Dallas Mavericks: new NBA Champions

And so it was… after 6 games, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks have finally attained what every NBA player desires, the championship trophy and the ring.  Dirk, together with fellow veterans Jason Terry and Jason Kidd, proved that teamwork and perseverance, and not individual talent, is what matters the most in games such as this.

Again, Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the 2011 NBA Finals… Congratulations also to Dirk Nowitzki for being named as the NBA Finals MVP.

As for LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade… you did a good job but it’s not yet your time.  Maybe next year

of the NBA Finals, French Open and Shaq

NBA Finals:

Current standing 2-1 in favor of Miami.

So far, it has been an exciting series.  Both the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks are giving it their all just to win the trophy.  But honestly, as much as I love the team, I am truly disappointed with the way the Mavs are playing right now.  They only have Dirk Nowitzki… the rest of the team cannot give him the support he needs.  Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion are doing their best, but Jason Kidd and Jason Terry are not.  I mean, they are giving it their best, but they need to step up their game in order for them to win, especially Terry.   They are going against Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh… they need more than Dirk to win this series.

French Open:

Honestly, I was hoping that Novak Djokovic would win this Grand Slam event but I guess it was not meant to be.  So, Novak fell to Roger Federer on their semi-finals match, ending his streak at 42 – 0.  And Roger fell to the King of Clay courts, Rafael Nadal.  Congratulations to Rafa for his 10th Grand Slam and his 6th French Open title.  With the way he is going, I guess he has a shot at breaking Roger’s record of 16 Grand Slam titles.  But then, we are talking about Fed-Ex here… who knows how many more titles he will get before he retires.  As for Novak, he will eventually win more titles, and maybe someday overthrow Rafa and Roger from their seats.

Shaq:

After 19 long years, Shaquille O’Neal bids farewell to the NBA.  He has had a spectacular career and will be honored in the Hall of Fame someday.  But I highly doubt that we have heard the last of him.  At any rate, he took us in one hell of a ride during his time.  Good luck Big Diesel!

Mavs and Heat… the rematch

As much as I was hoping that the Chicago Bulls will somehow pull off an upset and win the Eastern Conference Title, it was not meant to be.  In the end it was Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh that prevailed.

So, its going to be the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat for the NBA Finals.  The last time that these two teams met was during the 2006 NBA Finals, with the Heat winning the trophy.  At that time, the Mavs lead with 2 wins at their home court before the Heat took 4 straight wins to win the series.  For the Mavs, they had Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Jerry Stackhouse to lead the team while the Heat had the combination of Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal.

 For these year, Dirk still lead the Mavs… with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Tyson Chandler.  While the Heat still has Wade, only this time he is with James and Bosh.  This will be a match-up between two former MVP players.  Among the All-Star players, only Wade has ever won a ring.  This match is between who really wants it the most.

So who’s your bet, Dallas or Miami?  Me, I’m sticking with Dirk and the Mavericks.  I think its his time to win a championship ring.

It’s been a while Chicago…

Chicago Bulls wins over Atlanta Hawks, in Game 6 of the second round in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, 93-73.

The last time I heard that the Chicago Bulls was on the Eastern Conference Finals, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were still playing.  I just finished my college freshman year at that time.  You could say it was during the Bulls Golden era, when it last happened.

Now, after more than 10 years, they are back again.  This time, Derrick Rose is leading them.  After giving Atlanta a beat down (sorry, Hawks fans), they will now face Miami Heat, and its big Three for the Eastern Conf. Championships.  From the looks of it, it’s going to be a hell of a series between these two.

Do they stand a chance?  Yes, they do.

What the Bulls lack in its offensive capabilities, they make up for their impressive defense.  I’m not saying that the Heat doesn’t have a great defense, they do.  But their real strength lies in their offensive power with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

This game will definitely be a duel between two of the leagues’ best point guards.  Depending on who can lead his team well, will determine the winner.

 The Bulls bench will also play a crucial role in this series.  Their own version of the big Three (D-Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah) will definitely rely on them.

Well, I can’t wait for the series to begin.  Best of luck to you Chicago!  Hope you guys will represent the East.

Bye2x Lakers… Bye2x Phil Jackson

I am not an LA Lakers fan but I never imagined that last season’s champs would lose at the second round of the playoffs.  To make things worse, they got swept (4-0 in favor of Dallas Mavericks) and on Phil Jackson‘s last game of his marvelous career.

Honestly, I expected the Lakers to fight back.  I mean, they are the defending champions right?  The least you can expect from them is to fight back and get a win or two.  It’s shocking, to say the least, and embarrassing as well for the players.

The frustration can clearly be seen from some of their players (Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum).  I can understand them venting out at their opponents but… common, flagrant fouls? ejections?  And Bynum, I don’t think J.J. Barea deserves to be clobbered by a guy a foot taller than him.  At least find someone your own size, okay?

Well, Kobe Bryant deserves some credit.  He fought to the bitter end regardless of his and his team’s performance.  But what happened to Pau Gasol?  He clearly wasn’t at his best for the 2nd round, especially against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.  Well, looks like their journey ends here.  Things will get pretty exciting now with Phil gone.  So, what will be your next move Lakers?

