LeBron Loses His NBA Crown

 

In just one game, LeBron James' legacy took a monstrous fall.

It may have only been one game, but it was the biggest game of the season for Cleveland, and maybe the biggest game of LeBron's career. However, LeBron was a total no show! I'm still convinced that was not LeBron James wearing number 23 for the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

That guy wearing number 23 last night was not aggressive, showed no emotion, and no intensity. The guy looked lost, like he had never been on a basketball court before. The guy was dribbling the ball off his feet! We know the elbow is just fine; he proved that in Game Three.

So what was LeBron's problem?

Yes, we have to give the Celtics a lot of credit. They did a great job of defending James and closing the inside.

With that said, this is LeBron we are talking about.


His jump shot last night was just God awful. He had many great looks, but he wasn't even close on most of his shots. James didn't score his first field goal until halfway through the third quarter, and that was on a break away dunk. He finished just 3-14 for 15 points! LeBron shot the ball just 14 times in the biggest game of the series? Two of the three field goals were lay ins!

Cleveland started out strong. They led 23-20 at the end of one. They jumped up to a 29-21 lead early in the second quarter. The Cavs had Boston's back against the wall at home. Instead of maybe LeBron taking over, Boston went on a 16-0 run on the road at Quicken Loans Arena! That is just totally unacceptable!

LeBron looked to be just trying to get his teammates involved. That's great, but only to a certain point. There was a time when the two time MVP should have taken over, but it never happened.

Boston was only up by six points at half, even with James failing to hit from the floor. Cleveland was far from out of it.


Unfortunately, the second half was ugly. Boston outscored Cleveland 70-44 in the second half.


I think it's safe to say now: LeBron is not who we thought he was. He's no longer the "King". He's not the savior or the next Michael Jordan. After last night's performance, LeBron should be stripped of his MVP award.


Last night was just unacceptable for LeBron or any MVP. If the award can't be taken away, James should have just came out and gave it Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard or Kobe Bryant.

It's ridiculous to think that LeBron could win a championship simply by himself, but he's come close. In 2007 he single handily took the Cavs to the NBA Finals, highlighted by his 25 consecutive points in Game 5 vs. Detroit. After that round, Cleveland then went on to get swept by San Antonio.


In 2008, LeBron was a couple of shots away from upsetting these same Boston Celtics in a Game 7 at Boston.


Of course last year, LeBron and the Cavs seemingly ran into a brick wall when they were ousted by the Orlando Magic.


But this season LeBron had the best supporting cast of his career. It's easy to say now that the Celtics are just a better team than Cleveland, but by a 32 point margin on Cleveland's home court? Boston just might be better now than in 2008. They're healthy and Rondo is far and away the most improved player in the game, probably even one of the top five best players in the NBA.


I've said it before, give Doc Rivers a lot of credit. His team faced many injuries and struggled throughout the season. He kept the team just above water, knowing all they had to do was play .500 basketball and they'd be in the playoffs. Now they're peaking at the perfect time.


We measure greatness by championships. Last night showed us that LeBron James does not have the determination, the willingness, or the killer instinct to be a champion. We saw Jordan, Olajuwon, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, and Wade take their teams and the pressure on their backs and will them to victory.

After this season, James will still be ringless. A ring may seem farther away from LeBron now than ever.

As of now, LeBron fits in the same category as Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Chris Webber, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash. All remarkable NBA players, but just not champions.


Dare I say it, but LeBron's not much different than what a healthy Tracy McGrady could have become.


Just how bad was LeBron's performance last night?


Nobody is giving Cleveland any kind of chance of winning Game Six on the road. LeBron has one final chance to win back respect, but nobody sees it happening. Where LeBron will play next year is already the most popular question today, not "Can Cleveland win Game Six?"


Now the misery continues for the city Cleveland. LeBron will most likely be out and Head Coach Mike Brown is done. The franchise is dead, and they still have a Game Six to play on Thursday. Even by some miracle (yes, it's come to that) the Cavs are able to come back and win this series, there's no way Cleveland is getting by Orlando.


Last night could have even cost LeBron a lot of money. Do you think the Knicks and Bulls might be a little skeptical of LeBron's capabilities? They might both be gunning for Dwayne Wade now.

Jekyll and Hyde:Cavs Show True Colors By Destroying Celtics

After Boston had outplayed Cleveland for the better part of Games One and Two, it looked like the Cavaliers and LeBron's elbow were in serious trouble. A game later, the Cavaliers are back in the driver's seat and are once again a force to be reckon with.

