The time has come. After about a month of NBA Playoff basketball, the teams have narrowed down to four: The Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s not much of a surprise for most of us. These four teams made it but not so easily. Their competitors shocked them into better play. Miami is the only team that actually got a break, but the rest of these teams had to duke it out. The Pacers had to go to game 7 to get rid of the 8-seeded Hawks, and they had to play the Wizards in 6. The Spurs were awaken in the first round against the 8th-seeded Mavericks with the series going to 7 games, but they blew by the Trail Blazers in the next round. Finally, the Thunder with season MVP Kevin Durant, were annoyed by the tenacity of the Grizzlies taking the series to 7 games, followed by some favorable calls to send the Clippers fishing in 6 games. Now, the finals are hear. Two exciting matchups with the number 1-seeded Pacers vs the number 2-seeded Heat, and the number 1-seeded Spurs vs the number 2-seeded Thunder. My prediction is that we will see the Heat vs. Thunder face off for the championship. Let me tell you why. If this was the beginning of the season, I probably would have picked Indiana, but the way Indiana has struggled against teams like the Hawks and Wizards, I have no choice but to go with the Heat in 6. I feel like the series will be tied 2-2 and Miami will steal a game on the road, and go back to the finals. For the Pacers to truly have a chance, their offense will have to dominate with stellar performances from George, Stephenson, West, and Hibbert. I feel that if one of them is not making shots, the Heat will burn them. Although, I’d prefer the Pacers, my opinion on this match up favors the Heat over Pacers in 6. Now, the Thunder versus the Spurs is a more competitive match up. The Thunder swept the Spurs in the season series, and to me I am going stick with the way the regular season went. I am going with the Thunder in 5 games. I think San Antonio will get game 1 but then lose the rest. In my opinion, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are way too much for the San Antonio Spurs. Consider the one-on-one match ups. Tim Duncan is guarded by Serge Ibaka, Tony Parker is guarded by Russell Westbrook, Manu Ginobili is guarded by Thabo Sefelosha, and Kawhi Leonard is guarded by Kevin Durant. The Thunder have the edge in each case so I really can’t see the Thunder losing this series to the Spurs. I predict that the Thunder will take it in 5 games. I hope I am wrong because I’d prefer to avoid another matchup between the Heat and the Thunder for the title. Although the rematch between KD and LeBron will be fun to watch, it would have been nice to shine the spotlight on some other great players in the league. What do you think? Do you think there will be any upsets during the finals? Please comment and let me know your predictions. Thanks for reading. Please comment!
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With the NBA playoffs starting yesterday, I was thinking about all the underdogs and the definite winners of each series. Like I did last year, I will be making predictions on the NBA playoffs in the 1st round, 2nd round, conference finals, and the finals, but today we start with the NBA’s 1st round predictions. We will start with the East and then move to the West. First up, Pacers-Hawks. The 1 seeded Pacers are preparing to take on the 8 seeded Hawks in a best-of-7 series. My prediction for this series is Pacers in 6. The way the Hawks have been playing this year makes me feel like they can win 2 games against a very stacked Pacers team, but I feel like the Pacers are just way too dominant. Next, the Heat play the Bobcats. My prediction for this series is Heat in a sweep. I like the Bobcats making their second appearance to the playoffs this year, but I still don’t think they can pull off their first playoff win in franchise history. I know I am not the biggest Heat fan in the world but I still think they will move on to the next round. The 3 and 6 seeds in the East are the Raptors and Nets. My prediction for this is Nets in 6. The Raptors did a great job getting into the playoffs and gaining home court advantage but they are playing a way more experienced team. However, I still think the Raptors can pull out 2 games. The Nets can probably take this one easily because of the way they have been playing since the all-star break (The top record out of all teams since the all-star break). Lastly for the East, the Bulls-Wizards matchup at the 4 and 5 seeds. Many people may not think that this series will last too long but I think the Bulls will win in a 7 game series. These two teams will matchup very well against each other but I feel like Joakim Noah and the Bulls are too good for the Wizards. It will be tight, in my opinion, but the Bulls have got this. These are my predictions for the Western Conference. Now, to the West side of the conference. 1 vs. 8 in the West is the Spurs and the Mavericks. The Spurs, to me, have got this in 5 games. The Spurs should win the first three but Ellis and Nowitski won’t let a sweep happen on their home floor but they will get beat in the 5th game. Trust me, it will happen. The Spurs are just a complete machine walking up and down the floor getting buckets and playing slow and boring defense. No offense to the Spurs but it is true, and they were still able to pull out 62 wins out of 82 games this season. The 2nd and 7th seed series are the Thunder and the Grizzlies. My prediction for this series is the Thunder in 5. The Thunder do have Westbrook for this series unlike last year so now they have more than just 1 scoring option in Kevin Durant, but now they have Russell Westbrook as well. The Grizzlies may be a grind out team but the Thunder are too much for them. 3-6 seeds for the Western Conference are the Warriors and the Clippers. I think the Warriors in 6 will win. Yeah I know, crazy right? I think the Warriors will steal a game on the road and clinch the games at home. That is what I think of this series, yeah I know. Lastly, the 4 and 5 seeds for the Western Conference are the Rockets and the Trail Blazers. I pick the Trail Blazers in 6. The Blazers dynamic duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard happen to come in two of the weak spots for the Houston Rockets. As for James Harden, Wesley Matthews or Nick Batum can stop him or at least contain him during this series. Howard will have a clinic inside but the Blazers may start using the Hack-a-Shaq strategy to stop him. These are my predictions for the Western Conference. I am so psyched for all of these playoff series and how players can shine throughout the world. But what I am also excited about is to hear what you guys think about the playoffs. What is the most exciting series of the playoffs? Do you disagree with some of my predictions? Who do you think will be key factors for certain teams? I want to hear what you believe about these NBA Playoffs. So, thanks for reading! Please comment. One last note: The radio show blog coming out soon. The full interview can be heard in my next blog.
