Are you in the game?!

After an exciting race for the NBA 2008 Most Valuable Player, Kobe Bryant ends up with the precious recognition. It took 12 season before the “Black Mamba” gained the official MVP title.

No doubt, Bryant deserved it this year. He is having an exceptional season. This year, Kobe was not just a showman in the court, he evolved into a matured leader for the Lakers and this made the difference for him. Here’s his 2008 playoffs statistics which clearly shows he has become a better team player.

Runner-ups were New Orleans’ Chris Paul (889 points), Boston’s Kevin Garnett (670 points), Cleveland’s LeBron James (438 points) and Orlando’s Dwight Howard (60 points). Read full article here.

Trivia: Kobe Bryant was only the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets (now NO Hornets) back in 1996. He was 17 then. The Lakers management that team wanted the young guard so much that they traded center Vlade Divac for Bryant.

Let’s take a look at Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao’s next nemesis on the ring. David Diaz, a native of Chicago, Illinois and turning 32 this June 7 of 2008 is a certified brawler!

He has made a living as a professional boxer in the lightweight division. His record currently stands at 32-1-1. 17 of his victories came by way of knockout. He is the current WBC lightweight champion. His only loss was dealt by Kendall Holt by an 8th round TKO last February 4, 2005. Definitely this man knows how to win, and has less background on defeats. At 5′6″, I expect him to go all out against striky Pacquaio. It’s gonna be a good fight.

I think it will go the distance but we’ll definitely see a boxer kissing the canvass. Can’t wait for their match!! Mark your calendars, June 28, 2008.

The playoffs is heating up once again. After an exciting first-round matches, the 2nd round promises to be even more exciting. It’s definitely a grudge match between the teams. “No games asked, no games given.”

Finally the Celtics can take a deep breath after eliminating the determined Atlanta Hawks in their 1st round playoffs encounter, 4-3. Yes, it went down to 7! I thought I had it right when I forecasted that there will be no more surprises in the East aside from the 2 victories for the Sixers and the Hawks. However, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and sweet shooter Joe Johnsohn proved me wrong. The three guys and the rest of the Hawks forced a game deciding game seven after escaping the Celtics by 3 points 103-100 in game 6.

Winning to the tune of 99-65, the Celtics showed their poise and killer instinct. Paul Pierce lead the team with 22 points. KG who said in interview that he was up for more almost 24 hours because of the threatening match had 18 points and 11 boards. Nothing to be ashamed of for the Hawks. They played maturely. I’m very sure that the series was a very good learning experience for a young team like them. Boston moves on to the second round facing Lebron James and the rest of the Cavs.

Moving to the second round, my playoffs picture is so far on track. As of now, the Lakers is ahead of Utah 1-0. The stingy Hornets though took game 1 over the defending champs Spurs. Regrouped Detroit Pistons took game 1 against Orlando.

Aaaahh live NBA games on TV please!!

After an exciting race for the NBA 2008 Most Valuable Player, Kobe Bryant ends up with the precious recognition. It took 12 season before the “Black Mamba” gained the official MVP title.

No doubt, Bryant deserved it this year. He is having an exceptional season. This year, Kobe was not just a showman in the court, he evolved into a matured leader for the Lakers and this made the difference for him. Here’s his 2008 playoffs statistics which clearly shows he has become a better team player.

PPG 34.4  |  RPG 5.40  |  APG 6.4  |  EFF + 32.40 more

Runner-ups were New Orleans’ Chris Paul (889 points), Boston’s Kevin Garnett (670 points), Cleveland’s LeBron James (438 points) and Orlando’s Dwight Howard (60 points). Read full article here.

Trivia: Kobe Bryant was only the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets (now NO Hornets) back in 1996. He was 17 then. The Lakers management that team wanted the young guard so much that they traded center Vlade Divac for Bryant.

Just as I thought, there would be more player movement in the NBA right after the 2008 All-Star Weekend. However, I must admit, I didn’t exepect it would be this huge! The Seattle Supersonics and San Antonio Spurs were the first teams to proclaim their movements by sending Kurt Thomas of the Sonics for Spurs’ Barry and forward Francisco Elson. Then, comes an 11-player trade deal involving the Cavs, Bulls, and the Sonics once more. In addition, the Pistons, Raptors, Hornets, Rockets, Nuggets, and Blazers also got some matters settled.

Beating the Feb 21, 2008, 3 p.m. ET deadline, teams really got busy! The “Gasol to Lakers” movement really shaked the teams who are gunning for the elusive NBA title. Perhaps they felt the sense of urgency to boost their respective rosters in order to match up with the Lakers and the league leader, Boston Celtics. Of course, it’s the Boston who set the bars high. Here are some last minute trades:

The Rockets acquired high-flyer Gerald Green, a Texas native, from the Timberwolves for Kirk Snyder, a 2010 second-round pick and cash considerations.

Detroit traded Primoz Brezec and cash to Toronto for Juan Dixon, who was also dealt at last season’s deadline.

Denver sent Von Wafer to Portland for Taurean Green.

Mike Bibby of the Kings shipped to Hawks for starting point guard Anthony Johnson, 2007 first-round pick Shelden Williams, backup point guard Tyronn Lue, veteran forward Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round pick to the Kings.