In last night's Game Three, Cleveland gave Boston it's worst home playoff defeat, crushing the Celtics 124-95. After Boston's near-perfect Game Two in Cleveland, the Cavaliers brought out their maroon and gold uniforms and made a statement on the Celtics home court.

Cleveland jumped all over Boston and led 36-17 after the first quarter, and never looked back. LeBron showed his elbow would not be a factor as he single-handily outscored the Celtics 21-17. The Cavs led 65-43 at halftime and continued their dominance in the second half, outscoring Boston in every quarter.
After Game Two, Cleveland coach Mike Brown said his team would have to go out after it, nothing would be given to them. His team responded by doing just that and making the game look like Boston gave it to them.

LeBron was unstoppable, hitting from all areas as he shot nearly 64 percent from the field, including 2-for-3 from downtown. When James is hitting his jumpshot, he becomes even more lethal as the inside game opens up allowing LeBron to take the ball to the hoop.

LeBron finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. If his elbow was in pain, it didn't show from the free throw line where James was 8-for-9.

But of course James is only good as his supporting cast. In Game Three, they were excellent. Along with James, Cleveland had a total of six players in double figures. Antwan Jamison was huge with 20 points and 12 boards. Shaquille O'Neal put in 12 points and nine rebounds. Anthony Parker finally showed up with 11 points, hitting 3-of-3 from downtown. Mo Williams was himself again, scoring 12 and handing out seven dimes. And Delonte West contributed 14 off the bench.

As a team, Cleveland shot nearly 60 percent for the game, 41.7 percent from downtown, and 91.2 percent from the line.

The Cavs were finally able to contain Boston's Rajon Rondo. Rondo had been so effective in Cleveland creating easy shots for his team, but finished with only eight assists in Game Three.
Paul Pierce has been struggling in all three games so far, and last night was his most dismal performance. The truth is, Pierce shot just 4-15 from the field with 11 points.

Ray Allen also struggled, shooting 2-7 for seven points.

Cleveland has regained home court advantage and control of the series. If they can keep up this play in Game Four, the Cavs may not have to go return to Boston for a Game Six.

Celtics Dominating Third Quarter The Key-Series Now Even 1-1

After last night's 104-86 beat-down victory by the Celtics, Boston and Cleveland are tied 1-1. As the series now heads to Beantown, the Cavaliers are lucky that they're not down 2-0.

With the first two games of the series in the books, the Celtics have outplayed the Cavs 6 of 8 quarters. In Game Two, Boston put up a near-perfect performance, with the exclamation point coming in the third quarter, as they outscored Cleveland 31-12.

Boston shot 51 percent from the field and was 9-19 from downtown! By shooting the ball that well, Cleveland was not able to get their transition game going to create easy shots.

And the best player on the court during these two games may not be MVP Lebron James, but Boston's Rajon Rondo. Yet again, Rondo had his way with Cleveland's defense— getting to the basket and creating easy shots for his teammates.

Last night, Rondo tied the franchise playoff assist record with 19. Through two games, he has 31 dimes.

Physically, Lebron seemed just fine, with no sign of his infamous elbow slowing him down. James had a somewhat typical night— 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists shooting just under 50 percent from the field.

At times, the newest two-time MVP tried to become a jump shooter and not attack the rim. He made a lot of careless passes and once again received little help from his teammates.

Cleveland's X-factor in Game One, Mo Williams, was just 1-9 from the field with only 4 points. Lebron's biggest help came from Antawn Jamison ( 1 6 points) and J.J. Hickson (13 points off the bench).

Zydrunas Ilgauskas has gone missing this series. He played about five minutes in Game One and did not play at all last night. He's only attempted one shot in the two games. Cleveland needs Ilgauskas's outside jump shot to bring defenders out, opening up the inside for Cleveland's smaller lineup.

If there was an X-factor this game, it was Boston's Rasheed Wallace. 'Sheed finally showed up for the playoffs, coming off the bench with 17 points, with 7-8 from the field including 3-4 from downtown.

That's the Rasheed Wallace we've seen many times in the playoffs before. He's just had a very quiet and forgettable season this year with the Celtics. If Boston can continue to get that kind of input from Wallace, then they could easily be champions yet again.

You really have to give Boston head coach Doc Rivers a lot of credit. We all knew the Celtics had a very talented, if not old and injury-prone, team. Throughout the season, Rivers rested his veterans as the team did not dominate the Eastern Conference and finished as a No. 4 seed.

During the season, all the Celtics had to do was stay above .500 and they'd make the playoffs. That strategy seems to have paid off.

