Superman Gets a Game Suspension

Fair.

He is lucky he didn't get thrown out of game 5, this series should almost certainly go to game 7 now. Philly at home vs a Dwight-less Magic team.

Tuesday Recap

Boston 106 Chicago 104
Ok, so this series has been one of the best of all-time. Today it was Paul Pierce stepping up and hitting the big shots to win the game. Wow, thats all I have to say. Brad Miller is a punk too, he has helped that team, but that was a punk moment for him at the end of the game.

Orlando 91 Philly 78
Orlando dominates, Dwight goes 20-20, and should be suspended for the next game after punching/elbowing Dalembert in the dome.

Dallas 106 San Antonio 93
This series was decided early. Tony Parker was unstoppable, and Timmy is still Timmy, but their teammates pretty much didn't play in this series. Manu really hurt this team this year. Dallas played well, and should have a great chance at the Conference Finals. Dallas has gotten better every month.

Portland 88 Houston 77
Portland survives behind Roy and Aldridge. 1 more game for this series, Houston is the better team and will end the series when they get back home. Portland has a nice young team, but isn't quite ready. A healthy Oden would go a long, long way. They also need a new PG.

Dwight Howard, That Was Stupid!

Dwight Howard better not play in game 6.

Amare got suspended a couple years back for taking a couple steps near no one. That cost the Suns a NBA championship.

Dwight should have been thrown out tonight, he threw an elbow and connected with someone's head after a play was completely over.



Terrible Dwight, Terrible.

Magic win, but should lose Dwight for at least a game.

(Magic lead series 3-2)

Monday Recap

Really a boring night, especially compared to the many good nights with buzzer beaters galore so far in the first round.

Denver 121 New Orleans 63
I don't think I need to say much here. The Hornets did not show up. A must win game at home and you lose by almost 60. Wow. Chris Paul did not show up, 4 points 2-7 shooting and 6 turnovers. Ouch, just plain ouch. Denver leads 3-1, but obviously the Hornets season is over. That is embarrassing.

Hawks 81 Heat 71
This could quite possibly be the worst series in NBA history tied at 2-2. Each game has been incredibly dull, and this game was definitely no different. Both teams struggled offensively and other than a small run in the 2nd quarter the Heat were pathetic. Series moves back to the ATL tied at two games a piece.

Friday Recap

Cleveland 79 Detroit 68
The Pistons made a game of this in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but decided not to make a shot in the 4th quarter. It may only say 3-0, but this series is over. Game 4 will be U-G-L-Y.

Philly 96 Orlando 94
I don't think going into the first round that many thought this would be a series worth watching, but the games have been great. Now, Thaddeus Young joins teammate Igoudala hitting game winners in this series for the Sixers. Great series so far. Philly leads 2-1.

Houston 86 Portland 83
Houston led throughout, but lost focus late and let Portland get within 3 points with the ball with about 10 seconds left. Steve Blake then decided to shoot a terrible shot, and airball it. Houston leads 2-1.

Wednesday Recap

Orlando 96 Philadelphia 87
Philadelphia got 71 points from Andre Miller, Andre Igoudala, and Thaddeus Young. The rest of the team struggled mightily, scoring only 16 points. The Magic had a balanced attack and led throughout. Series is tied at 1-1.

Miami 108 Atlanta 93
Miami led throughout, by as many as 18. Atlanta fought throughout but could not overcome the insane barrage of three point shots by the Heat. Dwayne Wade and Dequan Cook led the charge, each hitting six 3 point shots. Series now tied at 1.

Denver 108 New Orleans 93
Chauncey Billups is officially the man, and should finish 4th in the MVP voting. The 3 ahead of him deserve to be there, but as much as that fact, he deserves to be 4th. Denver dominates behind Billups again. 2-0 Denver.

Monday Recap

Bulls 118 Celtics 115
I am going to try and do my best of not using over statements like "best ever" and "greatest I have ever seen." But, the last 5 minutes of this game belong in those categories. Ben Gordon and Ray Allen who are stars, but not NBA SUPERSTARS, went back and forth like I have not seen in a long time. Neither would miss, it literally became who would shoot last. Ray Allen shot last, hitting a 3 pointer over Joakim Noah to win the game. Simply sensational game. I hope this series goes 7.

Spurs 105 Mavs 84
Tony Parker was in the lane all night. The game was decided in the first quarter. It looked like one of those times when the Mavs were just happy with splitting the 2 games in San Antonio. Series goes back to Dallas 1-1.

