Pardon My Bias

We have two teams with opposing strengths. Dallas has an offense that can get red hot from distance in a hurry and spaces the floor unlike any team we have ever seen. Miami poses major shut down players defensively in both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James that has become infectious throughout the rest of their organization. Both teams have the clutch factor with LeBron/Wade (more LeBron lately) and Dirk (who is currently the baddest man on the planet). Dallas has more size and depth while Miami counters with more quickness and athleticism. The X-factor battle to me will be Chris Bosh vs. the Mavericks bench.

Questions

Who gets 30 points first? Bosh plus another random Heat shooter such as Miller/Bibby or the Mavs bench with its potent scorers in Peja, Barea, and Terry.

Can Jason Kidd repeat his defensive performance on Durant against Wade?

Can Dirk seize the moment for another series and carry them when he will face the toughest defense (LeBron) in the 4th quarter?

Who will win the 50-50 battle? (loose balls)…this will go a long way toward determining who (LeBron or Dirk) wants their first ring more and who is willing to kill themselves and sacrifice their bodies to get it.

How healthy is Dwyane Wade?

Will Bosh be able to stay consistent again through this series? (I’m done with calling him a v***** after the Bulls series)

Is LeBron finally ready to release a rampage on the NBA and put his name up there with the great prime playoff performers? (sorry guys, he has to do it in the Finals as well although he has definitely regained his 2007 ECF clutch LeBron status back). No more excuses now that he has all the ingredients to win it all.

CONCLUSION

I truly have no idea who is going to win the series. I have gone back and forth between Miami and Dallas about 100 times. I don’t care about the Decision anymore. It was a bad way to piss on a loyal fan base regardless of the fact that any smart and young person that cared only about winning would have gone to Miami at that age (25) to make a super team that could potentially own the next 5-6 years.  The only real hatred left for LeBron comes from Laker fans (until Kobe retires) and Northeast Ohio (fully validated to hate him for life). Winning masks all mistakes, from dog fighting to rape charges. All LeBron did was go to a better situation in a very badly played out “look at me” public manner.

This series has epic potential with two legendary future ”pantheon“ players going head to head for their first rings and perhaps willing to die on the court to get it. That’s what I want to see. I don’t care who wins. I want to see players hurting, swearing, emotionally killing themselves, sweating and bleeding for the right to hold the Larry O’Brien trophy for their franchise at the end. I want to see a 7 game series come down to LeBron vs. Dirk going shot for shot trying to outdo each other.

I think the Mavs pull this off in 7 games and Dirk gets the elusive ring that will validate his career in all the “experts” minds. You know… all that legacy bull****.  

Miami has already exceeded expectations by getting to the finals in my opinion by getting through Boston (something I thought they had no chance of doing). They will be back again next year but this is Dirk’s year just like 96-97 was John Elway’s to finally get it done.

MAVS IN 7

Let me just start off by saying that I am very excited for this year’s NBA Finals. The Celtics-Lakers rivalry was awesome but this year’s match-up will be no less exciting. There are so many different stories that we can link to this match-up: Mavericks-Heat rematch from the 2006 NBA Finals, Dirk Nowitzki’s drive to finally obtain a ring, the Miami Heat’s big three and all the drama that they have been through this season, LeBron’s journey to finally start achieving championships and the totally dominating play from both Dirk and LeBron throughout these playoffs. All these story lines add up to one thing…one great final series.

Only one can achieve the glory! Photo courtesy of www.callthecomputerdoctor.com.

Before the playoffs had started, I had predicted a Heat-Thunder finals and I did get somewhat close. I expected the Thunder to be the team that would knock off the Lakers and therefore had them reaching the finals; I would have never expected that the Dallas Mavericks would play such dominating basketball and that Dirk Nowitzki would just light everyone up. This outcome actually turned out better than my prediction so I’m all smile!

So now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Dallas obviously has the better bench with the likes of Jason Terry and J.J. Barea but if Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem can show up again for this series, the Heat bench has a chance to at least compete. The biggest improvement for Dallas this year has been their defense, yet it is still surpassed by that of the Heat. The Mavericks have not seen a defense like this yet in the playoffs so their high octane offense may be contained. Bosh most likely will not be able to slow down Dirk but the Heat may want to try Joel Anthony and I would not be surprised to see LeBron guarding Dirk during the 4th quarter (similar to how he did with Derrick Rose). Dallas’ next threat is their barrage of three-point shooting but we have to consider the fact that Miami’s defense is much faster than that of the other opponents that Dallas has seen so far. Players like LeBron, Wade and Miller should be able to close out faster and help slow down the deadly three-point shooting of the Mavericks. The third line of attack for the Mavericks is J.J. Barea, who has surprised many teams this post season. Fortunately for Miami, they will be bringing in Mario Chalmers off the bench during the time that Barea is in the game. Chalmers should have the speed and defensive ability to keep up with Barea while Mike Bibby focuses strictly on the older Jason Kidd.

