The NBA just ain't what it used to be

On Sunday night during Game 5 of the NBA Finals I found myself watching the College World Series and Fox News. I would flip back and forth between the two and occasionally watch a few minutes here and there of the NBA Finals.

The NBA just ain't what it used to be. I remember watching it non-stop when I was a little boy.

I remember watching Hakeem "The Dream" and his Rockets dominating and winning titles in 1994 and 1995. I remember Michael Jordan's ridiculous performances night after night. I remember Penny Hardaway and Shaq going toe-to-toe with Jordan but continually coming on the losing end. Who can forget Reggie Miller, Dale Davis, Jalen Rose and the Pacers trying to do the same? The NBA's glory years have come and gone...

Really, I have no idea what it is. I just couldn't get myself to watch more than 5 minutes of a game in the playoffs unless it was my Spurs or close to the end of the game. If the Finals was Lebron vs. Kobe I probably would've watched more of it, but it wasn't. To be honest, I really can't tell you what has happened.

Is it the selfishness and self-centerdness of a lot of the players now days? Is it the lack of team play? I really can't tell you, I just can't watch it like I used to. It used to be one of my favorite things to watch and now I find myself preferring to watch many other things before it.

If anybody has an answer I would really like to know, because I can't tell you exactly why.

Celtics show teamwork wins championships

The Boston Celtics proved once again that you need teamwork in order to win a championship.

Paul Pierce was the man, he was the center of NBA glory after denying Phil Jackson's quest for his 10th NBA Title.

Pierce did it all with his scoring, leadership, and stayed patient when the Celts needed it most. He kept his team calm and gave them a will when they were down. Pierce also kept Kobe in check and without number 24, the Lakers were pretty lost. I think you can give Pierce the most credit individually for their championship finals win over the Lakers.

You also have to give Ray Allen credit, he hit some big shots when they needed it, when Pierce was struggling in game 3. Allen was the hero when Pierce wasn't, but that was only one game. Then you have Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol was no match for him. Garnett was just too athletic, more physical, stronger, and just simply better than Gasol. The Lakers sure did miss Bynum. The Big 3 got it done.

Then there are the role players. James Posey came through when the Celtics desperately needed it. He hit some big and devastating threes to keep them in the game and continue some big leads in the first few games of the series. Plus, his great defense helped contain the Lakers' inside presence and kept them out of the paint.

Also, you have to give credit to Boston's defense. They gave the Lakers fits, not only did they shut down the Lakers' 2nd and 3rd scoring options, they shut down their main option, Kobe, when they needed it most. Pierce gave Kobe fits and when he pushed Bryant out of his game the Lakers were lost. Defense does truly win championships but it was also some teamwork that got them the win as well.

NBA Finals game 5 Reaction

I had coed softball sunday night so I missed a lot of the first half of the game but i caught the entire second half and would like to offer some thoughts.

-The Lakers really dodged a bullet here Sunday night. The series easily could have been over if a foul had been called on the Kobe breakaway dunk and had KG made some freethrows late.

-If the Lakers can't hold a lead at home at all I foresee this series not lasting long in Boston

-The Lakers are incredibly susceptible to the pick and roll and it really is a good thing that they didn't wind up playing the Hornets in the Western Conference Finals otherwise they might not even be here right now.

-It kind of looked like that the Lakers were the more physical team tonight for the first time in the series. I'm thinking this has to do with the Kendrick Perkins injury.

-Paul Pierce just about sealed the championship for the Celtics tonight by himself. With much help at all this series would be over already.

-Kobe needs to be more commanding down the stretch. He needs to earn all those Jordan comparisons and show everyone why he's MVP by wanting the ball in his hands down the stretch and knocking down shots.

-Lamar Odom chipping in 20 and 11 was absolutely HUGE for the Lakers tonight.

-I'm going to stand by my Celtics in 7 prediction although don't be surprised if this one ends in Boston in game 6

So what'd you think of Sunday night's game? Predictions for game 6?

Thoughts and Headlines

Here's some brief thoughts and headlines on different sports.

