LA Clippers vs Memphis Grizzlies (-6.5)

For the second consecutive year, Caron Butler is out for the post-season with a fractured hand. In game 1, Memphis looked like they had full control going into the 4th quarter with a 21 point lead. The Clippers kept their heads up and outscored Memphis 35-13 in the 4th quarter to make a comeback and beat Memphis on the road 99-98. Memphis has a lot of talent on their squad with Mike Conley at the guard, a real good defender in Tony Allen, Rudy Gay at the 3, Z-Bo's back from injury and the big yeti Marc Gasol. Then off the bench they have Dante Cunningham, Gilbert Arenas and of course O.J. Mayo to lift the Grizz up. The Clippers have the size to compete in the paint, and have the guards to keep the tempo controlled. This series comes down to who wants it the most. Both these teams are extremely talented and have potential to go far against this competitive western conference. Tonight the spread is -6.5 for the Grizz. I think this might be a little bit high for the Grizz especially after game 1. On one hand, the Grizz just lost a huge game 1 and now face the pressure of coming back after a loss like game 1. The Grizz are in a fight or flight position right now where they've been hit and they could either come back real strong, or still be on their heels and a little shaky. The Clippers now know what they have to do to stay in a game and what it takes to win, so they have the Grizz measured out. I see this one coming down to the wire to the last minute, and the Clips cover a +6.5 spread. 

New York Knicks vs Miami Heat (-9.5)

I might be the only basketball fan (that isn't from New York) that thinks the Knicks can actually upset the Miami Heat and the striped shirts that they signed as free agents at the start of the post-season. One of me and my brother's friends is a huge Miami Heat fan or bandwagon jumper (whatever you want to call it) and actually had the cojones to tell me that Miami is going to sweep the Knicks simply because they won by 33 the first game. Now let's take a look at game 1 from a real basketball fan's perspective. In game 1 Tyson Chandler had the flu and scored 0 points, Carmelo Anthony had 11 points going 3/15 from the field and Amare Stoudemire had 9 points going 2/7 from the field. Along with that, the Knicks had 24 turnovers and also had 26 personal fouls and also shot a horrible 35% from the field and 33% from distance. LeBron dropped 32 points (and showed the whole world that John Lucas is more of a man,) to go with Dwyane Wade's 19, and the Heat as a team shot 49% from the field as well as 38% from distance. Now, here is where there's a huge discrepancy in the statistics because a team can deal with turnovers (such as the OKC Thunder who average about 17 turnovers a game) and a team can still keep a game close or even win by defense when shooting a low percentage. The Miami Heat shot 24/33 from the charity stripe on what appeared to be horrible refereeing, at least to me anyways. With Iman Shumpert out, the Knicks lose their best on-ball defender. For the Knicks to compensate, Landry Fields is going to have to play a solid all-around game and the help-defense for the Knicks has to be flawless. I think Carmelo comes out today and makes up for his poor performance last Saturday. He is the center of this team, and Amare's performance as well as the whole team is dependent on how Carmelo plays. I think the Knicks cover a +9.5 spread tonight. The Knicks have to keep the paint locked down, and also have to rotate on the three point shooting where Mike Miller and Shane Battier can shoot lights out. Carmelo HAS to step up today, and I think he does. 


Result: Well, there goes the exciting upset that I thought could have potentially happened. Already missing Jeremy Lin, Iman Shumpert and now Amare Stoudemire for getting into a fight with a fire extinguisher, the Knicks' chances at an upset are now slim to none. Carmelo now has full responsibility to operate this team and offensively he could lift the Knicks to get W's, but it's on the defensive end where the Knicks don't really have a chance. This game I said that Miami's three point shooting has to be kept under control and the rotations have to be there for the Knicks. Miami shot 43% going 9/21 from the three point line. Mike Miller took all of his shots from distance and went 3/5 as well as Shane Battier who went 3/5 from distance. The Knicks shot 49% from the field, 33% from three, and actually out-rebounded the Heat 40-33. Dwyane Wade lead the scoring for the Heat with 25, Chris Bosh dropped 21 and LeBron James scored 19, had 7 boards and 9 assists. Melo lead the scoring for the Knicks scoring 30 and grabbing 9 boards. Miami's the favorite this year so if the Knicks lose it's not that big of a disappointment, especially after getting hit with all the injuries. 


13-6-1 (loss)

Denver Nuggets vs LA Lakers (-4.5)

Here it is. My first pick of the post season. I really wanted to make a pick on OKC yesterday but the defending champs aren't exactly soft anymore; and actually did hold their own against the Thunder last night. I'm not going to take statistics into account because playing in the playoffs is not the same as the regular season. Although the averages of each team and player does give a picture or an idea of how they are going to do during post-season, it still doesn't dictate who's going to win. Some players choke, some players excel under pressure, some players get injured the very first game so it's very hard to use the numbers to predict a winner. The three guys in the picture above (Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum) I believe are the players that are going to make the Lakers levels above average teams like the Nuggets. I might have an old school mentality when it comes to basketball. I would personally rather have two all star big men than one elite scorer. But what happens when you have both? Well shit, you get a team that's going to be hard to beat in the playoffs despite missing Ron Artest for the next 6 games due to the elbow to James Harden's dome. I think the Lakers are going to be in sync tonight. Kobe and I (in my mind at least) believe that if there's such thing as a best shot to win a 6th ring, this is the year to do it. Kobe's going to come out with a good performance tonight, backed up by his two big men in Andrew Bynum, who has been playing exceptional basketball lately and is also the best center in the league and Pau Gasol who is one of the smoothest power forwards to play the game. The big men are going to give the Nuggets problem in the paint as I don't think Javale McGee can contain Bynum. As the playoffs get deeper into the series, I will go more in depth in analyzing the games. I see the Lakers getting the W and covering a -4.5 spread. 


Result: Laker basketball has got to be one of the funnest to watch. Andrew Bynum is a powerful center who can rebound very well and can score around the basket. Along to go with his board and scoring skill set, today he also got 10 blocks to complete the first triple double in Lakers playoff history since Magic Johnson. Bynum had 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks. Gasol messed around and almost got a triple double ending with 13 points, 8 boards and 8 assists. The poetry in Gasol's game, especially to his partner big-man is such a beautiful thing to watch. Kobe Bryant ended with 31, 5 boards and 4 assists. Steve Blake also came off the bench scoring 3 from long distance and Jordan Hill came off the bench scoring 10. As a team the Lakers shot 50% from the field, 35% from 3, grabbing 52 rebounds and 15 blocks to Denver Nuggets' 36% from the field, 29% from distance, and 46 rebounds. Ty Lawson went 3/11 from the field, the same as Afflalo and Gallinari lead the scoring with 19. The Lakers were a force in the paint, and it's hard for Denver to get in the lane for easy baskets. Kobe Bryant was on the same page as my prediction today dropping 31, and the big men proved to be dominant against the undersized or not as skilled big men. 


Win (13-5-1)

For those who care enough to read my articles and write ups, I've been absent because the last month and a half for me has been extremely busy due to school. I'm currently a full-time student at Douglas College in the sport science program and I'm trying to pursue a career in physiotherapy. I still plan to continue writing write ups on basketball games especially in time for the playoffs. I also follow the major leagues (baseball for those who don't have the patience to watch 9 innings), but I only really started following last season. I'm going to continue baseball and hopefully I'll reach a level of comfort around June to make picks. Tomorrow I have my last exam in bio-mechanics and unfortunately I'm procrastinating. So, after tomorrow I will be posting more picks. If you're looking for a good read, or something to stimulate your mind check out my friend Darren Jones' blog. He's an awesome writer, and we've been talking about working together to give you readers our analysis on sports. Get familiar! 