The Mavericks are no slouches on defense either. The addition of Tyson Chandler has brought new energy to the defense side of the court and Shawn Marion showed us in the last series that given the motivation and challenge, he can defend the best player on the opposing team. But there is a reason why you pile up three all-stars on one team…it is extremely difficult to defend and contain all three!

Dallas has played some outstanding basketball through this playoff run and the passion and feistiness that Dirk has been playing with is inspiring. After they swept the Lakers and after all the high scoring, clutch games that Dirk has had, I actually wouldn’t mind seeing them win (and I never like to see any Dallas team succeed) but I do not think that they have enough to get past the Heat. Miami was built to win championships and although their bench has not yet been fully equipped, they are going to be too much for the Mavericks to handle. Dwyane Wade will shake off his Conference Finals rust but it will be LeBron James that helps bring another championship to Miami and it will be LeBron who begins to finally start building his all-time reputation.

The Miami Heat over the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.

The offensive depth for both the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks is something that has obviously propelled them as far as they have. Though, it is easy to state that the Canucks have the more offensive savvy squad with the Sedin twins. The Bruins on the other hand sport a more physical style exemplified by their big front man Milan Lucic. Lucic though has been slow to get going but fortunately for Boston Nathan Horton has been the new power forward to step up. So starting from the top…

The Bruins haven’t had one guy (or two) step up big time to where the offense is solely reliant upon them. David Krejci and Nathan Horton have been the two guys to find some scoring touch, and Patrice Bergeron has been finding a groove after missing a few games. The issue has been other big names not producing as much, with Lucic only scoring three goals so far. Tyler Seguin though has chosen a nice time to have his breakout moment of his rookie year as he has three goals and three assists in just seven games. Resident senior citizen Mark Recchi has been relatively quiet, and if he can find a scoring touch the Bruins could easily go toe to toe with the Canucks in scoring ability. Until then, it’s up to guys like Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand to keep chipping in whenever they can.

With possibly two MVPs, Vancouver still needs the rest of their forwards to pick up their offense still. Photo courtesy of asia.eurosport.com

Vancouver meanwhile sports three very well-known scoring threats with Daniel and Henrik Sedin and super versatile pest Ryan Kesler. Alex Burrows continues to thrive off the fact he plays with the Sedins and Kesler at times, all the while frankly pissing off the other team to obscene levels. The rest of the Canucks’ forwards haven’t reached double digits in points and with Mikael Samuelsson out guys like Mason Raymond need to step up their game, while others like Janik Hansen and Chris Higgins need to keep up their offensive play. Vancouver’s’ top line may be better than any line Boston may put together, but they need to get Ryan Kesler going with some support outside of just having him score on the power play.

The Canucks possess one of the best defensive forwards in the game with Ryan Kesler. Outside of Kesler the Canucks are a tad thin in two-way play though with Manny Malhotra still out and the rest of the bottom six are more physically inclined than actually defensive. Raffi Torres, Max Lapierre, Hansen, and enforcer Tanner Glass make up the bottom portion of the lineup and are far more likely to drive a fist into someone than be used on the penalty kills. If Malhotra does in fact make it back for the finals the Canucks are going to be breathing one huge sigh of relief. One huge issue (or two rather) lies with the Sedin twins. Despite the large amount of points they have put up they are both -4. Vancouver is appearing more reliant on the power play than they have during the regular season and their top line is getting scored on more often than they were used to during the regular season.

Two Bruins have been carrying the offensive load for Boston so far, but the rest of group has been mostly solid. Photo courtesy of newshopper.sulekha.com

The Bruins are closer to a complete opposite of the Canuck forwards in terms of goal production and two-way play. Boston has struggled mightily on their power play with only four goals scored by their forwards on the power play, but in terms of locking down the other team Boston’s forwards boast a very impressive group. Chris Kelly, Rich Peverly, and Patrice Bergeron are very capable forwards in both zones and Mark Recchi has the veteran knowledge to help out the younger guns of Marchand and Seguin. Boston is required to be solid in their own zone. The biggest issue though for Boston is just maintaining consistency as they have had games where they completely lockdown on other teams, but have also had games where they have gotten lit up or blown leads. They won’t have that room for error against Vancouver.

