Very busy month for me which makes me talk less cock. But who would have thought a person like get so serious in studying? Yea, many things went out of your expectations - especially in the NBA season 2010-2011. Here are the list "Who Would Have Thought....":
1. ...the two-time-defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers got swept by playoff-most-favorable-to-choke Dallas Mavericks 0-4?
It is very difficult to three peat because humans get overconfident with their past experience of being successful twice. For example: Ron Artest sold his ring for charity early in the season because he thought that he would win another ring with the Lakers. But this is not the main reason of Lakers' loss. Lakers lost because
i) Pau Gasol got fucking emo with Kobe Bryant and refused to perform. Pau Gasol's long time girlfriend, Silvia Lopez Castro broke up with him, thanks to the help of Kobe Bryant's wife. The Lakers players refused to give further information about that. But if this is not the reason, why Pau Gasol is playing worse than his brother, Marc Gasol?
ii) Andrew Bynum fucked the team up by refusing to perform as he supposed to. He got overconfident with his performance and demanded to be the first offensive option but he didn't get it from the coach, Phil Jackson. Of course, he will not be as long as Kobe Bryant is the team. Kobe Bryant is a famous for ball hogging, not to mention he is the BEST player in the league.
iii) Phil Jackson is fed up of winning. C'mon, a person has only 10 fingers but he has 11 rings to put on. Not to forget that he has a wedding ring too so make it 12! 13 is an unlucky number. To avoid the unlucky 13, he just refused to win the 13th ring!
2. ...the team with the best record in regular season San Antonio Spurs lost to Memphis Grizzlies?
This is the ultimate upset for the veteran team like San Antonia Spurs because they do not have another chance to make another playoff push. They had the best record in the regular season with Phoenix Suns signature run-and-gun offense. It's not difficult to achieve the best record with such offense for the given rooster (well, look at Phoenix for the past 7 years) but the Spurs seemed to forget how to win a playoff game - by defending the paint. Perhaps the lost to the Phoenix Suns last year made a blueprint for the Spurs to win in playoff this year? Better luck next year - oops forgot that you guys are retiring soon...
3 ...Orlando Magic who swept and humiliated Atlanta Hawks by a margin of 30 points per game last year lost to Atlanta Hawks with the same rooster?
Actually, not really the same rooster as Magic had a blockbuster trade in February. It is a very poor choice to have Hedo Turkoglu back in the Magic rooster. Yea, many people think that he runs the best 3-5 pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard but that's just all Dwight Howard's effort. Believe me, if I can play with Dwight Howard, I run pick-and-roll easily with his help too. Dwight Howard is the SUPERMAN! By playing on average 45 mins per game in the series and having 40-20 night in night out and a lost series to Hawk, this is obviously not Dwight's problem. Magic roosters just suck. Probably Dwight Howard should follow the "betrayal" footsteps like Lebron James in his free agency next year?
4 ...Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtic fail to meet each other to square off their rivalry?
Lakers and Boston had two upset losses to Mavericks and Heat, respectively. Lakers' loss is explained above. Boston's loss started in February when Boston Celtic GM Danny Ainge traded Kendrick Perkin to Oklahoma City. Boston Celtic head coach Doc Rivers claimed that his starters have not lost a series when they all played together. So why the fuck Danny Ainge traded such a core piece to Oklahoma City? Look where Oklahoma City has achieved with Kendrick Perkin - Western Final. Maybe Danny Ainge should grow up and become "Daniel" Ainge to make some mature trades.
5 ...Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat would meet in the NBA final?