Orlando Magic vs Chicago Bulls -5.5

Tonight the Orlando Magic go into the United Center to face the driven Chicago Bulls in a contrasting match up. The Orlando Magic are not the most defensively sound team, nor do they have the offensive capability to take full control of games. The Orlando Magic I feel are fully dependent on their 3 point shooting, and their effort from Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard's effort is inevitable, he's most likely going to get a double double every night and that's alright for teams to face. The problems where most teams have against Orlando is with Ryan Anderson drifting along the 3 point line bringing their 4's outside to defend his 3 point shot. Chicago has won it's last 9 games out of 10. Last night Derrick Rose hit a game winner on Brandon Jennings, and I believe the Bulls are going to take their momentum from last night to contain the Magic. The Magic in their last 10 are 6-4 which isn't too bad, although they do tend to lose focus. On March 6, the Magic played in Charlotte against the Bobcats where the Bobcats won by 16 points. Is this enough for the Magic to come out tonight and play strong to find the motivation to try to get through the post season? Or is it foreshadowing the speculation that Dwight Howard is going to be traded by the deadline and it's time to start building the franchise over? The Magic as a team shoot 38.7% from distance, grab 43.3 rebounds, and average 15.2 turnovers per game. In order to keep this game close, or even win the game outright the Magic are going to have to shoot the 3 ball at a high percentage and prevent Chicago from getting out into the open court. The Bulls have a good enough center in Joakim Noah to try to defend Dwight in the paint, and also have Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson on defense to guard Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu at the 3 point line. Derrick Rose is self explanatory because we know that he's going to come out and perform at the best of his ability every night and after that game winner from last night, I expect him to have humble arrogance and be on his high horse ready to play tonight. Tonight the Bulls are going to have to swarm the 3 point line, have all men going for loose balls and rebounds, and let Joakim Noah play Dwight straight up and initiate help defense when necessary in order to get the win. The Orlando Magic are going through their ups and downs, and tonight could be one of those nights where Orlando shows up. But I also took into account that the Bulls are playing like a championship caliber team with their mission on mind, and they aren't going to let other teams get wins easily on their home court. I think the Bulls win the game outright, and cover the spread.


Result: I'm not the biggest Dwight Howard fan, and I personally I still think Andrew Bynum is the better center but today, Dwight had an impressive show out against the Bulls on the road. Dwight went 11/19 from the field to score 29 points and got 18 rebounds for a double double. The Magic as a team went 11/26 from the 3 point line shooting at 42.3%, 4% better than their average which we said would most likely be the statistic that could keep the Bulls at bay. Ryan Anderson went 3/8 from the 3, and Jason Richardson went 4/6 from distance. The Magic at half were only up 5 due to a Bulls comeback in the last 3 minutes of the game led by Derrick Rose after being down by as much as 15 points. Carlos Boozer had a good night with 26 points and 7 rebounds, and Derrick Rose struggled with 17 points going 6/22 from the field although he did have 9 assists finding his team mates. The Bulls bench played a solid game with a good effort from Taj Gibson and Kyle Korver, but the starters looked uninterested and fatigued during the game. The Bulls have the best record in the east and they've won and done more than enough in a tight season to lose a game without criticism. The Magic let go of a lead, but it was enough to win against the Bulls on the road 99-94. The next time these two meet, I'm expecting a completely different game than the one that happened this past Thursday. It's not often the Bulls lose at home and Derrick Rose is always going to give his best effort despite things not going his way. Chicago goes to Orlando on March 19, and the Bulls being the best revenge team in the league and Joakim Noah probably being the funniest trash talker in the league.. I expect this game to have playoff vibes. 


12-5-1

Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls -7

This rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls has resulted in some entertaining games between the two. Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose both haven't forgot about the loss to the pacers at home on January 25th earlier this year after over hearing the Pacers celebrate in their locker room. As close as this game could potentially be, the Bulls are probably the best revenge team in the league. As far as statistics go, these teams are evenly matched. The Pacers shoot the 3 ball at 37% and the Bulls at 38%, Pacers turn the ball over at an average of 14.7 per game to the Bulls' 14.0 per game. The Pacers also average 8.3 steals a game to the Bulls' 7.3, and the Pacers rebound 44.5 a game to the Bulls' 45.6. When the Pacers beat the Bulls at the United Center, part of that was due to the injury of Luol Deng. Luol Deng defends the perimeter and is a good defender guarding slashers and cutters. Luol Deng is also another threat on offense to take some focus off of Derrick Rose, and he's also been playing at a high level since the all star break. The biggest factor here is the revenge factor. Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose are motivated for this game, and I see Chicago winning the game outright and also covering the spread. 


Result: After avenging their first loss to Philadelphia this past Sunday, the best revenge team in the league went at the Pacers today to avenge their loss at home to Indiana. This game started off back and forth, the typical Pacers-Bulls pace that we see in these exciting games. Indiana was up 1 (43-42) by the end of the 1st half. The Bulls struggled on the offensive side in the 1st half, but exploded in the 3rd led by Luol Deng. The Bulls scored 3 consecutive 3 pointers after the Pacers crawled to a deficit of 4 points. The Bulls also dominated the rebounding out rebounding the Pacers 60-32. The Bulls had 18 offensive rebounds to the Pacers 7 and held the Pacers to 3/16 (18.8%) from long range. The Bulls shot the ball well from the outside going 9/15 shooting it at 60%. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls scoring 20 points with 6 boards and 4 assists. Rip Hamilton left the game in the 1st quarter after getting a bump on the shoulder by Paul George. Rip Hamilton is becoming more of a liability to the team, but as long as Ronnie Brewer is playing well the Bulls should be fine. Off the bench Ronnie Brewer contributed 12 points and 7 boards, John Lucas filling in for C.J. Watson who had a sprained ankle had 13 points, and Taj Gibson had 10 points and 9 boards. The only players who played well for the Pacers today was Paul George who had 21 points and George Hill who had 17 off the bench. The Bulls are now 2.5 games ahead of Miami in the east at 1st. The Bulls have two good big men in Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah who grabbed 17 boards today, two quality front court players in Luol Deng and Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson, C.J. Watson and John Lucas all hold their own on the court when the starters are on the bench. Chicago wins the game by 20 points 92-72 and I bet Joakim Noah is out somewhere showing the Pacers how to really celebrate. 

Joakim Noah celebrating.

12-4-1

Chicago Bulls -3.5 vs Philadelphia 76ers

Sundays are a typically good day for NBA basketball. This morning we saw an overtime game between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks with Boston coming out on top. The Miami Heat and LA Lakers rivalry continued today as the Lakers came out today with a win. Another good match up I saw that isn't as popular as the NY Knicks or the Miami Heat is the Chicago Bulls going up against the Sixers. These two teams have quality young players who know how to put on a good show with Chicago at the top of the eastern conference, and Philly sitting at 4th. Philly in it's last 3 after the break have won 2 of 3 with wins over Detroit and Golden State, and a loss to Oklahoma City. Chicago on the other hand has won 3 straight after the break, and and 5 straight including their wins before. Like most match ups, this one comes down to rebounds and turnovers. Tim Thibodeau is known to be a defensive minded coach, and the Bulls as a team average 7.4 steals per game and 5.6 blocks per game. The Sixers average 10.6 turnovers per game which is actually not bad, although with tough defensive teams such as the Thunder and the Bulls the Sixers seem to struggle either keeping a lead, or keeping up with the defense. Joakim Noah is starting to shoot that outside jump shot more consistently and Luol Deng is finding his game gaining confidence after making the all star team. The Bulls average 13.2 offensive boards a game to Philly's 9.9 offensive rebounds a game. Philly as a team averages 42.9 rebounds in total and Chicago averages 45.6. If Chicago can lock down defensively which they have the full potential to do, then Philadelphia may have to rely on 3 point shooting where they're shooting 37.1%. I think Chicago takes this game covering the 3.5 point spread, but Philly keeps it close until the end. 