NBA Finals:
The Lakers are in trouble. While Kobe said there is nothing to worry about, he definitely should be worrying. Kobe has struggled shooting in this series and the Celtics defense has given the Lakers fits. Boston has not only shut down LA's 2nd and 3rd scoring option, but their number one as well. The Lakes have to win both games at home, because I don't see them winning any in Boston.

MLB:
I would like to say congrats to Ken Griffey Jr. for hitting his 600th HR last night. Griffey is the greatest HR hitter of this era and although I am a Barry Bonds fan, I have to pay Griffey his dues. Griffey did it the right way, he went through the agonizing injuries. He felt the pain and bled his own blood without taking any illegal substances to endure any of it. If it weren't for his injuries he would easily have 700 HR right now.

College Baseball:
I just wanted to say I love watching College Baseball, especially when it's time for the Super Regionals and the World Series. Watching them hit with an aluminum bat is quite refreshing; although I love watching pitchers duals and great defensive play, I love watching slugfests and hard hit balls, it makes for an interesting and fun game.

Soccer
The US Soccer team tied Argentina on Sunday, the number one ranked team in the world currently. It was great to see a good defensive effort but it was great to see the aggressive play in the midfield, which took a lot of pressure off of the defense; which is something they've been lacking for several years.

Also, it's been interesting to watch the Euro Cup that is currently taking place. I am not a big fan of soccer but when it comes to World Cup Soccer and qualifiers I love to watch. I would love to see a Portugal-Germany final, but I wouldn't mind watching Spain or France either.

NBA Finals Game 1 React

I'm sure most of you sports fans out there were watching the game tonight. I know I was. In case you missed it the Celtics beat the Lakers 98-88. Here are a few brief thoughts I had after game 1.

-Kobe was just not on tonight and facing the top Defense in the NBA didn't help either. Kobe managed to put up 24 points. However, he only shot 9-26 which is real bad.

-I'll admit I definitely thought the worst when Pierce went down like that. Then I was incredibly confused when he came out of the tunnel 4 minutes later ready to play. The whole things seems a little weird (I smell a fresh NBA Conspiracy Theory Post?)

-The big 3 looked good all putting up 20+. I'm very interested to see how Pierce's knee is feeling come game 2 though.

-The Perkins injury is going to be interesting to me because if he can't play anymore I think Pau Gasol could be a real problem for the Celtics to handle. Perkins didn't match up well against Gasol as it is and with him out I think Gasol could have a chance to really dominate. Unless if P.J. Brown is going to shut him down (which I highly doubt).

-KG's slam home on that rebound was straight ballin'.

-If the Lakers are going to win this series it needs to be in 5 or 6. I do not see the Lakers being able to come into the Garden and win a game 7.

-Game 1 was a little blah but I'm still convinced that this might be the best NBA finals in the last 10 years and I'm excited for Game 2 already!

2008 NBA Finals Preview

On Thursday night the Lakers and Celtics will face off in a historical rematch of the NBA's two most storied franchises in the 2008 NBA finals.

Both teams entered the playoffs as the number one seed in their conference. The Lakers came out of the Western Conference by leaning on Kobe Bryant’s MVP skills and Paul Gasol down low. The Celtics are led by the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Here comes some position breakdowns and analysis.

Homecourt Advantage
Both teams are good at home but I can't go against the Garden. Their rowdy fans will have the team fired up and ready to win.

Advantage: Celtics

Point Guard

Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher
Obviously Derek Fisher has the clear advantage when it comes to experience, he has won 3 NBA Championships and played in 148 career playoff games and Rajon Rondo has won 0 championships and played in only 20 career playoff games. This is an interesting match up because neither player is one of the best players on their respective teams but both players can be very important to their team’s success. Both Rondo and Fisher are very good defensive players and both have already faced fantastic point guards in their run to the finals. Fisher has faced Allen Iverson, Deron Williams, and Tony Parker, three perennial all-stars, while Rajon Rondo has faced Mike Bibby, Delonte West, and Chauncey Billups. I believe that playoff experience is an over hyped statistic in this match up because although Rondo is very young and is in his first career playoff year he has played exceptionally well and has played much better than Fisher has statistically, out performing Fisher in every category but steals and turnovers, and has been more involved in the teams offense than Fisher.

