Tag Archives: scoring

Let the LeBron Jokes Begin

13 Jun

The Miami Heat took on the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Thunder pulled away from the Heat in the 4th quarter to win, 105-94. This is nothing new for Heat’s LeBron James who made it to the Finals last year only to loose to the Dallas Mavericks.  James has a history of chocking in the 4th quarter. So much so that it inspired a series of jokes. I just thought I would share a few jokes before moving onto game highlights:

1. If you ask LeBron James for change for a dollar, he’ll only give you three quarters in return.

2. Apple has just released the LeBron James iPhone. Only vibrates. No rings.

3. LeBron James skipped college in order to avoid the finals.

4. LeBron James should get married because that’s the only way he will get a ring.

5. LeBron? No I don’t think I know him. Doesn’t have a ring to it.

Oh there are so many more. I love cheesy jokes. Maybe some new ones will arise this year if James doesn’t seal the deal. The match-up of Thunder’s Kevin Durant and James proved what I have always believed Durant should have been MVP. For the Thunder Durant had 36 points and 8 rebounds. Compare that to James’ 30 points and 9 rebounds. More importantly Durant did what James has struggled to do: seal the deal in the 4th. In the 4th Durant ran a fast break dunk and made a 3-pointer that gave the Thunder the lead.

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Spurs get ‘Nasty’ on the Court

30 May

 

And by get nasty . . . I mean win. Tuesday night’s Game 2 between Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs was not what I expected. It was probably not what the Thunder expected either. The Thunder trailed for entire game. The closest the Thunder came was within 6 points. It was like after Game 1 the Spurs really looked at their plays and reworked them to match the Thunder. And the Thunder well they just seemed utterly lost at how to beat the Spurs.

The Spurs won their 20th straight game beating the Thunder, 120-111. I should note that the Thunder are the first team to make it to a 100 points against the Spurs. Kevin Durant put up 31 points for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook had 27 points and James Harden had 30 points. And despite all of that scoring the Thunder still lost. Whatever was working for the Thunder before certainly isn’t working now.

Tony Parker (who shockingly gets very little attention in the NBA) scored 34 points. Manu Ginobili kept up his break out Game 1 appearance and scored 20 points. The biggest thing you notice while watching the Spurs is there ability to share the ball. When you look at the scoring stats it’s not just a few key people making points. (more…)

Let the Sweeping Begin: Heat Win, 93-79

28 May

The Miami Heat as expected beat the Boston Celtics for Game 1 Monday night in Miami. The Celtics were keeping up for the first half but slowly went down hill in the third quarter. At this point all you can hope is that the Celtics give it their best and try keep some of their dignity in this series. For the Celtics Kevin Garnett was trying to be the whole team but it just didn’t work. He scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds. Poor recovering Ray Allen couldn’t make a free throw. And don’t even get me started on their lack of defense and guarding. My message to the Celtics would be, “Yes Miami is big and strong but don’t be scared to get in there.” The Celtics did keep the Heat from making as many 3 pointers but then seemed to open wide for them to come in and dunk.

LeBron James scored 32 points and had 13 rebounds. Right behind him was Dwanye Wade who scored 22 points, 10 of them in the 4th quarter alone. There was sold support for the Heat from conference final virgin Shane Battier who put up 10 points and 10 rebounds.

This is going to be short and not so exciting sweet series if the Celtics don’t bump things up a notch.

-M

 

Who Should the Lakers Drop?

22 May

This is the second year that the Los Angeles Lakers have exited the Playoffs after Round 2. The first question all Lakers fans are asking is: what will change next year? Everyone has their personal predictions and thoughts on the matter. Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons to cutting people.

Mike Brown (He’s my vote) 

Pro: There is something not working chemistry wise with the Lakers. Yes the Oklahoma City Thunder are young and passionate but why didn’t Brown try to adjust for them. Brown is a great coach for the regular season but not for the Playoffs. As Kobe Bryant is getting older they need a coach who is going to take them all the way. Brown doesn’t seem to have the ability to cope with the egos of Bryant or Andrew Bynum.

