LeBron and Co.......Meet the Borg

Some random NBA stuff from the past couple of days....

First off, let me thank Lebron James for his Jordanesque effort in the ECF Game 5. And while I'm at it, hats off to Boobie Gibson for his play in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and for giving millions of sports fans the ability to say "Boobie" without being accused of having their mind in the gutter.

The respective efforts of these two are the biggest reason why people(like me) will actually be turning on the TV during this year's Finals rather than be subjected to another Pistons/Spurs borefest.

Now Cleveland gets to face its toughest team yet in the Borg....err...Spurs.

I call them the Borg since they are just so methodical in their style and also don't have much flash, no real personalities that you just wish to latch onto. Just a basketball team that has been the NBA's best over the past decade that is searching for their fourth ring since '99.

If Game 1 is any indication, this is highly likely to happen. In that game, Tony Parker was too quick to the hoop with 27 points. The Spurs got way too many second chances off the boards against a team that prides itself in rebounding department. And Timmy was....well....Timmy.

And oh yeah, did I mention LeBron not hitting an FG 'til halfway through the third??? That isn't going to get it done for the Cavs.

Nice run to the Finals Cleveland, but the reality is the Cavs took advantage of an ultra weak Eastern Conference and needed some amazing performances in Games 5 and 6 of the ECF to reach the Finals and now face a veteran club that is basically the Patriots of the NBA. The Cavs did sweep the season series with the Spurs and frankly this series will still go a long way, the distance I think.

But the ending will remain the same. A Larry O'Brien trophy at the Alamo....again.

The latest perfomance for the ages....

Last night was a big night for me...got the dish hooked up to my brand new flatscreen HDTV at the new casa, and with that the premier showing for the evening would be Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Fast forward to about 10 PM...I'm fading, eyes drooping, losing consciousness, and decided to push the power button while the game was late in the third quarter.

Dumb move Petey, biggest damned mistake since Wade Phillips said "let's kick it now with 16 seconds left".....apparently I missed a clutch performance for the ages from Lebron James.

He what??? Scored the final 25 points for the Cavs?? 29 of the last 30??

Huh!!!!

And in doing so brought the Cavs to within a game of their first NBA Finals appearance in their 37 year history??

Wait a minute....

Ain't this the same person that was being torn to shreds in the media after passing up a game tying shot in Game 1 to pass to a wide open* Donyell Marshall for the win? The guy who supposedly didn't want the ball in the clutch with the game on the line.

Same media with this opinion is very quiet now...and can probably be found hiding in some underground bunker in North Buffalo as we speak.

*(defined as: able to take pass, put ball in hand, grab a handful of popcorn/swig some beer from guy in front row and still have plenty of time to get said shot off.)

Seeing the highlights brought back the memories of other great NBA performances on this stage. Jordan's 63 in '86 against the Celtics in the Gahhhhden....Isiah's courageous performance in '87 on a twisted ankle putting in 25 4th quarter tallies....Bird and Dominique going mano y mano in Game 7 of the '88 Conference semis.

This one ranks right up there. I can't say best ever, but if I have to go back nearly two decades to find a performance that matches James from last night I'd say close enough.

Two big games Saturday night: Stanley Cup Finals/NBA ECF Game 6.

Watch the Senators if you wish.

I'll be watching the King.

Now time to focus on a REAL sport.....The NBA

Hey....there have been more cheap shots and dirty hits in those playoffs than in the NHL this season. See any Spurs game for proof....

I'd like to say I'm really anticipting the professional version of the Final Four, but really all the good fun teams to watch are gone. Miami's title defense goes without so much as a postseason victory, Golden State aroused us with the latest version of Nellieball, and Phoenix was the victim of several cheap shots from the Spurs followed by a big one from the Commisioners Office....

(Quite frankly, Stern's suspensions didn't do nearly the damage to the Suns as he did to the Knicks back in '97, but the Knick fan in me digresses)

Anyhow, we're stuck with this loathsome foursome as we head towards the awarding of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.....

Cleveland v. Detroit....is there any other reason to watch this series than to watch the brilliance of LeBron James? Unfortunately, he just doesn't have a supporting cast to avoid being the wrath of Detroit's suffocating defensive system. This one will be a yawner even if it goes seven games.

