In taking a glance at the first round matchups of the NBA Playoffs, there is one series that stands out among all the others– the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s remarkable I’m talking about them because both organizations were so bad for so long.
But on paper this will be by far and away the closest and most highly contested opening round conference quarterfinal.
During the regular season, both sides were separated by a single game. The Grizzlies at 41-25, and the Clippers at 40-26.
The Grizzlies score by committee under head coach Lionel Hollins. None of the Grizzlies starting five scored 20 points a game, with forward Rudy Gay leading the way with 19 points.
The Clippers meanwhile are the flashier bunch, led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The team is no longer playing in the shadows of the Lakers, which is saying something.
I’m picking the Clippers in seven, as my only first round upset.
It may be the Christmas season, but it is a very big weekend on the world sport stage. On Boxing Day, the sports world will be focused on Alberta for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship. The event is significant because it is the first time that Edmonton and Calgary, two bitter provincial rivals have joined forces to host a world class sporting event. Edmonton will host all of Team Canada’s round robin games, with Calgary hosting the medal round.
Team Canada’s first game is Monday at 1:30pm against Finland (TSN). Both teams have something in common. They both lost to Russia in the medal round at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Finland lost 4-3 to Russia in the quarterfinals, while Canada lost 5-3 to Russia in the Gold medal game.
In one of the more bizarre events in the history of the National Basketball Association, point guard Chris Paul is going to Los Angeles after all–just not to the Lakers but the Clippers.
Paul went from the New Orleans Hornets to the Clippers for Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman and a first round draft choice.
Paul was originally dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal involving the Houston Rockets. The trade however was blocked by the NBA, who controversially currently owns the Hornets. According to the Associated Press, NBA Commissioner David Stern told General Manager Dell Demps, the Hornets could do better than acquiring Lamar Odom, or better known as Mr. Khloe Kardashian. Odom, meanwhile, would be later dealt to the Dallas Mavericks.
Paul is the best player in the deal between the Clippers and Hornets. The four-time all-star point guard led the NBA with 2.4 steals per game in the regular season and 11.5 assists per game in the playoffs.
What is your take on Stern getting involved in the Hornets basketball operations? Should they have the right to own the Hornets when their original owner was cash-strapped and couldn’t find someone to buy the team?
In other NBA news, Richard Hamilton has signed a three year deal worth $15 million to join the Chicago Bulls. In three years with the Washington Wizards and nine years with the Detroit Pistons, Hamilton averaged 17.7 points per game.
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame we’re talking NHL realignment and how the Coyotes might mess it all up, another big week of “Shanabans,” and lots of controversy in the NBA as the new CBA comes into effect.
In the GABBYs: Tiger Woods, the Marlins and Angels, MLSE, dress codes, Tyler Seguin and Bob Vander Weide. The Punchline this week is Patrick Chan!
If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to get by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the NBA’s Western Conference quarterfinals, they may have to do it without Kobe Bryant.
Last night, the Lakers’ all-star shooting guard injured his left foot and left the New Orleans Arena with crutches.
The Hornets won the game 93-88 to tie the series at two games apiece. Game five of the series is tomorrow night at Los Angeles’s Staples Center (TSN, 8:30pm MT).
Chris Paul was magnificent for the Hornets last night as he delivered a triple double. He had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds.
Bryant, however is not the only Laker that ran into problems yesterday. Rookie forward Derrick Caracter was arrested at a New Orleans Pancake restaurant for grabbing and shoving a cashier. Police initially stated that the cashier was pregnant, but have later stated their report was incorrect.
A lot of times when people analyze the NHL or NBA, they start with the East. But www.anysportanytime.ca is founded in the West, so I’m going to start with the West!
Grizzlies Top Three– Zach Randolph 20.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG; Mike Conley 13.7 PPG, 6.5 APG; Marc Gasol 11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG.
Analysis: The Spurs come into the series as the hands on favourite, having won four NBA titles since 1999. The fact that 2011 is an odd year as well will help San Antonio because their four previous Championships came in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Gregg Popovich is as good of a coach as any in the entire NBA and has maximized the performance out of his players. The question in San Antonio is the health of Manu Ginobili, who injured his elbow in a meaningless game last night in Phoenix and is doubtful for Game One. This will be the fourth playoff appearance in franchise history for Memphis since moving from Vancouver in 2001. They have yet to win a playoff game, going 0-12 in the process. The X factor in the series is Randolph. The tenth year power forward has a criminal past dating back to his days in Portland, but seems to have everything under control now. Still the Spurs have the three best players and will win in six.
This is an interesting part of the sports calendar– when two leagues have their all-star festivities on the same weekend.
The NHL are taking a break from their schedule to have the All-Star Game in Carolina, while the NFL’s timing for the Pro Bowl seems a little bit strange–the weekend between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, and don’t expect to see any Steelers or Packers in Honolulu, because they’re simply preparing for the biggest game of their lives.
I still don’t know what to think about the NHL All-Star Game. The teams will be decided this evening by captains Eric Staal and Nicklas Lidstrom. The game loses its luster for me a bit because there’s no Sidney Crosby and no Oilers or Flames in the game itself.
The NHL All-Star Game goes Sunday at 2pm on CBC while the Pro Bowl goes Sunday night at 5pm on FOX.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
It hasn’t been a banner season for Jay Triano and the Toronto Raptors, and that was more than evident on Monday night.
A shorthanded Raps team fell prey to some last-second heroics from Rudy Gay to win the game for the Memphis Grizzlies, an eighth straight loss for the fourth-worst team in the entire NBA. The hurt doesn’t end there though.
When you’re not winning and things aren’t really going well, you try to hang onto the small victories out there on the court, to give you something to feel good about. Well, the Raps have one less accomplishment in the works as a streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer came to an end on Monday too.
Before going 0-for-13 in that loss to the former Vancouver Grizzlies, the Raptors went 986 straight games with at least one swish from beyond the arc – an NBA record dating back to February 26th, 1999. To put into perspective just how long ago the streak began, here are some tidbits from the Raps website (from when the streak hit a decade in 2009) and some of my own. (more…)
Beyond The Arc
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