Hello everyone, today I am going to make my
predictions for the NBA Draft which goes on tonight. I am really excited to see who goes where in the draft, especially the Knicks who have the 24th pick in the first round of the draft. I am going to do only the first round for my mock draft. I have done my research and I am ready to get these picks started. How about you? Here are my first round picks. Cleveland Cavaliers R1N1: Otto Porter (Georgetown) Orlando Magic R1N2: Nerlens Noel (Kentucky) Washington Wizards R1N3: Cody Zeller (Indiana) Charlotte Bobcats R1N4: Ben McLemore (Kansas) Phoenix Suns R1N5: Anthony Bennett (UNLV) New Orleans Pelicans R1N6: Trey Burke (Michigan) Sacramento Kings R1N7: Victor Oladipo (Indiana) Detroit Pistons R1N8: C.J. McCollum (Lehigh) Minnesota Timberwolves R1N9: Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA) Portland Trail Blazers R1N10: Alex Len (Maryland) Philadelphia 76ers R1N11: Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga) Oklahoma City Thunder R1N12: Steven Adams (Pittsburgh) Dallas Mavericks R1N13: Shane Larkin (Miami) Utah Jazz R1N14: Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse) Milwaukee Bucks R1N15: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia) Boston Celtics R1N16: Sergey Karasev (Triumph Moscow) Atlanta Hawks R1N17: Dennis Schroeder (Germany) Atlanta Hawks R1N18: Rudy Gobert (France) Cleveland Cavaliers R1N19: Allen Crabbe (California) Chicago Bulls R1N20: Mason Plumlee (Duke) Utah Jazz R1N21: Isaiah Canaan (Murray State) Brooklyn Nets R1N22: Gorgui Dieng (Louisville) Indiana Pacers R1N23: Giannis Adetokunbo (Greece) New York Knicks R1N24: Tony Mitchell (North Texas) Los Angeles Clippers R1N25: Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan) Minnesota Timberwolves R1N26: Jamaal Franklin (San Diego State) Denver Nuggets R1N27: Jeff Withey (Kansas) San Antonio Spurs R1N28: Reggie Bullock (North Carolina) Oklahoma City Thunder R1N29: Glen Rice Jr. (NBA D-League) Phoenix Suns R1N30: Ricky Ledo (Providence) These are my first round picks. Do you agree with them or do you disagree? Tell me in the comment section who you think should be changed up. Did you think that someone who was not mentioned here should be here? Tell me! Anyway, thanks for reading and please comment. Hello everyone, I’m here today to show you how I thought the each Knick player individually did throughout the season and throughout the playoffs because there were players that were different in the season than they were in the playoffs. I thought that some people did better in the season than they did in the playoffs. This is why I decided to make to separate grades, playoffs and regular season. We will start off with the reserves on the Knicks. Quentin Richardson and Earl Barron do not qualify.
