Cavs vs. Magic

Tonight is Game 5 of the Magic, Cavs series and the Magic are looking to end it with a 3-1 lead in the series. Even though the Cavs hold the seasons best record history is against them right now. In the history of the NBA only 8 teams have comeback from a 3-1 deficit in over 190 attempts. So far LeBron has been doing his job, averaging 42 points a game, but the rest of the team needs to pick up the slack. The main problem has been the Cavs guards not knocking down open threes. Delonte West and Mo Williams were both 0-6 from beyond the arc in Game 4. So if they can start hitting the Cavs shouldnt be in bad shape. Another problem is the matchup at the 4 and 5 spot. The Cavs have not found a way to defend Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis because their big men arent fast enough. Ilgaskus is big enough to guard Dwight Howard but is almost too big becuase Dwight has been flying past him and dunking all over. Lewis has also been a headache because Varejao isnt use to having to go out and guard the three and would rather post up, while Rashard can do either.

Tie Breaker

Last night the Lakers broke the 2-2 tie against the Nuggets winning game 3 and gaining the lead in the series. They won 103-94 which in this series was almost like a blowout considering the first 3 games were all decided by 3 points or less (Game 4 was won by the Nuggets by 19). Last night was a good example of how evenly matched these two teams are because throughout the first 3 quarters they were tied at the end of each. The Lakers big men are who changed the game and the reason they took the game. These being Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol who owned the boards and changed a lot of shots. Game 6 will be in Denver tomorrow and i think that Denver will win again at home and send the series into a Game 7. If the Nuggets are to win they would have to see Camelo and Chauncy have big games not just one, like last night when Melo had 31 and Billups only had 12. Another key piece for them winning is J.R. Smith coming out and having a big game.

Blogging

When i first heard that we were going to be writing blogs in this class i wasnt too excited but didnt feel like it would be to bad considering we could choose whatever we wanted as a topic. When we started it was the begining of the football season so i chose to blog about the NFL. Then the blogging carried on through out the winter and past football season so i switched over to NBA basketball as you know. The hardest thing about this assignment was thinking up topics to write about every week and having them the right length. This is something that i wouldnt keep doing just because blogging doesnt interest me. I would rather be the one reading a blog than writing one. What i did get out of this assignment was a new way to find information, being other peoples blogs.

NBA Tonight

Tonight the Lakers and the Celtics are both looking to close out their series in Game 6 for both of them. I think that the Lakers are most likely to win their game tonight with the Rockets missing their best player Yao Ming. However, as this does sound bad for the Rockets they did take Game 4 from the Lakers without him when they blew LA out, but then they got blown out the next game by about 30 points. Another thing that the Lakers have going for them is having one the best players in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. If the Rockets are to force a Game 7 tonight Artest and Battier are going to need to have big games and show alot of leadership with Yao being out. In the other series left, Boston v. Orlando, i think that the Celtics should pull off a victory tonight. The number one reason is because they are the NBA defending champions right now and are so until beaten. They also have a lot of experience which should help them in later games of the series. I also like the momentum that the Celtics have coming into this game with a buzzer beater win in Game 5 compliments of Glen "Big Baby" Davis. However, the Celtics are going to need to come to play and Paul Pierce is going to need to have a big game and take the big shots. The Magic however are a tough team and can come out shooting any night and also have the defensive player of the year in Dwight Howard.

Nuggets Man Handle Mavs

Last night the Nuggets closed out their series with Mavs in 5 games with a 124-110 victory. This is the first time Denver has reached the Western Conference Finals since 1985 and only the third time in franchise history. This is also Chauncy Billups 7th consecutive conference finals appearance and is only one of 5 players ever to do so since 1970. Billups has been a key part of the Nuggets domination over the series which they won 4-1 with the one loss coming by only 2 points. In last nights game he dropped 28 points only to be out done by Carmelo who had 30 points. Melo also had a shot in the 4th quarter that pretty much sealed the deal for Nuggets. With 2 seconds left on the shot clock and about 9 minutes in the game left, Melo hit a three pointer from about 26 feet out and then the Mavs got a technical on the same play which brought the game to a 10 point lead instead of 6. This killed the hopes of the Mavs and brought all the momentum to the Nuggets. The game high however came from Dirk Nowitski who had 32 points and averaged a crazy 34 points and 11.6 rebounds in the series and also shooting over 54 percent. J.R. Smith also had another big game for the Nuggets off the bench scoring 18 and finally starting to get some credit around the league.

