We now know half the teams who have qualified for the National Basketball Association’s conference finals.
On Wednesday night, the Miami Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 94-91 win over the Chicago Bulls to win the Eastern Conference semi-final series 4-1, while the Memphis Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference Final with a 88-84 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western Conference semi-final series 4-1 as well.
The Heat win over the Bulls I think I can safely say was expected. However the fact the Grizzlies beat the Thunder is significant. It just proves how much the Thunder were missing their point guard Russell Westbrook, who needed knee surgery after suffering an injury against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference quarterfinal.
When the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder went up 3-0 in their respective series, it just seemed inevitable before they would close out the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets respectively.
However times have changed. In the Thunder/Rockets series, Oklahoma City just seems completely out of sync without point guard Russell Westbrook, and it is clear that James Harden is feeling more and more comfortable knocking down three-pointers, as he did last night when he recorded seven shots from beyond the arc in a 107-100 win over Oklahoma City.
All of a sudden, the Rockets are only down 3-2 in the series and have the momentum heading into Houston for game six.
Meanwhile in the New York/Boston series, the Celtics beat the Knicks 92-86 last night to pull within one game in that series (3-2 Knicks). The Celtics are showing great experience at the moment. Kevin Garnett does not seem like a player who is about to retire. Garnett delivered a double double last night (16 points and 18 rebounds).
Russell Westbrook (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
A significant story in the 2013 NBA Playoffs isn’t who is playing, but who is not. Prior to the playoffs, it was well known the Los Angeles Lakers would not have Kobe Bryant, the Boston Celtics would not have Rajon Rondo and the Chicago Bulls would not have Derrick Rose.
However, the injuries continue to mount in the postseason as well. In the Western Conference quarterfinal, the Golden State Warriors lost their star center David Lee with a hip flexor for the postseason. Lee led the NBA this year with 56 double doubles. Then in game two of the Western Conference quarterfinal, Oklahoma City Thunder all-star point guard Russell Westbrook injured his knee after having surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear.
Meanwhile, the injuries in Los Angeles continues to mount for the Lakers, with not only Bryant, but Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks out as well. In game three’s loss to San Antonio, the Lakers were forced to play with their fifth and sixth ranked guards! Yikes!
The 2013 NBA Playoffs opened on Saturday with the favourites winning all eight matchups.
In fact, many of the games weren’t even close. The best game of the weekend was Saturday in Denver, where the Nuggets got a late basket from veteran guard Andre Miller en route to a 97-95 win over Golden State. However even though the Warriors played the Nuggets tight, it is going to be tough for them to be competitive in the series because one of their key players, David Lee, who led the NBA in double doubles this season, severely injured his hip and will be out for the playoffs.
It was also a great weekend for role players on the favourites. Former Toronto Raptor Matthew Bonner recorded 10 points in San Antonio’s 91-79 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, while tattoo artist Kenyon Martin scored 10 key points for New York in their 85-78 win over Boston.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder won with ease.
This is one of the few weekends every year that I get up in the middle of the night to watch sports, but have done so annually when Australian Open organizers moved their men’s and women’s finals to the night session.
On Saturday morning (TSN, 1:30 a.m.), the world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus takes on 2011 French Open champion and world number six Li Na of China. Azarenka, who is also the defending champion, defeated American sensation Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-4 in a controversial semi-final while Na beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2. A couple of notes here. First, it has been amazing the number of times I have heard from ESPN the last two weeks projecting a Serena Williams/Maria Sharapova semi-final. Second, the crowd will probably be supporting Na after Azarenka took a questionably lengthy timeout in her win over Stephens on Thursday.
In the men’s final, world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia will take on world number three Andy Murray of Great Britain (Sunday, 1:30 a.m.). Djokovic is no question the fresher of the two. He steamrolled past David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday, while Murray needed four and a half hours to beat Roger Federer in five grueling sets on a fewer day of rest. Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011 Australian Open title 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 and is looking for his third straight Australian Open Championship.
The Oklahoma City Thunder head into tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors with the same 1-2 record.
The mere fact that they’re below the .500 mark should be a bit of a surprise to some because they represented the Western Conference in the 2012 NBA Finals before losing to the Miami Heat.
However a trade right before the regular season began, has many people who follow the sport of basketball questioning Thunder management.
James Harden, the Thunder’s star shooting guard from last season was traded from Oklahoma City to Houston on October 27 in a blockbuster deal after the Thunder couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension with their star player.
Harden, who won the sixth man of the year award, has played great in Houston so far. He recorded a double double against the Detroit Pistons (37 points, 12 assists) in Houston’s season opener and then scored a career high 45 points in a 109-102 win last Friday in Atlanta.
The Miami Heart are back on top of the NBA Finals.
Sunday night in south Florida, LeBron James scored 29 points and 14 rebounds in a 91-85 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a 2-1 series lead.
A major reason why the Thunder lost Sunday was that they couldn’t seem to get things together offensively in the fourth quarter where they were only limited to 18 points.
