Oklahoma City Thunder Win the 2024-2025 NBA Championship

 24-25 NBA Finals:  Congratulations to Thunder.  They deserved this championship, and I love how they did it with a combination of defense and young talent.  Shai was dominant averaging 30 points per game but had lots of help from Jalen Williams (23 ppg) and Chet Holmgren with his defense.  We got a seven-game series, great moments and some really good games.  There were some blowouts as well but that doesn't mean we didn't enjoy the playoff's Cinderella, Indiana, making us believe they could win this series.  OKC is a very young team outside of 30-year-olds Alex Carusso and Kenrich Williams.  They are setup for a long successful run.  I won't put money on more championships, because as we've seen parity is the name of the game in the NBA right now.

2025 NBA Finals: Indiana Pacers vs Oklahoma City Thunder

We get Pacers - Thunder in the NBA Finals.  While I'm sure ABC execs are not excited about having two small market teams in the Finals, I am.  We get two great teams and great players in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton.  OKC was the class of the league the entire season.  Their defense and the play of MVP SGA were overwhelming for teams.  While Denver took them to seven games, the Thunder only took nine games to dismiss the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.  The Pacers were 20-9 after the All-Star break and took out the Cavs, Bucks and Knicks in the playoffs.  They shouldn't be overlooked, and Tyrese Haliburton is the real deal having some amazing games in the playoffs.  I do think OKC wins this series.  Maybe 4-2.  I understand it could even be 4-1 but I have more confidence in Indiana.

Who am I rooting for?  Indiana.  This only their second NBA Finals and they've never won an NBA championship.  OKC has won a championship as the SuperSonics in the '78-79 season.  I also think their window for competing for a championship is longer than the Pacers.  No matter who wins I think it is a win for fans.  These small market teams built their teams through good front office moves in the draft, free agency and the trade market.  There are lots of fun players outside of the stars.  They are both deep.  We should celebrate these teams.  We are getting some "old school" basketball in the playoffs, so it'll be interesting to see how much they let them play.  Enjoy!

Boston Celtics Win the 2023-2024 NBA Championship

The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks four games to one to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals.  The series played out like it probably should have.  We all wanted seven games or at a minimum some close games but it wasn't to be.  The Celtics won two games by seven points but the three other games were blowouts.  Boston was the better team hands down.  Too much talent and really good defense that came from multiple players.  Luka and Kyrie had good stretches in games but overall they didn't seem comfortable.  Neither could hit a three either.  Tatum and Brown couldn't either but the rest of the Celtics picked up the slack.  Jaylen Brown was MVP but I could make an argument for Jrue Holiday.  No complaints from me though.  Brown guarded Doncic a lot and he did a good job.  I had no dog in this fight but I've always been an Al Horford fan so it was fun seeing him be so happy at age 37.  Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, Porzingis and head coach Joe Mazzulla all deserved this too.  Boston was great all season, great in the playoffs and great in the NBA Finals.  Congratulations Boston Celtics.

Denver Nuggets Win the 2022-2023 NBA Championship

 Your 2022-2023 NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets!  Denver wins their first championship, winning the NBA Finals 4-1 and it was appropriate.  The Nuggets are a great team and have one of the best players on the planet in The Joker.  Loved seeing the celebration afterwards and I don't think anyone left the arena until way after the post-game presentations were over.  Looking over stats it's easy to say they were close and that Denver may not have "dominated" but in the end they were the better team and it showed on the court.  Miami played tough but in the end even Jimmy Butler couldn't will them to a series victory.  Denver played good defense overall and they had Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.  Jokic was amazing putting up stats in this playoff run and Finals that haven't been seen before.  30/14/7 in the NBA Finals as a center while shooting 58/42/83%.  Amazing.  Murray played great averaging 10 assists a game next to the 21 per game he poured in.  Congratulations to Denver and their fans.  Getting that first championship must be the best feeling a sports fan can have.  The Heat should be congratulated as well for a great run.  Too bad it's over.  It's been fun.

NBA Finals: Celtics @ Warriors

The NBA Finals start today so I'll show of some Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum cards I've recently pulled and give you my thoughts on the series.  Golden State is so good this year.  They got Klay back, Jordan Poole became a great third option, Andrew Wiggins has come up good in the playoffs and they are for the most part healthy.  Their offense is so fun to watch and will be hard to beat.

