NBA Finals Game 1: Kevin Durant

The Game 1 of the NBA Finals has concluded. The OKC Thunder took Game 1 and made a major statement along the way. The OKC Thunder was trailing all the way until the 3rd Quarter. Kevin Durant exploded and never looked back.

He was unstoppable, he was on fire!
No one can stop the guy, not even Lebron James. Perhaps the argument that this guy is unguardable is actually true.

Another thing about the game is OKC Thunder's defense on the 2nd Half. They were throwing help defense here and there that Lebron and Wade had a hard time draining their shots.

There's nothing much to talk about as this is just game 1. To summarize it all, the Heat had the lead until Durant started working to get his team the lead. There's still a lot of games to go so and the format of the NBA Finals (2-3-2) is so tricky that the OKC Thunder can't lose any of their home games in my opinion.

Miami Heat Advances to the NBA Finals

The Miami Heat does it again. That's 2 straight now. They did not dominate all game long but they sure did when it matters most. Lebron is really coming through for the Heat. Perhaps this is the Lebron that all the Miami fans want to see. All of that question will be answered on the next games.

As for the Boston Celtics, Rondo really did everything in his capacity. He had a trible-double. Out rebounded even some of the big guys on his team. To make it clear, Rondo now is the team's superstar. Which also means that the supporting cast is not good enough any more. Like the Lakers, the Celtics may have to make some drastic changes in order to get back to championship form.

I got to congratulate the Heat for winning with a collective effort and for heading to the NBA finals. Wade and Bosh also showed up. Unlike in game 6, Wade scored 17 points but I didn't notice any of them.

Anyway, the NBA Finals will definitely be interesting to say the least. There are a lot of questions going ahead. Like who will prevail? James or Durant? Will Chalmers be able to stop Westbrook? Will Wade man up against the beard? This match is gonna be one for the ages.

The Los Angeles Lakers and The Reason Behind Their Early Exits

I am a big fan of the Lakers because of many things. First, because of the Purple and Gold. I don't think there's any other team that plays at home wearing jerseys other than white. Although the Lakers have an alternate white jersey, the gold is just better for the Lakers.

Secondly, the Lakers is one of the most successful franchise in NBA history. They have 16 titles in their resume. The second most in NBA history.

Now I could go on with all of these but I don't want to bore my readership so I'll just cut straight to the chase.

As we all know, the Lakers in recent years have been eliminated early in the Playoffs. Last year, they lost to the Mavs in an ugly fashion. This year they were defeated by the Thunder. Both times in the Western Semi Finals. Needless to say, the Lakers aren't as good as they were during their back to back championship reigns.

There are many things to point out on why this has happened.

Kobe Bryant Needs To Grow As An Effective Leader

As we all know Kobe is the closest thing to Michael Jordan. The only thing that I think is different is his way of leadership. While Jordan seems to inspire his team mates back in Chicago, Kobe sometimes tend to make his team mates look uninterested and weak. Just look at Bynum at times, playing with no energy and enthusiasm. Then there's Pau Gasol, always talking to Kobe like a kid who wants to get his father's recognition. Yes Kobe is a great scorer, and once the best in the league but in this stage of his career, he needs to once again evolve into another kind of player.

Andrew Bynum Needs To Be Patient

I am pretty sure that Between Bynum and Kobe, there's an ego battle going on. It's like Shaq and Kobe dispute all over again. Though this time, Kobe takes Shaq's place while Bynum takes Kobe's place. Kobe is an ageing leader and his talents are declining while Bynum is a surging young man who still continues to develop. Given the facts, I would say that Bynum already wants to take over the team. But he needs to be patient. It will come sooner than later.

Ramon Sessions Needs To Evolve

We can all see that Ramon Sessions can play. He has the skills and the moves on the court. The only thing is that he lacks the knack on defense. Needless to say, Ramon Sessions though maybe not as fast as Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose can evolve into another kind of player. That's if he works hard enough.

Bring the Nasty In!

We heard it from Coach Popovich. Now the Lakers need to do the same. In recent years, I have never seen the Lakers play with enormous intensity. The only moment where I've seen it is in the dying minutes of Game 7 Finals, between them and the Celtics. They played with so much passion and intensity, they're gang rebounding and everything was in sync that the Boston Celtics had no answers to throw back to the Lakers. It was a really special moment. Setting that aside, the Lakers needs to be that team especially when it comes to the Playoffs. They need a presence, something that could spark the nasty. The good news is that they already have it in them, and his name is Metta World Peace. Metta, back in the days when he was still Ron Artest has a  lot of nasty in him. Whether the fans like it or not, I think he should bring his nasty back so that the Lakers could release the nasty out.

