Let's Talk Ball

Gasol silences the Thunder

ChaI-Wala — Sat, 01 May 2010 15:01:23 +0000

In a gut wrenching play, Nick Collison failed to box out properly off a Kobe Bryant missed shot and Pau Gasol came off the weak side to put back the game winning basket giving the lakers a one point lead with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. And with that lapse in fundamental basketball rebounding, at the worst possible time, The Oklahoma City Thunder lost the series to the Lakers. If there was ever a play that emphasizes the importance of the utmost focus on the basic fundamentals of the game for ALL 48 minutes, this was it. The Thunder battled the Lakers valiantly all series long, but there was always the feeling that the Thunder’s inexperience would eventually do them in. Consistently starting off the games with poor shooting, the Thunder seemed nervous to start every game, but eventually gaining confidence as the game went along, most especially Kevin Durrant was constantly taking bad shots all series long and thinking every split second that Artest wasnt riding his back was his opportunity to jack a shot. He did do a good job of making up for these bad shots by getting to the free throw line, where he averaged over 10 attempts a game. All in all the Thunder gave a valiant effort against the defending champions. Expect this team to be back in the playoffs next year, this time with some experience under their belts.

Nuggets stay alive and Hawks officially ‘Fear the Deer’!

Ty — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:06:49 +0000

In a series where injuries are running rampant, the Nuggets were able to get their act together and hold off the Jazz but lost their big man, Nene to a sprained knee. After signs of team turmoil after their game 4 loss to the Jazz, the Nuggets were able to get their sixth man J.R Smith back on track and rally behind their floor general Chauncey Billups and pick up a win that leaves them one game away from tying the series and more importantly extended the series for a game 6 come Friday. Boozer and Deron continued their dominating performance so far this series leading their team with 26pts/16rbds and 34pts/10asts. The difference was the Nuggets countered this with an all round team effort with 6 players finishing in double digits and the bench chipped in 37pts compared to the Jazz’s 16pts. With this win, we are yet to determine if the Nuggets can convince themselves and possibly the rest of the NBA that they are back to their mid-season form as title contenders.

Now a team that has to play some really good basketball to be able to regain any sense of credibility as a possible elite team in the East is the Hawks team that was dispatched by the rookie, Brandon Jennings and the Bucks who stole home court advantage and the series lead heading back to Milwaukee for game 6. While on paper, the Hawks having the more complete squad and the Bucks are playing without their dominant centre Andrew Bogut, it is the Hawks who have failed to find consistent or convincing efforts offensively from their loaded starting five of Horford, Smith, Williams, Johnson and Bibby compared to the Bucks who have found a leader in the rookie Jennings and great scoring punches from players like Salmons and Delfino. Even with the fire power of the newly crowned sixth man, Jamal Crawford and his scoring punch off the bench the Hawks have been unable to find the keys to reining in the Bucks. But the real problem is the inability of the Hawks to get defensive stops in critical moments since the series shifted to Milwaukee in game 3 and this was a glaring problem in game 5 where the Hawks were unable to get consistent defensive efforts to stop the bucks especially in the 4th quarter were they were outscored 30-18 by the Bucks. The effort has been missing for the Hawks and they need to find a way to recover this if they want to avoid an upset at the hands of the Bucks who have made it clear in this series that they will not stop playing hard even with the odds against them.

The Separation Begins

Ty — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:27:57 +0000

I made the bold prediction that the toughest series was going to be the Magic/Bobcats matchup. I remember my friend, Chaiwala, laughing and i tried justifying my prediction. I look back now and feel totally dumb after watching the promising Bobcats fail to record even a win against the Magic who took this series in 4 games in convincing fashion. The Magic defeated the Bobcats by an average of 9pts per game and just seemed to be overpowered on both offense and defense despite the fact that Howard fouled out in 2 out of the 4 games, hence earning him the nickname ‘foul on me’.

Now the stage is set for the 4 games tonight. 3 of the teams; Miami, Chicago and surprisingly Dallas…….. Yes Dallas, have to win or go fishing, golfing or whatever else you do after your season is done. So we just have to wait and see if the separation continues tonight with more teams getting knocked off or if the series can be extended for another game as teams battle to get to the next round.

The final game of the night is the one game that is captivating the imagination of many in the world of NBA basketball. The coming of age of the young OKC Thunder team seems to be happening before our eyes, or it could just be an aberration or the veteran Lakers team working themselves back into shape for an actual run at a repeat.

