Thoughts on Western Conference Playoffs (4/24/14)

        With the playoffs underway we get to watch the 16 best teams in the league play and its is getting 

exciting.  Now that games are on everyday I have time to catch up on other teams in the league.  So far 

each series are two to three games into the series and it is still early to assume who will advance into 

the next round.  As the week continues we will find out who will advance to the next round.

        In the West so far, the Memphis Grizzlies have taken a 2-1 series over the Oklahoma City

Thunder which is surprising since OKC are the favorites to win.  The last two games have gone into

overtime and the Grizzlies rallied for the win.  In the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs series, 

they are both tied at one piece and the last game the former Warrior Monta Ellis scored 21 points 

leading the Mavs to a victory snapping a 10 game losing streak versus the Spurs.  Dirk Nowitzki started

off cold as well but made his next 7-13 shots.  Even though the series are tied, the spurs are the top

in the West and I think that they can make it on to the next round because of how how much veteran

experience they have.

         The most exciting series for me would be the Houston Rockets versus the Portland Trailblazers.

This is a an extremely high scoring series and Lamarcus Aldridge has been a beast in just 2 games 

averaging 44.5 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks being the first player to average 43 point in 

consecutive playoff games.   Because of all the dynamic scorers like James Harden, Chandler Parsons

and Dwight Howard the Rockets I thought that the series would at least be tied but Portlands offense

has been spectacular.  Since the Rockets are up 2-0 I think think that they can win the series in 5 or 6

games.

        Now finally in the West my favorite team the Golden State Warriors versus the Los Angeles

Clippers.  The Warriors got off to a good start in game 1 then in games 2 the Clippers destroyed the

the Warriors by 40 points.  The Warriors and Clippers have had bad blood between each other during

the past two seasons and now it has carried into this post season.  The match up that has been the toughest

is between Stephen Curry and Chris Paul since both of them are point guards but both of their games are so

different.  Honestly I want the Warriors to win but I think the Clippers are the better and will most likely

advance but if the Warriors win I will be happy with that.

        The West teams have better records than the Eastern teams so I think that this make the West more

competitive, unpredictable, and just more exciting in general.  If the East were as competitive as the West I

would probably feel more excitement but the West is just more enjoyable to watch and aren't predictable.

 I am looking forward to see the outcome of games and see who will make it to the next round.  


Who do you think will advance ?
       

Durant for MVP

        Not long ago it was the NBA season opener but now we’ve reached the last game of the season and it was another good year in the NBA.  There were lots of ups and downs that teams had to face, there were high expectations, and but also lots of disappointments.  Many teams reached new heights and now that the playoffs are about to begin we will see how the best teams in each conference will fare against one another.   It’s hard to believe this but some the best players in the league are still getting better each season.

        With the last game finished in the NBA, it’s going to be even more competitive in the playoffs as each teams aspiration is to win the NBA championship.  The favorites in the east are the Miami Heat who is looking for a three-peat and the favorites in the west are the San Antonia Spurs who were in the finals last year.  Although LeBron James is the leader of the Miami Heat and are favorites, people may be wondering why aren’t the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant mentioned.  Its because of the veteran presence and experience the San Antonia Spurs have with Coach Popovich.

        Whether all the talk be about the Spurs/Thunder or Heat/Pacers it really depends who will lead the team.  This year like every other past years we will be focusing on the best two players in the league, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.  The most wondered question between those two are who will win the MVP.  I am going to say that although LeBron is going to do down as one of the greatest players of all the time, I would give the MVP to Kevin Durant.  I truly believe Kevin will win and he certainly deserves it. The reason is that his game hasbecome more Lebron-esque the way he becomes a facilitator and handles the balland passes to open teammates rather than just scoring when he has an open look. 

        Other reasons I say that Durant should win MVP is the fact that he is putting up career highs in points and assists and is going to win his 4^th scoring title in the last 5 years.  Also Kevin Durant has never been number one in his life.  He was the second best player in high school recruits, he was second to be pickedin the draft, second in MVP for a couple of years, and second in the NBA finalstwo years ago.  Hopefully this award will motivate him to be even better.  He is playing the best basketball of his career and its scary that he is only 25 years old and still getting better each year.

        Now that the season is over it time to determine the MVP.  My choice for this year 2014 MVP would go to Kevin Durant for all the hard work he’s put in over the summer and it certainly in game.  He deserves a lot more recognition because it sucks to be called number 2 all the time.  Kevin is really young and still getting better and he going to be a force to reckon with in the league for years to come.

    

So who do you think will win MVP?

Thoughts on Playoffs ? (3/20/14)

        The NBA playoffs are slowly approaching as we are nearing the end of the regular season.  The best eight teams from each conference are going to separate by East and West and the winner of the conferences will then meet in the finals.  Although the eight spots are pretty much locked in, I still believe that some teams in the Western Conference can still make a late season run and clinch the 7^th or 8^th seed in the playoffs.

