Odom to the clippers, D-will to the Mavs?? Nash to Toronto? Free Agency about to heat up

Image from bleacherreport.com

With free agency a day away, the headlines are heating up. The Clippers have traded for Lamar Odom and are positioning themselves to challenge for the Western Conference championship  now that their core is intact. Odom is a polarizing player to the average NBA fan, some like him and some dont. But the fact is that Odom was a huge piece of the Lakers title runs from 09 and 10 as their six man. No doubt this is once again the role that Odom will play coming off the bench for the youthful Clippers. Odom is a 6-11 forward who can basically play al 5 positions and start the offense, something he did constantly for the Lakers. His run in Dallas was not a good one but now that he's back in LA in a team that will be VERY competitive he should look to bounce back.
Odom will join a talented bench that will no doubt have the advantage on most nights when each team's benches come in the game. This is a great move, and gives the clippers a lot of versatility (could you imagine a lineup of Paul, Billups, Odom, Griffin, Jordan). With Oklahoma potentially losing Ibaka or Harden the Clips are positioning themselves to show the Thunder that they will not run through the Western Conference.
While all the attention of free agency has gone to star point guard and Deron Williams, people seem to forget that Steve Nash is also a free agent. The 2-time MVP spoke yesterday and for the first time sounded like he was expecting not to be a Phoenix Suns next Year. The Suns Drafted Kendall Marshall in this year's draft, the only true point guard in the draft and seem to be ready to call it quits on the Nash era. Nash has said that he will listen to every team that calls with an offer. But you have to think that at this point Nash wants to go to a team that can compete for a championship immediately. The four teams that seem to have the most interest at this point are: the Brooklyn Nets, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Toronto Raptors.
The Nets and Dallas are obviously looking at Nash only if they fail to get Deron Williams, so obviously one of these two teams will heavily recruit him once Williams makes his decision. The Toronto Raptors seem to think that they can lure Nash away with the prospect of having the greatest Canadian player ever play for Canada. But realistically speaking, why would Nash waste his last few years for a team that will OBVIOUSLY not win a championship? and will just struggle to make it to the playoffs.  So lets keep an eye on where Nash lands because it will be a huge swing in somebody's favor. Nash will no longer be averaging a double double in whichever championship team he signs for, but he will be a huge piece, somebody who you want to have out on the floor at the end of game, many teams will want that. If not... consider one team that will want his services,  the Miami Heat.

Anthony Davis overall #1 in 2012 Draft, but which team came out winning?

photo from Houstonpress.com

As everybody expected, The Hornets selected Anthony Davis with the #1 overall selection. The hornets now have perhaps the only player in the draft with Superstar potential so no surprise there. But they also got Austin Rivers at the #10 spot who has all star potential. Rivers is a VERY competitive player who will work hard and wants to be the best player on the floor. The Hornets top priority now is to sign Eric Gordon but they certainly utilized their draft picks to the max and should be very happy with their selections (they also got Darius Miller in the second round)
The Charlotte Bobcats had the second pick and had at least 5 offers for the pick from other teams. Nevertheless they stayed with the pick and selected Michael-Kid Gilchrist. The bobcats need help at basically every position and Gilchrist is arguably the best player behind Davis and certainly has the best motor, he will be a lock down defender for them and will help them in a number of ways, regardless of whether they had chosen Gilchrist or Beal or Robinson, they weren't going to go wrong with their pick and most certainly still need TONS of help for the Jordan-Owned team.
The Wizards had the third overall pick and selected Bradley Beal, who many considered to be the best player in the draft after Davis. Beal is constantly compared to Ray Allen, and was a very sought out player (The thunder supposedly offered the Bobcats James Harden for the second pick so that they could draft Beal). This pick is a great pick for Washington who need a guard who can space the floor for Wall. The Wizards have slowly been getting rid of players who have been a disturbance (to say the least) in the locker room. They traded for Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor and now have a solid starting 5 with a Lethal backcourt. All that remains to be seen is if Wall will have a breakout year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had two picks in the first round and they sure put them to good use. With Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving at point guard, they went ahead and drafted Dion Waiters, a legit scorer who has drawn comparisons to Dwyane Wade, and Tyler Zeller the 7 footer from UNC. Now the cavaliers have very good talent at the 1,2,4 and 5 position. They will be a very fun team to watch and they get a A- from this one man committee.
The kings added even more talent with Thomas Robinson who will now play along talented center Demarcus Cousins, and should compete for a starting spot immediately. The phoenix suns however seem to be getting ready to deal with their post Nash era by drafting the purest PG in the draft available in Kendall Marshall. There were concerns about his ability to shoot the ball coming out of UNC, but at the end of the season he helped his stock a lot with some big shooting performances for his team. In addition he will play for Alvin Gentry who plays a fast tempo offense and wants to run the score high, so Kendall Marshall has definitely landed in the right place.
Overall there werent any big surprises in this draft but it should come as a big surprise that Perry Jones who has All Star potential, fell to the end of the first round because of concerns of a knee injury. This man will definitely be the steal of the draft and look who lands him... The Oklahoma City Thunder, Jones is a 6-10 prospect and should the Thunder not sign Ibaka, who is a free Agent then they now have insurance.

