There's been a lot of discussion around the NBA MVP as of late. Kobe has turned a corner (looking like Kato with the black mask for his broken nose), Durant is consistently on fire, but LeBron's all-around game (but lack of crunch time shot taking cohones) has been the prohibitive favorite. Let's see if those rankings still hold true.
Note to NYSTOM - I don't care what the numbers say, but you gotta take Roy Hibbert and Gerald Wallace off this list. You can just put in two blanks as far as I'm concerned. Who you got in this MVP Race?
Showing posts with label Chris Bosh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chris Bosh. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Monday, May 30, 2011
NBA Finals - Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat
This is the series for it all. A rematch of the two teams from the 2006 Finals where the Heat won their first NBA Championship. The difference this year is that these two teams are much different than the two teams that were there in 2006. The Heat have the '3 Amigos' and this Dirk may not be beatable with the team around him. Let's take a look at each team and I'll let you know who I'm riding with in this series.
Dallas Mavericks:
Like I said, this Dirk may not be beatable. Nowitzki has been on fire and he has a team with him. Jason Kidd is reminding us that he was better than what he is now and he is playing that well right now. Tyson Chandler has become the 'KG' of this Mavs team with not only his defense but the heart and soul of the team. Jason Terry has played the role that was important for this team to win. He could definitely be a starter for this team but is happy with coming off the bench and being their spark. Throw in Shawn Marion (formerly known as the Matrix), Brendan Haywood (uggh), JJ Barea (their version of the Microwave) and you have a Mavs team that is pretty solid. But it all comes down to Dirk. He has the game and he's unorthodox enough to make guys feel bad when he's hitting his shots. I do wonder how he was able to go to the line 61 times in a 5 game series against the Thunder. Is this the year for the Mavericks? Will we have to watch awkwardly as Mark Cuban celebrates a title?
Miami Heat:
This is what all the hoopla was for, a chance at getting #2 for Wade and the organization and for LBJ to get his first so that he can be on his way to catching Jordan (had to throw this in, watch for a future article). The Heat beat a very sound Bulls team and each member of the big three, with the exception of D Wade, performed great. I've said this before, D Wade played the worst series that I've seen him play in a long time and they still won. He's got to step up in this series for the Heat to win. Bosh has quietly reminded people that he can play and that 20 and 10 average isn't just all about garbage time. Mike Bibby and Chalmers are starting to play better, and hopefully Mike Miller can play better now that his daughter is out of the hospital and at home doing well. You know that if the Heat win, people are just going to be that much more pissed?
X-factors:
Mavericks - Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion. Yes, I put Dirk down as an x-factor simply because he's been playing so great, I'm waiting for the let down. The Heat are a good defensive team and will give him problems while rotating 3 or 4 guys on him (Haslem, Bosh, LBJ, etc.). He's going to have to play as great as he has this entire playoffs if they have hopes of being the new king in town. With all of the energy and effort concentrated on Dirk, Terry's going to have to play lights out. He'll be going against the Heat's bench so he'll have opportunities to light it up. The Heat really have no one to match up with Chandler. He's big, mobile, and has a bit of a mean streak in him. Chandler has to stay active and keep from picking up silly fouls. Oh, did I mention that he's going to have to protect that paint? Shawn Marion will be the main person guarding LBJ and he's long enough and quick enough to cause some problems. As long as they keep LBJ on the perimeter, the Mavs are cooking with grease.
Heat - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, the Heat bigs, and Bibby/Chalmers. Wade has got to step up his game and when he sees Stevenson in front of him he's got to make the Mavs pay. Chris Bosh is going to start on Dirk and will need to cause him problems with his size. Bosh is quick enough to guard him on the perimeter so I expect that Dirk will post him up repeatedly. Bosh has got to play solid defense, but he's got to go at Dirk on offense. Dirk has never been mistaken as a defensive stalwart, so make him play you. The Heat bigs are going to get their chance guarding Dirk, so the key is to make it tough for him. He's going to hit shots, but make them tough shots. For the Heat point guards, they are going to have to hit shots. I expect the Mavs to go a lot of zone in this series to test the Heat outside shooting. When JJ Barea gets in the game, I don't care if you've never had a day working in the post, but someone should post him up, every play.
