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NBA Playoff Matchups in the East

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:02:32 +0000

Cleveland has secured the top spot in the East for quite some time. As for the rest, here they are.

The matchups in the East for the 2010 NBA playoffs are finally… um… finalized and while the Cleveland Cavaliers have secured the top playoff spot in the conference a few weeks ago, the remaining few seeds were not determined until the final few days of the season.

As it turned out, the no.1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the no.8 seed Chicago Bulls, who secured the last playoff spot in the East after beating the playoff-pound Charlotte Bobcats, hence denying the Toronto Raptors of postseason play for the second straight year.

Kudos to coach Vinny Del Negro and the rest of the Chicago Bulls for overcoming a late-season injury to Joakim Noah and the publicized rift between coach Del Negro and team manager John Paxson. Congratulations guys, you’re in the playoffs.

Your reward? LeBron James. (I don’t know if the Bulls would still be happy about that in a few days…)

The Orlando Magic will be this year’s no.2 seed as they look to make a return to the NBA Finals when they take on no.7 seed, Charlotte Bobcats. Thanks to some key additions to the Magic roster, more specifically the addition of Vince Carter, the Magic have become an even bigger threat in the East.

And since the Magic will have the Charlotte Bobcats, a team that will be making their very first appearance in the playoffs, there should be no problem for Orlando to get past the first round. Who do the Bobcats have to guard Dwight Howard anyway?

Probably the most surprising team in the East this season is the Atlanta Hawks, who have secured the no.3 seed in the East this season. Yup, those high-flying Hawks are now one of the East’s three kings, supplanting the Celtics in the food chain to join the Cavs and the Magic.

They have the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round...

Cavaliers need big man with Shaq out

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:04:20 +0000

That’s a huge seven-foot problem if you’re a Cavs fan hoping to see your team in the NBA Finals and win one game for a change.

And in case you didn’t get that, Shaquille O’Neal will likely miss the remainder of the 2010 NBA basketball season following surgery on his right thumb after Glen Davis hacked on it in a game between the Cavaliers and the Celtics.

With Shaquille O’Neal out of commission, the Cleveland Cavaliers lose that presence inside. Of course, they can hope Antawn Jamison and blossoming forward J.J. Hickson can fill the void.

But let’s face it, nobody can attract that much attention inside the paint the way Shaq does and with him out, it’ll be awfully hard for LeBron James to find those easy baskets around the perimeter.

The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers were in the playoffs, they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Orlando Magic. The Cavs signed Shaq before the season in preparation for a possible rematch with Orlando in the postseason.

Now, they’re in trouble of getting booted out of the playoffs by the Orlando Magic again, provided Shaq doesn’t make it back in time.

Hell, they’d be lucky to even make it that deep into the playoffs without O’Neal anyway.

Cavs general manager Danny Ferry, on the other hand, can only hope his team would be able to persevere. ”Our guys have done a very good job of stepping up this season. We are confident they will do the same in this situation,” Ferry said.

”We are fortunate to have some depth in our...''

LeBron James to get help from Shaq?

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:58:03 +0000

The tipping point.

That is exactly where Shaquille O’Neal is at this point of his career. It seems it was only yesterday when he won three championship rings with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, since then, he moved on to win another one in Miami before failing to do the same in Phoenix.

Now that he’s stay in Arizona is about to expire, rumor has it that the Cleveland Cavaliers are interested in having Shaq play alongside LeBron James. Sure, at 37 years old, Shaq won’t be able to lead ANY TEAM deep into the postseason, but with No.23? It might just work.

According to the rumors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are willing to trade Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal will be making $20 million next season in the final year of his contract while Wallace will make $14 million and Pavlovic $4.9 million with only $1.5 million guaranteed.

The salary exchange is close enough to make the trade between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns work.

Sure, the Suns are giving up a four-time NBA champion like Shaq but the fact of the matter is, the seven-footer is on the verge of retiring anyway and since they would end up saving $10 million in the deal, that will at least point them towards the right direction in rebuilding the franchise.

If Ben Wallace takes a buyout after he gets traded to Phoenix, the Suns would save even more money. Wallace has already hinted that he is contemplating on retirement after the Cavs, heavily favored to play for the NBA championship, lost to the Orlando Magic after six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

It is very unlikely for Wallace to postpone...

