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- Hey everyone, it’s Mike here. I wanted to get this introduction post out of the way before the Finals was set, but some issues made that feat a bit difficult. The point is however, that I’ll be helping out with and contributing to the blog as much as possible. I think I’m a qualified observer and articulate enough to speak intelligently about the game of basketball, however only time will tell; the ball never lies. I’ll do my best to be objective and fair but I do have allegiances.
I’m bummed out by Cleveland’s elimination. I feel for the city of Cleveland, my dad is from there. Ever since that pitifully heart wrenching collapse in the World Series against the Marlins, I have silently (and not so silently) cheered on Cleveland teams in addition to my own home teams.
Moving on. I’m disappointed with the way the Conference Championships panned out. The Nuggets’ effort in game 6 was atrocious and the Cavaliers proved they were over-matched the whole series. We’ve all read and heard enough about it by now that it’s not worth rehashing. That being said the Finals series should present some really interesting individual match-ups. In particular with the tweener fowards on both clubs: Odom, Lewis, Turkoglu, Ariza and Pietrus. The play of Pietrus, and the entire Magic bench will again be extremely important since the Lakers bench is so deep . It will also be interesting to watch the coaching in these games. I’m praying for matchup carousels. I don’t think very highly of Stan Van Gundy, although I really like his brother in the booth. Then again I tend to think coaching in the NBA is an overrated endeavor, an opinion of mine that usually earns me a bit of grief.
The 2-3-2 series in my opinion makes upsets more probable. My predictions for the finals are as follows: the Magic steal a game and play well at home, winning in 6. As that series gets underway, you’ll hear more from me. Be ready for it.
Filed under: General, NBA | Tagged: Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference Finals, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Finals, Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy | 1 Comment »
It’s always fun to know how much money professional athletes pull in every year. After all they have their dream job as well as mine and earn a ton of money for it. It’s interesting to note that by comparison of their peers, not all professional athletes make what they should. For example some players earn more or less money than their teammates that are better or worse than them. Let me further explain by using the salaries of the Denver Nugget players. Chris Anderson A.K.A the Birdman, earns exactly the same amount as Anthony Carter A.K.A. the “oldest player in the league.” They both have a 2008-2009 season salary of $797,581 and they both are crucial to the team’s success. Then there’s Steven Hunter who to most fans might as well be an imaginary friend of mine, who earned $3,862,600 for the season. Now how can or more importantly why would the Nuggets pay Hunter that kind of money when they should be paying the fan-favorite of Denver, the Birdman, those millions? Another great example: Kenyon Martin earns more than Carmelo Anthony. It seems team owners need to consider long term contracts more carefully in the future…
that the Magic did steal the first game in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals against “King James” and a Cavaliers team who was winning by 16 at half, but I beg the question: Did Orlando really steal home court advantage? It seems so, after all now if the Magic win their three home games in this series they will beat Cleveland no matter what. However it is interesting to consider that if the series does go to seven games it will be in the King’s court in Cleveland. How curious? “The Magic steal game one”… yet if it goes seven its where Lebron wants it to be. What are your thoughts?
No matter which play you found more exciting or enjoyable, you have to admit, they were both strange.
It started with the first round battle between Boston and Chicago which featured an array of ridiculous overtime Basketball and has continued with the shocking upset of the Lakers in the opening game of round two last evening against the Rockets. Jay-Z and P-Diddy who attended the game were even impressed with all the action and we all know they have seen a few things. Well maybe not P-Diddy, he does acne commercials for Pro-active but Jigga man for sure. Anyways, inevitably this match up between Houston and Los Angeles will be fantastic. Kobe will bring his team ready to play next time and will probably score more than in last nights game with half as many shots. Better yet I think in Game 2 we can expect play away from the ball to become even more physical than in game 1! That being said, it is recommended that the camera men and celebrities who will be sitting the first few rows Wednesday night for game two practice their “duck and cover” routines before the game so that in the event Derek Fisher gets thrown into the crowd again, nobody is injured.![View Dino Gomez [LION]'s profile on LinkedIn](https://i0.wp.com/www.linkedin.com/img/webpromo/btn_myprofile_160x33.gif){kind=small}
Basketball with Dino Gomez 