James White-Regular Season-D, Playoffs- DNQ. What a disappointment! I thought this guy could play! It turns out that all he could do is dunk. I think he only had one highlight the whole season. What more can I say, Knicks, please get rid of this guy! He did absolutely nothing this season except get in the dunk contest and get one highlight! Kurt Thomas (When he was on the Knicks)-Regular Season-D+, Playoffs- DNQ. He did well for his role which was a bench warmer but if he had gotten more minutes, then this grade could have been judged more fairly. Rasheed Wallace (Before Retirement)-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs- DNQ. Rasheed had a good final year of his career this year with the Knicks for the time when he was not injured. He did well for his time, but he could not stay away from injury. So, Rasheed have a good life outside of basketball. Alright! Marcus Camby-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs- DNQ. Camby had some pretty solid work with the Knicks this year and I think that he gave it all he got. If we could get him next year, I would love to have him back! Those were my grades for the reserves, if you do not agree on something, come talk about it with me in the comments because I like to see what other people think about stuff. Anyway here are the role players and the sixth man of the year. Steve Novak-Regular Season-C-, Playoffs-DNQ. Novak was having a fine season for his role at the role player and I thought that we should stick to the same strategy throughout the playoffs. We did not. This guy played about 2 minutes in our whole NBA Playoffs when in a regular season game he had been playing a good 10-15 minutes. Why would Woodson change the strategy? If you are winning, keep doing what you are doing. Don’t fix what is not broken! Amare Stoudemire-Regular Season-C, Playoffs-DNQ. Stoudemire again had troubles with injuries for the second straight year and I think it is time to consider trading him. I gave him a C because he is still dunking out there with all the pain on him. I give him credit because after every injury he went through he toughened it out and came back out on the floor and for that I give him credit. Jason Kidd-Regular Season-C+, Playoffs-D-. Jason Kidd was one of those players that had a great regular season and lost it all in the NBA Playoffs, I cannot even remember if he scored in the playoffs against the Celtics or Pacers. Please write in the comments below if you remember this man making a shot in the Playoffs. In the regular season, however, the whole thing is a different story. He did very fine in the regular season and I thought he was a great addition to the team. Then, the playoffs arrived and all matters with Jason Kidd were downhill. Anyway, he did retire at 40 years of age and is now the Nets head coach and I wish him the best of luck with that. Chris Copeland-Regular Season-B-, Playoffs-B-, Was this guy a shock to us all or what? Nobody even thought he would be on a team this year and it turned out that he is actually a very fine player who hits shots when you need them. Copeland did show up in the playoffs and played the way he did in the regular season. He gave us a huge boost in the season and in the NBA Playoffs, he was phenomenal. Copeland, this is your team stay with us! Kenyon Martin-Regular Season-B, Playoffs-B+. Kenyon Martin was a solid player for the Knicks in both the regular season and the playoffs. He would dunk the ball and give the Knicks the momentum that they needed to win. Then, he would scream at the crowd when he blocked a shot or dunked it and the crowd would jump up and down and they would go crazy. I remember sitting at home watching this guy get me out of my seat going nuts. Point is, Martin thank you for helping us with a great season! JR Smith-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-C+. Choke in the playoffs! I’m sorry JR but you did not help us after that elbow on Jason Terry in Game 3 of the 1st round. After that happened, JR could not do anything, he was missing shots that he would usually make all the time and he is one of the reasons why I think we got out by the Pacers in the playoffs. In the regular season, though, I could never stop applauding you. Making every shot, putting an incredible dunk in every single night. Awesomeness! If you had only shown up in the playoffs it would have been a totally different story. If it was my choice though I would still get JR back for next season because he did well in the regular season and the Knicks could use someone like that this year. These were my grades on the role players, do you think I was correct or do you think different comment about it below and I can see what you think. Now, the starters and the coach. Raymond Felton-Regular Season-B+, Playoffs: C-. In the playoffs this man was failure. Our starting point guard in one of the playoff games against Indiana scored 4 points! Are you kidding me? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of before. Felton is supposed to be the second scoring option behind Carmelo in the starting lineup and he is giving us 4 points in the whole game! Sorry, Felton but you deserve a C- for that performance in the playoffs. In the regular season he was better but still struggled. At least he did not have 4 points in a game on a consistent basis. Pablo Prigioni-Regular Season-B+, Playoffs-B+. Another shocker right here. Nobody thought that 35 year old Pablo Prigioni was going to be on an NBA roster for his first year in the NBA. He shocked the world, the steals, the threes, the veteran, he had everything. He helped the team so much this year and he was one of the reasons why we even got to the 2nd round and got to six games in that second round. He truly played his heart out and I cannot thank him enough for giving the Knicks another big boost. Thanks Pablo! Tyson Chandler-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-C. Here is a player who did not show up for the 2nd round of the playoffs. Tyson