Miami Heat V Memphis Grizzlies

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:56:43 +0000

Homecourt.

That’s what the Miami Heat have been gunning for lately in the final stretch of the 2009 NBA basketball season. As of this writing, Miami is sitting on 5th place with only four games behind the Hawks who currently have the no.4 seed in the East.

Homecourt advantage is vital to any team’s success in the playoffs. Just ask the Boston Celtics last year. And judging by the way Dwyane Wade has been playing as of late, it certainly looks like Wade knows the job they need to accomplish is as clear as crystal.

Just ask the Detroit Pistons who, thanks to D-Wade, continued their freefall in the Eastern Conference. Yes, the Pistons lost again, losing this time to the Miami Heat, 101-96. And as always, D-Wade was a huge factor.

After initially being listed as doubtful for their tiff with the Pistons, Dwyane Wade scored a game high 39 points. However, Wade’s scoring output wasn’t the story but rather his defense. Wade blocked two shots in the final 22 seconds while Udonis Haslem scored six points in 6.3 seconds to come up with a win over the struggling Pistons.

Detroit led for almost the entire contest and appeared ready to pull within a game of fifth-place Miami. But thanks to Wade and Haslem who desperately want to get that precious homecourt advantage if ever they make it to the 2009 NBA Playoffs, they made sure it didn’t happen.

The Heat will welcome the Memphis Grizzlies next to...

Dwyane Wade sues wife for false accusations of sexually transmitted disease

NBA Blogger B — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:10:48 +0000

Dwyane Wade suing his estranged wife and two of her lawyers, namely Michael Berger and Dorene Marcus, on accusations that the Miami Heat all star transferred a sexually transmitted disease through an extramarital affair. Dwyane Wade would be looking to sue the three and ask for $50,000 from each individual for damages. Siohvaughn Wade the soon to be ex-wife of the All Star shooting guard stated that Dwyane Wade has infected her with an unspecified disease. A few weeks later Siohvaughn Wade withdrew the statement from the court hearing the divorce case for unspecified reasons.

“It has been difficult to see false allegations, rumors and gossip repeatedly discussed in public about my personal life,” Dwyane Wade said “I had no other choice but to file this action in order to clear my name.”

Like any other man in this given situation Dwyane Wade was not satisfied and stated that her allegations caused “embarrassment” and “humiliation” along with damaging future earning potential for the 2006 NBA Finals MVP.

“Mr. Wade has been the victim of a reckless campaign by Siohvaughn Wade and her lawyers to publicly humiliate him and damage his reputation,” Joe Power the attorney of Dwyane Wade said “To clear the public record from these false and malicious allegations, we have filed a defamation suit in court … and will seek appropriate compensation for damages.”

With numerous...

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers for MVP

NBA Blogger B — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:30:39 +0000

If the NBA Regular Season MVP award it would most likely settle in the hands of LeBron James, not to take anything away from Kobe Bryant but the fact that LeBron James has no help what so ever on the Cleveland Cavaliers and yet they still have the second Best Record in the NBA Eastern Conference is just amazing.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are second only to the Defending NBA Champions the Boston Celtics, and with the amount of talent on the Boston Celtics compared to the Cleveland Cavaliers it is clear how much LeBron James contributes on both ends of the floor.

Many would also consider Dwyane Wade to be next or even slightly ahead of LeBron James. What we have to look at despite the Miami Heat being a bottom dweller team is that Dwyane Wade has the likes of Michael Beasley and Shawn Marion to help him at least get a winning record for the Miami Heat.

Sure Dwayne Wade has a remarkable stat sheet and he levels up with LeBron James, but the factor that makes everything lean towards LeBron James is that the Cleveland Cavaliers would be far less than the Oklahoma City Thunder without him.

Michael Jordan who critics...

NBA Basketball Betting Preview for the 2009 NBA All Star Game

NBA Blogger B — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:02:07 +0000

The 2009 NBA All Star Game which will be held at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona is just a few days away. The 2009 All Star Game would be yet another basketball gambling delight as this would feature the NBA’s top basketball players of the year with the exception of players that were left out of the fray.

Kobe Bryant would be appearing in his 11^th All Star Game and is a favourite to win this year’s NBA All Star game MVP award. With the way the Los Angeles Lakers are playing it would not be a surprise if Kobe Bryant goes home with the award.