Prediction: This should be a good series. You got a lot of guys chasing their first title (Kidd, Chandler, LBJ, Bosh, Bibby, Marion, etc.) and a lot of them are older so this may be their only opportunity. It's going to come down to one of them making some big plays and this is cliche, but who wants it more. I'm scheduling a trip to Miami to experience the madness that's going to happen when they win this series. Heat 4-2. (That's no worse than Terry getting the NBA Trophy tattooed on his arm.)
Ok, so who you got and why? Yes, the Mavericks can win this if Dirk stays on fire, but I'm going with the 'favorites'? You going to meet me in Miami?
Dallas Mavericks:
Like I said, this Dirk may not be beatable. Nowitzki has been on fire and he has a team with him. Jason Kidd is reminding us that he was better than what he is now and he is playing that well right now. Tyson Chandler has become the 'KG' of this Mavs team with not only his defense but the heart and soul of the team. Jason Terry has played the role that was important for this team to win. He could definitely be a starter for this team but is happy with coming off the bench and being their spark. Throw in Shawn Marion (formerly known as the Matrix), Brendan Haywood (uggh), JJ Barea (their version of the Microwave) and you have a Mavs team that is pretty solid. But it all comes down to Dirk. He has the game and he's unorthodox enough to make guys feel bad when he's hitting his shots. I do wonder how he was able to go to the line 61 times in a 5 game series against the Thunder. Is this the year for the Mavericks? Will we have to watch awkwardly as Mark Cuban celebrates a title?
Miami Heat:
This is what all the hoopla was for, a chance at getting #2 for Wade and the organization and for LBJ to get his first so that he can be on his way to catching Jordan (had to throw this in, watch for a future article). The Heat beat a very sound Bulls team and each member of the big three, with the exception of D Wade, performed great. I've said this before, D Wade played the worst series that I've seen him play in a long time and they still won. He's got to step up in this series for the Heat to win. Bosh has quietly reminded people that he can play and that 20 and 10 average isn't just all about garbage time. Mike Bibby and Chalmers are starting to play better, and hopefully Mike Miller can play better now that his daughter is out of the hospital and at home doing well. You know that if the Heat win, people are just going to be that much more pissed?
X-factors:
Mavericks - Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion. Yes, I put Dirk down as an x-factor simply because he's been playing so great, I'm waiting for the let down. The Heat are a good defensive team and will give him problems while rotating 3 or 4 guys on him (Haslem, Bosh, LBJ, etc.). He's going to have to play as great as he has this entire playoffs if they have hopes of being the new king in town. With all of the energy and effort concentrated on Dirk, Terry's going to have to play lights out. He'll be going against the Heat's bench so he'll have opportunities to light it up. The Heat really have no one to match up with Chandler. He's big, mobile, and has a bit of a mean streak in him. Chandler has to stay active and keep from picking up silly fouls. Oh, did I mention that he's going to have to protect that paint? Shawn Marion will be the main person guarding LBJ and he's long enough and quick enough to cause some problems. As long as they keep LBJ on the perimeter, the Mavs are cooking with grease.
Heat - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, the Heat bigs, and Bibby/Chalmers. Wade has got to step up his game and when he sees Stevenson in front of him he's got to make the Mavs pay. Chris Bosh is going to start on Dirk and will need to cause him problems with his size. Bosh is quick enough to guard him on the perimeter so I expect that Dirk will post him up repeatedly. Bosh has got to play solid defense, but he's got to go at Dirk on offense. Dirk has never been mistaken as a defensive stalwart, so make him play you. The Heat bigs are going to get their chance guarding Dirk, so the key is to make it tough for him. He's going to hit shots, but make them tough shots. For the Heat point guards, they are going to have to hit shots. I expect the Mavs to go a lot of zone in this series to test the Heat outside shooting. When JJ Barea gets in the game, I don't care if you've never had a day working in the post, but someone should post him up, every play.
Prediction: This should be a good series. You got a lot of guys chasing their first title (Kidd, Chandler, LBJ, Bosh, Bibby, Marion, etc.) and a lot of them are older so this may be their only opportunity. It's going to come down to one of them making some big plays and this is cliche, but who wants it more. I'm scheduling a trip to Miami to experience the madness that's going to happen when they win this series. Heat 4-2. (That's no worse than Terry getting the NBA Trophy tattooed on his arm.)
Ok, so who you got and why? Yes, the Mavericks can win this if Dirk stays on fire, but I'm going with the 'favorites'? You going to meet me in Miami?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Eastern Conference Finals Wrap Up - Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat
The Heat wrapped up this series winning 4-1 against the Bulls. It was definitely exciting and we learned a lot about both teams. Let's take a look at what went down.