Ryan Kesler provides the depth behind the Sedin twins, while guys like Mason Raymond need to step up. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

In my opinion, no team had as much offensive depth as that of Boston. Vancouver certainly has depth, but it is more physically based as mentioned earlier. That can work for their advantage with some of Boston’s hot heads and youngsters. Boston is going to need to stay out of the penalty box and just keep rolling three solid lines at Vancouver, as Vancouver has shown they are vulnerable at times five-on-five.  The Canucks need to essentially just annoy the Bruins and keep at it unless the lines without a Sedin can start producing more goals. Call me crazy, but I think the Bruins have the better overall group of forwards even with Vancouver’s pair of Sedins.

This is a bold assumption to be making but to me, it seems as if the Miami Heat are barely putting out much effort in these playoff games. Okay, maybe not all the Heat members, but definitely seems to be that way with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Of course I am only getting the “in front of the TV” point of view but I feel as if these two superstars have not even switched themselves into the next gear yet.

This may just be the biggest plus side to having another superstar on your team, but there are offensive possessions when each of these stars are just casually moving around the court. Once again, there could be many factors that lead to this assumption, whether it be camera angles or specific called plays, but I honestly feel as if the Heat are pushing through the playoffs with their two superstars on cruise control.

Do LeBron and Wade Have Yet Another Gear? Photo courtesy of www.fromthestands.com.

There are plays when each player comes to life and most of the time, these plays electrify the crowd. Defensively, these two players are always putting in 100% and this has been noticeable in the past two games against the Chicago Bulls, but it is just at the offense end that I see them pulling back on the gas at times.

I am most likely just seeing things and coming to absurd assumptions. It would make perfect sense if this effortless offense is just the result of isolation plays, in which both stars do not need to be exerting all of their energy, but this still could be a very important message. Enemies beware! The Heat are winning games with what seems to be a sometimes relaxed set of stars…imagine when and if they do turn it up a notch. With consistent play from Chris Bosh, the continued running motors of Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony and improved production from the bench, it may just be impossible to the defeat the Miami Heat once their two stars start playing on a whole new level.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the 1st and 4th overall picks at this year’s NBA Draft. Although the most important story has to do with what they end up doing with these picks, it should be noted that this lucky outcome is fantastic for this organization and city! All year long we have been discussing LeBron’s “Decision” and how it affected Cleveland. We have seen that city and those fans totally release LeBron from their thoughts and hearts as they booed him at every opportunity and wreaked havoc while burning LeBron James jersies. Dan Gilbert sent his son Nick Gilbert, who at birth was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, to represent the Cavaliers and be their lucky charm. He was exactly that. With some comedy and passion, Nick was able to provide the Cavaliers organization with enough luck to obtain two of the top four picks in the upcoming draft. Now the debate has begun, what should Cleveland do with these two picks? Pick Kyrie Irving? Maybe take Derrick Williams with that number 1 pick? How about trade either one or both of those picks to create a different situation?

Nick Gilbert Was The Lucky Charm! Photo courtesy of www.cleveland.com.

I love Kyrie Irving! I picked Duke to win the NCAA Tournament strictly because I found out that Irving would be returning to the court. He has good range and great vision and just like everybody else, I truly do see some Chris Paul in him. He is that damn good but I have a whole different plan for Cleveland. If the Cavaliers did not have the 4th pick as well as the 1st, it would of been a no brainer to take Irving but as of right now, they do have the 1st and 4th pick. So ignoring all trade options, this is what I believe the Cleveland Cavaliers should do:

First Pick – Derrick Williams

Forth Pick – (Cross fingers) Brandon Knight

If the Cavaliers do pick Williams, then this whole draft will be totally screwed up. Minnesota will be left with HAVING to pick Irving, which will add another point guard to a stable already consisting of Luke Ridnour, Jonny Flynn, Sebastian Telfair and oh wait, Ricky Rubio! They could take a center but it may just be better for them to trade out of this pick and the Toronto Raptors could be looking to get a top point guard. Then we come to the Utah Jazz and the one spot where the most concern lays. Utah does not need a big man since they already have Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and last year’s third pick, Derrick Favors. Word on the street is that the Jazz are looking for a point guard, even though they currently have Devin Harris. I’m sure they want to give a little more time to Gordan Hayward, therefore leaving shooting guard as the only other position of need. I am not sure how the Jazz will pick but most mock drafts suggest Brandon Knight meaning a major buzz kill for my plan. In this case, Cleveland will have to most likely go with UConn’s Kemba Walker, who I do not believe can become a star in the NBA. Either way, this is theoretically what could happen if my plan goes wrong but from Cleveland’s point of view, I would rather end up with Williams and Knight over Irving and some center.

Williams is a beast and Knight is a Calipari point guard. Let me name some past Calipari point guards; Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and John Wall…’nuff said!  I would rather take a Calipari point guard over a Duke point guard any day. This is why I would rather end up with this pair of players over any other. Unfortunately, life is not that easy. If only the Cavaliers could some how trade their 1st and 4th pick for the 2nd and 3rd…only in a perfect world right?

