NBA Playoffs Have Begun

Last year the NBA playoffs were a lot more interesting because the Rockets were a real contender. Now, nobody had them going to the finals or anything but they earned the 2nd seed in the Western Conference and they finally beat the LA Clippers in 7 games when nobody even gave them a chance. Shoot, they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they finally were eliminated by eventual NBA Champion Golden State. That was then. Today it's a different story. Houston came out of the season looking like crap, they got their coach, Kevin McHale, fired because of their poor start and it has been a soap opera in Houston all season. I can't even tell you who coached the Rockets after McHale was fired but I know he did a lousy job. It's not his fault completely. In the 2nd half of yesterday's game he was begging his team to pick up the pace and play with some intensity. Even with Golden State without Steph Curry Houston had no life and was beaten by 27 points after being outscored in the 2nd half by that same 27 points after going into halftime tied. It was pitiful. Speaking of Curry, it looks like he might have torn his MCL yesterday when he slipped on a wet spot on the floor causing him to do the splits. It makes the Spurs the new favorite in the West. The Spurs locked up their first round series by sweeping the Grizzlies with a Game 4 win yesterday.

Cleveland swept their first round series defeating Detroit in their Game 4 as well. The East is less interesting simply because the West has better teams overall. Only Cleveland is seen as the representative of the East in the Finals whereas Golden State, San Antonio and even Oklahoma City are contenders. With Steph Curry out the Warriors aren't even the favorite to win the West any more. I know I'm counting GS out without knowing the results of the MRI on Curry's knee but if you saw him yesterday and saw how he hurt himself you just know his knee will take him out of the playoffs and make it really hard for GS to repeat as Champs. Here's the bracket as it stands right now. Note the most contested battle in the first round is between Boston and Atlanta as the series is 2-2 after Boston evened the series yesterday. Cleveland will get a week or more to rest up waiting on this series to be decided. Advantage Cleveland. At this point I'm rooting for the Spurs, I want to see Tim Duncan and company get one last ring because they have done their winning with class and dignity and lost with the same aplomb.

 

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

Edited April 25, 2016 by eagle eye

One cool thing about the link in the first post is updates constantly so it is always up to date. Dallas fell to the Thunder on Monday night so the first quarterfinal game is set. The Thunder will face the Spurs in the next round beginning Saturday. San Antonio closed out their series with Memphis on Sunday and I think they were hoping the Mavericks would push the OKC a little more than they did. Both teams will be rested and ready to go. There are 3 Game 5's tonight and in order they are Charlotte @ Miami series tied at 2, Portland @ LA Clippers series tied at 2 and Houston @ Golden State - GS up 3-1. Unless a pure miracle happens Houston will be out of the playoffs tonight. Last night Atlanta hosted the Celtics and they were very rude hosts as they whipped the Celts by 27, 110-83 and took a 3-2 lead in the series. The winner will face Cleveland who have been resting since closing out their series with Detroit last Sunday. I'm sure the Cavs are hoping Boston returns the favor on Thursday night in Boston and takes the series all the way to seven games.

OKC and San Antonio will be an interesting series and could be we will be seeing the Western Conference champs come out of this matchup. Why? Steph Curry will miss at least two weeks with a sprained MCL in his knee. I told you he messed up the MCL on Monday! It wasn't a full tear of the ligament just a partial, which is basically what a sprain is.

In the other Western Conference game on Monday night the Clippers Chris Paul broke his right hand and will miss the rest of the post season. The Clips have had no easy time with Portland in this first round and with Paul done and Blake Griffin hurting with a bad hamstring the Clippers chances of going anywhere in the playoffs is now to a slim and none chance. There is one good thing and that is the Clippers are at home tonight but short handed the way they are even home court may not save them. The winner of this series plays Golden State. The series isn't over yet but it will be tonight. After the truly gutless performance in the second half of last Sunday's game Houston will have no shot at beating the Warriors on their home court. Portland needs to go ahead and take care of LA in the next two games. Allowing the series to go to a Game 7 will only mean the Trailblazers will have at least one game less to win before Curry returns to the lineup. So sorry Rockets. I guess GM Daryl Morey will have to go back to the drawing board. Even he admitted recently he thought the Rockets would be a better team this year. Morey is a pretty good GM but he completely whiffed on the off season moves he made last summer. Dwight Howard wasn't bad but he still misses too much time with injuries. James Hardin is a good scorer but he's not a team leader. Houston needs a really good player to rally around but that guy probably isn't going to be a free agent. Houston needs to draft well to get that guy.

The NBA playoffs got blindsided by the NFL draft which was a surprising and eventful event after the Rams and Eagles both did what was expected of them by taking Jared Goff and Carson Wentz 1 and 2. There were 3 Game 6's Friday night with 2 of the series being extended to seven games. Both Indianapolis and Miami pushed their series' to seven games and on the opposite coast Portland ended the Clippers misery by closing out that series. Atlanta went to Boston and beat the Celtics to advance to the 2nd round and Miami and Toronto both won their Game 7s to advance yesterday.

The second round of the playoffs began with Western Conference games between San Antonio and OKC and Golden State and Portland. Both games were blowouts as the Spurs went 5-0 in the playoffs by destroying the Thunder on Saturday by 32 points. The Warriors beat Portland 118-106 in a game that really wasn't that close. Tonight the Eastern Conference starts their 2nd round with game between Cleveland and Atlanta. The Western Conference will see San Antonio play OKC in Game 2 of their series tonight. Tomorrow night Game 1 between the Heat and the Raptors is followed by Game 2 of the Portland-Golden State series.