Bulls:
1) Derrick Rose needs help scoring the ball. Rose did pretty much all he could and ended up playing terribly in all of the 4th quarter games in this series. The Bulls will probably hate that they didn't acquire a 2 guard (Courtney Lee for Omer Asik) during the trade deadline and it will be harder for them to do that in the off season because they probably won't have the money to do it and if they make a trade they are going to have to give up a good piece (think Taj Gibson).
2) Is this Duke Central? Deng played well for the majority of this series. He is really a compliment to a superstar (Rose) and he can play on both ends. I am a little hesitant to say this but the Bulls have their Scottie Pippen clone. He's finally living up to his contract. Carlos Boozer disappointed this entire series. He put up numbers in some of the games but if this is what $75M gets you these days then we definitely need to re-evaluate the dollar. Boozer never put up numbers that mattered in this series (starting a run, or more importantly stopping a run) and he definitely showed his lack of desire to play defense. Maybe it was his toe, maybe he wasn't healthy but he couldn't even get off the floor and I'm not even expecting to see him like Amare, but some athleticism would be nice. Add in the two flagrant fouls, and this was a bad series for Boozer. Another year like this and they will be trying to find a way to ship him out of town.
3) I like Thibs but I think he got out coached by Pat Riley in this one (yes, Pat Riley). Why wasn't Kurt Thomas more of a piece in this rotation? Thomas should have gotten more minutes because he's a veteran, he can rebound, he can score, and if necessary can lay some wood on someone. He doesn't have the height that Asik has, but name someone on the Heat's front line (a big) than can rebound with the 38 year old.
4) What happens next year? CJ Watson had a chance to make this an opportunity for some money. I still think the best lineup for the Bulls against this Heat team was CJ (1), Rose (2), Deng (3), Gibson (4), and Noah (5). This team would have been small but they could run with the Heat and they can also hit shots. The issue with this lineup is that it doesn't work if CJ isn't hitting some of those shots.
Heat:
1) Maybe just maybe LBJ can shed that 'can't close' label. He showed up when the Heat needed him and closed out these Bulls. 4 straight losses for a team that hadn't lost more than 3 in a row the entire season, that's something.
2) Chris Bosh, this is the guy that the Heat needed all year long. Bosh showed everyone (including Boozer) that if you think the Heat are the Big 2 and a pretty good 3rd, you will have some problems on your hands. Bosh had two 30 point games in this series and basically outplayed both Gibson and Boozer.
3) This may have been the worst that I have seen D Wade play. He really only played about 20 minutes of good basketball this entire series. Think about that. I'm not sure if he was hurt, or disinterested or what. All I know is that the Mavericks team that they will be playing in the Finals is going to require that he plays up a level or two or they won't be winning many games.
4) Mike Miller is finally coming alive. Looks like he and Bibby actually hit some shots in this series, right when they needed to. Miller is playing with two injured thumbs and is having problems with his shooting and Bibby's time was limited in this series because of the opponent (Rose), but with all of that said, if these guys show up and play, that makes the Heat that much harder to beat.
Thanks again to both teams for an exciting ECF, and good luck to the Heat in the Finals.
What was your take on the Eastern Conference Finals.
Bulls:
1) Derrick Rose needs help scoring the ball. Rose did pretty much all he could and ended up playing terribly in all of the 4th quarter games in this series. The Bulls will probably hate that they didn't acquire a 2 guard (Courtney Lee for Omer Asik) during the trade deadline and it will be harder for them to do that in the off season because they probably won't have the money to do it and if they make a trade they are going to have to give up a good piece (think Taj Gibson).
2) Is this Duke Central? Deng played well for the majority of this series. He is really a compliment to a superstar (Rose) and he can play on both ends. I am a little hesitant to say this but the Bulls have their Scottie Pippen clone. He's finally living up to his contract. Carlos Boozer disappointed this entire series. He put up numbers in some of the games but if this is what $75M gets you these days then we definitely need to re-evaluate the dollar. Boozer never put up numbers that mattered in this series (starting a run, or more importantly stopping a run) and he definitely showed his lack of desire to play defense. Maybe it was his toe, maybe he wasn't healthy but he couldn't even get off the floor and I'm not even expecting to see him like Amare, but some athleticism would be nice. Add in the two flagrant fouls, and this was a bad series for Boozer. Another year like this and they will be trying to find a way to ship him out of town.