Rick Adelman has had a lot of success with teams and individual player development.

LOS ANGELES, CA

According to multiple reports from both Sam Amick of SI and Marc Stein of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are rumored to be interested in former Rockets head coach Rick Adelman. This should come as no surprise to anyone considering Adelman’s track record and career record of 945-616 (which is 8th all time). A career that no doubt has been much under appreciated by fans and the media all throughout basketball probably because he has yet to win a championship despite guiding the Portland Trail Blazers to two NBA Finals and the Sacramento Kings to within a game of the NBA Finals . While it might sound ridiculous to hire a coach that has no connections with the Los Angeles Lakers and in fact can be seen as part of possibly a major change to Lakerland in general, a closer look at the possible hiring reveals that it could be more of a seamless transition with minor changes in offensive philosophy.

COACHING STYLE

Two words can describe Adelman’s coaching style and they are “players’ coach”. What does that mean? Well…he allows players to be who they are and not conform to any particular status quo like disciplinarians such as Jerry Sloan and Scott Skiles. Ask any player who has ever played for him (and likely had their most productive seasons during his tenure) and they will tell you that they love playing for Coach Adelman because he holds no grudges, has clean slates with any player when meeting them for the first time, and tries very hard to bring out the strengths of his players based on their individual talent level.

X’s and O’s
Adelman runs what is known as the corner series offense which is basically a version of the Princeton and quite similar to the Triangle that was made so famous by Phil Jackson and Tex Winter. The corner series relies on having a very adept passing big man at the elbow that can hit cutters (many of them backdoor) for easy hoops or open perimer players for 3 based on the reactions of the defense to the pin downs. It was highly successful in Sacramento and beautiful to watch for basketball purists that love offense. While this offense has always been a staple of Adelman’s philosophy, he also is not afraid to use the pick and roll when it is effective as many times he has been known to go to it to exploit different advantages.

He gets the most out of his talent

No one can deny this fact. Every stop he has made in his coaching career (Portland, GS, Sacramento, and Houston) has been seen him change players for the better by maximizing their strengths and hiding their weaknesses. In Portland, he a team to two NBA finals against the Bad Boy Pistons and MJ and the Chicago Bulls with Clyde Drexler as his No. 1 primary star. In Sacramento, in his first season as head coach, he turned a group of complete castoffs aka players that were left for dead at some point in their careers (see Jon Barry, Vernon Maxwell, Jason Williams, Chris Webber, Scot Pollard) into key contributors that helped start a string of successfuls seasons going from an offensive circus to a well balanced machine and to a defensive focused team (when Ron Artest’s craziness arrived). What does that mean? Well he can basically adapt to the talent that he has and has the ability to change his team’s style to fit its personnel. No one makes better adjustments than Rick Adelman to his team’s style. He works with what he’s given and doesn’t complain despite never getting a true opportunity with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming due to constant devastating injuries. He has had the Rockets competing hard all the way down until the final weeks for a playoff birth despite never getting a true opportunity with a full roster.

Bottom Line

This guy is a proven winner and can win anywhere he goes and has been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time to show that he is not Phil Jackson’s whipping boy. Do the Lakers have to make some moves to quiet all the end of a dynasty talks? Sure! They need a true point guard that doesn’t just stand outside and shoot jumpers but instead creates shots for his teammates, especially for Kobe’s longevity (who needs to stop having to go isolate before his knees literally die on the court) and is excellent on the pick and roll and can defend those same type of guards as well as the fast ones like Westbrook, Rose and all the bright young ones that will take over the league in the next 10 years. They clearly also need more athleticism all around to keep up with the league but that should not stop them from hiring a proven winner over inexperienced coaches with no track record. Sure Shaw has been in the system the last 6 or so years but what does that truly mean? It means it will be a seamless transition to the same old boring triangle offense (don’t get me wrong it works but is that really why the Lakers have been contenders the last 3 years?…its their size advantage). Yes he has credibility and the support of the leaders on the team (Fish and Kobe) but what else besides that?

Rick Adelman would be a good fit for this team and deserves the opportunity  (let me go throw up now).

This is an article that some people will agree with and some will not, but this is definitely a topic that ALL NBA fans have discussed at some point in their lives. Can any player ever be better than Michael Jordan? Of course there has been a lot of  talk about whether Kobe Bryant or LeBron James could ever surpass the status of Michael Jordan and most people believe that it will all come down to total championships and career averages. Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 5.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds over his career and of course has those 6 championships in his bag. To add to that, he has five MVP awards and is a 14-time All-Star…pretty impressive huh?

Can anyone be better than MJ? Photo courtesy of www.espn.go.com.

