2012 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference 1st Round

Bulls/Sixers, the 1/8 match-up; I must say that the Sixers will play the Bulls well due to the Sixers being extremely athletic but the Bulls are bigger.  With the Sixers being soft on the inside, the Bulls bigs should have their way around the rim.  As intriguing as this match up is, the Bulls are the most consistent team and at this time the Sixers don't boast enough fire power to keep up with the Bulls over a seven game series.  The Bulls will win easily here.

It's not surprising that the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic are facing each other in the playoffs but it is a surprise that the Pacers are the third seed and the Magic are the sixth seed. Before the season even began, many would have picked the Magic to land one of the top 4 seeds but no one could have predicted the drama that was Dwight Howard. The Pacers'
huge addition David West brought a toughness that the team lacked in recent years and second year wing Paul George continued his growth with impressive play. The Orlando Magic however will have to face the Pacers without franchise center Dwight Howard and despite playing hard, Magic opponents are shooting above 50% with Howard out of the lineup. This series should not and will not last long the Pacers will move on to the second round.

Beginning in 1996 and lasting until 2000, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat battled each other in the playoffs for four grueling years. The Heat was the first battle while the Knicks won the following 3 with all four series lasting until the deciding game 5 or 7....times are different now. Since replacing coach Mike D'Antoni, the Knicks have played inspired basketball and over the last month, Carmelo Anthony has played his best basketball since joining the Knicks at mid season last year. The Miami Heat are on a championship path and anything less will mean failure. This series will bring star power and passion but the Heat will have too much fire power for the Knicks and despite the fact that the Knicks have played better defense since Mike Woodson became head coach, the Heat are the superior defensive team. The Heat will move on but I have a feeling that this series will last 6 games as Carmelo Anthony is talented enough to lead the Knicks to two wins.

Upset Special

The Atlanta Hawks played the spoiler role this time last season as they eliminated the Orlando Magic from the playoffs in what many considered a huge upset and this season's playoffs the Hawks will again play the spoiler. The Hawks will face the Boston Celtics and for the past few years many experts have written the Celtics off.  After a slow start to the season, the Celtics had one of the better records in the NBA after the All-Star break and now many are picking them to make one last run....I am not.  Despite the fact that the Hawks home court crowd leaves a lot to be desired, they still have home court and the are the bigger, younger team and it's simply their time to make a deep postseason run.  The Celtics have too many questions, will Ray Allen be inserted back into the starting line-up, can Rajon Rondo contend with the Hawks defense, can Kevin Garnett contend with Josh Smith.  The Hawks will advance.

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The Fan of Fans: Ian Ross

It's been a little over 24 hours and the finality of the Miami Heat's season still stings.  Every time I turn on the television or surf the Internet I hear negative things about the Heat's season and at times it's uncalled for but everyone has the right to their own opinion but as a true fan I can't throw my team, my players under the bus like I've seen so many bandwagon fans do in the last 24 hours for I'm just not built that way.  If you're a true fan of any team, television show, or person you just know that at times you must take the bad with the good.  I remember back to the time that Shaquille O'Neal played for the Heat and I was so excited because I knew that a championship would follow and we all knew of Shaq's free throw struggles but I accepted it one because you take the bad with the good, but two because he always made them when it counted.

The mass exodus that I've seen from the bandwagon Miami Heat fans since the loss in the finals is a blessing in disguise because the truth is that we didn't need you guys anyway and you made it hard on true Heat fans like myself to truly enjoy this past season.  Just today I've heard of fans calling into south Florida radio stations and suggesting that the Heat trade Lebron James; stating that he did nothing for the team.  This is a crazy concept, I mean how do these "fans" forget so easy that the Heat didn't win the championship in Shaq's first year as well and that season also ended with a devastating loss at home.  True Heat fans knew that even with the addition of Lebron James and Chris Bosh that this wouldn't be easy, winning a championship is never easy and so as the world is enjoying piling onto to the Heat and being negative you all better trust the fact that Pat Riley is already formulating and adjusting his master plan for as I always say In Pat Riley I Trust.

The Pat Riley affect can't be understood by bandwagon fans, not this soon at least, they just don't understand how many times Riley has reconstructed the Heat on the fly to a title contender and now he's tasked with it once again.  These are the moments that he enjoys the most, that's why the championship of "06" meant the world to him.  Again a certain segment of fans won't understand that and quite frankly for those who are leaving please go away as far as you can and never come back.  The Miami Heat Organization is a Class A organization in the NBA and we need Class A fans, not bandwagon fans who'll run at the first sign of trouble.  I had to wait 11 seasons to enjoy that championship feeling and Heat originals waited almost 20 seasons.

As a frequent visitor of the sun-sentinel.com, I'm an avid reader of Ira Winderman who's covered the Heat for the last 23 seasons, his articles are amazing, truth filled works of art and he's even accessible as we've traded emails in the past.  Yesterday afternoon, I arrived home and read his post and I saw a letter that he posted on his blog that came from a true Heat fan who'd emailed him.  I was so touched by the letter that I decided to re post it here.  It was thoughtful and non blaming and I wish I could have been as poetic as it's author Ian Ross was with my own work so read it and enjoy.  Bandwagon fans take note for this is the way you're supposed to respond when your "team" is challenged.  Ian Ross is the Fan of Fans in my eyes.

“To the Miami Heat, Thank You

“Everyone in Miami today has something to say about the season that ended last night, and people are rightfully disappointed, stunned, frustrated, with how a series that began with so much promise ended with so much heartache last night.  But something people should be saying — if not today, then certainly tomorrow, and again and again this summer and fall — is thank you.

“Thank you to Micky Arison, Pat Riley, and the Heat organization, for giving us a championship contender ready to contend again next year and for years to come.  For rebuilding this team time and time again, and giving this football town a basketball team and organization that we have learned to love.

