Daily Highlight: Big Comeback leads to Commanding Series Lead

Dirk had a huge first half with 22 points, but he quieted down for most of the second as the Mavericks fell behind by 15 points with 5 minutes to go.  All of a sudden Dirk popped up again making any number of ridiculous shots to tie the game at the end of regulation.  The Thunder looked unorganized, and many will argue (despite Durant's comments in the press conference) that inexperience cost them.  Well if that's the case, the experience of the Mavericks ensured that they would not waste such a great comeback as they held on to win in overtime and take a 3-1 series lead going back to Dallas.

Daily Highlight: Mavs Take series Lead

After losing at home, the Mavs took a big step towards the NBA Finals by winning in Oklahoma City.  They dominated the first half shooting over 50%, and they held off a second half comeback to get the Game 3 win and the 2-1 series lead.

NBA Playoff Update

So far the NBA playoffs have proven to be evenly matched and very competitive.  Both series are tied at 1 apiece, and all 4 teams have had their moments when their stars have shined.

Who can forget what Dirk did on game 1?  48 points on 24/24 free throws and 12/15 field goals.  No one has ever witnessed a free throw shooting clinic like that.  And 12 for 15 isn't too bad either.  But the Thunder could have won that game if not for JJ Barrea and Jason Terry.  Coming off the bench, they added that extra offense that put the game away for the Mavs.  And after taht game everyone (including me) was saying, "No one can stop Dirk" and "The Thunder don't have a chance."

Then came game 2.  And maybe no one can stop Dirk, but if you can keep the bench players from dominating you have a chance.  And of course if your own bench scores more than 50 points that helps too.  The 2 big stories of game 2 were Durant's massive dunk, and the benching of Russel Westbrook for the entire 4th quarter.  Durant's dunk set off a 21-7 run it was so huge.  And benching Westbrook was kind of a no brainer since Eric Maynard was having such a great game, and it worked.

This series has definitely been interesting.  Much more defensive than the Western Conference Finals.  And that seems a little strange to me when you have the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Derrick Rose on the court.  But they're all so dedicated that they are great defensive players as well.  And both teams from top to bottom are dedicated to defending.  It makes for a physical, frantic series.

Game 1 was even throughout the first half, and then Derrick Rose made his presence felt and led the Bulls to a 21 point win.  Game 2 was the same story for the first half.  But in that case, it was LeBron who came up big in the second half, and especially down the stretch of the 4th quarter to close out the win for the Heat.  Neither game has had a singular defining moment, but the stars have all had at least one good game.

So as the 2 series shift to Miami and Oklahoma City, it would seem that those 2 teams have the advantage having stolen a game away from home.  But who really thinks that Dallas and Chicago are going to go away without putting up a fight?  Has your opinion of who's going to make the finals changed based on what you've seen?  I'm still picking Dallas and Miami, although I think Dallas will have a harder time than I originally expected.

Daily Highlight: Thunder Get one Back

Well there weren't the great individual performances from Durant and Nowitzki like the last game in the series, and in this one, it was the Thunder's bench that made the difference.  Durant had a good game, but Westbrook was benched for the whole 4th quarter because the bench was playing so well.  Durant did have a massive dunk that made the top play of the day.  check it out...

Daily Highlight: Record Breaking Dirk

Last night was a record breaking night for Dirk Nowitzki.  He scored 48 points and hit 24/24 free throws and 12 of 15 shots from the field to lead the Mavericks past the Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.  No one has ever shot free throws that well, and it couldn't have come at a better time.  Durant had 40 points to lead the Thunder, but Nowitzki was just too much.  And people were worried about rust...

Who is your Pick for NBA Champion?

Simple question: who wins the NBA Championship?  We're down to 4 teams with a few surprises, and the teams left give a nice refreshingly new feel; no LA and no Boston.  So in the East we have Miami and Chicago, and in the West we have Dallas and Oklahoma City.

All four teams have legitimate superstars on their team, and they all deserve to be there.  Some made it with more ease than others, but these should all be good matchups.

So the question is: "Who ya Got!"

Daily Highlight: Finally a Game 7

So out of this round of the playoffs we finally get a game 7.  It has been the most interesting series, and one of the most interesting storylines.  The Memphis Grizzlies already knocked off the number 1 over all seed, and now they have a chance to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder and the league's top scorer, Kevin Durant.  It's going to be a fun game to watch, but home court should be enough for the Thunder.

Daily Highlight: Triple Overtime

Last night was full of overtimes in the NBA Playoffs, which is as it should be at this point.  The Heat pulled off a win in Boston to take a 3-1 series lead in that series.  But the big one was the Triple Overtime game between the Thunder and the Grizzlies.  The Thunder pulled off a much needed win in Memphis to tie up the series at 2 apiece heading back to Oklahoma City.

NBA Playoffs: Wild West Round One

3 of the 4 games in the Western Conference first round are done.  And they were all a bit surprising.  Before we get into those, lets look at the conference standings:

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. LA Lakers
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. OKC Thunder
5. Denver Nuggets
6. Portland Trailblazers
7. New Orleans Hornets
8. Memphis Grizzlies

In the conference's first game the Mavericks were given all they could handle from the Trailblazers.  This is a popular upset pick among the "experts," and rightly so in my view.  The Mavericks often under-achieve in the playoffs, and Portland is a solid team.  Their biggest problem right now is that Brandon Roy isn't 100%, but lately LaMarcus Aldridge has been picking up the slack.  For the Mavericks, they got a great game from the aging Jason Kidd, and Dirk Nowitzki, while having a tough shooting night, turned it up in the 4th quarter.  It looked like the Blazers would pull off the upset, but Kidd and Nowitzki poured it on in the 4th quarter to regain the lead and take game one.

As for the top 2 seeds, the Spurs and the Lakers, neither one was able to defend their home court.  Both teams entered the playoffs in a bit of a slump, but with both teams being so experienced, you wouldn't think it would matter.  They're playing very inferior teams, but it just proves if you're not at your best, you can lose to anyone.  The Spurs were definitely missing Ginobili, and I expect they'll be able to turn things around when he comes back.  I don't think the Lakers had any excuse.  They beat the Hornets in all 4 regular season games, but Chris Paul lit them up for 33 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds.  However, I expect both the Spurs and the Lakers to turn it around and win their series.

The last game will be the Thunder verse the Nuggets.  This is a very intriguing matchup.  The Nuggets have been on fire since Carmelo left for the Knicks.  Everyone is contributing, and they're playing with belief and desire.  The Thunder have 2 of the best young players in the NBA: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  The Thunder also have Kendrick Perkins now, who they acquired from the Celtics, and he has lots of playoff experience against some great big men in the game.  Perkins could very well be the man the changes the series.  You know you're going to get big games from the big name players, Durant and Westbrook, but if Perkins can contribute a bit on offense, as you know he will on defense, the Thunder should win this series.