BL SPORTS AWARDS

This is one of the toughest and tightest award races I have ever seen in the NBA. Everyone knows that the MVP race has become a "who do you like best" contest between Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade (and that takes out Dwight Howard who has transformed the Magic team into a contender). But what people may not have noticed is the amount of contenders for the other NBA awards.


I will start with the Rookie of the Year. On draft day the question was Rose or Beasley, that is not the case now, it appears the Bulls made the right pick and Beasley is no where near the Rookie of the Year talk. That withstanding Rose is not alone in Rookies in the league who are producing at a very high level. With him are players like Russell Westbrook (16 pts, 5 ast), Brooke Lopez (13/8/2 blocks on 53% shooting), OJ Mayo (18 points, 3 Ast), and Eric Gordon (16 PPG). With all due respect to the other rookies, all of which have well exceeded expectations I award Rookie of the Year to DERRICK ROSE. He is on a different level as the other players, and I think that as soon as next season will be an all-star performer in the league. The player that I think has slid under the radar the most is Brooke Lopez. He has improved every month and has won Rookie of the Month the past two months and has become a double-double machine and is controlling the paint in New Jersey.



Now to 6th man of the year. This is a 3 man race. Jason Terry (19.6 PPG), Corey Maggette (19.9 PPG) and everyone's favorite Nate Robinson (18 PPG). This is insanely tough, as all 3 have been the go-to guy down the stretch of games for their teams. All 3 teams have been up and down, and the Knicks and Warriors have had roster transitions throughout the season. I am awarding the 6th Man of the Year to JASON TERRY. He has led the Mavericks in big games and the Mavericks enter the day in the playoffs in the Western Conference.




To me the Defensive Player of the Year is probably the only easy selection. As much as people want to love the likes of Kobe, Dwayne, and Lebron here, Dwight Howard is now one of a kind. He patrols the paint offensively, and defensively like no one has done in what is almost a decade now since Shaq's dominance. Dwight controls the glass and knocks shots into the stands on a nightly basis. This one is an easy one, and I am pretty sure on this one that the voters will actually agree with me (unlike the other awards).




Remember a couple years ago in the NBA Playoffs when a little known guard without a position (not a PG, not a SG) was giving people fits cause no one could guard him. That player was Devin Harris, and he was shortly after traded for Jason Kidd (big mistake). He is still a player that most teams don't have anyone who can come close to cover. He is an excellent finisher, so if you put a quick guard on him he will use his size and athleticism to finish over them in the paint, and if you put a bigger defender on him he can shoot open Jumpers all day because they have to lay off, and if they get close he blows by them. Devin is averaging 22 points and 7 assists. He is going to be a perennial all star in the future. This is why he is an easy choice for Most Improved Player. Other players in the conversation include Danny Granger, and Kevin Durant.


The MVP Race to me is easy. To many of the national media it seems not so much. As good as Dwyane Wade has been, and as strong as the Lakers and Kobe Bryant have been, NO ONE HAS TOUCHED THE LEVEL OF LEBRON. James' Cavs are going into the playoffs as the overall #1 seed, and have lost 1 game at Home all season. Some will focus on the fact that the one team to beat Cleveland this season is Kobe's Lakers. I will look at the whole season, and realize that there never has been a player like Lebron James. He is a team player, who could drop 40 every night, but knows that is not what makes his team it's best. He will find the open man, run the offense, and if need be take the game over. He is a freight train coming down the lane at full speed and it has got to the point where people just get out the way. Haters out there will tell you he can't shoot, no where near as good as D Wade or Kobe. Take a look at the numbers, Lebron shoots the highest FG% and shoot's 6% better from 3 than Wade, and only 1% lower than Kobe Bryant. This is Lebron's year, and may prove to be his league for the next decade. He has company (Dwight, Dwayne, Kobe, CP3, Deron Williams) but make no doubt it is Lebron's NBA world. Cleveland will bring home the title this season and next, and that will make the summer of 2010 either really exciting, or really over-hyped (if he resigns in CLE).

Sunday Playoff Recap

Lakers 113 Utah 100
The Lakers led throughout, for whatever reason the Jazz are simply terrible on the road this season. Their were points in this season where the Jazz looked like they would challenge in the Western Conference Playoffs, that point is not right now. They just seem completely out of sorts for whatever reason. Not a normal Jerry Sloan team. On the other hand, the Lakers look like they may roll into a collision with Lebron and the Cavs.

