Thursday, June 6, 2013

Why Lebron James and the Miami Heat will be 2013 NBA Champions.

A clean slate. Back to zero. West vs. East. Big Three vs. Big Three. Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.


A year ago, I wrote about why the Miami Heat will be the 2012 NBA Champions, and indeed I was right. Now, I am back to give you reasons as to why I think the Miami Heat will win it all against the San Antonio Spurs and become 2013 NBA Champions.

1. Miami's Pick-and-roll defense (and whole defensive scheme in general) - San Antonio's main weapon is the Pick-and-Roll. They do it almost in perfection that they can do it in their sleep, but, Miami has the #1 Pick-and-Roll defense in the league. They can slide and switch as fluidly the Spurs team executes it. They have the proverbial switch that they can turn on whenever they want to. If not defended well, Spur's pick-and-roll opens up a number of possibilities on offense.

2. Miami can sell fouls - Yes, you call it flopping, I call it selling. Have you seen how Tony Parker molested the Grizzlies defense by running through a number of screens before pulling up for an open J, driving for a layup and/or passing to a number of teammates? Yes, run through perfection. The Spurs uses the screen as main weapon since they really can't out-muscle and out-speed all the teams in the NBA, but if you look closely, some of their screens are 'moving', Memphis was just too tough to act out a foul or an illegal screen. Miami can sell illegal screens like a hot girl on a bikini sells burnt hotcakes. It will be a big factor if they can get Duncan and Splitter in foul trouble as that would mean the Spurs will have Diaw as the Center and Blair/Bonner at Power Forward. This time, Miami can go with their main weapon, playing small ball.

3. Defense on Tony Parker - Yes, stopping Tony Parker is one of the main priority and the Heat just has the weapons to stop Tony unlike other teams. Aside from Miami able to sell fouls, they have Mario Chalmers, a big and bruising PG who is deceptively quick that can man up on Tony. Then they also have Norris Cole, a quick guard who can stay on his feet against Tony. Take note, Tony is still an elite PG who can find ways to score, but at least Miami has 2 PGs who can slow him down in stretches.

4. Bosh and DWade's resurrection - Yes the Miami Heat still has the Big Three no matter how lackluster their performance have been in the Eastern Conference Finals. Against the Spurs, Bosh and DWade will not need to worry about match-up discrepancies. Bosh had a problem with Hibbert's size, defense and offense. Wade, hampered by a knee injury, was guarded by a pesky, big and bruising Lance Stephenson. Against the Spurs, Wade will only be guarded by Ginobili/Danny Green where he will match-up better and he can take advantage of. Bosh, will now only have a problem with the craftiness of Splitter and Duncan (and that is not in anyway disrespecting Duncan's D or Splitter's)

5. Lebron James - This match-up is really to hard to call as Spurs have the edge in the Coaching Department and they also have a deeper bench. But where does the best basketball player on the planet play? Lebron and Duncan met in the 2007 Finals, where Lebron's Cavs were swept. 6 years later, they meet again, now Duncan and the whole Spurs team will have to deal with an even better Lebron. Not the jump-shooting athletic freak they met in '07, but a smarter, more efficient player. Who in the Spurs roster will stop/guard Lebron? No one. The closest player who can slow him down is Kawhi Leonard, the long and lanky talented forward from the Spurs. But can he last 48 minutes of banging, chasing and guarding Lebron while not spending 6 fouls? If this was the 2007 version of Lebron, all the Spurs need to do is to force him to shoot jumpers (he shot 36% from the perimeter and 20% from the 3-pt line during the series), but you can't do that in the 2013 version of Lebron.

Also, Lebron has had enough of losing.

So who do you got? I got Heat in 6. :)
Monday, June 11, 2012

Why Lebron James and the Miami Heat will be 2012 NBA Champions.

The Decision. The Big Three. 2011 Playoffs then the 2011 Finals. The 4th Quarter choke. They failed to bag the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy falling against a hungrier Dallas Mavericks team.

So another season went on. As expected, they faced adversity but lesser criticism as the season before. Wins (and losses) piled up as the lockout-shortened 2012 NBA Season progressed then the 2012 NBA Playoffs came. First the Knicks, then the hungry Pacers who gave them a really good scare, then the Boston Celtics who was the toughest test needing them 7 games to dispose of the proud champions.