OKC Western Conference Champions next season? Not so fast!!

Image from Sportributor.com

            The Oklahoma City Thunder have a bright future and will certainly be the favorites to come out the western conference again. But we see reason to think otherwise. The Thunder have Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant under contract. The same cant be said of two of their other key pieces in the run to the finals in 6th man of the year James Harden and NBA shot blocking leader Serge Ibaka. These two players will be free agents this summer and the Thunder do not have enough money to keep both of them, specially if Harden is offered a huge contract by another team. The believe that the Thunder cannot win with Westbrook shooting so many shots should be dismissed but regardless it will be important to see how they handle their free agents. Regardless though, the biggest obstacle in the opinion of this humble blog, will be.... the Los Angeles Clippers... (yes the Clippers)
            The clippers had one of the best seasons in franchise history. After acquiring Superstar Chris Paul from the Hornets, the Clippers made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Clippers did it without a training camp and a roster that added pieces as the season went on. They added Kenyon Martin and Nick Young halfway through the season and finished as the 5th seed in the very competitive Western Conference. With the star tandem of Paul and Griffin set and pieces to surround them they are primed to make a run. They have size and length, veteran talent, offensive power and a deep bench who won them a playoff game. The Clippers also have their share of free agents they have to sign back up. Martin, Young, Billups, Foye, Evans, and Williams are all players who were key in their run to the second round. However, Billups, Young and Martin all seemed very interested in returning to the Clips and it seems to be hard fetched to believe the Clippers will let Evans go after his enormous contributions off the bench. Evans played the bulk of the minutes at center at the end of the games. With a full season now in LA, and a training camp this year along with a lot more practice time, the Clippers will no doubt make a run at the Western Conference championship.
           The Dallas Mavericks will also be in contention next year for the western conference crown. They have a willing spender in owner Marc Cuban and will have Dirk Nowitzki back, the best scoring power forward in the league. Jason Terry A.K.A "The Jet" is a free agent but the Mavs will have no trouble signing their 6th man back. The biggest reason the Dallas Mavericks have a chance at the Western Conference crown next year though, is because of Nets free agent Deron Williams. Williams is arguably a top 3 Point guard and has long battled for the title of "best point guard" with Chris Paul. Williams has said that he would either resign with the Nets or sign with the Mavericks. The Mavs have a VERY good chance of signing Williams who is a native of Dallas and who at this point in his career is starting to think more about winning than anything else. Money will obviously not be a problem when it comes to Cuban. By going to Dallas Williams will play for the first time in his career alongside a true superstar and big man in Dirk. If Dallas signs Williams then expect them to make a run back to the finals.
Tomorrow we will look at the Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs and their chances to challenge for the conference crown

Eastern conference challenges for the defending champs next year?

Over the next two days, we will analyze who could challenge the Heat and Thunder for a trip to the NBA Finals. Today we will talk about the Eastern Conference. The Heat no doubt will be heavily favorite to repeat as champs and definitely to represent the eastern conference. Their main competition since the formation of the big 3 have been the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls and both have heavy question marks as the off season begins.