It won't: Pistons in six games

Utah v San Antonio: Ah, yes...the Spurs, the Patriots of the NBA.....winners of three titles in the past eight seasons and until this season a rep for being a classy team. In steps Bruce Bowen(literally) and Big Shot.....errrr....Cheap Shot Robert Horry among others. It makes you wonder if referee Joey Crawford wasn't too far off in challenging Tim Duncan to a scrum late in the season. This team has developed quite the nasty edge, for certain.

Wow! So that's where Deron Williams went after leaving Illinois.....what a breath of fresh air that guy has been, and who knew that the Jazz would get to the Conference Finals this quickly after the end of the Stockton/Malone era. I like this group, they have been able to play whatever style has been thrown at them by the opposition...whether it be the uptempo Warriors or the slower Rockets.

But unfortunately, the Spurs are too deep for these guys I thinks. Would love nothing more than to see a freak injury hit Bowen or Horry.

Screw it: let my heart think this time. Cinderella lives in Salt Lake City. Jazz to the Finals in seven with stunned silence at Riverwalk when it's done.

Random thoughts on the NBA playoffs.....

Been watching as much of the NBA playoffs as possible between NHL games as possible(dammit, when's that new HDTV coming in!)....and just chiming in with a few rambling observations.

Place to be as a fan: Oakland. The Oracle Arena witnessed its first postseason game in thirteen years and the fans in the joint treated it like a Finals game. The Warriors responded to the fandemonium by annihilating the top seeded Mavs 109-91.

Worst title defense in recent memory: Miami goes out with a whimper in a four game sweep. I didn't catch much of this one, I'm glad.

Ummm....D-Wade, maybe getting that shoulder fixed should have been a higher priority.

Sucks to be a fan of: any NBA team in the state of Florida. 0 for 8, OUCH!

Not yet ready for prime time award goes to: The Toronto Raptors. I really like what's being built up north and there's a nice young core in TJ Ford, Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh. But Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson they ain't. They need another year or so to develop....

Kobe won a postseason game this season. Wonder if he feels like he put one over on Shaq, who got swept this season.

AI....7 for 20, throwing up a few prayers in game three.....sigh.....a lepoard's skin never changes.

Can we just end the Cavs/Wizards series now??

And I still have nothing to say about the Jazz/Rockets series. Maybe later. (Going off topic here...but where can I get my AH YOU jersey at??)

NBA Playoffs coming up!

I have to admit that at heart I am a fan of the roundball above all others. I have a strong basketball background in my family with two of my uncles having played hoops at the Division I college level and growing up as a kid my winters were spent shoveling the snow off of the blacktopped halfcourt in the backyard every time more than a half inch of snow fell on the ground.

My adolescence was during the Doctor/Magic/Larry/Michael days that everyone waxes poetic about today. (And as a Knicks fan during that era, I have a different opinion than most on that issue).

But anyhow, the recent run of Sabres success has turned this former NBA League Pass watching/wild feed satellite searching/staying up till 1:30 am for the Hawks/Clippers tilt hoops nut into a former basketball junkie.

(But again, the wildly inept front office and pathetic on court play of the Knicks going on simultaneously has to be a bit of a factor here as well, doesn't it?)

I guess the point of this rant is that I've watched NBA hoops less in the past season or so than I have in the last quarter century. But gosh darnit, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna put together a preview of this NBA postseason. It might not be of ESPN quality, but I bet I'll be as accurate as they will be, so there! So for the dozen or so NBA diehards who live in the Buffalo area, here goes my NBA playoff preview....

Some intriguing stories are abound in this season's first round(with predictions)....

The Cavs(2) and Wizards(7) meet in a rematch of last season's superb first round matchup. The Wizards appear to be sitting ducks for Lebron James and company with Gilbert Arenas out indefinitely. No Hibachi in this series I'm afraid....

Pick: Cavs in 5

Chicago(5) and Miami(4) is another rematch from last season's first round. How much of a factor will D-Wade's shoulder be for the Heat? Shaq v. Wallace is going to be quite a matchup of two of the East's(the only two??) premier big men. Should make for the best first round series......

Pick: Bulls in 6

Magic(8) v Pistons(1): I'm guessing that Dwight Howard and Grant Hill won't be talking about the second round like McGrady did a couple of years back after going up 3 games to 1 in the series between these two clubs in '03. Never mind, the Pistons won't let that happen against the only NBA playoff team with a losing record.
C-Webb is still in the NBA??...amazing what a change of scenery can do for a player.

