Houston Rockets March to the Playoffs

[eagle eye]

I find it hard to believe that NOBODY has taken up the torch for the Rockets. These guys are pretty good and we actually get to see them on Root Sports Network, that is unless you have Time Warner Cable. I have admit I was skeptical when Houston signed James Hardin. I felt like the Rockets got a good guard who can come off the bench like he did in OKC but I sure didn't see him becoming a bonafide star. Until this year it was acknowledged that Hardin was a great scorer but he wasn't an all around player because he didn't play defense worth a crap. Hardin must've heard the grumbling because he obviously worked hard on improving his defense and while he's made himself into an MVP candidate. Most people agree the race is down to Hardin and Golden State's Steph Curry with OKC's Russell Westbrook still lurking. I think Hardin should have the edge because he's been THE MAN in the 2014-15 season because Dwight Howard has spent more time on the bench than he has on the floor. Howard is back and the Rockets are making a final push for position in the playoff. Currently they are the 2 see in the Western Conference but any slippage and they could end up the six seed.

The Rockets are fun, yet frustrating, team to watch but one thing for sure, when it comes to the 4th quarter these guys know how to finish. With Howard back the Rockets are a team nobody really wants to face with very nice contributions by Jason Terry, the man mountain known a Demo, Terrence Jones and Josh Smith they have made themselves a very formidable unit. Patrick Beverley had also been making major contributions to the lineup until a wrist injury ended his season on March 23rd. On March 28th Houston lost Demo to a back injury but they continue to soldier on. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games going into tonight's tilt against the San Antonio Spurs at home in the Toyota Center. The Rockets last loss was earlier this week to these same Spurs in San Antone. The Spurs, BTW, are on fire right now winning 9 in a row. At the half it's a 2 point Rockets lead at 48-46. I fell out of love with the NBA during the Allen Iverson era but with some high quality play from all over the NBA and the rise of LeBron James I'm starting to drift back in the NBA fan line. It's cool that my interest is returning at around the same time the Rockets are relevant again.

[eagle eye]

Still no takers on this thread? The Rockets play the last game of the regular season tonight and depending on whether they win or not and whether San Antonio wins or not Houston could actually be either a 3 seed or a 6 seed in the playoffs. James Hardin is a legit candidate for MVP. Good times in H town. It looks like it's going to be Houston as the 5 seed playing the 4 seed Trailblazers. Portland dumped Houston in the first round of last year's playoffs but Portland is beat up injury-wise and Houston will have home court advantage because they have a better record than Portland. Portland has a higher seed because they have clinched their division. A lot like March Madness in college the NBA playoffs is when pro basketball starts to get interesting.

[eagle eye]

You know that old saying about counting chickens before they're hatched? Last night was a perfect example of just that. Listen to ESPN yesterday and they outlined what was surely going to be the playoff scenario after the final games to be played last night were in the books. No way was San Antonio going to lose to New Orleans. They did. No way was New Orleans going to make the playoffs. They did. The whole Western Conference landscape changed in the span of a few hours.

Houston began the evening as the 5th seed and ended it the 2nd because of the Spurs loss to the Pelicans. This loss knocked San Antonio all the way down to the 6 and Memphis, who also won is the 5th seed because they hold the tie breaker over the Spurs after both finished with a 55-27 season record. Houston finished with a 56-26 record and they won the Southwest Division. When the night began it looked like Houston would face Northwest Division winner Portland as they did last year with Houston holding home court advantage despite Portland being a division winner. That's just the way the NBA playoff seedings work. The 3 division winner in each conference have to be in the top 4 seeds regardless of their season record. If the playoffs were decided by record alone Portland would be the 6th seed instead of the 4th. So, here is the Western Conference matchups as the 1st round of the playoffs begin this weekend.

8 New Orleans @
1 Golden State

7 Dallas @
2 Houston

6 San Antonio @
3 LA Clippers

4 Portland @
5 Memphis

BTW before the night began the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans were tied and it was assumed OKC would beat Minnesota (which they did) and the Pelicans was a sure loser to the Spurs (They weren't-they won). When the night was over the surprise winning New Orleans was the 8 seed and OKC was left standing outside the playoff's door by virtue of the Pelicans owning the tie breaker between them and OKC. The only thing OKC got was the 2015 NBA scoring champ in Russell Westbrook. Just goes to show you just never say never in sports.