On the other end of the court would be Kevin Garnett who would be playing in his 12^th NBA All Game, yet would not be a favourite to win the MVP award. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the reigning All Star MVP and is next in line on the polls to take the award.

Notable NBA Players are...

The 2009 NBA All-Star Game is Set

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:58:20 +0000

The representatives for both the Eastern and Western Conference were finally determined.

With the 2009 NBA All-Star Game only a few more days away, we finally learned who among the league’s top players will be representing the two conferences for the mid-season classic.

And since this year’s All-Star game will be in Phoenix, let’s start with the two guys who’ll be representing the host city on February 15, Suns forward Amare Stoudemire, who was voted in as a starter, and Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, voted in as a reserve by NBA coaches.

You read it, Shaquille O’Neal is back in the All-Star game, moving past NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Jerry West to land in second place in the all-time All-Star appearances made by an NBA player. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was selected 19 times, still leads everybody.

The 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars will be led by reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant. He will be joined by New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul in the West’s starting backcourt.

Rounding up the Western starters are Tim Duncan and Yao Ming, joining Stoudemire in the frontcourt.

Joining Shaq as a reserve for the 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars include Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy and David West. The Western Conference will be coached by the Lakers’ Zen Master Phil Jackson.

For the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference All-Stars, defending NBA champions Boston Celtics will have two representatives with Kevin Garnett starting at the...

Kobe and Shaq are West All-Stars

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:04:52 +0000

Yes, Shaq and Kobe will be in one team.

And although the 2009 NBA All-Star Game in Phoenix on February 15 will probably won’t be much of what a real NBA game is suppose to be, seeing Shaq and Kobe together as teammates should be special, especially for those Laker fans who were wishing for Shaq back when Kevin Garnett was having his way with the Lakers frontline last June.

In case you’re wondering, Kobe Bryant was voted in by fans as a starter for the 2009 NBA Western Conference All-Stars.

Shaq, on the other hand, was voted in by NBA coaches as a reserve for the West, paving the way for his return to the All-Star Game since leaving the Heat in the middle of the 2007-08 season.

And since they’ll be playing alongside each other since their glory days in Tinseltown, Shaquille O’Neal felt the need to clear up some things about this highly publicized fued between him and his former wingman.

Shaq, after all the things he has said to bash Kobe Bryant in the past, now claims Kobe AND his former coach, current Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, are his allies. He claims his rivalry with Kobe was nothing more but a marketing gimmick, a fodder for driving revenue.

‘’We helped you hype it up,'’ Shaq says in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, referring to his feud with Kobe when he was still in Los Angeles. ‘’I know what I’m doing, brother. I’m the smartest player in the world.'’

‘’I always did love Kobe,'’ O’Neal said. ‘’It was all...''

NBA Basketball Betting Picks for the Los Angeles Lakers (21-3) and the Miami Heat (12-12)

NBA Blogger B — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:07:39 +0000

The Los Angeles Lakers, who are lead by superstar guard Kobe Bryant, are still dominating the second quarter of the NBA Regular Season despite loosing a bit of steam compared to their first onslaught of games. This year Kobe Bryant is not going to have another MVP season concerning his stats, but this could be one of the best NBA Regular Seasons the Los Angeles Lakers had since the 90’s dynasty. The Los Angeles Lakers will be a top contender for the 2009 NBA Championship, especially with the good health of Andrew Bynum to team up with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Derrick Fisher on deck and Phil Jackson calling the shots. With the loss of French role player Ronny Turiaf causing some concern, good news for the Los Angeles Lakers they have a well improved Trevor Ariza. The Los Angeles Lakers are sure to take on any team in their way despite loosing steam in a few road games.

The Miami Heat this year started of on the wrong foot compiling loss after loss and looked like it would be a repeat of last seasons shindig, but as the NBA Regular season heads into the second quarter, they look like contenders in the NBA Eastern Conference. With Dwyane Wade back and healthy, Michael Beasley and Shawn Marion are putting up decent numbers and are playing small ball to perfection. The Miami Heat are getting better but are taking a little linger than usual. The Miami Heat are former champions of the NBA then rebuilding right away after loosing two consecutive seasons then traded Shaq O’Neal and lost key players like Jason Williams and Gary Payton. Although...