Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Reactions: Everton 1 Manchester United 0
To begin the season with a loss is never a good thing to happen and probably not a common sight in the camp of Manchester United but it still happened anyway. Before I carry on, I would like to say I am a Manu fan and have been one for more than a decade already therefore my reactions are more tuned to Manchester United rather than Everton in a sense that I would write less about Everton.
Match Overview
In all honesty, Manchester United played a horrible game to say the least. The Red Devils never seem to hit top gear throughout the game but only manage to provide glimpses of what we might expect from them further in the season. From the get go, Everton seemed more eager with the match and soon took control of the game in the first half. De Gea had an outstanding game all round though he let in a single goal but the fact is if he was not between the post, the final score might have read Everton 5 Manchester United 0. United started the game slowly and seriously made little progress from the slow start they had and at half-time the score was 0-0. United went into the second half again with the same momentum and never really hit their stride. Everton showed signs of slowing down in the second half but whenever they were on the attack they looked really dangerous and threaten to score. Once again in the second half De Gea provided a series of stop before finally succumbing to a Marouane Fellaini header goal. And after that goal, Everton just parked the bus and defended for the rest of the game. Van Persie came onto the game around the 68th minute mark but unfortunately was not able to salvage the situation. Van Persie almost came close with an assist to Kagawa but unfortunately Kagawa did not convert. So the game ended at Everton 1 Manchester United 0.
Negatives (Manchester United)
1) 4-2-3-1 formation
United looked lost in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Its quite obvious to the observer's eye that some of the players did not exactly know what to do. Tom Cleverly looked completely lost in the first half, running around aimlessly and not contributing at all. Danny Welbeck looked so out of position that he might have thought it was a dream that he was in playing as left wing. The reason why this formation did not work for them is because with the current players (non injured) they simply are not able to play this formation. With Valencia, Carrick and Welbeck playing out of position it is no wonder why the entire team looked lost in the first half.
When all the entire squad is fit, the 4-2-3-1 formation would make sense but as of now I am pretty certain Alex Ferguson will not use this formation again until they have more players back from injury.
2) Paul Scholes and Tom Cleverly central midfield pairing
This was probably the biggest mistake Ferguson made in the entire game. First of all I would like to say that it is not that Tom Cleverly played too badly or Scholes played too badly but rather it is the pairing of these two players that will not work. First of all Tom Cleverly is not a midfield enforcer and coupled together with Scholes given his age and who is also not a midfield enforcer just made the entire central midfield as weak as piece of paper waiting to be squash! That is why when Anderson came on later on in the game, the central midfield finally took shape!
Secondly I do not understand what is Cleverly's role in the game. Tom Cleverly is a central attacking midfielder, and boy does that sound familar! It sounded familar because Kagawa is playing in that role! In the 4-2-3-1 formation the 2 midfielders just above the defenders have to be one of enforcer and the second midfielder a passer or facilitator and this is where Scholes's skills fill in. So if one of the midfielder has to be an enforcer type what in the world is Cleverly doing in the game? That was why Cleverly seemed so insignificant in the game because basically you have Kagawa playing the role of a central attacking midfielder in the "hole" role and therefore resulted in an overlap of abilities which was of detriment to the midfield and team yesterday.
3) Welbeck left wing position
Someone should just tell Fergie never to play Welbeck as left winger ever again. Nuff said.
4) Evra
This is probably the first time I have seen Evra looking so old and slow throughout the game. There were many occasions in the game whereby he was out run, out muscled and out tackled by Everton's right back and wing players. There even was an occasion in the second half whereby Evra was so outgunned and left in the dust by the Evertonian right wing that Vidic just cannot believe eyes and gave a "I cannot believe what is happening" laugh. I guess it is time to find a replacement for Evra already unfortunately...
5) Stagnant attack
Last season Manchester United had a problem in trying break down defence because quite simply they did not really had a striker to make progress with the ball. As a result they were often stuck just in front of the opponent team's defense. Fast forward a few months, this problem is still persisting. And it is even more inexcusable now since Van Persie is a striker whom Manchester United had been lacking last season to pass the ball to is finally here now, the fix is here! Alex Ferguson also noticed this and made this comment when asked about his opinion about the situation and I quote "We played around him too much, we didn't show enough penetration, . With Robin in your team you know you want to use his ability against centre-backs in situations he is very good at - but we didn't use him enough". Notice the words "played around him too much", "didn't show enough penetration" and "we didn't use him enough". That was basically what United did when RVP came on, it's even more frustrating now because last season they didn't had the personnel whom they can look to but now the personnel is here but they are not making use of him at all.
6) Nani
Nani had a poor game, he looked lost and indecisive with the ball at times. To put it in simple terms he left his boots in Manchester. His corners were poor yesterday and it was so frustrating that it came to a point whereby I posted this on my facebook wall "someone should stop nani from taking corners".
7) Valencia at right back position
I still cannot understand why Manchester United have not learnt their lesson from last season? That lesson is never to play Valencia at right back! Valencia at right back looked horrible. Valencia in this morning game looked as if someone just shackled one of his leg and he is only playing on one leg! To be quite frank he cannot be a right back. His positioning as a right back was horrible, and many times he was exposed repeatedly. He is basically playing a right winger role in a right back position and that is the problem as both roles are different!
Positives (Manchester United)
1) Shinji Kagawa
Kagawa was probably the only person in the starting XI that felt like playing soccer yesterday. The skills which Manu bought him for were on display and boy did he not disappoint. Speed, defense splitting passes, movement off the ball and vision where all displayed by Kagawa this morning. Those exquisite passes he made yesterday were something to drool at.
2) Robin Van Persie
Van Persie only played 22 minutes in this morning game but I thought he was the best United player this morning together with Kagawa. He look sharp and quick. This can only mean good news for Manchester United. His movement off the ball was pretty good as well but unfortunately he was not given the ball to do something about it.
3) David De Gea
I think the goal keeping race for Manchester United is officially over. And to be frank it should have ended last season. De Gea has proved to be a gifted natural shot stopper. Time and again he has shown us why he deserved the transfer tag that was put on him. He was the only reason why Everton did not score more than 1 goal yesterday and could have ended the game 5-0 in Everton's favor. Yes he still might have some weakness in his game but given his age and there are still lots of room to improve. Sorry Lindeggard! The first choice goal keeping job goes to De Gea.
4) United's frontline
This morning game, showed glimpses of magnificent attacking football played by United's frontline especially between Kagawa and Rooney. Robin Van Persie seem to be fitting well and I certainly expect Kagawa to link up with RVP as well as when he links up with Rooney. I guess as the season progress when these three players here gel together and got used to each other we will be to witness the most feared triangular attack in the EPL.
Conclusion
This morning game felt like Manchester United was treating it as an exhibition game. Alot of experimenting going on and there seem to be the lack of urgency and spark in their game. Fergie does not seem to be making a huge fuss about the loss, I myself isn't making a huge fuss out of it as well since its only the FIRST game of the season. But with that said, it's never a good thing to start the season with a defeat for obvious reasons. Everton played well throughout the game, and hopefully they can maintain this form throughout the season and hopefully this morning's performance was not a one off kind of thing.
Friday, 3 August 2012
Roger Federer vs Juan Martin Del Potro (Olympics Men's Tennis Semifinals 1)
Ah! Who would have seen this coming! A 4 hour and 26 minutes tennis match, ah truly who would have seen this coming! And once again the eventual winner was Roger Federer who in my opinion is the greatest tennis player of all time. Now lets break down the three sets that was played out and after that my thoughts on certain aspects of the match.
First Set
First set was a sleeper, and I personally did not watch the first set entirely. But what the score suggest is plain for everyone to know and that was Federer came out of the blocks slow and Del Potro just took advantage of it. Federer looked tired and I guess the primary reason for it was because the Olympics men's tennis singles came so soon after Wimbledon (Federer won). Del Potro got out in the fourth round of Wimbledon but Federer went all the way to the finals and completed it. That itself would be a prime candidate explain the sluggishness in his play and of course father time is another reason for the apparent sluggishness in his play in back to back competitions.
Second Set
This set was really like a tug of war whereby both players did not look like giving up their service game, going pound for pound at each other. Del Potro seems to show some cracks in the set towards the end and his frustrations were pretty apparent. Went into a tie-breaker and again the cracks became obvious, and seizing the chance, Federer won the tie-breaker. Frankly speaking if the cracks did not come, Del Potro would have wrapped up the men's semi finals and moved onto the finals.
Third Set
The early stages third set looked pretty similar to the second set, both players going pound for pound. Several times in this set Del Porto looked like the one who would break first but once again Federer who brought his serving game to the match manage to hold out. But what can be certain is, Del Portro looks like the one on the back pedal as the set progress. Causes of his frustrations were because first of all his failure to seize chances in this set to break Federer, many errors (first serve drop in percentage, unforce etc) in this set by Del Portro and lastly to put in accurate terms Federer kicked up a notch in his play
Extended Third Set
I find this ruling in Olympic tennis very intriguing. I can't figure out the reason for this special ruling other than because they choose to make the man's singles a 3 set game. So to drag on a little more this extended third set rule came along.
Federer in all honesty controlled this extended third set and it was only towards the end probably like the 18th game of the extended set did he finally show visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. His service game was right up there and probably only drop in percentage came in the 17~18 or so game in the extended set. Federer would have won this game in the third hour if not for some sloppy finishing. He managed to break Del Portro (I can't remember which game it was in the extended set probably the 12th game) but he failed quite dramatically in his service game to close out the game. And as the set dragged on, it seems like this could go on forever. Federer did had control in the extended set, with Del Potro seemingly most of the time on the verge of defeat but as the game ensued it was Federer who finally showed visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. And it was Del Potro who came back and looked likely to be the winner of the game. But then the second break came and this time, Federer did close out his service game though not clinically but quite sloppily to be honest.
Thoughts on the game
1) Federer never hit top gear
Quite frankly the Federer that played yesterday was pale in comparison to the Federer we saw in the Wimbledon finals. He looked slow and sluggish at the start of the game and even towards the end Federer didn't look like hitting top gear. His forehand was surprisingly sloppy and lacked punch, his volley execution was also surprisingly sloppy and badly executed at times as well given how Federer himself had given Andy Murray a volleying clinic in the Wimbledon finals. So in short Roger Federer did not bring his best to the game
2) Del Potro's effort
Del Potro played wonderful tennis. And given he is only 23 years old and look to have put his injuries behind him, I would say Del Potro would win at least one more Major in his career. Del Potro needed to play near perfect tennis first of all to win the game and secondly to stay in the game and he almost did just that. In the extended set Del Potro showed to the world besides him having talent, he also has grit, determination and nerves of steel. The diving net shot in one of the game in the extended set is just one example of the grit and determination this young man has. Del Potro also displayed nerves of steel as well, there were a couple of times he fell 0-40 behind in the extended set but manage still manage to hold his service.
3) Del Potro's defensive game
Del Potro played some stellar defense yesterday to keep Federer out. Many a times where it seems like Del Potro's back was against the wall, he defended brilliantly. One has to watch this game to see how brilliantly Del Potro defended and it would be a pity not to see it. Not only did his defense kept Federer out but at times it turned into an offense and threatened Federer.
4) Roof
Ah... Federer's detractors has always found ways to criticize his game unfairly and lately it was the Wimbledon's court roof. What Federer shown in this game was he is equally capable of playing great tennis without the roof even when he did not have his best stuff with him. These detractors also conveniently forget most of Federer's majors that he won was without the "roof". The only time which I can remember where he won a major with a roof on was the very recent edition of Wimbledon.
The wind at Wimbledon yesterday was pretty strong and rough but Federer dealt with it quite admirably and well, so too with Del Potro. And certainly there were many times in yesterday's game that the wind was the culprit for some lost points for both players.
5) Great strategy by Federer
This year especially Federer has shown to plan and strategize his game quite deeply. I guess as father time catches up with an athlete of that stature, strategies are probably one of the things that can help Federer keep up with times. Federer shown in the Wimbledon finals against Andy Murray that his strategy was to tire Murray down to a point of frustration with a wide display of shots and placement of shots. This time against Del Potro, Federer's strategy was to keep his service game short and to execute it in clinical fashion. One cannot help but notice how efficient and clinical Federer's service games was yesterday. It was fast, efficient and assassin like. Logically speaking it's quite easy to see why Federer had this strategy, he knows that if he drags his service game he is more likely to lose. With Del Potro powerful forehand and backhand it is more likely Federer would be broken in his service games if he were to drag it out.
6) Federer's serve
Federer's serve in yesterday's game was one of the better ones which I have not seen in a long time from the man himself. And his serve was probably the only reason why it kept him in the game long enough for cracks to appear in Del Potro's game.
7) Federer edge in extended set
Federer seem to have the advantage in extended set and this advantage look more and more certain in Federer's favor. This is so because Federer himself been through something similar in the past. And that is the 2008 Wimbledon finals against Rafael Nadal. It is probably the greatest match in Wimbledon's history, lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. But unfortunately in that game Federer lost. And 4 years on, this time was the Olympic semis finals in the same venue, Federer himself would have the mental edge in facing this type of matches and it clearly showed in the extended set. Though Del Potro lost, I believe he has gain something few tennis player had in their arsenal and its something Federer had gained 4 years ago in the match which he lost.
Conclusion
Federer has once against defied father time and showed he could still beat younger and more powerful opponents and its no wonder he is currently the world No. 1 tennis player. Del Potro played really well in this game and now it has put me into thinking how he would perform in the upcoming U.S Open.
Oh well, that's all from me once again! Signing off!
First Set
First set was a sleeper, and I personally did not watch the first set entirely. But what the score suggest is plain for everyone to know and that was Federer came out of the blocks slow and Del Potro just took advantage of it. Federer looked tired and I guess the primary reason for it was because the Olympics men's tennis singles came so soon after Wimbledon (Federer won). Del Potro got out in the fourth round of Wimbledon but Federer went all the way to the finals and completed it. That itself would be a prime candidate explain the sluggishness in his play and of course father time is another reason for the apparent sluggishness in his play in back to back competitions.
Second Set
This set was really like a tug of war whereby both players did not look like giving up their service game, going pound for pound at each other. Del Potro seems to show some cracks in the set towards the end and his frustrations were pretty apparent. Went into a tie-breaker and again the cracks became obvious, and seizing the chance, Federer won the tie-breaker. Frankly speaking if the cracks did not come, Del Potro would have wrapped up the men's semi finals and moved onto the finals.
Third Set
The early stages third set looked pretty similar to the second set, both players going pound for pound. Several times in this set Del Porto looked like the one who would break first but once again Federer who brought his serving game to the match manage to hold out. But what can be certain is, Del Portro looks like the one on the back pedal as the set progress. Causes of his frustrations were because first of all his failure to seize chances in this set to break Federer, many errors (first serve drop in percentage, unforce etc) in this set by Del Portro and lastly to put in accurate terms Federer kicked up a notch in his play
Extended Third Set
I find this ruling in Olympic tennis very intriguing. I can't figure out the reason for this special ruling other than because they choose to make the man's singles a 3 set game. So to drag on a little more this extended third set rule came along.
Federer in all honesty controlled this extended third set and it was only towards the end probably like the 18th game of the extended set did he finally show visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. His service game was right up there and probably only drop in percentage came in the 17~18 or so game in the extended set. Federer would have won this game in the third hour if not for some sloppy finishing. He managed to break Del Portro (I can't remember which game it was in the extended set probably the 12th game) but he failed quite dramatically in his service game to close out the game. And as the set dragged on, it seems like this could go on forever. Federer did had control in the extended set, with Del Potro seemingly most of the time on the verge of defeat but as the game ensued it was Federer who finally showed visible signs of tiredness and fatigue. And it was Del Potro who came back and looked likely to be the winner of the game. But then the second break came and this time, Federer did close out his service game though not clinically but quite sloppily to be honest.
