Playoffs

Or is it dilemmi? Either way.

As the entire NBA world eagerly awaits the potential match-up of Kobe and LeBron in this year's finals, they also can't help observe it's getting increasingly difficult for them to get there. The Magic and Nuggets are hitting their strides at the right time, with bench players stepping up at crucial moments, Van Panic and Karl making good coaching moves, and both team's point guards acting as the leaders they can be. Even if the current and future MJ's of our time average 50 a game for the rest of the playoffs, it won't matter. That's not how you reach the Golden Summit (Yes, I just used "Golden Summit" as an analogy for the Finals. Deal with it. I like it.).

Continue reading "Kobe and LeBron facing similar dilemmas"

If Kobe Bryant expects to win a championship this June, he needs to trust his teammates more. If he doesn't, the Lakers will not only struggle to win the Finals, they may have trouble even getting there. Last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, putting them down 1-0 in the series, is to me, enough cause for concern. Phil Jackson needs to sit down Kobe and tell him the same thing he told Jordan: trust your teammates more.

Continue reading "Memo to Kobe: Be like Mike"

Say Swine Flu keeps spreading. Say it gets worse, like "Outbreak" worse, and the majority of people in the US get it, including LeBron James. I still don't think I could beat him one-on-one. Even if it was first to score. Or if we played "PIG." Remember when Jordan had the flu in the '88 playoffs, and he dropped 47 against the Knicks, AT the Garden??? We spectators/bloggers/sports fans seriously over-estimate the flu. If LeBron had swine flu, not only would he stuff me like a Quizno's Torpedo, he would still be able to beat the following athletes/teams:

Continue reading "LeBron could beat me with Swine Flu"

"There's no analysis here...what happened?!" - ESPN's Steve Levy, 4/27/09

The New Orleans hornets suffered the all-time-tying worst playoff loss in NBA history yesterday, getting stomped on 121-63 by the Denver Nuggets. Don't wet yourselves, Nuggets fans. The Hornets just played THAT BAD. Here are the Top 10 Reasons why they shouldn't bother showing up for Game 5:

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons the New Orleans Hornets ..."

I'm a Kobe fan. Huge Kobe fan. He's practically my generation's MJ. Nothing against MJ, I just never saw him play much. I went to the United Center once, when I was seven, and all I remember is Scottie Pippen's crew-cut and cotton candy. Also, I'm from D.C., so the fact that MJ ruined the entire development and chemistry of an up-and-coming Washington Wizards team, just so he could milk a little more limelight, doesn't really sit well.

Continue reading "Why Lakers fans should worry about ..."

So Gilbert Arenas is apparently going to opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and test the free agent market.  Honestly, if I were the Wizards, I'd probably say, "Okay, go ahead lets see what happens."  You know why?  Because, look at how well they played this year without him.  They've got a good core nucleus of players and promising young talent in Nick Young and Andray Blatche.  Yes Blatche and Young don't look like Kobe or Garnett right now, but you can see them progressing.  In fact Arenas' injury this season was great for Young, because he got a chance to really get some experience under his belt. 

Continue reading "Gilbert Arenas return a good thing?"

I realize I'm joining the game a little late here, but at the risk of ending my career on this horrible cliche right now, better late than never. With only five games left and only four games separating spots 4-7 in the playoff race things are getting interesting. Unfortunately for the Wizards, 3 of the last 5 games are against the top 3 teams in the East, in decending order. After hosting Boston, they have to travel to Detroit and Orlando. And in between they  come back home to take on the streaking Sixers, right on the heels of the Wizards, led by Andre Igoudala who has been peeved since the all-star break when Dwight Howard got way more credit for doing the same dunk in the dunk contest that Igoudala did 2 years ago( http://youtube.com/watch?v=w6z9-l4hnMM). The funny part about this stretch is that for the Wizards the degree of diffculty goes up instead of down. As has been the propensity of the Wizards the last few years, they seem to excel against harder teams, such as Detroit, and struggle with the weaker ones, the Milwaukee Bucks.  Just look at how the Wizards have done against the top 3 teams they are soon to play.  The Wizards are 2-1 against the top seeded Celtics, 1-1 vs the second seeded Pistons, but 1-2 vs the third seed, Orlando. This is the reason winning the last few games is so important. The Wizards might stand a chance against Detroit and Boston(I can't believe I'm saying that) but if they lose a couple and trade places with the Sixers for 6th place to take on the Magic first round, Howard is going to Superman the Wizards like Soulja Boy.

Continue reading "The Home Stretch"