Don't you think the NBA drags these playoff series way too long? Here it is the first of May and the 2nd round of the playoffs has begun and the NBA championship won't be decided until July!

 

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

Edited May 2, 2016 by eagle eye

The first round is finally over and the second round is in full swing.

 

San Antonio - Oklahoma City (Series tied 1-1)

After blowing out OKC in their first 2nd round game the Thunder came back and held on for one point win on Monday night evening the series at 1 apiece. The Spurs and Thunder play Game 3 on Friday in OKC.

 

Cleveland - Atlanta (Cleveland leads series 1-0)

Game 1 of the Cavs - Hawks series was Monday as well with the Cleveland winning 104 to 93. Game 2 is tonight and they will have center stage as this is the only game played tonight. Game 3 will be Friday night in Atlanta.

 

Golden State - Portland (GS leads the series 2-0)

The Warriors are still the team to beat as they have finished off Houston with no trouble and taken a 2-0 lead over Portland all without Steph Curry. Portland's trying but they are clearly outclassed by GS. I would not be surprised if they don't sweep their series and rest up waiting for the winner of the Spurs-Thunder series. The next game of the series will be in Portland on Saturday night.

 

Miami - Toronto (Miami leads the series 1-0)

Miami packed their bags and headed to Toronto and pulled out a 102-98 win on Tuesday night. Advantage Heat who just yanked home court advantage away from the Raptors. Their next game is Thursday night.

 

I am still hoping for a Cleveland-San Antonio final and that would be tough choice for me to choose who I will be rooting for. If both end up in the finals maybe we could just declare both a co-champions. That would make happy.

The Atlanta Hawks will be spending the time until Game 3 of the Eastern Conference playoff series with Cleveland trying to figure out how to get the Cavs collective foot out of their collective arses. The Cavaliers rained in a record 25 3 pointers last night on the way to a Game 2 25 point win in Cleveland. The 25 3's sets a new record for an NBA game, regular or post season. The previous record of 23 3-pointers was shared by the Orlando Magic in 2009 and the Houston Rockets in 2013. The win also keeps Cleveland undefeated in the post season with a perfect 6-0 record. The Cavs travel to Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday night.

 

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

 

The Rockets search for a new head coach is ongoing with the Rockets front office throwing a wide loop in their search including interviews with former Rockets Sam Cassel and TNT NBA analyst and former player Kenny Smith. Mike D'Antoni and Frank Vogel. There were a couple of college coaches under consideration as well. It has been reported that Shaka Smart, head coach of the Texas Longhorns, and Kansas head coach Bill Self are two guys Houston has shown interest in. It would be hard to believe either guy would leave a big time college program for the headaches associated with a team like the Rockets. JD Bickerstaff, who took over for Kevin McHale when he was fired after only 11 games, was in consideration but he removed his name as reported today. Nobody, it seems, sees the Rockets job as a good gig because James Hardin is a pain in the backside to deal with. I still think firing Kevin McHale early in the season was a mistake. While Hardin is a really good player he rarely plays up to his potential and except for 2014-15 when he was in consideration for NBA MVP did Hardin even give an effort to play defense. Getting Hardin to do what you want him to, like play defense, seems to a task that is still a hit or miss proposition. Like I said, pain in the arse.

 

Tonight the other Eastern Conference semi final will be played when Miami will face Toronto in Game 2 of their series. Miami leads 1-0 in the series. That is the only NBA playoff game scheduled for tonight.

Toronto evened their series at one game apiece against Miami last night with a 96-92 win over the Heat in overtime. Both games in the series have gone to OT. There's no question that, so far, this is the most hotly contested series of the 4 in progress right now. Game 3 moves to Miami on Saturday afternoon with the Heat holding home court advantage after taking control of it with their Game 1 victory in Toronto.

 

Tonight features Game 3 of the Cavs-Hawks series, that is currently led 2-0 by Cleveland, in Atlanta and Game 3 of the Western Conference series between San Antonio and Oklahoma City. The series is tied 1-1 with the Thunder holding home court advantage by virtue of the their Game 2 victory in San Antonio. Tonight's game is in OKC.

 

If you went by the Game 1 blowout by the Spurs over the Thunder you would have to say San Antone is going to run away with the series but OKC came back in Game 2 making a statement that they are good too and they are going to fight tooth and nail to win and advance to the conference finals. When it's all said and done this is the series that is the most hotly contested and most compelling series in the playoffs. Both teams have a shot at beating the other and both teams have a shot at beating Golden State. I said earlier that the Miami-Toronto was the most hotly contested series so far and it's true because both games in the series have gone to overtime to decide the winner. However, nobody in the their right mind even consider either of being capable of beating Cleveland and going to the finals. The East belongs to the Cavs and the fact they have rolled through the playoffs so far like Sherman through the South is a clear indication of two things. 1) Cleveland is the class of the Eastern Conference and 2) the Eastern Conference is pretty weak overall. In all likelihood the Cavs will most likely make the finals but it's also just as likely they will lose to the rep from the Western Conference. I kinda hate that because I like LeBron but either the Spurs or the Warriors have better teams. If OKC pulls out a miracle then I would give the Cavs a better than even chance they win the NBA title.