Thoughts on the game
1) Federer never hit top gear
Quite frankly the Federer that played yesterday was pale in comparison to the Federer we saw in the Wimbledon finals. He looked slow and sluggish at the start of the game and even towards the end Federer didn't look like hitting top gear. His forehand was surprisingly sloppy and lacked punch, his volley execution was also surprisingly sloppy and badly executed at times as well given how Federer himself had given Andy Murray a volleying clinic in the Wimbledon finals. So in short Roger Federer did not bring his best to the game
2) Del Potro's effort
Del Potro played wonderful tennis. And given he is only 23 years old and look to have put his injuries behind him, I would say Del Potro would win at least one more Major in his career. Del Potro needed to play near perfect tennis first of all to win the game and secondly to stay in the game and he almost did just that. In the extended set Del Potro showed to the world besides him having talent, he also has grit, determination and nerves of steel. The diving net shot in one of the game in the extended set is just one example of the grit and determination this young man has. Del Potro also displayed nerves of steel as well, there were a couple of times he fell 0-40 behind in the extended set but manage still manage to hold his service.
3) Del Potro's defensive game
Del Potro played some stellar defense yesterday to keep Federer out. Many a times where it seems like Del Potro's back was against the wall, he defended brilliantly. One has to watch this game to see how brilliantly Del Potro defended and it would be a pity not to see it. Not only did his defense kept Federer out but at times it turned into an offense and threatened Federer.
4) Roof
Ah... Federer's detractors has always found ways to criticize his game unfairly and lately it was the Wimbledon's court roof. What Federer shown in this game was he is equally capable of playing great tennis without the roof even when he did not have his best stuff with him. These detractors also conveniently forget most of Federer's majors that he won was without the "roof". The only time which I can remember where he won a major with a roof on was the very recent edition of Wimbledon.
The wind at Wimbledon yesterday was pretty strong and rough but Federer dealt with it quite admirably and well, so too with Del Potro. And certainly there were many times in yesterday's game that the wind was the culprit for some lost points for both players.
5) Great strategy by Federer
This year especially Federer has shown to plan and strategize his game quite deeply. I guess as father time catches up with an athlete of that stature, strategies are probably one of the things that can help Federer keep up with times. Federer shown in the Wimbledon finals against Andy Murray that his strategy was to tire Murray down to a point of frustration with a wide display of shots and placement of shots. This time against Del Potro, Federer's strategy was to keep his service game short and to execute it in clinical fashion. One cannot help but notice how efficient and clinical Federer's service games was yesterday. It was fast, efficient and assassin like. Logically speaking it's quite easy to see why Federer had this strategy, he knows that if he drags his service game he is more likely to lose. With Del Potro powerful forehand and backhand it is more likely Federer would be broken in his service games if he were to drag it out.
6) Federer's serve
Federer's serve in yesterday's game was one of the better ones which I have not seen in a long time from the man himself. And his serve was probably the only reason why it kept him in the game long enough for cracks to appear in Del Potro's game.
7) Federer edge in extended set
Federer seem to have the advantage in extended set and this advantage look more and more certain in Federer's favor. This is so because Federer himself been through something similar in the past. And that is the 2008 Wimbledon finals against Rafael Nadal. It is probably the greatest match in Wimbledon's history, lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. But unfortunately in that game Federer lost. And 4 years on, this time was the Olympic semis finals in the same venue, Federer himself would have the mental edge in facing this type of matches and it clearly showed in the extended set. Though Del Potro lost, I believe he has gain something few tennis player had in their arsenal and its something Federer had gained 4 years ago in the match which he lost.
Conclusion
Federer has once against defied father time and showed he could still beat younger and more powerful opponents and its no wonder he is currently the world No. 1 tennis player. Del Potro played really well in this game and now it has put me into thinking how he would perform in the upcoming U.S Open.
Oh well, that's all from me once again! Signing off!
Thursday, 12 July 2012
How Steve Nash would benefit the Lakers. And how Steve Nash would pull the Lakers down
Now that it is official and a done deal, lets talk about what Steven Nash would bring to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Benefits
1) Pick and Roll
Finally and I mean finally the Lakers are going to run some quality pick and rolls. The last time that has ever happened was let me think ... Nah, forget it. It has never happened before. Steve Nash probably one of the best and most experienced point guards in the league, and also one who does one of the best pick and rolls on the court and probably in his sleep as well will contribute big time offense for the Lakers. Gasol finally has a guard, who is one of the best PG in the NBA who can create quality pick and rolls with him and would be able to maximize and draw out Gasol's potential completely. And to be honest during Gasol's time in LA, his potential was never fully maximize firstly due to the triangle offense under Phil Jackson and now under Mike Brown who probably has the least creative offense in town. But with Nash on court, everything will change, it would be finally be the Gasol who plays for the Spanish national team on court and not the Gasol we have been seeing so far.
Beside Gasol who would benefit with the acquisition of Nash is Andrew Bynum. Bynum probably the most skilled big man on court in the NBA now would finally have a true PG to feed him the ball down low to destroy the opponent. Bynum now will not need to create his own offense himself most of the time now but rather Nash would feed him the ball for the easy basket. And with Bynum not needing to create alot of his offense on his own, this would allow him to conserve his stamina and would last and be productive in the game longer and would in turn benefit the Lakers a ton.
2) Spreading the floor
The problem with the Laker offense last season was it was too concentrated, one dimensional. With Steve Nash all of that is about to change. With his ability to spread the floor at will anybody in the Laker team can score and of course this would mean it is harder for the opponent to defend the Lakers. One should go look at Steve Nash videos while he was at the Phoenix Suns and see how he spread the floor that create so much panic in the opponent's team defense.
3) Perimeter Shooting
With Steve Nash on the Laker's roster now, the Lakers perimeter shooting capabilities went up a notch. It used to be the Lakers would depend on Kobe Bryant for the downtown shot most of the time, Meta World Peace, Matt Barnes and Steve Blakes would chip in the rest. But to be honest of all the names I have mentioned over there, probably only Bryant has decent perimeter shooting percentage and to a certain extend Steve Blake as well. The thing is the Lakers never had decent perimeter shooting percentage let alone player ever but with Nash on court all that is going to change. Perimeter shooting will definitely be part of the Laker's offense now. With the acquisition of Steve Nash, it also has lowered the need to get a three point sniper from the market.
4) Better Transition Offense
With Nash, the Lakers would have better transition offense. Transition offense is something that is severely lacking in the Lakers and with Nash coming on board, transition offense would be something to look out for for the Lakers. By the way I am not saying the Lakers would do massive loads of transition offense all of a sudden like the Oklahoma Thunders but at least there would be an increase in the amount of transition offense for the Lakers.
5) A offensive commander not named Kobe Bryant
For the past few years the only guy who has been commanding the offense is Kobe Bryant. But now with Steve Nash at the helm, the Lakers have a guy who has been commanding mesmerizing offense for his entire career and it would be intriguing and definitely a huge plus point for the Lakers offense. With Nash commanding the Lakers offense like how he did in Phoenix, the Lakers set offense would probably be right there on top with the San Antonio Spurs and the rest like the Miami Heat.
6) Teams like the San Antonio Spurs will not be so much of a problem now
The Spurs has always been a tough team for the Lakers to handle. One of the reason for that is because the offense was so stagnant, the Lakers found it difficult to break down the Spurs defense after awhile. But with Nash on court now, it will be more of an even match up now for the Lakers.
Drawbacks
1) Age
Its inevitable that such a factor would be mentioned. At 38 years old, Steve Nash should be commended for playing at such a high level given his age. It is also inevitable at his age, he would tire easily and would probably not be able to play 48 minutes night in and out. So with Nash out for a rest or so, how the Lakers is going to play is one question but will Nash be able to last till the post season is an even bigger problem.
2) Injury
Steve Nash has a nagging back problem that has been hounding him for a long time. And that is only 1 big so called "injury" and it would certainly hamper him and his performance throughout the strenuous regular season let alone the post season . So what happens when more injuries creeps in, Nash contribution would certainly be limited tremendously. And when Nash is down, would the Lakers offense become stagnant again as we have seen so many times before? That is a question the Lakers have to answer.
Non Factors
1) Steve Nash defensive capabilities
Lots have been said about Nash's defensive capabilities and many have mention that Nash has close to 0 defensive capabilities. The problem with that kind of statements is, if Nash plays close to 0 defense it is actually a lack of respect shown to Nash because certainly Nash does not play as good of a defense but to say he plays 0 defense it is a huge overstatement. Secondly the Lakers never had a point guard who played good defense trust me on that and I mean NEVER had. So even if Nash plays "close to 0" defense its not like its something new for the Lakers to handle. The PGs who have ever played for the Lakers aren't really good defensively as well, just look at Derick Fisher for an example and how many world championships they won with Fisher's defense? FIVE people! FIVE!
And this last point which I am about to make would probably settle this issue once and for all and that is in this day and age defensive duties at the PG position isn't so much of a factor really. How many people in this league is able to guard Russell Westbrook one on one during the game? That would be close to 0 if not 0. How many people in this league is able to guard Rajon Rondo one on one during the game? That would also be close to 0 if not 0. And does being not able to guard those two PGs mattered to the Miami Heat who happened to beat those two teams in the playoffs? NO certainly it didn't matter to them because first of all they EXPECTED RONDO to go blow past whoever who is guarding him, they EXPECTED Westbrook to blow past whoever is guarding them and with that all they did was to make adjustments to the team defense to make up for the lack of defensive capabilities to stop those type players. In short they know how to DEFEND as a team. By the way I have only mentioned two point guards, what about Deron William? What about Chris Paul? What about Derrick Rose? What about Tony Parker? (By the way no one has ever made a huge fuss in regards to Tony Parker "close to 0" defensive capabilities) So with all of these points I have mentioned, please don't get me started about "Nash's 0 defensive capabilities"!
And so in my opinion, I have relegated Nash's defensive liability to a non factor.
Conclusion
Bottom line is this, Steve Nash would definitely improve the Laker team tremendously. And with Nash, it would certainly put them almost on par with OKC and would probably be the Miami Heat's biggest nightmare! All the Lakers have to do is to keep Nash healthy till post-season and let Nash's basketball do the talking.
That's all from me! Signing off!
Benefits
1) Pick and Roll
Finally and I mean finally the Lakers are going to run some quality pick and rolls. The last time that has ever happened was let me think ... Nah, forget it. It has never happened before. Steve Nash probably one of the best and most experienced point guards in the league, and also one who does one of the best pick and rolls on the court and probably in his sleep as well will contribute big time offense for the Lakers. Gasol finally has a guard, who is one of the best PG in the NBA who can create quality pick and rolls with him and would be able to maximize and draw out Gasol's potential completely. And to be honest during Gasol's time in LA, his potential was never fully maximize firstly due to the triangle offense under Phil Jackson and now under Mike Brown who probably has the least creative offense in town. But with Nash on court, everything will change, it would be finally be the Gasol who plays for the Spanish national team on court and not the Gasol we have been seeing so far.
Beside Gasol who would benefit with the acquisition of Nash is Andrew Bynum. Bynum probably the most skilled big man on court in the NBA now would finally have a true PG to feed him the ball down low to destroy the opponent. Bynum now will not need to create his own offense himself most of the time now but rather Nash would feed him the ball for the easy basket. And with Bynum not needing to create alot of his offense on his own, this would allow him to conserve his stamina and would last and be productive in the game longer and would in turn benefit the Lakers a ton.
2) Spreading the floor
The problem with the Laker offense last season was it was too concentrated, one dimensional. With Steve Nash all of that is about to change. With his ability to spread the floor at will anybody in the Laker team can score and of course this would mean it is harder for the opponent to defend the Lakers. One should go look at Steve Nash videos while he was at the Phoenix Suns and see how he spread the floor that create so much panic in the opponent's team defense.
3) Perimeter Shooting
With Steve Nash on the Laker's roster now, the Lakers perimeter shooting capabilities went up a notch. It used to be the Lakers would depend on Kobe Bryant for the downtown shot most of the time, Meta World Peace, Matt Barnes and Steve Blakes would chip in the rest. But to be honest of all the names I have mentioned over there, probably only Bryant has decent perimeter shooting percentage and to a certain extend Steve Blake as well. The thing is the Lakers never had decent perimeter shooting percentage let alone player ever but with Nash on court all that is going to change. Perimeter shooting will definitely be part of the Laker's offense now. With the acquisition of Steve Nash, it also has lowered the need to get a three point sniper from the market.
4) Better Transition Offense
With Nash, the Lakers would have better transition offense. Transition offense is something that is severely lacking in the Lakers and with Nash coming on board, transition offense would be something to look out for for the Lakers. By the way I am not saying the Lakers would do massive loads of transition offense all of a sudden like the Oklahoma Thunders but at least there would be an increase in the amount of transition offense for the Lakers.
5) A offensive commander not named Kobe Bryant
For the past few years the only guy who has been commanding the offense is Kobe Bryant. But now with Steve Nash at the helm, the Lakers have a guy who has been commanding mesmerizing offense for his entire career and it would be intriguing and definitely a huge plus point for the Lakers offense. With Nash commanding the Lakers offense like how he did in Phoenix, the Lakers set offense would probably be right there on top with the San Antonio Spurs and the rest like the Miami Heat.
6) Teams like the San Antonio Spurs will not be so much of a problem now
The Spurs has always been a tough team for the Lakers to handle. One of the reason for that is because the offense was so stagnant, the Lakers found it difficult to break down the Spurs defense after awhile. But with Nash on court now, it will be more of an even match up now for the Lakers.
Drawbacks
1) Age
Its inevitable that such a factor would be mentioned. At 38 years old, Steve Nash should be commended for playing at such a high level given his age. It is also inevitable at his age, he would tire easily and would probably not be able to play 48 minutes night in and out. So with Nash out for a rest or so, how the Lakers is going to play is one question but will Nash be able to last till the post season is an even bigger problem.
2) Injury
Steve Nash has a nagging back problem that has been hounding him for a long time. And that is only 1 big so called "injury" and it would certainly hamper him and his performance throughout the strenuous regular season let alone the post season . So what happens when more injuries creeps in, Nash contribution would certainly be limited tremendously. And when Nash is down, would the Lakers offense become stagnant again as we have seen so many times before? That is a question the Lakers have to answer.
Non Factors
1) Steve Nash defensive capabilities
Lots have been said about Nash's defensive capabilities and many have mention that Nash has close to 0 defensive capabilities. The problem with that kind of statements is, if Nash plays close to 0 defense it is actually a lack of respect shown to Nash because certainly Nash does not play as good of a defense but to say he plays 0 defense it is a huge overstatement. Secondly the Lakers never had a point guard who played good defense trust me on that and I mean NEVER had. So even if Nash plays "close to 0" defense its not like its something new for the Lakers to handle. The PGs who have ever played for the Lakers aren't really good defensively as well, just look at Derick Fisher for an example and how many world championships they won with Fisher's defense? FIVE people! FIVE!
And this last point which I am about to make would probably settle this issue once and for all and that is in this day and age defensive duties at the PG position isn't so much of a factor really. How many people in this league is able to guard Russell Westbrook one on one during the game? That would be close to 0 if not 0. How many people in this league is able to guard Rajon Rondo one on one during the game? That would also be close to 0 if not 0. And does being not able to guard those two PGs mattered to the Miami Heat who happened to beat those two teams in the playoffs? NO certainly it didn't matter to them because first of all they EXPECTED RONDO to go blow past whoever who is guarding him, they EXPECTED Westbrook to blow past whoever is guarding them and with that all they did was to make adjustments to the team defense to make up for the lack of defensive capabilities to stop those type players. In short they know how to DEFEND as a team. By the way I have only mentioned two point guards, what about Deron William? What about Chris Paul? What about Derrick Rose? What about Tony Parker? (By the way no one has ever made a huge fuss in regards to Tony Parker "close to 0" defensive capabilities) So with all of these points I have mentioned, please don't get me started about "Nash's 0 defensive capabilities"!