Result: Last time at the Fargo Wells Center on February 1st the Bulls lost to the Sixers by 16 points. When Chicago loses a game by that margin, or loses a game at all they tend to hold resentment towards the teams that they've lost to. In a position like this, the Bulls came out ready to play in a back and forth game against the Sixers. The first half was close, going back and forth in scoring where at the end of the 1st quarter Chicago was up by 2 just to go down by 6 in the 2nd quarter being outscored 22-14. In the second half the Sixers went up by as much as 6 in the 1st quarter, but led by Derrick Rose's 3 point shooting going 4/7 from distance started to pull away in the 4th quarter. After splitting a pair at the line, Derrick Rose put the Bulls up by 8 in the 4th but the Sixers led by Thaddeus Young cut the lead down to 4. With 3 minutes left in the quarter, C.J. Watson hit a big 3 to put the Bulls up by 7 but the Sixers (more so Thaddeus Young) cut it down to 2. Derrick Rose scored 35 points and had 8 assists, and scored a pull up jumper to put the Sixers away. The Sixers took good care of the ball and only had 5 turnovers for the game, but Chicago is more than capable of playing straight up defense to defend Philly's shooters. Philly had a horrible night from distance shooting 1/11 which most likely determined the winner of this game. It was a fun game to watch and Chicago locked down defensively to get the win 96-91. 


11-4-1

Detroit Pistons vs Memphis Grizzlies -6.5

Conversing with my friends last night while playing NBA 2k12, I said that O.J. Mayo is Memphis Grizzlies' James Harden. O.J. Mayo comes off the bench with no opposition to his position, and scores 11.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 2.0 APG. Memphis in their last 10 are 8-2 and are rolling into the second half of the season standing at 5th in a strong western conference. The Grizz go into the Palace of Auburn to face the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons aren't exactly a playoff caliber team although the talent in this Pistons team definitely has potential. I've always liked Rodney Stuckey as a point guard, and Greg Monroe is budding into a quality 4. Greg Monroe averaging a double double scoring 16.8 PPG and grabbing 10.1 boards per game. Considering he's a rookie, he's doing well for himself. Even though Greg Monroe is doing well, the Pistons are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Memphis after last year's post season run was unexpected, especially being without Rudy Gay. Memphis handled themselves well, and are doing the same this year without Zach Randolph. It may seem like I'm barely scratching the surface analyzing this game, but this game comes down to who's the better team and Memphis is levels ahead of Detroit. Memphis has advantages in the paint with the big foot all star Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. Marc Gasol is averaging 15.4 PPG and 9.9 RPG as well as 2.2 blocks per game. Rudy Gay is averaging 19.0 PPG and 6.8 RPG. Memphis by average is out rebounded on the offensive end 12.1 to 12.4 to Detroit, but tonight I expect Memphis to control the rebounds tonight. This should be an easy win for Memphis as they continue to roll in the second half of the season. 


Result: What seemed like a close game for the first 3 quarters spaced out into a scoring frenzy by the Grizz in the 4th quarter. Rodney Stuckey did his best to try to keep the game in control leading the scoring for the Pistons with 20 points although he did shoot 6/22 and made 7/9 from the charity stripe. Greg Monroe had a double double scoring 14 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Rookie Brandon Knight on the Pistons also had a good night on the hardwood marking down 15 points and 7 boards. O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol had 17 points a piece, and Marc Gasol also adding 2 blocks and 9 boards. In the 1st half the score was close and Memphis actually found themselves down by one 47-46. The 3rd quarter was also a stalemate and both teams scored 23 points each in the 3rd. In the last quarter led by O.J. Mayo, Memphis outscored Detroit 31-13. Memphis is the better team here, in a better position at home and also on a winning streak and it was just a matter of time before Memphis would take control of the game. Well played game by the Grizz for a final score of 100-83. 


Also consider this. Would you rather have O.J. Mayo or James Harden as your 6th man coming off the bench?


10-4-1

Oklahoma City Thunder -5 vs Atlanta Hawks

The Oklahoma City Thunder tonight head to the Phillips Arena to face the struggling Atlanta Hawks. The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a roll winning their last 7 games and have won their first 2 of the second half of the season. The Atlanta Hawks in contrast have won 3 of their last 7 and continue to struggle finding themselves at 6th in the east after a strong start to the 2012 season. Kevin Durant is averaging 28.0 PPG and 7.9 RPG while his partners in crime Russell Westbrook is averaging 23.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 5.6 APG and James Harden is scoring 16.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG off the bench. The Atlanta Hawks don't have that kind of scoring power and the Hawks' leading scorer is Joe Johnson who is averaging 17.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 3.7 APG. Oklahoma City Thunder, at least in my expectation are going to control the glass which is going to be key in this game. The Thunder also have a big advantage in the point guard position where Jeff Teague I feel is going to have trouble guarding Russy. Kevin Durant is going to get his points but to control the Thunder as a team the Hawks need to control James harden and Russell Westbrook. That is the threat of the Oklahoma City Thunder. When Kevin Durant struggles, there's Russell Westbrook. When Russell Westbrook struggles, there's James Harden. And when James Harden struggles.. well you get the point. There's not much to say about the Atlanta Hawks except that they're struggling. The Atlanta Hawks need a good point guard to facilitate because they do have offensive options in Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith. But the reason I feel these 3 Hawks struggle to get wins for their team is because there's too much isolation and dependence when each of them have the ball. If Jeff Teague can facilitate and rotate the ball to find his offensive threats in the right scoring positions, then the scoring will come more naturally for the Hawks although I am not discrediting the one on one capabilities that each of these players have. The Thunder are going to control the rebounds, and if the Thunder can shoot the 3 ball well throughout the game then 6 points should be a reasonable spread to cover. Against Philly, the Thunder match ups were even in terms of a team effort. Durant and Igoudala matched up well, Louis Williams and Jrue Holiday are point guards who can hold their own against elite scorers such as Russell Westbrook and Thaddeus Young is a solid defender who can hold his own against a scorer like Durant. Orlando has Dwight Howard who can control the paint to counter defend the 3 point shot and the penetration from the stars of OKC. Both games were close due to defensive efforts and scoring from opposing teams to the Thunder which I think the Hawks lack. I think the Thunder play a good game, get an easy win (although the spread may not be easy) and cover for tonight. 


Result: Even the Thunder can't win 'em all. Tonight despite not having Joe Johnson, the Atlanta Hawks pulled a tough win at home while struggling against a rolling Oklahoma City Thunder. Josh Smith played a good game with a double double scoring 30 points while grabbing 12 boards. Zaza Pachulia had 14 boards, 9 of those offensive boards as opposed to the Thunder getting 10 as a team. Kevin Durant had 35 points and 8 boards and Russell Westbrook had 25 points. James Harden scored 10 off the bench and also had 6 boards. The Thunder shot 6 for 23 from 3 point range and shot 41% from the field. The Hawks shot the 3 ball well at 47% going 8 for 17 from distance. Jeff Teague also helped the Hawks today which is key when going against an elite scorer in Westbrook and scored 16 points. It was a tough night for the Thunder, and the Hawks got the W in a well played game 97-90.


9-4-1

Memphis Grizzlies -3 vs Toronto Raptors

If only the Memphis Grizzlies were still the Vancouver Grizzlies.. but I can dream right? Tonight the former Vancouver team goes to Toronto to take on the Raptors. In Memphis' last 5, they are 4-1 while the Raptors are 2-3. The Raptors are a team that's struggled to make the post season though the team does have some talent. DeMar DeRozan is averaging 15.9 PPG to lead Toronto's scoring while Bargnani is out. DeMar still has an average jump shot, but he is good taking it into the paint. Memphis has good size with Marc Gasol in the paint, Marreese Speights and Dante Cunningham are also two good big men who have a good chance at preventing DeMar DeRozan from getting to the basket. Memphis has to play good defense to get the turnovers from the Raptors because the Raptors are vulnerable to turning the ball over averaging  15.2 turnovers per game. Rudy Gay 18.9 PPG with 6.6 boards per game while O.J. Mayo is scoring 11.8 off the bench. For Toronto to win, they're going to have to control turnovers. Memphis is a good defensive team with Tony Allen, Rudy Gay and O.J. covering the wing, and with Gasol in the paint Toronto's going to have to shoot the ball well from distance, and also getting effort from everybody with rebounding. Toronto is up and down, and have lost to even the Charlotte Bobcats at home. I expect Memphis to control the paint and for Marc Gasol to have a good game. It's important that Memphis works the post this game and controls the perimeter shooting. If the Grizz can do that, then I expect Memphis to cover the point spread. 