As for Cleveland, it's Lebron versus everyone else. The team has once again failed to give the guy any real help. Their biggest acquisitions this year have been a washed up Shaquille O'Neal and a decent (at best) Antawn Jamison.

O'Neal looks out of shape and is a far cry from the dominating center he once was.

The first two games of this series have felt very similar to last year's Eastern Conference Finals, when Cleveland struggled against Orlando. Like Orlando last year, Boston just seems to be a lot better team than Cleveland. Both teams have exploited Lebron's sub-par supporting cast.

Now if Cleveland wants to get back in this series, that supporting cast needs to step it up consistently.

Lebron, Cavs Come From Behind To Take Game 1

The elbow is just fine. Maybe to the average person, a slight elbow injury would affect one's performance. But remember, Lebron is anything but average.

Lebron James put on another usual and solid performance as the Cleveland Cavaliers came from behind to take Game 1. The Cavs were down most of the game, even double digits in the third quarter. Lebron was himself, but it was Mo Williams who provided the spark Cleveland needed.

Ray Allen drained a 3 to put Boston up 69-58 with about 6 minutes left in the third quarter. You were starting to get the feeling that the Celtics were now healthy and peaking at the right time. With Lebron on the bench, Mo Williams scored the next 10 points for the Cavs to cut the Boston lead down to 5. Williams finished the game with 20 points, 6 dimes and 5 boards.

Lebron hit a layup at the end of the third to give Cleveland a 79-78 lead as the Cavs closed out the quarter on a 21-9 run.

You started to contemplate thas this was for sure Lebron's last hurrah in Cleveland. If they don't win it all, why would the guy stay. The team really hasn't given him anything. What, a washed up Shaq? Antawn Jamison? Yeah, how did all those players the Wizards departed with end up? Coren Butler and Brendan Haywood were suppose to get the Mavericks over the hump.

With the crowd back into the game, Cleveland held on to win the game. Lebron's 3 sealed the game with 23 seconds left as the Cavs won 101-93.

James shot 50% from the field for 35 points and added 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

For Boston, Rajon Rondo nearly willed the Celtics to a Game 1 road win single handily. For much of the game, Rondo was the best player on the court for the Celtics, putting up 27 points, 12 assists and 6 boards. However, Rondo scored only 3 points in the crucial fourth quarter (all from the line).

The "Big 3" for Boston? Kevin Garnett was consistent with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Paul Pierce was all over the place shooting 5-17 for 13 points. Ray Allen had 14 points.

Probably the biggest factor for the Celtics' loss, and what's hurt them all year, is their bench. Cleveland outscored Boston 26-12 in bench points. Yeah, Delonte West comes off the bench for Cleveland, but might as well start over Anthony Parker. The Cavs got 11 points from J.J. Hickson in just under 12 minutes off the bench.

But when you rely on Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen, Glen Davis and Michael Finley (that's right, Michael freakin Finley!) off your bench, you're in a lot of trouble. "Big Baby" Davis is decent. But that's no Leon Powe or Eddie House who were crucial in Boston's championship run two years ago. How come Doc Rivers never plays Nate Robinson? Robinson is very inconsistent but at times could provide some quality play off your bench. Why did you ever bring the guy to your team then? Is he hurt? Is he too busy on Twitter? Why don't you just suit up Brian Scalabrine?

This series still has the potential to go 6 or 7 games, and should be fun to watch Lebron take on the entire Celtics team by himself. But I really doubt any of these two teams can get by the Orlando Magic who should be well rested by the time the winner of this series advances.

If anything, tonight Lebron seemed to overcome the growing pains that come with winning in the NBA. For Cleveland, lets just hope the rest team can continue to come through.

Magic Put A Choke Hold On Cavaliers, Go Up 3-1

Hold up on producing more of the Kobe/Lebron puppet commercials, as much as I love them. And the Vitamin Water "Great Debate?" Gatorade might want to go after Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony. So far the winner of the advertising sweepstakes might have to be T-Mobile, although I don't know one person who subscribes to T-Mobile as their carrier.

I'll tell you right now why Orlando is so good and have dominated Cleveland in the last 3 plus years. Orlando's game plan is basically playing 4 guards/small forwards and one dominate big guy. The Magic try to work the inside game with Dwight Howard, if he's double teamed, they can kick the ball out to where they seem to have 2 to 3 guys wide open. If you don't double team Howard, Superman will eat you up. See the overtime period in last night's game.