 

It seems like the media is liking Frank Vogel's chances of being the next Rockets head coach. If he is it remains to be seen if he and James Hardin can co-exist. Vogel is now a leading candidate because it was announced yesterday the Indiana Pacers will not renew his contract. GM Larry Bird believes a regular turnover of head coaches is necessary and Vogel has coached the Pacers for 6 years and Bird felt it was time for a change. Bird may feel that way since he won championships under 2 different head coaches. The first was under Bill Fitch when Bird was a rookie and the last two rings Bird won was under Casey Jones in 1984 and 1986. There seems to be evidence of that philosophy there, especially if by the time Fitch finished his tenure in 1983 Bird felt that a change was needed and Casey Jones was the guy the Celtics needed at that time. Anyway, Vogel has been in Indianapolis for 6 seasons so Bird decided it was time for a change. That could be a good thing for the Rockets because Vogel is a defensive minded coach. His teams were always at the top of the list of the best defensive teams in the NBA and one thing the Rockets need is a guy who will push them to play some D. The losses of C Roy Hibbert and F David West and G Lance Stephenson among others have depleted a roster Vogel led to two conference finals only to lose to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat both times. The problem with Vogel joining the Rockets is that James Hardin isn't all that good of a team guy. The best coaching job of Kevin McHale's career was in 2014-15 when he actually got Hardin to play defense. Hardin regressed last year and returned to being the selfish player he's been in his career. Defense be damned he's a scorer and that's what he did to the exclusion of almost everything else. His game winning shot to beat Golden State in the playoffs this year and the resulting lack of emotion over it by his teammates was a clear message that Hardin is not well liked by his teammates. You can spin it any way you want to but when you hit a game winner in the playoffs and bench barely claps there is clearly something wrong.

Houston can sign some nice free agents in the off season can help turn this team around. Guys like Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Jamal Crawford and most notably Kevin Durant are all available. I don't know how much cap space Houston has but it's time to cut ties with Dwight Howard. He's still a decent player but he can't stay healthy to worth keeping. Here's a list of free agents this year so you can go window shopping for players Houston could or should sign. There may be a perception out there that Houston is not a sexy destination. Everyone seems to want to go to LA (either the Lakers or Clippers) or Golden State. Either that or South Beach with Heat is another great spot for a free agent. It's up to Daryl Morey to make Houston sexy. It's really the best crop of free agents I've seen in a while and not all of them can go to the west coast. I know LeBron is on the list but you can bet he's not coming to Houston so get that out of your mind right now.

 

http://hoopshype.com/2016/05/03/nba-free-agency-2016-the-top-players/

Eastern Conference

> Atlanta had no answer for the Cavs. None and as Cleveland completed the 4 game sweep of the Hawks you just had to shake your head. In a move that was a bit uncharacteristic for them they have become a 3 point shooting nightmare of a team. The Cavs rained in 77 3-pointers in the series against the Hawks and set an NBA record by a wide margin for the most 3-pointers in four games. Still, the Hawks had a shot to win at the final buzzer but the shot was off the mark and Cleveland is going to get another opportunity to sit and rest up for the conference finals against either Miami or Toronto. Cleveland won Game 3 Friday night by 13 points and they came back Sunday and prevailed 100-99 to complete the sweep.

 

> Miami came out Saturday in the first home game of the series in Miami and they laid a great big egg and in doing so lost home court advantage with that flipping back to Toronto with the series now 2-1 in favor of Toronto. The Raptors came out and took it to the Heat beating them 95-91. Maybe the Raptors were mad because when they played the Canadian national anthem Dwaine Wade failed to stop his pregame shooting routine to stand and respect the ceremony. It's being spun as a mistake by Wade who shot several more times even after the anthem was being sung. It was a classless and absolutely disrespectful thing to do and Wade should be ashamed of himself for being such a selfish tool bag. Wade claimed he was just completing his usual pre-game routine and he meant no disrespect but the fact that he didn't stop and respect the Canadians he showed what a selfish and self centered person he is. 2+2=5 is a mistake. Not stopping and showing respect for an allied nation's national anthem is just awful. I'm ashamed of Wade because he showed a clear and blatant example of what the phrase "ugly American" means. I didn't give a crap about this series before but I'm totally rooting for Toronto now because I will not support any team Dwaine Wade plays for from here on out. It might have been different if Wade owned his lack of judgment and apologized for it but he didn't do that. What he did was explain WHY he did what he did--which was complete his pre-game routine--and it didn't matter to Wade what was happening around him, he was going to finish his routine. He said that if people thought he was being disrespectful they don't know who Dwaine Wade is. I have never found an instance when someone referred to themselves in the third person that it didn't sound pretentious and egotistical. This was no different as Wade failed to see what he did and the fact he was just wrong. I hope Toronto wins in 5 now and Wade can go work on his shoot around in his driveway and he won't have to stop for anyone. Game 4 is tonight in Miami.

 

Western Conference

> San Antonio beat OKC on Friday night to take a 2 game lead in their series by a score of 100-96. Spurs up 2 games to 1 seemingly wrestling home court advantage back from the Thunder after they won Game 2 earlier in the week. Game 4 was yesterday and Kevin Durant went off on San Antonio tying his playoff record high of 41 points scored as he put the Thunder on his back and carried them to a 111-97 victory to even the series at 2 apiece. This series is shaping up as a real cage match with the teams trading punches until Game 7 ends with the survivor moving on to the next round.

 

> Golden State is up 2 games to 1 now that Portland woke up and beat the Warriors in Game 3 in Portland on Saturday night. It was pretty much of an unexpected event. The way that Golden State had gone through Portland in Games 1 and 2 it sort of looked like this series may be over in 4 games. It still could be over in 5 because this may be just Portland's effort to avoid being swept. It sure makes Game 4 tomorrow night even more interesting. The Trailblazers Damien Lillard led his team in a gritty performance and the fact is Portland has won it's last two home games with Golden State including Saturday's win. There is still fight in this Trailblazers team and Golden State had better bring their A game if they expect to win tonight. The W's can bring their A game but they won't be able to bring Steph Curry who is still recovering from his knee injury. He could be back for Game 5 but he won't be in the lineup tonight.