And so in my opinion, I have relegated Nash's defensive liability to a non factor.
Conclusion
Bottom line is this, Steve Nash would definitely improve the Laker team tremendously. And with Nash, it would certainly put them almost on par with OKC and would probably be the Miami Heat's biggest nightmare! All the Lakers have to do is to keep Nash healthy till post-season and let Nash's basketball do the talking.
That's all from me! Signing off!
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Game 5 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat)
Well before the series began many have already wrote off Boston's chances of taking the series. But as we all know over the years when the Celtics have their back against the wall, that's when they begin fight back. Watch out Miami, when the "old folks" get their engines started there is no way you can stop that. And by the way Boston already have their engine started and well warmed up ever since Game 2. After the ridiculous wash out in Game 1, oh boy the Celtics are fired up for one last final battle. Alright with that, let's begin the preview.
Who has the advantage tomorrow? Boston Celtics. This is a known fact now after what we have seen from Games 1 to 4, that Rajon Rondo have developed so much that the Miami Heat cannot stop him. They tried putting Lebron, Dwayne Wade, Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers etc on him and they all failed in the end. Rondo knows that he can take apart the Heat's defense anytime he wants. And this point itself should satisfy the premise that Boston has the advantage for Game 5. Second reason why the Celtics have the advantage tomorrow, Ray Allen. I have said this a couple of times now already that Ray Allen is due for an all-star performance in this series. He has shown signs since Game 1 that he is slowly getting his rhythm, arc and confidence back. And guess what in Game 4, he has shot his best so far in this series. I am not only referring to the points he scored but basically everything, his shooting arc is back and he looked confident. This Ray Allen now is no more the Ray Allen of games 1 and 2 but the Ray Allen we are seeing now is almost the same one we have been seeing all those years. Thirdly, Boston's bench. Boston's bench have been doing superbly well in this series and credit coach Doc Rivers for finding matchups to suit his bench and uses his bench to the most optimal level. Boston's depleted bench actually made the Heat's bench looked weak and empty! We can go on and on why Boston has the advantage but we will just leave it here and move on.
Let me say one thing, in the preview to the beginning of this series I've said that both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have to elevate their games in order for the Miami Heat to win the series and this is because Chris Bosh is injured. So far Lebron has been doing great and there is no question about that. In fact! Barring his failure to close out games and his horrendous misses from the foul line, Lebron has actually been carrying the Heat all alone on his shoulders and like what Stephen A Smith said "Cleveland part 2". Let's not kid ourselves and let's be honest here, Dwayne Wade has been non-existent in this series and I am serious. Don't let the box score fool you into thinking Wade is having a decent series because the matter of fact is he has not! And Game 4 just further strengthen this point! In the fourth quarter he has only taken 3 shots! How absurd does that sounds! To compound things further during overtime, its the time where the game will be won or lost, he only took 2 shots and that is INCLUSIVE of the clutch 3-pointer which he missed! That means in essence if the clutch play had not been design for him, in overtime he would only have shot one time! And I repeat here ONE TIME. This is not the D-Wade we all know who is suppose to be Batman, who will take over in the fourth and seal the deal! And you guys must be wondering what about the first, second and third quarter? He shot so badly the entire night during Game 4 that he went 7-22 in shooting, that is just barely hitting the 30 percent mark! And to cap Game 4 off, he had 4 turnovers. I have written time and time and again in my previous posts for this series, Dwayne Wade has been performing badly and with each passing game it seem to get more worse. It's time to show up man! And get the job done Dwayne Wade!
The Miami Heat is making me feel irritated with what they are doing. You ask why? I tell you why, experimenting lineups in the Eastern Conference Finals? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is not the first time both teams have played against each other and for them to have the audacity to FREQUENTLY EXPERIMENT LINEUPS in the Eastern Conference Finals just shows me one thing, Eric Spolestra you are not prepared! You and your coaching staff are not prepared! There is nothing wrong to experiment with lineups, but that should be DONE in the regular season! And even if they want to do it in the Eastern Conference Finals there is no problem with that but to frequently do it just shows one thing to the whole world! You guys are not prepared! I don't care if they have the "Dynamic Duo" or "Batman and Robin" or "Two of the best players in the NBA", the fact is you guys still have to come prepared! The injury to Chris Bosh might have played a role in all these experimenting of lineups, but I am not going to give them a pass for that because don't tell me they have not thought about this scenario before! Come on man! Trust in your gameplay! Stick to your gameplay Heat! Why have so little trust in the gameplays that you have been using and perfecting it all season long!
Well don't get me wrong, I am not saying the Heat don't have a chance of winning tomorrow. What I am saying is that, they have to step up! Currently only Lebron James has been carrying the burden on his shoulders! It's time for the rest to step up!
The factor of Chris Bosh. If you ask me, I will take my chances and play Chris Bosh tomorrow. I will not start him but probably get him into the game tomorrow late in the third quarter to the end. Tomorrow's game is extremely crucial to the Miami Heat because if they lose tomorrow, Boston will wrap it all up in Game 6 back at home. So if I have to gamble on Chris Bosh, tomorrow's game would be the time. The Heat have ran out of options basically, they have nothing left. What I have seen in Game 4 for the first time is that the Miami Heat slowed down and became sluggish. So now its the time to get Bosh back to inject new life into the sluggish Heat and start the engine once again.
Conclusion
The Boston Celtic's engines has finally come alive and guess what it is not at the optimal level yet! I will repeat this again, for the Miami Heat to win tomorrow, both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade has to go onto the next level. Period. Is it a little too late now for the Heat? It might be, but I don't think so. There is still a chance for the Heat, but time is running out Miami! Because when the time comes where the Celtic's engines run at full power, the one who will get bulldoze aside is you Miami!
The End.
Who has the advantage tomorrow? Boston Celtics. This is a known fact now after what we have seen from Games 1 to 4, that Rajon Rondo have developed so much that the Miami Heat cannot stop him. They tried putting Lebron, Dwayne Wade, Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers etc on him and they all failed in the end. Rondo knows that he can take apart the Heat's defense anytime he wants. And this point itself should satisfy the premise that Boston has the advantage for Game 5. Second reason why the Celtics have the advantage tomorrow, Ray Allen. I have said this a couple of times now already that Ray Allen is due for an all-star performance in this series. He has shown signs since Game 1 that he is slowly getting his rhythm, arc and confidence back. And guess what in Game 4, he has shot his best so far in this series. I am not only referring to the points he scored but basically everything, his shooting arc is back and he looked confident. This Ray Allen now is no more the Ray Allen of games 1 and 2 but the Ray Allen we are seeing now is almost the same one we have been seeing all those years. Thirdly, Boston's bench. Boston's bench have been doing superbly well in this series and credit coach Doc Rivers for finding matchups to suit his bench and uses his bench to the most optimal level. Boston's depleted bench actually made the Heat's bench looked weak and empty! We can go on and on why Boston has the advantage but we will just leave it here and move on.
Let me say one thing, in the preview to the beginning of this series I've said that both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have to elevate their games in order for the Miami Heat to win the series and this is because Chris Bosh is injured. So far Lebron has been doing great and there is no question about that. In fact! Barring his failure to close out games and his horrendous misses from the foul line, Lebron has actually been carrying the Heat all alone on his shoulders and like what Stephen A Smith said "Cleveland part 2". Let's not kid ourselves and let's be honest here, Dwayne Wade has been non-existent in this series and I am serious. Don't let the box score fool you into thinking Wade is having a decent series because the matter of fact is he has not! And Game 4 just further strengthen this point! In the fourth quarter he has only taken 3 shots! How absurd does that sounds! To compound things further during overtime, its the time where the game will be won or lost, he only took 2 shots and that is INCLUSIVE of the clutch 3-pointer which he missed! That means in essence if the clutch play had not been design for him, in overtime he would only have shot one time! And I repeat here ONE TIME. This is not the D-Wade we all know who is suppose to be Batman, who will take over in the fourth and seal the deal! And you guys must be wondering what about the first, second and third quarter? He shot so badly the entire night during Game 4 that he went 7-22 in shooting, that is just barely hitting the 30 percent mark! And to cap Game 4 off, he had 4 turnovers. I have written time and time and again in my previous posts for this series, Dwayne Wade has been performing badly and with each passing game it seem to get more worse. It's time to show up man! And get the job done Dwayne Wade!
The Miami Heat is making me feel irritated with what they are doing. You ask why? I tell you why, experimenting lineups in the Eastern Conference Finals? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is not the first time both teams have played against each other and for them to have the audacity to FREQUENTLY EXPERIMENT LINEUPS in the Eastern Conference Finals just shows me one thing, Eric Spolestra you are not prepared! You and your coaching staff are not prepared! There is nothing wrong to experiment with lineups, but that should be DONE in the regular season! And even if they want to do it in the Eastern Conference Finals there is no problem with that but to frequently do it just shows one thing to the whole world! You guys are not prepared! I don't care if they have the "Dynamic Duo" or "Batman and Robin" or "Two of the best players in the NBA", the fact is you guys still have to come prepared! The injury to Chris Bosh might have played a role in all these experimenting of lineups, but I am not going to give them a pass for that because don't tell me they have not thought about this scenario before! Come on man! Trust in your gameplay! Stick to your gameplay Heat! Why have so little trust in the gameplays that you have been using and perfecting it all season long!
Well don't get me wrong, I am not saying the Heat don't have a chance of winning tomorrow. What I am saying is that, they have to step up! Currently only Lebron James has been carrying the burden on his shoulders! It's time for the rest to step up!
The factor of Chris Bosh. If you ask me, I will take my chances and play Chris Bosh tomorrow. I will not start him but probably get him into the game tomorrow late in the third quarter to the end. Tomorrow's game is extremely crucial to the Miami Heat because if they lose tomorrow, Boston will wrap it all up in Game 6 back at home. So if I have to gamble on Chris Bosh, tomorrow's game would be the time. The Heat have ran out of options basically, they have nothing left. What I have seen in Game 4 for the first time is that the Miami Heat slowed down and became sluggish. So now its the time to get Bosh back to inject new life into the sluggish Heat and start the engine once again.
Conclusion
The Boston Celtic's engines has finally come alive and guess what it is not at the optimal level yet! I will repeat this again, for the Miami Heat to win tomorrow, both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade has to go onto the next level. Period. Is it a little too late now for the Heat? It might be, but I don't think so. There is still a chance for the Heat, but time is running out Miami! Because when the time comes where the Celtic's engines run at full power, the one who will get bulldoze aside is you Miami!
The End.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Reactions to Game 4 Western Conference Finals (San Antonio Spurs 103 Oklahoma City Thunders 109)
What a game! It's time to change the script! The old guards are passing out! WOW! How fast was that! I am pretty certain some of those guys who wrote those articles that I read earlier saying that OKC will turn the tide, are the same people who said the Spurs will take the series. To start off, I am going to say one thing and that is I am not buying any of sort of suggestions/ideas that the Thunders will win the series. I will stick to my guns and still pick the Spurs to win the series.
How the game was played out?
Well the game was pretty back and forth, back and forth pretty much the whole game even when Serge Ibaka had a perfect shooting night. It was only when Kevin Durant took over in the middle of the fourth quarter that actually a clear winner emerge and that is OKC.
How did OKC win?
1) Serge Ibaka. He had an outstanding game tonight. He went 11-11 in shooting, went 4-4 in the foul line together with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. A great all around game for him tonight. He was continually a presence in both the defensive and the offensive end where he shot a perfect night. Just fantastic really.
2) Kevin Durant. Finally and I mean finally! Kevin Durant finally reminded why he is the NBA scoring champion! Reminded us that he is a scoring machine probably even better than Michael Jordan in that department. Well I am alittle tired of writing the stats down, you can go take a look at it yourself, and by the way he scored 36 points. For me it is not so much about number of points he scored but the aggression and the intensity he showed in the middle of the fourth quarter to take over the game was what I was looking for. For a moment in the game I thought he wasn't going to show up at all as in the first 2 quarters of the game he only shot the ball 4 times. But he proved me wrong, he started to assert himself in the third and then in the fourth Durant took over the game completely. Welcome back Durant!
Worst performers for OKC
Both Russel Westbrook and James Harden. They both performed very poorly today which comes as a surprise. Well their stat sheet are forgettable. 2-10 shooting and 4-14 shooting respectively, need me to carry on anymore? But at least they compensate this poor performance with 12 assists combined. But still it is not excuse for the poor performances from the both of them.
How did the Spurs lost?
Well everyone played alright tonight, hitting big shots from downtown was what that kept them in the game. But the reason why they actually lost the game was because they failed to convert and also because Durant took over. That's all basically, nothing much to comment about.
Tim Duncan played his best game of the series so far, coming in with 26 points in 9-17 shooting, 8 rebounds ,1 block and 2 assist. Well everyone for the Spurs contributed today but times when it was crucial for them to convert they just failed. Daniel Green continued his poor shooting going 1-6 from downtown, maybe it's better for coach Popovich to switch their play and allow someone else to shoot.
Conclusion
The thing for me was this, not just in this Game 4 but in Game 3 as well I felt that the plays which the Spurs executed are not as sharp and good as in Game 1 and 2. Game 3 and 4 performances have been a pale shadow to Game 1 and 2. Game 4 performance was definitely better than Game 3. Today's game just highlight the fact that no one in the Spurs team can guard Kevin Durant when he decides to play and be aggressive. Durant can almost score at will against the Spurs and no one can stop him at all. Home court advantage really played out to its fullest in these past 2 games for OKC.
Why I am still rooting for the Spurs to take the series is this, because the Spurs are a whole different team when they are at their home court and that would mean OKC would most likely be losing. And from what I have sees in this past 2 games is that I feel that the Spurs have the chance to snatch one at Oklahoma. The Spurs have not been playing up to standard, they know it and I am pretty certain coach Popovich will do something about it.
Things for Spurs to look out for in Game 5 is that they have to convert that's all basically.
Things for OKC to look out for in Game 5 is this: Use Kevin Durant.
That's all for me. Good night!
How the game was played out?
Well the game was pretty back and forth, back and forth pretty much the whole game even when Serge Ibaka had a perfect shooting night. It was only when Kevin Durant took over in the middle of the fourth quarter that actually a clear winner emerge and that is OKC.
How did OKC win?
1) Serge Ibaka. He had an outstanding game tonight. He went 11-11 in shooting, went 4-4 in the foul line together with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. A great all around game for him tonight. He was continually a presence in both the defensive and the offensive end where he shot a perfect night. Just fantastic really.
2) Kevin Durant. Finally and I mean finally! Kevin Durant finally reminded why he is the NBA scoring champion! Reminded us that he is a scoring machine probably even better than Michael Jordan in that department. Well I am alittle tired of writing the stats down, you can go take a look at it yourself, and by the way he scored 36 points. For me it is not so much about number of points he scored but the aggression and the intensity he showed in the middle of the fourth quarter to take over the game was what I was looking for. For a moment in the game I thought he wasn't going to show up at all as in the first 2 quarters of the game he only shot the ball 4 times. But he proved me wrong, he started to assert himself in the third and then in the fourth Durant took over the game completely. Welcome back Durant!
Worst performers for OKC
Both Russel Westbrook and James Harden. They both performed very poorly today which comes as a surprise. Well their stat sheet are forgettable. 2-10 shooting and 4-14 shooting respectively, need me to carry on anymore? But at least they compensate this poor performance with 12 assists combined. But still it is not excuse for the poor performances from the both of them.