And with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao, the Cavaliers basically start two centers. On the defensive end, neither Ilgauskas or Varejao can take on Howard one on one. And with Orlando's other 4 players on the floor being so quick and athletic, Ilgauskas or Varejao will caught inside and never make it out to defend the 3. We've seen Varejao in Game 1 get burned by having to come out and try to guard Rashard Lewis's game winning 3.

And with the smaller lineup, the Magic are able to quickly get back down the court and halt any fast break points for the Cavs.

And speaking of Rashard Lewis. Lewis has turned into Robert Horry in this series with his clutch shooting. It was Lewis who hit the dagger 3 in Game 1. And it was Lewis who hit the biggest shot of the game in last night's Game 4. With Orlando down 98-97, Lewis hit a turn around 3 to put the Magic up 2 with 4 seconds left.

The play of the game occurred right before that shot. Mickael Pietrus missed a 3 and Delonte West failed to secure the rebound as both he and Howard fell to the floor and the ball went outbounds giving Lewis and Orlando one more shot.

And Pietrus has been amazing off the bench. If there was a "6th man of the playoffs," it would have to go to Pietrus who had 17 off the bench.

With Shaquille O'Neal sitting courtside, it has been Stan "Master of Panic" Van Gundy who has done a tremendous coaching job. In overtime last night Mike Brown decided to go small and defend Orlando's outside game leaving Varajao guarding Howard one on one. Howard had his way in the overtime with 10 points, 8 of the 10 coming on dunks or layups.

How was Mike Brown the Coach of the Year? He played Lebron James the entire second half and overtime, giving James no rest. Brown never seemed to call a play on the offensive end, giving the ball to Lebron and basically telling Lebron, "Your the coach, you need to do everything. You see Van Gundy running up and down the sideline motivating his team and Brown just stands there looking lost in space, not even breaking a sweat.

Yeah, Lebron carried the team again with 44, but James also had 3 turnovers in the last 3 minutes of regulation and 3 more turnovers in OT. Some one else needs to step up for Cleveland.

All 4 games have been really competitive with 3 of the 4 games coming down to the last shot. Cleveland has lead at halftime in 3 of the four games, but have crumbled in the second half. The Cavaliers have been known for their defense, but have a hard time getting a stop when they need it.

And we all credited the acquisition of Mo Williams, but he's failed to show up in this series and when Cleveland needs him most. After guaranteeing victory last night, Williams went 5-15 from the field and didn't score after the third quarter.

Williams and Delonte West were a combined 0-6 from downtown.

Hey, let's face it. Maybe Cleveland isn't the team we thought they were. They had a dominate regular season, but they beat up on the inferior competition and won the games they were suppose to win. They were 1-2 against Orlando. 0-2 against the Lakers. 1-1 vs. Houston. 2-2 vs. Boston. There's 7 of their 16 losses. They did go 2-0 against Denver but both those games were earlier in the season when the Nuggets hadn't quite gelled yet.

And Cleveland was 2-2 against the Washington Wizards, a team that only won 19 games.

Now Cleveland has their backs to the wall and now must win 3 straight against a team they've only beaten 4 times in the last 3 years. Orlando is a team that lives and dies by the 3. They've definitely been living so you would think there due to cool off. History and stats are greatly against Cleveland, but you can never count out a Lebron James team.

These playoffs may just be the best ever.

Witness!

With just one second remaining on the clock at Quicken Loans Arena, I sat in utter disbelief. How can the Cavaliers be down 2-0 after a dominant season and playoff run? And on their home court!

Hedo Turkoglu had been a hero for the Magic again. Turkoglu had just given Orlando a two point lead and a seemingly 2-0 series lead. Only one second remained and Cleveland, a city miracles had forgotten about, needed just that.

Lebron's winning three was one of those classic moments in sports that makes you jump off your seat and yell. One of those moments that reminds us all why we love sports.

That shot changed the series. And the last two years, there have been two instances where I jumped up and down and screamed out of control. The Giants' improbable Super Bowl victory and last night. It was one of those moments where years from now you'll remember exactly where you were when you witnessed that shot.

That shot brought back so many Michael Jordan memories-the Craig Ehlo shot, the the Byron Russell shot. Lebron's shot will go right up there with every miraculous Jordan moment. It will be up there with every other Playoff buzzer beater-Magic Johnson's running hook shot to beat the Celtics and all of Robert Horry's buzzer beating, series clinching shots.


Lebron has taken the weight of Cleveland, the NBA, the Playoffs, his team, sports in general, on his shoulders and has thrived like few others. And he loves it.