[eagle eye]

In assessing the Rockets roster the most scrutinized player isn't necessarily James Hardin or Dwight Howard. They automatically are the most scrutinized because they are the stars of this team. But, when it comes to the supporting cast I think the most scrutinized guy is G Jason Terry. The so-called experts rail on about how "The Jet" is 37 and question whether his legs will hold up through the playoffs. I think this is another boy crying wolf here. Since the Rockets play the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs lets use the Mavs latest NBA Championship season of 2011. Jason Kidd was an integral part of the Mav Championship run at guard at 38 and there's no reason to think Terry can't do the same. Kidd was a Hall of Fame player while Terry may or may not be but he's made the 3rd most 3 point shots in NBA history and at this point in Terry's career he compares very favorably with Kidd in terms of ability. I'm not saying the Rockets will win a championship this season but if or when they lose I'll bet it won't be because Jason Terry faultered down the stretch.

[eagle eye]

Rockets up 1-0 after beating Dallas by ten, 118-108. It was a good game that Houston refused to let slip away despite constant pressure from the Mavs. They were able to maintain a 10 point margin in the 4th and it seemed every time the Mavs made a push Corey Brewer or Trevor Ariza or Jason Terry was there to made a big basket to stop a Maverick's run. Game 2 on Tuesday.

[eagle eye]

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did was check to see if Houston held on to beat Dallas and it was a good morning indeed! Houston beat the Mavs 111-99 but from the write up it didn't seem like the score was even that close. Houston did what they did all season and that's explode in the 4th quarter. If Houston is close in the 4th they have a better than even chance IMO to walk off the court with a win, I don't care who they're playing. Not bad heading to Dallas up 2-0.

The Wizards and Cavs both won last night making it a clean sweep of teams who are 2-0 in the playoffs so far. Game 2 for the rest of the playoff teams is tonight.

[eagle eye]

Houston went to Dallas for Game 3 and hung on to beat Dallas 130-128 in a very exciting game. James Hardin led the way with 42 points and Dwight Howard has upped his game in the playoffs. On Friday night he pulled down a whopping 26 rebounds and added 13 points. Houston becomes the 5th team in the playoffs to go up 3-0 in the first round joining Golden State, Cleveland, Chicago and Washington. Memphis could be the sixth and as they are up 2-0 on Portland. The Spurs are up 2-1 on the Clippers and Atlanta is up 2-1 on Brooklyn. Right now the Bulls are playing game 4 in their series with Milwaukee leading 28-25 in the 2nd.
Houston and Dallas play Game 4 in the late game Sunday night at 7:00 PM.

[eagle eye]

The Rockets got back into the friendly confines of the Toyota Center in downtown Houston and with the sting of the spanking of a desperate Dallas Mavericks win on Sunday evening still hanging over them the Rockets did what they probably should have done two days prior---beat the Mavs. Even though Dallas made a game of it they I was clear in the 3rd qtr they didn't have "it" last night. James Hardin sort took over the game in the fourth on both ends of the floor. Hardin must have heard his critic talking about how bad his defense was because in 2014-15 he's upped that part of the his game. At times not is he good but he's excellent. You'd like for him to be more consistent but at least he's better than in past years. By closing out the Mavericks in 5 games Houston will get an extra few days to rest up for the next series against either San Antonio or the LA Clippers. The Spurs hung on to a narrow victory last night to take a 3-2 lead in the series but if this series goes like it has been it will take seven games to decide who moves on.

Golden State smashed New Orleans in 4 so they have been kicking back waiting for Memphis to take care of Portland. Right now the Griz are up 3-1 with the next game tonight. It's a good thing it's tonight because with the opening of the NFL draft tomorrow night there may be a big drop off in TV ratings.

In the east the Hawks and Nets are knotted up at 2 games apiece with game 5 tonight. They will face the Washington Wizards who dispatched the Toronto Rapters in 4 as did Cleveland who swept the Celtics but not at a great cost. First Kevin Love will miss at least two weeks with a dislocated shoulder he hurt against the Celts in Game 4 when the Celts Kevin Olynyk grabbed and pulled Love's arm as they went for a rebound. Later in the game Cavs guard JR Smith threw a reverse roundhouse punch that just cold cocked Boston's Jae Crowder. Besides having his bell rung Crowder also hurt his knee on the play. Olynyk was suspended one game for his actions against Love and Smith received a 2 game suspension for the punch he threw. Smith's suspension is the more severe because he will miss the first two game of the Cavs next round of the playoffs which will likely be against the Chicago Bulls who are up 3-2 on Milwaukee with Game 6 tomorrow night. Olynyk's suspension will be the first game of the 2015-16 season. Not quite the same impact in the grand scheme of things. The Cavs will find it tough sailing to begin the next series without Love and Smith but the long term loss of Love is the more devastating IMO. If you discount all the bull over whether Love and LeBron are BFF's Love has forged a role in the Cavs lineup and he will be missed. Now, if JR Smith can't keep himself under control it could be tough to Cleveland to advance past the 1st round much less get to the finals.

