No one cares. It’s just the season!

The Cleveland Cavaliers are (4-6) in their last 10 games and has not won back-to-back games in almost two months. The Cavaliers have not been playing their best basketball in the last month. Due to many injuries; JR Smith (back from injury now) and Kevin Love have been sidelined for most of the season. Smith has been out since the beginning of the season and Love has been out for a little more than one month now but is expected to be ready for the playoffs. Cleveland has been shuffling their roster all season; looking for a back up big man and a back up point guard. They added veteran point guard Deron Williams and veteran big man Andrew Bogut whom got injured his first two minutes in a Cavalier uniform. Bogut was later waived by Cleveland.

The media and many experts are starting count out the Cavaliers and are talking about the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics. The Wizards are two games behind Cleveland for the 1st seed in the East. The Celtics are only one game back from the Wizards and they are in the 3rd seed in the East.

This reminds of back in the day when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers would go on losing streaks right before the playoff starts and some experts will start doubting the Lakers to reach the NBA finals. The Lakers turn the switch on during the playoffs and beat every team to reach the finals and win it. This happen multiply times in the Kobe era. Some players or teams just don’t give that much effort during the end of the season but they would switch up the intensity during the playoffs.

Realistically, the Cleveland Cavaliers will reach the NBA finals again this year. People are starting to give the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics hope that they can beat LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in a playoff series. Yes, Celtics and the Wizards are both a game or two behind the Cavaliers but thats only because of the effort of the Cavaliers during the last stretch of the season. Some veteran players don’t try as hard during the end of the season like they would during the playoffs. LeBron James and the Cavaliers know they are going to the playoffs. They don’t care who the play or what seed they are. They will beat any team that they have to play during the playoffs, home or away.

Teams such as; Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards will all be competing against each other because those match up will be close playoff serious. The Cleveland Cavaliers will sweep each one of these teams in the playoffs this year. Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards might get lucky and win one playoff game against the Cavaliers but most likely not. I’ll see you in the NBA finals.

Not So Easy Right?

Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors this summer thinking that they would give him the best chance to win the NBA title. The season started off smoothly for the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first team this season to reach 50 wins and clinch a playoff spot. The Warriors are the team to beat this season; the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA title last season but with Kevin Durant on the Warriors they are favorited to win the title this season.

The Golden State Warriors are (6-4) in their last 10 games. Kevin Durant sprained his MCL almost 2 weeks ago and the Warriors have not looked the same. Curry is not playing like the way he did last year when he won the MVP. Kevin Durant is the Golden State Warriors; without him the Warriors are not the same team. Teams like the Houston Rockets and of course the San Antonio Spurs will give Golden State problems in the playoffs if they don’t have their best player Kevin Durant. The Spurs are now one game back from the Warriors for the number 1 seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant is going to miss the rest of the regular season; the Warriors will most likely not keep the 1 one seed in the west without Durant. The Spurs are (9-1) their last 10 games.

Many teams made their last minute transactions before the trade deadline passed. The Cleveland Cavaliers added veterans like Deron Williams, Kyler Korver and Andrew Bogut; whom got hurt just after two minutes in his first game as a Cavalier. Realistically, Bogut was not a key part of Cleveland’s rotation so this injury won’t impact them as much. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best change to beat the Warriors especially with superstar players like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

If Kevin Durant doesn’t come back to full strength during the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will lose in the second round of the playoffs. They signed players like Matt Barnes to replace Durant. Barnes is no Durant and he won’t contribute enough to replace Kevin Durant. The San Antonio Spurts, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and the sleeper team that no one talks about; the Utah Jazz. Utah has an excellent defense and is going to be a hard team to knock out the playoffs. Not going to be so easy for the Warriors.

Ready, Set, Go!!

The NBA playoffs is right around the corner and the Eastern Conference is getting very interesting. Teams like the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors are tired of always losing to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron has reached the NBA finals for six straight years and most likely will be going to his seventh straight NBA finals this season.

Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors are teams that consistently lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers almost each year in the Eastern Conference finals or the 2nd round of the playoffs. Back when LeBron played for the Miami Heat; the teams they would always beat in the playoffs were the Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers. At the time, those teams were considered to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. That rivalry is long gone; the Pacers are now an average team at best and so is the Atlanta Hawks. Since LeBron went back to Cleveland, there has been a power shift in the East between teams. Cleveland Cavaliers are now the top team in the East instead of the Miami Heat and now new rival teams have been created. Especially after winning the NBA title last season and the Cavaliers have been to two straight NBA finals prior to this season.

Washington Wizards are an improved team. Their leader; John Wall is having an amazing season. Washington is now 3rd in the eastern conference behind Boston and Cleveland. Boston is much better than they were last year especially with the play of MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas. Teams like Washington, Boston and Toronto will be looking forward to challenging Cleveland because of their play of their own superstars. Demar Derozan leads the Toronto Raptors, Isaiah Thomas with the Boston Celtics and John Wall with the Washington Wizards. The race for the Eastern Conference title will be close this year.

 

Better Luck Next Year!?

The Golden State Warriors are (50-10) through 60 games in the NBA season. Which is the best record in the NBA. This season means a lot for the Golden State Warriors because they lost in the NBA finals last year and are the villains of the NBA this season especially after superstar Keven Durant signed with the team this offseason.

Last season, Golden State set the record for the most wins in an NBA regular season with 73 wins and only nine loses. They were able to reach the NBA finals but only to blew a 3-1 series lead to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. With an attempt to reach the NBA finals again and redeem themselves from an embarrassing finals lost; the Warriors desperately recruited free agent Kevin Durant and gutted most of their team to get Durant to join the Warriors.

The sad truth about Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors is; Durant himself and the Oklahoma City Thunder blew a 3-1 series lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference finals; which lead to Golden State also blowing a 3-1 series lead that same year in the NBA finals. Golden State gutted their team to be able to sign free agent Kevin Durant. When Durant signed with Golden State, there were a lot of tension between current NBA players, his old teammates and the sports media. Why would you (Durant) sign to a team that you blew a 3-1 series lead to? and also wouldn’t you want to compete with the best teams instead of joining them? There were a lot of questions surrounding Kevin Durant’s decision to team up with Curry, Green and Thompson.

Now, Kevin Durant has a grade two MCL sprained and a bone bruised in his left leg and is expected to miss about four weeks. The NBA playoffs are right around the corner. Kevin Durant’s timetable for his return is right before the playoff start. The real question is; will Durant be healthy enough to play without re-injuring his MCL again when he returns to the court? The Warriors are desperate for his replacement and signed Matt Barnes to their roster.

The Cleveland Cavaliers reloaded their roster with new additions during the season; Derrick Williams, Deron Williams and former Golden State Warrior Andrew Bogut were added to their roster. If the Warriors want to defeat the defending champs, they will need Kevin Durant back at full strengths. Matt Barnes is a good player but Golden State will not advance to the NBA finals if Durant does not recover to full strength. Better luck next year!

 

 

 

Times Up

The Washington Huskies mens basketball team has not made the NCAA tournament since 2011. Since 2010 the Huskies have had nine NBA players and four has been drafted in the first round. Tony Wroten, Terrance Ross, Dejounte Murray and Marquese Chriss  were all drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.

Lorenzo Romar has been the coach for the huskies for decades. He had early success with the Washington Huskies but the last five or six years the Huskies have not been competitive during conference play. Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics was the last player to lead the Huskies to the NCAA tournament; losing to North Carolina in the second round. Washington Huskies have been getting good recruits for the last couple years but have failed to succeed on the court. Marquise Chriss and Dejounte Murray were drafted in the first round in last years NBA draft but the team did not go to the NCAA tournament.

This year, the Huskies recruited one of the nations top point guards; Markelle Fultz. He is projected to be a top 3 pick in this upcoming NBA draft. This season; the Huskies record is (9-18) and a conference record of (2-13). How is that possible with a top 3 player on the team. Michael Porter Jr. is the nations top player in high school this year. He is going to be playing for the Washington Huskies next season. Michael Porter Jr.’s father is the assistant coach on the Washington Huskies so that had an influence on his decision to play there next year.

Michael Porter Jr. is projected to be a top 3 pick in the NBA draft when he declares for the draft. We know by now that the Huskies are not going to be in the NCAA tournament this year. If the Huskies fail to make the tournament next season with Michael Porter Jr. then it is time for the Huskies to let Lorenzo Romar go. Maybe going in the different direction with a new head coach will help the Huskies regain the swag they had with Brandon Roy and Nate Robinson back in the day.