Chandler got owned by Roy Hibbert in six straight games, oh wait that was the whole series against the Pacers, why would you betray us Tyson! Why? However, in the regular season he was a dominant force on the boards putting up two 20 rebound games and getting an alley-oop jam every single game. Good job by Tyson on the regular season, not so good in the playoffs. Iman Shumpert-Regular Season-A-, Playoffs-A-. Never let this guy go! Iman Shumpert tore his ACL in game 1 of the NBA 1st round against the Miami Heat, and it looked like it really hurt. He came back during this season and worked hard to get back to his normal strength. He played great in that elimination game in the playoffs with those 5 three-pointers and those clutch buckets. Also, how about that ferocious jam in game two of the Conference Semifinals, that was awesome. Shumpert has a lot of time to develop and can become a really solid basketball player when at full strength. Good season, Iman. Carmelo Anthony-Regular Season-A, Playoffs-A. Melo, you are going to win a championship one of these years, just keep working. Carmelo Anthony had one of the best regular seasons of his career averaging 28.7 points per game in the regular season and winning the scoring title, but if you think that is good enough. He averaged 28.8 points per game in the playoffs! Finally, a clutch performer! This is what a star has to do for his team, put up big numbers. Melo did some incredible things throughout the season including a 54 win season, a division title, home court advantage for the first two rounds, and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Thank you so much Carmelo for everything you have done! Please do this next year and we will keep inching closer to that ring. Melo, next year is the one! Mike Woodson-Regular Season-A, Playoffs-D+. Big Difference! In the regular season, Woodson was up for Coach of the Year in the NBA and was almost able to coach the East All-Stars. He got the Knicks a division title, 54 wins, and the 2nd seed in the East. I give a lot of credit to Woodson for that and I applaud everything that he did in the regular season, but the playoffs were a whole different story. He was screwing up every game and that is why I gave him a D+ in the playoffs. If Iman Shumpert hits 4 straight three-pointers to end the 3rd quarter in an elimination game, would you take Shumpert out for the 4th quarter. Sounds stupid, right! Woodson thinks different, he subs him out in the 4th quarter and we lose the Knicks are now out of the playoffs. What do you think the main reason was? WOODSON!! Mike Woodson just needs to make smarter decisions and he will be fine. These were my predictions on each Knicks players grade, do you have a different opinion on what their grade should be? Tell me in the comments below. Please comment and thanks for reading! The loss of our most recent playoff game, when the Knicks fell to the Pacers 82-71, still has that stinging feeling from it. This was a huge loss for us because game 4 still gives them home court advantage. Moving into game 4 on Indiana’s soil makes it that more challenging and that more important for the Knicks. They need to tie the series now and regain winning momentum. One sure way to win game 4 is to let Carmelo loose and let him do what he does best. I’m expecting 40+ points from him to help us secure the win. It’s do or die time. This is what all the hard work during the season is for and Carmelo needs to shine. So far, each playoff game that the Knicks won this season, Carmelo has averaged 29.8 points per game and led the team in scoring. He is key to our success in this next game. He has to show he is clutch and can lead us back to MSG in victory. Another big factor in my opinion for game 4 is Raymond Felton. What happened to him in game 3? He had 6 points, shot 1-8 from the field and only dished out 2 assists in game 3, but he gave us 34 minutes. That added up to 34 minutes of wasted time in the game because he didn’t show up. Come on, man! You can do this Raymond!!! #1: Melo must have a great scoring night. #2: Felton must be more involved and show up for game 4. #3: Stop Paul George. Paul George is clearly the best player on the Pacers and will be very difficult to shut down. I think the way to stop him is by putting our best defender on him, Iman Shumpert. He has to work hard and frustrate George. If we stop him, I say a win for the Knicks. The Pacers in game 3 were certainly working hard like they always do and a lot of their shots were dropping. I mean, come on, everything was going in for them last game. Three-pointer is good by Hill. Paul George with an outstanding move. Hibbert tips it is again! We heard those three sentences A LOT in game 3! Things have to change moving forward. I believe we will win game 4 in a nail biter decided by 6 or less points. I would prefer to blow them clear out of Indiana but I will settle for a win of any score. That is, of course, if the refs haven’t decided the game before the first jump ball. Some of their calls have certainly been questionable. I remember one specific play where Shumpert got pushed out of bounds but he was on defense, and then Hansbrough got the ball and barely got touched and they called a foul. Shumpert had been guarding Paul George and George drove down the lane and became wide open because Shumpert got pushed out of bounds and he passed it to Hansbrough where he missed the shot, barely got touched, and a foul was called against the Knicks. It was just unbelievable. So, hopefully the referees will be a little bit less lopsided and let the teams play ball. Only time will tell…Tuesday at 7pm New York time to be exact!! Let me know what you think? Are we going to tie the series on Tuesday? |
Mike V.
My name is Mike V. I am an enormous basketball fan. I also am a die-hard Knicks fan. After graduating 5th grade, I started writing this blog at the age of 10 in the summer of 2012. Archives
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