NBA Finals

Heat Win Game 6, Force Game 7

In a game that looked all but over at the end of the third quarter, Miami (mostly Lebron James) came back with a furious fourth quarter and forced an overtime. This was an uncharacteristic comeback for the Heat, especially Lebron, who had struggled mightily in the series up to this point. Shooting only 3-12 in the previous three quarters of the game, James went on to shoot something to the note of seven out of ten shots in the fourth quarter. Although the Spurs were given every chance to win the game in regulation, they missed one clutch shot after another. Ray Allen hit a last second, desperation pullback three point shot to tie the game. After an official review to make sure the shot was a legitimate three point shot, Tim Duncan entered the game illegally, and Tony Parker missed a last second jumper for the win.

Overtime saw a much less interesting five minute period, in which both teams struggled to make shots. Eventually the Heat pulled away, and with a last second block (erm, foul) by Chris Bosh on Danny Green's potential tying three point attempt, Miami secured at least one last game with the San Antonio Spurs. This game will take place tomorrow night at 7:00pm MT in Miami for the trophy. 

Prediction: Spurs win, gain a lot of new "fans" from the Miami fan base. 

Writing History

Lebron James continues to add to his resume and the argument of the greatest basketball player. Last night (January 17, 2013) at age 28, Lebron became the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points. Impressive, seeing as the rest of the active 20,000 club is nearing the ends of their careers. He also chalked up his 5000th career assist. Last season, he got his ring, 3rd season MVP, and Olympic gold on the off season. Lebron definitely will be Hall of Fame material at the end of his career, regardless of how many more rings he acquires. In the chase of points, he is still 3000 points away from reaching the top 25 scores list of all time. He is also roughly 12,000 behind out scoring Micheal Jordan's number three spot, and 18,000 behind Kareem. The maturity of the king, we have seen progressively develope. He has gotten better as a player every season. We saw him play like a champion in the finals last year. He was focused, serious, determined, and a leader. He probably will reach another championship. I look forward to what the king and the Heat bring in coming years.

In other milestones this month, Steve Nash reached 10,000 career assist, sitting at 5th all time in that field (5,765 away fom John Stocktons record). Before his career is over, I see it entirely possible passing Magic Johnson on the number 4 spot, with only 100 assists to gain that spot. And finally, a name I actually do remember from when I was a kid. Grant Hill had a milestone of his own playing in his 1000th career game. Congratulations are in order for all Thea accomplishments!

Showtime Returns to LA

Showtime Returns to LA

A couple years back, I despised everything the NBA had to offer from California. If the league was going to drop 4 teams, they would all be in the golden state. Not true anymore.

A couple years back, the Clippers were the butt of butt jokes even butts would take offense too. We know the story from there. Along came a strapping young lad from Oklahoma, bearing the number 32 on his jersey. Able to leap cars in a single bound.  Frequently tops the Sports Center “Top 10”. Blake Griffin made Clippers basketball exciting. Then, the superstar of Chris Paul was traded in from New Orleans. I remember that day very well. I remember seeing videos of Blake literally jumping in excitement shouting “Lob City!!! Lob City!!!” I remember the look on Chris Kaman’s face, holding up his new jersey, the newest member of the Hornets… Not very pleased… Sadder than a child who just dropped his candy bar, spilled his milk, and found out someone stole his puppy. But aside from the Hornets loss, excitement in the newly crowned Lob City was building. We all knew, the Clips were going to be good.

But did we see them being THIS good?

As of this moment, those other guys from LA that share the stadium with the all powerful Lakers currently lead the league, with a record of 22-6 (.786%), not to mention setting a franchise record 14 win streak. To add to that, they're doing so with style. I don’t need to remind anyone of the embarrassment one such Blake Griffin has provided to the likes of Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol (twice). On December 25 when the Clips beat the Denver Nuggets, the original “show time” Magic Johnson said show time is back! Not in Laker Land though.

With their winning ways this early in the season, the question is legitimate. How far can the Clippers go? Obviously the chemistry is amazing with this team. Everyone is involved, everyone is flying. It seems like no matter when you watch a game, you're going to see something amazing from someone.  They are just cozy and having a blast out their! So are they championship material? I’m going to go ahead and say yes. These guys could very well win some gold. Do I think it’s going to be this year? No. Honestly right now, I don’t have any good guesses as to who’s going to do it this time around. But this year, I’m going to say the Clips are going to make a very deep playoff run. Maybe conference finals. Being as young as they are, I just don’t see them making the finals yet. But I see them getting enough to get even hungrier.

If you have yet to see the Clippers play, do it. Buy a ticket. Buy a lower bowl ticket. Get as close to the action as you can. Last season I was fortunate enough to have this opportunity. My heart still rattles. Section 9, Row 23 is where we parked.  We originally had tickets for the nose bleeds, but with this being my wives first NBA game, go BIG. Made a deal with a guy on the corner (which I really don’t recommend, and happy it didn’t backfire) and got ourselves right behind the red guys bench (23 rows up mind you). You could actually read the jerseys, you could see the emotions. Tip-off, Clippers have first possession. So what’s the first thing they do? Paul lobs to Blake for the first two. My phrase of the night was “WHAT THE?!?!” I said that so much I annoyed myself! Funny thing about Blake is he really is one of the nicest guys I’ve seen play. He bumped into someone on the court, he would literally turn to them and apologize… Until he started going to the rim… Beast mode…

Really, seeing this Clippers squad needs to be on your bucket list. If you don’t have a bucket list, make one just for this purpose. Now is the perfect time to be a Clippers fan. Aside from my primary rants about the wonder that is Blake Griffin, his teammates are just as amazing to watch. It’s getting more  where you see a lot more on the top ten then Blake. You have to be a fool not to root for someone as fun to watch as these guys. Watch out for them. They're making waves, and they're only swelling.

No NBA?!

Image From sportspagemagazine.com

In the day where image is everything, it amazes me that the NBA and it's players were unable to reach an agreement to save their season. David Stern and the owners have stalled any growth that the league was having/going to have for the near future. This lockout has tarnished the league for the fans. Those fans will now lose interest in the game, beacause even if a season happens this year it's going to be a very punctuated one with the possibility of replacement players.

The NBA needs to see that they are a different league than the NFL. Players in the NFL are covered by helmets and protective equipment and rarely seen like the players in the NBA. Players in the NBA are the reason the fans flock to the arenas not the teams. This was evidenced by the "dream team/big 3" being assembled in Miami (and the big 3 in Boston a few years ago.) Fans were finally showing up and staying for the length of the games in South Beach.

So the players asking for a little bit more than the owners seems like a fair deal to me. The owners now have the ball in their court. I dare them put in replacement players and see what their team brand gets them. No fans in the arenas and no fans watching the substandard game will wake them up in a hurry. Owners can't make money when there aren't games (except from memorabilia sales) while players can go play in other leagues internationally and still make a decent living. If the owners want these games to be played, they need to realize that the players bring fans to the games. Not the rich owners up in the press box that don't care about the people making them money (players) or the fans filling their arenas.

Get the deal done and save your league owners! Else someone might just make a new league and you will be holding onto rights that will be worth nothing in the end.