It may not matter anyway because the way Golden State is playing the way they are all you can hear when they come into an arena is "Hulk Smash puny humans!" I really think Golden State will win it all this year, they just look unstoppable.

[eagle eye]

I guess that Chicago just got tired of stringing the Milwaukee Bucks along because they unleashed the beast on them last night to close out the series allowing the Bulls to move on to the next round against Cleveland. In a near record breaking display of a giant can of whoop-ass being opened the Bulls put a 54 point smack down on the hapless Bucks. The last NBA Eastern Conference series left to be decided in between the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets. The next game is tonight in Brooklyn. The Hawks are up 3-2 and could close out the series tonight otherwise the series will likely conclude on Sunday with a Game 7.

In the Western Conference game between the Clippers and Spurs the Clips went into SA and beat the defending champs to even the series 3 games apiece 102-96. Now the Spurs have to go to LA to try to beat the Clippers for the 2nd time in the playoffs in the past 3 games. This series looked like the best series in the first round of the playoffs and it hasn't disappointed. I'm sure the Rockets, who play the winner of this series, are happy to see them both slug is out while Houston gets some rest. The 7th game is Saturday night with the series with Houston likely beginning either Monday or Tuesday.

[eagle eye]

It's the Rockets and Clippers in the 2nd round of the playoffs after LA and San Antonio played one of the best game 7's ever with the Clips making a 3 point shot at the buzzer to win by 2, 111-109 and Saturday night. The Rockets-Clippers series begins about 8:30.

[eagle eye]

Head coach Kevin McHale summed up Game 1 last by saying, "The turnovers we committed were 7th and 8th grade level. They just kicked our asses.". That pretty well sums up how bad the 16 point loss,117-101, the Chris Paul-less Clippers put on the Rockets last night. At home no less.

It wasn't a good night to be the home team apparently. The Bulls waltzed into Cleveland and slapped the Cavs with a 99-92 loss to begin their 2nd round series.

[eagle eye]

It wasn't pretty but the Rockets won Game 2. James Hardin sort of woke up in the 4th quarter and carried the team from the floor and the foul line. Going back to LA the Clippers should be even tougher especially if they get Chris Paul back from a hamstring pull.

The other Western Conference series between Golden State and Memphis is also tied up at 1 game each. This is sort of shocking considering how GS has been rolling through the competition. The Grizzlies could give the Warriors some trouble if they start feeling confident in their home building. I don't think the Griz can beast GS in a 7 game series but I think they could push them some.

Every series in this quarterfinal round of the playoffs is knotted at 1. Is it NBA parity or just a bit of an anomaly? Who knows but it looks like these series are going to be really fun to watch.

A week ago I would have told you that the finals was going to feature the Cavaliers from the East and the Warriors from the West. I still favor this matchup but as the series progress I am not discounting any upsets changing the lay of the land.

[eagle eye]

I'm pretty sure the Rockets march through the playoffs is about to come to an end. After a truly pathetic performance in a 33 point blowout loss to the Clippers you can pretty much stick a fork in the Rockets. They're done and done. The Rockets don't have the talent or the heart to beat the Clippers now. They will come back to Houston and maybe the team will summon enough pride to win one more but it's all over but the crying. Houston's free throw shooting is a joke and the Clippers began that hack-a-shaq crap in the 1st quarter. The Rockets kept the score close in the first half but in the 2nd half the Clippers just put a whoopin' on them. LA leads 3-1 and 2 of those wins are blowouts. Maybe if Houston could start making the Clips pay for the fouling they are doing they would have a chance but it's not likely gonna happen.

It could be that the Bulls and Cavs are just going to trade buzzer beaters for 7 games. In Game 3 it was Derek Rose who made a shot at the buzzer to beat Cleveland and yesterday LeBron took over the 4th quarter and he did it all for Cleveland including making the game winning shot as time expired to drive a dagger into the Bulls hopes of going up 3-1 in the series. Now it's tied up a 2 apiece with the series heading back to Cleveland. Some have written the Bulls off but I don't see it. I think this is a knock-down drag-out series that is going the whole seven with the winner just walking all over the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. Neither of those teams can hang with either the Bulls or the Cavs IMO. BTW Atlanta evened the series at 2 with a 106-101 win over Washington earlier this evening.