Advantage: Rajon Rondo

Shooting Guard
Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant

Ray Allen is a great player. He experienced some struggles throughout the playoffs but has started to find his shot as of late. A shot that is the quickest, smoothest, and pretties in the league. But Kobe is the best player in the world and has been showing it as of late. This one isn't really that close.

Advantage: Kobe Bryant

Small Forward

Paul Pierce vs. Vladimir Radmanovic

I believe that this is the biggest mismatch of them all. Paul Pierce has routinely owned his opponent throughout these entire playoffs and this series and this matchup should be no different. Radmanovic is just too slow and simply not good enough to guard a player that is as good and hot as Paul Pierce is. Radmanovic only averaged 8.3 points per game in the series vs. the San Antonio Spurs even though he played over 24 minutes per outing. Radmanovic is not what you would call a shut down defender either, he is very slow on his feet and even though he has a height advantage most of the time he is not a very good shot blocker or rebounder.
Advantage: Paul Pierce

Power Forward

Kevin Garnett vs. Lamar Odom

Although Lamar Odom is playing very well in the post season I do not believe he is ready to deal with a player of Garnett’s ability. Garnett is the premiere power forward in the game today and might be in the top 3 all-time at the position. Garnett is not just a dead-eye shooter from 17 feet, an unstoppable turn around jumpshooter, or a fantastic leader, he is also the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA and has played his best defensive basketball of his postseason career. Garnett can control the entire paint for minutes at a time and that is a huge luxury. Lamar Odom is used to having a large height advantage or a big advantage in the quickness department but neither will be there in this matchup.

Advantage: Kevin Garnett

Center
Kendrick Perkins vs. Paul Gasol

Kendrick Perkins has been playing great in the postseason up to this point but now he is dealing with a different animal than in his previous playoff matchups. Pau Gasol did not play great on the offensive end against the San Antonio Spurs but he sure did rebound great. Gasol is one of the best passing bigmen in the game and he plays good defense. Perkins is playing great but he still doesn't stack up.

Advantage: Paul Gasol

Overall I think this is going to be an amazing NBA Finals. My Prediction is Celtics in 7. I just think that KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen will not be denied after coming this far. Pierce will have a HUGE series, KG plays great D, and James Posey will be big off the bench as well.

What do you think? How would you break down the positional battles? Predictions?

NBA Playoff Thoughts

Here's some playoff thoughts thus far from an ordinary guy:

-The Spurs-Lakers series is closer than it indicates. In game 1 if the Spurs hit a few more buckets and make one or two more defensive stops, they steal game one.

Also, in game 4 the Spurs could have won this one too. The Spurs just couldn't get over the hump. Poor shot selection when they had a chance to tie or go ahead. Plus, Brent Barry easily got fouled by Derek Fisher at the end.

I am an advocate for refs not deciding games, mainly at the end, but man this was a blatant foul. The Spurs could easily be the ones up 3-1, but you have to give Kobe his dues, he is finally winning without Shaq (No pun intended).


-The Celtics will win the NBA Finals. Sorry Detroit fans, but there is no way you will win any more games in Boston. The Big 3 are just unstoppable there and the fans are right there behind the Celts. Boston just seems to be on their game when they're at home. Now that they have shown they can at least steal a game on the road I think they can top the Lakers (or Spurs for that matter).

-I am finally enjoying the NBA Playoffs for the first time in probably 6 years. Although I am a Spurs fan and it is great to see them win it all, but in all seriousness I have not enjoyed watching the NBA at all since they left NBC and stopped playing defense. But I have to give the players, top teams, and even David Stern some credit for the enjoyable 2008 season and the playoffs. The NBA hasn't had this quality of play in a longtime.

Western Conference Finals Preview

Once again the Spurs and Lakers meet in the playoffs. Although they haven't played since 2004, there's been some great match ups between the two and the winner usually ends up winning the NBA Finals.

Both teams have combined to win seven of the last nine championships, the Spurs won in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 and the Lakers won from 2000-02. They lost in the NBA Finals in 20o4 to Detroit.

This one should be a dandy once again. The Lakers are a different team then the past few years. Kobe Bryant is his normal self and he finally has teammates that can back him up and trust. This Laker team has been the most impressive team thus far in the playoffs. They've been so consistent and they're getting balanced scoring night in and night out.

