NBA Playoff Predictions- Sportacular Sports

I know all you NBA fans won't want to hear me say this, but I'm a College Basketball fan at heart. With that being said though, as I scanned the NBA Playoff matchups, I got a little giddy. In most first round matchups, the 4-5 and 3-6 games are of most interest but this season the 2-7 games are actually pretty intriguing.

Heat vs. Bucks
The Miami Heat have been by far the most dominant team all year. They have the best player in the world right now in LeBron James and his sidekick Dwyane Wade ain't that bad either. Throw in the knock down shooters off the bench and the playoff experience of the Heat veterans and you have a clear favorite. While I don't think the Bucks have any chance of taking down Miami, this series could be entertaining based off the fact that the Bucks can shoot the ball. They have Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, JJ Redick, and Ersan Illyasova to stretch the floor. Add Larry Sanders to protect the rim and I think this series goes farther than expected. Miami in 6.

Thunder vs. Lakers
If Kobe Bryant were playing in this series, I think it goes 7. Without their leader and top scorer the Lakers, you would think, should pose no threat. But think about this team without Kobe. They still possess the top 1-2 punch in the league between Howard and Gasol. L.A. has a 2 time MVP point guard in Steve Nash and the surprising play of Earl Clark to help them out. The Lakers aren't terrible without Bryant they're just not good enough to beat OKC. Thunder in 5.

Knicks vs. Celtics
Wow. A 2-7 matchup between two historical power houses. While NYK has only won one playoff game in the past 11 years, they are still always at the center of the basketball universe. Carmelo Anthony is blazing hot right now and so are the Knicks. After a promising start to the season, the Knicks slid a little but are now right back at the top. For the Celtics, they'll obviously be without their top Point Guard Rajon Rondo, but am I really going to doubt Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Shocker. Upset Alert. Boston in 6. (Melo please prove me wrong)

Spurs vs.Warriors
No one under 85 years old on this earth enjoys watching the San Antonio Spurs play. They aren't exciting, they play good defense, and they just win games. But if you are looking for some exciting basketball in a Spurs game, check out this kid Stephen Curry. He became big after he took Davidson to a magical Elite 8 run in his college days and hasn't stopped since. Curry can explode for 50 at any moment. I believe he's the best pure shooter in the game right now and he isn't afraid to fire. Golden State has plenty of decent players, David Lee, Klay Thompson, and Harrison Barnes. I think the Warriors win a few games, call it a season, and continue to build on their young team. Spurs in 5.

Pacers vs. Bulls
Unfortunately for basketball fans, it appears that Derrick Rose will NOT be returning this season. While I think it is the RIGHT decision, it's not going to make Bulls fans happy. With Rose, the Bulls can compete for an NBA title. Without him they'll fall in 7 to the Pacers. The Bulls will be happy to match Indiana's physical play, which has been deemed the way to beat the Heat. The Pacers are the favorite right now to take down the Heat if any team can do so but a grueling 7 game series with the Bulls won't help. Once again, Pacers in 7.

Nuggets vs. Rockets
This without a doubt will be your most exciting playoff series. If you like points, like most people do, your going to get a ton in this series. Denver and Houston both prefer to play offense and put up big numbers rather than lock each other down. Just check their last game on April 6. 132-114? Even for NBA standards that's a lot of offense. James Harden could be the deciding factor in the series but I think the Nuggets have too much depth. We'll have to watch and see how the loss of Gallinari hurts Denver in this series. For now, Nuggets in 5.

Nets vs. Hawks
Finally, we've reached the 4-5 matchups and I'm sad to say I'm not as intrigued as the games above. Don't get me wrong both these series should go no shorter than 6 or 7 games but I actually don't think they will. The Nets have a younger looking Deron Williams right now paired up with ex-Hawk Joe Johnson. While I don't think the Nets can compete for the title, they're making a step in the right direction. The Hawks have a Josh Smith who is a great player but would rather be playing somewhere else. I say Brooklyn in a sweep. 4 to zippo.

Clippers vs. Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies have held their own since trading their Superstar Rudy Gay before the deadline. Although they have held their own, I don't see them holding up in the playoffs. In a rematch of last year's first round matchup (Clippers in 7), I see Chris Paul calmly leading his team to the next round. If the Clippers do move on, I'm very excited to see the high flying LAC squad against the light it up Thunder team. Clippers in 5.

Thank you guys for reading (if you made it this far) comment below your predictions.

#PrayForBoston

New York Knicks vs. Los Angeles Lakers- Christmas Day Special

New York Knicks (20-7) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (13-14)

The New York Knicks travel to the Staples Center on Christmas Day on ESPN at 3 pm as part of a Christmas Day buffet of NBA games. The Knicks are having a superb season so far as Carmelo Anthony is 2nd in the league in scoring to counterpart Kobe Bryant. The Lakers have underperformed thus far but the return of Steve Nash should get them back on track.