“Thank you to Dwyane Wade. The city’s heart and a player that has captured our imagination like no one has or could.  Standing 6-3 going on 7-0 most nights, from the crossover in Philadelphia in your first game to the shot over Baron Davis in your first playoff game to the 30- and 40-point games in your first NBA Finals, you’ve amazed so many times already, with so many times more to come.

“Thank you to Chris Bosh. Lost in all of the story lines and media hype over the last two months, the power forward who had never had an extended playoff run played like the All-Star he is, against Brand, against Garnett, against Boozer, and against Dirk. You didn’t need to prove you belonged, but you did anyway.

“Thank you to Udonis Haslem. For taking the floor in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals after not having stepped on the floor since November, and then playing like were never gone. And really, you never were.  When Heat fans look back on these playoffs, there may be some regret, sure, but there would have been so much more had we gone on this journey without you.

“Thank you to Mario Chalmers, to Mike Miller, to Mike Bibby and Joel Anthony and James Jones and our much-maligned “supporting cast.” The national media line was that you would be our downfall, but you were steady and unrelenting, and you carried us through some of our toughest moments.  The reality of the NBA and the financial rewards that you will be offered (and that you so fully deserve) is that some of you may not be back, but thank you for an incredible run.

“And thank you, thank you, thank you, to LeBron James. Thank you for sharing your career — which has been and will continue to be, for at least the next ten years, the most anticipated and scrutinized, analyzed and criticized career, in decades, and maybe ever, in the NBA — with us.  Heat fans are what we are — we are a young fan base, a growing fan base, a proud fan base, and to be perfectly frank, I’m not sure we deserved you.  I think of the crowds you left in Cleveland, the crowds that were waiting for you in Chicago and New York, and you chose us.  We are always going to want more from you — fans always do — but last July, you gave us the promise of everything, and as Heat fans over the next few days reflect on what happened over the last eight months, they’ll realize that you’ve already started to deliver on that promise.

“Last night I walked out of my seat and towards the exit with about 45 seconds left in the game.  I didn’t want to see the Mavericks celebrate on our court, didn’t want to remember the season that way.  But when I woke up this morning I started thinking about the way that the Oklahoma City Thunder fans gave their young team a standing applause when they lost to the Lakers two years ago.  Incredibly, this year, even with the increased expectations and dreams of their first Finals appearance, the Thunder fans did it again after they lost a disappointing series to the Mavericks.  I started thinking about that, and felt ashamed that I had left early.  I owe you my thanks and applause.  This city does too.”

Ian Ross, Miami

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2010/11 NBA Champions: The Dallas Mavericks

There are times in life when words aren't needed whether if they are spoken or read.  At times words can and will get in the way.  In knowing that at times words aren't needed I will do my best to be as sincere as possible without spending much time with word play.  Simply put the Dallas Mavericks are the 2010/11 NBA Champions as they defeated the perceived Three Headed monsters of South Beach.  I would like to congratulate the true Dallas Mavericks fans who's fought hard side by side with their team the entire year.  Enjoy the feeling for it is one that you will never forget just as I haven't forgotten the joys of 2006.  This is your payback and you earned it.  To Mark Cuban, your silence was rewarded and now you see that you can be more effective in that silence.

To Dirk, Jason Kidd, and the rest of the Mavericks roster, it was your unyielding desire that led you to this title and I respect that 100%.  Nothing was given to you as you simply proved too strong for the Miami Heat to contend with game after game so again congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks players, the organization, and their true fans!

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The NBA Finals 2010/11: Dallas vs Miami

Perhaps two of the most dramatic conference finals endings ever happened over the course of two nights during this past week.  First it was the Dallas Mavericks who in the waining minutes of games 4 and 5 made the OKC Thunder look like school boys and then there were the star players for the Miami Heat Lebron James and Dwyane Wade, the team that was dubbed as the team who couldn't close when it mattered, who powered the Heat to a thunderous and definitive win over the Chicago Bulls in game five.  The team who couldn't close ended the game on an 18-3 run in the final 3 minutes that sucked the air out of the United Center and ended the championship dreams of the team who'd earned the best record in the league, had the Coach of the year, and who's star was the NBA MVP in Derrick Rose.  The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat now prepare to do battle in the NBA Fnals and I would have it no other way but be warned of the perception that the media will force upon you. 

The elephant in the room is the fact that many, many, fans and basketball professionals will do whatever they can to say negative words about the Miami Heat while praising any Heat opponent as the greatest team ever.  It's happened all year and now it's slowly happening again as the media are making Dirk Nowitzki out to be the messiah and by comparing him to Larry Bird in what I can only describe as an attempt at the sympathy fan vote.  Dirk is a hell of a talent, a great player and yes throughout his career at times he has been virtually unstoppable but with that being said, the Mavericks have always found ways to lose; Larry Bird on the other hand has 3 NBA championships to his name.  Let me be very clear here, I'm not saying that Dirk isn't a great player because he is and if the Heat had a spot for him, I would gladly take him so my words aren't coming from a place a of hate as with so many folks who speak about the Heat.  Even as I type this, I just saw an ABC commercial advertising the NBA Finals and the tag line was the Big Three of Miami versus a team of veterans led by Dirk of the Mavericks.  Just be advised that the Miami Heat are just as loaded with hungry veterans as Dallas.  These teams are extremely similar in their make up but the Heat is much more deeper than the Big Three, deeper than most basketball "experts" give them credit for being.  At times you must use logic and not your heart, does one honestly think that winning a championship means more to Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Peja, or Dirk than it does Juwan Howard, Erick Dampier, Mike Bibby or Lebron James?  Winning a championship matters equally the same to all of those guys who have battled each other in the league for years.  As my regular readers know very well, yes I am a Miami Heat fan, a long time Miami Heat fan, since the days of Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, PJ Brown, and yes even Jamal Mashburn.....that was painful to type.  The Miami Heat are entrenched in my soul, my heart and now I will give my honest assessment of the 2010/11 NBA Finals.