Result: Although Toronto decided to show up tonight, Memphis came out with a good effort to continue their strong start to the 2nd half of the season. Toronto did a good job outscoring the Grizz by 7 (52-45) led by Jerryd Bayless who had 18 points and 4 assists. He shot 5/9 from the field and went 7/7 from the charity stripe. DeRozan went 2/8 from the field for 4 points and if my opinion even matters, he has to improve the jump shot in order to get W's for the Raps because this game was definitely winnable. The Grizzlies had 10 steals and forced the Raps to give up 16 turnovers for the game. Memphis also controlled the paint in rebounds getting 8 offensive boards to Toronto's 4 offensive boards. Marc Gasol took control of the paint on the offensive end for the Grizz with 21 points. Not only is he a force on the block, he also has a good jump shot for someone of his size. The key for Memphis here was their rebounding and their defensive effort forcing Toronto to turn the ball over. It was a close game. And nearing the end when Memphis missed their free throws for extra points, it definitely should have been a bigger lead. Final score to the game was 102-99 for a well played road win for the Grizz. 


9-3-1 

Miami Heat -3.5 vs Portland TrailBlazers

Lebron James and Dwyane Wade have been playing some of the best basketball I've seen them play. Tonight they will be without Chris Bosh due to personal reasons, which I think might have effect in guarding LaMarcus Aldridge. Kurt Thomas is also out after getting kicked in the head last night in the Denver game. Again, in this game I think statistics are irrelevant being that this is Miami's first game back after the all star break and Portland isn't exactly the most consistent team. Portland was handed an L in Denver (104-95) mainly due to the inside presence the Denver Nuggets have which Miami might not have tonight. This game comes down to who wants the win more. Portland is a good home team and Miami is Miami. The key for Miami to win here is to help on the inside against Aldridge and Gerald Wallace and also to limit distance shooting from Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, and Jamal Crawford. Miami is also going to have to go all in on rebounds, controlling the offensive rebounds. Portland is averaging 11 offensive boards a game, and without Chris Bosh the Heat are going to have to do a good job on the boards. Miami's defense is overwhelming as Jeremy Lin saw, and I think Miami comes out strong tonight in their first appearance back from the break. 


Result: With Chris Bosh out tonight I expected the Heat to struggle a little bit on the defensive end against LaMarcus Aldridge and also on the rebounding. The Miami Heat definitely had no problem on the offensive side outscoring the TrailBlazers in the first half 60-42. Miami as a team had 41 rebounds, 12 being offensive against Portland's 36, with 8 being offensive rebounds. I expected this to be key for Miami missing their power forward. Scoring is never really an issue for Miami having two of the best players in the league throwing alley oops to each other so to win the battle on the glass is a bonus. LaMarcus Aldridge played a decent game scoring 20 points and grabbing 6 rebounds though it wasn't enough. Udonis Haslem did a good job and replacing Bosh for the night scoring 11 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Lebron James scored 38 points, got 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals while Dwyane Wade had 33 points, 10 assists and 3 steals. Combined the Heat duo scored 71 of Miami's 107 points in a well deserved win. Miami looks fired up and ready to go for the second half of the season sitting at 1st in the east. Miami cruised to victory with a final score of 107-93 and have now won 9 in a row. 


9-3

Oklahoma City Thunder -1 vs Orlando Magic

After a good defensive effort in Philadelphia last night, the Oklahoma City Thunder look to add to their second half season victories tonight against the Orlando Magic. In my opinion sitting at 5th in the east which is around where they usually are every season, the Magic aren't that good of a team. I still stand by my opinion saying Andrew Bynum is the better center between him or Dwight. Dwight Howard is averaging 19.9 PPG, 15.2 RPG, and 2.28 blocks per game. Dwight is going to get his points and his rebounds, there shouldn't be a doubt about that. If the OKC Thunder can contain Ryan Anderson and Jason Richardson's three point shooting, then this game should be an easy win for the OKC Thunder although OKC is winless in their last 7 in Orlando. Rebounding and turnovers are also key here. Kevin Durant is on a mission, and he's playing like it. The Orlando Magic are going to have a tough time defending him as they're going to have to rely on Hedo Turkoglu (who isn't the best one on one defender) and Jason Richardson to try to contain the Durantula. Along with having to contain KD, there's Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Jameer Nelson is going to have his hands full tonight, and if the Magic decide to put Jason Richardson on Kevin Durant then James Harden is going to get his opportunities tonight (not that he doesn't every night) against the Magic. I see too many opportunities here for the OKC Thunder to score, and other than Dwight I don't see much of a threat in the match ups in favor for the Magic. I think the OKC Thunder continue their second half of the season tonight with a win, and the less prominent Big 3 in the league (Westbrook, Harden and Durant) all have solid games. 


Result: Watching the pregame show before the game, I heard Charles Barkley say this is a bad match up for Oklahoma City because Ryan Anderson is going to force Ibaka out of the paint in order to guard the 3. Chuck also mentioned that Kendrick Perkins will get into early foul trouble guarding Dwight and that Ibaka would then have to guard him. I already knew this, but I did not think that it was a mismatch for the Thunder, nor would Kendrick have early foul trouble. It was a back and forth game early in the 1st half until about the 4 minute mark where Orlando went up by 9. Being that OKC has two top scorers and James Harden for when the ammo runs out, 9 points isn't a big deficit to worry about with the Thunder and by half they were only down by 3. At around the 4 minute mark in the 3rd, Orlando went up by 14 (74-60) which for even the Thunder is a big deficit to come back from and the 3rd ended with a 3 point lead in favor for Orlando. Although OKC's "big 3" isn't made by today's traditional standards of demands and high salaries, Harden, Westbrook and Durant took control of their team as any of the other big 3 trio's would and overcome the deficit at the 3 minute mark of the 4th. Kevin Durant scored 38 points with 8 boards, James Harden scored 13, had 5 boards and 5 assists and Russy Westbrook had a double double with 29 points and 10 assists. I expected Orlando's guards to have trouble against Harden and Westbrook, and Durant is a machine on his own and was too much for Turkoglu to handle. OKC as a team shot 44.4% from the field against Orlando's 36% 3 point shooting going 9/25 from the field, which is what Orlando needed to beat the Thunder. Ryan Anderson had 15 going 3/7 from distance, and Dwight Howard 33 points and 9 boards. The key here for the Thunder was to control the 3 point shooting, let Dwight get his and for the Thunder big 3 to do work. The final score was 105-102 for the Thunder who are off to a good start in the 2nd half of the season. 


8-3

Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs -2

I like trying to predict games like these because they are two high caliber teams. In the average basketball fan's mind, they either decide on a winner based off the team they like more or which one is on a hot streak. Spurs are the public favorite tonight which I'd like to dispute. When two elite teams like the Bulls and the Spurs meet, I believe statistics such as points per game and winning streaks should be omitted. However, the statistic that I believe will decide the winner tonight will be rebounds and turnovers. Joakim Noah is a tough rebounder as well as a good on the block defender, and will give Tim Duncan a tough time tonight. The Bulls are good defensively and have more options on offense now that Luol Deng and Rip Hamilton (I say this cautiously) are healthy and back in the lineup while Manu Ginobili is still injured for the Spurs. The Bulls have a deep roster with Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson, Kyle Korver, Omer Asik and Taj Gibson which I think is significant in choosing my pick. The Spurs are far from scrubs, although I think Chicago wins this one in a close and exciting game. 