And wow! How about these playoffs! That's two games in a row the Eastern Conference Finals have given us a last second shot to win the game. Just two nights ago we saw Mo Williams attempt an impossible shot to win Game 1. Williams got a great look and nearly drained it. Last night Lebron hit the winning shot in the exact spot Williams had missed.

This series could be 2-0 in favor of either team. But thankfully it's tied and we can only hope for 5 more games half as exciting as the first two.

That shot killed Orlando. Instead of having a choke hold on the series, their confidence and momentum have got to be shot. They played unbelievable basketball in the first two games. Orlando battled back down 23 on the road in the toughest arena for an opposing team to play in. They held Lebron in check the final minute last night. James turned the ball over twice in the last minute. And after all that, the series is tied.

Just when Orlando had swung the choke artist reputation off their backs and over to the Cavaliers, that shot changed everything. I can't wait till Sunday.

Magic Hand Cavs First Playoff Loss

Wow! What a game! Maybe the best game of the year so far. It's definitely up there with the Lakers overtime win at Boston back in February. And you can pick a few of the games from the epic Chicago/Boston series.

Orlando did something that had only been done twice in 45 games at Quicken Loans Arena, beat Cleveland. The Magic did something which hadn't happened in the postseason, beat Cleveland.

Halfway through the game, it looked like Cleveland was gonna roll to another double digit playoff win. They were having their way with the Magic. Lebron was dominating, the Cavs were hitting their shots and they led by as many as 16. Mo Williams even calmly drained a 67 foot shot to end the half. We've all seen the highlights of the Cavs playing Horse during their time off.

And anyone who questions Lebron's outside jump shot, he was hitting from everywhere on the court, shooting 20-30 from the field and finishing with a career playoff high of 49 points.

But a funny thing happened in the second half. It was Cleveland, not Orlando who blew a double digit lead. And Lebron's supporting cast failed to show up.

After hitting just 2 three pointers in the first half, the Magic went 7-12 from downtown in the second. Orlando outscored the Cavaliers 30-19 in the third quarter to pull within 4. Lebron scored 13 of Cleveland's 19 in that quarter.

The fourth quarter was dramatic basketball. Orlando was able to steal the lead and even led by as many as 4. But Lebron willed his team back in the game. And Mo Williams and Delonte West, who both struggled shooting, each hit a key 3 to keep Cleveland in it.

It looked like Lebron had the dagger when he drove to the basket on Dwight Howard drawing Howard's 6 foul and getting the and 1. The Cavs were up by 2 with about 26 left.

A great call by Steve Van Gundy to go for the 3 and win. Dwight Howard had just fouled out so there was no way Orlando would win in overtime on the road. Rashard Lewis hit his biggest shot of his career with the winning 3 with just 14.7 left.

Cleveland got one more shot and you knew who was getting the ball and taking it to the rack. Orlando closed in hard on Lebron with 3 defenders and Lebron quickly kicked it out to Williams who found a wide open Delonte West. But West couldn't get the shot to drop. Moments ago, West had hit the same shot.

Still, Lebron hustled to wrestle the down the rebound and it turned into a jump ball. Lebron tipped the ball to Williams who nearly made an impossible shot.

Orlando's Big 3 of Howard, Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu were huge down the stretch. Cleveland has no answer for Howard down low. Howard dominated the paint and finished with 30 points and 3 rebounds.

Lewis had just 5 points in the first half but was Mister Clutch. Along with the game winner, Lewis had 15 second half points.

And how about Turkoglu? After inconsistent play for most of the playoffs, Turkoglu has been solid in back to back games. After setting his personal playoff best with 12 assists in Game 7 against Boston, Turkoglu dished out 14 dimes tonight in Game 1.
He finished with 15 points.

For Cleveland, Bron-Bron had one his best all around games ever with 49, but Williams and West shot a dismal 10-32.

The biggest factor of this game, the bench. It's been said that Cleveland has one of the best second 5's in the league. They were outscored by Orlando's bench 25-5! Mickael Pietrus came off the bench with 13 points for Orlando.

And the night before we saw Kobe hit all his free throws down the stretch, Lebron missed 3 crucial foul shots in the fourth quarter.

Game 2, a must win for the Cavaliers, is Friday night. Enjoy the Conference Finals. Both series's should be a real treat.

Lebron Receives MVP, Yankees Swept, Nuggets Go Up 2-0

Is anything for certain?

In sports, Lebron James winning the MVP this year was for certain. Another thing you can be sure of is the Bron-Bron and the Cavaliers winning at home. They've lost twice all year.