The trophy above, the Larry O'Brien trophy is was it's all about!  Yes these teams met in 2006 for the title with the Heat winning in a stunning comeback after being down 0-2 but that doesn't matter now, both of these teams are completely different yet they're both as hungry as ever.  Two stars, Dirk Nowitzki and Lebron James are looking to cement their legacy in the annals of time, Dwyane Wade is looking to add to his already Hall of Fame career, Chris Bosh, wanting to shed the label of soft once and for all, and then you have the veterans on both sides, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Peja, Shawn Marion doing battle with Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Mike Bibby, and Big Z to name a few who's only mission is to be able to look in a mirror and call themselves a champion at the biggest stage.  Again that trophy is what it's all about, the winner, four wins away from hoisting that trophy and exorcising past playoff demons once and for all.

Usually lost in the journey is the fact that it's just basketball, simplistic and beautiful, either you make shots or you don't and this series will have very interesting match ups.  For all of the true Mavericks fans in Texas and scattered aross the US, I love you and appreciate your passion and yes I know your pain.  Lets sit back and enjoy a great series.  To all of the fans who are picking the Mavericks to defeat the Heat just because you're Haters or because you don't like Lebron James for whatever reason my break down below will be for you.  If  you truly know the game then you will understand the truths below.

Argument 1.  Miami will not be able to defend Dirk.

That could be possible, but he can be slowed down and the key to this will be Chris Bosh.  Bosh has been playing great thus far in the playoffs and if he can make Dirk work on defense, his offense may be affected due to slight fatigue.  The Mavericks will counter the Bosh/Dirk match up by playing a lot of zone and also by at times using Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood to guard Bosh while Dirk becomes the floater due to lack of trust in him defensively.  If the later happens the Mavericks will have no protection at the rim leaving Wade and Lebron free to attack.....Advantage Heat.

Argument 2.  The Mavs bench is better than the Heat's.

That's a great argument that can be made, the Dallas bench is probably better than the Heat's bench but if you look at it from strictly a scoring standpoint the Big Three's production for Miami makes it possible for the Heat to have less scoring from its bench than Dallas.  In other words Dallas needs its bench more for scoring while Miami uses it's bench more for defense, rebounding and at times scoring.  With that being said if defense really wins championships then the advantage goes to the........Heat.

Argument 3.  The Mavs have Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd is a Hall of Fame player and even at his advanced age I would love to have him as a member of the Heat.  At this stage in his career is basically a jump shooter who plays good defense. The Heat has Mike Bibby who at this stage in his career is basically a jump shooter who has played good defense thus far in the playoffs.  Historically Bibby has converted a higher percentage of his 3 point shots than Jason Kidd has, Kidd has made more but he's played longer, Bibby has the higher percentage.......Advantage Heat.

I'm not saying that the Heat are invincible and that there's no way the Mavericks can win, all I am saying is that for the people who are choosing the Mavericks just for the hell of it, please pay attention to the match ups that are in front of you.  These teams are extremely similar when it comes to personal and desire and the smallest details could make the difference on whether you win on lose.  The Heat have lost only 6 games in the last 2 and a half months and they won't lose four now.  When one enters a gun fight would you rather have 1 big gun or 3?

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The Collapse of the OKC Thunder

This was not in the script, a collapse of such magnitude was not supposed to happen to the Thunder, not this year.  All season I've heard from the so called experts  how the following teams had the best chance to come out of the West, The Lakers, Spurs, and Nuggets......the same thing you're thinking right now about Denver was the same thing I thought but some people who get paid a lot more than me to voice their opinion had Denver coming out of their first round series with OKC.  A few of them picked the Mavs but only a small segment.  I've watched the Thunder closely all season due to the fact that I was captivated by their epic 6 game series with the Lakers last post season.  I dubbed them the team of destiny, the team that would bleed new blood into the NBA as long as their management could keep them together.  After their heart breaking loss to the Lakers I felt as if the OKC Thunder had felt enough pain and that they would grow and that this season they would take that huge leap.  I ignored my critics as I tauted my team of Destiny to anyone who could listen and I had them facing the Miami Heat in the 10/11 NBA Finals.  Now it seems as if my team of Destiny has dug itself into a hole that it may be too young to dig out of.

Last evening, game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, the Basketball Gods ruled that it was not the Thunder's time, not their destiny to defeat the Mavericks in a game that despite the greatness of Dirk, the Thunder dominated.  For those who didn't see the game, words can't explain the stunning events of last night but I will try with the help of hoopdata.com.  The collapse began in the most unlikely fashion, Russell Westbrook raised up for a three point shot which he missed, Thunder big man Nick Collision snatched the board swung around and passed the ball to Kevin Durant who drilled a three pointer to put the Thunder up 99-84 with 5 minutes to go......and then it happened.

Below is courtesy of Hoopdata.com

5:00 to go: Oklahoma City leads 99-84

4:48: Shawn Marion is fouled by James Harden and makes 2 FT's.

4:33: Dirk Nowitzki is fouled by James Harden after a Dallas defensive rebound. This is notable because it was the SIXTH FOUL ON HARDEN, and because Dallas was in the bonus. DUMB! John Hollinger of ESPN was on top of things with poor OKC foul choices in his fourth quarter tweets (which made up for him tweeting "I think we're done here" just before the rally started...jinx city!). Dirk only made one free throw, so it's 99-87.

4:20: Russell Westbrook misses a 17-foot jumper just 13 seconds into the shot clock. The whole arena still thinks this is going to be an OKC win (and I was preparing an entirely different lead!)

3:48: Russell Westbrook tries to drive through the Dallas trees, and loses the ball to Jason Kidd. He pulls Kidd down afterward...resulting in two free throws that Jason mKes. It's 99-89 OKC...and I'm thinking, "wouldn't it be something if OKC blows this game and I can point to those last two plays from Westbrook as the turning point?" Of course, it's Harden fouling out is the better turning point. In fact, Westbrook getting into trouble on offense is one of the dominos that started to fall because a key weapon was off the floor.