How did the Spurs lost?
Well everyone played alright tonight, hitting big shots from downtown was what that kept them in the game. But the reason why they actually lost the game was because they failed to convert and also because Durant took over. That's all basically, nothing much to comment about.
Tim Duncan played his best game of the series so far, coming in with 26 points in 9-17 shooting, 8 rebounds ,1 block and 2 assist. Well everyone for the Spurs contributed today but times when it was crucial for them to convert they just failed. Daniel Green continued his poor shooting going 1-6 from downtown, maybe it's better for coach Popovich to switch their play and allow someone else to shoot.
Conclusion
The thing for me was this, not just in this Game 4 but in Game 3 as well I felt that the plays which the Spurs executed are not as sharp and good as in Game 1 and 2. Game 3 and 4 performances have been a pale shadow to Game 1 and 2. Game 4 performance was definitely better than Game 3. Today's game just highlight the fact that no one in the Spurs team can guard Kevin Durant when he decides to play and be aggressive. Durant can almost score at will against the Spurs and no one can stop him at all. Home court advantage really played out to its fullest in these past 2 games for OKC.
Why I am still rooting for the Spurs to take the series is this, because the Spurs are a whole different team when they are at their home court and that would mean OKC would most likely be losing. And from what I have sees in this past 2 games is that I feel that the Spurs have the chance to snatch one at Oklahoma. The Spurs have not been playing up to standard, they know it and I am pretty certain coach Popovich will do something about it.
Things for Spurs to look out for in Game 5 is that they have to convert that's all basically.
Things for OKC to look out for in Game 5 is this: Use Kevin Durant.
That's all for me. Good night!
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Game 4 Western Conference Finals (San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunders)
I know every time I mentioned the article will be short but it turned out to be quite a long article in the end but trust me this time it will be a really really really short one.
Alright let's get down to business.
Who has the advantage tomorrow? Isn't it obvious after Game 3? It has to be OKC, first of all they are playing at the home court, boasting of the loudest fans in the NBA. Secondly, they have no other choice, they got to win.
Besides all the other points I raised up before in regards to what OKC have to do to win, I want to add one more point. And that point is not to give the Spurs too much respect in a sense, to not be awed at their (the Spurs) basketball during the game but trust in their own game play and play.
Does Spurs have a chance of winning tomorrow's game? Yes sure they do as long as they show up unlike in Game 3 where they didn't turn up at all. They are the best basketball team in the NBA right now afterall.
Finally... I have this to say before we let things unravel tomorrow, tomorrow's game is extremely crucial to OKC. This is because if OKC were to lose tomorrow, San Antonio would be the overwhelming favorites to take Game 5 which would be played at their homecourt and that would mean they would win the series. So to put it in simple terms, it is a do or die game for the Oklahoma City Thunders.
That's all for me! Told you it will be really short this time =) See ya!
Alright let's get down to business.
Who has the advantage tomorrow? Isn't it obvious after Game 3? It has to be OKC, first of all they are playing at the home court, boasting of the loudest fans in the NBA. Secondly, they have no other choice, they got to win.
Besides all the other points I raised up before in regards to what OKC have to do to win, I want to add one more point. And that point is not to give the Spurs too much respect in a sense, to not be awed at their (the Spurs) basketball during the game but trust in their own game play and play.
Does Spurs have a chance of winning tomorrow's game? Yes sure they do as long as they show up unlike in Game 3 where they didn't turn up at all. They are the best basketball team in the NBA right now afterall.
Finally... I have this to say before we let things unravel tomorrow, tomorrow's game is extremely crucial to OKC. This is because if OKC were to lose tomorrow, San Antonio would be the overwhelming favorites to take Game 5 which would be played at their homecourt and that would mean they would win the series. So to put it in simple terms, it is a do or die game for the Oklahoma City Thunders.
That's all for me! Told you it will be really short this time =) See ya!
Reactions to Game 3 Eastern Conference Finals (Miami Heats 91 Boston Celtics 101)
Before I begin, I want to say that I have little to say for this game to be honest. The game started probably evenly and then slowly as the game progress on, the Celtics took control. The Heats managed a small run early in the fourth quarter but eventually the Celtics still prevailed. The Celtics showed up tonight and did all that was required of them to win the game basically.
Things which the Celtics did right
1) Using Kevin Garnett to post up in the paint and dominate. I have mentioned before that the Celtics have to make use of this match up and really punish the Heats down low and finally they did it and boy the results were great. Kevin Garnett played his best game of the series so far coming in 10-16 in shooting with 1 block and 11 rebounds. The Heats literally had no reply as to what to do with Garnett down in the paint basically, they sorely missed Chris Bosh in this game. It's a good thing to wonder why Celtics did not use Garnett's advantage down low until ONLY this game. Now at least there is a case to be made to get Bosh back as soon as possible for the Heats.
2) Paul Pierce played a great defensive game against Lebron James tonight. Keeping discipline and not fouling out is probably the most crucial thing he did. He scored 23 points and was consistently attacking the basket.
3) Marquis Daniels. The Boston Celtics have this habit whereby its bench players would step up in the post season and play a marquee game, and tonight was no different. Daniels had a great game coming off the bench, and contributing quality plays both defensively and offensively for the Celtics. Do not let his stat sheet fool you, he was big for the Celtics tonight.
4) Keyon Dooling. Man! Dooling was great tonight! Defensively he was superb all round! When he came on from the bench, he brought defensive aggression and tenacity to the floor and forcing the Heats into multiple turnovers. He guarded Lebron James fantastically this game. He put up quality offensive numbers as well going 4-6 in shooting and 1-2 from downtown.
5) Rajon Rondo. Need I say anything more? As long as he is on a roll, the Celtics have a great shot in claiming victory. Scoring 21 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 steal. Good solid quality game from him. Oh and by the way if possible go take a look at one of the drives he took where he completely fooled Udonis Haslem and went for an easy layup. Brilliant individual effort!
Miami Heats
Alright so much about the Celtics, what about the Heats you must be thinking? Well to put it quite simply, remember when Lebron was in Cleveland and he was the only one who was carrying the team on his back? Well ya that was what happened tonight for the Miami Heats. He put up 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Quite a solid game from him actually but unfortunately against the Celtics, you need more than just one person's production to give you a victory. And seriously can someone from the Heats consult the Oklahoma City Thunders how to shoot free throws? The Heats made only 10-20 free throws! How atrocious was that! James only came in 1-5 from the foul line, a guy with that kind of talent should not be shooting 1-5 from the free throw line period!
Remember in yesterday's post I wrote about how it was anybody's guess how Dwayne Wade would perform today? Well he didn't show up for today's game. Once again don't let the box score fool you guys into thinking he had a good game because he didn't. He was again close to non-existent and actually I thought he would show up late into game like in the third or fourth quarter like in Game 2 but unfortunately he did not this time around. He was not aggressive in attacking the paint this game and as a result he did not even visit the foul line even once. He made 0 attempts in three pointers and had 3 turnovers. Its game which D-Wade should seriously forget. But the thing is it is like a trend now I feel, he has not been playing consistently this playoffs in general. And he should start performing soon as the Heats would need him to carry them past the Celtics.
Conclusion
Good team effort by the Boston Celtics today, hitting all the right notes and claiming victory. They did have a minor slip up early in the fourth quarter and that was the only reason why it became alittle feisty towards the end but they manage to hang on and won the game by 10 points. The Heats needs Dwayne Wade to start hitting the road soon if not I believe this series might have a surprise winner.
Alright guys, that's all for me. See ya!
P.S By the way can someone teach the Miami Heats how to shoot free throws? (ESPECIALLY LEBRON JAMES -.-)
Things which the Celtics did right
1) Using Kevin Garnett to post up in the paint and dominate. I have mentioned before that the Celtics have to make use of this match up and really punish the Heats down low and finally they did it and boy the results were great. Kevin Garnett played his best game of the series so far coming in 10-16 in shooting with 1 block and 11 rebounds. The Heats literally had no reply as to what to do with Garnett down in the paint basically, they sorely missed Chris Bosh in this game. It's a good thing to wonder why Celtics did not use Garnett's advantage down low until ONLY this game. Now at least there is a case to be made to get Bosh back as soon as possible for the Heats.
2) Paul Pierce played a great defensive game against Lebron James tonight. Keeping discipline and not fouling out is probably the most crucial thing he did. He scored 23 points and was consistently attacking the basket.
3) Marquis Daniels. The Boston Celtics have this habit whereby its bench players would step up in the post season and play a marquee game, and tonight was no different. Daniels had a great game coming off the bench, and contributing quality plays both defensively and offensively for the Celtics. Do not let his stat sheet fool you, he was big for the Celtics tonight.
4) Keyon Dooling. Man! Dooling was great tonight! Defensively he was superb all round! When he came on from the bench, he brought defensive aggression and tenacity to the floor and forcing the Heats into multiple turnovers. He guarded Lebron James fantastically this game. He put up quality offensive numbers as well going 4-6 in shooting and 1-2 from downtown.
5) Rajon Rondo. Need I say anything more? As long as he is on a roll, the Celtics have a great shot in claiming victory. Scoring 21 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 steal. Good solid quality game from him. Oh and by the way if possible go take a look at one of the drives he took where he completely fooled Udonis Haslem and went for an easy layup. Brilliant individual effort!
Miami Heats
Alright so much about the Celtics, what about the Heats you must be thinking? Well to put it quite simply, remember when Lebron was in Cleveland and he was the only one who was carrying the team on his back? Well ya that was what happened tonight for the Miami Heats. He put up 34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Quite a solid game from him actually but unfortunately against the Celtics, you need more than just one person's production to give you a victory. And seriously can someone from the Heats consult the Oklahoma City Thunders how to shoot free throws? The Heats made only 10-20 free throws! How atrocious was that! James only came in 1-5 from the foul line, a guy with that kind of talent should not be shooting 1-5 from the free throw line period!
Remember in yesterday's post I wrote about how it was anybody's guess how Dwayne Wade would perform today? Well he didn't show up for today's game. Once again don't let the box score fool you guys into thinking he had a good game because he didn't. He was again close to non-existent and actually I thought he would show up late into game like in the third or fourth quarter like in Game 2 but unfortunately he did not this time around. He was not aggressive in attacking the paint this game and as a result he did not even visit the foul line even once. He made 0 attempts in three pointers and had 3 turnovers. Its game which D-Wade should seriously forget. But the thing is it is like a trend now I feel, he has not been playing consistently this playoffs in general. And he should start performing soon as the Heats would need him to carry them past the Celtics.
Conclusion
Good team effort by the Boston Celtics today, hitting all the right notes and claiming victory. They did have a minor slip up early in the fourth quarter and that was the only reason why it became alittle feisty towards the end but they manage to hang on and won the game by 10 points. The Heats needs Dwayne Wade to start hitting the road soon if not I believe this series might have a surprise winner.
Alright guys, that's all for me. See ya!
P.S By the way can someone teach the Miami Heats how to shoot free throws? (ESPECIALLY LEBRON JAMES -.-)
Friday, 1 June 2012
Miami Heats vs Boston Celtics (Game 3 Eastern Conference Finals)
The game in 9 hours time would determine the fate of Boston Celtics in this playoff series. Game 4 is so so so very crucial for the Boston Celtics to secure, any failure to do so would probably be catastrophic for them. So let's get down to business.
Who has the advantage for Game 4? The Miami Heats of course. They simply have nothing to lose since they are not playing at home. The Celtics have all to play for especially since first of all its at their home court, secondly losing tomorrow would probably demoralize the Celtics to a point of no return and the Heats would take the series comfortably.
What to look out for?
1) Whether Rajon Rondo can keep up his fantastic form into Game 4. The Celtics needs him to be at the top of his game later on, if not, the Celtics will be in for a long long night.
2) Ray Allen to have a big game later on. I mean come on, this is as much overdue as it gets. He simply needs to show up tomorrow period. Great champions will find ways to overcome their adversities and I am sure Ray Allen will find a way to overcome his ailing ankle that has been hampering him both physically and psychologically. That is what great champions do anyway.
3) Will Paul Pierce foul out? The moment Pierce was fouled out in Game 2, the entire Celtics offense lies on Rondo shoulders and that is not good for various of reasons. One reason is, if Pierce is gone the only other closer Boston has is Ray Allen. Given Allen's injury and form at the moment, it is quite unstable to rely on him to close out the game and by the way KG is not a closer. Another reason is if the offense lies entirely on Rondo shoulders, the Celtics offense becomes very predictable and easy to guard. If the Celtics want to have a shot at winning Game 4, Pierce has to be really discipline in terms of giving away fouls. The Celtics would need Pierce offensive strength to either bring them to the chequered flag in Game 4 or close the game out.
4) Whether the Boston Celtics have found a way to prevent their offense from becoming flat or stagnant so that it will not turn into an isolation game for Rondo to take down the entire Heat's defense. This is important here because, in Game 2, the Celtics did not have the solution to this problem. As a result, Rondo only manage to drive the lane successfully 1 or 2 times and then subsequently afterwards all his drives were predictable and his layups were being blocked as a result. So it is crucial for the Boston Celtics to figure this problem out.
5) Will Lebron James turn into "the Frozen One" again?
6) How will Dwayne Wade perform tomorrow? This question is as good as anybody's guess by the way. Wade's form in the playoffs have been so erratic so far that it is hard to predict how he will play tomorrow. One moment he can be cold, ice cold and the next moment he returns to become Batman.
7) Will Miami's bench continue their quality production? The Heat's bench has been producing quality and solid numbers in the stat sheet so far with everyone chipping in a bit here and there. So it is a wonder if they can continue this form into Game 4.
Well that is about all from me for Game 4. Now let's seat back and enjoy it in 8 hours time. See Ya~
Who has the advantage for Game 4? The Miami Heats of course. They simply have nothing to lose since they are not playing at home. The Celtics have all to play for especially since first of all its at their home court, secondly losing tomorrow would probably demoralize the Celtics to a point of no return and the Heats would take the series comfortably.
What to look out for?
1) Whether Rajon Rondo can keep up his fantastic form into Game 4. The Celtics needs him to be at the top of his game later on, if not, the Celtics will be in for a long long night.
2) Ray Allen to have a big game later on. I mean come on, this is as much overdue as it gets. He simply needs to show up tomorrow period. Great champions will find ways to overcome their adversities and I am sure Ray Allen will find a way to overcome his ailing ankle that has been hampering him both physically and psychologically. That is what great champions do anyway.
3) Will Paul Pierce foul out? The moment Pierce was fouled out in Game 2, the entire Celtics offense lies on Rondo shoulders and that is not good for various of reasons. One reason is, if Pierce is gone the only other closer Boston has is Ray Allen. Given Allen's injury and form at the moment, it is quite unstable to rely on him to close out the game and by the way KG is not a closer. Another reason is if the offense lies entirely on Rondo shoulders, the Celtics offense becomes very predictable and easy to guard. If the Celtics want to have a shot at winning Game 4, Pierce has to be really discipline in terms of giving away fouls. The Celtics would need Pierce offensive strength to either bring them to the chequered flag in Game 4 or close the game out.
4) Whether the Boston Celtics have found a way to prevent their offense from becoming flat or stagnant so that it will not turn into an isolation game for Rondo to take down the entire Heat's defense. This is important here because, in Game 2, the Celtics did not have the solution to this problem. As a result, Rondo only manage to drive the lane successfully 1 or 2 times and then subsequently afterwards all his drives were predictable and his layups were being blocked as a result. So it is crucial for the Boston Celtics to figure this problem out.
5) Will Lebron James turn into "the Frozen One" again?