This is NOT a rematch of of NBA Final 2006. Both of teams failed miserably for 5 years until recently with a different rooster. The Heat 2011 does not have Shaq "Most Dominating Ever" O'neal and Gary Payton. But they now have Dwayne Wade plus LeBron James and Chris Bosh. This is not the Heat 2006 who had D-Wade one man show. This is the Heat 2011 who has Super Friends 3 men show. On the other hand, the Mavericks 2011 is different than the Mavericks 2006. The only roosters left from the Mav 2006 are Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. The Mav 2006 ran Dirk as center which failed miserably because of his softness in the middle. Now the Mav 2011 ran Dirk as 7 footer shooting guard. This shooting guard is more dangerous than Kobe Bryant because his fade away is literally impossible to defend. Dirk is releasing the ball from his hand at 9 feet height and he is fading 3 feet away from the defender. Although the Super Friends are the most athletic players in the league, Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavs are not easy to guard. So let's compare the roosters:
Starting Line Up
At Center Position: Tyson Chandler (Mav) vs Joel Anthony (Heat)
Tyson Chandler, a 10-year NBA player, plays decent basketball even back in the days in the Hornet. He hustles, he defends, he rebounds and he catch an alley oop pass and dunk on your face. And Joel Anthony - have you heard of his name? Umm no. This probably has something to do with his skills.
Obvious choice here: Mavericks wins at the center position.
At Power Forward Position: Dirk Nowitzki (Mav) vs Chris Bosh (Heat)
This is tough comparison here not because of their skills level but because of their different play style.Chris Bosh is a power forward who plays like a power forward. He loves to get inside and score while he can shoot pretty good too. The only thing you can pick on him is his inability to defend. Dirk Nowitzki is a power forward who plays like a shooting forward. He can get inside with his lefty layup (he loves to do that!) but what makes him very dangerous is his ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. He's notorious for his inability to defend as well but his offensive output can make up for that. Beat this: 40% from 3point, 50% from the floor, 90% from the free throw. You want a crazier stat? This playoff: 52% from 3 point, 52% from the floor, 92% from the free throw while scoring 28 points a night.
Another obvious choice here: Mavericks has an upper hand at this position but probably Mavericks will run Dirk as a shooting guard on the offense and power forward on the defense.
At Small Forward Position: Shawn Marion (Mav) vs LeBron James (Heat)
Many people might say this is an obvious choice that favor the Heat. Yes, I have to admit that LeBron James is considered one of the best players in the league. But Shawn Marion is called "The Matrix" for some reasons. Although the stat of Kevin Durant during Conference final was not poor, Shawn Marion's ability to make crucial stops has denied Kevin Durant and the Thunders from the NBA Final. But what make Shawn Marion "The Matrix" is not his ability to defend but his ability to score from anywhere on the floor with his signature ugly shooting style. LeBron James has yet to be defended by a pesky defender during this playoff. If LeBron wants to shine, he need to get through "The Matrix".
Of course, the favorite choice: LeBron James will be the choice compared to any small forward in the league. C'mon, he is the best small forward. But do you know that he plays better at power forward position? Like how he crushed the Celtic and the Bulls defends.
At Shooting Guard Position: DeShawn Stevenson (Mav) vs Dwayne Wade (Heat)
Just like the Heat center, Joel Anthony, DeShawn Stevenson is his counterpart. Have you ever heard of his name? Umm no - same reason as Joel's case. Dwayne Wade had a Jordanique performance in 2006 NBA Final to crush the Mavericks. He is able to do so again. Dwayne Wade is the best scorer option in the Heat. Remember when the Heat tried to run LBJ as first offensive option, they lost tons of games till D-Wade is running offense again. D-Wade makes better decision when to slash, when to shoot and when to pass.
Obvious choice here: Dwayne Wade, enough being said!
At Point Guard Position: Jason Kidd (Mav) vs Mike Bibby (Heat)
This is not the Kidd from the Nets and this is not the Bibby from the Kings either. What left in these two old men is experience and ever improving skills. However, Mike Bibby can never be like Jason Kidd, the master of Triple-Double. Well, now the master of Triple-Double is, of course, LBJ Although both lost to the Lakers eventually, Jason Kidd single handedly brought the Nets to the NBA final twice 10 years ago while Mike Bibby has never reached NBA final. Jason Kidd knows that his age slows him from splitting the defense. Therefore, he improves his shooting skills to draw the defenders on him (Steve Nash style) while Mike Bibby is just an old point guard now.
