2013 NBA Playoffs – Worst First Round Ever?
Perhaps you missed “Inside the NBA” on Sunday night following the Thunders demolishment of the Houston Rockets. If so, let me fill you in on a comment made by Charles Barkley referring to the day’s activities. Sir Charles stated “This may be the worst playoffs we have ever seen.” Kenny, Shaq and Ernie were quick to clarify he meant the first round matchups thus far. This was confirmed and I tend to agree.
While things got off to a somewhat competitive start on Saturday they quickly deteriorated into blow outs the rest of the way. Boston held their own in Madison Square Garden in a defensive battle with the Knicks. In the end however, Carmelo Anthony proved to be too much for them to handle scoring 36 in New York’s 85-78 victory. …
2013 NBA Awards Analysis
With the NBA playoffs just under way it is time to take a quick look back at the regular season and evaluate which individual players and coach made the greatest contributions to their respective franchises success this year.
We will start our in-depth analysis with Most Valuable Player, Candidates: LeBron James
Winner: LeBron James.
OK, perhaps it won’t be so “in-depth” after all. This award has been the most discussed of any, dating back to March 1. To mention anyone else’s name in this category would be NBA blasphemy. Well maybe Kevin Durant, but as good as he’s been he finishes a distant second. By the way, I also feel King James is the most improved player this year given his overall contribution to the Heats cause. …
2013 NBA Playoff Dark Horses
Most observers of the NBA have all but already anointed the Miami Heat as the 2013 Eastern Conference Champions. In the West there seems to be more of a competition but the overwhelming opinion has the Oklahoma City Thunder emerging from there to meet the Heat. This is may not only be premature, but is definitely boring given that OKC and Miami met in last year’s finals. So let’s take a look at a few teams that have the capability of surprising this year. (gotta love this picture)
Eastern Conference
Indiana Pacers
I’m not sure under normal circumstances that a number 3 seed should be considered a dark horse. …
2013 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs – Quick Glimpse
The NBA’s regular 82 game schedule has finally concluded. In its aftermath we have 16 teams, 8 from each conference, now preparing for the condensed postseason involving much travel and little practice time. So let’s take a look at who plays who over the next 2 weeks in round one.
(8) Milwaukee vs. (1) Miami – Series begins Sun. April 21, 7ET, TNT
Milwaukee has virtually no hope of upsetting Miami unless LeBron James gets lost on his way to the arena. In my opinion the Bucks should be afforded some sort of handicap whereas if they win 2 games in this series they automatically advance. Or how about James, Wade and Bosh play 3 against 5? …
2013 NBA Western Conference Playoffs – Quick Glimpse
Most pundits of professional basketball have agreed all season that the cream of the NBA crop lies in the Western Conference. With the exception of the Miami Heat standing in their way, it would appear the winner of the West will also be favored to be crowned 2013 NBA Champions. The matchups in the West would appear much more competitive than those in the East as well.
(8) Houston vs. (1) Oklahoma City – Series begins Sun. April 21, 9:30ET, TNT
Let’s start this preview off with a bang! I predict that next year it will be the Houston Rockets with the top seed awaiting their first test versus the number 8. Only one slight detail must be taken care of during the offseason. …
NBA Greats of the Games Series - Bill Russell
Bill Russell
The story of Bill Russell is a deeply rooted tale of growing up in a segregated America and achieving the “Great American Dream.” That said Mr. Russell was never one to harp on his triumphs or tribulations. His “the world didn’t give me anything and I owe it nothing in return” attitude led him to become perhaps one of the more controversial sports stars of all time.
Bill Russell spent the first 7 years of his life in West Monroe, La., the city where he was born. While there, he and his parents faced a myriad of racial intolerance and simple bigotry. It was not unusual for his father to have a shotgun pointed at him if he appeared to resist what was conceived as the supremacy of white people. …
LeBron James 2013 NBA Most Improved Player
What’s that you say? Ha-ha, this story’s headline writer inserted “Improved” where it should have read “Valuable”. (LOL) Sorry to interrupt the laugh, but improved would in fact be correct. King James was already deemed the league’s most valuable player by most experts’ weeks ago. However what has been overlooked is how his game has gotten better since last season.