As a farewell note, I offer my congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks.  I hope you guys will be this year’s West Conference Champs.  As for the NBA Champions, my money is still on the  Chicago Bulls.

Also, to Phil Jackson… you’ve had a hell of a career.  Good luck to whatever you will be pursuing after this one.

** credit for the images all goes to NBA @ Yahoo

Cavs end streak

After several weeks of being on a losing streak, it is now all over.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finally won one against Los Angeles Clippers [Antawn Jamison lead the Cavs with 35 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.  JJ Hickson added   27 and both D. Gibson and Mo Williams have 17.

For the Clippers, Blake Griffin led with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists.  B. Davis had 26 and R. Foye had 23 points.

Well, I can clearly say that the Cavs deserved this win.  I am happy for them.  I guess the next question is whether they can sustain it now, or will they fall back again on their next game.  That is something that is worth seeing.  For me, I hope they will start a new streak now that Mo Williams is back.

A winning streak, that is.

 

NBA All-Star Roster

So, hours after I posted my thoughts about the NBA All-Star starters, NBA.com released the complete roster list for the upcoming All-Star Games which will be held next weekend.  And it is as I feared, several of the players selected belong to only one team.  It sucks, I know… but hey, it was the coaches’ decision.

Without further ado, let us see who made the cut, shall we?

	EAST		WEST
	JAMES, LEBRON	F	ANTHONY, CARMELO
	STOUDEMIRE, AMAR’E	F	DURANT, KEVIN
	HOWARD, DWIGHT	C	** MING, YAO
	ROSE, DERRICK	G	BRYANT, KOBE
	WADE, DWAYNE	G	PAUL, CHRIS
	PIERCE, PAUL	F	GRIFFIN, BLAKE
	GARNETT, KEVIN	F	NOWITZKI, DIRK
	BOSH, CHRIS	F	DUNCAN, TIM
	HORFORD, AL	C	GASOL, PAU
	ALLEN, RAY	G	WESTBROOK, RUSSEL
	RONDO, RAJON	G	GINOBILI, MANU
	JOHNSON, JOE	G	WILLIAMS, DERON
			** = injured

For the West, the list may still change since they are still looking for someone to replace YAO MING.  I have to admit, I am happy that Yao was still selected despite him being injured for the whole season.  It really shows that a lot of people want to see him play… and it doesn’t hurt that China, with it’s large population, backs him up.

So, what do you guys think about the list?  Personally, I don’t like it.  Honestly, there are a lot of people deserving to be on this list but were not chosen because of some small reason (KEVIN LOVE, LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE, STEVE NASH, CARLOS BOOZER, JOSH SMITH, etc.).  Hopefully, next year, the selection process will change.

In any case, it look’s like ti will be an exciting All-Star game between the East and West.  Go Griffin!!! I hope you get to play during the games.

 

ps.  I still can’t get over that there will be no “SHAQ” in this year’s All-Star game.

 

** to view the complete article on the NBA.com website, you can go to these links:

WEST RESERVES: http://www.nba.com/2011/allstar/2011/02/03/west-reserves/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

EAST RESERVES: http://www.nba.com/2011/allstar/2011/02/03/east-reserves/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

NBA All Star starters

So, last week the NBA has released the list for the All Star starters for the East and West.  Truthfully, I am divided with the results.  For the East, pretty much everyone that I voted for was selected except for one.  For the West, only three made it.

Well, let’s bring out the list, shall we?

EAST		WEST
JAMES, LEBRON	F	ANTHONY, CARMELO
STOUDEMIRE, AMAR’E	F	DURANT, KEVIN
HOWARD, DWIGHT	C	MING, YAO
ROSE, DERRICK	G	BRYANT, KOBE
WADE, DWAYNE	G	PAUL, CHRIS

Truth be told, I really want them to implement a simple rule in choosing an All Star participant for the games.  There should only be one All Star participant per team.

Okay don’t get me wrong but this is just my opinion.  I mean, there are a lot of players out there that deserve to be on the All Star but since their team is having a bad season, the chances of them being selected to be part of the team, even as a reserve player, becomes slim.

In any case,the selected coaches for the All Star teams bears the responsibility of selecting the reserves for each team.  But it would really be nice if the NBA does decide to implement this rule.

NBA Mid-season report and Aussie Open updates…

NBA:

With most NBA teams now approaching its midway point (41 games), NBA.com has now released its Mid-season Report Cards for all the teams.  Currently on top for offense, we have the SAN ANTONIO SPURS while the CHICAGO BULLS gets the #1 spot for the defense.  To view the scorecards of your respective teams, you can access it directly here.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN:

Week 2 has begun and we are now well on our way to the quarterfinals.  A lot of surprising exits has happened last week including ROBIN SODERLING, ANDY RODDICK, JOHN ISNER and a lot more.  For the women, JUSTINE HENIN, VENUS WILLIAMS, ANA IVANOVIC, MARIA SHARAPOVA, are among the top names who were eliminated from last week’s competition.   Here are the current draws for both the men and women singles.  Or you can view it from the Australian Open website here.

 

Mens Quarter-finals draw

Women's Quarter-finals draw

 

NBA All-Star is now fast approaching.  The starters will be announced this Jan 27.  As for the Aussie Open, I hope to get the chance to watch the final matches on TV.  As long as I’m not busy.