New York Knicks
The Knicks are one of the deepest teams in the NBA with talent still to return. They have options like J.R. Smith, Marcus Camby, and Steve Novak coming off the bench including an injured Rasheed Wallace. To add onto that, New York has top defensive Point Guard Iman Shumpert and all-star Amar'e Stoudamire set to return within the next month or so. The Knicks definitely appear that they can compete and today will be an excellent test to survey where they are. Look for Carmelo to have a great game.

Los Angeles Lakers
L.A. Got off to a slow start but have shown improvement of late. The return of Steve Nash two nights ago resulted in a win over a surprisingly good Golden State team. Dwight Howard has been quietly amazing this season averaging 18 ppg, 12 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. Kobe Bryant currently leads the league in scoring with 29.7 ppg and is still playing at a high level even at age 34. The Lakers need a significant win to please the fans and I anticipate they will.

Prediction:
The Knicks will play the Lakers tough and the back and forth between Melo and Kobe will be great but I predict Kobe hits the last shot and pushes L.A. to a win.

Final Score:
Lakers-102 Knicks-99

Sportacular Sports

Sportacular Sports Los Angeles Lakers Shoe Game

Here are the shoes that the Lakers players will be sporting this season.

Kobe Bryant-24-SG

The Lakers finally got their first win last night against the Pistons and move to 1-3. Throughout the season Kobe has been sporting his own brand of Nikes.

Dwight Howard-12-C

Similar to Kobe, Dwight rocks his own brand of Adidas. The adidas Adipower Howard 3 shoes. 

Pau Gasol-16-C

Pau rocks the Hyperizes from Nike in the team colors of White, Gold, and Purple. Look at the rest of the team and you see Metta World Peace in the Kobe's as well as Steve Nash.

Sportacular Sports Los Angeles Lakers Season Debut

Are the Lakers in trouble?

Last night, the NBA season opened with three major story lines. Rookie of the year Kyrie Irving defeated the Washington Wizards without John Wall, LeBron James and company recieved their Championship rings in a win over the Celtics, and the Dallas Mavericks traveled to L.A. to face the new look Lakers.

To much surprise, the Mavericks won the game 99-91 spoiling Steve Nash and Dwight Howard's first regular season game in a Laker uniform. This defeat comes after an 0-8 pre season which Kobe Bryant didn't participate in.


Unlike the Lakers, the Mavericks new additions, Darren Collison and Elton Brand, meshed well with their new team. Veterans Vince Carter and Shawn Marion filled in nicely for Dirk Nowitzki, each scoring 11 points. Dirk should be out for about 6 more weeks after his knee procedure went smoothly a few weeks ago. In his absence, the Mavericks will use a team approach with rookie Jae Crowder seeing time in Nowitzki's place.

Back to the Lake show. The new Laker's motion offense better involve more time for Steve Nash with the ball. Nash had only 7 points and 4 assists in 34 minutes of play. In Phoenix, Nash always had control of the ball which is why he was so dominant. It should be interesting to see what adjustments L.A. makes to give Nash more freedom to run the offense. On a bad foot Kobe Bryant had 22 points and he should get better as the season progresses. Kobe's shooting numbers should increase with more attention on Nash and Howard.

The biggest expectations though come from the addition of the top center in the league, Dwight Howard. Everyone that works in the NBA business has already crowned the Lakers Western Conference Champions. Next they've set them a date with Miami in the Finals. With this talent, who could think otherwise. When LeBron left for South Beach the same expectations were created only to be let down in a Finals loss to the same Mavericks. So you ask, what should we expect?

Your expectations should be that this Lakers team will win its 17th NBA title in Los Angeles. Why? I see two major differences in this team. First, is the big man presence that Howard brings that Miami has always lacked. Last night, the Lakers best player was indeed Pau Gasol, 23 points 13 rebounds, who is an All-Star that will see more open looks than any All-Star in NBA history. Pau can match up with Chris Bosh inside with Dwight free to defend the paint against James and Wade slashing to the basket. Not only will Dwight be key defending the paint but should be dominating against the Heat down low. 
Finally, I believe the Lakers will win the title, unlike the Heat, because of the differences between LeBron and Kobe. While LeBron might be showing more will to win, everyone knows the greatest competitor in the league is Kobe. When that Heat team reached the 2010 Finals, Lebron faded away as he choked away the Title to an under matched Mavs team. If Kobe Bryant every disappears in an NBA Finals, well he won't, it's that simple. So yes indeed, there might be some early season problems meshing together but come May and June expect the Lakers to live up to expectations and win the NBA title.