When it comes to US Sports, every day of the year is exciting, for as soon as one Season winds up another sports code starts. And come the end of March you have the beauty of the end of the March Madness getting to the Elite Eight and Final Four being established, next the NBA Finals are ready to start with the NHL Playoffs leading into the Stanley Cup and with the Spring training in full swing, you know its only weeks before the MLB season starting.
But let's focus on the NBA Finals.
At the beginning of the season I tipped Boston Celtics from the East to beat the LA Lakers from the West. Let me clarify by simply saying only Boston and Cleveland Cavs are the only chance in the East 0f having a genuine chance of winning. The rest have absolutely no chance. That includes Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
If your a hoops fan I should not have to sell you on Lebron James' Cleveland Cavs. So Boston Celtics are looking old, but at the same time they have recently got some nice wins at Dallas Mavs and against Denver which were very surprising. So perhaps this old tag is a bit pre-mature. I mean they were absolutely flying until (late December) and then for the month of January when they went 6-8 and suddenly looked old, very quickly. I would go so far as suggesting that though young teams like Atlanta and Chicago Bulls (think last year) may give them a big scare come the playoffs, I still think they will be playing Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. But the way the Cavs have been playing, it's like the Cavs decide to let teams play with them and then come the end of the third qtr ,they go that's enough let's turn it up a gear and a half, and like Usain Bolt they are gone, cruising to the finish.
So, Yes the Cavs are the best team in the League, but the value still seems to be the Boston Celtics at $5.00 to win the East and $9.00 to win the NBA Championship. I know it's hard to get that loss by Boston at home to New Jersey Nets out of your head, but take Boston out of play, and you might as well give the Cavs the east now.
From the West you can't go past the LA Lakers they are simply the class of the West. However, lately they have started to look very vulnerable and a bit like the Cavs, there is no value backing them. The way they accounted for the San Antonio Spurs on their home court on the 24th of March, was just too easy and they were without Andrew Bynum and the mighty Adam Morrison (jokes about Morrison, though he has more rings than LeBron & Charles Barkley).
But who is the value? Give me the Utah Jazz, I haven't liked Denver at all this season and without George Karl (Betchoice wish Karl all the best with his fight with Cancer) the Nuggets point production is down, and even if he comes back for the Finals this is not, nor has it ever been the best team in the West. The other teams I am happy to lay (risk) is the Dallas Mavericks, though they are definitely playing better than last year, I cannot put them in the elite level, and I see Utah or Lakers easily accounting for Dirk and his mates. A bit like Boston Celtics, the Spurs are looking very old very very quickly.
I admit that Utah Jazz's entire team has to be firing, whereas LA Lakers are fortunate enough to be able to win, even if a few of their guys have a bad game. Lakers can win without Kobe, they can win with bad games from two of their talls. But again the value is Utah jazz compared to Lakers price. And though with Boston you might want to back them now, and lay (or back Cleveland when they play eachother!). I've never rated Denver this season, Spurs are too old, Thunder too inexperienced, too many injuries for Portland, Dallas though deadly I'd much prefer to take Utah or Lakers. And though Phoenix Suns are great to watch and can win in the regular season, defense wins championships.
Before giving you my final word, George Karl is a good illustration on the effect of a coach. Since he has left (18th of Feb, 2010) the the team has't really missed a beat going 36-18 or o.666 to 12-7 or 0.631 but look at Denver's point production and based upon the teams they are playing it's been a lot lot lower. This is based upon the estimated Total for Denver pre-game by Vegas, and their actual total. If you think, shouldn't we then back the unders, No - 'cos their defense is letting in too many points as well.
But what I really want to mention here is the final plays coaches draw up for that final shot. It's not about whether the shot makes it or not, it's about whether the right player gets the right opportunity and even if that right player doesn't have the shot, what's his option A or option B? This week we had Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant have an opportunity to tie the game against the San Antonio Spurs, but their lack of experience and coaching meant that the double team on Durant was enough to beat down on the Thunder. No shot, no second option no third option.
The key to Hoops games is always that last four to two minutes of the game. It shows which players a coach likes. Even when a player is "hot" most coaches will put on the floor their go-to-guys in those final minutes. Going back to George Karl, even if you were coaching Michael Jordan you still need to draw up a play, have a strategy, and if you can't get MJ that final shot, make sure the other players are not ball watching or crowding his space so he can have options. Watching Denver without George Karl, they look totally disorientated, they don't have any structure and in any close game they are relying on pure athletic ability, rather than coaching. Watching them you'll see them run a play, and when it works they will run it about 5 times in a row as it worked before - no mixing it up and the defense can easily adjust and their actual shots are not 'good shots'. Those finals shots are created by an individual off the dribble, rather than ball moevement or team play.
