NBA Rumors

Since the conclusion of the 2011-2012 NBA season with the Miami Heat being the champions, there have been a lot of trade talks swarming around the media. In my opinion I like some of what I see and dislike some of what I see. So here we go.

Brandon Roy has decided to come back next season after having to “retire” because of knee problems. Unfortunately, he will not be going back to Portland since they waived him. He is considering joining the Lakers but not 100% yet. Miami is looking to possibly pick him up but he doesn’t really want to go. I feel though that Brandon Roy would be a good fit for The LA Clippers. CP3 would be able to feed the ball to Griffin in the post or Roy out at in the key/perimeter and take it from there. It will take time for Roy to get back into his rhythm, but once he gets going again, I think he’ll be great again.

NBA Finals Game 5 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

With a 104-98 victory in Game 4 the Miami Heat won their third straight game in the 2012 NBA Finals and haven taken a commanding 3-1 series lead vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder. No team in NBA history has ever came back to win the NBA Finals after being down 3-1 (0-30), therefore the Thunder’s chances are dim at best. To view an analysis of Game 4 click here.

If Oklahoma wants to send this series back home then they need to stop double-teaming LeBron James every time he touches the ball, because he is too good of a passer and always seem to find an open teammate for a three pointer. With the way the Miami has been shooting from distance in these playoffs the Thunder cannot afford to give wide-open looks (especially to Battier!)  because of defensive breakdowns. Late in Game 4, while James was on the bench with leg-crampings, the Heat ran the same pick-and-roll with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade three straight positions and the Thunder got burnt each time. Serge Ibaka (Bosh’s defender) was too worried about Wade getting around him off the pick, so he over helped which gave Bosh a wide-open lane to the basket.

2012 NBA Finals Game 4 Recap

Game 4 of the NBA Finals was a complete fail for one team and a complete success for another team. In the first quarter it looked as if the Thunder were about to blow out the Heat, but that’s the exact reason that there are four quarters in a basketball game. The Thunder led 33-19 going into the second quarter, and that would be the last time that the Thunder would have a double-digit lead. The Heat started the second quarter on a 13-0 run which cut the Thunder lead to 33-32. The Thunder went scoreless for almost 4 minutes until Kevin Durant made a knock down jump shot. At the end of the first half, the Thunder led by just 3, as they were outscored by the Heat 27-16.

NBA Finals Game 4 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

With back-to-back wins the Miami Heat have secured a 2-1 series lead in the 2012 NBA Finals. Game 3 was another impressive win for Miami, who have shown the resiliency to bounce back after the the going gets tough, which has been the major difference from last year. Oklahoma City cannot afford to lose their third game in a row in Game 4, if they do it will almost certainly be the end of their season.

Kevin Durant needs to find a way to stay aggressive on both ends of the floor without getting into foul trouble like he has the past two games. Durant is unstoppable on the offensive end of the court, he even told Dwayne Wade that he is too short to guard him. As dominating of a force that Durant is on offense, he is a liability on defense against Lebron James. James has changed the way he has played the past two games (both of them wins for Miami), and has decided to take the ball to the hole and has stopped settling for jump-shots. Durant is not strong enough to guard LeBron when he has this mindset (but neither is anyone on Earth), therefore the Thunder should put Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden on him. Neither of the two will be able to stop LeBron but it is a tradeoff the Thunder will have to accept because they need Durant on the floor at the end of the game. When Durant got his fourth foul in Game 3 he was forced to sit down in the third, which was the same time the Heat made their run that was ultimately the deciding factor.

NBA Finals Game 3 Prediction and Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat

The Miami Heat were able to hang on to Game 2 in Oklahoma City to tie the 2012 NBA Finals at one game each. An important thing to keep in mind is that the NBA Finals has a different game layout, due to travel difficulties, then the previous three rounds. Instead of playing in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, the Finals is in a 2-3-2 format, meaning in this series the first two games are at Oklahoma City then the next three are at Miami and the final two games (if necessary) will be back in Oklahoma City. This gives an advantage to the Thunder because even if they are down 2-3 the final two games are at the “Thunder Dome.”