6) How will Dwayne Wade perform tomorrow? This question is as good as anybody's guess by the way. Wade's form in the playoffs have been so erratic so far that it is hard to predict how he will play tomorrow. One moment he can be cold, ice cold and the next moment he returns to become Batman.
7) Will Miami's bench continue their quality production? The Heat's bench has been producing quality and solid numbers in the stat sheet so far with everyone chipping in a bit here and there. So it is a wonder if they can continue this form into Game 4.
Well that is about all from me for Game 4. Now let's seat back and enjoy it in 8 hours time. See Ya~
Reactions to Game 3 Western Conference Finals (San Antonio Spurs 82 Oklahoma City Thunders 102)
Before I begin, I would like to say one thing first in regards to this post. I meant no disrespect to anybody but I also do not intend to mince my words either. The thing is this whether or not the San Antonio Spurs decided to tank the game I don't care! But what is certain is that they the Spurs did not show up at the Chesapeake Energy Arena at all! The game's result is a false hope to the Oklahoma City Thunders. If they are going to treat this game as what the Spurs have to offer at best, I would tell them STOP IT. But there are certain positives OKC can take home tonight, one for example is that they played great defense tonight.
First up, flow of the game? OKC went on a 8-0 run at the start of the game, Spurs manage to tie it shortly but as soon as that happened OKC just too the game over. End of story.
You are shock aren't you? Take a look at the replay for yourself, the moment the Spurs caught back up from the eight nothing run by the Thunders, it was all OKC.
The Spurs was so bad it isn't even worth mentioning. 21 TURNOVERS. I repeat 21 TURNOVERS. But that is not all all! The high pick and rolls or screens or plays were executed so poorly it led to so many turnovers. The passing was bad, it was really bad and perimeter defense was almost non-existent. You might be wondering, what I have describe doesn't sound like the Spurs, it sounded more like the Charlotte Bobcats! Alright I am over-exaggerating alittle over here but you get my point. Tony Parker was playing so poorly its no wonder he only played 28 minutes! Left somewhere in the third quarter and never returned. He was shooting 50 percent, 6-12 in shooting that's alright but the rest of the stats were just horrible. Parker only had 4 assist, and a massive 5 turnovers which is totally uncharacteristic of him. Daniel Green continued his shooting woes, going 1-3 in shooting. Manu Ginobili was 1-5 in shooting and had 4 turnovers. The list of people performing badly tonight for the Spurs just continue on and on and on. Well but I would like to say say this the only two players who felt like playing for the Spurs tonight, and who actually showed up were Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson. Though coming only in 5 for 15 in shooting, Duncan played with effort and gave his all (basketball is not all about scoring). He had 5 blocks at the defensive end to top it up. One reason or if not the only reason why this game didn't become a super blowout is because Stephen Jackson shot the ball well tonight. He was 6-7 in shooting, and convert 4 out of 5 times from downtown (three pointers). Stephen Jackson seemed like the only guy besides Duncan whom actually felt like playing. Though they were down 20 plus, he still gave his all, convert tough three pointers down the stretch.
Well you might be thinking, after reading what I have written so far, that OKC won only because the Spurs was having an off day. That is not what I am implying. The Oklahoma City Thunders played exceptionally well today. They got into their game going from the get go, played good solid defense and settled quickly into their accustomed transition basketball offense. They had 18 fast break points, a whopping 44 points in the paint and guess what! Only 8 turnovers! They passed the ball well tonight, all the extra passes gave them alot of wide open threes which unfortunately they failed to convert if not they would have win the game by at least 30 (I am NOT joking on this).
Thabo Sefolosha was outstanding tonight. Outstanding defense and quality production in the offensive end. Just look at this, 4 defensive rebounds, 6 steals, 1 block shot and only 1 personal foul. What an inspiring defensive performance by Sefolosha tonight.
And finally Kevin Durant was more aggressive and more assertive in this game! Way to go! Lets hope he keeps this up in Game 4, as OKC would really need it. He finally looked like something of a superstar he was expected to be. Though he only shot 17 times, I still hope he would shoot more by the way, he was facilitating the ball well in offense coming with 5 assist. He shot poorly from the three point line today though, coming in 0-4 from downtown.
And finally and i repeat FINALLY, Russel Westbrook shot lesser than Kevin Durant. He only shot the ball 15 times which is respectable, given that Westbrook is such an explosive player. A far cry from the outrages 24 shots he took in Game 2. But guess what he facilitated the offense well today with great ball passing, he raked up 9 assist! It is probably his best game in this series so far in terms of facilitating the ball and doing what a point guard should do.
Things I would still maintain my position at
1) James Harden should start. I don't understand why aren't OKC doing this yet! Take out Perkins and start James Harden!
2) Kendrick Perkins is useless in this series. I know early in the game he got this big defensive play or so and did a stare down to Reggie Miller and Co (commentators) because in the previous game the commentators said he was playing extremely poorly in the Game 2. By the way I support Reggie Miller and Co on this, Perkins was just terrible in Game 2. The fact is OKC have to go small in this series, they cannot afford to play Perkins the whole game or even majority of the game! It is as simple as that! No disrespect to Perkins's game but seriously he contributes very little if not none to this series at all. The OKC does not need him to produce at the offensive end that's one, secondly because he is slow when the Spurs start their high picks again OKC would be badly exposed! So again! He can do all the stare downs in the world, but it still does not change the fact that he is not productive in this series at all. If OKC manage to get past this round, he would then become of great use in the NBA finals facing either the Boston Celitcs or the Miami Heats.
3) I know I said the only way (one of the only way) for the Thunders to win is if all three in the name of Durant, Westbrook and Harden all shoot at least 60 to 65 percent. All three of them didn't shoot that high of a percentage or even close to 60 percent yet they still win. That is why I mention earlier in this article if OKC thinks that this is all that the Spurs got! They wrong! Dead wrong! One of the only reason why they shot this low in terms of percentage and yet win is because the Spurs was played poorly tonight, there is no denying that.
Conclusion
Once again, I would like to repeat myself, I meant no disrespect to any team in this series and neither do I intend to mince my words. Great game by OKC but again a badly played game by the Spurs. To be honest by the end of the second quarter or somewhere in the beginning of the third, I already knew this game would be blowout and actually struggled to continue watching the game to the end (which I eventually did of course).
Alright that's all for me! Bye~
First up, flow of the game? OKC went on a 8-0 run at the start of the game, Spurs manage to tie it shortly but as soon as that happened OKC just too the game over. End of story.
You are shock aren't you? Take a look at the replay for yourself, the moment the Spurs caught back up from the eight nothing run by the Thunders, it was all OKC.
The Spurs was so bad it isn't even worth mentioning. 21 TURNOVERS. I repeat 21 TURNOVERS. But that is not all all! The high pick and rolls or screens or plays were executed so poorly it led to so many turnovers. The passing was bad, it was really bad and perimeter defense was almost non-existent. You might be wondering, what I have describe doesn't sound like the Spurs, it sounded more like the Charlotte Bobcats! Alright I am over-exaggerating alittle over here but you get my point. Tony Parker was playing so poorly its no wonder he only played 28 minutes! Left somewhere in the third quarter and never returned. He was shooting 50 percent, 6-12 in shooting that's alright but the rest of the stats were just horrible. Parker only had 4 assist, and a massive 5 turnovers which is totally uncharacteristic of him. Daniel Green continued his shooting woes, going 1-3 in shooting. Manu Ginobili was 1-5 in shooting and had 4 turnovers. The list of people performing badly tonight for the Spurs just continue on and on and on. Well but I would like to say say this the only two players who felt like playing for the Spurs tonight, and who actually showed up were Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson. Though coming only in 5 for 15 in shooting, Duncan played with effort and gave his all (basketball is not all about scoring). He had 5 blocks at the defensive end to top it up. One reason or if not the only reason why this game didn't become a super blowout is because Stephen Jackson shot the ball well tonight. He was 6-7 in shooting, and convert 4 out of 5 times from downtown (three pointers). Stephen Jackson seemed like the only guy besides Duncan whom actually felt like playing. Though they were down 20 plus, he still gave his all, convert tough three pointers down the stretch.
Well you might be thinking, after reading what I have written so far, that OKC won only because the Spurs was having an off day. That is not what I am implying. The Oklahoma City Thunders played exceptionally well today. They got into their game going from the get go, played good solid defense and settled quickly into their accustomed transition basketball offense. They had 18 fast break points, a whopping 44 points in the paint and guess what! Only 8 turnovers! They passed the ball well tonight, all the extra passes gave them alot of wide open threes which unfortunately they failed to convert if not they would have win the game by at least 30 (I am NOT joking on this).
Thabo Sefolosha was outstanding tonight. Outstanding defense and quality production in the offensive end. Just look at this, 4 defensive rebounds, 6 steals, 1 block shot and only 1 personal foul. What an inspiring defensive performance by Sefolosha tonight.
And finally Kevin Durant was more aggressive and more assertive in this game! Way to go! Lets hope he keeps this up in Game 4, as OKC would really need it. He finally looked like something of a superstar he was expected to be. Though he only shot 17 times, I still hope he would shoot more by the way, he was facilitating the ball well in offense coming with 5 assist. He shot poorly from the three point line today though, coming in 0-4 from downtown.
And finally and i repeat FINALLY, Russel Westbrook shot lesser than Kevin Durant. He only shot the ball 15 times which is respectable, given that Westbrook is such an explosive player. A far cry from the outrages 24 shots he took in Game 2. But guess what he facilitated the offense well today with great ball passing, he raked up 9 assist! It is probably his best game in this series so far in terms of facilitating the ball and doing what a point guard should do.
Things I would still maintain my position at
1) James Harden should start. I don't understand why aren't OKC doing this yet! Take out Perkins and start James Harden!
2) Kendrick Perkins is useless in this series. I know early in the game he got this big defensive play or so and did a stare down to Reggie Miller and Co (commentators) because in the previous game the commentators said he was playing extremely poorly in the Game 2. By the way I support Reggie Miller and Co on this, Perkins was just terrible in Game 2. The fact is OKC have to go small in this series, they cannot afford to play Perkins the whole game or even majority of the game! It is as simple as that! No disrespect to Perkins's game but seriously he contributes very little if not none to this series at all. The OKC does not need him to produce at the offensive end that's one, secondly because he is slow when the Spurs start their high picks again OKC would be badly exposed! So again! He can do all the stare downs in the world, but it still does not change the fact that he is not productive in this series at all. If OKC manage to get past this round, he would then become of great use in the NBA finals facing either the Boston Celitcs or the Miami Heats.
3) I know I said the only way (one of the only way) for the Thunders to win is if all three in the name of Durant, Westbrook and Harden all shoot at least 60 to 65 percent. All three of them didn't shoot that high of a percentage or even close to 60 percent yet they still win. That is why I mention earlier in this article if OKC thinks that this is all that the Spurs got! They wrong! Dead wrong! One of the only reason why they shot this low in terms of percentage and yet win is because the Spurs was played poorly tonight, there is no denying that.
Conclusion
Once again, I would like to repeat myself, I meant no disrespect to any team in this series and neither do I intend to mince my words. Great game by OKC but again a badly played game by the Spurs. To be honest by the end of the second quarter or somewhere in the beginning of the third, I already knew this game would be blowout and actually struggled to continue watching the game to the end (which I eventually did of course).
Alright that's all for me! Bye~
Thursday, 31 May 2012
San Antonio Spurs vs Oklahoma City Thunders (Game 3 Western Conference Finals)
Well well well... Here we go again! Preview of game 3 of the Western Conference Finals! This time the Spurs will travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena (Thunders's home court name if you are wondering) and try to secure Game 3.
I will focus more on OKC this time around, seriously for the Spurs there is nothing much to write about.
What OKC have to do to win tomorrow's game?
1) I am putting this point first as I was annoyed by the fact that OKC so far have not "use" him yet and guess what? He is their marquee player. That's right, "USE KEVIN DURANT MORE". I know you might be going like "Oh you don't say" kind of expression. But seriously man, your team have a superstar in the name of Kevin Durant and you are hardly even using him at all? How obvious OKC needs this point to be? I don't know whether the coaching staff is not making plays for him or he is not asserting himself into the game, honestly I don't care! All I know is this, KEVIN DURANT HAVE TO SHOW UP TOMORROW AND GET THE JOB DONE.
2) I have pointed out in my reactions to the aftermath of Game 2 that i spotted something that would help OKC in this game and I would like to elaborate more about it now. The thing I spotted is this and I know it might sound stupid but anyway here we go. For OKC to have a higher advantage in terms of stopping the Spurs offense strategies is this, it is either to go zone type defense (I have not seen OKC played this before, Boston did it late in Game 1 against the Heats) or to play defense "messy". As you can see I am lost for words here, basically it is to disrupt the flow or the rhythm of the Spurs offense. I realized that the more OKC played "orthodox" defensive basketball (with all the defensive strategies) they seemed to get taken apart so quickly but when late in the Game 2, OKC seem to be just playing with their instincts to protect their basket and in all honesty Spurs seemed to have struggled against that kind of instinctive play style. I think one commentator put it like this "Street Fight", that would probably be the best description of what I am trying to illustrate here.
3) Stop passing the ball the Russel Westbrook. Nah.. I am kidding, but you get my point, he has to stop taking so many shots.
4) Start James Harden.
5) Go small, with the only big man coming in the form of Serge Ibaka. Perkins, in all honesty is quite useless in this series.
These are the main things OKC have to do to stand a better chance of winning, the rest of the other points would be in my previous posts of the series which meant that I have mentioned it before.
Alright enough of OKC, now what Spurs got to do to win the game and probably secure the series?
Three main things.
1) They have to stop their once a game switch off habits.
2) During the last day or so of rest, Thiago Splitter had better train overtime on his free throws.
3) Play like how they are playing right now.
I know in the previous game, OKC came up with the hacking Splitter strategy to draw near to the Spurs but there is two ways to counter it. Before I proceed I must say this, I have not seen this from anywhere and if there are similarities out there in terms of how to counter the hacking strategy I DID NOT COPY OR COMMIT ANY FORM OF PLAGIARISM. I will touch on it briefly here and we can discuss more about it in the "Comments" section below. Basically it is to make Splitter do the in bounce pass and ask Splitter not to enter the court until the ball has travel to the OKC half. Only when the ball has traveled to the OKC half then Splitter would then enter the court. By doing this, though the hacking foul will still come but at least by doing this it eats into the clock and the number of times OKC can do this will be lessen by 1 or 2 (1 to 4 points lost). But there is a perfect way to prevent the hack strategy, I would be glad to share it in the "Comments" section below upon request.
Alright before I sign off, I would say one thing, it is not that OKC has no chance at all to win tomorrow's game but the odds are stacked against them even though they have home court advantage. But I would like to see OKC taking victory tomorrow to make the series interesting. They have a chance but they have to grab the chance with both hands when it presents itself, if not there won't be a next time. Chances like the Spurs switching off for a brief moment in Game 2 have to be taken full advantage off.
That's it for me, see ya~!
I will focus more on OKC this time around, seriously for the Spurs there is nothing much to write about.
What OKC have to do to win tomorrow's game?
1) I am putting this point first as I was annoyed by the fact that OKC so far have not "use" him yet and guess what? He is their marquee player. That's right, "USE KEVIN DURANT MORE". I know you might be going like "Oh you don't say" kind of expression. But seriously man, your team have a superstar in the name of Kevin Durant and you are hardly even using him at all? How obvious OKC needs this point to be? I don't know whether the coaching staff is not making plays for him or he is not asserting himself into the game, honestly I don't care! All I know is this, KEVIN DURANT HAVE TO SHOW UP TOMORROW AND GET THE JOB DONE.