The other game in West has Memphis in control of the series with Golden State and 10 days ago nobody would've given the Griz a snowball's chance in hell of beating the Warriors. Ever since Steph Curry won the MVP title the Warriors have been inept. The Grizzlies refused to roll over and play dead for Golden State despite a big Game 1 loss. The series is back in Memphis tonight with the Griz up 2-1 and nobody seems to be giving GS a chance now. How the world turns. It's early in the 1st qtr of Game 4. Who wants to bet on GS?

[eagle eye]

I hope some of you did bet on Golden State as they went into Memphis and pounded the Grizzlies. They'll take the floor tonight Memphis will certainly have an uphill battle beating the Warriors in this crucial Game 5. Suprisingly, the series is tied at 2 so no matter who wins certainly won't be considered a prohibitive favorite moving forward. Enjoy the game because it should be quite interesting.

The other Western Conference game Houston proved my wrong by not just beating the Clippers but they BEAT them by 21 and the score, once the lead got to 12 points in the first half never got below 12 the rest of the game. James Hardin came up big but he finally got some help from the other starters and the bench. If Houston hopes to keep going in Game 6 tomorrow they will need the same effort and the same contributions from players not named Hardin as well as Hardin himself. GS is still leading 3-2 but it looks a little better than it did before last night's game. Got to do on the road in LA. Houston can do it but it won't be easy and according to the 'experts' it's not likely. I guess I'm just a contrarian but that's why I think they will.

The East is all about who wins the series between Cleveland and Chicago. I just don't think anyone gives the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series a snowball's chance in a furnace against either the Cavs or the Bulls. ATL-Wash are tied 2-2 and they will see who takes the series lead tonight. The interesting game will be in Chicago on Thursday. Cleveland could close out the Bulls with a win and they seem to have the advantage as Kyrie Irving appears to be healthy now and LeBron seems to have found another level of play. Chicago is at home and they have the talent to force a Game 7. This is why I love basketball again. Players you can care about, teams that give you hope and competitive series all the way to the finals. I just can't take the stress of all the timeouts at the end of games.

One question, is there a more lame-assed coach in the NBA than Cleveland's David Blatt?

[eagle eye]

The Conference finals are set. Cleveland clowned Chicago to win that series 4-2 and Atlanta took care of suddenly helpless Washington to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. I'm not sure how good this series is going to be but unless the Hawks play out of their minds or Cleveland plays like crap or LeBron gets hurt I don't see this series going more than 5, maybe 6 games. Cavs in a walk. That walk begins on Wednesday at 7:30 PM. I know I'm kind of writing off a No 1 seed but really Atlanta made their bones early on and hung on as Cleveland began to gel. It just took a while before the Cavs new Big 3 of LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin learned their roles. The focus has narrowed since Kevin (Love) was lost due a shoulder injury a couple of weeks ago. The fact is LeBron is the star of the show and the days since they last played has just helped Kyrie's ankle to heal up for the next round. I wonder how common it is for both 1 and 2 seeds to make it to the conference finals in both conferences. Whatever it is they have it again.

The Western Conference was settled yesterday when Houston became the first team in a while to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series over the LA Clippers who were obviously hung over from the major choke job they pulled in Game 6. In that game the Clips lead by 19 points mid way in the 3rd quarter when Houston went on a 40-18 run to bitch slap the Clippers and keep their hopes alive for a Game 7. The team came alive and played the way they were supposed to from jump street. The Rockets were, after all, the No 2 seed behind Golden State so anyone who said the Rockets win was an upset is full of crap. Now you have the 1 and 2 seeds going at it beginning tomorrow in the Warriors home court at 8 PM.

I hate to sell the Rockets short but I don't see them beating Golden State. It all depends on which Rockets show up. Will the team that got their asses kicked in Games 3 and 4 that put them into a 3-1 hole or the team that showed up for Games 5-7 that stole the series from an LA team that had been dominating them. I just think GS is better over all and will win in 6, maybe 7, games.

[eagle eye]

Damn. As Maxwell Smart used to say on the old sitcom 'Get Smart', "Missed it by that much." as he held up a thumb and forefinger to indicate how close a call what he was talking about was. The Rockets had the ball on a 5-3 break away but they weren't able to score what would have been a game winning basket as time expired in Game 2 giving Golden State a 99-98 win and 2-0 lead in the WCF series. So close but it wasn't due to any lack of James Hardin who was clearly the better player than league MVP Steph Curry who wasn't too shabby himself last night. Houston is putting up a better fight than most people thought they would. Hopefully, when the series comes back to Houston the Rockets can turn the tables on Golden State and get back into this series.