3:32: Kevin Durant misses a 22-footer 16 seconds into the shot clock. Durant seems to shy away from driving to the basket late in tight situations.

3:15: Dirk Nowitzki makes a 13-foot jumper...with the play-by-play listings not able to do justice to the acrobatics involved in Dirk's late scores. Dallas has cut it to 99-91 with 3:15 to go. And, it still seems unlikely that a full comeback is in the cards. Scott Brooks calls a timeout to remind his players that they haven't won yet.

2:49: Kevin Durant misses a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. Nick Collison gets the rebound. Russell Westbrook makes a free throw line jumper with 2:32 to go, and poses for the cameras like he's in a music video...rather than humbly remembering that he's hitting about 30% of his shots outside of 2 feet over the past few weeks.

2:21: Dirk Nowitzki hits a trey to make it 101-94

2:11: Jason Terry fouls Westbrook when Westbrook was a bit out of control bringing the ball up. But, Westbrook is great at drawing contact, so he may have been more in control than I was giving him credit for. Westbrook misses BOTH free throws, which was a shocker given how well he'd been hitting them in the playoffs.

2:00: Dirk Nowitzki makes a 14-foot jumper to make it 101-96, and it starts to dawn on Thunder nation that they're on the verge of a major choke job.

1:30: Russell Westbrook misses a 15-foot jumper. Obviously it was late in the shot clock. Harden isn't on the floor. Given what they've seen in the series, Dallas wants Westbrook taking that shot.

1:25: Dirk Nowitzki makes a 5-footer and it's 101-98 with 1:25 to go.

1:07: Kevin Durant gets picked by Shawn Marion...Jason Terry's subsequent layup attempt gets blocked by Thabo Sefolosha...Russell Westbrook misses a 16-foot jump shot...then fouls Shawn Marion right afterward in the backcourt. Marion makes one of two...meaning OKC gave Dallas four points on fouls a mile away from the basket during th is stretch. It's 101-99 Oklahoma City with 39 seconds left. All of those "Dirk makes" and "Westbrook misses" notations and the Thunder are still ahead...WITH THE BALL...with 39 seconds left.

0:20: Thabo Sefolosha misses a three-pointer, and Dallas gets the rebound.

0:06: Dirk is grabbed from behind by Nick Collison and gets two free throws. I could see why some OKC fans would be mad about this call. Collison definitely had his hands on Dirk and impeded his movement. We've all seen it NOT called late in close games. We've also seen it called often when the scoring star of the team with the ball is the guy getting grabbed. Dirk makes his free throws, and we're tied.

Kevin Durant has a very long trey attempt blocked by Shawn Marion, and we're going overtime.

Overtime saw Jason Kidd and Jason Terry help Dirk with the scoring (a trey from Kidd broke a 105-all tie with 40 seconds left). OKC got buckets from Sefolosha and Ibaka, but misses from Durant and Westbrook. Four late Mavs free throws extended the margin to 112-105

I was stunned at what I was seeing and no one person was to blame for what took place last night; it was a collective effort at failure highlighted by an ungodly performance by Dirk down the stretch as he finished the game with 40 points scored.  It was the first time in 15 years that a team collapsed in such a manner and also the first team since 1986 to lose a playoff game with a rebounding advantage of +22.  The Thunder, my team of Destiny now find themselves in a 1-3 series deficit and a 94% chance of losing said series.  With that said the Thunder have a 6% chance of completing the Destiny that I have bestowed onto them but it is not my will, it's the will of the Basketball Gods and no one knows the depth of their decision making.  The NBA, where an Epic performance and an Epic fail can happen.....in the same game!  

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: Western Conference Finals

As the clock dwindled down Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City, the crowd chanted "We want Dallas, We want Dallas!"  Ladies and gentlemen your Western Conference Finals, The OKC Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks.  Dirk has been playing magnificent basketball this postseason but the Mavs as a whole have a different look to them.  After dispatching a tough Blazers team, the Mavs powered into the second and dethroned the NBA Champion Lakers in shocking manner.  They've seemed to have shed the soft label throughout these playoffs and who knows, that could have been their goal along with of course winning the NBA title.  The OKC Thunder powered through the first round by defeating a meshing Denver Nuggets team and then allowed the Memphis Grizzlies to push them to a game 7 this past Sunday.  It was a typical game game 7 with both teams playing tight for the majority of the game which caused many missed shots but as the competition grew closer, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook lifted the Thunder on the their back by KD scoring 39 and Westbrook added a triple double.  The Thunder's two superstars were just too much for the Grizzlies to handle in the series.

Dallas won the season series 2 games to 1 with both teams winning on the others home court.  All three games took place before the February trade deadline and both teams look slightly different at this time with Caron Butler lost for the season with the Mavs and the addition of Kendrick Perkins for the Thunder.  The Perkins addition will be key in this series because Perkins will be able to neutralize the effectiveness of Tyson Chandler and keep him from roaming free in the paint.  Dirk will be Dirk and will play amazing as always but the level of his amazing play will be test by "Air Congo" Serge Ibaka, who's quickness and height on defense may force Dirk away from his comfort spots on the court.

The most intriguing match up of the series will be Jason Kidd vs Russell Westbrook, the past vs the future.  Russell Westbrook has the type of game that will allow him to become Jason Kidd 2.0 and his time with Team USA "The B Team" in the off season allowed his game to grow to the point where it is now.  As like Kidd in his prime, Westbrook gives the Thunder a distinct advantage due to his ability to possibly earn a triple double on any given night.  Kidd will have the size advantage but Westbrook will have the speed advantage and watching those two battle for rebounds will be a thing a beauty considering they'e both great rebounding guards.  Kidd staring into the eyes of Westbrook during his defensive assignments will be like looking to the mirror at a reflection of himself but also like staring into a time machine marveling at what he used to be.