The Miami Heat are back in the Finals

 Now the stage is set. Miami Heat is back in the NBA Finals. Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder. Who will will it all? Here is why the MIAMI HEAT will win the 2012 NBA Championship :

1. The BIG Three. Yes the Big THREE and not two. James, Wade and Bosh have been franchise players in their past teams and they know how to carry a team in their back if they want to. This year, they have looked really good on the court together unlike the first year they teamed up.

2. Defense. If you think Oklahoma is a better defensive team because they have Sefolosha, Perkins and Ibaka then you thought wrong. The Miami Heat is 4th in Defensive Efficiency allowing just 97.1 points per 100 possesions behind Chicago (1), Boston (2) and Philadelphia (3). The Heat also has Lebron James who is part of the NBA All-Defensive Team who can guard any position from 1-5. Ibaka is part of that team too but for now, he is just a very good shot-blocker but not a great on-ball defender like James and Shane Battier.

3. They've had enough failures. The reason why the Big Three teamed up is because despite all their individual greatness, they have always failed in the postseason, Wade being the only player to have won an NBA Championship in 2006. Lebron has been there twice, getting swept by the Spurs in 2007 and "choking" against the Dallas Mavericks last year. Bosh, has never had the chance to even reach the Finals before joining the Heat. We're pretty sure they had enough of these failures and want "NBA Champion" added to their resume.

4. Chris Bosh. I did mention about the Big Three but these three players are each so good individually that they can impact the game on their own. How did the Miami Heat look while Bosh was out with an abdominal strain? Well, they lost 2 in a row against the Indiana Pacers (one at home) and almost looked like they were going to be eliminated with the Celtics up 3-2 (Bosh returned during Game 5 but played limited minutes but was effective enough). He also hit 3/4 3-point shots during the deciding Game 7.

5. Dwayne Wade. 2006 NBA Champion. 2006 NBA Finals MVP. Wade has been the franchise' face since '03 and he has proven time and again his heart to win it all. His talent coupled with his will to win has been Wade's main weapon. Though averaging 22.9 points per game this offseason, Wade has struggled in some games specially against the Pacers in Game 3 going 2 for 13 in the field and a bad shooting first half against the Celtics. Luckily, the only good guard defender in the Thunder lineup is Sefolosha (maybe Westbrook) and that should be a sign for Wade to shoot or take it hard to the rim and avoid bad shots.

6. LEBRON JAMES! I had to write it in all capital letters with an exclamation point for the emphasis. The reigning NBA MVP (and you can argue that Kevin Durant deserved it but James deserved it more) has faced criticism much of his career specially after joining the Miami Heat. Even with all these distractions, James has continued his stellar play in the regular season then even showing he deserved the MVP Crown by performing this well in the Playoffs. Honestly, who the hell in the OKC Thunder lineup can guard and shutdown Lebron James, all 6'9" 260lbs of Lebron James? Durant is too lanky and will get out-muscled by James. Ibaka? No, he will get outplayed and outsmarted and if ever he will guard James, other players will have a hard time containing Bosh. Collison and Perkins? They are too slow. James is by far the best advantage the Miami Heat has against the OKC Thunder linuep. He is a defensive and offensive machine. He can guard anybody from Westbrook to Durant to Perkins (not as if he needs to guard Perkins).

7. The Time is NOW! Bosh, Wade and James are all in their prime and you only last for so long. This year is the year they need to win. If they won't, it will be another disappointing year added to a long list. They will play in a sense of urgency. Westbrook and Durant, though good players, need another 2-3 years of maturing before they can kiss the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The Time is NOW HEAT! NOW!

So there it is. I have presented you with the reasons why Lebron James and the Miami Heat will be 2012 NBA Champions.

What are your thoughs?
Monday, June 13, 2011

Lebron James took his talents to South Beach and failed

The Larry O'brien Trophy.
This is just a very disappointing day, specially for a Lebron James fan like me.

When Lebron made "The Decision" to take his talents to South Beach to team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, they made a super team bound to make a run for the championship and the NBA trophy.

And they did make the run for the crown finishing 2nd in the Eastern Conference and dispatching the Philadephia 76ers, Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Playoffs to reach the 2011 NBA Finals.

Meeting them in the 2011 NBA Finals is the Dallas Mavericks, who also carved their way for the crown finishing 3rd in the Western Conference and dismantling the Portland Trailblazers, sweeping the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and shutting the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The series was set with Miami being a clear favorites to win the Larry O'brien Trophy. The series saw Miami leading the series 2-1 but the Dallas Mavericks proved to be a very resilient team as what they have showed in their series against the Blazers, Lakers and Thunder. 4th quarter runs after another, Dallas proved to be a harder nut to crack than they looked.