Western Conference semi finals

 

> Golden State vs Portland (GS up 3-1 in series) - Portland has got to be thinking, "What the hell happened to us? After beginning the game with a 16-2 lead Steph Curry, who wasn't even supposed to play as of 3 o'clock yesterday, came in and led the Warriors to an overtime win by the score of 132-125. Steph hasn't played a game in 3-1/2 weeks and after missing his first 3 shots he found his groove and he ended up the night scoring 40 points. His 17 points in OT set an NBA all time record for most points scored in an overtime period. Remember in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when the posse chased them across most of the old west. The duo kept stopping, amazed at not being able to shake their pursuers one of them would say, "Who are those guys." Can you imagine that's what Portland was saying after the game last night? Needing a win to even the series with the W's Portland gave it a might shot but let by Curry the boys from the Bay Area would not be denied. The series moves back to San Francisco for Game 5 on Wednesday and it will likely be the final nail in Portland's coffin for this playoff series. It's hard to imagine the Blazers even have a smidgen of hope they can win this series, much less the next game but miracles do happen even though it doesn't look good you can hope for the best.

 

> San Antonio vs Oklahoma City (Series is tied at 2 apiece) - Game 5 will be in San Antonio tonight. The Spurs-Thunder will be the only NBA game on tonight. Of all the semi final series this is the most competitive. I say this because both teams have a legit shot a making the finals and they are dead even right now and it's still anyone's series even though the Spurs have home court advantage. These two teams are playing each other very tough and that's another reason why I am rooting for Portland to come back and win Wednesday night so the W's have to work a little harder instead of them sitting back like Cleveland waiting for the Spurs and Thunder to beat each other up. I am rooting for the winner of this series to beat GS in the conference finals. I'd prefer the Spurs win, just to be clear.

 

Eastern Conference semi finals

> Miami vs Toronto (Series tied a 2-2) - Miami stumbled at home on Saturday but they came back to win last night to even their series at 2 games apiece. This game, like the Golden State-Portland game went to overtime and Miami prevailed 94-87. I don't care, I'm mad Toronto didn't win because I now hate Dwaine Wade. All these two teams are doing is wearing each other out while Cleveland, who swept their series against Atlanta, is at home resting. The series resumes back in Toronto on Wednesday night and I'm curious how the Raptor's home crowd will greet Wade after he didn't stop his shoot around when the Canadian Nation Anthem was being played prior to Game 3. That should be interesting, it's not often a person can insult an entire country even by accident like Wade did last Saturday.

Edited May 10, 2016 by eagle eye

The playoffs are not going the way I want them to in the Western Conference, not at all. In the semi finals the two teams I am rooting for are either on the brink of elimination or are gone. I wanted Portland to give Golden State more trouble than they did but they didn't have the wherewithal to close the last two games. They lose in overtime in Game 4 and they win the first half against the Warriors but you have to play two halves and they faded by comparison to GS. The Trailblazers had a 5 point lead at the half but that lead disappeared in the 3rd qtr when GS outscored them by 7 points that resulted in the W's taking a 2 point lead into the 4th. Now, overall Portland was only outscored by 2 in the final frame but it is the lack of a closer that killed them. GS has Steph Curry who has shown he is a closer but nobody on Portland's side stepped up to say enough is enough and take Game 5 away from the Warriors. As a result the Warriors advance to the Western Conference finals for the second year in a row.

In the other WC game on Tuesday night my San Antonio Spurs are showing their age a little bit. That's no excuse but it's a fact but they aren't playing bad basketball. It's just that OKC is playing more inspired basketball than the Spurs. They are hitting their stride and San Antonio is not able to slow them down. Except for a big 2nd quarter when SA outscored the Thunder by 11 and had a 5 point lead at the half it looked like the Spurs were on to something but it looked like halftime cooled them off considerably. The Spurs were outscored in every quarter by OKC except the 2nd and they ripped home court away from the Spurs with a 95-91 win in the Alamo City. Traditionally, the winner of any Game 5 is usually the team that ends up winning the series in basketball. Game 5 is the most important game in a 7 game series and if history holds true last night the Spurs lost their chance to send Tim Duncan into the retirement sunset with a championship. I hope it's not true but the Spurs have a big, big mountain to climb now.

Golden State is finished with their series with Portland winning 4 games to 1 and they get to sit back and take a bit of a breather while they watch the Spurs and Thunder duke it out. The only question remains is, will they only wait for one game or will the winning need both games to finish the deal? Game 6 will be in OKC tonight and we'll see how much fight the Spurs have left.

 

The Eastern Conference is also 1/2 settled. The Cleveland Cavs have sitting around for almost a week now waiting for a winner to emerge from the Miami-Toronto series. I can't tell you what an advantage it is for Cleveland to be able to sit around and heal up physically for the next series. After an 82 game season to be able to blow through the playoffs by winning both series they been in with 4 game sweeps is priceless. It could mean the Cavs could come out a little cold on down the line because they haven't been playing but I'd take a few days or a week of rest any time if all I was going to be is a little cold to start the next series.