Alright in a nut shell. Cleveland Cavs to beat the Celtics in the East 4-1 and Utah Jazz to surprise the Lakers in the West 4-2. Then the Cavs easily account for the Jazz 4-1. Trade in and out of Boston, and maybe just back the Jazz to win the West.
But let's focus on the NBA Finals.
At the beginning of the season I tipped Boston Celtics from the East to beat the LA Lakers from the West. Let me clarify by simply saying only Boston and Cleveland Cavs are the only chance in the East 0f having a genuine chance of winning. The rest have absolutely no chance. That includes Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
If your a hoops fan I should not have to sell you on Lebron James' Cleveland Cavs. So Boston Celtics are looking old, but at the same time they have recently got some nice wins at Dallas Mavs and against Denver which were very surprising. So perhaps this old tag is a bit pre-mature. I mean they were absolutely flying until (late December) and then for the month of January when they went 6-8 and suddenly looked old, very quickly. I would go so far as suggesting that though young teams like Atlanta and Chicago Bulls (think last year) may give them a big scare come the playoffs, I still think they will be playing Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. But the way the Cavs have been playing, it's like the Cavs decide to let teams play with them and then come the end of the third qtr ,they go that's enough let's turn it up a gear and a half, and like Usain Bolt they are gone, cruising to the finish.
So, Yes the Cavs are the best team in the League, but the value still seems to be the Boston Celtics at $5.00 to win the East and $9.00 to win the NBA Championship. I know it's hard to get that loss by Boston at home to New Jersey Nets out of your head, but take Boston out of play, and you might as well give the Cavs the east now.
From the West you can't go past the LA Lakers they are simply the class of the West. However, lately they have started to look very vulnerable and a bit like the Cavs, there is no value backing them. The way they accounted for the San Antonio Spurs on their home court on the 24th of March, was just too easy and they were without Andrew Bynum and the mighty Adam Morrison (jokes about Morrison, though he has more rings than LeBron & Charles Barkley).
But who is the value? Give me the Utah Jazz, I haven't liked Denver at all this season and without George Karl (Betchoice wish Karl all the best with his fight with Cancer) the Nuggets point production is down, and even if he comes back for the Finals this is not, nor has it ever been the best team in the West. The other teams I am happy to lay (risk) is the Dallas Mavericks, though they are definitely playing better than last year, I cannot put them in the elite level, and I see Utah or Lakers easily accounting for Dirk and his mates. A bit like Boston Celtics, the Spurs are looking very old very very quickly.
I admit that Utah Jazz's entire team has to be firing, whereas LA Lakers are fortunate enough to be able to win, even if a few of their guys have a bad game. Lakers can win without Kobe, they can win with bad games from two of their talls. But again the value is Utah jazz compared to Lakers price. And though with Boston you might want to back them now, and lay (or back Cleveland when they play eachother!). I've never rated Denver this season, Spurs are too old, Thunder too inexperienced, too many injuries for Portland, Dallas though deadly I'd much prefer to take Utah or Lakers. And though Phoenix Suns are great to watch and can win in the regular season, defense wins championships.
Before giving you my final word, George Karl is a good illustration on the effect of a coach. Since he has left (18th of Feb, 2010) the the team has't really missed a beat going 36-18 or o.666 to 12-7 or 0.631 but look at Denver's point production and based upon the teams they are playing it's been a lot lot lower. This is based upon the estimated Total for Denver pre-game by Vegas, and their actual total. If you think, shouldn't we then back the unders, No - 'cos their defense is letting in too many points as well.
But what I really want to mention here is the final plays coaches draw up for that final shot. It's not about whether the shot makes it or not, it's about whether the right player gets the right opportunity and even if that right player doesn't have the shot, what's his option A or option B? This week we had Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant have an opportunity to tie the game against the San Antonio Spurs, but their lack of experience and coaching meant that the double team on Durant was enough to beat down on the Thunder. No shot, no second option no third option.
The key to Hoops games is always that last four to two minutes of the game. It shows which players a coach likes. Even when a player is "hot" most coaches will put on the floor their go-to-guys in those final minutes. Going back to George Karl, even if you were coaching Michael Jordan you still need to draw up a play, have a strategy, and if you can't get MJ that final shot, make sure the other players are not ball watching or crowding his space so he can have options. Watching Denver without George Karl, they look totally disorientated, they don't have any structure and in any close game they are relying on pure athletic ability, rather than coaching. Watching them you'll see them run a play, and when it works they will run it about 5 times in a row as it worked before - no mixing it up and the defense can easily adjust and their actual shots are not 'good shots'. Those finals shots are created by an individual off the dribble, rather than ball moevement or team play.
Alright in a nut shell. Cleveland Cavs to beat the Celtics in the East 4-1 and Utah Jazz to surprise the Lakers in the West 4-2. Then the Cavs easily account for the Jazz 4-1. Trade in and out of Boston, and maybe just back the Jazz to win the West.
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