Cleveland is up 1-0 on Atlanta and with the win on Wednesday night they immediately stole the Hawks home court advantage. If Cleveland continues to roll over the Hawks this series will go all of four games. In Game 1 Atlanta looked kinda helpless against the Cavs. LeBron has had to put the team on his shoulders and carry them. It was a big loss to lose Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving being hobbled is not great either. Maybe the Cavs could be willing to take a chance on letting Irving sit out tonight and maybe Game 3 if they think they can get away with it so Kyrie will be healthy, or healthier than he is now, for either the Rockets or Warriors.

[eagle eye]

Good Lord did anyone else see the 35 point loss Houston suffered last night? I couldn't watch the game after the middle of the 3rd quarter. Sheesh. Was there a hangover from the one point loss Houston suffered in Game 2 on Thursday? I don't know but James Hardin was awful last night. He scored 17 points but 10 were on free throws. He was like 1 for a thousand from the field shooting and without Hardin being the main scorer Houston's other players never had a chance. Dwight Howard had a double-double but it wasn't nearly enough as Steph Curry went off. He had forty points and from what I understand he went to the bench at the end of the 3rd qtr. This wasn't unusual as the W's sat Curry a lot late in games that had become blowouts. The way Houston played Curry could have showered at halftime with GS up 25 with 62-37 halftime lead. Houston may get a pride win on Tuesday night but I don't see Houston having a chance in hell of winning the series now. Stats will bear that out as no team in NBA history has ever come back from 3-0 in a playoff series and won. It's been a good season but being less hit by injuries and another scorer to compliment James Hardin is needed for Houston go further in the playoffs.

Cleveland goes back home and as dismal as Atlanta played their home I don't see this series going more than 4 games. Could be the NBA finals won't last into July this year with the Cavs and Warriors almost certain to close out their series next week.

[eagle eye]

I'm not surprised the Rockets won last night. I still don't think they will come back like they did against the Clippers. I believe the Warriors will win the series. I wouldn't be surprised to see them take Game 5. As hot as the James Hardin and the Rockets were to start the Game 4 last night scoring 45 points in the 1st quarter I could easily see them being just as cold next time out. I hope not but I wouldn't be surprised.

I was surprised to wake up Monday morning to find out the Cavs won Game 3 of the ECF. They were down 4 with a bit over a minute left in the game. I, in my infinite wisdom, assumed the worst (I'm a Cavs fan) and went to bed. Now we'll see if it was smoke and mirrors or if Atlanta can put up enough of an effort to win in Cleveland when they came so close on Sunday night. We won't have to wait long because the game is tonight and it's a 7:30 tipoff instead of 8 o'clock.

[eagle eye]

As expected the Cavs closed out their series with Atlanta with a 30 point win. With the ease of the win both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both sat out most of the second half of the game with the subs not only maintaining the 20 point lead that was built but adding to it to give Cleveland a comfortable and, for them, enjoyable end to the Eastern Conference finals. Now, I would imagine the Cavs push the Golden State Warriors to seven games meaning they will be tired with no extra rest while the Cavs will have a whole week to kick back and prepare for the NBA Finals which begins on June 4th. GS could end it all tonight however as they return home to Oakland for Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. My fingers are crossed for Houston. I want them to show up and push the Warriors as far as they can while giving the Warriors no rest and you'd have to say Cleveland could use that as an advantage in the finals. I will be torn because Golden State hasn't won a championship since the mid 1970's but then again Cleveland has never won. If pressed I would have to say I'm rooting for Cleveland.

Houston did get one bit of good news last night when the NBA decided not to suspend Dwight Howard from Game 5 for hitting Andrew Bogut in the face. Film showed Howard was trying to get free of Bogut when he swung his arm in a sweeping motion from front to back hitting Bogut with his hand, not his fist. The NBA ruled that if Howard had used his fist or elbow as first thought he would have been suspended similar to Cleveland's JR Smith's 2 game suspension in the 1st Round of the the playoffs against Boston when he intentionally hit Celtics forward Jae Crowder. The Eastern Conference playoffs have been pretty chippy with several incidents. One thing for sure Cleveland isn't afraid to get physical with opponents and that could be another advantage in favor of the Cavs vs the more finesse play of Golden State. Issues with Cavs players like Smith and Matthew Dellavedova as well as LeBron who is maybe the most physical player in the NBA precedes the Cavs as they head to their second franchise final, both with LeBron on the team.