2) I have pointed out in my reactions to the aftermath of Game 2 that i spotted something that would help OKC in this game and I would like to elaborate more about it now. The thing I spotted is this and I know it might sound stupid but anyway here we go. For OKC to have a higher advantage in terms of stopping the Spurs offense strategies is this, it is either to go zone type defense (I have not seen OKC played this before, Boston did it late in Game 1 against the Heats) or to play defense "messy". As you can see I am lost for words here, basically it is to disrupt the flow or the rhythm of the Spurs offense. I realized that the more OKC played "orthodox" defensive basketball (with all the defensive strategies) they seemed to get taken apart so quickly but when late in the Game 2, OKC seem to be just playing with their instincts to protect their basket and in all honesty Spurs seemed to have struggled against that kind of instinctive play style. I think one commentator put it like this "Street Fight", that would probably be the best description of what I am trying to illustrate here.
3) Stop passing the ball the Russel Westbrook. Nah.. I am kidding, but you get my point, he has to stop taking so many shots.
4) Start James Harden.
5) Go small, with the only big man coming in the form of Serge Ibaka. Perkins, in all honesty is quite useless in this series.
These are the main things OKC have to do to stand a better chance of winning, the rest of the other points would be in my previous posts of the series which meant that I have mentioned it before.
Alright enough of OKC, now what Spurs got to do to win the game and probably secure the series?
Three main things.
1) They have to stop their once a game switch off habits.
2) During the last day or so of rest, Thiago Splitter had better train overtime on his free throws.
3) Play like how they are playing right now.
I know in the previous game, OKC came up with the hacking Splitter strategy to draw near to the Spurs but there is two ways to counter it. Before I proceed I must say this, I have not seen this from anywhere and if there are similarities out there in terms of how to counter the hacking strategy I DID NOT COPY OR COMMIT ANY FORM OF PLAGIARISM. I will touch on it briefly here and we can discuss more about it in the "Comments" section below. Basically it is to make Splitter do the in bounce pass and ask Splitter not to enter the court until the ball has travel to the OKC half. Only when the ball has traveled to the OKC half then Splitter would then enter the court. By doing this, though the hacking foul will still come but at least by doing this it eats into the clock and the number of times OKC can do this will be lessen by 1 or 2 (1 to 4 points lost). But there is a perfect way to prevent the hack strategy, I would be glad to share it in the "Comments" section below upon request.
Alright before I sign off, I would say one thing, it is not that OKC has no chance at all to win tomorrow's game but the odds are stacked against them even though they have home court advantage. But I would like to see OKC taking victory tomorrow to make the series interesting. They have a chance but they have to grab the chance with both hands when it presents itself, if not there won't be a next time. Chances like the Spurs switching off for a brief moment in Game 2 have to be taken full advantage off.
That's it for me, see ya~!
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Reactions to Game 2 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston Celtics 111 Miami Heats 115 OT)
Wow! What a game. Let me summarize the flow of the game and then to my reflections of the game.
Boston started the game really well, it ended after first quarter 24-18. In the second quarter, things pretty much went Boston's way and ended at 53-46. Do not let the closeness of the score fool you, Boston shot the ball really well and led as much as 15 in the first half. In the second half, in the third quarter, the Heats went on a rampage scoring 35 points. Batman (Dwayne Wade) fueled that rampage with a great rejection of Ray Allen's layup and his individual display in the third quarter. The third quarter closes out 75-81 in Miami's favor. In the fourth quarter, Boston came out strongly and went on a 13-4 run to edge the Heats by 3 points (88-85). And then things went to back and forth, back and forth, with Miami missing way too many crucial free throws to close out the game. Ray Allen hit a big three with 34 secs to go to tie the game at 99-99. And Lebron James failed to close the deal in the next two possessions and the game went into overtime. Boston led much of overtime but they didn't have much in the tank left. Especially with Pierce fouling out, the entire offense fell on Rondo shoulders who had a superb game. And the Heats closed it out 111-115, taking the victory and Game 2.
The Boston Celtics couldn't last the game, but they can lift their heads high going back to the Garden for Game 3 feeling confident they can beat the Heats.
Personal Reflections time.
Rajon Rondo
Did Rondo called Tony Parker for mid range jumper tips last night or what! The man was on fire the whole night! Raining down mid range jumpers after jumpers there was no end to it! Had a superb time at the foul line going 10 for 12. He scored his career best with 44 points! Can you believe that! He was 16-24 from the field and going 2-2 in three pointers and to top all of that up he had 10 assists and 8 rebounds. A fantastic night by him honestly both on the defensive end and on the offensive end. He had a superb first half scoring 22 points in 7-11 shooting and going to the foul line 10 times. In the second half he kind of faded a little but was still putting up productive numbers but he finished the game really strongly and hitting his only 2 three pointers at the end of the game. Overall fantastic game by Rondo, and one that he must carry into Game 3.
Ray Allen
He played way better this game than in Game 1. Though his stat sheet wasn't that impressive, but at least tonight you could see he was getting in some kind of rhythm and getting it going. Finished off with 5-11 shooting, 2-5 from the three point line. Well actually he finished off with 5-10 shooting and 2-4 from the three point line, but he shot a meaningless three pointer at the end of the game that is the reason why it was registered with one more. He hit a big time three to even the game at 99 a piece with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth. Overall he can be happy with his efforts tonight, but now he has got to get this rhythm that he had found going in Game 3.
Lebron James
If you want me to rate his night tonight, I can tell you honestly it wasn't good. He didn't shoot the ball well tonight going 7-20 in shooting and 18-24 at the foul line. Besides this, another reason why I can say with assurance he didn't play well is because he turned into what the media calls him "The Frozen One", and to be frank its quite unfortunate for Boston whom did not have have anything left to punish the Heats for it. First, he missed 2 free throws when he was awarded a clear path foul. And in the following given possession Miami failed to convert. That there guys if everything was done as how it should be, Miami would have won the game somewhere in the fourth but unfortunately it didn't. Lebron let nerves get to him and he missed those 2 crucial free throws. And before the end of regulation time (clutch time), he missed the layup but wasn't his fault, a tough layup to convert anyway, BUT they got the rebound and the ball went to Lebron hands again. Went one on one against a smaller Rondo, overpowered Rondo but failed to convert the clutch jump shot and the game went into overtime. But that's not the end, at the start of overtime, he got two free throws again which would give Miami the lead but he failed to convert both free throws. Now my friends, this is a problem. It's fortunate for them (Miami), Boston didn't punish them for it but I am sure Boston would not be so kind the next time around if these kind of things happen again.
Dwayne Wade
Dwaybe Wade started the game really slow, and I mean REAL slow. He scored his first 2 points of the game only in the second quarter and was 1-6 in shooting at the end of the second quarter. But he picked it up in the third and to get things started, he served up a monster rejection of Ray Allen's layup and finished the game with 8-15 shooting. I want to be fair here, Wade himself also missed some crucial free throws that could have put Miami out of Boston's reach but he failed to convert. He shot quite poorly from the foul line going 7-11 in that category. Overall he started real slow and was practically non-existent but finished the game strong.
Conclusion
It's really unfortunate that Boston did not win this game as I felt that they should have take Game 2. But they will be happy to know now, they match up quite well against the Heats and would have a great chance of taking this series. Minor things for Boston to tweak here and there, especially in how to prevent the offense from going flat and turning into a isolation game for Rondo to bulldoze past the Heats defense. That they have to solve but other than that, they just have to keep this up and should be able to take Game 3 at home. Miami on the other hand have alittle more problems on their hands to solve. One of the problems is that their offense is pretty stagnant for some reason and they have to find a solution to that but credit the Boston's defense for that. If not for their (Miami) good performance at the three point line tonight, Boston would have taken this game comfortably.
Alright that's all from me, see ya~
Boston started the game really well, it ended after first quarter 24-18. In the second quarter, things pretty much went Boston's way and ended at 53-46. Do not let the closeness of the score fool you, Boston shot the ball really well and led as much as 15 in the first half. In the second half, in the third quarter, the Heats went on a rampage scoring 35 points. Batman (Dwayne Wade) fueled that rampage with a great rejection of Ray Allen's layup and his individual display in the third quarter. The third quarter closes out 75-81 in Miami's favor. In the fourth quarter, Boston came out strongly and went on a 13-4 run to edge the Heats by 3 points (88-85). And then things went to back and forth, back and forth, with Miami missing way too many crucial free throws to close out the game. Ray Allen hit a big three with 34 secs to go to tie the game at 99-99. And Lebron James failed to close the deal in the next two possessions and the game went into overtime. Boston led much of overtime but they didn't have much in the tank left. Especially with Pierce fouling out, the entire offense fell on Rondo shoulders who had a superb game. And the Heats closed it out 111-115, taking the victory and Game 2.
The Boston Celtics couldn't last the game, but they can lift their heads high going back to the Garden for Game 3 feeling confident they can beat the Heats.
Personal Reflections time.
Rajon Rondo
Did Rondo called Tony Parker for mid range jumper tips last night or what! The man was on fire the whole night! Raining down mid range jumpers after jumpers there was no end to it! Had a superb time at the foul line going 10 for 12. He scored his career best with 44 points! Can you believe that! He was 16-24 from the field and going 2-2 in three pointers and to top all of that up he had 10 assists and 8 rebounds. A fantastic night by him honestly both on the defensive end and on the offensive end. He had a superb first half scoring 22 points in 7-11 shooting and going to the foul line 10 times. In the second half he kind of faded a little but was still putting up productive numbers but he finished the game really strongly and hitting his only 2 three pointers at the end of the game. Overall fantastic game by Rondo, and one that he must carry into Game 3.
Ray Allen
He played way better this game than in Game 1. Though his stat sheet wasn't that impressive, but at least tonight you could see he was getting in some kind of rhythm and getting it going. Finished off with 5-11 shooting, 2-5 from the three point line. Well actually he finished off with 5-10 shooting and 2-4 from the three point line, but he shot a meaningless three pointer at the end of the game that is the reason why it was registered with one more. He hit a big time three to even the game at 99 a piece with 34 seconds remaining in the fourth. Overall he can be happy with his efforts tonight, but now he has got to get this rhythm that he had found going in Game 3.
Lebron James
If you want me to rate his night tonight, I can tell you honestly it wasn't good. He didn't shoot the ball well tonight going 7-20 in shooting and 18-24 at the foul line. Besides this, another reason why I can say with assurance he didn't play well is because he turned into what the media calls him "The Frozen One", and to be frank its quite unfortunate for Boston whom did not have have anything left to punish the Heats for it. First, he missed 2 free throws when he was awarded a clear path foul. And in the following given possession Miami failed to convert. That there guys if everything was done as how it should be, Miami would have won the game somewhere in the fourth but unfortunately it didn't. Lebron let nerves get to him and he missed those 2 crucial free throws. And before the end of regulation time (clutch time), he missed the layup but wasn't his fault, a tough layup to convert anyway, BUT they got the rebound and the ball went to Lebron hands again. Went one on one against a smaller Rondo, overpowered Rondo but failed to convert the clutch jump shot and the game went into overtime. But that's not the end, at the start of overtime, he got two free throws again which would give Miami the lead but he failed to convert both free throws. Now my friends, this is a problem. It's fortunate for them (Miami), Boston didn't punish them for it but I am sure Boston would not be so kind the next time around if these kind of things happen again.
Dwayne Wade
Dwaybe Wade started the game really slow, and I mean REAL slow. He scored his first 2 points of the game only in the second quarter and was 1-6 in shooting at the end of the second quarter. But he picked it up in the third and to get things started, he served up a monster rejection of Ray Allen's layup and finished the game with 8-15 shooting. I want to be fair here, Wade himself also missed some crucial free throws that could have put Miami out of Boston's reach but he failed to convert. He shot quite poorly from the foul line going 7-11 in that category. Overall he started real slow and was practically non-existent but finished the game strong.
Conclusion
It's really unfortunate that Boston did not win this game as I felt that they should have take Game 2. But they will be happy to know now, they match up quite well against the Heats and would have a great chance of taking this series. Minor things for Boston to tweak here and there, especially in how to prevent the offense from going flat and turning into a isolation game for Rondo to bulldoze past the Heats defense. That they have to solve but other than that, they just have to keep this up and should be able to take Game 3 at home. Miami on the other hand have alittle more problems on their hands to solve. One of the problems is that their offense is pretty stagnant for some reason and they have to find a solution to that but credit the Boston's defense for that. If not for their (Miami) good performance at the three point line tonight, Boston would have taken this game comfortably.
Alright that's all from me, see ya~
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heats (Eastern Conference Finals Game 2)
I am a little tired tonight and as there is nothing much to write, I am going to keep this short and simple.
Advantage after what I have seen in Game 1: Miami Heats (isn't it obvious?)
What the Celtics need to do to win this game?
1) Rajon Rondo need to show up! Not like how he did in Game 1 where he had 4 turnovers in the first 4 minutes. But the Rondo that we are accustomed to seeing, the one who makes triple double like a walk in the park needs up show up and get it done.
2) Ray Allen needs to put what he has been experiencing so far behind and remind us once again why he is one of the best shooters of the game. Its good to hear that the Celtics does not intend to sit or "bench" Allen for his dismal performance so far but continue to put faith in him. The thing is they don't really have any other choice, there is no other player in the bench (no disrespect to the Boston bench) who is able to fill Ray Allen shoes at all. There is no decent replacement either.
3) Kevin Garnett needs to exert himself early in the game and take full advantage of the matchup against the Heats which is fully in his favor. Once that is done, things will start to flow for Boston, holes will open up for Allen to shoot and the offense for Boston will flow better. Kevin Garnett started off the game really slowly that is why the Celtics struggled to score in the first quarter. Well not just Garnett but the entire Celtics fell asleep in the first quarter.
4) The Celtics have one simple and main goal in this coming Game 2 and that is to last and finish the game. If they cannot even do that like what we have seen in the third quarter onwards in Game 1, the Heats will bulldoze Boston once again and take Game 2 with ease. Pierce faded away as soon as the game started for Game 1. I guessed it must be the fatigue, but no excuse this time the Celtics have alot to prove after Game 1.
What the Heats need to do to win this game?
Simple. Continue what they did in Game 1 with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade elevating their game. But I guess if the same Boston the one in Game 1 show up for tomorrow, I guess Lebron and Wade don't even have to hit fourth gear to lead the Heats to a victory.
Conclusion
Bosh is likely to miss tomorrow's game. I don't see any reason to risk Bosh at this moment. The Heats in all honesty, is in cruise control.
Alright, that's all for me and see you guys tomorrow!
Advantage after what I have seen in Game 1: Miami Heats (isn't it obvious?)
What the Celtics need to do to win this game?
1) Rajon Rondo need to show up! Not like how he did in Game 1 where he had 4 turnovers in the first 4 minutes. But the Rondo that we are accustomed to seeing, the one who makes triple double like a walk in the park needs up show up and get it done.
2) Ray Allen needs to put what he has been experiencing so far behind and remind us once again why he is one of the best shooters of the game. Its good to hear that the Celtics does not intend to sit or "bench" Allen for his dismal performance so far but continue to put faith in him. The thing is they don't really have any other choice, there is no other player in the bench (no disrespect to the Boston bench) who is able to fill Ray Allen shoes at all. There is no decent replacement either.
3) Kevin Garnett needs to exert himself early in the game and take full advantage of the matchup against the Heats which is fully in his favor. Once that is done, things will start to flow for Boston, holes will open up for Allen to shoot and the offense for Boston will flow better. Kevin Garnett started off the game really slowly that is why the Celtics struggled to score in the first quarter. Well not just Garnett but the entire Celtics fell asleep in the first quarter.