Cavs Sweep

Last night the Caveliers took out the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 sweeping them in four games. The Cavs are now 8-0 this year in the post season. Cleveland dominate this game like they had the rest of the series with the Hawks. A large part of the win last night was the poor shooting of Atlanta who were 2-13 from behind the arc and 23-73 shooting overall. The Cavs also dominated the boards grabbing 48 rebounds, 15 being offensive rebounds, while the Hawks only had 33 rebounds. The rebounding for the Cavs was led by Anderson Varejoa with 11 and Ilgauskas who had 10 rebounds. On the otherside of the ball, the Cavs were led in scoring by LeBron James with 27 points and 8 assists. LeBron also got help from his two guards Delonte West who had 21 points and Mo Williams who scored 14. For the Hawks, Josh Smith led the team in scoring with 26 points followed by Joe Johnson who had 18 points. Having swept the first two series the Cavaliers have an even better chance to make a run and win the playoffs with a lot of rest. However the last time a team started out the playoffs 8-0 since they were changed to best of seven game series, the 2003 Miami Heat, they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Top Seed Falls in Game 1

Last night the Rockets took an early lead in the series against the number one ranked Lakers, beating them 100-92. This ended the Rockets drought of losing to the Lakers in the regular season, so now they are 1-4 against them this season. The game was pretty close all the way through even until the last few seconds of the game but the Lakers missed a few key shots and gave up some easy baskets that led to the Rockets victory. Kobe had a game high 32 points with 22 of those coming in the fourth quarter. Although he had a game high he shot 14-31 in a losing effort and the Lakers are now 2-7 in the playoffs when Kobe shoots more than 30 times. The Rockets were led in scoring by Yao Ming with 28 points and 10 rebounds. The had a scare in the fourth quarter when Yao and Bryant collide with their knees and Yao had to be helped off the court but then came back within minutes to help lead the Rockets to a well needed victory. Ron Artest also had a big game with 21 points, twelve of them coming in the first half which was a game high at that point. The young point guard for Houston, Aaron Brooks, also played a good game scoring 19 points for the Rockets.

Nuggets Continue to Dominate

Last night in game one against Dallas the Denver Nuggets continued to roll in the playoffs after their 4-1 series win against the Hornets. They beat the Mavericks 109-95, extended their win streak over them to 5-0. They also extended their home game winning streak to 14 wins in a row. The Nuggets were led in scoring by Nene with 24 points which was a career high for him and the first time a Nuggets center has scored 20 points in a playoff game since 1994 when Dikembe Mutumbo did it. Carmelo Anthony also had a great game going 7-10 shooting, which was his best shooting percentage in a plyoff game in his career, and 23 points. Dirk Nowitski had the game high with 28 points. A big part of the Nuggets win last night was their defense, which you usually dont associate with the Nuggets, which forced 20 turnovers and kept them in the game until they blew away to a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter. Some standouts from the bench from the Nuggets were J.R. Smith and Chris "Birdman" Anderson. "Birdman" had six big blocks in Game 1 after having nine in the whole series against the Hornets. J.R. Smith had 15 points and was instruemental in their run in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Bulls push Game 7

Last night the Bulls pulled off another victory over the top seeded Celtics in a triple over time thriller, 128-127. Last night marked the 7th overtime period of the series which set an NBA record for most overtime periods in a playoff series, beating the previous record of four. The Celtics, Ray Allen, also had a record setting night scoring 51 points which tied for the 2nd most in Celtic franchise history. Rajon Rondo also tied the franchise record, along with Bob Cousy, for most assists in a playoff game with 19. On the other side of the ball John Salmons led the Bulls in scoring with 35 points, which was a playoff game high for him. Derrick Rose also added 28 points 8 rebounds and 7 assists on the winning effort. The Bulls have now forced a game 7 in a series that everyone expected the Celtics to win easily. However, going into Boston for game 7 will be hard and i think that the Celtics should pull it out in a close one with home court advantage. I would like to see the rookie Derreck Rose lead his team into the second round since he has had such a good series for such a young man and will soon be a vital part of the Bulls franchise.