The blog has been a little light on content lately as I deal with the usual busy spring season with the real job (I know, who the heck cares about that)but staying up late watching the Grizzlies-Thunder triple overtime thriller on Monday night has inspired me to go overtime this week. Today we’ll catch up on the NBA playoffs and the shocking sweep of the two time defending champs. Tomorrow I will dive into the NHL playoffs and the lack of drama in the second round and finally on Friday we will catch up on the first quarter or so of the MLB season including your .500 Buccos! Now, on to The Association:
• The Lakers sweep at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks would not be so shocking if we just took a short look back on previous Kobe era flameouts. Pretty much every time the Lakers have lost a playoff series since Shaq and Kobe won their first three titles they have gone down with a bang. Starting with the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals loss to the Spurs, each time Kobe’s Lakers have lost a playoff series they have lost it in dramatic fashion. In that 2003 series, the Lakers lost to the underdog Spurs in six games including a 28 point loss to finish the series, they followed that up with a 5-game series loss to the heavily underdog Pistons in the ‘04 NBA Finals, a 31-point loss to the Suns in ’06 when Kobe quit in the second half of game 7, a first round loss in five games to the Suns in ’07 and a 39 point loss to the Celtics in game 7 of the NBA Finals in 2008. Throw in the embarrassing game 4 in the Mavs’ sweep this year and you can’t help but question the Lakers ability to compete when their backs are against the wall.
• What this says about Kobe Bryant in particular I am not real sure but for a guy who prides himself on his fierce competitive attitude, it has to be both embarrassing to him and counterintuitive to this perception for the rest of us. Could you ever imagine Michael Jordan going out like that? How about Larry Bird? Kobe’s place and legacy as a top 10 or so player of all-time is safe, but let’s forget about the conversation placing him anywhere near those guys. This is coming from a Kobe guy, mind you.
• The Lakers were beat by a pretty good team, though, so for as much as the story is about the Lakers getting swept, let us give credit to the Mavericks for a great series and a truly great shooting performance. Dirk Nowitzki is certainly enhancing his legacy as the greatest foreign born player of all time and he is quickly approaching the Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan class as the greatest power forward of all time.
• If you haven’t been watching much of the Oklahoma City-Memphis series, do yourself a favor and make it a point to watch the final three games. I know many people may not have been intrigued by this series between the late start times and the lack of familiarity with these rosters but this series has been phenomenal from the start and could very well be the beginning of a fierce rivalry for Western Conference supremacy over the coming years. Both teams are loaded with young talent, highlighted of course by the Blog’s former poster boy in Kevin Durant. The fierceness and competitiveness of this series was in full display during Monday night’s triple overtime thriller that the Thunder were able to pull out to even the series. I still think the Thunder win this series because Durant is the best player on the court but I am hoping for our viewing pleasure that it goes the distance.
• A Dallas-Oklahoma City Western Conference Finals may not have the flare that any series involving the Lakers would have but it would be an absolutely fantastic series that I could see going at least six and probably seven games. I don’t think Memphis-Dallas would be as great for drama purposes as Dallas’ veteran presence and ability to match Memphis’ size in the post would make it a fairly short series in the Mavericks’ favor. Needless to say I am rooting for a Durant-Dirk dual in the Western Conference Finals.
• Over in the Eastern Conference we have seen much more of what was anticipated outside of the Hawks upset of the Magic in the first round. Chicago, Boston and Miami put away their series in relatively short fashion.
• It may be of surprise to some that the Heat are up 3-1 on the Celtics, but not to me. I picked the Heat to win the title before the season, I urged patience when they got off to a slow start, I stuck with them when they lost five consecutive games near the end of the season and I picked them before the playoffs began. Guess what, I am still picking them. They have the best player in the world (by a larger margin than most people want to admit) and the guy who is at a minimum in the conversation for the 2nd best player on the planet. You could put a couple of puppies around them and they could contend for the title but they have another top 20 player and a few veteran role players who have been through the gauntlet before. That’s why I have never really waivered from my opinion that they are the best team in the league. I thought the Lakers could give the Heat fits with their size but I guess we’ll never get the opportunity to find out. It would be fun to see the Thunder take on the Heat in the Finals, though, in what could become the beginning of many great battles between Durant and LeBron.