That's it for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the concluding game 7 between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.

The Big Three Trend

The Boston Celtics are the first one to do it in recent years. The effort was not wasted as they were able to win a championship in the process.

Then, Miami was the next team to sign players to form another big three. Now this is too much of a coincidence, on the West when Duncan was 23 he lead the Spurs to a championship. Now, Durant is 23 and he's leading the Thunder. It's like he passed the torch to Durant. On the East, we have Boston, the first team to form the big three and then Miami another big three. If Miami wins on Game 7, we can simply say that the Celtics have passed down the torch to the Heat. If not, then Boston's big three still has something left to prove.

The OKC's big three is  a different story. Thunder didn't wait for free agency, the Thunder management drafted all of this three guys. And now, they're dominating the Western Conference. Will they be able to dominate the NBA as well?

NBA Eastern Conference Finals: It All Comes Down to One

That's got to be it for Game 6. The game is not over yet but the lead is too large. Lebron was awesome and Boston didn't look like they are trying anything to cut the lead.

Paul Pierce did not play well, Ray Allen is still hurting, Garnett didn't have the fire. The "Hanging in there" scenario didn't work tonight. I have watched the Boston Celtics play, especially when they are against the Los Angeles Lakers. If I am to compare the intensity they had today compared to those (NBA Finals) games, I would say that they're far away from what they used to be. In short, nothing is clicking for them tonight. Not even the calls.

I'm just going to say that Game 6 was the best chance they could ever have to close out the game. They should have done everything to stop Lebron. But instead, they are heading back to Miami for Game 7. All things are pointing Miami going in to Game 7. They have Chris Bosh back in rotation and is playing pretty nice, they also have the home court advantage and lastly the momentum from tonight's win which is I think the most important factor.

But the doors are not closed for the Celtics just yet, they were able to take a win away from home and with everything on the line, Game 7 will surely get the best out of the Celtics.

At The Half: Boston VS Heat Game 6

The first half of Game 6 between Boston and Miami ha concluded. There have been a few technicals called early but since then, the game has go on smoothly.

Highlight of the First Half

The highlight would be Lebron going to work early. Carrying his team most of the time. Scoring 30 points on 2 quarters. He is hitting everything, post ups, fade away shots and dunks. He's going to work as early as possible to set the tone and probably (and this is just my assumption) to avoid clutch situations in the 4th. Cause let's be honest, no one man likes pressure. Except if you are just a fan watching like me.

Wade has yet to be seen. Can I actually say that the Flash has become the Hollow Man? Not quite yet, we still have 24 minutes before we can call anything.

As for Boston, it was Rajon Rondo carrying the load. Shooting layups and passing to team mates, it's the classic Rajon Rondo we all know. There are just so many things to this guy, I look at this guy while he handle the ball and it seems that he's just chilling at one time then suddenly he already made a lay up. 

Boston in my opinion is playing the "hang in there" scenario again. They would play their game for the first 30 minutes of the game and then the rest of the way they'll increase the intensity up a notch and take the win. Let's see how this strategy plays up in this game.

Questions Before The Second Half

1. Will the Flash be able to get his groove back?
2. Will we see the Truth reveal himself right before our eyes?
3. Will Lebron play big late in the game?
4. Will Ray Allen do something spectacular on the second half?

I'm out. Be back for the end game review of this very game, soon.

OKC Thunder Heading To NBA Finals

 

So the Thunder advances to the finals. As much as I hate it (because they also defeated the Lakers), I gotta say that they have without a doubt proven that youth is better than experience. Most people would assume that speed is the deal when someone mentions the Thunder team and its youth. However as I saw the game that transpired earlier today, it seems that the "youth" does not only pertain to speed.

When speaking about youth and the Thunder team, we're talking about the hustle, the hunger and the desire to win. The Thunder made the Spurs look like an old helpless team in the fourth quarter. It looked like the spurs didn't knew what they were doing, very much different from what they are during their 20+ games run before losing four straight games to the Thunder. 

 If all of my future predictions goes well, we'll be seeing The OKC Thunder against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. I can't say that the same thing will happen to the Celtics because they're old and slow. The Celtic team are very resilient and they are proving it right now. Anyway, we'll see what happens in the near future. 2-3 days tops. 

Tune in tomorrow for the Game 6 Miami VS Boston Review.