The Chicago Bulls spent all of the shortened season dealing with nagging injuries to their backcourt and particularly their superstar Derrick Rose. They still survived all the setbacks to finish with the best record in the eastern conference for the second year in a row. However,  Rose tore his ACL in that unfortunate first round series against the Philadelphia seventy Sixers and will likely be out until January. This obviously puts a very big question mark on the bulls chances to challenge the Heat without their Superstar guard. Even before rose went out with the injury, it didnt seem like the bulls had  played enough games together to challenge past the Boston Celtics. Their free agents for this summer are Omer Asik (restricted), Mike James, John Lucas and Scalabrine A.K.A the white Mamba (all unrestricted).

Obviously none of these players will be able to fill in the huge gap that Rose will leave and Cj Watson will be the starting PG once the season starts. By the time Rose gets back on the court, it may be too late to really make a run at the conference championship and challenge the Heat.

Then there's the crafty and aging Boston Celtics (although we seem to say this every year). The celtics gave the Heat everything they could handle this year in a tough 7 game series that saw Rondo score 44, and Lebron 45. The Celtics may have seen the last run for this group. They have 9 players who are unrestricted free agents, the two biggest free agents being Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Most certainly one of the two will not be back and it figures to be Allen who has ankle surgery to go through this summer.

Even with Garnett back, how much longer can he play at a high level with 17 years under his belt? in addition Brandon Bass will test the free agency waters and figures to get a lot of interest from other teams as will Pietrus and Jeff Green. At this point its safe to say that the celtics will not be a threat to the Heat. 

The Indiana Pacers on the other hand are the one team who seem to be back next year at full force with another year under their belt, they are young have depth and the Heat's most glaring hole, size. They have to lock up Roy Hibbert and George Hill who are restricted free agents but that wont seem to be a problem. Could they possibly beat the Defending champs in a 7 game series? Probably not specially when the top 2 players are on the Heat, but no doubt they will be the ones i believe who will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat.

The Magic who will not have Stan Van Gundy anymore as coach, are looking at a long road to convincing Howard to sign back. And Atlanta will continue to be a 4 seed who will regret giving Joe Johnson a max contract for years to come. 

In the end, The Heat will be back in the NBA finals whether people like it or not, the Eastern conference does not have enough to challenge the defending champs. Barring injuries, they will cruise along the first three rounds of the 2013 playoffs.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the entry on the western Conference

The Heat capture second championship, as The king is Crowned

Picture from foundationcrossfit.com

When all was said and done, one Lebron James had his first NBA championship, Dwyane Wade had his second and the Miami Heat delivered on that promise made almost two years ago. The Oklahoma City Thunder have nothing to be ashamed of, they played 4 competitive games. But on the 5th game, they looked like a team who simply wanted to get it over with and begin the coronation of the king. After last night, there should be no doubt that Lebron James is the best player on the planet, he closed the Thunder out with a triple double (26 11 13) and remained poised throughout a game that was a blowout.
On this night the Heat showed that they were more than their big 3, Mike Miller who hadn't hit a 3 all series hit SEVEN threes (yes not a typo) on what seemed to be spare parts collected from a garbage disposal.  The Heat had 4 players scoring at least 20 points and shot a whooping 53.8% from the three point line.
Ultimately though, this night will be remembered for the crowning of a king and perhaps a beginning of a dynasty. James is the most polarizing figure in sports and has been since "The Decision". He did not cry, and it seemed it didn't hit him until well after he was out the game. Lebron has been the best player now for a number of years, opinions may vary. But he has 3 out of the last 4 MVP's, monster numbers every year, All NBA first team and all All NBA defensive team, he can play all 5 positions and defend them all with success as well. His one blemish was the lack of a championship he so desperately wanted.
Whether you like him, or hate him, you cannot deny the fact that you are looking at an all time great, yes he handled his "decision" incorrectly, but we are all humans, and in the end he got what he left for, a championship ring. For one night, we all must all stop and acknowledge the greatness that is James, no more "ringless" jokes. For one night no more about his lack of what Skyp Bayless calls the "clutch gene". He is now an NBA champion and a finals MVP, adding more hardware to an already filled trophy case.
How can we not talk though about The Heat's greatest player of all time Dwyane Wade. Yes Lebron is the best player on the team, but do not undervalue Wade who now has 2 championships under his belt. And who without him Lebron would never be in Miami. Wade has willingly given the reigns of the team to James when he told him halfway through the season: "Dont worry about me", a superstar player who understands that for his team to win championships sacrifices must be made. Wade played this whole postseason with a knee injury that will most likely keep him out of the olympics and with renewed family problems with his ex wife.
Wade, who is without a doubt an All time great and a first ballot hall of famer when he retires, now passes into even greater status with multiple championships, perhaps already securing what many  already believe as the third best shooting guard in the history of the game behind Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. He has given up the ball to Lebron when he is without a doubt still capable of carrying a team, but on this night he secures his second ring, something he says he will appreciate and enjoy much more than his first.
Finally and definitely not least, Oklahoma should not feel ashamed. In my opinion they will be back, it seemed like the lost will just give them more motivation to return hungrier than ever. It hurts to be so close and fail, but now the experience that the Heat had from last year's lost to the Mavericks, the Thunder will have coming into next season. They simply ran into a team that wanted it more, or perhaps in the case of Lebron.... NEEDED it more

