| 13 February 2009
Leading into the All Star break, some thoughts on NBA, life 'n' stuff...
I don't think Boston are going to win the NBA Championship this season. It's amazing how Boston have reacted both times LA beat them. Prior to the loss on Christmas Day, they were on a 19 game winning streak. They lose to LA, then lost 6 out of 8. LA beat them in their own house on February 5th (early birthday present for me), they lose to San Antonio (again... in their own house). Yes, they beat NYK - but everyone does. And NOLA in NOLA - but they have their own issues at the moment. And struggling for much of the game against a resurgent Dallas... Whilst the losses themselves don't hurt overly, the fact that they lost in Boston against the two teams most likely to come out of the West hurts. And LA hold a tie-breaker over them, having swept them this season... starting to lean towards two other teams... one is, and this is going to hurt:- Cleveland. Just quietly, I'm coming around. Yes, it's been a long time coming... and I still don't think that they're THAT deep, but Mo's playing good ball. LeBron James goes without saying. I think best scenario for them (if they made the finals) would be to face San Antonio. Full roster vs full roster, they do not match up well against the Lakers. Critics will point to the loss against Indiana, but they rebounded well against Phoenix... and the first loss to LA did not pre-empt any type of downward spiral.
- Speaking of LeBron & the Lakers... anyone else catch the interview with he & Kobe? Good stuff... in case you missed it:
- The other team that looks damn good out East is still Orlando, but the injury to Jameer Nelson is very troubling as far as having a guy with ice-water in his veins to end games bombing tres. That's why they have Turkeyglue & 'Shard, but Jameer was that guy. Jury's still out on whether they recover or not. Recent performances would indicate that they're going to struggle.
- One of those 3 teams is likely to make the Finals, but it's gotten interesting. All 3 have shown frailties that would be providing motivation for the lower seeds that are going in to the playoffs. I would not be surprised to see one of those three not make it to the second round. Lower end of the 8 and it's basically a race to see who can be the least inept. Teams that oscillate between pretty good and pretty awful.
The West is a dogfight for 2nd spot, and then a battle to get into the playoffs at all. Denver have really stepped up lately (if you ignore the absolute flushing they got in the Meadowlands), and the Spurs have a fight on their hands to finish 2nd. A pretty decent team is going to miss out at the lower end of the scale, and my money'd be on Phoenix. They appear to have thrown in the towel.- All Star weekend, and I find myself interested for the first time in a VERY long time. Both line-ups are beastly, and I'd hesitate to place either as favourite at this time... The Soph/Rookies game is going to be good, for the first time in god knows how long, the Rookies have a team that will be able to take it to the Sophs - but I still think the 2nd years win. Look for Stuckey to have the break-out game...
- HORSE... I am both amazed and ecstatic that it's finally in the AS Weekend. I think I'm looking forward to that more than anything else. Should be an absolutely AMAZING competition...
- My heart goes out to those affected by the bushfires in Victoria, Australia. The fires have been incredibly widespread, on the back of a years of drought, and more than a few days of intense heat. Whilst none in my family were directly hit by this tragedy, the fires did come within 2km of my brother's house. Many, many hundreds more were not so lucky, and the death toll is expected to be up around 300 once the final count's made. I'd ask everyone to keep in mind the very difficult time that people in Victoria are going through, and if it follows your own personal ethos, say a prayer.