Favorite choice here: Jason Kidd - with his better experience and wider visions - he is the mastermind of the Mav offense. Look how he saved the timeout to run the last second offense at Game 4 vs Thunders. This is something Mike Bibby cannot do.
Heat To Win
Offensively
There is nothing much to analyze about the Heat offense because the Super Friends are just too imbalance. They can't be guarded one-on-one and the Mavericks are not known for their ability to defend one-on-one. However, what is more important is the Heat second unit (which basically everyone else but the Super Friends) to step up big in the final stage. The Super Friends cannot do all the offense by themselves. When D-Wade/LBJ draws defender and makes plays, the other Heat players must score.
Defensively
Known for their athleticism, the Heat is a super defensive team that forced turnover and turn it into scoring. But the Heat must find a way to stop Dirk Nowtzki one on one. Dirk Nowiztki's ability to shoot anywhere on the floor is basically unguardable. But if he is forced to pass to other Mavs, the Heat has to stop the other Mavs from scoring.
Mavericks To Win
Offensively
Everything has to run through Dirk Nowitzki. Although Jason Kidd is the brain of the offense, Dirk Nowitzki is the weapon that hurts the Heat in a lot of ways. DeShawn Stevenson is nothing more than a defender to annoy the Heat's scorer. What more dangerous for the Mavericks is its bench that full of scorers - J.J. Barea as a slasher, Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry as deadly shooters from the wings and 3 pointers. To win, the Mavericks need all the scorers to be effective.
Defensively
Not known as a defensive team, the Mavericks get into the NBA final through their offense. However, when switched into zone defense, the Mavericks can force the Heat into a jump shooting team. If the Heat fail to make the jump shoots, the Mavericks has the chance to win the series. But most importantly, the Mavericks have to stop not only D-Wade this time, but also LBJ.
PREDICTION
No more prediction from me. My prediction stinks!!!! But I hope the Heat will lose =D You know why...
1. ...the two-time-defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers got swept by playoff-most-favorable-to-choke Dallas Mavericks 0-4?It is very difficult to three peat because humans get overconfident with their past experience of being successful twice. For example: Ron Artest sold his ring for charity early in the season because he thought that he would win another ring with the Lakers. But this is not the main reason of Lakers' loss. Lakers lost because
i) Pau Gasol got fucking emo with Kobe Bryant and refused to perform. Pau Gasol's long time girlfriend, Silvia Lopez Castro broke up with him, thanks to the help of Kobe Bryant's wife. The Lakers players refused to give further information about that. But if this is not the reason, why Pau Gasol is playing worse than his brother, Marc Gasol?
ii) Andrew Bynum fucked the team up by refusing to perform as he supposed to. He got overconfident with his performance and demanded to be the first offensive option but he didn't get it from the coach, Phil Jackson. Of course, he will not be as long as Kobe Bryant is the team. Kobe Bryant is a famous for ball hogging, not to mention he is the BEST player in the league.
iii) Phil Jackson is fed up of winning. C'mon, a person has only 10 fingers but he has 11 rings to put on. Not to forget that he has a wedding ring too so make it 12! 13 is an unlucky number. To avoid the unlucky 13, he just refused to win the 13th ring!
2. ...the team with the best record in regular season San Antonio Spurs lost to Memphis Grizzlies?This is the ultimate upset for the veteran team like San Antonia Spurs because they do not have another chance to make another playoff push. They had the best record in the regular season with Phoenix Suns signature run-and-gun offense. It's not difficult to achieve the best record with such offense for the given rooster (well, look at Phoenix for the past 7 years) but the Spurs seemed to forget how to win a playoff game - by defending the paint. Perhaps the lost to the Phoenix Suns last year made a blueprint for the Spurs to win in playoff this year? Better luck next year - oops forgot that you guys are retiring soon...