The Heat are hungry, while the Thunder settle

One win win away from an NBA championship, and this particular group will not let it get away. The heat took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Thunder and now have history on their side (in the NBA finals, team that take a 3-1 series lead are a perfect 30-0). The thunder started out the game like the desperate team clearly looking to tie the series up. They jumped out to a 17 point lead.
This Miami Heat team though, will win the NBA championship. Faced with all the adversity possible , the Heat toughed out the win. Something that perhaps last years group wouldnt have been capable of. It is in my opinion, not a matter of a lack of talent for the Thunder, but more of who wants it more. The 50-50 balls, the hustle plays, the Heat clearly have won all those battles. Down 17, the Heat fought back using the most unlikely of sources, Norris Cole the rookie provided the offense to power the Heat back into the game.
           When Lebron James went down with what seemed to be cramps, the Thunder smelled blood in the water and still couldnt take the win. Russell Westbrook had perhaps the best game of his playoff career with 43 points, but committed a crucial foul on chalmers after a jump ball.  Speaking of that jump ball, down 3, and with 3 seconds left in the shot clock, Shane Battier tipped the ball out of kevin durant´s hands and right into Chalmers, who was then fouled inexplicably by westbrook (three seconds left in the shot clock for the heat). Thats what this team has become, a team who finds a way to win basketball games.
It hasnt always been pretty, but  when Lebron has 26, wade 25,  and Chalmers 25, you know that this team is ready for a championship. Today it was Chalmers, the previous two games it has been Battier. Okc however has gotten nothing beyond Westbrook and Durant, to the point that tonight in the 4th quarter it seemed like they were playing 2 against 5. Harden has been terrible and nowhere  near his 6th man of the year status. Before The finals, Harden had never been held to single digits scoring this postseason.
        Westbrook, has been higly criticized (myself included) for taking so many shots, but how can you blame him when nobody else has stepped up? James Harden will not sleep for a while this summer, his performance was so dull, that it came to a point where he had a wide mid range shot and still hesitated. It is important to note that he struggled as well in the semifinals when he had to spend so much energy guarding Kobe. This series he spends all his time either on Wade or Lebron, and perhaps its taking a toll on him. But championship teams find a way, the Thunder seemed content with being here, The Heat are not. Thats why, the Miami Heat will be 2012 NBA Champions.
       When the Thunder look back, they will know it wasnt because of a lack of talent, but because of who wanted it more, and right now, nobody wants it more than the Miami Heat, 1 through 12. NOT just the big three.