Tonight we will see what the fate of teams whose playoff lives hang in the balance and also be watching closely as we determine if the OKC Thunder are for real, we might just be watching another version of the 06/07 Golden State Warriors who beat the number 1 seeded Mavericks.

B-Roy returns, helps secure win in game 4.

Ty — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 14:09:51 +0000

This was nothing short of a miraculous return leading up to the emotional win by the trailblazers to tie up the series at 2 – 2. Roy’s last minute addition to the roster surprised many, and I will be honest, I think the words of Charles Barkeley describe it best, ’I wonder what the organization is thinking’.

The organization must have been thinking; we need to win this after being blown out in the 2 previous games and down 2-1 in the series, because that’s exactly what happened in his return. Phoenix came out strong but the momentum shifted after some strong plays by Bayless and Batum gave the trailblazers the lead 17 – 18 late in the 1st quarter and it was at this point Roy was inserted into the game. The crowd gave an ovation and Roy’s movement though clearly limited was inspiring and he kept his composure in the 1st quarter and throughout the game leading to some good D, open looks for his team mates and some big shots by Roy that helped to close the door on the Suns comeback attempts in the 4th quarter. The game had been close through 3 quarters and in the trailblazers clamped down on D and taking advantage of fast-breaks and then Aldridge heated up and scored on everything from post ups to put backs to jumpers giving Portland the lead in a run that was capped up by Roy’s trademark crossover and pull up jumper from left elbow of the key with about 2 min left in the game for a 91 -83 lead.

It was a complete team effort with good rebounds and effort from the Portland vets like Camby, Juwan Howard and Andre Miller and the speed and aggression of the young duo of Bayless and Batum. Aldridge felt the impact of Roy’s presence on the court as the floor opened up for him to become effective again finishing with a playoff career high 31pts and 11rbds.

But the game wasn’t totally won on offense as phoenix was exposed almost all through the game when Nash was blown by creating mismatches and open looks for shooters and slashers and the trailblazers D was able to keep every player on the Suns in check except Stoudamirewho was aggressive and came up with 26pts. They also forced turnovers, 6 of which were to Steve Nash’s name.

With the series now tied at 2-2, we will have to wait to see what the short and long term effects are on Brandon Roy and the trailblazers. I only hope that this will be a fairytale comeback with no setbacks.

Trailblazers 96 – 87 Suns

‘The Truth’ hurts in Miami!

Ty — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:50:19 +0000

So Miami is playing at home and looking for some way to get back in this series. The whole game is playing out like it can actually be won because they have done their part; kept the game close enough that they have a chance to win, control the tempo behind Wade’s play and some good defense and then it all seems to mean nothing when Wade crumples to the ground clutching his leg after a missed 3 pointer with just about 11secs left in the game. I can only imagine the collective gasp as realization set in, could Wade really be gone and what can this team do without him?

Well, Miami got a taste of this scenario on the final possession as Paul ‘The Truth’ Pierce was left to receive the inbound pass, get comfortable on the dribble and with 3sec left on the clock drain a long jumper to win the game. Miami can only imagine what could have been if only Wade didn’t have to leave the games with leg cramps.

Miami lost this game even though Wade finally got some help from Beasley and Dorell Wright with 16 and 15pts respectively. Wade finished with a game high 34pts and 8asts. The Celtics were led by Pierce with 32pts and Ray Allen with 25pts. Also KG was returned from his one game suspension to add more veteran depth to this team. The stage is set for a sweep as Celtics are now up in the series 3-0.

Celtics 100 – 98 Heat.

No KG, No Problem!

Ty — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:22:01 +0000

With KG suspended for game 2, the Heat seemed poised to steal homecourt advantage, right?……………. Wrong.

The Heat were unable to take advantage on both ends of the court as their offense seemed ineffective against the very aggressive celtics and thewir defense was non-existant for most of the game especiallly against the lights-out shooting of Ray Allen who finished with 25pts while shooting 7 of 9 from beyond the arc and Glen ‘Big baby’Davies who was nearly unstoppable in the paint finishing with 23pts. Its been common knowledge that the Heat, beyond Wade, have no offensive threat. That has now been exposed even more by the Celtics in this game. Wade did his part with 29pts and 5asts but got no help from his teammates with Beasely(13pts) and Chalmers(10pts) being the only heat players that scored in double digits. The Heat really gave theselves no chance to win this game as they were outrebounded 50 – 33 and made only 10 of their freethrows to the celtics 22.