With both teams playing good defense, I don't expect to see a lot of points being scored but I also wouldn't be surprised if both teams reverted to previous incarnations of themselves and abandon their good defensive philosophies for a game or two.  Dirk and Kevin Durant will cancel one another out and Westbrook may usher Kidd into retirement.  The theme of this season's playoffs have been that of a youth movement and that movement will continue as the Thunder advance to the NBA, their first as the Thunder and not since 1996 as the Seattle Supersonics; It is thy will, their destiny!

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals

And then there were two; The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are set to began their battle Sunday evening in Chicago for the right to earn a trip to the NBA Finals.  Throughout the season both teams shattered the expectations of their doubters time after time and now they face off in a match up of the last two NBA MVP's, Lebron James and Derrick Rose.  During the regular season the two teams faced off three times with the Bulls winning the series 3-0 with the margin victory of the wins being only 8 points.  The regular season series was more close than what some "experts" were making it out to be.  I'd be the first to admit that regular season success against a team doesn't equate to post season success against the same team but there are those times when it has.

Many expected the Miami Heat to be the juggernaut in the NBA this season but it was the Bulls who captured the best record in the league and produced the MVP and the NBA's Coach of the Year.  The Bulls were constructed as a finely crafted, well oiled machine with Rose being its engine, driving them as far as he can.  No one and I mean no one expected the Bulls to be the league's top team or make it this far in the playoffs but I fear the run may end sooner than some had anticipated.  As with the last series, the amount of games won't matter here because playing in one game will feel as if you'd played in two. The Bulls and the Heat are two of the best defensive teams in the league so points will be scarce and may come with a price.  Easy baskets, fast-break points will be essential and who in the league runs the fast-break better than Dwyane Wade or Lebron James?  Advantage Heat.  The Bulls out rebounded the Heat in the regular season and it could become a problem again for the Heat in the playoffs but if Miami stays in attack mode, they will shoot many more free-throws than the Bulls thus countering a possible rebounding disadvantage.  Advantage Heat.  Kyle Korver is the most consistent three point shooting threat that the Bulls have, the Heat on the other hand has James Jones, Mike Bibby, Mike Miller, and Mario Chalmers.  Advantage Heat.  The Heat will have to contend with the MVP Derrick Rose on the offensive end and perhaps on some nights Carlos Boozer, the Bulls will have to contend with Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, and on some nights Chris Bosh.  Advantage Heat. I'm sure you see the pattern here.  The Heat move on!

 

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Through the Lake of Fire: Lebron James: The Aftermath

10 points, 10 straight points by Lebron James to finish off the Boston Celtics in 5 games.  10 straight points to exorcise the pain that the Celtics have inflicted upon the players of the Miami Heat for years and finally 10 straight points to give the kiss of death to a well respected champion who fought to the end.  The Miami Heat did what many thought was impossible, they walked through the Lake of Fire and faced the demon that haunted them for years.  Once the game clock read zero, dot dot, zero zero, Lebron James knelt onto the court overcome by the pure raw emotions of not only a basketball player but that of a man.  No team has faced the pressure that the Heat had over the last 9 months and no player had to face the music as much as Lebron James has thus far this season.  Going through the Boston Celtics was only one goal, one of the reasons that this big three was formed and now the Miami Heat are at the threshold of their final journey; they're only eight wins away from the ultimate prize, the ultimate redemption for James, the cementing the legacy of Wade, and the culmination of sacrifice for Bosh.  Last night was the 1 year anniversary of that faithful night in Boston where the downfall of Lebron James started......how ironic that last night he rose up in the face of all of the adversity and delivered the knock out blow.

The critics who just needed something negative to say were all underwhelmed by the 58 wins the Heat earned this past season but the bigger picture was lost.  It was always all about the playoffs and making it to the Eastern Conference Finals with what some have called a "flawed" roster is a great achievement.  All year the naysayers have spoken about this team as being bullies, front runners, not being able to win in the clutch and dare I say accused of being soft.  The majority of those labels were shed last night, the Heat wanted the biggest kids on the block "The Celtics" and they vanquished them in five games that equated to five rounds of a heavyweight fight.  Simply put it was a climatic power struggle of two great defensive teams, similar in many ways to the playoff battles the Heat had with the Knicks in the late 90's.  As stated in the past, the Celtics Big three were the blueprint for the big three of the Miami Heat and if you look at the numbers, they are staggering.  The Celtics big three averaged 50.4 points, 19.4 rebounds, and shot 42.2% from the field.  The big three of the Heat averaged 71 points, 25.2 rebounds, and shot 44.8% from the field.  Simply put, the Celtics were outplayed by younger legs.  

Mission Accomplished....Not Quite!

The Great White Shark was able to capture the seal and devour him and now what's next in the chain of life is the next meal?  He'll no doubt enjoy this meal, it was a long time coming; this meal will end the hunger of the Great White for a couple of days but then that hunger will return, consume every thought of that Great White once more.  In a matter of days it will be time for those eyes to roll over black again and those jaws spring open, ready to slam shut on the next helpless seal, whether it be the Bulls or the Hawks, the fight for survival will be the same as the last.  Will the determined win or will the desperate win?  After walking through the Lake of Fire to defeat the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat now understands what it takes to jump start their collective games and make the championship pushes as the end of games that necessary to truly be crowned champions.  

In a season of ups and downs, a season in which the most scrutinized team in NBA history grew up before our eyes, the most honest assessment of the team came from outside of the organization.  The assessment was based on all of the negative media coverage that the Heat received throughout the season   Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers made the assessment last night in his post game interview when he made this statement about the Miami Heat:  

"I didn't like it because I thought it helped them. I said it all year, I wish you guys would leave them alone because it allowed them to go through something, it prepared them for the playoffs, and i said it all year to our coaches, I wish people would just leave them alone."


