Category: NBA Finals (Page 9 of 58)

      Durant played right into Phil’s hand

      April 15, 2010 /

      What in the hell am I talking about, you ask? If you haven’t heard, Phil Jackson told the press that Kevin Durant gets too many calls, and the 21-year-old responded by saying that he felt disrespected.

      Rumors & Rants says that Durant fell into the Zen Master’s trap.

      Look man, I know you’re a great player, hell the whole world knows you’re a great player and Phil Jackson is definitely aware of the kind of player you are. You think he just tossed that line out there to be disrespectful? Dude, the guy is the Zen master. He’s won 10 championships. He didn’t do that by just randomly disrespecting opponents. He’s planting a line in the media to get you to respond and you allowed yourself to be played. You jumped right in to his game.

      What you should have done was respond with something like this: “Well that’s his opinion. He’s a great coach, he’s earned the right to express his opinion.” Bingo, end of discussion. Instead of a throw-away story that would have died after a day or two, now this is going to balloon up and become THE story of the Thunder’s first round matchup with the defending champions.

      Now it’s on your shoulders to prove him wrong. Now everyone will be focused on how you play and how you respond if the officials don’t give you the kind of calls you’ve become accustomed to. And now the officials are going to be in the spotlight and will be criticized one way or the other for how they call the games.

      Instead of just disappearing this has become a full-fledged incident. Jackson knew exactly what he was doing and you became his latest patsy.

      No arguments here. We’ll see if Durant plays better, worse or the same now that he and Jackson are at odds.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Your quick and dirty NBA Playoffs preview

      April 15, 2010 /

      The matchups are set and the first round starts this weekend. In the East, the top four teams — Cleveland, Orlando, Boston and Atlanta — seem like good bets to advance, while in the West, I wouldn’t be shocked if the bottom four seeds — Utah, Portland, San Antonio and Oklahoma City — were to make the second round. Here’s a quick look at each series:

      EASTERN CONFERENCE

      Cavaliers vs. Bulls
      It’s not often that a team that had a 10-game losing streak end in mid-February recovers and makes the postseason, but that’s exactly what the Bulls have done, winning 10 of their last 14 to capture the final playoff spot in the East. Chicago has the tools to make this a series, and with Shaquille O’Neal coming back from a long break, there’s a chance this could go to six or seven games. But in the end, Cleveland should have plenty of firepower to put the Bulls away.

      Celtics vs. Heat
      If there’s going to be an upset in the East, this will probably be it. The C’s have limped into the playoffs, losing eight of their last 13 games. Meanwhile, the Heat went 18-4 in February and March, but were just 4-3 against teams with winning records. Boston swept the season series despite Dwyane Wade’s terrific numbers (34-5-9, 50% shooting), so if anyone else steps up, the streaking Heat have a good shot at stealing the first or second game and gaining control of the series.

      Hawks vs. Bucks
      If Andrew Bogut were healthy, I’d pick Milwaukee, but the Bucks are going to have a tough time winning a seven-game series against a pretty good Atlanta team that has won 13 of its last 19 games. The Bucks’ defense could keep the games (and the series) close, but the Hawks should have enough to move on.

      Magic vs. Bobcats
      Orlando is peaking at the right time, going 19-3 in February and March. However, one of those losses was at home against Charlotte. The Bobcats are playing well too — they’re 16-7 over their last 23 games. Both teams are excellent defesively; they’re tied for first in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions), so expect a few tight games. But Orlando just has too much talent.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      Seven burning questions heading into the NBA Playoffs

      April 8, 2010 /

      There is always a lot riding on the playoffs, but this year there is even more drama surrounding the NBA postseason. Here are seven big questions that will be answered over the next few months.

      1. Will the Cavs win the title?
      2. Will that keep LeBron in town?
      These two questions are joined at the hip. There are some who believe that a Cavs title ensures that LeBron will re-sign, while others believe that if he brings a title to Cleveland, it gives him an out. The general consensus seems to be that if the Cavs fail to make the Finals again, it will increase the chances that LeBron signs elsewhere this summer. There’s no denying that LeBron seems to be a loyal guy, but will that loyalty outweigh the prospect of playing with Chris Bosh in New York, or join a talented Bulls team in Chicago? Only he knows. But I have a hard time seeing LeBron returning to Cleveland if the Cavs don’t make the Finals again.