Many are placing the Game 2 loss on Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, Stephen A. Smith and Magic Johnson even said it was the worst point guard play that they have ever seen in a Finals game. Magic must have forgot why people gave him the nickname “Tragic Magic” in the 1984 Finals against the Celtics. Westbrook’s stats for Game 2 are 27 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, a steal and only two turnovers! The problem that people are having is that Westbrook shoots too much, this is not breaking news because he has been doing this ever since he has been in the league. The Thunder had a better record in the regular season when Westbrook took more shots than Durant compared to when Durant shot more that Westbrook. This is just a classic case of people over reacting to a few possessions where Westbrook was out of control.

Celtics’ Future in Question: End of an Era?

When the Boston Celtics lost to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals the players and coaches knew that it may have been the end of era. With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen both being free agents this summer, next season’s team might have a completely different look.

The way point guard Rajon Rondo played this postseason makes it impossible to justify trading him, even with his attitude issues, because he is now considered as on of the best in the game at the point. Therefore the Celtics will try to build around him for the future. Paul Pierce still has multiple years left on his contract and even though rumors have spread about him being traded there is no way that Boston could get equal value for him. They would just be trading one of the greatest players in franchise history just for the sake of making a move (now that I think of it Danny Ainge has done that in the past…).

2012 NBA Finals Preview and Prediction: Thunder vs Heat

After a scare from the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat have moved on to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row. While the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached the Finals for the first since relocating (formerly the Seattle Supersonics), after they won the last four
games against San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder are a very young, but experienced, explosive team who, like the Heat, have three players that could be the primary scorer any given night. James Harden will have his hands full at the end of games when he will be forced to guard former Finals MVP Dwayne Wade. Russell Westbrook should be able to have his way on offense against Mario Chalmers, because even though he is an underrated defender he could not stay in front of Rondo in the ECF and Westbrook is a much better scorer (not passer though). After Chris Bosh’s huge performance in Game 7 he seems to have recovered from his abdominal strain, which is good for him because he will be matched up against one of the best blockers in the NBA in Surge Ibaka. The center position will be Kendrick Perkins against whoever Erick Spolstra decides to start that specific game.

The Clutchest Players in the NBA over the Past 20 Years

10) Carmelo Anthony- Melo has never had the chance to show off his talents late in the playoffs (which might be his fault) and you can say what you want about him as a teammate but when it comes to crunch time, he has ice in his veins.

9) Kevin Durrant- In a few years Durrant might be much higher on this list, he just hasn’t had enough big shots (in the playoffs) yet because he is so young. He will only to continue to get better and he already is arguably the best closer in the NBA.

8) Ray Allen- The best three-point shooter of all-time hit another big shot last night to put the game into overtime. It seems every time his team needs a bucket he steps up and delivers.

7) Dwayne Wade- Wade put on arguably the best one-man Finals show of all-time in 2006 vs the Mavericks and single handedly carried his team to victory after being down 0-2 in the series, for the first championship in Miami Heat history.

NBA Playoff Predictions: Eastern Confernce Finals

Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics: The Miami Heat dominated the Indiana Pacers with their two stars, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade taking over each of the final three games. The Celtics on the other hand, struggled to the beat the 8th seeded Philadelphia 76ers but finally finished Philly off in Game 7, after a heroic fourth quarter performance by all-star point guard Rajon Rondo. These teams also played one another last postseason with the Heat winning in 5, which saw as the passing of the torch in the East.

The Celtics looked to matchup well against the Heat earlier in the playoffs, but that was before Avery Bradley had season ending surgery to cure a dislocated shoulder. Bradley had success guarding Dwayne Wade during the regular season (Boston won season series three games to one). With no one to contain Wade and not a person on Earth that can stop LeBron James, the Celtics’ chances look slim.

NBA Playoff Predictions: Western Conference Finals

San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: This is the matchup everyone has been waiting for, and it will not disappoint. These two teams are very different but also have some striking similarities.

The Spurs are the “old” team with championship experience from their head coach on down. The Thunder on the other hand, have a young group of core players and a great young head coach in Scott Brooks. The Spurs have Tony Parker at point guard who will go up against fellow all-star Russell Westbrook. James Harden, of the Thunder, will have to go up against an older, carbon-copy of himself in Manu Ginolbli, they have each won Sixth Man of the Year (Harden won this year) and are even both left-handed. The Spurs do not have anyone to matchup against the best closer in the league, Kevin Durant, but neither does anyone else in the NBA. The Thunder have no-one capable of stopping future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan when he goes out for those elbow jumpers, because it will open up the lane for Ginobili and Parker.