3) I like Thibs but I think he got out coached by Pat Riley in this one (yes, Pat Riley). Why wasn't Kurt Thomas more of a piece in this rotation? Thomas should have gotten more minutes because he's a veteran, he can rebound, he can score, and if necessary can lay some wood on someone. He doesn't have the height that Asik has, but name someone on the Heat's front line (a big) than can rebound with the 38 year old.
4) What happens next year? CJ Watson had a chance to make this an opportunity for some money. I still think the best lineup for the Bulls against this Heat team was CJ (1), Rose (2), Deng (3), Gibson (4), and Noah (5). This team would have been small but they could run with the Heat and they can also hit shots. The issue with this lineup is that it doesn't work if CJ isn't hitting some of those shots.
Heat:
1) Maybe just maybe LBJ can shed that 'can't close' label. He showed up when the Heat needed him and closed out these Bulls. 4 straight losses for a team that hadn't lost more than 3 in a row the entire season, that's something.
2) Chris Bosh, this is the guy that the Heat needed all year long. Bosh showed everyone (including Boozer) that if you think the Heat are the Big 2 and a pretty good 3rd, you will have some problems on your hands. Bosh had two 30 point games in this series and basically outplayed both Gibson and Boozer.
3) This may have been the worst that I have seen D Wade play. He really only played about 20 minutes of good basketball this entire series. Think about that. I'm not sure if he was hurt, or disinterested or what. All I know is that the Mavericks team that they will be playing in the Finals is going to require that he plays up a level or two or they won't be winning many games.
4) Mike Miller is finally coming alive. Looks like he and Bibby actually hit some shots in this series, right when they needed to. Miller is playing with two injured thumbs and is having problems with his shooting and Bibby's time was limited in this series because of the opponent (Rose), but with all of that said, if these guys show up and play, that makes the Heat that much harder to beat.
Thanks again to both teams for an exciting ECF, and good luck to the Heat in the Finals.
What was your take on the Eastern Conference Finals.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Catching Up - Bigtime!!!!!
Ok, it’s been a long while but here we go:
NCAA
My Duke Blue Devils won the NCAA tournament. It’s about time. No the program wasn’t going downhill, but they needed this win badly. I’m looking for a repeat. Yes, a repeat next year. Can anyone touch the ACC? I mean really?
NFL
Donovan McNabb – Traded to the Redskins. Redskin Nation should be VERY excited about this, BUT (and you know it’s bad when you throw a but in there) if the Redskins don’t get an offensive line, it ain’t gonna matter who they put back there. They have a trio of running backs and a good QB, let’s protect them, please!!!!!!
Carlos Rodgers – Sad story. Rogers was the 2nd pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and really didn’t pan out. He ended up getting hooked on drugs. He had a signing bonus of $9.1M but a US District Judge sided with the Detroit Lions and Rodgers has to repay $6.1M of that signing bonus. We know this is money they aren’t going to get (I’m assuming that Rodgers is broke), so it’s just another sad story.
NBA
LeBron – IS THE MAN. Bron has all but tied up his second MVP, and the Cavs are just waiting for the playoffs to start. I hope that the Cavs don’t get Boston in the 1st or 2nd round because I actually see a fight happening. Write it down, let it marinate. How many of you have LeBron and Kobe battling for the title? Still on track.
Chris Bosh – Wow, a broken face/nose with the playoffs in sight. You could have heard the cheering from Chicago when this happened. No, no one wanted to see him hurt, but this makes the Bulls chances of making the playoffs/getting slaughtered by the Cavs much more than just a dream. Bosh, take the rest of the year off and come to Chicago as a free agent next year.
Charlotte Bobcats – You know that this is a dangerous team, right? They seem to be clicking on all cylinders and they’re actually playing good basketball right now. I’m not sure that I want to see them in the 1st round if I’m any team in the East.
Milwaukee Bucks – Heart broken. Can you deal with this? You’ve been playing great ball and then your center (who’s actually played ball after signing that big extension last year) goes down for 6 weeks. The Bucks were going to be a tough out in the 1st round also, but maybe not so much with Bogut out.
NYSTOM – More stuff coming from him.
MLB
Baseball season is upon us. We here at MeltingPotThoughts are trying earnestly to bring in an MLB correspondent. JL, if you read this, we need you man. Bring your knowledge to the table. We’re begging, well not begging, but we’re asking very nicely. I promise to stop bugging you when you agree to come on board.