Result: Despite being in two different conferences, this game reminded me of a gritty playoff game. Derrick Rose scored 29 points and led the scoring for the Bulls, while Gary Neal off the bench for the Spurs led the scoring for them. Earlier in my write up, I mentioned that statistics are irrelevant in a game like this and the Bulls and Spurs proved me right. This game went down to the wire, which is why I like trying to predict games like this. Tony Parker was spinning and weaving to the basket, and Derrick Rose was crossing over ducking arms in the air for layups. The Bulls team in total had 50 rebounds, 13 of which were offensive rebounds while the Spurs had 42 rebounds with only 10 of those being offensive. The Bulls won the rebounding, but lost in the turnovers having 15 to the Spurs' 14 turnovers. Not only did Derrick Rose show up in a game against an elite western conference team, the rest of his team did as well. Noah was hitting shots at the top of the key, CJ Watson played a great game and Luol Deng and Kyle Korver hit significant three pointers at the right time. The bench and role players are what pushed this game to a W after Derrick Rose led the way, and the Bulls are off to a 2-0 start to the second half of the season. 


7-3

Oklahoma City Thunder -3 vs Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off a 29 point win last night against the Detroit Pistons on the road. Philly played a consistent game with Thaddeus Young coming off the bench scoring 20 and grabbing 8 boards and Louis Williams scoring 13 with 7 assists. Both bench players led the scoring for the Sixers and they are sitting at 4th in the east and 1st in the Atlantic division. Philly's a strong home team at 13-6 but they are going to have their work cut out for them facing a strong road team in the Thunder at 12-6 on the road. The OKC Thunder are well rested after the all star break, and Kevin Durant after winning the MVP is motivated to start the second season. I said this about Dallas, but Nowitzki who is unmotivated after qualifying for the Olympics and winning his championship is different from Kevin Durant and the Thunder who have yet make it to the NBA finals. Kevin Durant is scoring 27.9 PPG and grabbing 8.1 rebounds per game along with Russy Westbrook who is scoring 23.5 PPG, grabbing 4.8 boards per game and dropping 5.5 assists per game. The Thunder have won their last 5 before the all star break and look to continue the second half of the season strong. Philly on the other hand lost their last 5 before the break with 4 losses on the road to Orlando, Minnesota, Memphis and Houston. This Philly team is a good squad, and they are going to hold their own against OKC. Iguodala who made his first all star appearance is going to have to play a solid game, but he also needs help from his point guards Jrue Holiday and Louis Williams to help contain Russell Westbrook and James Harden. This game is going to be close, but I think the OKC Thunder pull away late in this game. 


Result: This was a fun game to watch, two young teams with young legs going back and forth. Nearing the end of the first half, Evan Turner pushed Kevin Durantula on a rebound and KD reacted by pushing Evan Turner back. I mention this because on the way back down the court with time winding down, Kevin Durant who scored 23 points hit a cold blooded 3 for the biggest lead in the game at 5 at the end of the half in favor for the Thunder at 53-48. The first half was high scoring, which was expected because to beat the Thunder, Philly would have to score baskets to match the fire power that the Thunder has. The 3rd quarter was low scoring, both teams combined scoring 29 points, although at the end of the 3rd the Sixers found themselves up by 4. This momentum would carry over to the 4th quarter where the Sixers would go up 8. Earlier in my write up, I mentioned Jrue Holiday and Louis Williams would have to help Igoudala contain Westbrook and Harden in order to get a W. James Harden helped Kevin Durant in the 4th to push for a comeback and found themselves with a 3 point lead with a minute left. The Sixers played the fouling game, and there were lots of missed free throws by the Thunder which would have helped them easily cover the 3 point spread (though I hardly think that is on their minds.) Louis Williams had a wide open 3 point opportunity to tie the game, but the Sixers had crucial turnovers and couldn't find the bottom of the net towards the end of the game. James Harden got 16 and 8, Westbrook got 22, 13 and 4 with a key offensive rebound to end the Sixers night at 92-88. 


6-3

Minnesota Timberwolves vs Los Angeles Clippers -260

Kevin Love and Blake Griffin this past weekend were teammates during the all star game and both helped the western conference get a win. Today they play against each other in what I expect to be a good game. Ricky Rubio impressed last Friday at the rising stars competition with his flashy passes and scoring. Kevin love in his last 10 is averaging 24.8 PPG, 15.1 RPG, and 2.4 APG. Ricky Rubio is averaging 11.2 PPG, 7.1 APG, and 3.9 RPG in his last 10. In the Wolves' last 5 they are 4-1 with notable wins over Utah, Philadelphia and Houston, all 3 teams which are good competitors in their conferences. It would be lengthy to list all of the statistics of each relevant player on the Clippers. The thing that impresses me most about the Clippers is that they are team based. Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Caron Butler, DeAndre Jordan and Mo Williams all play off each other and that is the basis of their success. The Clippers are 3-2 in their last 5 with wins over the Wizards, Trailblazers and Denver and their losses coming from the Spurs and the Warriors. Coming back from the all star break and the LA Clippers sitting in 3rd in the west behind OKC and San Antonio, I expect them to start the second half of the season strong. It's a long shot, but this match up tonight could be a potential playoff match up if not this year then in the future. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin go head to head with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love and it all comes down to who produces outside of the two prominent stars of each respective team. I think the Clippers take the game tonight in a high scoring game and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin set the tone for the Clippers for the second half of the season. 

Result: What a game. The Clippers started the game off strong going up by 9 in the first quarter. Chris Paul had a good game shooting 11/17 scoring 27 points, with 6 assists. Blake Griffin also had a good game coming off the all star break scoring 30 points and grabbing 14 boards, with 4 blocks. At half, the score was 54-51 in favor of the Clippers and it seemed they had the game under control. This Minnesota Timberwolves team is not a bad team by any means. They have all the pieces to become a contending team in this league, and tonight they showed that. The bench for the Wolves scored 72 points combined led by Derrick Williams who went 9/10 from the field scoring 27 off the bench as well as Michael Beasley who also scored 27 off the bench going 11/15 from the field. In the 4th quarter alone the Wolves only missed 3 shots at the end of the quarter to end the game with a final score of 109 to 97. 

5-3

New Jersey Nets vs Dallas Mavericks -590

It's the second half of the shortened NBA season and after the all star break is when teams start to pick it up to try and make their runs to make the playoffs. I'm going to make straight up picks as opposed to spread picks for a couple of days to see how teams play and how the all star break effects momentum and determination of the teams. Tonight the New Jersey Nets start off the second half in Dallas against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. The Nets are 2-3 in their last 5 with wins over Chicago and New York. Chicago was without Derrick Rose and Deron Williams had redeemed himself scoring 38 points going 8/14 from three after the first battle with Jeremy Lin. In Deron Williams' last 10 he is averaging 27.1 PPG, 6.7 APG and 2.9 RPG playing the best basketball all season. The Mavericks on the other hand is 3-2 in their last 5 with wins over Boston, Philly and Denver and have lost at the hands of the Lakers and the Knicks. Dirk in his last 10 is averaging 24.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 2.4 APG. Dirk didn't play as big of a factor in the all star game as Deron Williams did, and I expect Dirk to have a strong game here. None of the other Mavericks had made the all star team or participated in any of the events during the all star weekend so I expect the Mavericks to be well rested and motivated from the rest. New Jersey has talented players including Anthony Morrow, Marshon Brooks and Kris Humphries but the Dallas Mavericks' consist of veterans. Veterans who know that the second half of the season is important to place themselves in a comfortable position for the post season and to show people that they are not complacent with 1 championship. Mavericks come out with the win here over the Nets. 


