Playoff Post-Play

The Playoffs are done, and the NBA is is not returning until late October to start the 2011-12 season. With the Mavs having taken the title this year, defeating the Miami Heat in the process, I'd just like to comment on this series as a whole.

The series went 6 games, which is something the NBA world should be used to in this situation. In 2006, it was actually the Heat and the Mavs that met up in the finals, except back then it was the Heat who were victorious. This time around, the Mavs won it all in 6.

It's odd too many people because a team with players at the level of Dwyane Wade, who won the title in 06', and Lebron James, it was almost a guarantee they had the title, especially with all the hype of the off-season.

But I believe that the outstanding play of both Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry really was the difference maker. Dirk has grown and become undoubtedly one of the best clutch players, as well as possibly the best international player the game has ever seen. And the bench play of Jason Terry is just amazing. Scoring at high rates, as well as in the clutch with Dirk, he was probably the most underrated player on the Mavs, while at the same time always having a sense of "you better respect me and defend, or I'm gonna drop the shot in your face". And not just from a scoring aspect, he made great passes and plays that were crucial in games that led to victories.

When game 6 was being played, something happened that needs to be addressed. It doesn't even have much to do with the game itself, but here's what happened. Eddie House of the Miami Heat had just made a 3-pointer, and then a time out was called. When that happened, Deshawn Stevenson of the Mavs and Udonis Haslem got into a bit of a scuffle, which resulted in players having to stop a possible fight from breaking out between the two players, and then also led to a technical foul on the Mavs, and 2 given to the Heat.

This was unnecessary and unsportsman like behaviour to witness. Game 6, a title game for the Mavs and an elimination game for the Heat, people would assume that players would be focused on the game, and "intense" obviously, but not in this respect.

In short, the Heat fell short early on and faced the consequences of the Mavericks becoming champions.

Now It's Set

This is just a quick update considering I only finished my last blog a day ago.

The NBA finals is officially set to be the Dallas Mavericks of the Western Conference to face off against the Miami Heat of the Eastern conference.

This means that each team is the champion of their own respective conference... but who is going to be the team to be the league champion?

If memory serves right, then it will be the Miami Heat to win the title, and it is a tough argument for sure. Wade, Lebron, Bosh and the healthy Udonis Haslem is a strong line, but the Mavericks won't go down without a fight.

The Mavericks lost to the Heat a few years ago in the NBA finals, were Dywane Wade led his team to the title. He since then has recruited some more talent, but so has Dallas.

You should already know my stand on Dirk and the Mavs, and I still hope that they win, not only because I favor them, but because Dirk doesn't have a championship ring. He won the NBA MVP in 2007, but has not gotten to be named on a championship team.

Dirk has been phenominal, and I can't wait to see how this series turns out.

With all the talent on these two teams, I wouldn't be surprised if it went to all 7 games to decide the winner.

NBA Finals?

So, I was right and wrong about a few things this post season.

Derrick Rose is the league's MVP for the 2010-11 season, and the youngest in history.

The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat (seeds 1 and 2) are in the Eastern Conference finals.

But, neither the Los Angeles Lakers, or the San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference finals. Both the number 1 and 2 seeds are out, and the 3rd and 4th seeds are in the race for west supremacy.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks are battling it out right now, and I did not see this coming.

The Thunder weren't thought as a playoff team because of how young the team is, but they have rose over the adversity and have said "why not be a playoff contender?".

Mavs fans are overjoyed this year, finally having a solid playoff run, and the outstanding play of Drik Nowitzki is definently making it hard to ignore the large possibility that this spuad of players can win it all this year.

After 4 games already played in the west finals, OKC is down 3 games to 1, and would need to win 3 games in a row to knock off the Mavericks. The defensive and offensive intensity that this team has is too great for OKC to handle in my opinion, because the depth they have on the entire roster is amazing. Oklahoma has 2 prominent offensive options in Russel Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Sixth man James Harden as well, but still not enough.

Kevin Durant has led the league in scoring the past 2 seasons... and he's only 22.

But OKC being young and actually one of my favorite teams, I think the Mavericks have offensive and defensive firepower on the starting line and the bench that beats out the thunder.

Going to the East, the Bulls and Heat series is moving along with the Heat at a 3 games to 1 advantage.

For a Bulls fan like myself, it pains me to say this, but the Miami Heat are going to beat Chicago in the East. This is due to the fact the series is best of 7, and Chicago would need to win the next 3 games to beat out the heat, while Miami needs 1 win. I don't think any team in history has come back from a 3-1 deficit.

When a team has the talents of Dwyane Wade and Lebron James on the same team, with a complimentary third option in former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh, the offense alone is too much for the Bulls to handle. Three all-stars on one team is too much for one on the Bulls, even if that all-star is the MVP.

So with Oklahoma and Chicago down 3-1 in each series, it looks as if the NBA finals is going to between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.

Though I like the Miami Heat (not as much as the Bulls), I am on the side for the Dallas Mavericks to win the title. It's a personal opinion of mine, and I believe that it is possible. Regardless of who wins that series, it is going to be an exciting one to watch.

The Heat have their own spark in Wade and Lebron, but the Mavericks Drik Nowitzki has an advantage in this series. Dirk plays at the power forward position, and the two power forwards that the Heat use most is their Starter in Chris Bosh and the back-up Udonis Haslem.

Drik has thrived in the post-season this year. His offense is clicking at such a high level, nobody is really able to guard him or block his shots. In the OKC series right now, he's got great defensive players (Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison) guarding him every game, and he is still making his shots. And when he gets double teamed, Dirk has no problem passing the ball to the open man.