• I am putting the finishing touches on this post as I watch the Bulls and Hawks battle in game five of their series (Editor’s note: The Bulls pulled out a 95-83 victory with a strong fourth quarter). I am big fan of Derrick Rose. I think he is the point guard version of LeBron James with the ability to dominate the game with his pure athleticism, combining speed, power and quickness. Rose may have even deserved the NBA MVP for the contributions he made to his own team during the regular season (he would have been fourth in my personal ballot but ultimately I did not have a big problem with Rose winning the award). Watching the playoffs, however, we can see why he is still just a step below the Kobe, LeBron and Wades of the league. When Rose is on he is almost unstoppable but when he’s off he doesn’t have the ability to dominate the game in other areas the way the greats do. I think Rose could reach that potential, he already took one big leap forward on the defensive end this year, but he needs to improve his playmaking ability for his teammates and begin to dominate on the defensive end the way LeBron and Kobe do when their teams need it.
• The Bulls will probably get past the Hawks and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals but that’s where their phenomenal 2010-2011 season will end. I thought before the second round began that Boston-Miami was the real Eastern Conference Finals and watching this Bulls-Hawks series has just solidified that opinion for me. Start preparing yourself now for some over-the-top, can’t watch Sportscenter anymore hype when the Heat are battling the Mavs or Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Showing posts with label Kevin Durant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kevin Durant. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Record Updates
I wanted to give everyone a final update on the two record chases we were following:
• The United States won the medal count for the 2010 Winter Olympics finishing with 37 medals, easily beating out its closest competitors in Germany with 30 and Canada with 26. Canada finished with the most Gold Medals, however, finishing with 14 after a late surge, beating Germany’s 10 and the U.S. and Norway’s 9 Golds. This was the first time since 1932 that the United States won the winter games’ medal count and was actually the most medals in Winter Olympic history. First, winning the most medals in Winter Olympic history (beating Germany’s record of 36 in 2002) does not mean a whole lot when they add a number of events every year. In 2010, there were 258 total medals available, in 2006 there were 252 total medals, in 2002 there were 234, and only 114 back in 1980. So that accomplishment is not nearly as great as it may sound. Second, I understand that the U.S. does not have as long and as proud of a tradition in the winter sports as some other countries may have, but the money and resources this country invests in its athletes should lead to more than one medal count victory in 78 years. I would hope and expect that the U.S. builds on this momentum in future Olympic years.
• Kevin Durant’s consecutive games streak of 25+ points was ended last week against the San Antonio Spurs. Durant’s streak ended at 29 games when he “only” scored 21 points against the Spurs in a game that also saw the end to the Thunder’s 9 game winning streak. Durant’s 29 game streak was the longest since Michael Jordan had 40 games all the way back in 1986-’87. Durant is in a dead-heat with LeBron James for the scoring title, trailing James by only a few percentage points with approximately 20 games remaining.
• The United States won the medal count for the 2010 Winter Olympics finishing with 37 medals, easily beating out its closest competitors in Germany with 30 and Canada with 26. Canada finished with the most Gold Medals, however, finishing with 14 after a late surge, beating Germany’s 10 and the U.S. and Norway’s 9 Golds. This was the first time since 1932 that the United States won the winter games’ medal count and was actually the most medals in Winter Olympic history. First, winning the most medals in Winter Olympic history (beating Germany’s record of 36 in 2002) does not mean a whole lot when they add a number of events every year. In 2010, there were 258 total medals available, in 2006 there were 252 total medals, in 2002 there were 234, and only 114 back in 1980. So that accomplishment is not nearly as great as it may sound. Second, I understand that the U.S. does not have as long and as proud of a tradition in the winter sports as some other countries may have, but the money and resources this country invests in its athletes should lead to more than one medal count victory in 78 years. I would hope and expect that the U.S. builds on this momentum in future Olympic years.
• Kevin Durant’s consecutive games streak of 25+ points was ended last week against the San Antonio Spurs. Durant’s streak ended at 29 games when he “only” scored 21 points against the Spurs in a game that also saw the end to the Thunder’s 9 game winning streak. Durant’s 29 game streak was the longest since Michael Jordan had 40 games all the way back in 1986-’87. Durant is in a dead-heat with LeBron James for the scoring title, trailing James by only a few percentage points with approximately 20 games remaining.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Durant and Olympic Updates
• Kevin Durant extended his streak to 29 games of 25 or more points last night with a 36 point, 8 rebound effort in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. The streak is now the longest since Michael Jordan had 40 consecutive games back in 1986-87. What’s more impressive, however, is that was the young Thunder’s first loss in 10 games, and they are 20-9 overall during the streak. Not only is “Durantula” putting up massive points, he is leading his team to victories. The Thunder sit 33-22 overall and are only two games out of a top-4 seed out West and having home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The MVP is probably LeBron’s in a foregone conclusion but Durant, who now leads the NBA in scoring, just might make it a little tougher on voters if he keeps this up.