Result: The Mavericks started off slow, and the Nets came out strong. Instinctively, as a basketball fan one would assume that Deron Williams got the run going. Actually, it wasn't. Deron Williams for the game shot 3/15 and scored 12 points with 12 assists. By the end of the 1st half, the Mavs found themselves down 56-45. Dirk had a decent game, shooting 7/19 from the field scoring 24. The Nets' success came from their center Brook Lopez who had a field day scoring 38 points and grabbing 6 boards. Brendan Haywood did what he could for the Mavs scoring 18 points and getting 10 boards. The Mavs are the former champs. And as the former champs there's a certain standard that they have to perform, and they fought back finding themselves only down by 1 thanks to a three pointer by Jason Kidd with 48 seconds left. Brook Lopez was fouled on the other side by Brendan Haywood and knocked down two free throws to put the Nets up by 1, where Jason Kidd was forced to take a difficult 3 (which I wondered why, considering they were only down by 1.) The Nets came out with the victory led by Brook Lopez with a fantastic game to end it 93-92.


5-2 

NBA All-Star Game

The all star game is the best part of the weekend. Off the record, I thought the western conference would win this game. Not only because I'm from the west side (Vancouver, British Columbia) but because the western team had 6 true power forwards and centers, and the eastern team only had 2. The starting 5 for the east were as pictured, Derrick Rose, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. The eastern team came out to the song "I'm a Boss" by Meek Millz, all of them except Derrick Rose dancing and smiling and they seemed to be enjoying themselves which translated into the game. 

The western conference starting 5 featured Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Andrew Bynum, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin. The western all stars came out to "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-z looking more serious than the east. Andrew Bynum got limited minutes playing only 6 due to a lingering knee injury. Andrew Bynum had a routine synthetic lubrication injection into his knee, and played limited minutes as more of a precaution. It was also a big night for Kobe Bryant, surpassing Michael Jordan (262) in all star points on a fast break dunk to push his career all star points to 271. 

Kobe Bryant broke the ice and scored the first shot followed by a Durant 3 pointer. This was important because after Kobe and Durant started the west scoring run, Kobe hit his next 4/5 shots and the west never trailed. At half the western conference found themselves up 88-69. The first half was full of highlights from the all stars, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kobe Bryant though on the same team looked as if they were all competing for the MVP award. 

Usually in the first half of these NBA all star games the all stars put on a show, although still competitive. In the first half there were numerous dunks from Lebron and Blake Griffin. Chris Paul's off the backboard assist to Kevin Durant and Chris Paul's through the legs pass back to Blake Griffin stands out in my mind. Blake Griffin looked like he was going to tear the rim down, and you can't even blame Luol Deng for getting out of the way to dodge a flying train. Even if it is an all star game. The second half was more competitive, and the eastern all stars lead by Lebron's 3 point shooting going 6/8 from distance and found themselves down by just a point with 1 minute and 20 seconds left. It was 148-147 for the west when the ball was thrown to an open Dwyane Wade down the court for what looked like an easy basket before he fumbled the ball and turned it over. Had Dwyane Wade caught the ball and scored, the east would have found their first lead in the game after trailing by as much as 20 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. At the end of the game down by 2 after free throws, it was obvious that the eastern all stars were going to go for a 3 to win the game. 

The east all stars set up a picture perfect play for Deron Williams who shot 4/6 from 3 point range, just to get an airball. Deron Williams got the ball back and passed it to Lebron who turned the ball over trying to find Dwyane Wade. It's been over done, but any new jokes about Lebron lacking a 4th quarter certainly applies here. There was 5 seconds left on the clock which is enough time for Lebron to dribble and find a decent shot despite Kevin Durant lurking behind Kobe. Instead, Lebron throws away the ball trying to find his teammate who is willing to take the big shot. Lebron did what he could. He lead the eastern team back after a 20 point deficit, and Dwyane Wade did fumble the ball and Deron Williams did miss an open 3. Lebron also seemed disappointed at his turnover during the interview with Craig Sager, and I'm sure with the improvement the Heat team has made this year that this is going to be another learning tool for Lebron to use along his journey towards a championship. 

Overall, this all star weekend was exciting, and a success. All star records had been broken by Kobe Bryant for scoring and the western team for most points in a half, and Kevin Durant getting MVP made the weekend even better. Had the dunk contest been more exciting, this all star weekend would have been perfect. After this weekend, there are only things to look forward to in the NBA including the competitive second half of the season, the trade deadline, and the post season. 

Here's a link for the highlights to the all star game. 

NBA All-Star Weekend 2012: Saturday

Saturday during the all-star weekend consists of the shooting stars challenge, skills competition, 3-point competition and the dunk contest. To be fair, the dunk contest isn't what it once was due to there being limitations on how high one person can fly and how many amazing dunks we've already seen in the past. Despite the boring dunk contest, the other events went pretty well. The Haier shooting stars competition included players who previously and currently play for New York, Texas (now Houston,) Atlanta, and Orlando. The New York Knicks featuring Landry Fields (New York Knicks,) Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty,) and Allan Houston who retired with the New York Knicks and is one of my favorite basketball players of all time.

The Skills competition is one of my favorite events to watch because we get to see the skill set of some of the top point guards in the league. Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, John Wall, Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving all participated in this competition. Watching these guards make chest passes, bounce passes and top of the key jump shots makes what these point guards do for a living easy when it surely isn't. That's why I love watching this competition. From the pool of point guards, it was hard to pick a favorite on who was going to win it as they all have a good chance of winning. In the first round, Deron Williams had the fastest time with 28.3 seconds, and Tony Parker not too far behind trailing with a time of 29.2 seconds. These two advanced along with Rajon Rondo who got a final time of 32.8 seconds. In the second round, Deron Williams struggled with the top of the key jumper, and finished with a final time of 41.4 seconds. Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker went head to head, and Rondo finished the second round at 34.6 seconds. Tony Parker barely won and finished at 32.8 seconds to win the skills competition. 

The 3 point shooters this year in the 3 point shooting competition included Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, James Jones, Mario Chalmers, Ryan Anderson, and Anthony Morrow. All of this year's shooters had a good chance to win it, and I couldn't pick a favorite. The highest score in the first round was 22 by James Jones, who had won the title the previous year. The lowest score in the first round was by Anthony Morrow with a score of 14 which isn't that bad compared to previous years. Kevin Durant finished the first round with 20, and Kevin Love finished the first round in a tie with Mario Chalmers at 18. Chalmers and Love went head to head in a tie breaker, and Kevin Love advanced to the second round beating Chalmers out by one 3. In the second round, James Jones had the low score of 12, Kevin Durant had 16 and Kevin Love had 16. The two Kevin's had to shoot it out in a tie breaker, with Kevin Love already shooting in a tie breaker round earlier. The first tie breaker was a 24 second round, and the second round tie breaker was 60 seconds. Kevin Durant finished the tie breaker with a score of 14, and Kevin Love finished with 17 which was enough to give him the three point shooting title. 


This year's dunk contest was boring. Over the years, props played a bigger role in dunk contests than creativity. This year's participants included Chase Budinger, Jeremy Evans, Paul George and Derrick Williams. To me, Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams are both in game dunkers and I didn't see them winning the competition. Paul George and Jeremy Evans both can jump out the building, and I thought it would be one of the two to win the competition. This year was a little different than previous years because this year the fans got to vote for who would win the competition as opposed to judges. The two dunks that I thought were impressive was Jeremy Evans' two ball dunk over the white Kobe Bryant, and Paul George's Larry Bird sticker dunk. Paul George also dunking over both Roy Hibbert and Dahntay Jones was a dunk to be mentioned. Jeremy Evans eventually won the dunk competition, and Paul George was robbed. The NBA should either replace the dunk contest with a layup contest, let judges determine the winner, or force Lebron James to join in order to save the event.  