Dallas' bench delivered when Dirk needed the help. Jason Terry walked his talked as he really needed to back up his mouth. Stevenson, Barea, Marion and Kidd delivering some timely shots and Chandler making stops and taps when needed.


(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Lebron James had good games but GOOD is not good enough for a man as dominating as Lebron James. If possible, I would have wanted him to dominate the ball almost as much as he dominated the ball in Cleveland, maybe, just maybe, he may have been more effective.

Miami's Big Three (Lebron, Wade and Bosh) still has 5 years left on the 6-year contract they signed this summer. They still have 5 more chances to make a run for the title and if the 2011 NBA Finals was any sign of years to come, it is that Miamis' Big Three needs to bring it every night out and the bench needs to deliver.


Congratulations, Dallas. You deserved it.
Congratulations, Dallas Mavericks. It's your crown now. Hold on tight.
Thursday, June 2, 2011

NBA Finals Game 1: Miami Heat Prevails; SHAQ Retires

Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals has started with the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat competing for the Larry O'Brien trophy.

The 2011 NBA Finals is more like a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals that saw the Mavs going on a 2-0 lead but eventually losing to the Miami Heat in 6 games with Dwayne Wade and Shaq guiding the Heat to every victory. Of course, the 2011 NBA Finals is different with both teams very much beefed up. The Heat (Wade and Haslem left from the 2006 team) and Mavs (Nowitzki, Terry and Barea left from the 2006 team) having made big acquisition for the past 2 years (the Miami Heat revamped only this year with the 2010 Free Agency).

Game 1 saw a battle for every possession with Dallas holding the Heat to 39 percent shooting, Miami’s second-worst showing of the playoffs but the Mavericks shot 37 percent—by far, their worst night of the postseason offensively. Miami also outrebounded Dallas 46-36.

Dallas led 17-16 after the first quarter, which was the lowest two-team output in the first quarter of Game 1 of a finals in the shot clock era, according to STATS LLC. It tied the fourth-lowest total for any finals quarter since 1955, bettering only the 30 points by the Magic and Lakers in Game 2 in 2009, and the 31 posted by the Jazz and Bulls in 1998’s Game 3 along with the Lakers and Celtics in 1969’s Game 4. Due to the defensive intensity, everyone was struggling with their shot. Lebron James was 3 for 6 in the first quarter, while the rest of the Heat were 3 for 15 while half of Dallas’ four first-quarter baskets were 3-pointers by Jason Kidd.

The Heat trailed by eight points early in the third quarter before pulling away, remaining unbeaten—now 9-0—at home in these playoffs and snapping Dallas’ five-game road postseason winning streak. It was a close game until a strong fourth-quarter finish by Wade and James. Dwayne Wade had a highlight alley-oop to James which made the sell-out crowd at the American Airlines Arena go berserk.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points—tearing a tendon in the middle finger on his left, non-shooting, hand during the game and revealing afterward that he’ll likely wear a splint throughout the remainder of the series—and grabbed eight rebounds for Dallas, which got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Shawn Marion and 12 points from Jason Terry.

James scored 24 points for his first win in five NBA finals games (he was swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 Finals), for the Heat Wade scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, Bosh scored 19 points and Mario Chalmers added 12 and the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in Game 1 of the title series on Tuesday night—holding the Western Conference champions to their lowest point total of the playoffs after a dominant defensive showing down the stretch.

GAME 1 on the BOOKS! 1-0 MIAMI!

-------

On another note, a former teammate of Dwayne Wade in Miami Heat and Lebron James in Cleveland Cavaliers, "The Big Aristotle", Hobo Master", "The Diesel", "Shaq Fu", "The Big Daddy", "Superman", "The Big Agave", "The Big Cactus", "The Big Shaqtus", "The Big Galactus", "Wilt Chamberneezy", "The Big Baryshnikov", "The Real Deal", "Dr. Shaq" "The Big Shamrock", "The Big Leprechaun", "Shaqovic", "The Big Conductor and simply "Shaq", Shaquille O'neal has called it a basketball career after announcing his retirement through social networking site Twitter.

Here is the video announcing Shaq's retirement.

Click here
Friday, May 27, 2011

The Miami Heat is the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Champion

11 months after the 2010 NBA Free Agency ended and the "The Decision" was announced, three of the best NBA Players in Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Lebron James agreed to sign with the Miami Heat to form a "super" team destined to make a dynasty and win multiple championships.