4) The Celtics have one simple and main goal in this coming Game 2 and that is to last and finish the game. If they cannot even do that like what we have seen in the third quarter onwards in Game 1, the Heats will bulldoze Boston once again and take Game 2 with ease. Pierce faded away as soon as the game started for Game 1. I guessed it must be the fatigue, but no excuse this time the Celtics have alot to prove after Game 1.
What the Heats need to do to win this game?
Simple. Continue what they did in Game 1 with Lebron James and Dwayne Wade elevating their game. But I guess if the same Boston the one in Game 1 show up for tomorrow, I guess Lebron and Wade don't even have to hit fourth gear to lead the Heats to a victory.
Conclusion
Bosh is likely to miss tomorrow's game. I don't see any reason to risk Bosh at this moment. The Heats in all honesty, is in cruise control.
Alright, that's all for me and see you guys tomorrow!
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Reactions to Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals (Oklahoma Thunders 111 San Antonio Spurs 120)
What did I just say eh? The points that I pointed out in the preview of this game came to past! Which you can find it here: http://my40cents.blogspot.com/2012/05/oklahoma-thunders-vs-san-antonio-spurs_29.html
But for now lets get down to business. Outstanding first three quarters by the San Antonio Spurs, they literally gave a basketball clinic to OKC in showing them how to play basketball. Outplayed, outclassed, out scored period! I wish I could write and describe what transpired in the first three quarters but man! You really have to watch it for yourself. Defensively almost perfect in the first three quarters, shutting Kevin Durant out and forcing him to take tough shots. Not just him only but forcing the entire OKC team to take tough shots. Offensively it was perfect in the first three quarters and especially in the third quarter. I was speechless with what I saw, great movement of the dribble, perfect timing of the penetration by the guards, outstanding pick and rolls, best usage of screens I have seen so far this season and the list just go on and on. In short, everyone stuck to their role, played to their optimum level, no unnecessary dribbles or passes just simply the best and that itself is also not a good enough description of what had happened. Trust me, try to get your hands on the replay of the game and watch the first three quarters and you will get what I mean. I don't want to write anything more about it otherwise I would just be disrespecting the offensive game the Spurs had in the first three quarters and especially the third quarter. Tony Parker had a tremendous game tonight with a game high 34 points in 16/21, 76 percent shooting. That my friend is what you call a man who is on fire tonight. Parker literally and I mean literally bulldozed past Russel Westbrook and Westbrook had no reply at all and looked lost. Throughout the game Parker steamrolled Westbrook, and taught Westbrook how to play point guard. It was an exhibition! A clinic my friend! Tony Paker, ladies and gentlemen is on a whole different level or class or whatever you want to call it than Russel Westbrook.
The third quarter closed out with a foul fest on Thiago Splitter which he did reasonably okay, good enough for Spurs to hang on. And in the fourth quarter, this is where all the experience the Spurs has come into play. And it was experience that finally led them past the young and courageous OKC. Duncan's experience both in the passing game and in inbound plays came up big and he made huge plays for the Spurs down the stretch. And when things start to get really feisty, there is always the good old Manu Ginobili. He made huge baskets down the stretch to calm the nerves down for San Antonio and kept OKC from getting too close.
I started off in this article saying the points I wrote in the preview of this game came to past, you might be wondering "huh?" Here is why it came to past.
1) James Harden should start. First of all, he literally almost played the entire game, second of all with him on the floor OKC is just better both defensively and offensively (tonight's game just further strengthens the point) and lastly OKC has NO BENCH TO TALK ABOUT. So seriously any suggestions or ideas that he should not start the next game should be thrown out of the window as of now.
2) I wrote all three players, Durant, Westbrook and Harden have to shoot at least 60 percent to 65 percent for them to have a shot at winning. Durant came in at 10/17 that is 59 percent, Westbrook came in at 10/24 that is 41 percent and Harden came in at 10/13 which is a whopping 77 percent. They were close tonight in achieving it. If all three of them were to fulfill that 60 to 65 percent criteria they would stand a great chance of winning Game 3.
3) Somebody should just tell Russel Westbrook to stop taking too many shots. Need anymore persuasion by me on why he shouldn't take so many shots?
4) I think it is either Kevin Durant who heard his coach's instruction wrongly or Scott Brooks (the coach) just swap his left side of his brain with his right side. Kevin Durant was non existent at all in the game! DO NOT LET the boxscore of 31 points fool you people! He started the first quarter well, but for some inexplicable reason he just TOTALLY DISAPPEARED in the second, in the third was no better! By the fourth quarter I was sure he had already left the stadium! You must be thinking I am crazy, trust me I am not. ONLY 3 shots attempted in the second quarter, ONLY 4 shots attempted in the third quarter and ONLY 3 shots attempted again in the fourth. That is a total of 10 shots, let me repeat it 10 SHOTS in 36 minutes and that is three quarters of the entire game! Come on OKC! Durant is an ALLSTAR who is a scoring machine, who can pass the ball almost as well as Lebron and dictates the game! This is completely UNACCEPTABLE people! Almost OUTRAGES to think about that he only took 10 shots in 36 minutes. Start making plays for Durant! From what I have seen today, the Spurs cannot stop Durant at all! I don't want play any blame game on anybody because I did not play the game myself or was at courtside myself. But what I want to say is this, the coaching staff of OKC better start making plays for Durant and Durant himself better start asserting himself on the floor. What I have seen today on the floor today by both parties (Durant and the coaching staff) was inexplicable, unexplained, mind blowing and out of this world and OKC better hope this does not repeat again if not I can tell you this with 100 percent guarantee, they won't win the series.
5) Spurs switched off. It happened from late in the third to the middle of fourth quarter. OKC didn't take enough advantage of it, yea they did manage a mild effort but it wasn't enough to punish San Antonio. San Antonio's experience manage to ride them past this time around but I am not so sure the next time they would be so successful if this happens again especially IF KEVIN DURANT STARTS SHOOTING! As you can see, I am terribly annoyed by the disappearance of Kevin Durant in this game.
Conclusion
The Oklahoma Thunders, I believe have seen and gain something from this game though they lost. Even I who is slouch is able to catch a glaring factor that would help boost their chances of winning Game 3, and I would probably touch on it more in the preview of Game 3.
Before I sign off, I would like to say one last thing, great job to Gregg Popovich for the outstanding coaching I have seen in this game. He even managed to flip the tables to Tony Parker who was by far the best player in the court just because of one bad play in an outstanding third quarter. My hats off and salute to you Mr Popovich!
But for now lets get down to business. Outstanding first three quarters by the San Antonio Spurs, they literally gave a basketball clinic to OKC in showing them how to play basketball. Outplayed, outclassed, out scored period! I wish I could write and describe what transpired in the first three quarters but man! You really have to watch it for yourself. Defensively almost perfect in the first three quarters, shutting Kevin Durant out and forcing him to take tough shots. Not just him only but forcing the entire OKC team to take tough shots. Offensively it was perfect in the first three quarters and especially in the third quarter. I was speechless with what I saw, great movement of the dribble, perfect timing of the penetration by the guards, outstanding pick and rolls, best usage of screens I have seen so far this season and the list just go on and on. In short, everyone stuck to their role, played to their optimum level, no unnecessary dribbles or passes just simply the best and that itself is also not a good enough description of what had happened. Trust me, try to get your hands on the replay of the game and watch the first three quarters and you will get what I mean. I don't want to write anything more about it otherwise I would just be disrespecting the offensive game the Spurs had in the first three quarters and especially the third quarter. Tony Parker had a tremendous game tonight with a game high 34 points in 16/21, 76 percent shooting. That my friend is what you call a man who is on fire tonight. Parker literally and I mean literally bulldozed past Russel Westbrook and Westbrook had no reply at all and looked lost. Throughout the game Parker steamrolled Westbrook, and taught Westbrook how to play point guard. It was an exhibition! A clinic my friend! Tony Paker, ladies and gentlemen is on a whole different level or class or whatever you want to call it than Russel Westbrook.
The third quarter closed out with a foul fest on Thiago Splitter which he did reasonably okay, good enough for Spurs to hang on. And in the fourth quarter, this is where all the experience the Spurs has come into play. And it was experience that finally led them past the young and courageous OKC. Duncan's experience both in the passing game and in inbound plays came up big and he made huge plays for the Spurs down the stretch. And when things start to get really feisty, there is always the good old Manu Ginobili. He made huge baskets down the stretch to calm the nerves down for San Antonio and kept OKC from getting too close.
I started off in this article saying the points I wrote in the preview of this game came to past, you might be wondering "huh?" Here is why it came to past.
1) James Harden should start. First of all, he literally almost played the entire game, second of all with him on the floor OKC is just better both defensively and offensively (tonight's game just further strengthens the point) and lastly OKC has NO BENCH TO TALK ABOUT. So seriously any suggestions or ideas that he should not start the next game should be thrown out of the window as of now.
2) I wrote all three players, Durant, Westbrook and Harden have to shoot at least 60 percent to 65 percent for them to have a shot at winning. Durant came in at 10/17 that is 59 percent, Westbrook came in at 10/24 that is 41 percent and Harden came in at 10/13 which is a whopping 77 percent. They were close tonight in achieving it. If all three of them were to fulfill that 60 to 65 percent criteria they would stand a great chance of winning Game 3.
3) Somebody should just tell Russel Westbrook to stop taking too many shots. Need anymore persuasion by me on why he shouldn't take so many shots?
4) I think it is either Kevin Durant who heard his coach's instruction wrongly or Scott Brooks (the coach) just swap his left side of his brain with his right side. Kevin Durant was non existent at all in the game! DO NOT LET the boxscore of 31 points fool you people! He started the first quarter well, but for some inexplicable reason he just TOTALLY DISAPPEARED in the second, in the third was no better! By the fourth quarter I was sure he had already left the stadium! You must be thinking I am crazy, trust me I am not. ONLY 3 shots attempted in the second quarter, ONLY 4 shots attempted in the third quarter and ONLY 3 shots attempted again in the fourth. That is a total of 10 shots, let me repeat it 10 SHOTS in 36 minutes and that is three quarters of the entire game! Come on OKC! Durant is an ALLSTAR who is a scoring machine, who can pass the ball almost as well as Lebron and dictates the game! This is completely UNACCEPTABLE people! Almost OUTRAGES to think about that he only took 10 shots in 36 minutes. Start making plays for Durant! From what I have seen today, the Spurs cannot stop Durant at all! I don't want play any blame game on anybody because I did not play the game myself or was at courtside myself. But what I want to say is this, the coaching staff of OKC better start making plays for Durant and Durant himself better start asserting himself on the floor. What I have seen today on the floor today by both parties (Durant and the coaching staff) was inexplicable, unexplained, mind blowing and out of this world and OKC better hope this does not repeat again if not I can tell you this with 100 percent guarantee, they won't win the series.
5) Spurs switched off. It happened from late in the third to the middle of fourth quarter. OKC didn't take enough advantage of it, yea they did manage a mild effort but it wasn't enough to punish San Antonio. San Antonio's experience manage to ride them past this time around but I am not so sure the next time they would be so successful if this happens again especially IF KEVIN DURANT STARTS SHOOTING! As you can see, I am terribly annoyed by the disappearance of Kevin Durant in this game.
Conclusion
The Oklahoma Thunders, I believe have seen and gain something from this game though they lost. Even I who is slouch is able to catch a glaring factor that would help boost their chances of winning Game 3, and I would probably touch on it more in the preview of Game 3.
Before I sign off, I would like to say one last thing, great job to Gregg Popovich for the outstanding coaching I have seen in this game. He even managed to flip the tables to Tony Parker who was by far the best player in the court just because of one bad play in an outstanding third quarter. My hats off and salute to you Mr Popovich!
Oklahoma Thunders vs San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference Finals Game 2)
I am going to keep this short as much of what I want to say would be the same as what I have already wrote in the preview of Game 1, which can be found here: http://my40cents.blogspot.com/2012/05/oklahoma-thunders-vs-san-antonio-spurs.html
Basically if OKC wants to win tomorrow they only have one option and that is "Make use of Kevin Durant more". Not just in terms of scoring, but create isolation opportunities for him, getting him down low to make use of his length and getting him to facilitate more instead of just relying entirely on Russel Westbrook or James Harden.
They might have to start James Harden, and if I were the coach of OKC, I would give it a gamble for various reasons. I know this have been debated before whether James Harden should start or come out as a bench player but this is the San Antonio Spurs and I think he should start. People have cited if James Harden were to start it would deplete the OKC's bench strength. But against San Antonio Spurs who has one of the deepest bench in the league, what is there to compete? OKC literally has no bench at all to talk about in the first place! This is the Western Conference Finals people! Not some regular season game! Another good reason to start James Harden, this is to allow OKC to facilitate the basket more, why you might ask. The answer is this "The tendency of Russel Westbrook taking too many shots as a point guard!". In Game 1 we saw it, and the results were devastating when the shots do not go down. So start James Harden, to allow better facilitating and transition of the ball. I am not saying OKC should bench Russel Westbrook, because he is too valuable to be bench. Play him in the other guard position, after all he is a 2 guard type player!
The Spurs, I don't have to say anything add anything more, do what they have been doing and they will ride with Game 2 in the bag. It is just that the Spurs have a tendency to switch off suddenly, and OKC should take maximum advantage of that and things should be interesting. But if the switch is switched on all night long, man! I hate to say this but Spurs will take Game 2.
Well that's all for me! See you guys tomorrow!
Basically if OKC wants to win tomorrow they only have one option and that is "Make use of Kevin Durant more". Not just in terms of scoring, but create isolation opportunities for him, getting him down low to make use of his length and getting him to facilitate more instead of just relying entirely on Russel Westbrook or James Harden.
They might have to start James Harden, and if I were the coach of OKC, I would give it a gamble for various reasons. I know this have been debated before whether James Harden should start or come out as a bench player but this is the San Antonio Spurs and I think he should start. People have cited if James Harden were to start it would deplete the OKC's bench strength. But against San Antonio Spurs who has one of the deepest bench in the league, what is there to compete? OKC literally has no bench at all to talk about in the first place! This is the Western Conference Finals people! Not some regular season game! Another good reason to start James Harden, this is to allow OKC to facilitate the basket more, why you might ask. The answer is this "The tendency of Russel Westbrook taking too many shots as a point guard!". In Game 1 we saw it, and the results were devastating when the shots do not go down. So start James Harden, to allow better facilitating and transition of the ball. I am not saying OKC should bench Russel Westbrook, because he is too valuable to be bench. Play him in the other guard position, after all he is a 2 guard type player!
The Spurs, I don't have to say anything add anything more, do what they have been doing and they will ride with Game 2 in the bag. It is just that the Spurs have a tendency to switch off suddenly, and OKC should take maximum advantage of that and things should be interesting. But if the switch is switched on all night long, man! I hate to say this but Spurs will take Game 2.
Well that's all for me! See you guys tomorrow!
Monday, 28 May 2012
Reactions to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Boston Celtics 79 Miami Heats 93)
One word would signify this morning game and that is "Speechless". Before we get into that, lets talk about some other aspects of Game 1.
First Quarter:
Boston started game 1 really slowly, and got whopped 11-21 at the end of the first quarter. Committing 4 uncharacteristic turnovers by Rajon Rondo, shooting was poor, basically everything didn't went well for the Celtics. Lebron had a great first quarter went 6 for 9 in shooting (need to clarify on this), and had 13 points already in the first quarter.
Second Quarter:
Boston Celtics owned big time in this quarter. And I felt this was the only quarter that Boston ever showed up in the game at all. Great defense, good solid offense, Garnett doing his things, Pierce started to assert himself in the game and managed to tie the game at the end of the second quarter 46-46. In short, it was all Boston.