Let’s begin with the cold hard facts, or what is known in the NBA as statistics or “stats for short. With James sitting out the Heats last game of the season in of all places Cleveland, he will come up just shy of averaging as many points this year as last (26.8 vs. …
NBA Regular Season Final Weekend Wrap-up (Sat.4/13, Sun.4/14)
The NBA’s final weekend of the 2012-13 regular season calendar is behind us. Next Saturday (4/20), the postseason will commence and 16 teams will be pursuing the Larry O’Brien trophy. There is still much to be decided in terms of playoff seeding’s as we enter the years final 3 days.
On Saturday one playoff seeding was decided as the Boston Celtics clinched number 7 with an easy 120-88 decision over the lowly Orlando Magic. The Celt’s victory sets up a matchup with the east coast rival New York Knicks in round one. The Knicks have been flying high of late and would not appear to be a team you would like to initially face in the postseason. …
2013 NBA Regular Season Wrap Up
Entering play on Sunday, April 14 there are a total of 37 games remaining on the 2013 NBA regular season schedule. All 30 teams will play on its last day, that being Wednesday, April 17. In between now and then there are several key seeding issues to be decided prior to the commencement of the postseason on Saturday, April 20.
Beginning in the Eastern Conference, all 8 playoff teams have been established. For beginners, (1) Miami will face (8) Milwaukee. Can you say sweep? However, the number 2 seed is technically still up for grabs between New York and Indiana. In the unlikely event that the Knicks drop their remaining 3 contests while Indiana wins theirs, the Pacers could vault to number 2. …
Exclusive 2013 NBA First Round Playoff Preview
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Miami Heat
In all likelihood this will be the only space you will see a preview of the upcoming first round playoff series pitting the Bucks of Milwaukee against Miami’s Heat. There’s a very good reason for this. The seventh and eighth seeds are technically not yet decided. Never being one to let small details get in the way of a good story, I will forge ahead with my analysis of these 2 teams.
First let’s get the seeding question out of the way. Yes, it is possible that if the Bucks win all 3 of their remaining games while the Celtics lose their last 3, Milwaukee will capture the 7th seed by virtue of a tie breaking 3-1 head to head season advantage. …
NBA Greats of the Game Series - Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Where else but in America can you be anointed with the nickname “the Hick from French Lick” and emerge as one of the greatest performers at your chosen profession? In actuality, Larry Bird was born in the much more normal sounding town of West Baden, In. on Dec. 7, 1956. Much of his early life was spent in French Lick however. The total population in French Lick during his childhood hovered around 2,000 people. Yet his last high school game at Springs Valley, where he was the all-time leading scorer, drew a crowd of close to 4,000. It was no surprise when he received a scholarship offer from Indiana U. and a coach named Bob Knight. …
Miami Heat No “Shoe In” to Repeat
All 8 of the Eastern Conference playoff teams have been decided. There is some sorting out to do as far as seeding, but we already know which teams will be competing in the postseason tourney. Milwaukee, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Brooklyn, Indiana, New York and Miami are in.
Call me crazy, but in my opinion every one of the first 7 entries listed has a legitimate chance of knocking off top seed Miami. And that’s just accounting for the Eastern Conference. Should the Heat emerge from the East as most pundits still expect, they’ll have San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Denver, Memphis or one of the L.A. NBA franchises waiting. …
NBA Recap - L.A. Lakers vs L.A. Clippers 4/7/13
Although the Clippers were not in a gloating mood their clinching of the Pacific Division for the first time ever could not have come against a better opponent. Being designated as the Staples Center home team for this one, they beat the Lakers 109-95 on Sunday to don the division crown. However, Chris Paul resisted the temptation to put on the “Can’t Stop Los Angeles” T-shirt made for the event.
Paul had 24 points and 12 assists while Blake Griffin matched that point total and also contributed 12 rebounds. All but certain sixth man of the year award winner Jamal Crawford had 20 off the bench. More double digit stats were shared by Caron Butler (14 points) and DeAndre Jordan (13 rebounds).
Whose better the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets?