        When you think off playoffs, what come to mind should be the best teams in the league.  Not going by record, I believe that in terms of talent I think that the best teams in the West are the Spurs & Thunder and the best teams in the East are the Pacers & Heat.  All the teams I just listed were in the playoffs last year and have the same aspirations of winning an NBA championship.  They are all relatively experienced teams and are likely to make it deep into the playoffs.

        Although the Eastern conference is pretty much locked in, in terms of the eight teams that will advance to the playoffs, I believe that the West race is very tight and some teams still have a chance to take that 8^th seed.  The Phoenix Suns for example, have been hotlately and their record is 39-29, which is 9th place in the West.  If they were to play in the Eastern Conference they would be the 4^th seed.  It amazes me how good the Western Conference teams are that how they are 10 games above .500 and they aren’t in the playoff picture but if they were in the East they would have a comfortable spot in the conference.

        I have a feeling that the Western Conference picture could change down to very wire towards the end of the season as I see Dallas playing good and they have veterans on their team and a championship mentality as they won the title three years ago.   The Phoenix Suns I think can clinch the 8^th seed as Memphis, which is the current 8th seed, has a tough schedule ahead.  We have about 15 games to go till the end of the season and I think that Phoenix, Memphis, or Dallas will shift positions, as one of them will be eliminated.

        The playoffs are just a few weeks from now and whoever makes it there clearly deserves it and has the will to win.  I don’t think we can predict the finals yet because there are a lot of teams that have gotten better this year like the Clippers, Blazers, and Warriors.  All 16 teams that will make it are going to perform at a high level and will make for another exciting playoff like every year.  We just have to wait to see what unfolds in the weeks to come.

Who do you think is will make it to the next round ?

Lebron or Durant?

        This season the NBA has had many spectacular performances but when you talk about MVPs and who is the best player in the league, you are going to hear two names that are always in the mix, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.  They both have been dominating the league for years and it not a surprise that both are being mentioned especially since they are both so talented and hard working.  With the talent that LeBron and Kevin have there is no denying that whoever doesn’t win isn’t a great player.  But once again I believe that LeBron James may win once again this year.

        When you are awarding the MVP award you first have to decide how you want to define it.  MVP stands for most valuable player and you can define it as the best player in the league that season or best player who makes the team better.  Based on statistics you may give the award to Kevin Durant but if you are grading on best overall performance night in and night out the award may go to LeBron James.  There is no denying how good both of them are but there can only be one winner.

        For those who don’t watch basketball, LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world right now and his size with his athletic ability and high basketball IQ is rare for someone his size.  Kevin Durant statistically is a better scorer than LeBron because that it his role on his team.  An important statistic thatdetermines how elite these guys are, are given a Player Efficiency Rating(PER.) LeBron’s is 30.44 and Durant’s is 30.37, and when only 8 players in theleague have finished the season with ratings above 30 you know you are in elitecompany. 

        If the award was given at All-Star weekend I would have given the award to Kevin Durant since he has averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assist throughout the first half of the season.  But after All-Starweekend LeBron has elevated his game to new heights exploding for 61 points acouple weeks ago, which is a career high for him.  Since the break has ended he has beenaveraging 37 points/game and KD has been averaging 33 points/game.  So since the outburst of high productivity from LeBron James, he has now closed the gap in the MVP race in my opinion and its up for grabs till the end of the season.

        The MVP award is given to the best player in that season.  LeBron James has already won 4 MVPs in his career and looking for his 5^th trophy that would tie the great Michael Jordan.  Kevin Durant has won 3 scoring titles and is looking for his 4^th as well but beating LeBron out for MVP would be even sweeter.  So now that LeBron has closed the gap shut I believe that whatever happens towards the end of the season will determine the winner.

Who is your MVP so far ?

How I Got Into Basketball

I’ve watched a lot of sports in my life and have been mostly influenced by my Dad because when I was younger he would take me to games and he himself loved watching sports as a youth.  He has a lot of influence on who I am today because if he didn’t like sports at all I probably wouldn’t have either.  I watch mainly baseball, basketball, and football and support and rep the Bay Area.  I played all three of those sport when I was younger but I really wasn’t that good at basketball though.  Although I didn’t excel in basketball it was still fun to play with friends during P.E class and lunchtime.  Since I couldn’t play basketball I thought I could learn from watching.  I started watching the Golden State Warriors and I remembered watching Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, & Al Harrington.  Being a Warriors fan was rough though because for he past 5-6 year, we’ve sucked but have gotten a lot of talent through the NBA draft.  For a couple of years now, I’ve learned about every team in the league now just from playing fantasy basketball.  I use to just focus on the Warriors but there’s a lot of talent on every team and they should be recognized as well.  Other reasons that I’ve chose this topic is because of how universal basketball in general is.  In the Olympics basketball is its own event and many countries take pride.  The United States main competitors are Spain, Russia, and Argentina.  Also I hope people can relate to this because I’m sure everyone has at least played basketball once in their life.  It may be a new sport for you but if you watch it and enjoy it, you will learn how awesome basketball really is.