As for the Spurs, they've been a little inconsistent. The first two games against the Hornets they looked lost. But in game 7 they looked like their old championship selves.

This should be a great series, which I am expecting to go seven games.

Analysis

Frontcourt
The Lakers are deep and talented with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf. Pau Gasol can hold his own down low against Tim Duncan, plus he can score and help Kobe out on offense if he's off his game. Odom must be consistent offensively if the Lakers want to win this series. The Spurs forwards play great defense. Tim Duncan can take over a game anytime and Kurt Thomas has done the little things whether it's defense or rebounding. But the Spurs are not as deep here as the Lakers.

Backcourt
The Lakers are solid in the backcourt with MVP Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, and Jordan Farmer. They're fast and can score. The Spurs are loaded in the backcourt, Manu Ginobli doesn't even start for them. Tony Parker is so clutch when it counts most, especially in the playoffs, Michael Finley provides depth and some scoring, and Bruce Bowen is the defensive stopper and can occasionally knock down the three ball. With the Spurs talent and depth here, I will give them the advantage in this department.

Coaching
This is pretty much a toss-up. Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich know what it takes to win, especially championships. Coaching in this series is going to come down to in-game adjustments. You know both coaches will have specific plans on how to stop each other's best players in Kobe and Duncan, but it's going to come down to adjustments, which I think Popovich is a mastermind when it comes to this. I'll give the Spurs a slight advantage here.

Prediction:
This should be a great series. NBA fans are in for a great Western Conference Finals. I expect each and every game to be a hard-fought, defensive, down to the wire battle. I really like the Lakers individual talent and offensive game, but the Spurs have all the intangibles. Their defense has been very good thus far and they seem to always play as a team. Plus, you have to give credit to Gregg Popovich, he always has them ready and prepared. I'll take the Spurs in seven.

NBA Playoff Predictions

Sorry this is a little late but I still wanted to get an NBA Playoff post in. Here's some brief playoff predictions.

Western Conference

LA Lakers over Denver Nuggets in 7
Too much Kobe and Gasol down low

Houston Rockets over Utah Jazz in 6
Rockets play great defense and Luis Scola has filled in great for Yao Ming

San Antonio Spurs over Phoenix Suns in 6
It's tough to beat the Spurs in a 7 game series. Too much defense, team play, and Duncan and Parker for the Suns.

New Orleans Hornets over Dallas Mavs in 7
The Hornets are for real and Chris Paul won't let their chances slip away.

2nd Round
LA Lakers over Houston Rockets in 6
Kobe will keep Tracy McGrady in check

San Antonio Spurs over New Orleans Hornets in 6
I'll take Duncan and Parker over Paul and West

Western Conference Finals
San Antonio Spurs over LA Lakers in 7
Once again, I'll take team basketball and defense over Kobe and Co., plus it always seems Tony Parker brings it in the playoffs.

Eastern Conference
Boston over Atlanta in 5
KG, Pierce, and Allen will dominate the Hawks

Washington Wizards over Cleveland Cavs in 7
Gilbert Arenas is back and I don't think the Cavs will make another run this year.

Toronto Raptors over Orlando Magic in 7
I had to pick some kind of upset. Raptors were here last year, Magic weren't.

Detroit Pistons over Philadelphia in 5
Pistons have the best defense in the league

2nd Round
Boston Celtics over Washington Wizards in 7
I think Arenas, Jamison, and Butler can take it to 7 games but the Celtics have too much fire power in the end.

Detroit Pistons over Toronto Raptors in 6
Pistons have been here before

Eastern Conference Finals
Boston Celtics over Detroit Pistons in 7
This should be a great series. Both teams play great defense but I still like the Celtics' overall talent.

NBA Finals
San Antonio Spurs over Boston Celtics in 7
I'm gonna stick with my gut and my pre-season prediction. This is like last year where everybody was doubting the Spurs and they won it out of no where. They still have Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen can still shut people down. As always, team basketball and defense usually prevail in the NBA.

Can you say Dynasty?

The San Antonio Spurs are your 2007 NBA champions. After sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in 4 games, many have disputed that this is yet the best of all the other Spurs championship teams.