Chris Bosh is all offense, and most of the time, he only contributes 18 points per game. He'll get a block here and there. And he gets rebounds... on the defensive end. Not very impressive, plus lebron james, who plays small forward, tends to get the same amount or more rebounds than Bosh does in most games.

Bottom line, Bosh has a lack in defense that Dirk is going to take advantage of. Even if the Heat put Lebron on him, who occasionally plays the 4 spot, Dirk has height, length and shot form over him. Drik Nowitzki is about 7 feet tall, his arms are long, and a majority of the time when he shoots, he brings the ball very high up AND fades away.

And the Mavs bench is, again, much better than the Heats overall, and probably one of the best in the NBA. Jason Terry is their sixth man, and he'll make guards like James Jones and Mike Bibby looks foolish.

To cap it off, a nice series to come. I hope Dallas wins, but don't count out the Heat.

So the question is: Dallas or Miami?

Top Teams, What do the Playoffs Hold?

So the NBA regular season is coming to an end, and the playoffs are right around the corner. The playoff picture itself is set, and the regular season standings arent about to change drastically with only about 1 game left for every team in the regular 82 game season.

The 2010-11 season has not dissappointed, if anything, it surprised everyone.

Teams made combacks, some fell, trades were made, good and bad, young teams rose, and pride was restored to some of the biggest franchises in NBA history.

Two of the biggest success stories for this year have to be the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls. Both teams have stepped up their game this year, and are the top teams in their conferences and subsequently, the top 2 teams in the NBA.

The Spurs were having the best start of the year this season, holding onto the best record in the entire NBA for virtually the season, and will most likely end it that way. To be fair, the Spurs have been a very consitent playoff team for the past decade, winning 4 championships during that time, but this season everyone saw a change.

Tim Duncan gets less touches, but the teams offense takes a step forward?

The Spurs have been known for their defence in the past, but now have incorporated probably the best offensive play the team has seen in a long time, while keeping the same old intenisty on the other end of the court. It will be nice to see if the trio of Parker, Duncan and Ginobili, can lead their team to another championship, and each of their own 5th championship ring.

Maybe they can also add some exciting plays so that people know who they are.

And now, the Chicago Bulls. I'm not even going to deny it, but I think that the biggest reason for their success this year has to be the improvement in play for 22 year old point guard Derrick Rose. The Bulls have made the playoffs for the past 3 years, since Rose was drafted to the NBA. But the Bulls were always sliding in their, never among the elite teams, let alone the top of the conference.

With Rose establishing a more than decent jumper and 3-point shot, his offense has become more versatile, and not just fantastic drives to the bucket.

Chicago has also been without their top 2 big men in Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer for about a combined 45 games this season. The injuries looked to end the Bulls season early, but Rose took leadership of the team, and has led them to their first 60+ win season since the Jordan Era.

Derrick Rose is also the top candidate for regular season MVP this year. He is the only player in the NBA who is in the top 10 of scoring and assists (24 PPG and 8 APG).

If he wins it, he will also be the youngest player in NBA history to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.

Moving onto the playoff picture, here are the top 4 seeds in the Eastern and Western conference:

East: (1) Chicago Bulls, (2) Miami Heat, (3) Boston Celtics, (4) Orlando Magic

West: (1) San Antonio Spurs, (2) Los Angeles Lakers, (3) Dallas Mavericks, (4) Oklamhoma City Thunder

There is no doubt that one of these teams will be leaving the post season with a trophy and some rings. Personally, the Bulls are my favourite east team, and my favourite overall to win.

The problem is, I don't see them going all the way. I would love to see that happen, but nobody has seen how far the Bulls are capable of going in the post season. They haven't gotten past the 1st round of the playoffs in the 3 years with Rose, and though they have improved immensly over the past year, they have alot to prove.

With that said, the playoffs are a completely different game than the regular season.

This is proved as recently as last year. The Cleveland Cavaliers, with Lebron James, had the best record in the NBA, but were taken out of the playoffs quickly by the Boston Celtics. Lebrons gone to Miami now, and Boston has been struggling lately, but how well they will play in the post season is a different conversation I don't want to get into.

The Los Angeles Lakers went in as a good team last season, but had late season struggles. They had a losing record over their last few games, and did not have the best record in the Western Conference either.

But they have won the NBA Championship for 2 years straight.

Being optimistic, the Bulls are still my favourite pick for playoff success. I do see the Bulls possibly sneaking in, but I believe that the east championship will go to the Heat. They have overcome most of their chemistry problems, and their antagonistic foes the Boston Celtics are looking bad after loosing Kendrick Perkins in a trade to OKC.

The Orlando Magic, I don't see at all because they have Dwight Howard, and that's about it. The Magic are a roster of over payed players that are good, but aren't as good in my eyes as they are portrayed. Plenty of veterans that are fairly consistent, but out of their prime.

And with Dwight Howard having alot of foul issues, regular and technical, I could see Dwight getting in trouble, if not ejected, in the playoffs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will see a championship one day, but it seems to far out of reach for such a young team with not enough experience.

The Mavericks always make it to the playoffs, but almost always get kicked out during the first round, and don't make too much noise if they get to the second. Their playoffs success is not endearing.

And the Boston Celtics have lost their intensity, and identity. Kendrick Perkins didn't get to play in the playoffs due to injury last year, but he is a very supportive teammate, and when he got traded before the deadline this year, the Celtics have lost their strength in the post, as well as their identity and fire as a team.

In the West I see the Spurs or Lakers getting the championship because they are proven title contenders that can finish and win it all. It comes down to how much they really want the championship this year.

My NBA finals predictions are:

Bulls vs. Spurs

or

Heat vs. Lakers

But again, the playoffs are a different game, that can be very surprising.

At this point, any team has a chance at glory.