Philly 100 Orlando 98
The curse of Tracy McGrady? Im not sayin, Im just sayin. Wow, how does this team stink so bad in the playoffs. I know they won a series last year, but then they got absolutely spanked by the Pistons. The Magic were up 18 in 3rd quarter. Then came Donyell Marshall, ya that Donyell Marshall, and Andre Igoudala came into play. Iggy made an unbelievably tough shot to win the game with 2 seconds remaining. Great game, and because I know Philly will be hyped at home, this series now may go 7 games.

Atlanta 90 Miami 64
Atlanta throttled Miami from the start here. They just looked like the better team. They are trying to show the world, a team is better than just one star player. Atlanta is a solid team that gets production from everyone. Bibby, Johnson, Smith, Horford, Marvin Williams, even Flip Murray get things done for this team. The team defensive effort was amazing. D Wade scored almost 1000 points in the paint this season, and the Hawks did everything they could to make it tough to get inside the paint.

Saturday NBA Recap

In the playoffs BL Sports is going to post a nightly recap article. It will quickly recap all of the days action. Pistons games will most likely have their own article, unless we decide to not talk about them because they are garbage (just kidding, sort of).

Bulls 105 Celtics 103 (OT)
Bulls rookie PG Derrick Rose dominated the game. He was effective in transition, off of the pick n roll, and even from the outside (which critics have said he did not have the ability to hit). Rose ended with 36 points and was 12/12 from the FT line. Paul Pierce had a chance to win the game but only made 1/2 from the FT line with 2 sec left and 0 timeouts for the Bulls team. Good game for the young Bulls team, this series has 6 or 7 games written all over it.

Mavs 105 Spurs 97
San Antonio had a great first quarter, and well, that was about it. After that Dirk got into foul trouble in the 2nd quarter and Brandon Bass and Jason Terry led the bench guys to cut into the lead. The Mavs then went out to dominate the 2nd half of the game. The Mavs had 6 guys in double figures and JJ Barea carried the team in their key run in the 4th quarter.

Rockets 108 Blazers 81
The Rockets dominated throughout in Portland. The Blazers looked nervous, they avg 25 years old and it showed tonight. It was the first playoff game for most of the team and the Rockets made them look like it. Yao dominated inside, and the Blazers shot poorly. Brandon Roy had a good amount of points but was a volume scorer as he had to take a lot of shots to get their. Aaron Brooks showed why the Rockets had the confidence in him enough to deal Rafer Alston. The Blazers will have to pick it up defensively and shoot better to have a chance in this series.

At least there's only 3 games left

This season has been a train wreck for the Pistons and thankfully it is almost done. The Cavs cruised, and I do mean cruised. Tayshaun has become an absolute joke, he has no help behind him defensively but he cannot stay near anyone who can score 20 a night. Lebron makes a lot of people look silly, but if I hear 1 more time about how good Tayshaun Prince is defensively I am going to puke. Ben Wallace made Tayshaun Prince, he should write him a check.

The Cavs are the class of the league and I will be shocked if they lose more than a game or two in the Eastern Conference side of the playoffs. Lebron makes everyone else on that team better, and no one has an answer for him defensively. This team has been on a mission since day one of the season, and it shows. It will take a miracle for the Pistons to even stay within 10 points in a game in this series.

Next year, no Sheed, No A.I., No Dyess. Wow, gonna be awesome. They better use some of that cash.

Cavs 102 Pistons 84

Eastern Conference Playoff Preview (Rd 1)

1) Cleveland Cavs vs 8) Detroit Pistons

Preview - Lebron James is basically running the NBA these days. Every day there is another article written, or photo shoot taken, or interview, or something, anything about Lebron. He is a legit NBA Superstar who has taken his defense to another level this season and it has helped the Cavalier team immensely. Mark me as one who thinks Coach K and Team USA had something to do with this transition. The Detroit Pistons have had a lackluster performance all season. Stuckey has not been what Joe D thought he would be. Rasheed has been exactly what everyone thought he was. Rip has gone stretches where he can't make an open jumper. Tayshaun is the most overrated player in the NBA. The Pistons have had a few good stretches in what has been a rough season. It is hard when your coach has no idea (M Curry), and the only PG on your roster is Will Bynum.

Prediction -Cavs in 4. Lebron and the boys will be dancing on the sidelines again, Pistons fans will complain about Lebron getting all the whistles, and Mo Williams will destroy Rodney Stuckey.

2) Boston Celtics vs 7) Chicago Bulls

Preview - Boston just got the news that KG is probably done for the playoffs. That is terrible news for a very talented team that had dreams of repeating as NBA Champs. KG has been called the heart and soul of this franchise since he arrived in Bean-town. Here's the thing though, they still have Pierce and Allen. These two can dominate games and have throughout the season. The Bulls are a young team that has improved as the season progressed. GM Paxson made a crucial trade acquiring SG J Salmons and C B Miller from Sacramento. Since the trade the Bulls have been much improved. SF Tyrus Thomas has blossomed this season and should pair with Rose for the next decade in Chicago.