Heat take a 2-1 series lead after an ugly game 3

         As game 4 fast approaches, the Thunder and Heat stand on two different grounds. The Heat were here last year, up 2-1, and heavily favored over the Dallas Mavericks. A sensitive topic when speaking to anybody on the Heat roster and a lingering shadow for Lebron James. Lebron who had a very disappointing 2011 NBA finals has said that he did not make game changing plays as his team was accustomed of him doing, and vowed to change that this time and so far has delivered. Dwyane Wade, after a rocky first game to these finals, has had two great games (25 points 7 assists and 7 rebounds in the game 3 victory), his energy on both sides of the ball has been great, and he continues to be the designated offense initiator down the stretch.  While Bosh continues his dominance of the boards and providing enough offense by picking his spots. We also cannot undermine the HUGE contributions of Shane Battier who continues to shoot lights out for the Heat.

photo from bettor.com

         The Oklahoma City Thunder, managed to not fall behind to begin the game (although they started off trailing 10-4 and turning the ball over several times) and Durant despite being guarded a lot more by Lebron James, continues to be unstoppable. The Thunder opened up a 10 point lead midway through the third but Durant picked up his fourth foul after a Dwyane Wade pump fake that seemed to have little or no contact. Brooks also decided to sit Westbrook, which allowed the Heat to go on a run and take the lead back. Durant for the second straight game found himself in foul trouble and the superstar has said he´s been frustrated with the issue (ironically Paul Pierce found himself in the same dilemma last series). The Thunder have outscored the Heat 286 to 285 so far and still trail the series 2 games to 1. The thunder gave the game away when Durant sat out in the third quarter and Brooks inexplicably sat Westbrook out as well. Another factor to consider is free throw shooting, The heat went an impressive 31-35 from the line while Oklahoma went 15-24.
           The problem with Oklahoma is that they live and die by the jumpshot, and the lack of assists on their points. Okc is essentially an isolation team, their points come off isolation plays and the most pick and roll basketball you see is when James Harden is on the floor. On a night in which both teams played abismal, the Heat escaped because of their free throw shooting, and because they managed to contain Durant from midway through the third quarter all the way to the end. If Oklahoma is making their jumpshots, they are practically unbeatable, However, last night they shot 4-18 from the three point line and Durant had an abysmal 4th quarter. The Heat look poised to take this championship, but a few plays there and a few calls here, and Oklahoma could have easily been up 2-1. After all, the home team has only won all three games of the 2-3-2 format just twice, so there´s no reason to panic if your Oklahoma, the last team to win all three home games it? The Miami Heat in 2006

A series of Storylines will define game 3 of the 2012 NBA FINALS

Image from smtdaily.com

         The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat will continue tonight what seems to be shaping up as a classic NBA Finals. In Game 1, the Thunder erased an early deficit and rallied behind Durant´s monster 4th quarter. Game 2, Miami once again jumped out to an early lead and the Thunder fell short of another monster comeback at the end.  Several storylines have developed, and will continue to be watched tonight. Russell Westbrook, after being severely criticized after his game 2 performance has stated that he will not alter his play despite the criticism. Westbrook will be the center of attention tonight, as everybody closely watches the amount of shots westbrook takes as well as the shot selections from the Thunder´s point guard.
         How Westbrook comes out to start the game is crucial, as Oklahoma has faced double digit deficits at the beginning of both games 1 and 2. The Heat know Oklahoma´s tendency to start out slow, and Oklahoma will not have the benefit of their home crowd for the next three games. Miami will no doubt play much better at home, if Oklahoma continues to start out slow, this series wont last as long as much people expect. On the flip side, after a bounce back game 2, it is important to keep an eye on Dwyane Wade, as he continues to battle a mysterious Knee injury. Wade (just like Oklahoma) continues his first half struggles and looks to provide another strong game to help out Lebron. With Bosh now in the starting lineup, Wade no doubt benefitted from Bosh´s floor spacing, and knee injury or not, will look to continue to attack Oklahoma´s defense.
          Tonight, for the first time in a long time, nobody will ask Spoelstra what his starting lineup will be, with bosh back in his comfort zone in the starting lineup, and Battier playing the best basketball of his postseason there will definitely be no change tonight. Bosh, who is well rested in part because of his injury seems to have embraced his role as the Heat´s center after his strong performance on the boards with 15 rebounds (a much needed effort against OKC´s strong frontcourt) in game 2. While the big 3 for Miami played like the big 3, we cannot undermine Harden´s strong 21 points on only 11 shots. Harden obviously gives the Oklahoma bench an advantage now that bosh has rejoined the starting lineup, look for harden to be much more aggressive tonight and take well over 11 shots.
            Of course all eyes will no doubt be on Lebron James and Kevin Durant, after gaining the best of lebron with his monster game 1 fourth quarter, Lebron escaped game 2 with a controversial ending in which many believe James fouled Durant on the last play of the game. However, the game was not decided on this play, it was decided on the 18-2 deficit that the thunder fell in. Foul or not, the Heat are lucky because Durant missed a shot he makes 9 out of 10 times. Just like a foul could have been called on Lebron at that moment, Durant´s six and final foul could have been called earlier when Battier was called for a blocking foul on Durant. Tonight expect spoelstra to do much of the same, and split the duties of guarding Durant between Battier and Lebron. Most would like to see Lebron on Durant the entire game, (Durant asked to guard Lebron before the series began) but lebron is already being asked to do so much, that it is not convenient for Spoesltra to leave James on Durant the whole game. Consider the worries of Heat faithful that say Lebron is playing too many minutes another factor that will stop Spoesltra from leaving Lebron on Durant for 48 minutes.
            The game will be decided in the first and third quarter, if OKC gets out to another slow start, expect the heat to leave tonight with a 2-1 series lead, the third quarter will also be crucial, but OKC will not be at home tonight, if they fall behind, they will stay behind. For the Heat, Lebron James must continue his strong play and hope that Dwyane Wade provides the Dominant 1-2 punch they need, and rebound the ball well. The heat kept Oklahoma out of their transition game in the last contest, something that hadnt been done to OKC this entire postseason. One way or another, the storylines leading up to tonight´s game will give way to an epic game 3.