NBA All-Star Weekend 2012: Friday

Initially when the season started I assumed there would be no NBA all-star game this year due to the lockout. This year's NBA all-star weekend was a success and I'm glad I was wrong. The 2012 NBA all-star event this year was held in Orlando, Florida and had a great atmosphere (judging from the view on the television) and I believe it was a good thing to carry on tradition even with the lockout. 


NBA all-star weekend starts on Fridays where we see the celebrity all-star game and the rising stars game. Typically the celebrity game isn't a game you watch for smothering defense, alley-oops and crossovers or intense, down to the last minute games although this year was fun to watch. On the west side, Kevin Durant got to play coach and his roster included celebrities such as Chris Mullin, Common, Mitch Richmond, Ne-yo and Tim Hardaway. On the east side, Dwight Howard was coaching and his roster included the likes of Arne Duncan (the US Secretary of Education,) J. Cole (who is probably my favorite up and coming artist,) Kevin Hart, Nick Anderson, Penny Hardaway, Tamika Catchings and Vinny Guadagnino. There were some nice plays coming from these celebrities, and Arne Duncan apparently played ball at Harvard. Duncan finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals for the people who are curious about the statistics, and Kevin Hart had 8 points and 6 assists and won MVP even after getting ejected. I only watched the highlights of this celebrity game, and to be honest all I wanted to see was if J. Cole could really ball or not, and he wasn't bad despite the missed layup from the beautiful behind the head pass from Arne. J. Cole redeemed himself later on catching an alley-oop pass from Kevin Hart. For those who are interested, here are the full highlights for the celebrity game.

The Rising Stars challenge on Friday was definitely a lot more entertaining than the celebrity game especially with one team being chosen by Charles Barkley, and one by Shaq. This year they decided to combine both rookies and sophomores and have Chuck and Shaq pick the teams. This game was more for entertainment value than for intensity, but from the players that were picked it was fun to see who stood out especially with the teams consisting of "rising stars". Players that I was impressed by who don't already have stars attached to their names (ie. Jeremy Lin, Blake Griffin, John Wall) were Ricky Rubio, DeMarcus Cousins and Kyrie Irving. I'm going to admit first, that I'm not a big fan of DeMarcus Cousins. It has nothing to do with his talent and skill set, but more to do with his attitude. I feel that DeMarcus Cousins thinks he's better than he has yet to become, and has a cry-baby demeanor, and complains more than he should. DeMarcus played a good game and showed his potential to the rising stars of today's game. Kyrie Irving shot 8/8 from the 3 point line and had a good showing of what he could potentially achieve in the NBA, especially with this year being his first in the league. Now, Ricky Rubio. Where do I start? Shaq deemed him a while ago as "the Italian Pete Maravich." Although he's not Italian, Ricky Rubio was not only showing his skill set but also the tricks up his sleeve. Rubio put the ball through Cousins' legs, went around his back, faking passes on layups, dropping jaw dropping dimes, this kid is good. Team Chuck beat team Shaq 146-133 in an exciting show out for the rising stars of today's NBA.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder (-6)

After last night's victory on the road against the Mavericks, the Lakers look to get another road win in Oklahoma City tonight. The Lakers are not the same team that we've seen in the last few years. They lack a consistent point guard, and depth on the bench which they've been known for with Phil Jackson coaching. Last night, the Lakers got to taste a little revenge getting the win over the Mavericks after getting swept by the champs last year in the post season. Pau Gasol lead the scoring with 24 points, Bynum had a double double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant only 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists which was enough to get the win. Oklahoma City on the other hand, just ran through the Boston Celtics last night with a few scares in between. Russell Westbrook lead the OKC Thunder with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Kevin Durant had 28 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to help the Thunder cruise (119-104.) The Lakers are still trying to find their identity under Mike Brown and are relying on the Lakers who have been under certain game situations under Phil Jackson. With Pau Gasol fighting the thoughts of being traded, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher aging, and Ron Artest who is now Metta World-Peace, the Lakers struggle to win on the road. Not only that, some of the Lakers including Ron Artest have been criticizing Mike Brown's coaching ability. With all that drama in the Lakers' locker room and the OKC Thunder looking to win their 12th straight at home, I see the Thunder easily covering this 6 point spread. I'm not doubting the Lakers, but I'm giving credit to the Thunder.


Result: When the Lakers ended the 1st quarter, it was 23-19 and the Lakers almost looked like they've traveled back a few years, putting aside the fact that it's a whole new roster. It was too good to be true, and the young legs of the Thunder gained a 3 point lead (46-43) at half. It was all OKC Thunder in the second half outscoring the Lakers 54-42 with a final score of 100-85. Kobe shot 7/24 from the field scoring 24, Bynum had a lackluster performance shooting 5/15 and Pau Gasol lead the way for the Lakers scoring 22, getting 9 boards and shooting 9/14 from the field. When I find the Lakers favored in a game, the post presence of Gasol and Bynum are a huge factor. Today they went up against two quality post players in Ibaka and Perkins, and it was a big factor in deciding the game. Between the two Thunder post players, they scored 14 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and had 5 blocks. Now to the more prominent Thunder duo, Westbrook and Durant combined scored 52 points with Durant leading the way scoring 33. The Thunder are a young, and hungry team which was too much for the Lakers to handle. 


5-1

New York Knicks vs Miami Heat (-9)

By now, I'm sure the name Jeremy Lin has popped up either in your local newspaper, your Facebook, and all over your local sports channels. Ever since Lin has been getting playing time, the New York Knicks are 9-2 and tonight try to continue their (or his) once in a blue moon story against the Big Three in Miami. Jeremy Lin in his last 10 games is averaging 23.8 PPG, 9.4 APG, 3.8 RPG and 2.4 steals per game. That's the positive side. However even with those mind blowing statistics considering this overnight celebrity who came out of nowhere, Jeremy Lin is also averaging 5.1 turnovers this month. The Knicks' most notable wins were against the Lakers where Lin dropped 38 points and had 7 assists, and against last year's champs the Mavericks where Lin had 28 points and 14 assists. Coming to Miami and facing the Big Three and the rest of the Heat is no easy feat, but is not impossible for this Knicks team. The match ups for this game is almost perfect: at center Tyson Chandler/Joel Anthony, power forward Amar'e Stoudamire/Chris Bosh, small forward Carmelo Anthony/Lebron James, shooting guard Landry Fields/Dwyane Wade and at point guard Jeremy Lin/Mario Chalmers. Miami is on a 7 game winning streak, and at home I think they continue that winning streak. The Miami Heat have a tendency in games like these where they get national coverage and show up to impress. Lebron James has already stated that if it becomes necessary, he will guard Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin's weakness in his game is his turnovers, and Miami's strengths are their defense, and their transition offense with two of the league's best running the wings. I think Miami wins this game straight up, with a good possibility of covering the spread. The Knicks are still trying to cohere their team chemistry, and I think Miami's big three overwhelm the Knicks with their defense and transition offense.  

Result: From 1997 to 2000 the New York Knicks and Miami Heat had one of the most historical rivalries in the game of basketball. Legendary Knicks players like Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, John Starks, Pat Ewing and Heat players like Dan Majerle, Jamal Mashburn, Alonzo Mourning, and Tim Hardaway all were in the borderline violent games of this rivalry. Today the Knicks and Heat game reminded me of that rivalry; for the first half anyways. Although it wasn't NBA on NBC, there was a playoff vibe to this game and a new rivalry will emerge from today. The Knicks kept it close in the first half closing it off with a score of 51-47 in favor for the Heat. In the second half, the Heat started to heat up and ended the 3rd quarter with a 12 point lead. Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole did a good job in defending Lin keeping him to 8 points, 3 assists and 8 turnovers. And because of Lin's borderline horrible performance, Bron didn't have to guard him. Miami's Big 3 had a big game, scoring 67 points combined with Chris Bosh leading their scoring with 22. Carmelo lead the Knicks scoring with 19, but it wasn't enough as the Heat won a well played game 102-88.