      3. Can the Lakers get it together?
      The Lakers haven’t exactly instilled their fans with a sense of confidence heading into the postseason. They lost three straight games in early March, then rattled off seven straight wins, and have since lost four of their last six. Andrew Bynum still isn’t playing and Ron Artest isn’t exactly fitting into the Lakers’ triangle offense. Chemistry has never been this team’s strength — they are by far the most talented team in the West, which is why they won the title last year. But can that talent offset this team’s disjointedness? Unfortunately for the Lakers, they aren’t going to draw a cupcake in the first round; the Spurs, Blazers and Thunder are all capable of giving the Lakers all they can handle.

      Continue reading »

      NBA, NBA Finals

      How the West was won

      April 5, 2010 /

      As the NBA takes goes on hiatus for one night in honor of the NCAA championship game, it’s a good time to take a deep breath and look at the Western Conference playoff picture. Henry Abbott of TrueHoop wrote an excellent post on the topic.

      The conference’s top three teams, after all the tie-breakers, are the Lakers, Mavericks and Nuggets, and they’re doing their best to keep things interesting. Over their last 10 games, they have combined to create a tepid 16-14 record. (And even the Lakers, who are a cinch for first in the West with 22 losses, are still fighting for homecourt advantage in the Finals against Orlando, which has 23 losses. Every team is still trying.)

      Meanwhile the five lower-seeded Western playoff teams — the Jazz, Suns, Thunder, Spurs and Blazers — have combined to create a 38-12 record over their last 10 games. And five of those 12 losses came from within that group of five.

      The point being: If momentum matters, there’s a lot it in the West’s seeds four through eight, who are bunched up very tightly behind the teams ahead of them.

      Here’s a look ahead at the schedule in the West for the next week:

      Tuesday: OKC @ UTA
      Wednesday: DEN @ OKC, SA @ PHX
      Thursday: LAL @ DEN
      Friday: PHX @ OKC, DAL @ POR
      Saturday: SA @ DEN
      Sunday: POR @ LAL
      Monday: OKC @ POR


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News

      Pippen says that Dwight Howard can’t carry a championship team

      March 10, 2010 /

      He should know — ba dum bump!

      But let’s get serious: Scottie Pippen took a break from hosting cheerleading contests in China to tell the Orlando Sentinel the following…

      “He’s a very special player but I don’t think he’s going to win a championship until he gets another superstar to play alongside of him,” Pippen said recently while visiting Orlando. “A guy that’s very consistent and has that drive, that’s what it’s going to take. I don’t think that he can carry a team to a championship.”

      “He’s not that great of a scorer, he’s not a good shooter and he’s not a good foul shooter. So in the latter parts of the game, as big as he is and as much athleticism as he has, that becomes very small when the game gets into crunch time. He’s not the type of player that can dominate a game in the fourth quarter.”

      Pippen is entitled to his opinion, but let’s not forget that Dwight Howard led the Magic to a Finals appearance (beating a very good Cavs team along the way) at the age of 23. Orlando lost 4-1, but Game 2 went into overtime (after Courtney Lee just missed a layup that would have won the game), so with a little luck, the Magic would have headed home with the series tied, 1-1.

      Howard is just 24 now, and while his post game is certainly not polished, it is improving. He has developed a baby hook with both hands to go along with his signature power game. And let’s not forget that both Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal didn’t win an NBA title until the age of 27, so it took both players a few years to figure things out.

      Howard should be able to develop a lot in three years, regardless of Pippen’s opinion on the current state of his game. These days, it takes two superstars (or one superstar and two stars) to win a title: Kobe/Gasol, Boston’s Big Three, Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, Wade/Shaq, Shaq/Kobe, Jordan/Pippen, Olajuwon/Drexler. The only recent champions not listed there are the ’04 Pistons (superior chemistry and balance) and the ’94 Rockets (dominant big man surrounded by shooters).

      Would another superstar help? Sure. Is it an absolute necessity? History has proven that it isn’t, assuming Howard continues to develop.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