So who wins the Battle of the Big Apple in NBA circles? Is it Manhattans Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets? The Barclays Center is an awesome facility, but it can’t hold a candle to the iconic Madison Square Garden. So I guess as far as venues go, score one for the Knicks. Now let’s go down to the hardwood in these facilities and see which team prevails in performance.
A look at the standings finds the Knicks (49-26) with a 6 game edge on the Nets (43-32). The Knicks have recently reeled off 11 wins in a row clearly making a case for their N.Y. superiority. Both teams are competing with the team directly below them, with the Knicks 1.5 games up on Indiana and the Nets just 1 game ahead of Chicago. …
Can the San Antonio Spurs find the Fountain of Youth?
In last year’s NBA strike shortened season the San Antonio Spurs went on a 10 game winning streak to end the 66 game regular schedule. They then proceeded to sweep the Utah Jazz and L.A. Clippers in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. With 2 wins against OKC to open the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs had won 20 straight and looked poised to meet the Miami Heat for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Then almost inexplicably they dropped the next 4 games straight to the Thunder. What occurred to cause this sudden collapse? Did the Spurs simply run out of gas?
This was a team that had gone 50-16 during the 2011-12 Sixty six game campaign. …
2013 NBA Championship Contenders
In just less than a month from now on April 20th the first round of the NBA playoffs are due to commence. The NBA Finals will begin sometime from June 4th to the 6th, with the Champions being crowned no later than June 20th. So who will be hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy this year? Let’s take a look at the contenders in each conference in an attempt to determine that.
Eastern Conference
Miami. Need I say more?
Well actually, yes I should because for starters I think the Indiana Pacers can legitimately challenge the Heat this year.
Miami has one weakness, rebounding. That happens to be the Pacers strong suit with 7’2” Roy Hibbert roaming the paint. …
The Year of the Chicago Bulls 1995-96
Much is being made lately of the Miami Heat’s continuing winning streak and rightly so. As I prepare this story, Miami has tallied 27 wins in a row and counting. To put the following tale in perspective, if the Heat were to “win out” in 2013 their overall record would stand at 68-14. The 39 consecutive victories would be a remarkable accomplishment heading to the playoffs, but the 68 wins would be 4 short of the 72 triumphs recorded by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96.
You may recall Michael Jordan’s sudden decision to retire from pro hoops to pursue a career involving a much smaller ball. No, not golf, although that’s a good guess considering his love for that game. …
The Best NBA players of all time series
Magic Johnson
His smile said it all. This man truly enjoyed shooting hoops. Earvin Johnson Jr. was given the nickname “Magic” in Lansing, Mi., which was the town where he grew up. A local sportswriter called him that after he recorded a triple double of 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists in a game during his second year at Everett High School. He chose Michigan State to attend college over scholarship offers from UCLA and Indiana because “State” was close to home.
In perhaps the most watched basketball game of any kind, the Spartans faced Indiana State in the 1978-79 NCAA Championship game. Most of the interest stemmed from Magic’s participation in the contest along with a senior playing for the opponent named Larry Bird. …
Who is the NBA's second best player?
Is it really necessary to debate that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now and perhaps has been for the past 5 seasons? I didn’t think so. You may not like him. You can detest the ESPN production of “The Decision”, but he can flat out play hoops and is the best this year. So let’s devote our time to a more pertinent query, who is number 2 in the rankings right now?
I believe there are 3 viable candidates to sit on King James Court albeit beneath his majesty. They are in no particular order, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul.
For my money, Chris Paul is the game’s best point guard. Tony Parker has had an exemplary season and finishes a close second. …
The Miami Heat's Amazing Streak Continues
By: Melissa Harder
Initially, I thought I might call this article “Streaking” but then figured that 1) my editors would change it (thanks guys!) and 2) searching for ‘streaking’ online would probably bring up some interesting Google results.
The Miami Heat have been on a tear for the last month and a half, winning 25 straight games. Their win over Boston broke a tie with the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second longest streak in the NBA. There’s an old adage – you have to be lucky to be good
and good to be lucky and the Heat have been both since February 3rd. Down 17 points in the first half and seven in the fourth quarter, the Heat won on the road with LeBron James sealing the 105-103 victory. …