This definitely is one of the greatest organizations, not just in the NBA, but all of professional sports. They have an amazing front office, one of the best head coaches in the NBA, along with P.J. Carlesimo as your assistant coach for crying out loud, and one of the best players of all time in Tim Duncan. That's 4 championships in the last 9 years. Pretty impressive!

With their fourth championship since 1999 - and third in five years - the Spurs joined the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.

While I say the Spurs are a dynasty, "The Neutral Site" has a different point of view: San Antonio Spurs - Not a Dynasty

Now to talk about the series, Tim Duncan took the Finals MVP on the first three championship teams, but this year it was Tony Parker; which I definitely agree with. Parker does everything and anything to win. He'll find the open guy, hustle after loose balls, play tough defense, and can hit the shot whenever he needs to. When the Spurs needed a basket in the finals (and the rest of the playoffs) he found a way to get to the hoop or knock down a key outside shot. His Finals MVP award was well deserved. After game 2, I was thinking Tony Parker deserved to be the MVP when they end up winning the series.

As for next year, even as the oldest team in the league, the Spurs should be the favorite again for next year. Everybodys back and hopefully they can pick up some kind of young kid to help fill in as these guys get older; because pretty soon Horry and Finley won't be able to play anymore and they will need to bring in some young talent.

Switching gears, I would have loved to see LeBron James win a title. But it just happened to be they were playing my Spurs. LeBron James will definitely win a title (probably even multiple) in his tenure. The Cavs are one or two good players away from winning a title. They are a fairly young team and could win a ring down the road if LeBron is there to stay for awhile.

Buy or Sell: Fans Only Really Care About Their Favorite Teams

So as I'm driving home from our first victory in softball tonight I'm doing some inner-contemplation as to why TV ratings are becoming quite the craze and why they seems to keep on pointing down, down, down....it seems like all the talk. With "Build a Better Burger" from the Food Network beating out the NHL Finals in ratings (807,000 to 769,000) you know there is a potential problem. One might explain such an atrocity in such a way as: "Oh well, It's just the NHL. America doesn't like the NHL and that's why that happened." But with game 1 of the NBA Finals hitting the lowest ratings of a game 1 ever I think something may really be up.

I think America may be heading in the direction of a more concentrated view of the sports world....me included. I'll admit, I didn't watch a single game of the NHL Finals and I didn't watch much of game 1 of the NBA Finals either. I think there is some legitimacy in saying that if it isn't your favorite team or something really entertaining with a lights-out lovable superstar (think back to MJ, Bird, Magic, maybe even Sir Charles) then people can just catch the highlights (mostly a dunk-o-rama) later.

Is it because the game has deteriorated that much in our minds? I watched a lot more NBA games back in the day (basically the 90s). Teams like the Jazz back then with Stockton and Malone got great all-around ratings. Now, the only people watching the Jazz vs. Spurs Western Conference finals were Spurs fans, Jazz fans, and hardcore Bball fans. Maybe the game hasn't really deteriorated that much...I mean Game 1 featured Tim Duncan one of the greatest players ever -in my opinion the greatest 4 ever - and King James who could be MJ's predecessor and is in my opinion the most physically gifted player in the NBA and maybe in the History of the NBA. Could it be that Americans just have a lot more to watch now?It will be really interesting to see because the last episode of The Sopranos will be aired during Game 2. I don't watch the Sopranos but I can guess that that isn't going to help the NBA at all.

Now, in saying all of this it is important to remember that the best way to look at this stuff is in their championship games. In doing so I find it very obvious that the only sport able to avoid this whole mess is the NFL. The Superbowl is so f-ing huge to everyone whether your team is in it or not....it really doesn't matter. College Basketball also does pretty well but that's just because nearly every human being has at least 1-25 brackets filled out for it.

I can personally vouch for this as I watch MNF all the time even if the Packers aren't playing. I will tune into the second game on FOX even if the Packers played the early one. Plus tons tune in weekly for not only MNF, but Sunday night and sometimes Thursday night. By the time the end of summer rolls around some preseason NFL games could probably rival ratings of the NHL Finals and the NBA Finals (at least thus far).

I'm not totally sure why it has happened to me and most of America, but I'm Buying fans only really caring about their favorite teams. Personal experience and statistics lead me to believe this is true. I would love to continue to elaborate more on this but I am thoroughly exhausted and would like to put a little more thought into things...I will get back at you.