Con: Brown has improved the Lakers defense. The Lakers seem to be happy with Bryant running the team and Brown being the public figure. If they bring in someone new know that doesn’t mess with Bryant it could just make things worse.

Andrew Bynum

Pro: If you trade Bynum you can get more bang for your buck. He is worth more than any potential trade with the exception of Bryant which will never happen. Bynum is not consistent and this is a real problem. He has the potential to be an amazing point guard but only if everything is in his favor. The best part is that Bynum gave a quote last night saying,’It doesn’t really matter to me. I’ll play anywhere.” Which to me is basically the preemptive cover your ass break-up line like “I was going to break-up with you first.”

Con: Bynum has some amazing potential and is still very young. If you trade him to another team you risk having to compete against him. Basically in girl terms you don’t want to be the starter wife for a guy who then goes out and makes millions.

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Celtics Fall to 76ers, 92-83

19 May

I really thought the Boston Celtics were on a roll and would make it all the way until last night. The Phildelphia 76ers came back to beat the Celtics and tie the series 2-2. The media is painting the young 76ers against the old Boston Celtics. Which is kind of crazy considering that the only old player is Kevin Garnett(36) which is the same age as Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Last night was the first time in the series that Garnett showed his age played poorly by scoring only 9 points and missing 9 of 12 shots. With Garnett not playing his best it was hard for the Celtics to hold onto their lead in the second half.

In the second half it was hard to tell if the 76ers were playing better or the Celtics were playing worse.  The Celtics just couldn’t keep up with the 76ers scoring in the second half. What should have been a slam dunk for the Celtics became a struggle to keep up. In the end the 76ers proved they wanted to win more. The star of the game was Andre Iguodala who broke the tie score making 5 straight points in the final 90 seconds to give the 76ers the lead.

-M

Finally the Lakers Win, 99-96

19 May

I guess the Los Angeles Lakers got my letter begging them to win a game because last night they pulled past the Oklahoma City Thunder to win their first game in the series. There was not a dull moment. Kobe Bryant played an amazing game making all 18 free throws. Bryant scored 36 points for the Lakers. Most importantly the Lakers got a lead in the 4th and held onto it. Unlike Game 2 where they lost a 7 point lead with only 2 minutes left in the game.In the last 92 seconds alone Bryant scored 8 points, 2 of which put the Lakers ahead with only 33 seconds left.

For the Thunder almost MVP and scoring title holder Kevin Durant had 31 points. It was a sad moment for Durant when he missed a 3-pointer that might have tied the game just before the buzzer. Let’s hope he doesn’t receive death threats on twitter for that like Laker Steve Blake did after Game 2. It is kind of shocking to think that James Harden ever spent any time on the bench for the Thunder. He scored 21 points Friday night. More importantly Harden is a beast when comes to getting fouls out of the other team. He is so aggressive on guarding that you can’t help but to foul him. I’m not sure what scares me more he guarding or sweaty beard. (more…)

Thunder Kill Lakers, 119-90

15 May

I don’t know if a word has been invented that is strong enough to convey what happened Monday night to the Lakers. If it weren’t controversial I would have said “rape” in the headline. The Thunder beat the Lakers in Game 1 of Round 2 by 119-90. That is the 4th largest deficit in the history of the Oklahoma City Thunder(including their Seattle days). This game was so bad that I think may Lakers fans are looking for support groups today.

The story on the Thunder side was Russell Westbrook who had 27 points and 9 assists. Since the two teams meet each other in the playoffs in 2010 Westbrook has grown as a player. Laker Kobe Bryant tried to put the stop to Westbrook’s scoring but didn’t have much luck. It was obvious there plan to slow Westbrook down by forcing him to take jump shot totally didn’t work. Then there was the Thunder’s Kevin Durant who despite having Metta World Peace on his ass managed to score 25 points. Bryant and Andrew Bynum each scored 20 points for the Lakers.

If the Lakers are going to have a chance at Game 2 then they need to find a way to shutdown Westbrook and Durant. Also Laker’s coach Mike Brown should know better than to be playing starters in the 4th quarter especially when it obvious there is no coming back.