The Miami Hear Big Three: Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh
Due to the signing of 3 superstars, even at a lower rate to what their market value was, they were left with little to spare on the salary cap to fillup the roster. Still, Pat Riley was able to sign a good enough team by signing serviceable bigs and good enough ball handlers and shooters. It did not look too good for the Miami Heat as they looked disoriented at the start of the season as they went on a 9-8 win-loss slate and millions of haters to boot.

The Miami Heat was able to gather themselves and was able to finish 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a 58-24 win-loss card. Meeting and dismantling Philadelphia 76ers in the first round in 5 games, they met the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round. Fortunately, the hard-nosed Boston Celtics that we knew this past years were outplayed and outhustled by the Miami Heat and was dispatched in 5 games (they sure miss Kendrick Perkins).

And then the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals came meeting #1 seeded Chicago Bulls spearheaded by current MVP Derrick Rose. In the regular season, the Miami Heat has never won a game against the Chicago Bulls going 3-0. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals showed how deadly the Chicago Bulls can be with the Bulls winning by 21 points with MVP Derrick Rose and Loul Deng heading the attack and the Big Three shutdown. But the Chicago Bulls' part of the story in the series ended in Game 1 as the Miami Heat took over in the next 4 games.

The Miami Heat is the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Champion. Next, the 2011 NBA Championships with the Dallas Mavericks waiting for them at the doorway.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2011 NBA All-Star: Lebron James Failed Chase-down Block on Kobe

You cant chase them all. Lebron James tried to chase-down Kobe on a fast break during the 2011 NBA All-Star game. He almost blocked the ball but Kobe does not want to get embarrassed in front of his home crowd, so he flushes it right away before James swats the ball forcefully.

Watch a video of Lebron James' failed chase-down block on Kobe.

Friday, February 18, 2011

2011 NBA All-Star Full Event Schedule

The stage is set for the 2011 NBA All-Star Festivities. The East Team, looks to repeat another win. Lebron James is starting for the East team and he is joined by teammate Dwayne Wade, Amar'e Stoudemire (New York) Derrick Rose (Chicago) and Dwight Howard (Orlando) as the starting five for the 2011 NBA East All-Stars starting five

Here is the 2011 NBA All-Star Full Event Schedule

Complete broadcast schedule of events for the 2011 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, CA:

Thursday, Feb. 17
All Times Eastern (ET)
• All Day Dunk Marathon, noon - 12 a.m. | NBA TV
• San Antonio @ Chicago, 8 p.m. | TNT
• Dallas @ Phoenix, 10:30 p.m. | TNT
• Inside the NBA, 1 a.m. | TNT

Friday, Feb. 18
All Times Eastern (ET)
• NBA Gametime, noon | NBA TV
• Rookie/Sophomore Practice, 12:30 p.m. | NBA TV
• Hall of Fame Press Conference, 2 p.m. | NBA TV
• NBA GameTime: All-Star Interviews, 3 p.m. | NBA TV
• The Jump, 5 p.m. | NBA TV
• The Beat, 6 p.m. | NBA TV
• NBA GameTime: All-Star Interviews, 7 p.m. | NBA TV
• BBVA All-Star Celebrity Game, 7 p.m. | ESPN
• T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, 9 p.m. | TNT
• Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, 9:30 | NBA TV
• Inside The NBA, 11 p.m. | TNT
• D-League Dream Factory, 11 p.m. | NBA TV

Saturday, Feb. 19
All Times Eastern (ET)
• Gametime, 1 p.m. | NBA TV
• All-Star Practice and Player Interviews, 1:30 p.m. | NBA TV
• Gametime, 4:30 p.m. | NBA TV
• All-Star Game at 60, 5 p.m. | TNT
• D-League All-Star Game, 5 p.m. | NBA TV
• All-Star Ultimate Fantasy Draft, 6 p.m. | TNT
• Commissioner Stern press conference, 7 p.m. | NBA TV
• The Lost Dunks Presented by GEICO, 7 p.m. | TNT
• NBA Tip-Off, 8 p.m. | TNT
• All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm, 8:30 p.m. | TNT
• All-Star Weekend Presented by KIA, 11 p.m. | NBA TV

Sunday, Feb. 20
All Times Eastern (ET)
• Legends Brunch, 3 p.m. | NBA TV
• The Beat, 4:30 p.m. | NBA TV
• Magenta Carpet presented by T-Mobile, 5 p.m. | NBA TV
• NBA Tip-Off presented by Autotrader.com, 7 p.m. | TNT
• 60th NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. | TNT
• Inside the NBA, 11 p.m. | TNT

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