TRADE DEALS IN WESTERN CONFERENCE:

New Orleans - Bonzi Wells and Mike James
Phoenix - Shaquille O’Neal
L.A. Lakers - Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza
San Antonio - Damon Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas
Dallas - Jason Kidd
Utah - Kyle Korver
Houston - Bobby Jackson, Gerald Green
Golden State - Chris Webber

This season must perhaps be the most active in terms of player movements. These are not just simple trade deals simply because big time players are involved. Also, it is very evident that these teams are serious for their NBA title contention. Some even took the risk of overlooking the future of their teams. I’m referring to the Dallas Mavericks which acquired future hall of fame point guard Jason Kidd for young and blossoming Devin Harris and other promising guys.

I promise to post my views, pros and cons of the movements of the respective teams. Watch out for it! Also checkout my basketballchat blog.

 

Patt Riley, the players and management, and most of all the fans could no longer sing the song, “the Heat is on… the Heat is o-on!” After winning the 2006 NBA crown and a good run in the 2006 season, the Heat now faces its worse standing since the Wade and Shaq tandemn came in. The heat holds the league’s 2nd worse record at 8 wins - 26 losses for a percentage of 0.235. Thanks to the crazyness of the Wolves for letting go of KG, the Wolves now holds the worse record in the NBA.

This post is depressing for me because I am a Heat fan, particularly a D. Wade fan! I admired him the most during the 2005 finals when they were up against Dallas. D. Wade, “The Flash” really showed his stuff and carried the team to the crown. I wasn’t surprised and bothered when the team traded James Posey and other guys during the off-season. I was thinking that as long as D. Wade, Shaq, and Alonzo Mourning (yes, his the 3rd man for me!), the Heat will still be a contender. Unfortunately, Wade didn’t play in their opening games due to injury and I think the bad start really struck Miami. Now with Wade back, Shaq is the one sidelined with injury and other guys are not playing as well as they should be. I would especially mention Jason Williams, the “former” deadly shooter, skip-passer, and deadly finisher is dismaying!

I would also like to comment on the team’s offensive strategies. Everytime I check out their boxscorse of their games in NBA, it is very noticable that Shaq has very few attempts in most of their games. I would say he roughly averages 10 field goal attempts in about 25-30 minutes of playing time! I think this is not a good sign for the Heat’s offense. Despite Shaq’s age and all the issues, I think he still has the Diesel in him, the power, the moves, and the smarts to get to the ring dunking baskets, or end up trying from the free throw line. Shaquille is still a threat down low. He can still get guys in foul trouble and make a couple of three-point plays down low.

Miami will never be a contender with Shaq only having 10 attempts per game. The Heat should not settle for outside shots. Their play must start at the post wil O’neal or Zo, then from double teams, kick-out plays may come for their shooters. Remember that the Heat was very effective playing this type of ball game. James Posey, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams made a living beyond the arc out of the drive-and-dish plays of Wade and the kick-out passes of Shaq from the post.

During the last week of December, 2007, Kyle Korver became a member of the Utah Jazz in exchange for Gordan Giricek and a conditional first round draft pick in next year’s draft. Based on my readings, the Jazz was the one who initiated the trade. I wonder why the Sixers grabbed the offer considering that Korver has been their only consistent threat from the outside ever since he came to the Sixers. Korver was around 40% from the 3-point arc last season and through time, he has improved as an all around player including on the defensive end.

I think the trade definitely favors the Jazz. With Korver, the Jazz now have a formidable three-point shooter. Boozer can exploit more on the inside because the defense will have to extend out on Korver. Kick-out plays to Korver will always be present every for sure. Korver will join Okur and Williams in playing beyond the arc. The Sixers on the other hand, might see the fruit of this trade by the time they make a good move on their draft rights gained from Utah. For now, Philidelphia is a “so so” team. I feel Andre Iguodola isn’t that ripe yet to carry a team on his young shoulders. Andre Miller also isn’t really the type of player who can lead a team to strings of victory. The team needs a lot of reconstruction especially on their roster. If the Sixers wants to get back to their glorious days, they must do something with their line-up.

For more on the celebrity looking Korver, check out his site here.

The big three of the New Jersey Nets namely, Richard Jefferson, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter have yet to find their consistency in the NBA this season. A lot is expected from the trio which has been formed last 2004. It can be remembered that the Nets let go of forward Eric Williams, forward/centre Aaron Williams and centre Alonzo Mourning, along with two first-round draft picks in exchange for Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors.

Unlike Boston’s super impressive trio, Allen-Garnett-Pierce, the Nets has been a hot and cold team, since the trio was formed. They could beat the hottest teams in the league but at the same time, easily falter against the weak ones. This season they added youngsters like Sean Williams, Marcus Williams and Josh Boone. Currently, they hold a record of 17 wins-16 losses, which simply proves their being “hot and cold” team.

The good things is that the team is definitely out for the playoffs run this season yet. With other teams also struggling, the Nets can be considered as one of the middle teams in the NBA that still has very high hopes for the playoffs. There are a lot of things you can find in N.J. which I think is the reason why the Nets never runs out of supporters! The city itself is fantastic plus you have famous dentist New Jersey, beautiful spots, long and deep tunnels, and of course their humble NBA squad, the New Jersey Nets. The Nets are still able to attract a lot of fans because the team really has the potential to make it to the top in the NBA.

With Jason Kidd at the point, the Nets is always exciting and fun to watch. To spice it up, you have Carter and Jefferson on the wings which are both prolific high-flyers, and open-court finishers!