Are you buying or selling and why? What is the NFL doing to draw in viewers and fans to their championship game? How can the NHL and NBA get back to where they once were (and MLB too for that matter)?

My World In Sports: Calling You Out

Thoughts and opinions on sports which are currently headlining my brain:

Taking a Shot at Complete Sports
OK, keeping in mind that TSF has a quite personal relationship with twins15 or Complete Sports I would like to call him out. Sure we play on the same softball team, have the same Alma mater, will attend the same University, and are both generally good guys....but I'm callin' him out. Earlier in the week he predicted that the Flubs would finish atop the NL Central, meaning atop the Milwaukee Brewers. Bold indeed but let's make him put his money where his mouth is. I would like to meet with you Jon and discuss a friendly wager on the matter. I'm callin' you and your Scrubs out!


NBA Finals Game 1
The Spurs are probably the greatest defensive professional basketball team of my era. Also, make no mistake...game 2 is everything. If the Cavs lose game two I give them a 0% chance at winning the series. However, if they can manage to pull one off then we definitely have ourselves a series. Also, today I heard a startling statistic in regards to the Spurs. I believe it said that in the last 10 years the Spurs have won games at about a 70% rate: best in ALL OF SPORTS. Damn you Ming....Game 2: Tune in and root for the savior of the NBA Playoffs to take down the Spurs and their big 3 (pictured right).

MLB Draft
I missed most of it at work but did quite a bit of reading. I think the D-Rays taking hard-throwing left-hander David Price of Vanderbilt wasn't a shocker to anybody. However the rest of the draft was pretty unpredictable. I was especially shocked with the Brewers picking Matt LaPorta (1B/OF) - FL. He's a power hitting 1B who .402 in 2007 with 20 home runs and 52 RBIs. So, you obviously can't refute this kids talent but why did they take him while there were still a lot of really good pitching prospects out there. It doesn't make any sense to me. The only thing I can think of is: (1)they were drafting for the best available overall talent, (2)they are afraid of losing Prince when his contract is up, (3)they think they can convert him to full-time OF, or (4)they want to trade him for some immediate help. He's a monster but why pick him here? Beats me..what do you think?

Vick is Screwed
This thing just gets uglier and uglier each day. The Feds are now getting involved so I guess that means that they mean business. I never really liked Vick in the first place (think 2nd round playoff game at Lambeau) but I really hope he goes down for this and I think he is screwed. Whether this goes all the way through and he goes to court and whatnot whatever he still had left of his image is completely gone. I predict that in the next 3-4 weeks you can expect Nike to speak out on and probably drop Vick as a sponsor. He's already lost a few minor sponsors and I don't think that this is a PR hit that NIKE is willing to take. I wouldn't be....who wants to buy dog-killer shoes? Also Roger Goodell is a hardass so I think Vick will end up with some kind of suspension regardless of what happens to this


NFL QBs
Who I Would Want to Be: Tom Brady
Very attractive girlfriend (Gisele Bundchen), baby on the way (with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan) and a gem in WR Randy Moss. I think that they will get along well because Moss is ready to realize that he is getting old and needs to win a Superbowl. I predict Moss will have the 2nd best season of his career next year.

Who I would Not Want to Be: Dante Culpepper
He apparently has lost all common sense because he is asking to be cut lose by the Dolphins when in reality he's lucky to be on an NFL roster! Who the hell do you think is gunna pick you up!? Maybe if Vick goes down for his dogfighting business sooner than later he could get some PT down in ATL or I can see him maybe in JAX or BAL. My advice would be: be glad you have a jersey on a NFL team and that you atleast have 1 knee.



What do you think about what I think and is there anything that you would have liked me to talk about? Please share....

NBA Finals Predictions

Are the Cavs ready for their biggest test yet?

Well it's NBA Finals time and this year we have the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. We all know who the favorite is here but no one can leave out King James and Co.

Individually, the Spurs have a huge advantage. The only place where the Cavs have an advantage is with Lebron at SF and a slight advantage at center with Zyndrunas Illgauskas over Fabricio Oberto. But Tim Duncan makes it up at PF. Other than that, the Spurs have a huge advantage at the other three positions.