Prediction - Celtics in 5. Boston is still too talented to lose to this Bulls team. They will have a lot to prove now that pretty much everyone has said that their season is over. D Rose is an All-star in waiting, but these Bulls are still a couple years away from being serious contenders.

3) Orlando Magic vs 6) Philadelphia 76ers

Preview - That Magic have become a much better defensive team in the 08-09 season. They still are not Boston/Cleveland defensively, but they are also not the pushover they once were. Dwight Howard may win Defensive Player of the Year, and he has controlled the paint all season on both ends. The play of Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu will determine how far the Magic go in the playoffs. The 76ers were once called "dead" by many NBA experts. They signed PF Elton Brand to a monster deal in the offseason only to see both him getting injured, and the team playing better without him. Andre Igoudala can take over games and PG Andre Miller just gets it done. The emergence of SF Thaddeus Young has been a big reason for the teams success this year.

Prediction- Magic in 5. Too much Dwight, the role players on the Magic will step up. The 76ers will play energized in Philly and could steal a couple games there if the Magic arent careful. Dwight will have a couple 20/20 games in this series and Hedo will hit some big shots. NBA fans will see that Thaddeus Young is a future star, but not enough to win this year. The Magic will dominate inside/out.

4) Atlanta Hawks vs 5) Miami Heat

Preview - The Atlanta Hawks have been solid all year. Pretty much locked into the 4 spot since November. Joe Johnson is a versatile sharp shooting Guard who can play/defend multiple positions. PF Josh Smith is a highlight reel type player, but he bangs inside and plays defense as well. The Hawks problem is their depth, if they don't get 80+ from the starting 5 they are in trouble, SG Flip Murray is the only solid player off the Atlanta bench. The Heat have been led by NBA MVP Candidate Dwyane Wade. He has led a young team to the 5 seed in the East. Wade has made 40 points a regular occurance. Rookie Forward M Beasley has been good, but has not dominated in year one quite like everyone expected.

Prediction - Heat in 7. This should be one of the best series for NBA fans. D Wade should drop a ton of points, and the Hawks should provide plenty of highlights. This series has 7 games written all over it. Will D Wade carry the Heat to victory? Will M Bibby lead the Hawks into victory? I say D Wade gets it done, but barely.

KG out for playoffs?????

That's what Doc Rivers said this morning.....

Garnett's right knee injury is worse than thought.

"The guy's a warrior, you see him trying to mask his way through it. But after 20 minutes of running , I don't see it. After today, there's no way he can play." said Rivers.

The Celtics can now officially kiss their chances of repeating as NBA Champions goodbye.

Cleveland Here We Come

Not that that is a good thing

You might as well say the season is over now. The Pistons have lost more close games this year than in any year that I can remember. There is exactly ZERO CHANCE that there is a coincidence in the absence of Billups and the close losses. These Pistons can't get it done. When the game gets tough, we get weak. Stuckey, Rip, Sheed, Dyess, Tay...they all find ways to make LOSING PLAYS.

Stuckey settles for a late jumper with a wide open lane, Dyess goes up weak and leads to a Rose layup, Tay gets blown by for a layup by Ben Gordon. Sheed misses the wide open 3. Whoever it was making the play, they just didn't get it done. That is the only consistent part of this team, when it comes time to make a play, if it's not Will "you gotta be kidding me" Bynum it's not happening.

Pistons lose, score doesn't matter tonight.

8th seed is clinched (Philly owns tiebreaker with DET)

PG D Rose pretty much ended the Pistons season tonight

Playoffs Here We Come

Pistons beat Nets, guarantee at least the 8th seed

Many throughout the year said the Pistons should just throw in the towel, call it a season and play the lottery. I was not one of those people. I would rather take my chance at taking a veteran team into the playoffs and try to make some noise there. If Detroit can possibly get to the 6 seed and face the Magic, the Magic haven't sniffed victory vs the Pistons. The Pistons are currently 1 game back of the 76ers in the loss column for the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference. With the win tonight over the Nets, the Pistons will be playing come playoff time for the 8th consecutive year.