How do Kobe and LeBron stack up:

• Kobe Bryant has averaged 25.3 points, 4.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds over his career so far, racked up 5 championships, 1 MVP and is a 13-time All-Star.
• LeBron James has averaged 27.7 points, 7.0 assists and 7.1 rebounds and is a 7-time All-Star along with 2 MVP awards. Of course he has no ring bling and that is his biggest issue.

LeBron has the better stats so far but Kobe has the hardware. The chances of Kobe’s stats going up at this age is not very high and it may be difficult for him to finally achieve that Jordan matching 6th ring. It is definitely not impossible, but with all these young, talented teams, it is going to be a challenge. LeBron is in his prime and as of right now, could have the chance of winning 6 rings (although very, very unlikely), but even if he wins 6…it will probably mean that Dwayne Wade will have 7.

Now let’s imagine that Kobe or LeBron do reach this feat, in which they have enough championships and their stats are just as mind boggling as Jordan’s. Does this make either one of them greater than Michael Jordan? My answer to that question is no. Unless some player comes around and puts up 30, 7 and 7 along with 7 or 8 rings, there is no way that anyone could ever surpass Jordan. Even in that specific case, it would still be difficult to take over the prestige that Jordan has created for himself.

For me, it all comes down to Jordan’s mystique. Most people, when they think of basketball, think of Michael Jordan. How do you change this thought process? How do you erase the Air Jordan symbol from everybody’s mind? How can you stop people from associating the NBA with Michael Jordan and vice versa? Simple answer…you can’t. This is why I do not believe that anybody could ever take the place of Jordan. It is not Jordan’s championships and stats that makes him the best player ever, but rather his acrobatic baskets, the sticking out of his tongue and his Air Jordan collection…it is Jordan’s mystique that makes him the best player ever in the NBA.

Air Jordan Symbolizes the NBA! Photo courtesy of www.sneakerfiles.com.

So it is very unlikely that either Kobe or LeBron can take that position from Michael Jordan and if MJ does ever lose that spot and mystique, it will be 30+ years from now when most people have forgotten or were unable to witness the greatness of Michael Jordan.

Thunder and Mavs will meet in the WCF, photo courtesy of inform.com

It seems like it’s been a while since the Dallas Mavericks swept the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavs have been patiently waiting for the conclusion of the Thunder-Grizzlies series. Finally yesterday, Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder with his 39 points to bury the Grizzlies in game 7. Now the Western Conference Finals is set up for a matchup between the old experienced veterans who have been waiting to get their second shot at the Larry O’Brien Trophy after leaving with a bad taste in their mouth after 2006 against a group of young athletic guys who are hungry and want the respect from the rest of the league. Dallas won the season series 2-1, but as we all know, the season series doesn’t hold much weight in the playoffs, ask the Boston Celtics. Let’s break it down.

Backcourt – The backcourt is highlighted between the matchup of veteran guard Jason Kidd vs. new kid on the block Russell Westbrook. It will be a matchup of craft vs. speed. Kidd will most likely stay within the offense, finding cutters, and hitting up spot up shots (35% in the postseason from 3pt) like he has all season long. Also look for Kidd to try to take Westbrook to the post a few times a game. Much has been made of Westbrook’s play throughout the playoffs with the claim that he is taking too many shots. As we saw yesterday, when Westbrook is a distributor first (14 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists), the Thunder play their best basketball. Another key for Westbrook is to limit the turnovers. When Westbrook turned the ball over 3 or less times, the Thunder won against the Grizzlies (with an exception of game 7). Unfortunately through the playoffs, Westbrook has a 7-4.5 assists to turnover ratio.  Westbrook has raised his point average from 22 points during the regular season to 24 points in the playoffs but his shooting has fallen from 44% to 41%. Westbrook has certainly been shooting too many times. Every time he took more than 20 FGA attempts against the Grizzlies (except the 3OT game, but that had an extra 15 minutes), the Thunder lost. The criticism has been there rightfully so, but it is an easy fix because Westbrook is his own worst enemy. Kidd’s backcourt mate, DeShawn Stevenson can be counted on to hit a few 3 pointers with excessive celebration, but really poses no real threat. Westbrook’s backcourt mate, Thabo Sefolosha, is a great defensive player with good length. I think we can see Tabo out on Dirk to guard the 3. The Thunder have the edge in the backcourt due to the attention that Westbrook draws.

