav starter delivered double digits .

This was nearly an all Lebron show!! Am going to retire from predicting and just start writing results!! Hehehe!!! The King shot 50% from 3 point area and 60% from the field!!! Whew!!! This game is testament to the King's resolve to get there!!! One more win and its a sweep again for the Cavs!!

Unfortunate for the Hawk defense that Lebron went into this game and was flamming hot!!!

The next game will be particularly interesting as this may extend or end the Atlanta campaign!!!

Gone in Just a Second

The Nuggets are (statistically speaking) on to the Western Conference Finals. You see, they now have a three games to NONE advantage. Denver only has to win one of the remaining four games to advance.

Game three was quite a show. Dallas lead for oh, about 47 minutes and 59 seconds. With a two point lead, Denver inbounding the ball AND a foul to give, all they had to do was to commit a foul and force the Nuggets to run two plays in less time than one could have been successfully run in one.

Only, that no foul was committed, or at least called. The ball inbounded to Carmelo Anthony who was being guarded by Antoine Wright along the the three point line. Anthony ducked to avoid the foul. Everyone in the building knew the foul was coming. Everyone but the referee who swallowed his whistle. Wright merely "bumped" Anthony and then inexplicably stopped. In that respect I will give the ref the benefit of the doubt. However, a few hours later the NBA announced that the referee erred in not calling a foul.

Now, does everyone know what constitutes a foul? Any physical contact that interferes with the offensive (or sometimes) defensive play.

Whatever Antoine Wright did, it did not interfere with the play; because Anthony got two more steps and a clean open shot right in front of the bench. Which he promptly nailed to give Denver a one point lead. Dallas had one last shot which turned out to be a half-hearted heave by Dirk Nowitzki. If you asked me, the Mavericks put more effort into complaining and whining than in winning the game.

So the moral of the story kids is, when you foul, foul them good and hard!

Farewell Coach Daly!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

One who will not be celebrating with us anymore is Chuck Daly, onetime head coach of the Detroit Pistons and the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team".

Daly was always one of my favorite coaches in the eighties and nineties. One of the things that took a while for me to realize was this. He always coached teams with lots of, let's just say, strong characters. Yet, he always looked like he was having fun.

And that's exactly the way most people seem to remember him as well.

In this age of screaming parent's, histrionic coaches and bloviating game announcers, it was truly a privilege to watch a guy win by plain outworking and outsmarting his opponents.

To a man who gave so much to the world, rest in peace!

Congratulations LA winning game 3

Hello Basketball fans!!! Lakers take game three, my prediction went the other way!!! Kobe led the way and all starting LA player in double digits!!!!! They out defended the Rockets, beat them in steals 11-2, out blocked them 9-3!! odd!!

Well Yao was taken out late fourth quarter, hopefully non playoff ending pain!!!! Artest thrown out on a Flagrant 2!!! If he suspended and Yao hurt, next game may be another Lakers romp!!

Congratulations to Orlando beating the Celts!!!!

Excellent Site to View Scores and Highlights!

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/scoreboard?date=20090508

Great site to get info on the game and the replays have excellent streaming! Enjoy!

Game 3 Predictions - Lakers vs Rockets

Hello Basketball fans!!! can you believe game 2, whew what a game, ejections and elbows were flying left and right!!!! Now that is a basketball game!!! (It is a contact sport!!!) Game 2 was all Kobe, I thought I was dreaming, 40 points!!All the while during the regular season Kobe was involving his team mates and now he is back to his old form!! Nice for all Lakers fans, and unfortunate for Rockets Fans.

Now that game 2 is history, let us break down the next game!!! A 3rd game in Houston. This is extremely interesting, the Houston defense is definitely going to be tighter this time around, what with home court and all, they did a great job in game 1 playing solid team defense. Artest, Yao, Scola and Battier made things difficult for alot of Laker players. In my humble opninion, the same defense will be exhibited in game 3. If the rockets stick to great team defense with a steady perimeter game they may take this.

Kobe will be Kobe, if he cant score on you this way he will surely score on you another, this guy is not old and his offense still packs a mean punch!! (He has been in the league longer than the King but he is still the measuring stick in terms of overall basketball ability both in offense and defense). With Kobe exploding for 40 points am pretty sure that the Rockets are trying to predict whether the same Kobe will come out in game 3 and again in my humble opinion, YES!!!! This guy will be unstoppable!!! Though Rockets should not forget Gasol, Odom and the rest, like the Hawks they must concentrate on stopping the other 4 with Kobe on the floor, this will be key. Rebounds , points and the other stats may be great factors but bottom line, they cant stop Kobe flat, but they can stop the other 4.

I give this to Houston, who will give a great defensive effort against the Lakers!

Game 3 Predictions Cavs-Hawks

Hello Basketball fans!!! game two is now in the books, now lets focus on the 3rd game. Atlanta is no push over team, they stretched the Celts (eventual champions) to a long series, much like the Cavs did in the conference finals. Last year Hawks are still around and have been more cohesive this season with the addition of Mike Bibby. Hawks also post a decent home game win loss record at 31-10 and this time have the crowd on their side.