LeBron has now become the first non-Boston Celtic player to go to 5 consecutive NBA finals. The Celtics of the 60's won 9 championships in 11 years for the most dominant stretch of basketball in NBA history. The world was a lot different then and the competition isn't what it is now and the fact LeBron has done it is pretty significant. Michael Jordan probably would have done it if he hadn't taken 2 years off to play baseball. As good as the Bulls were back then their two 3-petes in the 90's could have been an 8-pete which mean the Rockets never would have been able to win their 2 Championships. LeBron is a badass and whether or not you like him you can't deny how good, and what a freak of an athlete, he really is. Like Jordan in the 80's and 90's we get to watch a historically great player in the 2000's and 2010's. Enjoy it while you can.

[eagle eye]

The Rockets season is over. As good as they played Monday night they were that bad last night. I swear the whole team ought to be Free Masons because of the bricks they laid last night. Hardin and his teammates were awful about dribbling into the lane on the offensive side of the court and getting trapped there either losing the ball or throwing up a wild shot that had no chance of going in. Hardin had 13 turnovers in the game setting an NBA record. Hardin was only part of the problem. The whole team contributed to this loss and despite all the ineptitude going on they only lost by 14 which isn't really all that bad. Good season and I'm sorry it's over for the Rockets.

[eagle eye]

Boy, oh boy, have I missed the NBA. It didn't help one bit that both conference finals were settled by last Wednesday making Thursday pretty dismal without basketball and the Astros on a day off. Dallas is lucky they could get the Byron Nelson golf tournament on this weekend after all the flooding taking place in north Texas this past week. The Astros lost 2 of 3 to the ChiSox this weekend so it's been a slow week for sports. The NBA finals don't start until Thursday so it will be a long week especially if the Astros continue to struggle. Isn't it funny how fast you get spoiled? Until this year there wasn't really much to get excited about in Houston sports other than the Texans but with the Rockets getting to the Western Conference Finals and the Astros kicking everybody's ass to this point it's hard when they both lose. Needless to say it was a lousy week in Houston. On top of all that they get a trillion gallons of rain and flood the city making the saying, 'when it rains it pours' much more literal than the folks in Houston would like. May is over now and maybe June will be much better for everyone.

I think the NBA finals will be a really good series. Golden State having the home court advantage could be the difference in the series. I'm rooting for LeBron and the Cavs. It would be interesting to me to know how all you B-R-I'ers out there feel about this series.

[eagle eye]

Damn Game 1 was a good game. At least until the overtime period. By that time the Cavs had run out of ammunition and they missed their last 12 shots in the game until LeBron got an oh-by-the-way layup at the final buzzer when it was far too little far too late. Despite scoring 44 points LeBron and the rest of the Cavs couldn't buy a bucket in overtime as the Warriors put them away with good ball movement and good team shooting. That was the difference to me, the Warriors passed the ball and made the Cavs defense cover on the run while the Cavs only played an isolation game, primarily with LeBron, and they couldn't do squat against the W's swarming defense as they went with a smaller, quicker lineup down the stretch. The Cavs lost Kyrie Irving about 2-1/2 minutes into overtime and that was really all she wrote. We learned you can't pass the ball to Cavs guard JR Smith. He never once looked to pass the ball or set up an open shot. He took the ball and put up a shot and he was just terrible barely hitting the rim on most of his attempts. Still, Cleveland had a shot at the win at the end of regulation when LeBron put up a contested 3 pointer which was rebounded by Iman Shumpert who damn near hit a 3 pointer from the opposite corner that LeBron shot from. We all know almost don't count for anything except in horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately, the Cavs were playing basketball.
Game 2 is tomorrow night. No word on Kyrie Irving's knee or if he's available for the game. If Cleveland is going to be without Irving the rest of the team is going to have to up their game--a lot--to hang with Golden State.

[eagle eye]