• Everyone saw or heard about the United States’ 5-3 victory over Canada Sunday night, leaving the entire country of Canada in shock. The game was relatively meaningless in the overall scheme of the Olympic Competition, but set up an unbelievable quarterfinal match-up tonight of Russia vs. Canada. It is unbelievable because these were the two favorites heading into the Games and now one of them will not medal. My prediction is that Sidney Crosby comes up big once again and leads his team to victory tonight.
• The U.S. will take on Switzerland in what looks like an easy victory for the States. The puck actually drops just a bit later today and the U.S. better be sure to not overlook a dangerous Swiss team. One poor performance and Team U.S. will be left packing their bags in this tournament.
• The United States holds a tight lead in the overall medal count with 26 medals, including 7 Golds. Germany is right on their heels with 23 overall medals and the same 7 Golds. The United States has not won the Winter Olympics medal count in 78 years, going back to 1932. With 81 medals still up for grabs, the final medal count should come right down to the wire making every medal that much more important.
Couple of housecleaning notes:
• I am putting the finishing touches on my first thoughts on your 2010 Buccos. Look out for that piece at some point tomorrow. Let’s just say that I am predicting a historical season for the home team.
• I received a few emails asking when my 2010 offseason plan for the Steelers would be coming. The NFL calendar designates March 5 as the beginning of a “new year” so let us stay in line with the NFL, the king in our sports world, and set that day for the release of my 2010 offseason plan. In the meantime, I would like to see the Steelers start by placing the franchise tag on Casey Hampton.
• Everyone saw or heard about the United States’ 5-3 victory over Canada Sunday night, leaving the entire country of Canada in shock. The game was relatively meaningless in the overall scheme of the Olympic Competition, but set up an unbelievable quarterfinal match-up tonight of Russia vs. Canada. It is unbelievable because these were the two favorites heading into the Games and now one of them will not medal. My prediction is that Sidney Crosby comes up big once again and leads his team to victory tonight.
• The U.S. will take on Switzerland in what looks like an easy victory for the States. The puck actually drops just a bit later today and the U.S. better be sure to not overlook a dangerous Swiss team. One poor performance and Team U.S. will be left packing their bags in this tournament.
• The United States holds a tight lead in the overall medal count with 26 medals, including 7 Golds. Germany is right on their heels with 23 overall medals and the same 7 Golds. The United States has not won the Winter Olympics medal count in 78 years, going back to 1932. With 81 medals still up for grabs, the final medal count should come right down to the wire making every medal that much more important.
Couple of housecleaning notes:
• I am putting the finishing touches on my first thoughts on your 2010 Buccos. Look out for that piece at some point tomorrow. Let’s just say that I am predicting a historical season for the home team.
• I received a few emails asking when my 2010 offseason plan for the Steelers would be coming. The NFL calendar designates March 5 as the beginning of a “new year” so let us stay in line with the NFL, the king in our sports world, and set that day for the release of my 2010 offseason plan. In the meantime, I would like to see the Steelers start by placing the franchise tag on Casey Hampton.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Leftover Thoughts and News from Yesterday
Here is some more news and thoughts pertaining to yesterday’s talk on the Olympics and the NBA:
• Canada opened their Olympic pool play win an 8-0 win over Norway, generally considered the worst team in the Olympics. Sydney Crosby contributed 3 assists in his first Olympic game.
• Russia and Sweden are considered the biggest threats to Canada bringing home the Gold. Russia opened up their pool play with an 8-2 win over Latvia. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist while Sergei Gonchar did not record any points. Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals and former Penguin Alexei Morozov, serving as the Russian captain, had a goal as well. Yes, that Alexei Morozov, the guy who could never live up to his potential in a Penguin uniform. Sweden opens up pool play this evening against Germany.
• No medals were awarded last night, leaving the medal count the same as yesterday with Germany leading the United States by one.
• The Olympic Games are obviously being played in Vancouver which is in the Pacific Time Zone. This means that action continues on into the late night here on the East Coast. This doesn’t bother me too much as I am generally a night person anyhow and it sure beats when the Olympics are held across the globe and the events you most want to see are in action in the middle of the night (such as the Men’s Basketball Gold Medal game last summer which started at approximately 3am local time).
