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

Sportacular Sports January 9th Morning Recap

Wednesday, January 9th Headlines
(Recapping the headlines from Tuesday, January 8th)


RGIII to have knee surgery Wednesday
-Many rumors have circulated about the degree of Griffin's injury and the length of time he would be sitting out. ESPN's Chris Mortensen has reported that RG3 has indeed torn his ACL in addition to his LCL. The Redskins had confirmed a tear of the LCL but the MRI Tuesday confirmed the second. I do not completely understand the doctor behind everything but apparently Griffin is now in better shape. The professionals were saying Griffin could be done for up to 18 months. Now, he is rumored to be out 6-8 months barring any set backs. A little known fact is that RGIII actually had a similar injury in his career at Baylor. The knee that had been reconstructed through a patella like structure had been torn through and that will need to be repaired as well. When we are in this category, nothing seems like good news but for the Redskins (and Mike Shanahan), they are satisfied knowing they'll have their Quarterback for next season.

Rob Ryan fired as Defensive Coordinator in Dallas
-After spending only 2 seasons in Big D, Rob Ryan has been fired by the Cowboys. Ryan's defense allowed the most yards in Cowboy's history this year and ranked in the bottom 5 last year. Ryan believes that his defense struggled nightly because of injuries which may be true. Also, Ryan is not scared and is outspoken like his brother Rex, "I'll be out of work for like 5 minutes". Rob Ryan said this in response to his firing and does not fear he will be jobless for much longer.

Duke destroys Clemson 68-40
-Quinn Cook after shooting 0-11 Saturday against Wake Forest rebounded by scoring 27 points Tuesday night. The Tigers managed to only score 10 first half points. Ryan Kelly, who outscored Clemson 12-10 in the first half, sat in the 2nd with a right foot injury. Duke will remain Number 1 for now but plays 9 of its last 16 games on the road.

All ranked teams win, except for Georgetown.
-Teams like Missouri and Ohio State took care of business last night but it was the low scoring Hoyas who got crushed on Tuesday. Pittsburgh, on the road, won 73-45. The Hoyas dropped their second in a row in addition to only scoring 45 points. If you follow College Basketball you know the Hoyas don't score very often and unless it gets fixed, they will go no where in the Tournament.

Heat and Lakers both fall on the road
-The Heat have not been playing well as of late but more importantly what is wrong with the Lakers. I understand Dwight and Pau were both out last night but this team is going in the wrong direction. The Heat simply couldn't hit shots last night, falling 87-77. LeBron continued his 20+ point streak and is 85 points away from 20,000 career points. The Heat are fine, but for the Lake show who fell 125-112, I see trouble. Mike D'Antoni has been no help and allowing 125 points in a night is not getting the job done. The lakers struggle the most in two area, transition and production from the bench. The Lakers keep getting beat down the court for easy buckets. This makes them tired but their is no bench production when Kobe and Steve Nash take a seat. They need to find production from within because all the Laker's money is with KB and Dwight Howard. I'm scared for the Lakers.

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- Are the Oklahoma City Thunder in trouble?

Are the Thunder in trouble?

Tony Parker weathered the storm (no pun intended) last night with his buzzer-beating jumper that pushed the Spurs past the Thunder last night. Being the first game, it would seem silly to think that the Thunder could possibly be in trouble but after Harden's masterful debut Wednesday Night it's hard not to ponder.

Let's clear this up immediately. Long term, no doubt, this was very beneficial for the Thunder because OKC had a slim chance of resigning him after the season. In addition, they grab a top ten pick and possibly 2 more after that. Now that we can move past that topic we can focus on the Thunder's chances this season.

Personally, I think the Harden trade kills them. It's not because they fell to an older San Antonio teaqm it is rather Harden's superb performance in his debut. Harden had 30 points, 12 assists, 6 boards, and 4 steals. Add the fact that his beard had 7 points and a block and you have Houston Rocket's management raving about this trade. Harden's number brings up this thought for OKC fans. How much Harden could have been.

Besides his beard, Harden was hardly ever the main guy. He came off the bench and didn't even get as much attention as Westbrook and Durant's poor relationship. Harden came off the bench for multiple reasons, none being though that he wasn't capable to be a starter. Maybe now that Harden will have the ball for most of the time he's on the floor it will be a better situation for him. But all I can think about is the fire powered Lakers. If you read my other article, you would know I'm still high on L.A. this season. Frankly, I don't see OKC being able to compete without James Harden. Durant is without a doubt the best pure scorer in the league but LeBron can do so much more than KD that the Thunder needed that extra aspect which Harden brought to the hardwood. OKC will be extremely competitive but without Harden I don't give them much of a chance to escape the Western Conference.

Prediction: Upset by Clippers in 2nd round or Eliminated by Los Angeles in Western Conference Finals