Love these Slam inserts.  Tatum and the Celts found their groove later in the season.  This team is built on defense and defense travels.  Will it be enough to stop the Warriors?  Miami isn't an offensive juggernaut so it's hard to compare the matchups.  Boston does have a really good offense and Golden State isn't exactly the best defensive team in the league.  Picking up Derrick White in season was a great move as well giving them depth.  This team won't roll over.

That second Tatum is a holiday parallel from a blaster.  Wish Panini had gone a bit heavier with the snowflakes.  This really should be a great matchup.  An excellent defensive team versus a great offense.  Seems like a fun series.

Still, someone has to win and I have to think Golden State has the edge.  The Warriors aren't unbeatable but I'm not sold that a defense, even as good and the Celtics', can stop them.

I'm going with Golden State in six.  Maybe we'll get a seven game series but that seems like a lot to ask for.

Steph Curry and Al Horford are two of my favorite players in the league so it'll be tough to watch but consistently this playoff run I've found myself rooting for the Warriors.  No matter who wins they'll deserve it.  Both are great teams and this should be a good series.
 

NBA Playoffs - 31 May 13

Been way too long since I've been on here but this month has been crazy busy.  I'm back for the moment and wanted to touch on the NBA playoffs while I have a chance.  My Hawks were thrown to the curb fairly easily by the Pacers.  I thought it would be more of a series as Atlanta has some talent and even thought they could win. I was wrong and the Hawks found a new coach and are looking for an upgrade to the roster through free agency this summer. 

The Spurs have looked great on their run past the Lakers, Warriors and Grizzlies.  For the first time I've been able to watch Tony Parker quite a bit and wow he has impressed me.  I've never sold him short but haven't been able to watch him enough to truly appreciate him.  It helps when he torched the Grizzlies as San Antonio swept their way to the NBA Finals.  My only concern for the Spurs is Manu Gionobli.  He is not playing like his old self.  I know he's dealt with some injuries but he has to be better if they expect to win their fifth championship for Tim.  Speaking of Tim Duncan I love how he is playing.  My buddy Yaj (check out his take on the Spurs here) said Tim figured out he wasn't the low post guy anymore and losing weight helped him to get up and down the court better.  I can't argue with any of that.  He is really getting up and down the court well and doesn't plant himself on the block but is still able to get his share of rebounds.  I'm not sure this team can beat Miami, if they were to play them, but I think they could give them a good run.  They have a great mix of talent that I think lends to making Miami work on both ends.  I think Indiana would be a tough matchup with the bigs but I can't see David West outplaying Duncan and while Tiago Splitter can't hang with Roy Hibbert he would be better than Chris Bosh. 

Miami looks just fine in spite of the tough series with Indiana and the fact that Bosh and Dwayne Wade are not playing up to par as part of "The Big Three".  LeBron is doing his part and doing it very well.  Can he carry this team to a championship?  I think so.  He obviously needs help (like the role players actually hitting jump shots last night) but I agree he makes everyone on the team better.  He can also take over a game as he did in the 3rd quarter last night.  I think he will be a tough matchup for the Spurs while I can't say Miami has a great answer for Tony Parker.  I think Miami finishes off Indiana Saturday night but there are definitely no givens in this series. 

Indiana is playing great and I love rooting for them.  They have disappeared many times in the Miami series for quarters at a time and it has cost them the series lead.  They gave away game one in overtime letting James drive for a layup with 2 seconds left.  That was horrible to watch after they had played so well to get to that point.  I really hope they can come up with a few miracles and still pull this series out but you won't see me putting any money on it.  Not sure how their free agency situation looks for Indy but if they can keep this core together and add a piece here and there and they should be able to compete for years to come. 

New York was destined to lose after most of that team went MIA in the playoffs via injury or just plain failure. Carmelo did what he did best...try to score...but that offense has to be retooled to add other options other than one on one play..........You had to love Chicago's heart with all the injuries they faced but that second round matchup with Miami doomed them.........The Warriors were another fun team to watch and I really wanted to see them advance.  They were just overmatched by the Spurs but again another team I hope can challenge for years to come..........Boston=old.........Memphis - what the heck happened there?  They were setup for success getting to face OKC with no Russell Westbrook and a Spurs team who everyone thought their bigs could take advantage of.  I like many thought they had a better than even chance to beat the Spurs.  They just didn't show up for the series.  It has to be one of the huge disappointments of the playoffs.  I'm not sure Memphis management or fans will look too fondly on these playoffs unless they can bounce back with a better effort next year..........I think there are plenty of good games ahead in what is left of the playoffs.  I can't wait. 