It will be tough for the Spurs to stop Lebron; it will be interesting to see how Bruce Bowen will play on Lebron. I think this is a very intriguing match up. But it doesn't matter who is guarding him, he's still going to put the points up and dominate you all over the floor.

Also, the Cavs have no one to stop Duncan. This series will be similar to the Spurs-Jazz series in the Western Conference Finals. Duncan absolutely dominated and no one will be able to stop him inside. Lebron single handily got the Cavs into the Finals, but the Spurs are just too much for the inexperienced Cavs. One of the best professional sports organizations will add yet another championship to it's resume when it is all said and done.

The Pick: Spurs in 5

If You Wanna Win Put Boobie In

So after my dislike for the NBA cost me to miss the regulation of Game 5 I could not risk a repeat. So, after work I headed over to a buddies house and tuned in for Game 6 in it's entirety, just hoping that LeBron could show even a sliver of the passion that he displayed in Game 5.

Although LeBron did not turn in a historically epic performance he played a good well-balanced game (20 pts. 14 reb. 8 asst. 2 stl 2 blk) and unflappable rookie Daniel "Boobie" Gibson was electric scoring 31 pts and 19 of those in the fourth quarter. I was rooting for Cleveland all along (I predicted Cavs in 7 but I'll take 6) and I couldn't be happier for the Cavs and the city of Cleveland. As the Cavs pack up their bags and head south for San Antonio they carry the whole city on their backs.

As the Finals begin Mr. Daniel Gibson will be trying to prove me wrong. My knack on the Cavs is that I've viewed it as the "LeBron Show". I've said throughout the playoffs that I thought the Cavs were 1 or maybe 2 players away from being a championship team. If Mr. Daniel Gibson can keep this up he can definitely prove me wrong.

I was so impressed with his play I think he may be able to solve a majority of the Cavs problems. If I were in charge I would start him over Hughes for sure. Now, I don't know if this kid has been great all year or if this was maybe a fluke because I don't really watch the NBA at all. I only watch sparingly in the playoffs. However, this kid looked amazing and I love his game. I think he's for real and that the Cavs should go ahead and trade Hughes in the offseason and try to get some worth for him because this kid deserves to start and I think he'll be a star. He'll be that counterpunch that LeBron needs. He'll be the Robin to LeBron's Batman. They seem to have good chemistry together. It's wierd because to me LeBron seems so much older than him when really he's only a year older. You see him hugging and talking to Gibson like a mentor does. That's probably a good thing if you're a Cavs fan, and if you're Daniel Gibson King James ain't a bad mentor.

I'll be rooting for Cleveland all the way in the Finals due to the fact that I hate the Spurs and I'm sick of them winning. I know it's going to be tough and I predict that the Spurs will indeed be crowned champs. I predict that Spurs win it in 6, however I'll be rooting for the Cavs wholeheartedly. And I honestly feel like with Hughes injured and being such a dud in the playoffs Cleveland should try and ride this and start Boobie. I feel like he gives them the best chance to win. However, all this might not matter if the Cavs don't figure out what they're going to do with Tim Duncan. I'm sure they'll try to double team him somehow, probably with Ilauskas and Gooden or something.

Some other things other than Gibson's shining performance and LeBrons solid game that really stuck out to me were:

-I don't like that patch of hair on the back of Drew Gooden's head at all. C'mon you're a Jayhawk!
-Tayshawn Prince is ice cold. The kid can't finish at all right now.
-Varejao for the Cavs might have big hair and be kind of slow but I like his game. He's a great hustler and plays really hard I think
-Sasha Pavlovic needs to tone it down a bit when he gets the ball and avoid lowering his shoulder and treating himself like a human batteringram everytime he touches the ball.
-The Cavs are probably a better team than people give them credit for -me included- due to the "LeBron Show" mindset.

-How absolutely disgusting could Texas have been if they had players staying all 4 years!? (Think Durant, Aldridge, Gibson, etc.)

Finals start Thursday night....Go Cavs! What stuck out to you about game 6? What are you predictions for this year's Finals and do you agree with me in that Gibson should start to give the Cavs the best shot at winning? And what is the Cavs' best bet to stop Tim Duncan?