The Cavaliers stepped up their game and they barely felt the loss of G Kyrie Irving due to a broken knee cap that required surgery to repair. Now the players who stepped up in Game 2 still have to do it 3 more times to win this series. It won't be easy. Now LeBron was LeBron notching his 5th triple-double in his playoff career which is just 3 behind Magic Johnson's record of 8. The Cavs won by playing stout defense and rebounding. It didn't hurt any that Steph Curry was off his usual shooting touch even though Klay Thompson, with 34 points in the game, helped take up the slack. It was like watching a less talented shooting team version of the Detroit Pistons playing physical basketball and last night it worked. Basketball is so much different than other sports in that it doesn't matter if you suck one game because you can come back and be good the next. That's why NBA playoff series are so exciting because you don't know who is going to be hot or on their game or just not feeling it. This is even more so that any other sport because in the other sports you are what you are with little deviation. Don't expect Matt Dellavedova to shut down Steph Curry in Game 3 but he did last night. JR Smith didn't lay near as many bricks as he did in Game 1 but who knows which JR will show up in Cleveland tomorrow night. I like the Warriors offense with their movement. They pass the ball and they seem to run plays where the players are moving. The Cavs more often than not just spread the floor and let LeBron drive to the hoop. If somebody is left open because a defender drops off to help guard LeBron, LeBron will pass off but basically the Cavs just stand around in their set offense waiting for LeBron. It's boring to watch, it's frustrating to watch and it doesn't make the defense work very hard except on LeBron. I had to laugh when the commentators and analysts wrote off the Cavs after Game 1 especially when Kyrie Irving was lost for the rest of the finals. Basketball just doesn't happen that way any more than the Cavs will be the favorite now that they took away Golden State's home court advantage by winning last night. Truth be told, the Warriors still have the advantage because they are healthier and deeper than Cleveland but because the Cavs are more prone to play a demanding physical style that is not the normal GS style. GS can be physical but they rely more on speed, ball movement and high percentage shooting. It's like old school NBA East vs West, physical and punishing vs fast and mobile. It's Pistons-Lakers in the new millennium. Last year it was the physicality of the Miami Heat vs the mobility of the San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs just wore out the Heat to win the title. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love out for Cleveland the Cavs are not as good as Miami was last year and Golden State isn't as good at playing the game as the Spurs but it's a good series and should be interesting to watch.

[eagle eye]

Cavs up 2 games to 1. In a game that saw Cleveland blow a 20 lead and turn around an gut out a victory it was a wild roller coaster ride for sure. It was a game where the Cavs role players played their part and then some. It was the popular opinion that no way was the Australian guard with an eastern European name, Matt Dellavedova, dog Steph Curry until he just couldn't go any more. In fact Dellavedova had to go to a local hospital and get an IV because he became dehydrated during the game. Will he have enough time to recover before tomorrow night's game? That will be good question whose answer could actually mean the difference in whether or not Cleveland can win Game 4. Not only did Dellavedova hound Curry on defense he added 20 points of his own. Throw in nice contributions by Tristan Thompson who was a force on the boards and JR Smith who did his part the physical game that Cleveland plays seems to confound the Warriors. Truth is, Golden State was doing well to get back into the game after trailing by 20 late in the 4th and losing by 17 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. It was a falling down desperation jumper by Dellavedova that put Cleveland back on track in the 4th quarter and reignited the Cavs for a late game surge. Final score last night was 96-91 but it was no less exciting than the two overtime games in Oakland. The unpredictability of this series so far is really one of the great things about the series so far. Can't wait for Game 4 tomorrow night.

[eagle eye]

Anybody ready to stick a fork in the Cavaliers yet? A lot of people are and I understand why. With LeBron having to record triple doubles just to keep the score close Cleveland just can't hang with the surging Warriors. LeBron had another 3D last night for his 6th in his playoff career and his 3rd of this series which puts him just 2 3D's behind Magic Johnson who has the NBA record of 8. Last night was his 3rd 40+ point game of this finals series. The problem is nobody else is stepping up to help and when you have a guy who could give LeBron a breather in Timofey Mosgov getting only 9 minutes total in the game following his career high game scoring wise from game 4 you have to question Cavs coach David Blatt. IMO Warriors coach Steve Kerr is outcoaching Blatt and it's not even close. The trouble has been in the 3 games Cleveland has lost in the finals the Cavs can't score in the last 5 minutes of the game to stay with, or beat, the Warriors. In the two games the Cavs won they did just that. Cleveland is desperate to have somebody step up to help LeBron. JR Smith has had a couple of games where he did okay in the first half but he all but disappeared in the second half. Shumpert isn't that guy and Dellavedova isn't that guy either even though he had a nice Game 3. There just isn't anyone. Except for LeBron this may be the worst lineup in NBA finals history except for the 2007 roster in LeBron's first go-round with Cleveland. It's just bad luck that Cleveland lost both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving during this playoff run. You could see this series being way different if one or both players were on the floor instead of in street clothes. LeBron could seriously be considered the MVP of this series even if the Cavs lose to Golden State given what he's done so far. If the powers that be have to award the MVP to a Warrior if they win for my money it would be Andre Igoudala who has been in LeBron's face almost the whole series and he's added some big baskets along the way. Game 6 tomorrow night and unless something weird happens it looks like the Warriors will close it out. The Cavs are worn out and the Warriors bench has emerged as the difference in the series. I hate to say it but this series has gone just like the Warriors WCF series with Memphis. Win one, lose two in a row, then wake up and win 3 straight to close out the series. So far Golden State is right on script and I don't expect any deviation even though I would love to see LeBron and the Cavs push it to 7 games. I just don't think, at this point, it's going to happen.