So last night, nothing was different. Lebron received his first of many to come MVP Awards Then King James showed there was no rust after being off 9 days as the Cavs took care of business in Game 1 against Atlanta, 99-72.

Lebron had his usual MVP performance with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 3 dimes and 4 steals. Bron-Bron is so dam good he really doesn't even need to play the fourth quarter.

The Hawks will be another minor bump in the road to Cleveland's NBA title. Atlanta did play the Cavs tough at home in Phillips Arena. Maybe Atlanta steals one at home and this series goes 5. Maybe.

I don't know if its the effect of the high altitude in the Rockies, but another guarantee I can give you is the Denver Nuggets playing at home will crush their opponent in the fourth quarter. Every home playoff game so far this year the Nuggets have started the final quarter by blowing out their opponent and sealing the game. Last night was no different. Dallas, led by Dirk Nowitzki's 35 points, was keeping up with Nuggets until the near the end of the third quarter. Then the fourth quarter happened and Denver proceeded to go on another patented 16-2 run!

Carmelo Anthony scored 15 of his 25 in the final period as Denver went up 2-0 with a 117-105 drubbing of the Mavericks.

Another guarantee? The Red Sox beating the Yankees! They've played 5 times, Boston has won all 5. They've beaten the Yankees almost every possible way you can think of. Coming back from 2 down off Rivera in the bottom of the ninth. Being down 6-0 and coming back to blow the Yankees out of the park. Stealing home plate in a game. Withstanding a 2 hour rain delay. And last night beating Joba Chamberlain despite Joba striking out 12 Sox.

Now all the Yankees have to is go 10-4 against Boston for the rest of the year.

One more guarantee...It now seems to be annual occurrence on where will Brett Favre be playing next season.

And one other thing. There are so many great things about NYC, one of the best aspects of the city is the subway. I lived in NYC for about 5 years and a train or bus was my mode of transportation the whole time. I didn't own a car for 5 years. I never had to worry about the price of gas, insurance or a car payment.

And yet, you could go on and on about what makes the subway so great. This video shows just one of many everyday occurrences you could fall upon during your afternoon commute in NYC.

NBA Playoffs Heating Up!

I'll start with this. Yesterday's NBA action brought more excitement than the entire 2009 NCAA Tournament. 3 of the 4 games were decided by 3 points or less, and the other game, you got to see more Lebron James domination.

Bulls even series at 2 with dramatic double overtime victory against Celtics

Once this game went to the first overtime, it was already considered the most exciting series of the first round (I think Orlando/Philly might have something to say about that now). Up 3 with time running out, Chicago had the game won in regulation but then decided not to cover Ray Allen. Allen nailed a wide open 3 point bomb to tie the game and send it to overtime. Remember Allen won Game 2 for Boston on a last second 3.

In the first OT, the Celtics went up by 5. Chicago hung in there and where down 3 with 9 seconds left. Boston was looking to foul but somehow Ben Gordon was able to get an open look and bury the tying 3 pointer.

The second OT, Chicago never trailed. John Salmons finished with 20 points including hitting 4-4 from the foul line in the last 26 seconds. Down 3, Boston still had a chance to tie the game. But it was Salmons again coming up big blocking Paul Pierce's 3 point shot to end the game as the Bulls held on, 121-118.

The Bulls had all 7 players who took a shot score in double figures.

Derrick Rose finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, but also had 7 turnovers.

Rajon Rondo, looking like the best player in green, had his second triple double of the series-25 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

End of an Era as Pistons swept by Cavs

For the last 6 years, Detroit has been in the Eastern Conference Finals. This year is a changing of the guard as the Piston's were barely a bug hitting the windshield on Lebron and the Cavs' drive to the Finals.

Cleveland played Game 4 like the previous 3, they won by double digits. There may have been more Cavs' fans at The Palace in Auburn Hills as Cleveland won 99-78.

For the series, Lebron James averaged 32 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists.

This was also probably the last game for Rasheed Wallace as a Piston.

Orlando blows another lead, Turkoglu's 3 bails them out

Here's what we've had in the other exciting first round series:

Game 1 was Andre Iguodala.
Game 3 was Thaddeus Young.
And Game 4 was Hedo Turkoglu and Orlando's turn for last second magic.

If we've learned anything from this series, it's no lead is safe, Dwight Howard can actually hit free throws, and chances are, the game is gonna come down to the final seconds.

Orlando led by 10 points with 4:30 remaining in the game. Then Philly went on a 12-2 run and tied the game at 81 on Samuel Dalembert's easy bucket with just under 15 seconds left.