 

Batman & Robin

Cavalier’s Forward LeBron James has played with many players in his career. The best player he played with in his first seven years in the NBA was Mo Williams. At the time Mo Williams was not a great player but was good player. We all know that LeBron was not able to get an NBA title in Cleveland the first time he was there. Playing with players like Larry Hughes and Mo Williams can only get you so far. Although, LeBron did carry the entire Cavaliers team and reached the NBA finals in 2007 but only to get swept by the Spurs.

In 2010, LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play along side Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The Cavaliers failed to get LeBron some playmakers so he decided to leave the team when he was a free agent. LeBron James now finally has a robin; Dwyane Wade is a player that can make plays on his own when LeBron is tired or on the bench. The Miami Heat reached four straight NBA finals; winning two NBA titles with LeBron being named MVP in both titles. After four season in Miami and coming off a finals lost; LeBron started to feel like he was back in Cleveland again. Injuries and age started to take its toll on Dwyane Wade and former all-star Chris Bosh. LeBron James is now a free agent again and planned on returning back home to Cleveland.

The Cavaliers had a star of their own; young point guard Kyrie Irving. Cleveland picked Irving with the 1st overall pick the year after LeBron left.

Kyrie Irving 

Irving won Rookie of the Year and has been putting the league on notice with highlight after highlight. LeBron said one of the reasons he decided to come back was to be able to play with a young guard like Irving. At the time of LeBron’s return to Cleveland, Irving was only 21 with incredible skill set. LeBron knew that Cleveland had a bright future with him playing along side Irving.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s first season in Cleveland together had some growing pains but they were able to reach the NBA finals. That season was Irving’s first time in the playoffs and LeBron James was on a quest to bring Cleveland their first NBA title. That quest came up short in the NBA finals when Irving got injured the first game in the finals. LeBron did all he could but came up short and lost to Golden State.

Batman & Robin were back to full strength their second season together. LeBron and Irving went on a tear that season and carried it into the playoffs. Cavaliers were at full strength for the finals rematch against Golden State. Golden State set the NBA record for most wins in a single season (72), but LeBron and Irving were not worried about that. Cleveland found themselves down 3-1 in the finals.

Kyrie Irving’s game winning shot

LeBron and Irving averaged almost 40 points each game for the rest of the finals. With Kyrie Irving hitting the game-winning shot in game 7 to bring Cleveland their first NBA title in team history. LeBron James has played with many great players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love; but  Kyrie Irving is the best player LeBron has played with his entire career. He is only 24. That is the real Batman & Robin.

Playoff’s Baby

The 2015 NBA playoff has been nothing like we the fans expected. There has been injuries, upsets and all kinds of drama. The first round was not as exciting but the second round is what we call playoff basketball. There has been three game winning shots in the second round. Also all the lower seeded teams are currently winning or tied with their opponent.

Early in the playoffs the star point guard for the Dallas Mavericks Rajon Rondo was benched for his inefficient play. Let’s not forget the history between LeBron James and Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls. They have always had beef going back to LeBron’s early Cleveland days and Maimi. Players like Kevin Love, Mike Conley Jr., Chandler Parsons, Chris Paul and others have been affected by injuries this playoffs.

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The best of the four match ups in the NBA playoffs is the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the game four win by Cleveland the series is now tied at two. Many say that was a must win for the Cavaliers; they did not want to find themselves down 3-1 in the series because the odds are not in their favor when teams are down 3-1.

The Cavaliers lost game three to a buzzer beater by Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and found game four to be a must win. Cleveland fans were crashed after that game winning shot because most thought the game would be going to overtime.

Game four did not start so well for the Cavaliers but found themselves in a position to win the remaining seconds of the game. Until, the referees starting calling some bad calls and gave the Bulls possession of the ball. Now in position to tie or win the game. Derrick Rose was able to make a lay up and tie the game. The Cavaliers then in-bounded the ball to LeBron James and immediatley shot the ball and made it as time expired.

Now the Chicago Bulls fans feel how pain and disbelief when Derrick Rose banked the game winning three pointer the game previous to this one.