Miami in the wake of Dwaine Wade's snub of the Canadian National Anthem before the start of Game 3 was booed by the Toronto Raptors crowd in Toronto last night. Wade is unquestionably the most hated man in Canada right now. Toronto won Game 4 to even the series at 2 also regaining home court advantage in the process. The Raptor solidified that advantage with an 8 point win last night giving them a 3-2 edge in their series. As stated above Game 5 is the pivotal game in a 7 game series so I don't feel Miami is going to win this series. Wade tried to make amends with an apology saying he meant no disrespect of Canada and he said to prove it altered his pregame routine. He was in line with his teammates when the Canadian National Anthem was played prior to Game 4 and he did the same prior to Game 5 but the Toronto fans were having none of Wade or his apology. Good because he deserves all the boos he's getting right now. I hope Toronto closes the door on the Heat season in Game 6 on Friday night.

 

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/

The Western Conference final is set. On Thursday night the Thunder put the Spurs out of their misery with a 113-99 win that could be the last game Tim Duncan plays in his career. I guess not everyone gets a storybook end of their career if this, in fact, it for him. The Thunder win the series 4 games to 2. The WCF will begin on Monday night.

 

The East is still being decided. On Friday night the Heat came back to beat Toronto on Friday night after losing to the Raptors on Wednesday evening the series at 3 games apiece. Game 7 is tomorrow afternoon. The schedule for the ECF's has yet to be posted. I would think that series would begin on Tuesday or Wednesday because they wouldn't want to let the West Finals get too far ahead. Cleveland has been sitting around for a whole week now since the swept the Atlanta Hawks closing them out in Game 4 last Sunday. Is it really possible that the NBA Championship could be decided BEFORE June 1st? This would be a miracle.

The finals have been decided at long last. We knew OKC was playing Golden State but we didn't know when or who Cleveland was going to play until yesterday. Miami had to go back to Toronto and play a deciding Game 7 yesterday afternoon. It was all Toronto as they downed the Heat by a score of 116-89. Good, I was hoping the Raptors would win a 27 point ass whoopin' is just what Dwaine Wade, er--I mean the Heat, deserves.

 

Eastern Conference Finals - Cleveland vs Toronto - Game 1 will be Tuesday night. Cleveland will have had 8 days of rest and recovery waiting for the Raptors and Heat to finish their series. Cleveland, the favorite to win the Eastern Conference, already will have been off for 8 days while the Raptor-Heat series went 7 games. Double advantage to the Cavs.

 

Western Conference Finals - Oklahoma City vs Golden State - Game 1 is tonight too late for me to stay up and watch it. Actually, that is not true. The game begins at 8 PM CDT. I am rooting for OKC here. I like Steph Curry but I'm from Oklahoma and it's great to see the Thunder doing well. They have been down since some injuries knocked the slats out of Kevin Durant's career over the last couple of years. He and Russell Westbrook have been on fire since Game 1 of the conference semi's when San Antonio blew them out. The Thunder really steam rolled the Spurs and they seem to be on a nice roll going into this series. This is going to be a really good series and either team could win. It should be fun to watch.

Will wonders never cease? OKC goes into the lion's den of Oracle Arena in Oakland California and beats the previously unbeaten Golden State Warriors on their home court. GSW, prior to last night, were 37-0 at home when leading by double digits at halftime which makes what OKC did last night even more surprising. The final score was 108 - 102 after the W's led by 13 at halftime after a Steph Curry 3 pointer at the buzzer. Russell Westbrook was 1-10 from the field shooting in the first half but he came back in the second half with 24 points. People will say that GS didn't play well but the very same can be said of the Thunder. Kevin Durant had 26 points but that on 10 of 30 shooting from the field. The unsung hero for OKC was Steven Adams who made some big buckets down the stretch. So, OKC is up 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals with Game 2 slated for Oracle Arena on Wednesday night.

OMG! You figured Cleveland was better than Toronto and you also figured the Cavs would win last night but the total ass whoopin' they put on the Raptors was so bad you almost had to feel sorry for them. Cleveland won the game by 31 points and it wasn't really even that close despite Toronto starting the game with a 7 zip lead and seemed to be on fire. The Cavs cooled the Raptors off right quick and in a hurry at one point outscoring the Raptors 23-2. Cleveland dominated every aspect of the game. The only battle the Raptors won was the turnover battle which they won 14 to 17. Small consolation when you are outscored in every quarter of the game. As I said, the 115-84 victory was not even that close and you wonder if Cleveland will sweep this series too. It's not just the LeBron show that's doing all the damage. Kyrie Irving was the leading scorer with 27, Lebron had 24 and Kevin Love pitched in 14 points. Richard Jefferson contributed 9 points off the bench and he led the Cavs in rebounds with 11. None of the starters played more than 30 minutes in the game.

 

Game 2 will be tomorrow night in Cleveland.

Game 2 of the Western Conf Finals is tonight in Oakland where the Warriors host the Thunder trailing in the series 1-0.

Golden State came back in Game 2 and kicked the stuffing out of OKC by 27 points. Their 118-91 victory was not unexpected after they were upset in Game 1. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 28 points but 13 different players scored in the game for GS. Kevin Durant scored 29 leading the Thunder but he didn't get any support from his teammates. Durant and Russell Westbrook (16 pts) were the only players scoring in double figures for OKC. The Warriors led by 8 at half time with the game still somewhat in question but a 31-19 3rd quarter did OKC in with GS looking unstoppable at times.

 

Game 3 in this series, currently tied a 1 game apiece, will not be played until Sunday night.