Heat escape back to South Beach with a split

Russell Westbrook guarded by D.Wade
Image source: observadorglobal.com

            The Miami Heat head back to South beach humming, at least for a night as they used an incredible start to game 2 of the NBA finals to pull out a win. The Heat once again started off well as they took an 18 to 2 lead at the beginningof the game while Oklahoma continues to struggle with slow starts. The Thunder just like in game 1 rallied but ultimately fell short after Durant missed a 7 footer on a controversial play in which Lebron may or may not have fouled him that would have tied the game with about 7 seconds left. The problem with Oklahoma City at least for this night, begins and ends with Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points on 26 shots. Westbrook plays the ¨PG¨ position and yet he takes more shots than Kevin Durant who continues to have monster games in a very efficient way. It is not to say that Westbrook had a complete disaster of a game, he scored 18 points in the second half on 8 for 16 shooting.
         However, going 2 for 10 in the first half is a big reason why the Thunder fell behind and it makes no sense that westbrook didnt continue to feed the hot hand at the time. James Harden came out firing, making sure that his game 2 performance would be much better than his game 1, so why didnt westbrook the point guard of the team go to the hot hand? Instead his team fell in a big gap and Westbrook was decimated on national television by Magic Johnson, the greatest point guard to ever play the game. The stats show that when Westbrook shoots more than Durant the Thunder generally win, but thats because the team is better than most of the league on most nights. Yet, in the NBA finals against the other best team in the league, unless westbrook is making most of those shots at an efficient rate, the Thunder are looking at a long shot at winning the NBA championship. This series already looks like is going to be one of the best finals we´ve had in years (along with the 2010 Boston vs Lakers that went 7 games), but westbrook must be efficient if he´s going to continue to be a volume scorer. At this point of the season, we cannot expect Westbrook to change his game and be more of a traditional point guard, nor should he (they made the finals with him taking all those shots), but for Oklahoma to stop getting off to slow starts, their pg needs to follow the script of the second half of game 2, to start out game 3.