The game vs the Nets was tougher than it looked like it was going to be in the first half. The stones' started out strong, leading 54-38 at the half. The Nets would learn that Devin Harris (1 point in the 1st half) would not return. Rookies Ryan Anderson and Brook Lopez would bring the Nets back. The Pistons fought the Nets off hard, riding the hot hand of Will Bynum (20 points) in the 4th quarter. Chris Douglas-Roberts (another Nets rookie) would make an impact in front of his home town fans, but the Pistons would prevail after Richard Hamilton's corner 3 sealed the deal with 30 seconds remaining. The Pistons had 6 players in double-figures for the 2nd straight game.

Pistons 100 Nets 93
clinch Playoff spot

Pistons look to clinch a spot tonight vs the Nets

The Pistons magic number sits at 1 as we speak. They play tonight at home vs a Nets team that has given them problems throughout this season. The main problem being that they have no answer for Nets young guard Devin Harris (BL Sports Most Improved Player). Devin Harris' quickness has been tough on the Piston guards.

If the Pistons can get a W tonight they will clinch a playoff spot. That will be the first step in possibly saving what has been a dreadful season. We will have to see. I say they get it done tonight. Lets see if they can prove me right and play good two games in a row, which has been a rarity this season.

I know It's the Knicks

but they won 113-86

They talked about better focus. For one night they delivered. 6 Pistons were in double digits and the game was over very early. The defense was better, as was the shooting and execution on offense. But, once again it was versus the Knicks. With this team, this season, you take what you can get. So I will be happy for a day or two about the performance of the Pistons.

My hope remains that the Pistons somehow get locked up in the first round with the Orlando Magic. There is no doubt that this season the Magic have been much better than the Pistons. Come playoff time it is all about match-ups, and the Pistons have owned the match-up between these two teams.

Pistons Magic Number Sits at 2

Rasheed says the team will play with more intensity now that the playoffs are coming up

The Pistons travel to NYC tonight to face the struggling Knicks. They need only a combination of 2 wins or Bobcat losses to clinch a playoff spot. A win tonight would almost make the playoffs an almost certainty. Pistons players talk about the playoffs as if that will change things, I guess we will see.

The Pistons will first need to prove that they care, and in turn play harder on defense. Throughout the season the Pistons have struggled to keep perimeter players out of the paint, and their interior defenders have provided far too little resistance. If the Pistons really are going into playoff mode, tonight's game should be no contest. I for one am doubting much change this late in the season.

Bynum carries Pistons past Bobcats

Scores 26 in 4th Quarter after Rip gets the boot

Can anybody argue about what the little big man Will Bynum has meant to the Pistons this year? He has put together a fantastic season that nobody saw coming. Sunday night's game against Charlotte was his top performance by far this year.

After the Pistons blew a 17 point first half lead and entered the 4th down by a point. With their playoff lives potentially on the line, Bynum dropped 26 points on the Bobcats to lead Detroit to victory. Bynum's previous career high was 24 points.

Detroit remains tied for the seventh seed in the East, and along with Chicago holds a 3 game lead on the Bobcats for the final playoff spot.

About that Win/Win Billups Trade

Months ago the Pistons made a move that changed the face of the franchise. They traded their team leader Chauncey Billups for future Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. At the time it was labeled a "win/win" for the Pistons. Meaning that no matter what happened it could not hurt this team. I for one am starting to think that may not have been the case.

We are still goin to be cutting salary at the end of this season, alot of it in fact. Both Iverson and Rasheed Wallace are almost certain to come off the books completly. That will give the Pistons more money than any team in the league. Now the question is CAN WE GET FREE AGENTS TO SIGN HERE?

Many people say that no big names are going to sign in Detroit. Others say players like Chris Bosh, and others are ON THEIR WAY. I guess we will see, but as time goes on I have my doubts. I feel that going into the season the best thing the Pistons had to advertise themselves was winning. Now we are looking at a possible 8 SEED in the Eastern Conference. That is unbelievable, this season has been a disaster. Now what happens if we do not get anything in this offseason, that means we are looking at a lineup of Stuck/RIP/Tay/Maxiell/McDyess. Maybe, just maybe if everything goes right, and I do mean everything, that is a 5 seed in the East. SO, we go into the biggest Free Agent year in NBA history with a 2 year absence from the winning we were ONCE accustomed to.

I don't know what will happen in Free Agency. No one does. I am just saying that this whole win/win thing may have been a bit crazy. Each day that the Pistons go on looking like the Clippers is another day where the value of coming to Detroit for a Free Agent goes down. If you have been to Detroit lately you know that there are about 2 blocks worth of excitement, and miles and miles of gloom. Selling this will be tough, it will be even tougher if we spend 2 years losing going into the Summer of 2010.