 

In the meantime the Eastern Conference series Game 2 will be tonight in Cleveland. Game 3 will be Saturday night in Toronto. Cleveland will nose ahead of the Western Conference Finals by playing twice before the West plays Game 3. It is conceivable Cleveland could end the series if they win the next 3 games. On Monday night Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals could be it and Cleveland will again be sitting back while their next opponent is struggling in their series. By Monday the West will have had played only 3 games with at least 2 more games to play. IF the West only goes 5 games the series won't be over until Wednesday meaning the by Game 1 of the NBA Finals won't be played until Friday at the soonest. Five days rest compared to 2 and that's IF either Golden State of OKC wins in 5 games. In all likelihood that series will go at least six which means the Cavs will get a week of rest prior to the beginning of the Finals. If the final is again Golden State and Cleveland the Warriors won't find it as easy as they had it last year when Matthew Dellavedova was the second best player on the Cavs behind LeBron. The Cavs have a healthy Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving this time around and JR Smith won't have the pressure on him that he had in last year's finals when, frankly, he choked like a dog. This Cavs team is capable of not only giving Golden State a good series they are capable of winning it all. The thing I like better about GS is they have better ball movement unlike Cleveland tends to go 1 on 1 too much with everyone else standing around.

There is life in Toronto after all. The Raptors came back and won on their home court Saturday night. They didn't squeak out a win either they took the previously undefeated Cavs by 15. Cleveland is still up 2 games to one but there is a glimmer of hope that the Eastern conference won't be a cake walk. This means that both the Eastern and Western conferences will be 2-1 we just don't know who will take the WC lead as that game is in progress. Right now OKC is up by 13 with around 2 minutes left in the first half. OKC is playing host to the game for the first of two in Oklahoma City. There will be games every day this week until both series are decided. The East plays Monday, Wednesday and if needed Friday while the West Plays Tuesday, Thursday and if needed Saturday.

 

Updated score: OKC is leading at the half 72-47. OKC had a huge surge a the half wound down. A 25 point lead is pretty sweet but as we all know it's a big but not insurmountable lead.

OKC won Game 3 of the WCF's in convincing fashion and if they are able to win Game 4 tonight the Warriors chances of another trip to the NBA Finals doesn't look good. Strange things are indeed happening in both conference finals. The West looked like the best series matchup but the Warriors were obviously favored going in by virtue of their Sherman-like march through the NBA setting a new record for wins in a season breaking the old record held by the Chicago Bulls. The irony is not lost on the fact that Steve Kerr was a guard on that Bulls team who set the old record on their way to an NBA Championship and is now the coach of the GSW's team that broke the record. I heard on Mike and Mike this morning Golden State's Draymond Green will not get suspended for kicking OKC's Steven Adams in the kibbles and bits. A lot of people are surprised that Green will not get suspended and Kiki Vandeweghe, a former NBA player, who is now the NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations said they felt the kick was not intentional but more a situation where he was flailing about trying to draw a foul call from the refs. So now, because he's a former player that makes him qualified to decide a person's intent. Again on Mike and Mike, the question of making a decision on perceived intent rather than on what actually happened and they fact that Adams was temporarily incapacitated and could have been injured more severely wasn't the basis of the decision. By contrast Cleveland's Dahntay Jones will be suspended one game for hitting Toronto's Bismack Biyombo in the package when Biyombo jumped across Jones' body to get to a loose ball. If anything it should have been a foul on Bismack for draping himself all over Jones. The so-called "punch" in the groin couldn't have had much on it because Biyombo's body was all over Jones and had his arm pinned. It's crazy that one is a suspendable offense while the other is not. #lifeisnotfair. Game 4 is tonight in OKC.

 

The Eastern Conference Final has gotten interesting as Toronto has suddenly come to life. Yesterday they beat Cleveland to even the series at 2 games apiece. It looked like, in the 4th quarter that Cleveland was going to break the Raptor's hearts as they came back from a 19 point halftime deficit to take a lead in the 4th. Toronto regrouped and held on for a 105-99 win to even that series at 2 games each. The series moves back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday. An interesting fact of this series is throughout the regular season when these teams played the home team always won. That doesn't speak well for the Raptors chances in the series since Cleveland has home court advantage but it also means if the results mirror the past this series is going 7 games. Another bad thing from Toronto's perspective is the Cavs have won by an average of 24 points per game. Ouch. The games got closer and Toronto has managed to even the series in no small part because of the fact that the Raptors are forcing LeBron to take shots from increasingly farther from the basket. In Game 1 when the Cav blew out Toronto LeBron average shot distance was 3 feet. In the closer Game 2 LeBron was pushed by to 8 feet average distance. In the Game 3 loss LeBron's average shot distance was 11 feet while Game 4's loss the distance was 12 feet. LeBron has got to start pushing the ball closer to the basket with Cleveland reasserting dominance on the offensive glass if they hope to beat a suddenly rejuvenated Raptors team.

Holy blowout, Batman! Holy blowout, indeed Robin. The Cleveland Cavs must have been embarrassed by getting swept in Games 3 and 4 in Toronto because from the opening tip the Cavs just took it to the Raptors. The Cavs led by 18 points by the end of the 1st quarter and at halftime Cleveland led by the largest margin ever in conference finals history, 31 points, as the Cavs took a 65-34 lead into the locker room. Nothing changed in the 2nd half as Cleveland kept pouring it on Toronto eventually beating the Raptors by 38 points with the final score ending up 116-78.