[eagle eye]

Golden State followed the script perfectly. Win Game 1 in overtime with the Cavs missing the last 12 of 13 shots with the lone make an oh-by-the-way layup by LeBron at the end of the game. Games 2 and 3 were close but the Cavs defense and some contributions by the role players lifted the Cavs to 2-1 lead in the series. Then, much like the Memphis series in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors woke up and became the team that stormed through the NBA all season and took the next 3 games to send them to their first NBA finals for the first time in 40 years. The same scenario played out in the finals. It began in Game 4 when Warriors coach Steve Kerr decided to go with a small lineup that swarmed the Cavs on defense and ran the Cavs ragged on offense. Andre Iguodala was put on LeBron and responded by giving James fits on the defensive end and scoring some big buckets on offense. Iguodala didn't stop James because James was pretty awesome in the finals. So awesome he received 4 of the 11 MVP votes when the series was over but, it was Iguodala who made James work his behind off on offense and his total contribution was so impactful that he won the series MVP award. In the end Golden State was the best team and deserved to win but it could really have been different if the Cavs had Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. But Cleveland didn't and because JR Smith failed miserably to show up and sub par performances by Iman Shumpert and others left LeBron alone on an island. Shumpert can be forgiven somewhat because he was slowed by an injury but a lot of blame falls on Cavs coach David Blatt for a truly uninspired effort coaching in the series. I sort of feel like Blatt is Cleveland's answer to Eric Spoelstra. I wouldn't give you 50 cents for either guy. Steve Kerr, besides looking like Neil Patrick Harris older twin brother, proved he is a damn good coach. Both as a strategist and as an in-game bench coach. He was really good and I feel like he has a bright future as an NBA coach. Blatt? Not so much.
The only thing I wish is that LeBron had said something to the effect of how proud he was of his team's effort in the finals series. Nobody really stepped up to help, especially JR Smith, take scoring pressure off of LeBron but their effort can't be questioned. As evidence I give you Matthew Dellavedova whose Game 3 performance was way above his head. He chased and hounded Steph Curry all over creation on defense while tossing in 20 points in the Cavs win. He left the floor spent and had to go to the hospital for IV treatment for dehydration. He wasn't the same player after Game 3 but in truth Dellavedova is a damn good backup but not good enough to be a starting point guard in the NBA but he gave all he could every single game. That was the story of the series. Cleveland overachieved to win 2 games but they were just not good enough to overcome the talent disparity between them and the Warriors. That and coaching disparity between Blatt and Kerr. If Golden State had Blatt and Cleveland had Kerr I think this series could have gone 7 games with Cleveland, despite being outclassed talent-wise, could have won the series. That's the belief I have, that Steve Kerr is far and away a much better coach than David Blatt. I feel like good coaching in basketball is the difference in good teams and great ones. Don't believe me? Can you imagine the Bulls being so successful in the Michael Jordan era without Phil Jackson, or the Lakers with Kobie without Jackson? How about the 80's era Lakers without Pat Riley or San Antonio without Gregg Popovich. Now, I know these teams had great players but when the coach stepped aside the team with basically the same lineup fell flat. Remember how long the Lakers were a non-issue until Jackson was hired? Remember how the Lakers fell flat when Jackson was fired? See how Pop keeps rolling out a championship caliber Spurs team despite his players advanced age? Steve Kerr seems to display the same qualities of the greats. I'm not saying he's great yet but you can see that potential. David Blatt, to me, does not possess that potential.

This is my last post on this thread. I have a renewed interest in the NBA and it's been fun to watch the playoffs this year. I'm happy the Rockets are in the discussion for the playoffs again. It more fun when the local team is relevant. Hopefully, the Rockets can add some players so it's not all on James Hardy and Dwight Howard. They should also get Patrick Beverly back which will help as well as DeMo who both missed the playoffs due to late season injuries. The Rockets have the blocks to build on to become another power in the Western Conference. Next season OKC should be back with the return of Kevin Durant. Golden State will be in the hunt for years with Kerr and a very young and talented roster. The NBA is alive and interesting again.