The night before the NBA finals! Time flies and summer is here! Memorial Day weekend....what a great weekend. Too bad the NBA semis didn't go the distance. That was the only thing missing from this weekend....some hoop!So who do you like? Let's run down a quick recap first. The Heat made it through to the Finals surviving a terrible start and more fanfare and hype than one could handle. They faced off against the Bulls led by league MVP Derrick Rose. The West finalists are the dark horse Dallas Mavericks who shocked the elderly Lakers and destroyed the youth of the OKC Thunder to advance.
I thought very similar semi-finals or conference finals. The Bulls and Thunder were too young and inexperienced to handle the Heat or Mavs. The Bulls outside of some help from Luol Deng offered nothing to help Rose. Carlos Boozer, like most Dukies, turned into a total bust. Way overpaid and provided nothing....no toughness when needed in the the Playoffs. The Bulls won the first game....then lost 4 straight, while leading by as many as 13 with 3 to play in Game 5. LeBron and D Wade turned it up and absolutely put the locks on Rose. I have never seen a guy at 6'8" D up a small, explosive guy like Rose in my life. Total lockdown defense down the stretch.
You know I am a Thunder fan. Well they pulled the same deal...losing in 5 to the Mavs and losing several games with a commanding lead late. Much of the talk centered around the poor play of Russell Westbrook, the young 2nd Team All NBA guard for OKC. Well I think he played exactly as you would have thought a young guy would play in the playoffs....young and unproven. Kevin Durant the better of the OKC tandem scored well....but I would argue played just as green. In the series biggest game, Game 4, after having a double digit lead they squandered it and wound up going to OT and losing. The final play in regulation, Durant shoots it from 35 with plenty of time to get a better shot. Much like Rose, Durant was locked down for the critical part of the series by Shawn "the Matrix" Marion.
The Playoffs folks is a whole different ballgame than the regular season. You cannot shoot fadeaways or be scared of contact. The officiating changes, the tempo changes, it is night and day between the Playoffs and regular season. I have to admit that in the last 5 years I primarily only watch the NBA in the playoffs. People said that would happen....I guess they were right and why I am reluctant to admit it. So back to my original question. Who ya got winning it??
I have to take Miami. Chris Bosh has been touted as one of the Big 3 with James and Wade. Let's be honest, he is not a top 25 NBA player, but like the Bulls series with hapless defense against him, could be a factor. Wade is a tried and true NBA hall of famer and will no doubt play great. James has a tendency to tighten up under pressure, and while I am not the biggest fan of his, I have to acknowledge his ability and with Wade and Bosh, Miami has the most talent. Not to sell Dallas too short as they have a top 3 shooter in NBA history with Dirk. Dirk Nowitzki is unbelievable and another HOF'er. The game against OKC where combining free throws he hit 36 of 39 shots is ridiculous. You cannot do that in your driveway....let alone being on one of the biggest stages in the world! The Mavs have Jason "the Jet" Terry, a venerable scoring guard who can light it up. They also have 39 year old Jason Kidd and again an aging Shawn Marion in there too. Sorry Dallas fans but I think the Heat win the deal and I think I will be pulling against them.
Let's pull for a great series and hope for some spectacular stuff. Heading into next year I hope the Bulls and Thunder are back. The biggest disappointment is that I would have tried to go to the Finals and get some nose-bleeders if the Thunder made it. When am I going to ever get a better chance to go to the Finals??
Other notes and thoughts.....thanks for reading about the NBA....I know most of my peeps reading this couldn't care less! Let's all think about Joplin MO on this Memorial Day weekend. Life is short and I just cannot stop thinking about those poor folks and that total devastation there! Let's also think of our loved ones. I have a sick Uncle and my thoughts are certainly with him....everyone take a moment to think of the people that matter most!! What are your thoughts on the NFL....mine are simple....figure out how to cut up BILLIONS and try not to make us lose any games. Prediction: we lose games. Baseball....well Albert will not keep hitting .265 for long....about the same length of time Berkman will continue to hit .355 :) Royals?? Pretty good start....but now have begun the thing they call my Drive in Golf.....THE BIG FADE! See ya Royals....GOLF: no Tiger? No problem for me....let's keep checkin these youngsters out....some great talent on the horizon on the tour. Thanks for reading everyone.....I really appreciate it!!