 

As hot as Cleveland was from the field, they shot 57% from the field for the game and 75% at the free throw line, Toronto was that cold. The Raptors shot 39% from the field and just 60% from the foul line in a whopping 35 trips to the charity stripe. They also shot just 17% from 3 point range. They shot 3 of 17 from the arc and that is no recipe for staying in the game vs a red hot shooting team. Going into the game the home team has won all of the matchups between these two teams but in Cleveland the Raptors have been dominated with the average margin of victory being 24 points. After last night that number has gone up. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving both showed up for the Cavs which is cause for the argument that Cleveland, when they hit on all cylinders like last night, and they way they've played every game in these playoffs, they are nobody's 2nd banana. The next game is in Toronto on Friday night with Cleveland having a chance to close out the series. If Toronto holds serve and forces a Game 7 you really can't like their chances much. It's sort of a foregone conclusion that Cleveland will win the series the only unanswered question is, how many games will it take to get it done?

 

In the West things aren't going well at all for Golden State. They are not out of it by any means but in yet another loss at OKC that causes them to fall to a 3-1 deficit isn't a cause for hope they can come back and win this series. OKC has been dominating the Warriors. Since the Thunder took home court away from Golden State by winning Game 1 they have been rolling. It was significant that OKC held serve in Oklahoma for Games 3 and 4 to maintain the momentum they have built. What I'm saying is GS is in deep doo-doo. All OKC has to do to close out this series is one of the next 3 games. We have to keep in mind GS was 73-9 setting a record for games won in a season so it's not impossible for the W's to come back but they really haven't played like that team yet in this series. The Warriors are back at home for Game 5 tonight and they have been nearly unbeatable at home. Trouble is, the last time they did was to this OKC team. Will it all end for the Warriors tonight? I guess we'll find out.

One half of the NBA Finals has been decided. The Cleveland Cavs took care of business last night beating Toronto 113-87. The road team finally won a game in the season long series including the playoffs. The Cavs were embarrassed by getting beat in Games 3 and 4 in Toronto, at least that's the way they've played the past two games. They have played like a team with the proverbial chip on their shoulders demolishing the Raptors by 38 and 26 points in the past two games. So Cleveland stands poised to face either Golden State or Oklahoma City who go against each other tonight in their own game 6 matchup in OKC.

The Cavs have kick-started Kevin Love who poured in 20 pts with 12 rebounds. He was the third leading scorer for Cleveland last night behind LeBron's 33 points and Kyrie Irving's 30. JR Smith also contributing 15 points. Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 35 to lead all scorers on the night but he didn't get much help.

 

If OKC can't get it done on their home floor tonight you have to like the Warriors chances if it goes to a Game 7. You'd have to say all the pressure is on OKC to win tonight. If I know it it's a lead pipe cinch the Thunder know it too. Should be a good game and OKC's crowd can get loud.

The Western Conference Finals will have to wait to be decided in a seventh game because the Golden State Warriors did the impossible, or it seemed that way prior to yesterday's game, by going into Oklahoma City and beating the Thunder on their home court. The W's 108-101 win last night was a bit stunning considering how the Thunder had been using their length and size to deny the Warriors their usual free wheeling style of play. The Thunder continued to do that through 3 quarters of yesterdays game. They actually beat the W's in the first 3 quarters. The Thunder led by 3 at the end of the first quarter, 5 by halftime and after 3 quarters they led by 8 points. As you well know 8 points is not a safe lead by any means and the Warriors killed the Thunder in the 4th. They outscored OKC by 15 points in the final frame with Clay Thompson scoring 19 of his 41 points in the quarter. That was more than the Thunder scored as a team in the 4th. Can OKC overcome the disappointment of this loss and come back and win? I'll bet the wise guys in Vegas won't think so. OKC had GS on the ropes and they couldn't put them away and now the Warriors go back to Oakland feeling pretty good about themselves while the "C" word is likely flying around the fellows from the Indian Nations State. It sure looked like there was a good bit of 'choke' in the Thunder in the 4th quarter to go along with the rally the Warriors put up. It's a monumental challenge for OKC to be sure but they did win there once already in this series and to steal the victory away from GS on their home floor in the 1st and last games of the series would be humongous tale to tell.

 

If Golden State wins on Monday it would mean a rematch of last year's NBA finals between the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavs and I would have no doubt in my heart who I'm rooting for and that would be Cleveland without a doubt. If OKC pulls off the upset I will definitely be torn. I would love to see LeBron finally bring a title back to Cleveland. The city by Lake Erie has not had a professional title to call their own since the 1950's when the Browns ruled the NFL but I also want some love in Oklahoma City too. The Sooner State has never had a professional title in the history of the state and the last National Title was accomplished by the Oklahoma Sooners in 2000. That's 16 years ago. I may have to lean toward Cleveland there but it will be difficult to choose.

I think the thunder choked. Too bad, I really hate Golden State.

The Thunder choked again last night as Golden State won their 3rd consecutive game after being down to OKC 3-1. The Thunder have got to be kicking their own asses today as they have to know they have the Warriors on the ropes and they failed to deliver the knockout blow. The biggest concern for OKC was the play of Russell Westbrook who blew 4 straight possessions with the game on the line in the 4th quarter. He turned the ball over 3 times and he missed the only shot he took. The Warriors did not choke as they kept pouring it on. Steph Curry was the best he's been since the playoffs began and it could be he is finally over the bad ankle and bad knee problems that have plagued him during the playoffs. So now it's down to Golden State and Cleveland in a rematch of last year's finals. The difference here is Cleveland did not have Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love in the finals. This year's finals won't be the lead pipe cinch last year's finals were going in. Cleveland has the team and the ability to beat Golden State in a 7 game series and I really hope they do it for two reasons. 1) I like LeBron James and 2) Cleveland deserves it's day in the sun and it's been denied to them for over 50 years since the last time a pro franchise in Cleveland has won a championship. To me, Cleveland is the underdog and don't we all like to root for the 'dog? It's sort of an American thing to root for the underdog isn't it? Game 1 of the NBA Finals is Thursday in Golden State. C'mon Cleveland!