Kevin Durant has been on fire in the playoffs, photo courtesy of buffingtonmedia.com

Frontcourt – The frontcourt is certainly where the matchups get interesting. The Thunder have scoring champ Kevin Durant, along with high energy Serge Ibaka and newly acquired Kendrick Perkins. Kevin Durant has gotten everything he’s wanted this playoff (except for maybe the ball on a few possessions) averaging 29 points and 8 rebounds on 46% shooting. It is becoming progressively clearer that Kevin Durant is the best offensive player in this league. He has one of the quickest releases and can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. I believe he will continue his field day on Shawn Marion, who certainly has lost a step with age. In fact, I think Durant will increase his average back up to about 32 or 33 points a game now that he doesn’t have to deal with Tony Allen or Shane Battier in his grill. The Thunder have to get the ball to KD and let him do his thing. I believe the pick and roll will be more successful against Dallas than it was with the Grizzlies. I believe Scott Brooks has to consider taking out Perkins in situation where he needs offense and inserting Ibaka and Collison. Both run the pick and roll with Durant much more effectively than Perkins. As for the Mavs, if Kevin Durant has been the best offensive player, Dirk Nowitzki is certainly a close second. Nowitzki so far in the playoffs is averaging 27 points, 8 rebounds, and shooting a ridiculous 50% from the field, 60% from the 3pt, and 90% from the line. In other words, he’s made almost everything he has shot. Nowitzki has certainly been vocal about the 2006 collapse to the Heat, and his play on the court has shown that he is hungrier than ever for a second shot. It will be interesting to see how Tyson Chandler and Kendrick Perkins matchup. Both are physical players, but play with two different styles. Perkins is an excellent one-on-one defender, while Chandler is a great help defender. Chandler poses no real threat with post up play, so it will be interesting to see how the Thunder utilize Perkins in this series other than an emotional leader. I certainly don’t see him swinging out to Dirk too effectively at the 3 point line where the air is thin for big guys. I give the front court edge to the Mavericks.

Bench – Both teams have excellent benches, perhaps the two best benches in the playoffs. The Thunder are led by James Harden who has made huge shots for the Thunder, and Mr. X-factor himself, Nick Collison. Last series alone, the Thunder were a +55 with Nick Collison on the floor. His impact may not show up in the box score, but he affects the game every minute he is on the court with his hustle, rebounding, and relentlessness. After struggling in the first round, James Harden came back last series with the Grizzlies shooting 48% from the field with 14 points a game. Not that I need to say it, but fear the beard…always. The Dallas Mavericks bench has been unstoppable, giving the Mavs huge production. The Mavs bench in Game 4 in their series against the Lakers outscored the Lakers starters. Jason Terry has been unstoppable with 18 points off the bench with 52% shooting from the field and 50% from 3 point land. To have one player shoot over 50% from 3 point land is incredible, but the Mavs have two with Terry and Nowitzki. JJ Barea also proved that he is a force to be reckoning with, just ask Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest. Barea for the lack of a better word is a “pest.” He prances right to the middle of the key, probes around, and makes your guards chase him all around the court while opening up all the Mavs shooters on the perimeter. Nick Collison is the Thunder’s X-factor, but Barea is without a doubt the Mavs X-factor. It is too hard to choose which team has the edge when it comes to bench play, so I will conclude that whichever team has a higher bench production any given game will win that game.

Coaching – Both teams rely on the pick and roll in their half court offense and try to get as many fast break points as they can. I believe the Mavs have the better half court game, but the Thunder have the better fast break game. Rick Carslisle has a team that knows how to win and has the experience needed to work themselves out of in-game situations. Scott Brooks on the other hand, has a young team that sometimes needs some composure in late game situations. Brooks needs to prove that he can take this team in to Dallas, execute the game plan, and come out with the victory. He has to be able to recognize when the pick and roll is being slowed up by Kendrick Perkins and make the substitution. I’ll give the edge to Carslisle because he proved a lot by exposing every flaw defensively for the back-to-back champion Lakers in their sweep. Carslisle knows how to run the pick and roll with his team to perfection with his perimeter shooters getting excellent looks.

Outlook – I think this will be a hard fought series that will be decided by the bench play of both teams. It will be interesting to see if Russell Westbrook continues his score first mentality, or continue his game manager/distributor play form game 7. Durant and Nowitzki will both fill up the box score and this series certainly could add another chapter in their legacies. In the end, I think the Dallas Mavericks are too much for the Thunder, and I’ll take the Mavs in 6 games.

This is just an opinion, so please…Pardon My Bias.

MVPs Derrick Rose and Lebron James will clash in the Eastern Conference Finals. Photo courtesy of www.thatsenuff.com

With the Chicago Bulls finishing off the pesky Atlanta Hawks, and the Miami Heat dismantling the Boston Celtics, the Eastern Conference is set for a showdown between the two powerhouses of Chicago and Miami. Both teams finished 1 and 2 respectively in the conference, and the Bulls have the current MVP in Derrick Rose, while the Heat have the former MVP in Lebron James. Both teams bring very different things to the table, and it will be interesting to see how the series plays out. Let’s break it down.