The Heat also won despite the fact that Dwyane Wade turned the ball over five times, including once to Switzerland native Thabo Sefolosha who recorded a key steal and went to the basket for an easy lay up late in the game.
Former Raptor Chris Bosh is also playing very well on his side of the court for Miami. On Sunday he had 11 rebounds to go along with his 10 points.
The leaderboard is exciting at the 2012 U.S. Open. Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods and David Toms who are all major winners from the past are tied for the lead at golf’s second major of the year at -1. They are the only golfers in the field to not only break par, but be even or better.
Furyk, who is playing with Woods’ former caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, shot a 1-under par, the third best score of the day.
A major story from the second round however was the play of 17 year-old amateur Beau Hossler, who remarkably had the lead for a short period of time in the second round, before struggling on the front eight. Still, he did make a remarkable chip in on the seventh hole to stay in contention.
Television coverage will get under way on NBC at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. Here are the other events I’ll be watching:
The Miami Heat have tied the NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder at a game apiece.
Thursday night in Oklahoma City, the Heat got off to a fantastic start by outscoring the Thunder 25-8 during the first quarter.
The Thunder had the better second half, outscoring the Heat 55-43, but in the end it wasn’t enough as the Heat won 100-96 to win game two.
A major difference in game two was LeBron James’ excellent shooting from the free throw line. He seemed to struggle from the charity stripe in the Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Celtics, but was a perfect 12 for 12 on Thursday. James also scored 32 points in 42 minutes of action.
Three other Heat players that are playing at a high level are Dwyane Wade who had 24 points, Shane Battier (17 points, including five three pointers), and former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh, who had a double double (16 points, 15 rebounds).
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a brilliant third quarter in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.
Down 54-47 at the half, the Thunder outscored the Miami Heat 27-19 to take a 74-73 lead, and then played even better in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 31-21 for a 105-94 victory.
Kevin Durant led the way with 36 points. It is still amazing to me how much the Thunder fans have warmed up to Durant over the years because he played for the University of Texas Longhorns as a freshman in the NCAA.
According to Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Henry Burris, the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry is as hot as Edmonton-Calgary.
Another Thunder player who was exceptional in game one was Russell Westbrook. He recorded an impressive double double (27 points, 11 assists).
The fact that Oklahoma City was a game better in the standings in the regular season than Miami (47-19 vs. 46-20) might just help them win an NBA title. Their home court advantage is very significant as the Thunder fans deliver a college atmosphere throughout each home game.
This week on the show we’re looking at the Stanley Cup Finals, the latest news on the Phoenix Coyotes ownership situation, another boxing controversy and some sad news in the world of horse racing.
In the GABBYs: Union Rags, Charlie Sheen, Chad Ochocinco, the AHL, the San Diego Padres and the NBA. The Punchline this week is Elvin Ramirez.
The Miami Heat have advanced to the Eastern Conference Final by beating the Boston Celtics 101-88 on Saturday night in south Florida. The Heat won the best out of seven Eastern Conference Final 4-3 and will play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
LeBron James led the Heat attack with a double double 31 points and 12 rebounds.
James, was solid but the Heat had great performances from Shane Battier and Chris Bosh, who were a combined 7-for-13 from downtown. Dwyane Wade also added 23 points.
The Heat are headed to their second consecutive NBA Finals. They lost last year in six games to the Dallas Mavericks. This is the third time the Heat have qualified for the NBA Finals. They beat the Mavericks 4-2 in the NBA Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are advancing to the NBA Finals after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 107-99 in game six of the Western Conference Finals.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points and recorded 14 rebounds.
The Thunder, like the Boston Celtics were once down 2-0 in the conference finals, but have roared back since. The Celtics can close out the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
The Spurs dominated the first half and the Thunder dominated the second half, outscoring the Spurs 59-36. The Thunder had four different players recording a key second half three point shot. Durant, Derek Fisher, Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden all scored key baskets from beyond the arc.
The Spurs meanwhile lost four consecutive games after winning twenty consecutive games. The Thunder meanwhile were 2-0 against the Celtics this year and 1-1 against the Heat.
This will be the fourth time in the history of the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder that the franchise has advanced to the NBA Finals. Their only championship came in 1979 when they beat the Washington Bullets.
A team playing away from home has finally won in the third round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Last night in San Antonio, Kevin Durant scored 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Even though Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 50 points, I felt the best player on the Thunder in game five was James Harden. Playing with his hockey beard, Harden scored 20 points and was a +24 on the court.
So far in the conference finals, the home team had won the first eight games. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have each won their first two home games heading into game five in south Florida tonight.
Sunday night in Boston, the Celtics beat the Heat 93-91 in overtime as point guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and 15 assists for a double double. As Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all getting up in age, this is becoming more and more Rondo’s team. Still for the Heat to win the series, they will need to do a better job defending Allen who had four three pointers in game four.
We now know half the teams who have qualified for the National Basketball Association’s conference finals.
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