The Heat will need to find some answers and quickly in order to stop the bleeding and salvage the series. Game 2 goes to the Celtics 106 – 77 Heat.

Some Lebron and a lil’ bit of Jazz

Ty — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:09:17 +0000

Watching the games tonight, it was really a night of Lebron James highlights and a surprise in the mile high city!

The Cavs were held to a very close game by the resilient bulls who kept the game tied at 77 after 3 quarters; led by the trio of Deng, Rose and Noah. But the 4th quarter was a story of one Lebron James and a shocking 3 point shooting display by ……..wait for it…….. Jamario Moon! Yes you are reading it correctly, Moon made 4 of 5 bigtime 3 pointers for 12 big points which was enough to help Lebron and the Cavs take this game from the Bulls. I have to give some love to Lebron, who i love to hate, he scored 40pts in this game while hitting some big shots, with a combination of drives, jumpers and late shot clock threes in the 4th quarter. He also delivered the highlight of the night with a poster over the rook james Johnson. Game 2 goes to the Cavs 112 – 102 Bulls.

I had written off the Jazz after the injury to Okur in game 1, as i’m sure a lot of you had. But this team behind coach Sloan, the longest tenured coach in pro-sports, has never been known as a team that rolls over. Once again this team came to play with grit, desire and even with a make-shift starting line-up they were able to execute especially in the first half and they were up 11 at the half. They were able to hold on for the win with strong performances by D. Will and Boozer who finished with 33pts/14asts and 20pts/15rbds. The Nuggets were’nt able to catch the Jazz behind Melo’s 32pts and their 6th man, J.R smith was held to only 9pts on 3/10 shooting. The Jazz bench actually outscored the Nuggets bench 33- 20. Jazz even out the series with this win. Nuggets 111 – 114 Jazz.

Game 1; Book it!

Ty — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:30:34 +0000

The 4 games played were a mix of what was expected due to home court advantage and some added drama due to KG’s primetime elbow…….The Boston-Miami series just got very intresting!

So the ‘Lebron Show’ was in full swing in Cleaveland. It almost seemed like the Cavs were toying with the Bulls. Not to say the Bulls were’nt playing with their trademark grit and passion but everytime they made a play, the Cavs and King James, in particular, just swatted it……Yes , King James was right there with his all to familiar hustle back block. The result of this game was never really in question. Game 1 Cavs 96 – 83 Bulls.

The Bucks ‘Fear the Deer’campaign should be renamed ‘Fear Brandon Jennings’ campaign. This kid was the only buck that showed up and kept this game relatively respectable. Check it out; Atlanta came through with a balanced attack finishing with 6 players in double digits while Bucks led by Jennings 34pts had only 3 players in double digits, but Jennings was the only Buck over the 20pt mark. By the way, did anyone notice John Salmons. He needs to come through in this series to give the Bucks any chance of surviving the flight of the Hawks. Game 1 Hawks 102 – 92 Bucks.

This game was the definition of playoff basketball. A grind it out kinda game with lots of defence. The Celtics had a great all round game with their defence on everyone except Wade being quie good and keeping the game close after 3 quarters. The 4th quarter was a different story, defence tightened up and buckets were hard to come by for the Heat as the whole team was held to 10pts in the 4th. But the intensity of this game was highlighted by the near brawl that was started by some pushing and shoving and a KG elbow to the face of Q-Rich. Kg was ejected for 2 Techs and a possible suspension from the NBA. Miami might have a chance in this series if Celtics lose their anchor, KG, for more than a game. Game 1 Celtics 85 – 76 Heat.

The storylines for this series just keep on changing. Nuggets want to win for coach Karl who is sick with Cancer, Jazz want to win for Coach Sloan who has never won a championship, can K.Mart is returning from injuries, The Jazz injured list keeps piling up, add in Okur to the already sidelined AK47. The game was high energy from the start, the Nuggets were balanced and fed off the home crowd while the Jazz were lead by CJ. Miles in the 1st half who was hot. Okur was lost in the first half after aggravating his already injured achilles heel. The 2nd half was the Nuggets all the way, with J.R Smith heating up and dropping buckets from beyond the arc finishing with 4 treys and the always smooth Carmelo going to work on the Jazz defenders and finishing with a game and playoff career high 42pts. Game 1 Nuggets 126 -113 Jazz.