Golf
Return of the Tiger – Well, he’s back. Tiger is teeing off tomorrow at Augusta at 1:47pm (EST). I’ll bet you every one of Tiger’s women and detractors are going to be watching him to see how he performs. I for one hope he destroys the field. Yes, destroys the field. Nothing like taking any confidence that anyone has developed since he’s been on his self induced hiatus. Go Tiger!!!!!
Boxing
Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. – What year is this? When are these old men going to get it in their heads that they need to start doing something else besides box each other? This is akin to Grandpa fighting Col. Stinkmeaner from the Boondocks. I personally didn’t see the fight, but all reports say that the WINNER of the fight was really starting to look into retirement. That should tell you something.
NCAA
My Duke Blue Devils won the NCAA tournament. It’s about time. No the program wasn’t going downhill, but they needed this win badly. I’m looking for a repeat. Yes, a repeat next year. Can anyone touch the ACC? I mean really?
NFL
Donovan McNabb – Traded to the Redskins. Redskin Nation should be VERY excited about this, BUT (and you know it’s bad when you throw a but in there) if the Redskins don’t get an offensive line, it ain’t gonna matter who they put back there. They have a trio of running backs and a good QB, let’s protect them, please!!!!!!
Carlos Rodgers – Sad story. Rogers was the 2nd pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and really didn’t pan out. He ended up getting hooked on drugs. He had a signing bonus of $9.1M but a US District Judge sided with the Detroit Lions and Rodgers has to repay $6.1M of that signing bonus. We know this is money they aren’t going to get (I’m assuming that Rodgers is broke), so it’s just another sad story.
NBA
LeBron – IS THE MAN. Bron has all but tied up his second MVP, and the Cavs are just waiting for the playoffs to start. I hope that the Cavs don’t get Boston in the 1st or 2nd round because I actually see a fight happening. Write it down, let it marinate. How many of you have LeBron and Kobe battling for the title? Still on track.
Chris Bosh – Wow, a broken face/nose with the playoffs in sight. You could have heard the cheering from Chicago when this happened. No, no one wanted to see him hurt, but this makes the Bulls chances of making the playoffs/getting slaughtered by the Cavs much more than just a dream. Bosh, take the rest of the year off and come to Chicago as a free agent next year.
Charlotte Bobcats – You know that this is a dangerous team, right? They seem to be clicking on all cylinders and they’re actually playing good basketball right now. I’m not sure that I want to see them in the 1st round if I’m any team in the East.
Milwaukee Bucks – Heart broken. Can you deal with this? You’ve been playing great ball and then your center (who’s actually played ball after signing that big extension last year) goes down for 6 weeks. The Bucks were going to be a tough out in the 1st round also, but maybe not so much with Bogut out.
NYSTOM – More stuff coming from him.
MLB
Baseball season is upon us. We here at MeltingPotThoughts are trying earnestly to bring in an MLB correspondent. JL, if you read this, we need you man. Bring your knowledge to the table. We’re begging, well not begging, but we’re asking very nicely. I promise to stop bugging you when you agree to come on board.
Golf
Return of the Tiger – Well, he’s back. Tiger is teeing off tomorrow at Augusta at 1:47pm (EST). I’ll bet you every one of Tiger’s women and detractors are going to be watching him to see how he performs. I for one hope he destroys the field. Yes, destroys the field. Nothing like taking any confidence that anyone has developed since he’s been on his self induced hiatus. Go Tiger!!!!!
Boxing
Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. – What year is this? When are these old men going to get it in their heads that they need to start doing something else besides box each other? This is akin to Grandpa fighting Col. Stinkmeaner from the Boondocks. I personally didn’t see the fight, but all reports say that the WINNER of the fight was really starting to look into retirement. That should tell you something.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
2010 Space Odyssey
Well the Knicks have put themselves in place to make a splash during the 2010 free agency run. Jalen Rose of ESPN is reporting that he has verified information that both Lebron and Chris Bosh are planning on coming to New York in 2010. When you think about it, that's a possibility. The Knicks cleared enough room and barring another move with Curry, they will have enough cash to get two high profile players. So you could take your pick of Amare Stoudamire, LBJ, Wade, or Bosh. If you had to choose two of that list, who would you choose to run your franchise?
Who you got? You get two of these guys to lead your team. Pick'em.
Who you got? You get two of these guys to lead your team. Pick'em.
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