Can Wade outplay Rose? Photo courtesy of www.holytaco.com

Backcourt – The Bulls have the best point guard in the game in Derrick Rose. He’s a prolific scorer, crafty passer, and an absolute highlight reel. During these playoffs, Rose has been putting up 29 points and 8 assists per game. Unfortunately, his FG % has taken a hit from the regular season to the playoffs, dropping from 45% to 42%. His 3pt % is also down to 25% these playoffs. There is no doubt that Rose is the heart and soul of this Bulls team, and he will certainly need to put up huge numbers at high percentages to get past the Heat. Rose’s backcourt mate Keith Bogans, however, is one of the weakest points of the Bulls roster. Bogans gives very little offensive contribution, and his defense is average at best. He will be challenged, along with Ronnie Brewer, to stop a future Hall of Fame guard, Dwayne Wade. These playoffs have certainly been Dwayne’s world, as he averaged 30 points in the Boston series, along with 8 boards and 5 assists. He’s been playing fantastic defense during the playoffs as well, averaging a little over 1 block per game and nearly 2 steals. His backcourt mates, Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers, have given the Heat great contribution. Bibby brings great veteran leadership, and Chalmers has hit timely 3-pointers through the first 2 rounds. I am interested to see if we get a Wade-Rose matchup defensively. I think from Miami’s standpoint it is a favorable defensive matchup because they have other scoring options in James and Bosh, as well as Wade’s willingness to rise to the occasion on defense. I don’t think the Bulls can afford to have Rose expend the energy needed to defend Wade. It’s simply too much to sacrifice offensively because the Bulls need every point from Rose. Even though Rose is the MVP, I believe the Heat have a better back court due to their defensive capability.

Deng will have his hands full trying to defend Lebron. Photo courtesy of www.palmbeachpost.com

Frontcourt – Whoever can win the frontcourt matchup between these two teams, I believe will win the series. The Bulls acquired Carlos Boozer for this series, to matchup against Chris Bosh. Both of them are good forwards, but neither of them has played well in big game situations throughout their careers. Both will be put to the test this series with high expectations of valuable contributions. Luol Deng has become a reliable scorer for the Bulls, averaging nearly 17 points per game during the playoffs. Deng will certainly have his hands full trying to defend against Lebron James this series, who is a much different monster than any other Small Forward Deng has seen so far in the playoffs.  James has certainly been on a tear of his own averaging 26-9 during the playoffs. LBJ is certainly focused and committed on the defensive end, adding a little over 1 steal and 1 block a game himself. The big piece for the Bulls will be in the middle with Joakim Noah. Noah is the defensive stopper that is needed to slow down this Heat team that is absolutely on fire (no pun intended). Noah has the capability of plugging the middle to stop penetration from James and Wade, something both thrived on last series against the Perkins-less-Celtics. This will be the first time the Heat will have to play against a legitimate defensive center, and I certainly think this will bother them and force them to change their style of play. Because of this defensive presence from Noah, I give the Bulls the edge in the frontcourt.

Bench – The Heat only have two real contributors coming off the bench, Mario Chalmers/Mike Bibby (based on who gets the start) and James Jones. Mike Miller has been a complete disappointment, and his injuries have clearly bothered him. Big Z and Howard have certainly showed  their age throughout the playoffs. The Bulls have a good second unit that comes in and gives much better production as compared to the Heat. Thibodeau likes using Watson, Brewer, Korver, Gibson, and Asik throughout the game, and they have played well all playoffs. They are a much more athletic second unit than the Heat, and I think this will be a good advantage for the Bulls. The Bulls have the clear edge when it comes to bench play.

Coaching – Tom Thibodeau is the Coach of the Year, and has brought a defensive mentality to this Bulls team. Thibodeau has this team working defensively like the Celtics were back in 2008 when they won the championship. Offensively, Thibodeau has been using the pick and roll all postseason long. In fact the pick and roll has been used 22.75% of possessions for the Bulls and has reached havoc for their opponents. It will be interesting to see how the Heat choose to defend this. His counterpart, Erick Spoelstra has finally got this team clicking on all cylinders. He has his team performing the best they have all season long, but I am still confused by some of his end game decisions. Spoelstra still continues to put the ball in Lebron’s hands at the end of games instead of Wade. It would be defensible if he drew up a play for Lebron to drive to the hoop, but too many times it ends up in a pull up jumper. If Spoelstra wants a pull up jumper, why not go to Wade who is a much better shooter? The coaching edge certainly goes to the Coach of the Year, Tom Thibodeau.