Orlando had the last shot and it was Hedo Turkoglu's 3 point shot that gave the Magic a 84-81 win and tie the series at 2 apiece.

Rockets lose early lead, comeback to survive Game 4

Houston was finally able to get their big man back into the series. After going perfect in Game 1, Yao Ming had not been nearly as dominant in Games 2 and 3.

Yao came back in Game 4 with a solid performance as the Rockets held off the Trailblazers, 89-88 to go up 3-1. Yao finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

The Rockets were up 50-44 at halftime, but lost the lead as Portland finished the third quarter on a 13-1 run to go up 70-64 after three.

Offensive rebounds and second chance points were key for the Rockets in this game, especially in the 4th quarter. Shane Battier hit a couple of three's to put Houston ahead for good. Battier was huge with 14 points, 8 boards, 6 assists and shot 4-6 from downtown. Houston as a team was 9-16 from downtown compared to Portland's 7-15 from behind the arc.

After averaging 20.3 ppg through the first 3 games, Aaron Brooks was a no show with only 5 points. In fact Rick Adelman kept Brooks on the bench a good chunk of the game. Brooks and Kyle Lowry both played 24 minutes. Neither really helped their team as Lowry finished with just 4 points on 1-6 shooting.

Brandon Roy again led all scorers with 31 points. He was 13-13 from the charity stripe. But he was the only one getting to the line for the Trailblazers, as they were 17-17 as a team, Roy getting 13 of the 17 foul shots.

Yao Ming has been dominant against Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. The two Portland centers have been almost nonexistent. Last night they combined for 4 points on 2-3 shooting and 15 reboudns. Oden had no points and 3 rebounds alone.

Cavs Hold Off Late Pistons Comeback

While everyone changed the channel after the 3rd quarter, Detroit never gave up.

Up 29 points in the 4th, newly crowned coach of the year Mike Brown pulled Lebron off the court to seemingly rest him for the rest of the game. What Brown hadn't in mind was that he would James's heroics again before this game was done.

For the first 3 quarters, Game 2 had played like just about every other Cavaliers' home game with Cleveland in total control. Detroit went on a 27-5 run in the fourth quarter to pull within 7 points.

Then Bron-Bron pulled off the warmups and did a windmill dunk and all again was safe and sound as Cleveland held on to a 94-82 win to go up 2-0.

Lebron finished with a "quiet" 29 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. He had help from Mo Williams who had 21 points and 7 dimes, and Delonte West put in 20 points.

However Cleveland may have exposed a weakness, their bench. With his team up 29, Mike Brown felt his team was in total control and looked to rest his starters. But Cleveland's bench was outscored by Detroit's 33-10. Brown was forced to bring Lebron back into the game to seal the deal.

Another factor in the game was the free throw disparity. Cleveland had 43 free throw attempts to Detroit's 16!

The Piston's had only 2 starters in double figures with Richard Hamilton leading the Detroit with 17.

Pistons/Cavaliers Game 1 Business As Usual

Move along, nothing to see here.

As expected, the Cleveland Cavaliers had very little trouble at home against the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit did hang around until the second quarter when Cleveland went on a 20-9. And maybe the final dagger was Lebron banking a half court shot as time expired to end the first half with the Cavs up 12.

The Pistons pulled within 8 points in the fourth quarter while Lebron was on the bench. After that, Lebron came back on the floor and the rest is history as Cleveland won 102-84.

James finished with 38 points, 8 boards and 7 assists. Along with Lebron, the Cavs had 4 other players in double figures.

For the game, Cleveland only had 4 turnovers, shot nearly 53% from the floor and hit 23-27 from the free throw line.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 20 points. The most frustrating aspect of this game for Detroit is that the Pistons probably played their best game possible, but still lost by 18.

Detroit turned the ball over 7 times and shot 46.2% from the floor. However, the Pistons were just 2-12 from behind the arc and only shot 12 total free throws.

The 3 Most Influential Trades This Year

Last year, the Celtics and Lakers played for the NBA Championship. Both teams made the Finals because of moves by their front offices. The Celtics, brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, making them one of the most lethal teams in the league. The Lakers got Pau Gasol from Memphis for practically nothing, Kwame Brown.

This year, the Cleveland Cavaliers finally got Lebron some quality help in Mo Williams. And Wow! What help Williams ended up being. Did anyone ever think Mo Williams was this good?

This season, Williams is averaging 17.8 points per game and shooting .436% from 3 point land. He's also putting in over 4 assists per game and grabbing over 3 boards a game. For his career, Williams is averaging 13.5 ppg and shoots .386% for 3 pointers.