• Kevin Durant led his Oklahoma City Thunder to another win last night, beating the newly revamped Dallas Mavericks. Durant finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists, extending his 25 points or more streak to 26 games. Durant scored his 25th point with a runner in the lane with about 30 seconds remaining in the game thus avoiding the first ever blog jinx.
• Many of you are probably Bill Simmons (of ESPN.com) fans already. If you are not or do not know who I am talking about, Simmons is a writer for ESPN nicknamed “The Sports Guy”. He is a common sense columnist for ESPN that gives comedic opinions on sports, life and reality TV to name just a few topics. His niche, however, is the NBA. Yesterday, my favorite column of the year of his came out dissecting the trade value of the top players in the NBA. Give it a READ; it will get you caught up on all the players you need to know about if you do not follow the NBA too closely. A certain someone I discussed yesterday just happens to fall in at number 3 as well, right behind Dwight Howard and LeBron James.
• Canada opened their Olympic pool play win an 8-0 win over Norway, generally considered the worst team in the Olympics. Sydney Crosby contributed 3 assists in his first Olympic game.
• Russia and Sweden are considered the biggest threats to Canada bringing home the Gold. Russia opened up their pool play with an 8-2 win over Latvia. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist while Sergei Gonchar did not record any points. Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals and former Penguin Alexei Morozov, serving as the Russian captain, had a goal as well. Yes, that Alexei Morozov, the guy who could never live up to his potential in a Penguin uniform. Sweden opens up pool play this evening against Germany.
• No medals were awarded last night, leaving the medal count the same as yesterday with Germany leading the United States by one.
• The Olympic Games are obviously being played in Vancouver which is in the Pacific Time Zone. This means that action continues on into the late night here on the East Coast. This doesn’t bother me too much as I am generally a night person anyhow and it sure beats when the Olympics are held across the globe and the events you most want to see are in action in the middle of the night (such as the Men’s Basketball Gold Medal game last summer which started at approximately 3am local time).
• Kevin Durant led his Oklahoma City Thunder to another win last night, beating the newly revamped Dallas Mavericks. Durant finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists, extending his 25 points or more streak to 26 games. Durant scored his 25th point with a runner in the lane with about 30 seconds remaining in the game thus avoiding the first ever blog jinx.
• Many of you are probably Bill Simmons (of ESPN.com) fans already. If you are not or do not know who I am talking about, Simmons is a writer for ESPN nicknamed “The Sports Guy”. He is a common sense columnist for ESPN that gives comedic opinions on sports, life and reality TV to name just a few topics. His niche, however, is the NBA. Yesterday, my favorite column of the year of his came out dissecting the trade value of the top players in the NBA. Give it a READ; it will get you caught up on all the players you need to know about if you do not follow the NBA too closely. A certain someone I discussed yesterday just happens to fall in at number 3 as well, right behind Dwight Howard and LeBron James.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Another NBA Superstar Worth Watching
The NBA kicks off the second half of its season tonight after wrapping up its All Star Weekend Sunday Night. The NBA All-Star weekend is my favorite All-Star gathering of the four major sports. The weekend includes a multitude of events including the famous Three-Point Shootout and Slam-Dunk Contest and is capped off with the actual All-Star Game Sunday Night. I know many people around the country and especially in Pittsburgh are not the biggest fans of the NBA and its All-Star game in particular, but being the hoops junkie I am I love watching the game being played at the highest level.
This year’s game, won by the Eastern Conference 141-139, was dominated by the usual suspects including Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and the game’s MVP Dwayne Wade. Most people have heard of these guys being the superstars they are and their recent gold medal in the Summer Olympics. But there is one superstar that is starting to get the attention he deserves, but is still overshadowed by his laidback demeanor and obscure location in Oklahoma City. This superstar is Kevin Durant. NCAA fans are surely familiar with this name from his unbelievable season three years ago at Texas but believe me when I tell you that his name belongs with the aforementioned guys when we are talking about the great young stars in the NBA.
Durant is 2nd only to LeBron in scoring right now at 29.7 points per game, ahead of the other more famous superstars Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. What’s more is that Durantala (a nickname for Durant that is catching on) shoots a better percentage from the field than all of these guys except LeBron and has the best 3-point percentage among the top 20 scorers and 2nd highest free throw percentage among the top 20 scorers in the League. This means that Durant is not only dominating games right now to the tune of 30 per night, he is putting up his points more efficiently than all other stars not named LeBron James. Durant is averaging nearly 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as well, making him a great all around player. Roundly criticized for his defense last year, Durant has improved this area of his game as well and has led his team to a 30-21 record at the break despite having its top six players being 26 or younger.