This game best money would go to the Hawks, Josh Smooth and company are going into homecourt down 2 games, expect a fiery first half. If the Hawks adjust to physical defense of the Cavs with outside shooting and perimeter offense, this may open things up for them in the middle for Josh Smooth to operate. Key to winning 3rd game for the Hawks is come out firing, all guns blazing, Bibby and Johnson should hit from the outside. Now on defense, there is no doubt that the King will be in double digits as Charles Irving first time comments wrote "The Hawks will soar high +12 over Cavs in Game 3. Lebron will be limited to 20 points." I agree with him, limit the King but I will add that the Hawks should play team defense, much like how the Spurs did it 2 years ago, limit the King in involving the other 4 players on the court. Cleveland is only as strong as the 5 players on court. Atlanta is not a shabby defensive team with the shot blocking abilities of Josh Smooth and the rest of the frontline. More importantly the Hawks should be able to stop or limit the contribution of Delonte, Williams, Varejao and the rest of the supporting cast. The King is always a lock in the double double category (points , reb/ass) but if the support is stopped then the Hawks have a great chance.

So in my humble prediction, this game will go to the Hawks, using stellar defense and impeccable shooting!

Let's wait and see!!

Predictions on Game 2 - Cavs-Hawks Series (Confirmed)

Hot off the ESPN.com website, the Cleveland Cavs have taken game 2 and have improved their home record (including playoff games) to 43-2 win - loss record!!!! The series now shifts in the Hawks home court, this will be interesting as the "difference" , the crowd is now on their side.

Let us check the stats of game 2, the King led the way with 27 points, 5 assists and 8 rebounds, great contribution by the "Wild Thing" Varejao with 12 points , 8 rebounds and 2 assists. (All stats courtesy of ESPN.com) Physical defense prevailed as Josh Smooth was only able to produce 8 points and steady defense on Joe Johnson as he only made 10 points. Steady offensive support for the King as Delonte, Wally and Mo made 14,15 and 17 respectively. The Cavs outrebounded the Hawks 43-34 and outshot them on the court with a 53.5% field goal percentage.

Congratulations to the Cavs let's look forward to game 3!

Predictions on Game 2 - Cavs-Hawks Series

A great day to all you Cavaliers fans!!!! Game 2 is right round the corner and this may be a more exciting game since both teams sport the same high-flying and superb shooting styles. Game 1 was a stage for the newly crowned NBA Regular Season MVP , game 2 may prove to be a more potent acid test for the Cavs.

Currently they are ranked in points allowed at 76.8 points, they are second in defensive field goal percentage and 1st in defensive 3 point percentage. This was evident in Game 1 where they stepped up in defense in the 2nd half of the game, the Hawks were allowed only 1 offensive rebound in the 2nd half. (Got the stats from ESPN.Com)

If the Cavs continue the same blistering offense and suffocating defense in the second half of Game 1, Game 2 may promise the same outcome as Game 1. Continue the physical defense on Atlanta's low post players, deny and pressure the ball on Joe Johnson and limit Mike Bibby's three point shooting. This will be key in getting stops and creating fast break situations where the Cavs can capitalize since they are a great finishing team.( Fast break that is!)

Since there is no one player that can stop the King on the Hawks Roster (No offense to Hawks Fans) offense is pretty instant with Cleveland with Mo Williams, Delonte West, Big Z and even Joe Smith can contribute when there is double or even a triple help on the King. Through out the season the other Cavs players have heavily contributed to the cause.

I read early this morning on ESPN.com that Al Horford may be playing hurt in Game 2. This may weaken the Atlanta front making it a bit easier for the King and Company to operate. This may be a minor thing since the Hawks are a team that have depth in that position and they are a great team in terms of flexibility.

Prediction Game 2 at the Kings Court may (in my humble opinion) will be a Cavs game with a possible romp!!!

NBA 2008 to 2009 MVP Lebron "King" James

Hello basketball junkies and fanatics, congratulations to LeBron James for winning the most coveted individual award in the basketball universe, the NBA regular season MVP. This guy has undoubtedly performed at much higher level this year (compared to the others), leading the Cavs to their best home record, best win-loss standing as well as adding a little more flavor to his defense. His 1,172 media votes sealed the deal and was far from second place Kobe Bryant (698 votes) , who may I say did a great job as well!

The Cleveland (in the 2008-2009 NBA Season) is the only team that swept a Playoff Series (First Round versus the Detroit Pistons) and even with the long rest, again led by Lebron's 34 points, 10 reboounds and 3 assists, the Cavs cruised by the Atlanta Hawks. (No offense to Atlanta fans, this series will probably go to six games maximum and may even be another sweep if all goes well.)

Not that Lebron has done this by himself, this year Lebron has been surrounded by a great supporting cast in the person of Mo Williams, Delonte West, Joe Smith, the reliable "Z" , sweet shooting Boobie Gibson as well as a slew of sophomores and freshman players. He has demonstrated leadership as well a more willingness to share the ball with teamates making the team harder to defend. This is probably the reason why the Cavs are more dangerous than ever since oponents must defend everyone contributing and feeding off the Lebron James overall basketball prowess!

Not that I have a crush on Lebron or any thing like that!!! It is just that since the Michael Jordan era Lebron has become a dominant force both on offense and defense. If the Cavs go all the way and stay intact, this might be the start of a Dynasty that may last longer than the Chicago Bulls era.(Again no offense to Chicago Fans who by the way stretched the Boston Celtics to seven games and alot of overtimes, probably record breaking!!! someone check the stats book!! heheh!).

Hopefully he does not experience the MVP Jinx that has hapenned to past regular season MVP Winners! (Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Karl Malone ring any bells???) This indeed is the year of Cleveland and the MVP accolade is just the beginning of many happy championship years for Cleveland!!!


Go Cavs!!!!