NBA Finals

The NBA finals have kicked off with the Warriors from the Western conference and Raptors from the Eastern.  The Raptors led by Kawhi Leonard took game one with Leonard scoring 23 and Siakam adding 32. The Raptors proved that they are ready to play and already did better than the cavaliers last year.  They made a statement that they will not roll over and let the Warriors kill them in 4 games. The series will definitely be very entertaining and better than last year’s.  I still believe that the warriors will win in 6 or 7 games.  I really want to see the Raptors get the win and get their first finals as a franchise, but I think the Warriors have too much firepower.

2019 NBA Finals Preview and Prediction

Nba Playoffs Round Two part One ( maybe)

Round two of the nba playoffs is currently going on and the standings are currently, in the west,  Warriors hold a lead 2-0 over the Rockets, The Nuggets and Blazers are sitting at 1-1, and in the east, the Sixers and Raptors are tied 1-1 and the Bucks and Celtics are also tied 1-1. My prediction for the winners are, Nuggets, Raptors, Warriors and Bucks will advance to the next round. All of the series that are currently tied have good chances to get to game 7 and will bring a lot of great games with them. The Rockets are currently fighting and uphill battle and they may get swept but I think they will take it to at least five games.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/nba-playoffs-today-2019-live-scores-tv-schedule-thursday-round-2-games/smhyj4qh7k5y18mghtplbonis

Lillard vs Westbrook

The NBA playoffs have brought a lot of action and rivalries between players. One of the biggest is Westbrook and Lillard. They have been going back and forth all season talking trash and trying to get under each other’s skin. The playoffs have brought intensity and the two have been going at each other the whole time. The Blazers currently hold a 3-1 series lead over the Thunder and Lillard has been outplaying Westbrook all series. The Blazers have been outplaying the Thunder all series and look like they will move on to the second round.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/jenkins/article/Russell-Westbrook-vs-Damian-Lillard-is-the-13782966.php

Two Legends are Gone

Yesterday was the final game in the careers of both Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. They are two, well-respected legends of the game that will be missed.  Wade had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Nets, and the final assist went to longtime heat veteran and teammate of wade, Udonis Haslem. Dirk had 20 points and ten rebounds in his final game against the Spurs. Both players leave behind legacies that will go down in nba history including all star teams, all-nba selections, finals, and thousands of points and countless memories of the game.

https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2019/2/14/18224548/dwyane-wade-villain-dirk-nowitzki-dallas-mavericks-miami-heat-rivalry

 

Disappointing Lakers

The Lakers this year have been nothing short of a major disappointment. The only thing they accomplished was waste one year of Lebron’s four-year deal. He is not getting younger and their window with him closes every year they disappoint. They had to deal with many injuries , most notably Lebron who missed the most games of his career. Lonzo ball got injured in january and will miss the rest of the season.  Brandon Ingram will be shut down due to his arm. The other big mistake was trying to trade most of the team for Anthony Davis before the trade deadline very publicly and not doing it.  My guess is that the players they tried to trade got mad at management and didn’t try their hardest after the rumors surfaces and they didn’t get traded.

NBA fans crushed LeBron James and the Lakers after brutal loss to Grizzlies

MVP Race Part Two

The NBA MVP race has been an interesting one. The current top three candidates are Paul George, James Harden, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis is the current favorite as he leads he Bucks in everything and they are the top of the eastern conference.  James Harden has ben a scoring machine this season, no team can seem to stop him from scoring at least 25+ per game. The surprise has been Paul George’s play, he is the best player currently on the Thunder and the Thunder are playing well this year. My pick is Giannis and I can’t really see anyway he doesn’t win the award with the way he has been playing this season.

Image result for giannis antet

Giannis Antetokounmpo Shoots Down Idea Of Leaving Bucks To Chase Title With Lakers

Rookie of the Year Race

This NBA rookie class has been stacked from top to bottom. There are a ton of potential stars from the top of draft, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley 3, Jaren Jackson Jr, Trae Young and Luka doncic. The best this year has been Luka Doncic, and in my opinion he is the clear rookie of the year favorite. Trae Young has been on fire as of late putting up monster scoring numbers since the all-star break. Ayton is averaging a double-double and has under-the-radar been balling all season. Bagley and Jackson look like above average to all-star big men. The biggest steal has been Mitchell Robinson. He was the 33rd pick and is averaging a high amount of blocks even though he does not play as much as he should. Allonzo trier of the Knicks, he was undrafted and is also putting up numbers not typical of an undrafted rookie.  Like said earlier the clear winner of Rookie of the Year is Luka Doncic, he has been playing at an all-star level the entire season and he will only get better.

Image result for luka doncic

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/1/12/18179500/luka-doncic-highlights-timberwolves-clutch-nba-draft-european-bust

The Brooklyn Who?

As it currently stand he Brooklyn Nets are sitting at sixth place in the eastern conference. With their roster and the fact that they haven’t had their draft picks the last few years, this is extremely impressive. Their starting five includes D’Angelo Russell, Joe Harris,  Rodions Krucus, DeMarre Carroll and Jarrett Allen. That is not a lineup of a playoff contender, the lineup should be near the bottom of the conference, yet here they are. One name that wasn’t mentioned is Caris LaVert, he has played extremely well and if it weren’t for his injury earlier in the year, he would be in the running for the most improved player. I personally think that there finally is hope for the Nets for the first time in a little while.

Nets

http://www.espn.com/nba/team/depth/_/name/bkn

One Last Dance

Dwyane Wade is retiring this season. He will go down as one of the best shooting guards ever. He is also one of the best players to not win mvp. D-wade won finals mvp in his third season leading a good Heat team with Shaq over Dirk and the Mavericks. He won two more finals with Lebron and Bosh during the early 2010s. Unfortunately injuries to his knees mainly slowed him down later in his career and is part of the reason he is retiring this season. He has done multiple jersey swaps with players this year including Donovan Mitchell and is looked up to by many young players.

Image result for dwyane wade on jason williams jersey swap Wade with former teammate Jason Williams.

Video: Dwyane Wade Swaps Jerseys With Former Heat Guard Jason Williams

The Stupidest Trade Ever

In 2013 the Nets completed the worst trade ever with the Celtics. The trade included Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry to the Nets for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans, Kris Joseph and three unprotected first-round draft picks. The draft picks turned into Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and the third was part of the trade to get Kyrie Irving form the Cavaliers. While the Nets made the playoffs short term, the trade destroyed any hope of drafting any good young players.  The Celtics turned into title contenders while the Nets became part of the bottom of the NBA with no draft picks to build for the future.  While at the time the trade may have made some sense to the Nets who wanted a title push, even at the time the trade was being questioned. The Celtics went through a small rebuild period, but with three top picks they are not one of the better teams. The Nets got worse and worse and couldn’t draft and players in the lottery as they didn’t have any picks.

Image result for nets "superteam"

https://www.theringer.com/2016/7/22/16046606/what-is-a-superteam-anyway-5510c7610faf