Everyone is familiar with the unique talents and greatness of LBJ, but Durant is unique and special in his own right and we may just be watching something special developing as we speak. The kid, only 21 years old, is 6’9”, long, athletic, has a great handle and an absolutely flawless shooting stroke. Bill Simmons of ESPN wondered a few weeks back if Durant was headed for a 35ppg season on 50-40-90 shooting (meaning 50% FG, 40% 3pt and 90% FT shooting percentages, all of the gold standards). I do not think he is far off in his estimation. Durant has put together 25 straight games of 25 points or more. Only two players in the last 30 years have had a streak this long, Allen Iverson (27 games) and Michael Jordan, who had a streak of 40 games two separate times. Durant will look to continue that streak tonight and enter a territory where only MJ has been. You know someone is headed for greatness when they start reaching streaks and milestones that only Air Jordan has reached. So do yourself a favor and watch Kevin Durant if and when you get the chance. You will thank me one day for giving you the heads up on watching greatness in its development stages.
There has been some talk on the radio and in the blogosphere about Pittsburgh getting a NBA franchise. The talk originated with this column from the Detroit Free Press which mentioned Pittsburgh as a possible destination for the Pistons if they were to leave Detroit: LINK. This is too far-fetched to even discuss at this point (needless to say I would be a big proponent of a team here) and maybe we will tackle it at some point in the future. But for now, if you get the opportunity to see Kevin Durant play on TV, do not pass it up. You could be watching something special in its development stages, just as LeBron was must see TV a few years ago (and still is); Durantala is quickly becoming must-see TV.
This year’s game, won by the Eastern Conference 141-139, was dominated by the usual suspects including Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, LeBron James and the game’s MVP Dwayne Wade. Most people have heard of these guys being the superstars they are and their recent gold medal in the Summer Olympics. But there is one superstar that is starting to get the attention he deserves, but is still overshadowed by his laidback demeanor and obscure location in Oklahoma City. This superstar is Kevin Durant. NCAA fans are surely familiar with this name from his unbelievable season three years ago at Texas but believe me when I tell you that his name belongs with the aforementioned guys when we are talking about the great young stars in the NBA.
Durant is 2nd only to LeBron in scoring right now at 29.7 points per game, ahead of the other more famous superstars Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. What’s more is that Durantala (a nickname for Durant that is catching on) shoots a better percentage from the field than all of these guys except LeBron and has the best 3-point percentage among the top 20 scorers and 2nd highest free throw percentage among the top 20 scorers in the League. This means that Durant is not only dominating games right now to the tune of 30 per night, he is putting up his points more efficiently than all other stars not named LeBron James. Durant is averaging nearly 7.5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as well, making him a great all around player. Roundly criticized for his defense last year, Durant has improved this area of his game as well and has led his team to a 30-21 record at the break despite having its top six players being 26 or younger.
Everyone is familiar with the unique talents and greatness of LBJ, but Durant is unique and special in his own right and we may just be watching something special developing as we speak. The kid, only 21 years old, is 6’9”, long, athletic, has a great handle and an absolutely flawless shooting stroke. Bill Simmons of ESPN wondered a few weeks back if Durant was headed for a 35ppg season on 50-40-90 shooting (meaning 50% FG, 40% 3pt and 90% FT shooting percentages, all of the gold standards). I do not think he is far off in his estimation. Durant has put together 25 straight games of 25 points or more. Only two players in the last 30 years have had a streak this long, Allen Iverson (27 games) and Michael Jordan, who had a streak of 40 games two separate times. Durant will look to continue that streak tonight and enter a territory where only MJ has been. You know someone is headed for greatness when they start reaching streaks and milestones that only Air Jordan has reached. So do yourself a favor and watch Kevin Durant if and when you get the chance. You will thank me one day for giving you the heads up on watching greatness in its development stages.
There has been some talk on the radio and in the blogosphere about Pittsburgh getting a NBA franchise. The talk originated with this column from the Detroit Free Press which mentioned Pittsburgh as a possible destination for the Pistons if they were to leave Detroit: LINK. This is too far-fetched to even discuss at this point (needless to say I would be a big proponent of a team here) and maybe we will tackle it at some point in the future. But for now, if you get the opportunity to see Kevin Durant play on TV, do not pass it up. You could be watching something special in its development stages, just as LeBron was must see TV a few years ago (and still is); Durantala is quickly becoming must-see TV.
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