Atlanta Hawks fall to Indiana Pacers 107-90 in Game 1

The Hawks go down one game to none after a tough loss to the Pacers.  Defense, free throw shooting (7-14) and shot selection were their doom.  None of the Hawks played exceptionally well.  Josh Smith played like he was Dale Ellis shooting from anywhere he touched the ball.  Of course Ellis could hit most of those shots.  The defense lacked any bite.  Jeff Teague had as good a game as any with 21 points and 7 assists.  Al Horford looked good in the first half but was not a factor in the third or fourth quarters. 

Indiana's Paul George couldn't hit a shot (3-13) but was able to drive and get to the line (17-18) finishing with 23 points.  He added 12 assists to boot.  Roy Hibbert didn't have a rebound in the first half but finished with 8 while adding 16 points.  George Hill had 18 while the rest of the starters added 13 apiece.  Just an overall solid game from Indiana.  They were the defensive team I was worried about going into this game.  Good on them. 

 

As the Czar Mike Fratello said this is only one game.  Atlanta has to know they can beat the Pacers.  They were winning early on in this game but they have to play within themselves if they expect to be winning at the end of the fourth quarter much less win the series.  Josh Smith will have to be much more of a factor.  If he can get his offense going in the post I think Atlanta has a shot.  I'll stick with my original prediction of Atlanta in five.  

NBA Playoffs

I want to look at the playoffs and give a few thoughts going in.  The Saturday games have already played so some of this may sound a little skewed.  I'll start with my Hawks. Atl-Ind - Atlanta gets Indiana in the first round.  Indy is a defensive team that as a collective play very well.  Atlanta can score but I'll be curious how Al Horford handles Roy Hibbert.  Hibbert hasn't had his best year but he can still be a force down low when he gets on a roll.  I'm thinking this will be a wash.  Neither team has an outstanding point guard (Atl - Jeff Teague/Ind - George Hill).  I like having "that guy" who can be counted on to run an offense especially when there isn't stars to make up for the lack of an established ball handler.  Power Forward David West is having a good year and the match up with Josh Smith should be a good one.  West plays a little more low post so Smith will have to play good defense.  I hope Smith remembers his is a 4 not a 3.  He can play smaller but I think Atlanta needs him to play big this series.  Atlanta is a better shooting team than the Pacers.  Their only hope is to hit outside shots which will open up play for Horford and Smith.  Again the Pacers play good defense so that could be asking a bit much.  I'll take Atlanta in five games. 

 

Mia-Mil - I'm sure Milwaukee will show up for this series but nobody might ever know.  Miami in three.

 

Chi-Bkn - I actually like the Bulls in this one though the Nets won game one.  I'll still with my original thoughts and take Chicago in five. 

 

Bos-NY - While this isn't the Boston of three years ago this should be a great series.  I like Rivers as a coach but even dinged up I think New York and Carmelo Anthony will prevail in four games. 

 

OKC-Hou - I think Houston will steal one game here but this shouldn't go more than four games.

 

LAL-SA - Best breakdown you'll get of this series is here done by my buddy Yaj.  You'll also see my comments.

 

GS-Den - I love Golden State but they'll disappoint once again.  They've already dropped one game and Denver truly is the better team.  I'll say Nuggets in four.

 

Mem-LAC - Great series here.  Clips are already up one but I wouldn't be surprised if this goes five.  Still Los Angeles will come out on top. 

 

I'll look into my crystal ball now and tell you how it all ends...by the way my crystal ball has a 99% degree failure rate...  I don't think anyone truly challenges Miami in the East and they should beat New York handily to get to the finals.  Oklahoma City will narrowly make it past LA to get to the conference finals against the Spurs who are rejuvenated by Gionobli's return.  This year the Spurs take care of business and return to the finals.  While I'll be rooting for Duncan to win his fifth ring Miami will win it all.