A lot of people in this world spend the majority of their basketball time hating on the Miami Heat and attacking the Heat every chance that they can.  The deeper the Heat go into the playoffs, the less "fans" will be able to hate.  The Heat are 8 wins away from the ultimate goal, the ultimate FU and I wonder what will the "fans" who hate have to say at that point about Lebron James and the other team members.  Even this morning I heard "fans" on sports radio complaining that the Heat "celebrated" too much after the win last evening, maybe I'm biased but I didn't see it that way.  What I saw was a team exhaling after completing one of their two goals for this current season and that was defeating the Celtics, the next goal....winning the NBA Championship.


At this brief moment in time the Miami Heat are the favorites to bring the title home but they will still have to work for it.  There's no doubt that earning the next eight wins will be the toughest wins of the season to acquire but they can at least see the finish line.  The playoffs are where you make your name and Lebron James has become entrenched inside of the Miami Heat culture and it was the best thing for him as a person and as a player.  Over the past season I've seen him grow up as a player and as a man and embracing the best partner he could have in Dwyane Wade instead of standing in his way.  It seems as if Lebron, King James has figured it out and if that's the case...NBA beware because all Championship hopes and dreams for the other NBA franchises may have to go through Miami for the next 3-4 years.

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A Public Announcement from Balla Commish: Bandwagoners you're not wanted!

A funny thing has happened in the NBA during the last week of the playoffs; now that the Lakers are seemingly at the end of their championship run and the Boston Celtics are in a 0-2 hole which could change for the good or bad tonight, the sexy pick for the NBA Championship now has become the Miami Heat and fans all around are touting the Heat as the next it team.  Let me get this straight, we go from the most hated team in the NBA since July 8th 2010 to every one's sexy pick now?  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I get it but this new found love is kind of sickening and insulting since I've been a Heat fan since 1995.  I caught wind of the shift earlier in the week on my facebook feed and I ignored it mainly because I took it as a joke, didn't believe what I was reading but again I'm seeing this new found love and I'm starting to shake my head.

Fans I understand, either your team has been eliminated from the playoffs at this point or are on the verge of elimination and you just want to feel good about yourselves, feel like you were right in your picks...again I get it, but your new found love for the Miami Heat is simply not wanted.  This new fake love has even gotten so strong that it was a topic at the Heat's practice on Thursday, here a quote from Lebron James on this new, fake love.


"It's just us. What we do in the locker room, what do on the road as a team are the only words we need," "We understand that, as we win games, people will try to crown us," "That's bizarre. We just have to go out there and continue to play our game."


Translation:  The fake love that we're receiving right now is weird and unwanted, all we're focused on is each other's encouragement during our championship path.  We're just trying to win, nothing more, nothing less.

May God Bless Him 

Could the Heat win the this years Championship?  The answer is yes but I've been very quiet during the playoffs for a reason.  They could lose as well and where is the fake love going to go at that point....it will go back to its original state of hate....it's a thin line folks.  There's no secret I've been making my picks round by round and posting them here and so far I'm doing quite well overall, but only two people know at this point in time who I picked to play in the NBA Finals months ago.  I'll give you a hint, both of my picks are very much alive and doing quite well.....that's all you get!  I don't make my picks to allow myself to feel as if I'm right all of the time because I'm not, I mean I have picked the wrong finals match up 3 times in the last 10 years but I do not appreciate those who change their pick week by week in order to feel right.  If you're wrong, deal with it and move on, accept it and pick better next year.  Changing your picks week by week, game by game is a sign of weakness and it shows that you just want to be liked or dare I say give yourself a false sense of confidence....can you say insecurity?  I saw one of my basketball brothers last week on facebook pick a Heat-Thunder Finals after his Orlando Magic were eliminated and today he's changed it to Heat-Mavericks.  My question would be why the change?  So the Mavs are beating the Lakers, maybe the Lakers time is over as I predicted months ago; that doesn't make the Mavs look that much stronger...if I'm not mistaken the Mavs were down late in all three of those games and the Lakers just blew it or maybe someone's lucky.


The door swung open on July 8th for any fan to join the Heat and it closed the very next day...no exceptions.  If you didn't support the Heat all year, please remain silent now.  We don't need your fake love nor do we want it, I'm sorry that you're so disappointed at your "home" team that you'd rather support my team to make yourselves feel better because you don't want to feel like losers.  Please take these words of encouragement from the Balla Commish to heart....go fuck yourselves...you'll feel much better!  Someone has to be the bad guy, it might as well be me!         

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: The Western Conference 2nd Round

The Power of Belief struck again as the Memphis Grizzlies, the 8th seed, knocked out the top seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round.  Lurking in the second round as Grizzlies opponents is the Oklahoma City Thunder whom the Grizzlies defeated 3 times out of 4 games played in the regular season.  The Thunder defeated a Nuggets team that lacked the superstar "Anthony" needed to make a deep playoff run.  Both teams have a great defensive mindset and they both share young up and coming point guards in Mike Conley Jr. and Russell Westbrook.  The x-factor in the series will be Serge Ibaka; how well he plays defense on Zach Randolph "Z-Bo" will be key.  The Spurs couldn't handle the size of the Grizzlies front court but with the additions of Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed the Thunder should be able to contain the opposing bigs.  Tony Allen is a great defender for the Grizzlies but he will have a hard time guarding the taller and more elusive Kevin Durant.  In the playoffs teams need talent as talent trumps all, the Thunder have two of the most talented players in the league in Durant and Westbrook and those two will power the Thunder into the conference finals for the first time since their Sonics days in six games.