Third Quarter and Fourth Quarter:
There is a reason why I merged this two quarters together because it was a replica of the first quarter and no second quarter type basketball from Boston. Boston started the third quarter really slowly again. Heats went on a 9-2 run early and basically never looked back ever since.
Why I am speechless:
There are several reasons for this:
1) The officiating was horrible mainly in the sense at which the technical fouls were given "SPEECHLESS" and probably some nitpick fouls here and there. Come on man this is the Eastern Conference Finals! Not some regular season game!
2) The Boston Celtics looked clueless and flat from the start of the third quarter all the way to the end of the game, which actually made the game unbearable to watch. Their offense looked clueless and repetitive, everyone was so disorganized I don't really know what to make of it, speechless man!. Their defense looked tired, I know they switched to zone-esque defense late in the game that is probably the move they should have done earlier and not later. This is actually probably the first time I seen the Boston Celtics played this bad on a big time stage.
3) Ray Allen. He looked like a man dejected with no confidence in his shooting, an area which he have tirelessly worked to perfect on. He made only 3-7 from the free throw line which is completely uncharacteristic and eye popping of him. In short, he really need to find his stride soon, I do not know if the ankle injury is bugging him or anything but this was one night he would want to forget and should just put it all behind him and get fired up for the second game. Really disappointing night for him, and his run in the playoffs so far.
4) The Celtics free throw shooting tonight. One word "horrendous", it is something that I don't even feel like writing about it.
5) Boston had no idea what to do when Wade and Lebron took turns to guard Rajon Rondo. Credit to Wade and Lebron for the defense but Boston didn't know what to do with it seriously. Come on man, this is the Eastern Conference Finals, you have to be prepared Boston! By the way I was just remarking to my brother yesterday before the game, that Miami should just put Lebron on Rondo and that would be it for Boston. If even I can see that, even more so for the Celtics! They should came up with something in anticipation when the situation arise, this is not the first time they are playing against each other, so no excuse for them to look clueless and had no idea what to do.
Conclusion
It turned out both Lebron and Wade didn't even need to elevate their game at all to win this game. Boston simply just died out from the third quarter to the end, maybe it is the fatigued that is setting in from the one six game series and one seven game series they experienced so far. But whatever it is, as past champions, they have to put it all aside and step up.
Lebron have an alright game, started really well in the first quarter. Kind of fade away in the second quarter but kicked it up a notch in the third and fourth quarter. Wade too had an alright game, consistent throughout.
Shane Battier came up big for the Heats on both ends on the floor tonight. Great in defense great in offense, overall a great game by him tonight.
The Big Four (Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo) and Co better get recharged and come up with something during this one day of rest that is coming up, if not we would have a shorter than expected Eastern Conference Finals series.
First Quarter:
Boston started game 1 really slowly, and got whopped 11-21 at the end of the first quarter. Committing 4 uncharacteristic turnovers by Rajon Rondo, shooting was poor, basically everything didn't went well for the Celtics. Lebron had a great first quarter went 6 for 9 in shooting (need to clarify on this), and had 13 points already in the first quarter.
Second Quarter:
Boston Celtics owned big time in this quarter. And I felt this was the only quarter that Boston ever showed up in the game at all. Great defense, good solid offense, Garnett doing his things, Pierce started to assert himself in the game and managed to tie the game at the end of the second quarter 46-46. In short, it was all Boston.
Third Quarter and Fourth Quarter:
There is a reason why I merged this two quarters together because it was a replica of the first quarter and no second quarter type basketball from Boston. Boston started the third quarter really slowly again. Heats went on a 9-2 run early and basically never looked back ever since.
Why I am speechless:
There are several reasons for this:
1) The officiating was horrible mainly in the sense at which the technical fouls were given "SPEECHLESS" and probably some nitpick fouls here and there. Come on man this is the Eastern Conference Finals! Not some regular season game!
2) The Boston Celtics looked clueless and flat from the start of the third quarter all the way to the end of the game, which actually made the game unbearable to watch. Their offense looked clueless and repetitive, everyone was so disorganized I don't really know what to make of it, speechless man!. Their defense looked tired, I know they switched to zone-esque defense late in the game that is probably the move they should have done earlier and not later. This is actually probably the first time I seen the Boston Celtics played this bad on a big time stage.
3) Ray Allen. He looked like a man dejected with no confidence in his shooting, an area which he have tirelessly worked to perfect on. He made only 3-7 from the free throw line which is completely uncharacteristic and eye popping of him. In short, he really need to find his stride soon, I do not know if the ankle injury is bugging him or anything but this was one night he would want to forget and should just put it all behind him and get fired up for the second game. Really disappointing night for him, and his run in the playoffs so far.
4) The Celtics free throw shooting tonight. One word "horrendous", it is something that I don't even feel like writing about it.
5) Boston had no idea what to do when Wade and Lebron took turns to guard Rajon Rondo. Credit to Wade and Lebron for the defense but Boston didn't know what to do with it seriously. Come on man, this is the Eastern Conference Finals, you have to be prepared Boston! By the way I was just remarking to my brother yesterday before the game, that Miami should just put Lebron on Rondo and that would be it for Boston. If even I can see that, even more so for the Celtics! They should came up with something in anticipation when the situation arise, this is not the first time they are playing against each other, so no excuse for them to look clueless and had no idea what to do.
Conclusion
It turned out both Lebron and Wade didn't even need to elevate their game at all to win this game. Boston simply just died out from the third quarter to the end, maybe it is the fatigued that is setting in from the one six game series and one seven game series they experienced so far. But whatever it is, as past champions, they have to put it all aside and step up.
Lebron have an alright game, started really well in the first quarter. Kind of fade away in the second quarter but kicked it up a notch in the third and fourth quarter. Wade too had an alright game, consistent throughout.
Shane Battier came up big for the Heats on both ends on the floor tonight. Great in defense great in offense, overall a great game by him tonight.
The Big Four (Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo) and Co better get recharged and come up with something during this one day of rest that is coming up, if not we would have a shorter than expected Eastern Conference Finals series.
Boston Celtics vs Miami Heats (Eastern Conference Finals Game 1)
Alright, its finally here... Well at least for me, I am actually more intrigued with this series than the western conference one.
Let us get down to business.
Which team is going to win this game: I don't know.
Well you would probably be swearing under your breathing after reading the previous sentence and I don't blame you for that. Let me give you a reason why I said "I don't know", because tomorrow's game has so many "Ifs" around that make it hard to decide (it's different for the Spurs and OKC game). But what I would do is highlight some aspect of the game and let the game unfold itself tomorrow.
Point 1
The only way the Heats is going to win tomorrow is this: Both Lebron James and Dwyane Wade elevate their game play to one that is of higher standard than what we have seen so far from the both of them. Reasons for this is because one Chris Bosh is indefinitely out, they lost a key player in their team and now the team's offense relies heavily on Lebron and Wade. Two, Boston is capable of some mean team defense that few teams are able breakdown. With two of the most talented players residing in the Heats, both those players should know that they are capable of breaking down the Boston's defense. And quite honestly it will be interesting to see what they do on the court tomorrow. But the bottom line is this, if the Heats want to win the game tomorrow, both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have to show up. And if both of them show up tomorrow, the Heats have a huge advantage on their side.
Point 2
Boston have to make full use of their inside game tomorrow. With Bosh out, the Celtics have an immensely big amount of advantage down low. The onus is on Kevin Garnett to establish his game early down low and take control.
Point 3
Boston better make sure the right Rajon Rondo shows up. Let's be honest here, if Rondo is not playing well or having an off night, i am sorry man the Celtics have an extremely high chance of losing.
Point 4
If Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett all decide to turn the clock back and play as if they have no knocks at all, the Heats are in for a long night.
Point 5
If its clutch time for the Heats, please create the play for Dwayne Wade and not Lebron James. Need me to say anymore?
Point 6
The fourth quarter of this game will be pivotal for several reasons. First of all, it is to see of Lebron would turn into the Frozen One for yet again, or will he prove us all wrong. Secondly, this is where Boston are at its most dangerous, if their back is against the wall, be sure we will be in for a surprise.
Conclusion
Its hard to say who will take the first game tomorrow as there are a whole bucket load of reasons, but I am not going to list them all out and just going to leave us with these two points.
1) Both Wade and Lebron have to show up. Not one, but both.
2) Paul Pierce and Ray Allen watch out for the both of them. They are pivotal if Boston wants to grab the first game tomorrow.
Let us get down to business.
Which team is going to win this game: I don't know.
Well you would probably be swearing under your breathing after reading the previous sentence and I don't blame you for that. Let me give you a reason why I said "I don't know", because tomorrow's game has so many "Ifs" around that make it hard to decide (it's different for the Spurs and OKC game). But what I would do is highlight some aspect of the game and let the game unfold itself tomorrow.
Point 1
The only way the Heats is going to win tomorrow is this: Both Lebron James and Dwyane Wade elevate their game play to one that is of higher standard than what we have seen so far from the both of them. Reasons for this is because one Chris Bosh is indefinitely out, they lost a key player in their team and now the team's offense relies heavily on Lebron and Wade. Two, Boston is capable of some mean team defense that few teams are able breakdown. With two of the most talented players residing in the Heats, both those players should know that they are capable of breaking down the Boston's defense. And quite honestly it will be interesting to see what they do on the court tomorrow. But the bottom line is this, if the Heats want to win the game tomorrow, both Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have to show up. And if both of them show up tomorrow, the Heats have a huge advantage on their side.
Point 2
Boston have to make full use of their inside game tomorrow. With Bosh out, the Celtics have an immensely big amount of advantage down low. The onus is on Kevin Garnett to establish his game early down low and take control.
Point 3
Boston better make sure the right Rajon Rondo shows up. Let's be honest here, if Rondo is not playing well or having an off night, i am sorry man the Celtics have an extremely high chance of losing.
Point 4
If Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett all decide to turn the clock back and play as if they have no knocks at all, the Heats are in for a long night.
Point 5
If its clutch time for the Heats, please create the play for Dwayne Wade and not Lebron James. Need me to say anymore?
Point 6
The fourth quarter of this game will be pivotal for several reasons. First of all, it is to see of Lebron would turn into the Frozen One for yet again, or will he prove us all wrong. Secondly, this is where Boston are at its most dangerous, if their back is against the wall, be sure we will be in for a surprise.
Conclusion
Its hard to say who will take the first game tomorrow as there are a whole bucket load of reasons, but I am not going to list them all out and just going to leave us with these two points.
1) Both Wade and Lebron have to show up. Not one, but both.
2) Paul Pierce and Ray Allen watch out for the both of them. They are pivotal if Boston wants to grab the first game tomorrow.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Oklahoma Thunders 98 San Antonio Spurs 101 (Western Conference Finals Game 1)
There is a reason why in the last post i wrote "Experience, overall matchups, coaching and bench... nuff said. Or you want more?" Today's result just further strengthen what i wrote. If you realize i also did mention "Or you want more?" It is because there are other factors which obviously i did not list them down. And one of them showed up in this game and that is Manu Ginobili. He had a great game, and put it in simple terms he got it going and score impact points as I would call it, basically points that impacted and mattered in the game.
In my previous post, I mentioned Russel Westbrook has to make at least 60 percent to 65 percent of his shots if not OKC will be in deep trouble because of the amount of shots he is taking. And guess what! he did not shoot at least 60 percent in fact he shot a miserable 7/21, and that is barely hitting 30 percent.
Well to be fair to Westbrook, James Harden himself did not shoot particularly well 6/16 that is is about 37 percent. If you realize i did not write 7/17 as what they do in the official stat sheet and the reason for that is because that last shot Harden took came at 0.00 time in the fourth quarter and at that point in time it didn't really mattered anymore.
Kevin Durant has a fair game but they have to make more use of him, in terms of facilitating and making scoring situations for him. He was forced too far off today. Durant did not shoot what i expected him to do but it was acceptable. The only person who shot well for OKC is the good old Derrick Fisher who shot 6/8 and at one time came in 5/5 for shooting.
It seems that Serge Ibaka only played 28 minutes. Well good decision by OKC because unfortunately for Ibaka though he is a monster defensive machine, but offensively he has no game at all (no post up game etc).
Spurs bench came up BIG tonight partially fueled by Ginobili, they came up with 52 points in total. For the OKC bench... Well probably wouldn't be even worth mentioning it in comparison to the Spurs's bench.
Both teams traded baskets early, going back and forth in the first two quarters, OKC came up big in the third but when it mattered in the fourth Spurs went one gear higher and left OKC in the dust.
Before I would like to sign off, once again I would like to stress this point and because i need to stress it I am going to bold it. Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook , James Harden have to be at their best if they are even going to stand a chance against the Spurs. And lastly, MAKE use of Kevin Durant more (not just in terms of scoring) and with his talent and scoring prowess, OKC would stand a good chance in the next game.
Oklahoma Thunders vs San Antonio Spurs Game 1 (Western Conference Finals)
Before we begin, I would to share some of my thoughts. I initially wanted to do a detailed analysis for this game in this post but I guess I am too lazy today so I shall keep it short. Here we go.
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs. Why? Experience, overall matchups, coaching and bench... nuff said. Or you want more?
The only way for OKC to win this game or even the series is this: Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, and probably James Harden have to be at their best if not, I am sorry OKC will be going home.
I am particularly more concerned with Russel Westbrook and I will tell you why, one of the main reasons why the Thunders looked so good against the Lakers is because Westbrook has been performing. Why is that a problem you might ask? It is a problem because as a point guard, Westbrook is taking an average 19.6 shots in the postseason. If he is going to turn into Russel Westbrick like we have seen in the regular season, the Thunders are in for a rude awakening. OKC has only one main scorer and that is Kevin Durant. He is a pure scoring machine and the Thunders have to make the full use of him and not Westbrook to stand a chance of winning this game. And if Westbrook decide to let his ego out, and if he miss at least 60 to 65 percent of his shots, it will take a herculean effort from OKC to win the game/series.
But lets not get all too pessimistic about Westbrook. If he is on song, with Kevin Durant feeling the mood, man! OKC stands a good chance of winning this game.
Well that's all I have to say for this game.
P.S. One more way for OKC to win this game, they better hope the 1 week rest the Spurs had will work against them.
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs. Why? Experience, overall matchups, coaching and bench... nuff said. Or you want more?
The only way for OKC to win this game or even the series is this: Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, and probably James Harden have to be at their best if not, I am sorry OKC will be going home.
I am particularly more concerned with Russel Westbrook and I will tell you why, one of the main reasons why the Thunders looked so good against the Lakers is because Westbrook has been performing. Why is that a problem you might ask? It is a problem because as a point guard, Westbrook is taking an average 19.6 shots in the postseason. If he is going to turn into Russel Westbrick like we have seen in the regular season, the Thunders are in for a rude awakening. OKC has only one main scorer and that is Kevin Durant. He is a pure scoring machine and the Thunders have to make the full use of him and not Westbrook to stand a chance of winning this game. And if Westbrook decide to let his ego out, and if he miss at least 60 to 65 percent of his shots, it will take a herculean effort from OKC to win the game/series.
But lets not get all too pessimistic about Westbrook. If he is on song, with Kevin Durant feeling the mood, man! OKC stands a good chance of winning this game.
Well that's all I have to say for this game.
P.S. One more way for OKC to win this game, they better hope the 1 week rest the Spurs had will work against them.
Saturday, 26 May 2012
NBA Playoffs 2012 (Eastern Conference Finals)
My first post and I am going to start of, with something short and simple.
Sorry Philadelphia 76ers, you know it and I know it and I hope the world knows it. Only the Boston Celtics now and I am again re-emphasizing "now" is capable of beating the Miami Heats.
Sorry Philadelphia 76ers, you know it and I know it and I hope the world knows it. Only the Boston Celtics now and I am again re-emphasizing "now" is capable of beating the Miami Heats.
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