Overview – I think this will be an amazing series that will bring up challenges to both teams. The star power alone will have me glued to the TV. Each game might have to have its own SportsCenter Top 10 Plays. Both teams have offensive weapons that will expose each other’s defensive weaknesses. With that said, I think the Bulls are a more complete defensive team, with Joakim Noah being the absolute key for the Bulls. He will have to stay out of foul trouble for the Bulls to be successful. The Heat have shown that they are a good defensive team themselves, but I do not think they are as complete of a defensive team as the Bulls. In the playoffs, defense wins ball games. Therefore, I’ll take the Bulls in 7 games.

This is just an opinion…so please, Pardon My Bias.

Photo courtesy of foxsports.com.au

With my Los Angeles Lakers being eliminated yesterday in an embarrassing fashion, many people have raised the question, “is this the end?” For the last 3 years, the Lakers have been considered one of the best, if not the best teams in the league. With that territory, comes the hate from all other fans from other regions, and some from within Los Angeles itself (after all, we kind of have a second NBA team). Having the two time defending champs swept by a team that it has dominated in the past, “Laker Haters” rejoiced. Even some Lakers themselves began questioning trust like Andrew Bynum, and former partial owner Magic Johnson before Game 4 by claiming that Dr. Buss needs to, “blow this team up.”

Let’s take a step back and evaluate.

Magic Johnson, a well respected figure in the NBA, basically started this whole fire. “Dr. Buss has a lot of work to do,” said Magic. “He’s probably going to have to blow this team up after the season if the Lakers lose this series because you have to come back with some fresh faces. You have to pick between the two big men with which one you keep and then you trade the other one.”

“The Lakers have two problems,” said Johnson. “They’re too slow and they have no athletes. This is an athletic league now. When you think about all the teams that are in the playoffs right now, they all can run fast and jump high.”

“Sometimes you can be together too long,” he continued. “This group has been probably together too long.”

Well Magic makes some great points. I agree with him that this group is not athletic enough in comparison to the rest of the league. When talking about athletes, the only real athletic player is Shannon Brown. The Lakers are lacking in speed, and it has killed them with many of the younger, quicker point guards in the league (Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Derrick Rose to name a few).

With that said, I do not think this core of players needs to be blown up. Most Lakers fans have been irate with the play of Pau Gasol this post season, and they have a right to be. Pau was simply not himself; he was not the same player that helped us win two championships in the previous years. His numbers took a significant drop this postseason, and some have gone as far as to blame it on a break up with his long time girl friend. Whether that is true or not, that is not a good enough excuse for his poor performance. Pau Gasol will be back, and he will be back with a vengeance this next season. He has not forgotten how to play basketball.

Lamar excepts his 6th man award. Photo courtesy of www.thatsenuff.com

Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum are both coming off their best years with Odom winning the 6^th Man Award and Bynum having a great showing in the playoffs. For once, most Lakers fans can see the hunger in Andrew Bynum, and I’m sure next year will be an All-Star season for him.

The Lakers still have the best front line in basketball, but it’s the pieces around that front line that need some modification. This is not the same situation the Lakers were faced with in 2004 when they lost to the Pistons. At that time, there were internal problems and the team was too old. This team is still young enough to make a few more runs. Kobe is 32 and just past his prime, but he still has a lot of juice in him, especially after an early exit like this. Lamar is 31, Gasol 30, and Bynum only 23.

The last time a team made four consecutive trips to the NBA finals were the Boston Celtics from 1983-87, and they only won in 2 of those appearances. Making it to the finals that many years in a row is a very difficult thing to do, and it certainly takes its toll physically.

The first step for this Lakers team in its rebuilding process will be to find a new head coach to replace the great Phil Jackson. This replacement will have a lot of pressure in trying to fill those shoes; therefore I think hiring internally within the organization would be a good thing. I think both assistants Brian Shaw and Chuck Persons would be good candidates for the job.

As far as making trades and acquisitions, I think the number one focus is to get a young, quick point guard. I love D-Fish, but he simply is no longer a starter in this league. He would be great coming off the bench for 15 minutes and giving guidance to some younger players. We also should focus on getting some athletic roll players, and an outside shooter. Both of those gaping deficiencies were magnified by the Mavs in the series.

Dwight in purple and gold. Photo courtesy of www.jockpost.com

Finally, the obvious big rumor is to bring in Dwight Howard. To do that, I believe the Lakers would have to give up Odom and Bynum for the big man and a role player. This trade sounds a lot like the Kevin Garnett rumors from back in 2006, and I’m not sure the Lakers would make such a drastic trade. I certainly think Dwight would be a great piece for the Lakers, but if it also meant picking up a contract like Gilbert Arenas, I want no part of that deal.

The Lakers have some clear work to do this offseason, but Mitch Kupchak and Jerry Buss have been known for pulling some miracle trades. I can guarantee you this much, the purple and gold will be back to the top in soon time.

This is just an opinion, so please Pardon My Bias.