Chai Wala’s First Round Predictions

ChaI-Wala — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:10:05 +0000

It hurts me to write this preview as you all know my beloved Toronto Raptors stumbled..No, they crawled…actually they internally combusted themselves out of the playoffs, but more on that later. The 2010 NBA Playoffs is shaping up to be one of the most compelling in recent memory.

West Preview

With every team in the west unbelievably with at least 50 wins each (Just think about that for a second….ALL 8 teams have at least 50 wins. That my friends is absolutely RIDICULOUS), the west features matchups what would make Vegas bookies swoon.

The NBA’s newest darling the 21 year old 2010 scoring champion Kevin Durrant and his young, athletic and talented Oklahoma City Thunder face the stumbling defending champions and one of the greatest scorers of all time in Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers. Don’t be surprised if this series goes 6 or 7 games, the Lakers tend to be sluggish in the early rounds of the playoffs. The inexperience of the Thunder will eventually cost them the series.

We have Dirk and the revamped Mavericks against the old steady horses in Tim Duncan and the Spurs. I think the Mavericks are just way too stacked for the old Spurs to contend with. The play of Brandon Haywood on Tim Duncan will be the turning point and I expect Dallas to win in 5 games.

MVP candidate Mr. Kid Canada Steve Nash and the Suns will face off against a Brandon Roy-less Portland Team (Brandon Roy opted for arthroscopic surgery on his knee and will be out at least for the first round of the playoffs). Without Brandon Roy, the blazers will barely stand a chance against the high powered Suns with Nash and Amare playing All NBA basketball. I expect the Suns to take this series in at most 5 games. No Brandon Roy = No wins for Portland. It’s that simple.

And last but definitely not least Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets will face off against a very strong Utah team with Deron Williams playing the best ball of any point guard in the league right now. This will be the most competitive series of the western conference. Both teams are strong defensively and have star players that can take over the game in Carmelo and Deron, BUT the X factor in this series is JR Smith. JR can go off for 30 – 40 pts any night. If JR goes off, The nuggets win ..I expect this series to go 7 games with the Nuggets edging out the Jazz on the back of JR Smith.

East Preview

So with my Toronto Raptors playing golf and gone fishing with their families, the east playoffs though not half as compelling as the west (big surprise…riiight) still provides some interesting matchups.

Lebron and the Cavs, the best team in the NBA over the regular season will face off against a Bulls team that scratched their way into the playoffs riding the strong play of Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. They are a scrappy team, but The Cavs look too focused to even consider losing one game to this team. Please expect a sweep here.

The underrated Orlando Magic will face off against the pesky Charlotte Bobacats. The Bobcats are one of those teams no one wants to face, with Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson Manning the wings, they did lose Tyson Chandler to injury in the last game of the season and this leaves a big question. Who defends Dwight Howard? Nazir Mohammed? Boris Diaw?? Lol..please…Orlando in 5 at most.

The Atlanta Hawks will face off against Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks. Now the Hawks have no injuries and everyone is playing top tier basketball on that team. On the other hand, the bucks lost arguably their best player Andrew Bogut to a gruesome elbow injury towards the end of the season. With an inexperienced leader, the Bucks don’t stand a chance against the Hawks and super sub Jamal Crawford. Hawks in 4!

And finally we have the floundering Boston Celtics against one man squad Dwayne Wade and the Heat. I fully expect the Celtics to step up their game in the playoffs and Rajon Rondo is going to dominate the Heat. Expect Rajon to average close to a triple double in this series like he did in last year’s playoffs. Dwayne Wade is good enough to win 2 games all by himself but his team is just not talented enough. Boston takes this series in 6 games.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, a playoffs for the ages…tipoff is this Sunday..dont miss it! And keep checking back on Letstalkball.com for the latest news and updates…Holla!

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The playoffs are upon us!

Ty — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:29:55 +0000

So with the Eastern conference last seed now set; with the Chicago bulls edging out the Toronto raptors and the Western conference picture finally set with the teams from 2 through 8 all squarely decided, we can now begin the process of anticipating, predicting and mostly guessing who will be major players in the run off towards the NBA championship.

The East, as always, seems to have less compelling stories but I am excited to see how the matchups play out. The West has been a roller coaster ride all season and with the final seeding from 2-8 all decided through the last day of the season; there is no team that can actually be called an under-dog.

Yes, the buzz has begun and the wait is just about over, Lets GET IT!!!!