Actually, not really the same rooster as Magic had a blockbuster trade in February. It is a very poor choice to have Hedo Turkoglu back in the Magic rooster. Yea, many people think that he runs the best 3-5 pick-and-roll with Dwight Howard but that's just all Dwight Howard's effort. Believe me, if I can play with Dwight Howard, I run pick-and-roll easily with his help too. Dwight Howard is the SUPERMAN! By playing on average 45 mins per game in the series and having 40-20 night in night out and a lost series to Hawk, this is obviously not Dwight's problem. Magic roosters just suck. Probably Dwight Howard should follow the "betrayal" footsteps like Lebron James in his free agency next year?
Lakers and Boston had two upset losses to Mavericks and Heat, respectively. Lakers' loss is explained above. Boston's loss started in February when Boston Celtic GM Danny Ainge traded Kendrick Perkin to Oklahoma City. Boston Celtic head coach Doc Rivers claimed that his starters have not lost a series when they all played together. So why the fuck Danny Ainge traded such a core piece to Oklahoma City? Look where Oklahoma City has achieved with Kendrick Perkin - Western Final. Maybe Danny Ainge should grow up and become "Daniel" Ainge to make some mature trades.
5 ...Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat would meet in the NBA final?This is NOT a rematch of of NBA Final 2006. Both of teams failed miserably for 5 years until recently with a different rooster. The Heat 2011 does not have Shaq "Most Dominating Ever" O'neal and Gary Payton. But they now have Dwayne Wade plus LeBron James and Chris Bosh. This is not the Heat 2006 who had D-Wade one man show. This is the Heat 2011 who has Super Friends 3 men show. On the other hand, the Mavericks 2011 is different than the Mavericks 2006. The only roosters left from the Mav 2006 are Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. The Mav 2006 ran Dirk as center which failed miserably because of his softness in the middle. Now the Mav 2011 ran Dirk as 7 footer shooting guard. This shooting guard is more dangerous than Kobe Bryant because his fade away is literally impossible to defend. Dirk is releasing the ball from his hand at 9 feet height and he is fading 3 feet away from the defender. Although the Super Friends are the most athletic players in the league, Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavs are not easy to guard. So let's compare the roosters:
Starting Line Up
At Center Position: Tyson Chandler (Mav) vs Joel Anthony (Heat)
Tyson Chandler, a 10-year NBA player, plays decent basketball even back in the days in the Hornet. He hustles, he defends, he rebounds and he catch an alley oop pass and dunk on your face. And Joel Anthony - have you heard of his name? Umm no. This probably has something to do with his skills.
Obvious choice here: Mavericks wins at the center position.
This is tough comparison here not because of their skills level but because of their different play style.Chris Bosh is a power forward who plays like a power forward. He loves to get inside and score while he can shoot pretty good too. The only thing you can pick on him is his inability to defend. Dirk Nowitzki is a power forward who plays like a shooting forward. He can get inside with his lefty layup (he loves to do that!) but what makes him very dangerous is his ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. He's notorious for his inability to defend as well but his offensive output can make up for that. Beat this: 40% from 3point, 50% from the floor, 90% from the free throw. You want a crazier stat? This playoff: 52% from 3 point, 52% from the floor, 92% from the free throw while scoring 28 points a night.
Another obvious choice here: Mavericks has an upper hand at this position but probably Mavericks will run Dirk as a shooting guard on the offense and power forward on the defense.