For the first time in their long careers, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki will face each other in the playoffs.  I'll admit, I was wrong in my choice to pick the Blazers to move past Dallas but I'm not guilty of hating on the Mavs, the Cowboys yes, but not the Mavs.  What I am guilty of is not trusting the Mavs period.  They're like those numbers that you play every week in the lottery and despite a few teases here and there you never win the jackpot...ladies and gentlemen, your Dallas Mavericks!  For all of the talent and all of the regular season success year after year, the Mavs have not been able to win the NBA championship because year after year some team always find a way to punk them.  From the Heat to the Warriors, Hornets, and Spurs, it happens every year and this year will be the Lakers turn to punk the Mavs.  Lets get one thing very clear, there's no rivalry between the Lakers and Mavs as TV land will likely lead you to believe.  In order to create a rivalry you must have lengthy playoff battles, the franchise player moving from one team to another, and being in the same division helps.  Again there's no rivalry here, the Lakers have been relevant forever and the Mavs are an after thought outside of Dallas. Do you already know where I'm going with this?  The Lakers will win this series in six games and move on to face to team destined since last season's playoffs to face them, the Thunder in the western conference finals.  

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference 2nd Round

It was the Power of Belief that allowed the Hawks to dethrone the citizens of the Magic Kingdom and it was also the Power of Belief that allowed the Pacers to give the Bulls one of the toughest 1st round playoff battles ever.  Now the Hawks and the Bulls are set for their second round match-up with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals at stake.  The Bulls won the season series 2-1 with one of those wins being on Atlanta's  home court.  To get to this point, Hawks Head Coach Larry Drew allowed Dwight Howard to have his way with his Hawks while the Hawks player shut down the rest of the team; in essence guard 4 to let one dominate and usually in the NBA one can't beat five.  The Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose pose a more serious threat to the Hawks than the Magic did but the Hawks have more firepower than the Bulls if utilized correctly.  The Pacers blueprint for playing the Bulls so tough was by stopping Rose and making his teammates defeat them which was the opposite of the strategy the Hawks used against the Magic and Dwight Howard.  If the Hawks decide to utilize the Pacers defensive scheme on Rose, they may have a shot to make the series extremely tough for the Bulls but that's only if the Bulls roll players continue their lackluster play into the second round. This will no doubt be another defensive struggle for the Hawks but it will be one that they'll lose.  Derrick Rose will prove to be too much for the Hawks and Carlos Boozer should make a statement as the Bulls move on in six grueling, ugly games.

The next series is personal:

Anytime the Heat and Celtics face off it's Armageddon, the winner of this series will not be the team that won but rather the team that survived.  The 2010/11 version of the Miami Heat was forged back in 2008 as the Celtics big three were formed.  The seeds were planted then as the Celtics went on to win the championship.  Now the two power houses will face off in the most anticipated second round playoffs battle of all time; again it's personal and it will be seven games of pure, primal, animalistic hell.  Last season the Celtics defeated Wade first and then Lebron in the playoffs, forcing the two to join forces with Chris Bosh as an extra addition.    Defeating Boston was always the goal, winning the NBA title is secondary because there was no doubt that this match up had to take place first.  With that being said the winner of this series may very well go on and win this years Championship.  This series is only personal for me because I respect the Celtics perhaps more than any other team sans the Heat of course.  To quote Ric Flair, "To be the man, you have to beat...the man!"  The Celtics are the "man", "that" team....you know "that" team in the hood that runs everyone off of the court time after time, after time...that is until the new kids on the block finally and shockingly dethrones them.  Miami has the best road record in the NBA and combining that with home court advantage is deadly for the Celtics.  The Heat will survive, the number of games doesn't matter, margin of victory doesn't matter; this is about survival...simply put the winner, the Heat, will walk off the court while the Celtics will be carried off the court having given the Heat all they could handle.

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: The Western Conference 1st Round

The wild wild west will be even more wild during this years playoffs.  Over the last ten season teams from the Western Conference have won 7 NBA titles, with only Detroit, Miami, and Boston winning titles for the East during that 10 year span.  The last three years the Western Conference Champion have been the LA Lakers and they've brought the title back to Los Angeles the last two seasons.  The biggest question of the year out west it:  Can the Lakers flip the switch and win a 3rd straight title?  No one will truly know until the end of June but it's all about the journey to the ring.  

Grizzlies vs Spurs
8-1

The Grizzlies were one of the hottest teams before the season ended and some say that they cooled off intentionally because they didn't want to move up in the standings and play the Lakers; instead they opted to play the Spurs whom they split the season series with 2-2 with the Grizzlies winning the last two meetings.  Should the Spurs feel disrespected by the Grizzlies?  Perhaps they should but they have a generations worth of playoff experience and the Grizzlies haven't been to the playoffs since 2006.  The Spurs, in the regular season depended on Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili more than they did Tim Duncan and they play a more up-tempo style of play than in years past.  Tim Duncan has been monitored all year and he should give the Spurs and boost in the playoffs but will he be able to contend with Zach Randolph?  How healthy is Manu?  Word is he may not play in game 1 which is a colossal loss to the Spurs but with the Grizzlies being without Rudy Gay the losses cancel each other out.  The Spurs will move on to the second round in six close hard games.

Nuggets vs Thunder
5-4

Nuggets you did it, you can exhale.  You guys came together and made the playoffs without Carmelo Anthony in the second half of the season.  Denver went on a roll post the Anthony trade and instead of falling out of the playoff race they made an incredible run and they did it by improving their defense.  Since the trade the Nuggets have allowed 10 less points per game to the opposing team...that's an astounding statistic.  Having said that the same thing that helped the Nuggets in the regular season will hurt them in the playoffs, superstars win in the playoffs when the game slows down and individuality is rewarded.  The Nuggets lack of star power will be their downfall when they face Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder.  This will be the most exciting series in the 1st round of the western conference and it will also be one of the quickest.  Westbrook will continue his maturation process and help Durant lead the Thunder into the second round in five games.