Last year, Cleveland went 45-37 overall and 27-14 at home. This year, the Cavs had the best season in franchise history. Going into their final game tomorrow, Cleveland has locked the best record in the NBA at 66-15 and 39-1 at home!

The 1986-86 Boston Celtics went 40-1 at home and won 67 overall. The Cavs can tie both those marks tomorrow night when the host the Philadelphia 76ers. Cleveland will most likely rest all its starters and the 76ers are still jockeying for playoff position.

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls who went 72-10 finished 39-2 at home.

And how about this, Joe Smith, who Cleveland sent away in the trade to acquire Mo Williams, is back with the Cavs!

Number 2. Chaunecy Billups to the Denver Nuggets.

Talk about another steal! Early in the season, the Nuggets dealt past his prime Allen Iverson to Detroit for the experienced team leader Billups.

Last year, the Nuggets finished 50-32 and squeaked into the playoffs as the 8th seed just 2 games ahead of Golden State. The Nuggets were then swept in the first round by the Lakers.

This year, Denver sits at 54-27 and are one win away from securing the second seed in the Western Conference.

As for Iverson and the Pistons? AI has been hurt, benched and has never really accepted his role as not being the number one go to guy for the Pistons. Without Iverson, the Pistons seem to play better and are a shadow of what the franchise has been this decade. Currently, Detroit is 39-42 and will be the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. Hello Cleveland! Good bye in the first round Detroit. Boy how times have changed.

Nubmer 3. Ron Artest Houston Rockets.

When the Rockets picked up Artest, there was a lot of speculation whether the ticketing time bomb would ruin the team or give Houston a legit big 3.

And when T-Mac made is annual return to the disabled list, it looked like the Rockets were done. They even waved the white flag and traded starting point guard Rafer Alston.

Since T-Mac's last game, the Rockets are 22-7. Artest has fit in perfectly as the Rockets are a scrappy, defensive team, exactly how Artest plays. Houston held Chris Paul and the Hornets to only 66 points Monday night.

Now, the Rockets are a win away from locking up a division title and maybe even a possible 2 seed in the playoffs.

Bron-Bron-3 Straight Triple Doubles

This may be the most exciting MVP races in recent memory. Most of the year the talk had been Lebron/Kobe. But lately Dwyane Wade has made a strong case for the MVP, averaging 40 plus points, 10 plus assists and hitting game winning jumpers.

Kobe has his Lakers sitting with the best record in the NBA and the Lakers have swept the Cavaliers and Celtics, pretty much securing home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Now Lebron has just been lighting it up like Michael Phelps lights up bongs. Caught up in last night's 6 OT Big East thriller, you may have missed one of the funnest NBA games to watch. Bron-Bron led the Cavaliers from behind on the road in Phoenix. In doing so, James finished with his third straight triple double, a feat not accomplished since Jason Kidd.

In Cleveland's 119-111 victory in Phoenix, Lebron finished with 34 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals.

The biggest play of the game was probably this sick block James had on Jason Richardson. This play came after Lebron missed a three on the other end and Richardson seemed to have a wide open break to the basket. The most amazing part about this play was how in the hell James was able to make it down the other end of the court. This play shows Lebron's determination and hustle.

In Lebron's last three games, he has averaged 26.7 points, 12 dimes and 11 boards.

Last Tuesday, the Cavs were down 19 points in the fourth quarter to the Clippers, only to come back and win 87-83. Yeah, I know it was against the Clippers, but it's pretty impressive when a team can come from 19 down in the final period to win the game, no matter who the opponent is.

NBA Line of the Week for 1/26 to 2/1 2009

The biggest off season deal in the NBA just may have been Cleveland acquiring PG Mo Williams. I had no idea Mo Williams (Alabama) was this good. Williams seems to be the outside shooter and play maker Lebron so desperately needed. And Lebron recognizes this. As James always requires extra attention when he has the ball, Williams can always find a wide open jumper.

Last Tuesday (1/27), Williams went off. In a 117-110 victory over Sacramento, Mo lit up with 43 points, 11 dimes and 8 boards, including shooting 7-12 from downtown.

And of course, Lebron quietly had another triple double that same night.



I can't forget about my boy CP3. Last Monday (1/26), Chris Paul was 3 steals away from a quadruple double! In the Hornets 101-86 win against Philadelphia, Paul put up 27 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists and 7 steals!

That is straight up nasty! Here's hoping Paul's groin injury keeps him out for a minimum number of games as he's one of the funnest players to watch and the best PG in the NBA.