Over/Under on Rasheed Wallace technicals in this series(2.5). That's down one thanks to Joey Crawford's banishment by Godfather....ahem....Commisioner Stern.

Pick: Pistons in 4

Nets(6) v. Raptors(3): good ol' Vince Carter is coming back to the ACC to destroy the Raptors seaon. While I like the nice gang of young talent that Brian Colangelo has put together in Toronto(Bosh,Bargniani,et al), something says to me this is going to Jersey....maybe it's just my hatred of the Leaves boiling over.

Pick: Nets in 6

Lakers(7) v. Suns(2): Kobe averages 55 per game in this series, posterizes Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and Amare Stoudemire in the span of a single game.....and the Suns win in five games at most. Phoenix is just too damn stacked and hell they're so much fun to watch with their uptempo style of ball.

Pick: Suns in 4(not 5 due to my heavy anti-Laker bias)

Warriors(8) v. Mavericks(1): Chris Webber was a rookie, Chris Mullin was in his prime, Tim Hardaway probably still hated gay people and Don Nelson was coach the last time the Warriors made the postseason. Now Mullin is in the front office and after eight different Warrior head coaches since 1994 Nelson is back as the head coach. Combine that with a 3-0 record over the Mavs in the regular season and one might think there's a shot for the Warriors here.

Nah, Nelson will pull some silly schemes out of his a## in a vain attempt to knock off the club he last coached but the Mavs advance in a very entertaining series.

Pick: Mavericks in 7(instead of 5 or 6 due to my heavy pro Chris Mullin bias)

Jazz(4) v Rockets(5)....this series has no shortage of characters here....Yao, T-Mac, Boozer, AK-47, Van Gundy....ok I admit it, I got no clue about either of these two teams....well, John Amaechi did play for both clubs during his career, there's a nugget for you!

Pick: Rockets in 6

Speaking of Nuggets.....

Nuggets(6) v Spurs(3): Forget what I said about the Heat/Bulls series, THIS one will be the most interesting to watch. Have 'Melo and AI jelled as teammates in time for the postseason? And how will they stack up against Tim Duncan/Tony Parker? Does anyone else want to throw down with Duncan? Denver does come in winners of nine of their last ten....

Pick: Spurs in 6

So there ya have it, an informal yet somewhat informed look at the postseason in what I like to call "The True American Sport." And trust me, by the time the first round ends(sometime in mid-June, thank you Commish,NOT!) my picks will probably be about as accurate as all of those "experts" out there.

And remember, Knicks take it all in '08. You heard it here first!

Oh no! Not another Silverbacks logo!!!!!

Remember the big flap last summer about the new nickname and logo for Buffalo's ABA club? When the name Silverbacks was announced with a red gorilla as a logo, some community leaders hellbent on creating a crisis where there was none cried foul over the notion of a basketball team (read: predominantly African-American) having a gorilla for a logo.

Personally, I thought this to be quite silly. The logo and name was the idea of Modie Cox, player and assistant coach of the club. He liked the idea of an aggressive and powerful animal such as a gorilla for a logo. I'm darned well certain that his race wasn't part of his decision making.

Shortly thereafter, the club caved in to pressure and changed the logo to a panther/hyena type animal with a silver back....yawn.

Well, while Andrew is off at the Sabres game, I went on a random search to see if any other teams had picked up on the Silverbacks original idea....let's just say those community activists that had a bee in their bonnet over this could be busy for a while if they so chose...

Let's start with hockey....the BCHL'S Salmon Arm Silverbacks

how 'bout arena football....the CIFL's Miami Valley Silverbacks

and while we're at it, how about soccer....the USL's Atlanta Silverbacks

nope, not done yet! Minor league football! the NAFL's London(Ont.) Silverbacks

Look at all of these nasty and racist logos...how dare they! heavy sarcasm here

Notice the racial diversity of the teams involved here is at all ends of the spectrum, some teams have little or no African Americans, some have many. In the end I'm certain that the teams saw the nickname and logo in the same light that Modie and his organization did, simply a really cool nickname and logo representing a physically intimidating, ferocious, and intelligent animal. Nothing more.

Too bad some folks here in Buffalo didn't see it the same light....

Note: I'm very "pc" when it comes to offensive sports logos....but this was utterly ridiculous...