Hornets vs Lakers
7-2

No home court, no David West, no chance.  The Lakers are just too big for the Hornets to deal with and even with Bynum hurt, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are enough to push the Hornets around and grab every rebound.  Outside of leaving his heart all on the court, there is nothing that Chris Paul can do to dethrone the 3 time defending Western Conference Champions.  For those wondering why I didn't mention Kobe, Kobe is Kobe, his game will speak for itself as the Lakers move on in four games.

Upset Special

Blazers vs Mavericks
6-3

There's a reason teams wanted to avoid the Blazers, they play with an intense passion that's hard to match and now the Mavericks are tasked with taming the Blazers...yeah the very soft Mavs.  Brandon Roy has been a shell of himself after having knee surgery but the addition of Gerald Wallace at the all star break added a new dimension to the already loaded Blazers.  Lamarcus Aldridge is the real deal and he will give Dirk fits on the defensive end.  Simple put, the Blazers are a terrible match up for the Mavericks and they will win this series in 6 games.  3 of the last 4 years the Mavericks have been eliminated out of the playoffs in the first round; why would it be different now?

Now the first round is set and as you can see the second rounds east and west will be very interesting.  Some fans will be excited to move on and others will be crushed.  The NBA will crown a real champion because barring injury the best teams always win during best of 7 series.  The two month odyssey begins today and we are all in for a long and exciting ride, especially if the playoffs are just as dramatic as the regular season was.

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2010/11 NBA Playoffs: The Eastern Conference 1st Round

This is the time of year where I ask myself this question:  How does it end?  I apply that question to every playoff series I analyze and it has allowed me to correctly choose 7 of out the last 10 NBA Champions.  We're finally here, after all of the hype, all of the trash talk, and unexpected moves, the 2011 playoff are upon us in what I deem as the most exciting/emotional NBA season I've ever seen.  Last night the playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference were set with the Bulls taking the number 1 spot, followed by the Heat, Celtics, Magic, Hawks, Knicks, Sixers, and Pacers.  I must say that looking at this line up reminds me of the days of my youth where the Eastern Conference Champion would have to endure playoff wars, not games to advance...really miss the 90's.  Lets do this!

Pacers vs Bulls
8-1

What can I say about the Bulls that hasn't already been said.  They are playing phenomenal basketball and are one of the most complete teams in the league.  Great coaching, great defense and the media's pick for MVP on your team doesn't hurt at all in a playoff match up against the unsettled Pacers.  The Bulls won 3 of the 4 games against the Pacers this season but after the firing of Coach Jim O'Brien the Pacers have played better basketball, Roy Hibbert is becoming a force in the post and I suspect he and Bulls center Joakim Noah will cancel each other out.  The Bulls will have a decided advantage at point guard and the 4 spot with Rose and Boozer but the most interesting match up will be between Deng and Granger.  This will be a series of two very athletic teams, but the Bulls will advance in five games.

Hawks vs Magic
5-4

This is perhaps the most perplexing playoff series of both conferences.  Let me be 1000% clear at this time:  The Orlando Magic are the better team and they throttled the Hawks last year in the second round of the playoffs and that's what scares me here.  This season the Hawks have defeated the Magic 3 of the 4 times they've played mainly because they believe they can defeat the Magic...The Power of Belief!  This series has seven games written all over it and from night to night you just never know which Orlando team is going to show up, will it be the Magic or the Tragic, with this team you just never know.  Orlando's inconsistent play is why this series will go longer than it should be but at the same time the Hawks have been a mess since trading Mike Bibby away at the All-Star Break.  This will be a long drawn out ugly series and I am picking the Magic /Tragic to move on in seven games.

Sixers vs Heat
7-2

With all due respect to the Sixers, this will be an annihilation!  The Sixers have had a great season after starting 3-13 and Head Coach Doug Collins is my pick for Coach of the Year.  There will be no upsets here, the Sixers season will end with a four game sweep just as the regular season series was won by the Heat 3 games to 0.

Knicks vs Celtics
6-3

This series brings a smile to my face and I'm eagerly awaiting it.  Thus far this season the Celtics have swept the series 3 games to 0 with one game remaining.  During the last couple of weeks, the Knicks have played their best basketball of the year post acquiring Carmelo Anthony while the Celtics have been in a downward spiral since trading Kendrick Perkins.  Didn't the Celtics have this same loll last season before flipping the switch and making it all of the way to the NBA Finals?  This years Celtics team is different from last years, this season the Celtics had their second most important player shipped to the Thunder and despite the expected falloff in defense, they have maintained their defensive disposition.  Two things hinder the Celtics at this time with the first being Kendrick Perkins/Shaq created space for the perimeter players to operate in and now that is absent which created tougher shots for Ray Allen.  The second issue that the Celtics have is their very thin bench; the additions of Jeff Green and Troy Murphy was supposed to fix this issue but they have been lackluster since their arrival to Bean Town.  The Knicks just want to run and as fast as they can and despite games typically slowing down in the playoffs, they could very well out run the Celtics.  If Rajon Rondo  decides to play well, the Celtics will win easily, if the other Rondo shows up, the disinterested one then this series could very well go 7 games, but I predict the Celtics will move on in 6.

Upset Special

Every season in the playoffs there's upsets, it just happens mainly due to teams matching up better against other teams but at times the Power of Belief does comes into play.  I said that to say this, the Orlando Magic has a bulls eye on them and this may cause some fans to be upset with me but I feel they have the biggest chance of being upset in the first round.  The Hawks seem to match up well with the Magic and I challenge any Magic fan to explain to me how they've lost to the Hawks three times this season.  When these two teams match up it seems as if the Hawks are playing with the Power of Belief and that's always dangerous.  I expect the Magic to win but the Hawks winning would not surprise me.

If there's any questions or comments feel free to email me at nbaballanation@gmail.com, all emails will be responded to.  You can also follow me on twitter @ballanation2010.

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