 

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Cleveland went into the Golden State Warriors home court as decided underdogs. No shock there and when they walked off the court they had to be shaking their heads over the missed opportunity to steal Game 1 away from GS. The Warriors played okay, but not all that great. They were certain not unbeatable unless you were the Cavs who played like crap. They had a total of 16 put back attempts on second shots and only scored 6 points. They missed a bunch of shots inside the paint and as a matter of fact they shot lousy from pretty much everywhere. The shot only 38% from the field and 33% from the 3-point line. They did make 90% of their free throws making 18 of 20 attempts. On the flip side GS shot 49% from the field with the same 33% of their 3's as Cleveland. They also matched Cleveland at the foul line making 90% of their attempts going 9 or 10. The poor shooting did the Cavs in obviously but the 15 point loss was not as bad as it may seem. Grandpa always said, "If 'if's and buts' were candy and nuts we'd all have a Merry Christmas.", meaning in a roundabout way you can't lament over what could have been but the Cavs have to be kicking their own asses over the poor shooting by the whole doggone team. They'll get another chance on Sunday to get a win in Golden State but it won't get done if they shoot like they did last night.

 

I have noticed that when Cleveland does do well they pass the ball and Kyrie or LeBron are allowed to create and dish the ball to the open man. All too often though the Cavs stand back and watch as either Kyrie or LeBron play a one man game against the opposing defense while the rest of the team stands around watching. 1) That's boring basketball and 2) it usually doesn't end well. I like to watch a team who moves the ball around and the players move without the basketball. To me, over the last 15 years or so nobody plays that type of game better than San Antonio. The problem with the Spurs is they just got old. Golden State plays like that and I believe that's why they are probably the best team in the NBA right now. I've seen the Cavs move and move the ball and if they hope to keep everyone engaged they need to play like that. I think Cleveland has the length and the talent to beat Golden State but they can't play like they are in AAU basketball going one on one all the time. If Cleveland plays like that they will lose in 5 games like they did last year. One other thing about this series is Steve Kerr is a way better coach than Tyronn Lue. Personally, I think Lue is just a figurehead anyway and that's the other big problem the Cavs have. Kerr is the undeniable leader of the Warriors but Lue is not that at all. In fact it seems like he's just a figurehead while LeBron runs the show. That is not a good thing. The best thing that could happen to LeBron is if he can play for a real honest to goodness quality head coach. I can't imaging how good LeBron would be if a new age Pat Riley or Phil Jackson or Gregg Popovich were to coach him. Tyronn Lue is not that guy, I'm sorry but he's not. You could argue that LeBron did play for Pat Riley but he didn't really, he played for Riley's pet cat Erik Spoelstra and I don't think much of him either. The trouble is it may be too late in his career for LeBron to subjugate himself to a strong willed coach. Too bad because I think that's just what he needs.

The answer to the question, 'How would Cleveland respond to the Game 1 loss?', is a very terse, "Badly". The Golden State Warriors stomped a mudhole in the Cavs in a 33 point win last night. Not only that but a wild elbow to the back of Kevin Love's head eventually knocked him out of the game. Not just last night's game but, in all likelihood, Game 3 as well as he goes through the concussion protocol. Again, Cleveland played like crap missing shots left and right and turning the ball over way too much for a championship team. You wonder how in the world Cleveland can come back from back to back drubbings by the Warriors. I was rooting for the Cavs and I still do but based on the first two games I don't have much faith Cleveland with be much more than a helpless sacrifice to the Warriors 2nd straight championship. Needless to say this series has ceased to hold much interest for non-Warriors fans. I just don't seem to be able to get very excited about Game 3 on Wednesday after the 110-77 beat down.

The one thing you can say about this finals series is that Golden State won't sweep the Cavs after Cleveland blew out the Warriors by 30 points last night in Game 3 on the Cavs home court. After Cleveland had their asses handed to them in Oakland in Games 1 and 2 you tend forget that Cleveland is undefeated at home in the playoffs so far. I sure didn't give them much of a chance of winning Game 3 and that's why it is so surprising to me that Cleveland won last night. Just winning would have been a moral victory as well but to beat GS 120-90 should be a confidence booster for the Cavs. It is the first game of the series where Cleveland played worth a crap. Not only that but they out muscled the Warriors pretty much bullying them around the court. LeBron and Kyrie Irving combined for 62 points and the Cavs as a whole seemed to be doing just fine without Kevin Love who missed because of a concussion he got when he was elbowed in the head in Game 2. If Love comes back for Game 4 maybe Cleveland ought to consider just bringing him in off the bench. We won't have to wait long for Game 4, it will take place tomorrow night in Cleveland beginning at 8 o'clock. If Cleveland wins this is a new series but if it's going to be a series where the home team wins every game Cleveland is doomed. If Cleveland can win Friday night and even the series at 2 then Game 5 in Oakland on Monday is huge. It is the one game I believe Cleveland has a shot at winning assuming they win Game 4. It is the only scenario I see where it's possible for Cleveland to win the series and the championship. Two of the next 3 games are in Cleveland--advantage Cavs. If it goes to a 7th game at Golden State I just believe the W's will win. It'll be fun to see how it all shakes out.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is tonight. Anybody want to place any bets on tonight's winner? Yeah, me either. 8 o'clock, be there or be square.