At Small Forward Position: Shawn Marion (Mav) vs LeBron James (Heat)
Many people might say this is an obvious choice that favor the Heat. Yes, I have to admit that LeBron James is considered one of the best players in the league. But Shawn Marion is called "The Matrix" for some reasons. Although the stat of Kevin Durant during Conference final was not poor, Shawn Marion's ability to make crucial stops has denied Kevin Durant and the Thunders from the NBA Final. But what make Shawn Marion "The Matrix" is not his ability to defend but his ability to score from anywhere on the floor with his signature ugly shooting style. LeBron James has yet to be defended by a pesky defender during this playoff. If LeBron wants to shine, he need to get through "The Matrix".
Of course, the favorite choice: LeBron James will be the choice compared to any small forward in the league. C'mon, he is the best small forward. But do you know that he plays better at power forward position? Like how he crushed the Celtic and the Bulls defends.
At Shooting Guard Position: DeShawn Stevenson (Mav) vs Dwayne Wade (Heat)Just like the Heat center, Joel Anthony, DeShawn Stevenson is his counterpart. Have you ever heard of his name? Umm no - same reason as Joel's case. Dwayne Wade had a Jordanique performance in 2006 NBA Final to crush the Mavericks. He is able to do so again. Dwayne Wade is the best scorer option in the Heat. Remember when the Heat tried to run LBJ as first offensive option, they lost tons of games till D-Wade is running offense again. D-Wade makes better decision when to slash, when to shoot and when to pass.
Obvious choice here: Dwayne Wade, enough being said!
At Point Guard Position: Jason Kidd (Mav) vs Mike Bibby (Heat)
This is not the Kidd from the Nets and this is not the Bibby from the Kings either. What left in these two old men is experience and ever improving skills. However, Mike Bibby can never be like Jason Kidd, the master of Triple-Double. Well, now the master of Triple-Double is, of course, LBJ Although both lost to the Lakers eventually, Jason Kidd single handedly brought the Nets to the NBA final twice 10 years ago while Mike Bibby has never reached NBA final. Jason Kidd knows that his age slows him from splitting the defense. Therefore, he improves his shooting skills to draw the defenders on him (Steve Nash style) while Mike Bibby is just an old point guard now.
Favorite choice here: Jason Kidd - with his better experience and wider visions - he is the mastermind of the Mav offense. Look how he saved the timeout to run the last second offense at Game 4 vs Thunders. This is something Mike Bibby cannot do.
Heat To WinOffensively
There is nothing much to analyze about the Heat offense because the Super Friends are just too imbalance. They can't be guarded one-on-one and the Mavericks are not known for their ability to defend one-on-one. However, what is more important is the Heat second unit (which basically everyone else but the Super Friends) to step up big in the final stage. The Super Friends cannot do all the offense by themselves. When D-Wade/LBJ draws defender and makes plays, the other Heat players must score.
Defensively
Known for their athleticism, the Heat is a super defensive team that forced turnover and turn it into scoring. But the Heat must find a way to stop Dirk Nowtzki one on one. Dirk Nowiztki's ability to shoot anywhere on the floor is basically unguardable. But if he is forced to pass to other Mavs, the Heat has to stop the other Mavs from scoring.
Mavericks To WinOffensively
Everything has to run through Dirk Nowitzki. Although Jason Kidd is the brain of the offense, Dirk Nowitzki is the weapon that hurts the Heat in a lot of ways. DeShawn Stevenson is nothing more than a defender to annoy the Heat's scorer. What more dangerous for the Mavericks is its bench that full of scorers - J.J. Barea as a slasher, Peja Stojakovic and Jason Terry as deadly shooters from the wings and 3 pointers. To win, the Mavericks need all the scorers to be effective.
Defensively
Not known as a defensive team, the Mavericks get into the NBA final through their offense. However, when switched into zone defense, the Mavericks can force the Heat into a jump shooting team. If the Heat fail to make the jump shoots, the Mavericks has the chance to win the series. But most importantly, the Mavericks have to stop not only D-Wade this time, but also LBJ.
PREDICTION
No more prediction from me. My prediction stinks!!!! But I hope the Heat will lose =D You know why...