4-1

Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls (-12)

Originally I was going to do a write up on the New York Knicks at home against the Atlanta Hawks. I spontaneously changed my mind because of the return of Carmelo Anthony who seemed like he was still trying to find the chemistry with Jeremy Lin. The Milwaukee Bucks have showed up and beat good teams this season such as the Spurs, the Heat, the Lakers and the Heat. I said the Heat twice because once the Bucks were with Andrew Bogut, and the second time they were without the big Australian. The Bucks are far from a playoff caliber team with the injuries they're going through. Tonight the Bucks will be without Drew Gooden, Stephen Jackson, and Andrew Bogut. The Bucks are 1-5 in their last 6 with their win coming over New Jersey on the road, and Chicago is 4-2 in their last 6 with losses against New Jersey and Boston. If the Bucks beat New Jersey on the road, and New Jersey beat Chicago on the road.. then the Bucks must have a shot at winning against Chicago. Wrong. With Derrick Rose coming back from sitting out because of back spasms, and 2 games away from the all-star break I see the Chicago Bulls coming out strong tonight. The merciless defensive coach Tim Thibodeau is known for not resting his starters and playing each minute of a 48-minute game and I think he does the same tonight. With Joakim Noah guarding the paint, Carlos Boozer being Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng on the wing with Ronnie Brewer, and Derrick Rose leading the team, I think the Bulls overwhelm the undersized Bucks. 12 points is quite a big spread, but the Bulls are known for blowing teams out at home. It would be good to see a good point guard duel, but other than Brandon Jenning's 3 point shooting I don't think he can keep up with Chicago Bulls' superstar. Chicago wins this game easily, and I think Chicago beats the point spread. Oh, and Brandon Jennings even though you are earning a little bit of respect this season with those wins over Miami; we still won't forget.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PTP50LmIi4


Result: The Chicago Bulls had full control of this game early on, coming out of the 1st quarter with a 7 point lead (30-23.) At the half, the Bucks found themselves down by 11 (64-53.) Bulls cruised to a 19 point win (110-91) and the point guard duel I thought could possibly happen didn't. Derrick Rose played a solid game getting 16 points and 7 assists in 30 minutes of playing time. Brandon Jennings dropped 20, got 3 boards and 5 assists. Although Jennings outscored Rose and the Bulls got the W, all credit doesn't go to D.Rose for the victory. Carlos Boozer lead the scoring for the Bulls with 20 points, and Joakim Noah being the first center since Artis Gilmore in 1977 to get a triple double. Joakim Noah finished the game with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Bulls easily cover the point spread. 


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Boston Celtics vs Oklahoma City Thunder (-8.5)

The OKC Thunder at home today face a lacking Boston Celtics. The Thunder are sitting in 1st place in the west with a record of 25-7, while Boston is at 8th place in the east with a satisfactory record of 15-16. The Thunder got an exciting win against Denver in overtime (124-118) on February 19 with Durant and Westbrook scoring 91 points combined. Durant had a big 51 point game, and Westbrook not too far away had a 40 point game. The Thunder also won against the New Orleans Hornets on February 20th, and tonight they try to go for 11 straight wins at home. The statistics here don't really play a big role in tonight's game, although keep in mind that Kevin Durant is 0-4 and the OKC Thunder are 0-3 at home against the Boston Celtics. With that fact in the back of my mind, the Boston Celtics are not the championship caliber team they were in 2008. Tonight the Celtics are without Rajon Rondo who is suspended for throwing the ball at a referee, Jermaine O'neal is out with a wrist injury, Chris Wilcox is out with a groin injury, and Brandon Bass is also out with a knee injury. To add to that, Doc Rivers said he is only going to play Kevin Garnett 35 minutes and give Greg Stiemsma the start for Jermaine O'neal. Westbrook and Durant are scoring machines, Ibaka is playing stand out defense and with James Harden possibly coming back today from a sprained ankle I see the Thunder winning this game straight up with a good chance of covering an 8.5 point spread. 

Result: At 7 minutes left in the 1st quarter, Boston gained a 15-5 lead. Watching how Boston started off despite it only being the start of the game, I thought the trend of Boston winning on the road in Oklahoma City could be a strong possibility. But with all the injuries and the limitless scoring options OKC has, OKC was up 72-49 at the half. By the 4th quarter, the Celtics fought their way back and found themselves only down by 7 with 3 minutes left in the 4th. Kevin Durant lead the Thunder to an 11-2 run in the last 2 minutes to finish off the Celtics at a final score of 119-104. Kevin Durant finished the game with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Russell Westbrook finished the game with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Paul Pierce finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and Kevin Garnett in 38 minutes finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

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San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers (-4.5)

The San Antonio Spurs have a tendency to slip under the radar. They've won 11 straight, with 8 of those wins on the road including wins over good teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers and the Utah Jazz. The Trail Blazers in their last 11 are 4-7, and have lost to teams such as the Lakers, the Clippers, the Wizards (yeah, the Wizards), and the Mavericks. Lamarcus Aldrige was out for a couple games after spraining his ankle in the Washington Wizards game which took away the inside presence for the Blazers but after that loss they won on the road against Golden State, but lost at home the next night against the Clippers. With Lamarcus Aldrige back for the last 4 games the Blazers are 2-2. The Blazers have problems winning on the road, but at home they are 12-5. San Antonio Spurs are still one of the top teams in the west, and have no problems on the road (10-8) and hold the home court down (13-1.) San Antonio wants to go for their 12th straight with Tony Parker playing really good basketball averaging 25.5 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 2.9 RPG but I predict the Portland Trailblazers to end the Spurs winning streak tonight. Nicolas Batum is shooting the ball well averaging 21.8 at 51.2% from the field in his last 5 as a starter. Portland last game went down as much as 30 against the Lakers last game and lost by 11. The Spurs in their last two games won by 7 points combined, playing from behind in the second half. I think the Blazers after the loss to LA, will come home motivated to end the Spurs streak. I'm not too confident in Portland winning by 4.5, so I'll pick them to win straight up. 


Result: I spoke too soon about Portland covering the point spread. Gregg Popovich decided to sit Tim Duncan and Tony Parker for some well deserved rest. Shows that Popovich is coaching a team that sees the bigger picture past the headlines. I only watched the 1st half and went to play ball myself. Being that Portland was up 23 at half, I thought they'd be in a good position to win the game. It turns out the Trailblazers outscored the Spurs 71-54 in the second half for a final score of 137-97 clearing the point spread with ease. 


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Sacramento Kings vs Miami Heat (-7 for the 1st half)

Today the Sacramento Kings continue their road trip and head to Miami to face the big 3. The point spread for the full 48 minute game is -14 for Miami. Sacramento's last win was against the OKC Thunder on February 9, which was a big win that I thought could turn things around for the Kings. I was wrong. Since the win over the Thunder, the Kings have lost to the Bulls, Knicks, Detroit and Cleveland. On the other hand, since February 10 Miami has been on a 6 game winning streak, 5 of them on the road by an average of 17.6 points. 14 points is definitely achievable for the Miami Heat and the Kings aren't exactly a high caliber team. But the Kings do have talent on their team with Tyreke Evans, Demarcus Cousins (though I don't hold bias, I'm not his biggest fan), Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton who knows how to score the ball. For my pick today, I chose Miami by 7 for the first half. Miami tends to start games out fast, and with Dwyane Wade playing really good basketball lately and Lebron scoring 27.9 PPG, I think Miami comes out to a 10 point lead at half. 


Result: 57-53 for Miami at half. Miami came out to a slow start, allowing Sacramento to gain a 6 point lead after the 1st quarter. At the end of the 2nd quarter Miami went on a run to go up by as much as 5. Marcus Thornton, who as mentioned earlier "knows how to score the ball" and hit two three pointers to keep the lead below 7. 


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