6 Fouls of the day

1. In a RARE incident involving a San Antonio Spurs player, Tony parker will be sidelined for a week after injuring his eye in the fight that broke out in New York involving Chris Brown and Drake, Parker who will play with the France national team this summer said he was with his friend Chris Brown when people started throwing punches at them
2. 2.Phil Jackson said he was not interested in coaching the New York Knicks if he had been asked nor the Orlando Magic. Jackson stated That Stoudemire of the Knicks, is a great player but that he needs to be in the right system and he just doesnt fit with Carmelo Anthony, who Jackson said needs to pass the ball more instead of just stop stopping ball movement once it reaches his hands.
3. After shooting terrible to start the playoffs, Battier has been on fire from three point range in his first two finals game, will he continue his hot streak from behind the arc? or will the Oklahoma City thunder make adjustments? either way, Battier´s shooting along with Bosh´s strong play will no doubt open up driving lanes for James and Wade, something they desperately needed during Bosh´s absence
4. Okc Coach Scott Brooks, limited Nick Collison´s minutes in game 2 and went instead with Perkins, a decision questioned by many, as collison´s intangibles were clearly missed in game 2, will Brooks once again limit him in game 3?
5. After a disappointing first two finals appearance by Lebron James against San Antonio and last year against dallas, Lebron has had 30 plus points in the first 2 games, it will be interesting to see if James will continue his strong play in the finals and maybe finally get over the hump and get his first ring
6. Spoelstra Continues to tweak and change his rotation on a game to game basis, playing Lebron James and Dwyane Wade heavy minutes, and failing to go deep into his bench, Spoelstra has changed his starting lineup numerous times during their current playoff run, and it will be interesting to see if it will continue as the finals roll on.

Heat is on D.Wade and the Heat tonight

As game 2 fast approaches in Oklahoma city, all eyes will undoubtably Be on Dwyane Wade. Wade, who before Tuesday's game 1 was averaging 30.6 ppg in the finals, has been everything but himself. Battling a knee injury which he has spoken little of, Wade has allowed teammate and league M.V.P Lebron James to carry the load. Lebron himself has said that he tries to tell Wade from time to time to take over and be that Dwyane Wade that everybody has come accustomed to seeing. Lebron James had another well rounded game with 30 points and 9 rebounds, but he didn't shoot the ball well and it wasn't enough to upset Kevin durant's huge 4th quarter and second half rally. Meanwhile Wade managed only 19 points on 19 shots, and at times seem reluctant to even take shots, twice he came down and struggled to decide whether to shoot the ball or pass it (first time he was called for a travel and second time he pump faked the shot wide open and when he finally shot it missed it). When Chris Bosh and Lebron came to Miami to join Wade, the idea was for each to no longer have to carry th burden of carrying the whole team by themselves and win championships. Whether Wade is hurt or not, he needs to be more than just A deferring superstar for the heat to stand a chance against the young and hungry Oklahoma City Thunder. If Wade needs prove of it, he just needs to look back to last year's finals when Lebron inexplicably played well below his standards and left Wade to do all the work and in the end Dallas took the championship from them in six games. Wade has said that he will look to score more in game 2 and Oklahoma expect wade to have a much bigger game, James harden is expecting a much more aggressive Dwyane Wade, and Perkins has warned everybody that Wade usually follows a bad game with an huge one. However, Miami must also expect a better game from Harden who spent much of game 1 in foul trouble. Another big storyline is how long will Eric Spoesltra allow durant to be defended by players not named Lebron James. Durant (who asked to guard the M.V.P before the game) was on fire in the fourth quarter and by the time Lebron got on him, it was, in my opinion too late for Lebron to try to cool him off. Spoelstra must also decide whether he continues to bring Bosh off the bench, at this point Bosh is ready to start and they need his production to ease Lebron and Wade's scoring burden.If Miami wishes to take the series back to South beach tied at one game apiece however, it will ultimately rely on whether Wade can shake off his struggles and deliver a vintage performance to help his M.V.P teammate and shift the momentum in Miami's favor. Otherwise the Heat will fall in a 0-2 hole that will send the Heat into a world of trouble and Wade into more questions about whether he is still an Elite player.

First of many, insight on NBA basketball

Greetings, this blog has been created with the purpose of writing about basketball, specifically NBA basketball. We will discuss the day to day activities and news that surface from the most competitive basketball league of the world. The idea is to inform (but also comment objectively) the world about everything that is related to the league or that in some way, directly or indirectly, will affect it. We will comment on subjects with our own opinion of course and welcome comments and opinions that will lead hopefully to healthy debates. We will answer a certain number of questions daily, give you Six "fouls" or pieces of information to keep in mind with every post and will write at least one entry a day. From time to time the blog may also talk about international basketball as well as college basketball which hold the future players of the league. We are also working on creating a Twitter account as well as a Facebook account, we look forward to read all your comments on a number of topics and hope you follow us as we make this an informative and fun blog about the sport we all love and follow.