PS

Despite there being a ton of build-up to the reuniting of World Peace and reserve James Harden after the elbow incident nothing happened. Fans booed World Peace and that was pretty much it.

-M

Heat Win But Lose Bosh

14 May

Could Lebron James’ life get any better? He just got his 3rd MVP trophy on Sunday and then the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of Round 2,95-86. Better yet is anyone out there happy for James? It was a tough game with the Pacers being within 2 points of the Heat until the last 10 minutes. Chris Bosh played only the first half leaving the game due to abdominal injury. An MRI today revealed that Bosh strained his lower abdominal muscle and will be out indefinitely. On the bright side Bosh can spend sometime with his new baby on the bad side the Heat will miss him. James lived up to his MVP award scoring 32 points and getting 15 rebounds. It was James’ point late in the game that sealed the deal for the Heat. The fourth quarter was a sad time for the Pacers with Dwayne Wade and James scoring 20 straight points. For the Pacers moving forward it is about creating a more efficient offense. Meaning when the Pacers have the ball they need to be going for 3s, if they can’t do that then they need to increase their total number of possessions. Ultimately if you can’t score a tone of 3s then you need to make sure you are getting the ball more often.

Round 2, Game 2, Tues. 7:00pm EST.

-M

Clippers, Playoffs: Words That Don’t Usually Go Together

17 Apr

I went to grab dinner right before the half of the Clippers/Thunder game Monday night. At the restaurant the game was playing and their was a man glued to the screen. I told my roommate don’t worry, “The Clippers are going to win.” The man sitting in front of us turned around and gave me a puzzled and bewildered expression.  I would like to say to you puzzled expression man: I was right. I knew despite being down the Clippers would come back to win 92,77.

To be clear the Clippers were already in the playoffs before the game Monday night. I just thought I would highlight how long it has been since this has happened, 2005-2006. The game went as you might have expected with Blake Griffin like a blind bull in a China shop dunking through people. The Clippers were a scoring machine out scoring the Thunder, 26-11 in the 4th quarter. Griffin scored 17 points just behind newbie Nick Young who scored 19 points. The Thunder’s Kevin Durant was really trying to even things out scoring 24 points. Now everyone the advertisers are celebrating the blessing that is Griffin for post season ratings.

Here are so more words I don’t often say: The game was played at the Staples Center to a sold out crowd. Yes you read it here, sold out Clippers game. So now it is official I am too poor for Clippers tickets. I guess the Kings Royals need to get down here soon so I can afford some pro basketball tickets.

-M

March Madness Over: Kentucky Wins!

3 Apr

Kentucky beat out Kansas tonight for the NCAA Title, 67-59. The game went as most games have gone for Kansas with surge in the last minutes.  Even though I picked Kentucky in my bracket, a little part of me wanted to see an amazing upset and would have to be amazing since Kansas was down by 18 points in the first half. Kansas was so far behind that I was starting to regret throwing a viewing party. Even devoted Kansas fans like my best friend were giving up hope. I had to text her just to wake-up her up, when there was a glimmer of light that Kansas might become the comeback kings. They could have done it they were only down  by 10 with 2:50 to go.

Before the game started Kansas coach Bill Self basically said in the locker room, “We’ve made it this far playing half-ass and hopefully tonight we will play like we should have been playing this whole time.” Unfortunately, Self was wrong Kansas just didn’t have the scoring ability to over take Kentucky. Even without wonder child Anthony Davis scoring a single point in the first half Kentucky was ahead by 18. Davis was named the tournaments most outstanding player (MOP) scoring a whooping measly 6 points. Even though Davis was not scoring he did have 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists and 3 steals.  The real problem for Kansas is that literally no one on their team can shoot field goals. Instead they do these crazy 5 man passing maneuvers to try to drunk the ball and even that wasn’t working.

Now that all the confetti has settled and I can finally focus on the life NBA. It is the time when the NBA plucks these young athletes and hands them a wad of cash in return for them never finishing college. I applaud NBA secret recruiter Kentucky’s coach John Calipari who basically encourages the “one and done” philosophy after so many years he has finally gotten the right formula and won the National Title.  Calipari should have fun starting from scratch next year.