Has Dirk Nowitzki started an early bid for MVP with an incredible fourth quarter of 29 points against the Utah Jazz? Dirk had 40 total points on a night when for 3 quarters he just could not get it going and it looked like a boring defeat at the hands of the Jazz, but then the magic scoring hands of Nowitzki went to work and broke Mark Aguirre’s 1 quarter Maverick scoring record.

NBA factoid: Last December Carmelo Anthony had 33 in a single quarter to tie George Gervin’s all time NBA record.

Mark Aguirre had 27 on March 24th 1984.

Dirk had Jason Terry just gushing.

He scored 23 of 25 Maverick points in one stretch, including a step-back jumper with 2:05 to go that put them ahead, 85-83.

“It was tremendous,” Jason Terry said of Nowitzki’s fourth quarter. “Dirk put us on his back and showed us why he’s the MVP. We were in it defensively all night long. But offensively we struggled. It was getting to us. … But we didn’t let our defensive effort lack. I think that’s what kept us in the game.
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Dirk Nowitzki with classic shooting form

Dirk Nowitzki has 29 in the fourth

For the Dallas Mavericks the true test will come at the defensive end as a team loaded with offensive stars attempts to stop the opposing team from scoring, which is something they have not shown a strong propensity to accomplish in the past.

What’s more significant to me is that the Mavs have won three consecutive games despite not shooting better than 41.7 percent in any game this season. Last year, when they shot 42.5 percent of worse from the floor, they were 3-25. In many ways, just like the Rangers, this offense has traditionally been so good that if it gets even a touch of defense, it wins. Since that rather rough season opener, the Mavs have won as much because of defense as anything.

That is most definitely a change in this team. Maybe it’s only a one-week aberration, but, at least for a week, you have to figure the attention to defense is paying off for this team.
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If the Defensive Trend continues for the Dallas Mavericks then you can look for an extended playoff run at the end of the year.

Image: Zuma Press

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Dwight Howard is Superman and if you have watched him play through the years then you know his super powers are improving. In other words, Dwight is getting more offensive moves and learning better how to get position on defense. He is becoming the best center in the game. We have to use the word becoming, because Tim Duncan is still playing.

The question being asked is why Dwight Howard needs Vince Carter.

This is tough because your intrepid author is not a big Carter fan and never has been. Oh, sure, he is talented off the scale, but what does he bring you over the long haul? He has the ability to take over games with his penetration skills and scoring ability. He has All Star capabilities, but does it transfer over to winning?

There can be no discussion of Vince Carter without a discussion yielding comparisons to Hedo Turkoglu the glue from last year’s team. Vince is essentially replacing Hedo.

Carter, 32, has career averages of 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists, although his statistics have dropped in each of the past two seasons. Turkoglu, 30, has averaged 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

“We want (Carter) to be aggressive on both ends,” All-Star center Dwight Howard said, “especially … on the offensive end, trying to finish at the rack.”
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Coach Stan Van Gundy is saying all the right things, but you wonder if the intangibles that Hedo brought to the floor will be missing. Can Vince subjugate his game to the greater talents of Dwight Howard? Lacking Hedo’s height will he be able to defend his position. Can he play winning ball?

Dwight Howard needs more of these!

Therein lays the answer. If Vince cannot establish a solid role on the Magic then Dwight Howard will not be able to take them to the NBA Finals. This is why Dwight needs Vince. There will be a crucial role to play on the team often calling on Vince to carry the team offensively and just as often asking him to reduce his own ego and penetrate with the sole idea of feeding Superman the ball.

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Manu Ginobili is out. There is nothing the Spurs can do about that and it is a hard loss to take. Manu is often the X-factor that spells doom for the other teams. If they bully Parker and double Duncan then Manu kills them with his outside game or slashes to the basket for repeated layups.

Now the Spurs have faced injured players before and if that was all there was then they would not be so worried. Sure the Lakers are the odds on favorites to win the West, but the Spurs have triumphed before when the odds were not in their favor.

The real worry for the Spurs is age. Tim Duncan only has so many big games left in him. He already complains about knee problems and gets rested during back to backs.

When will Tim Duncan just walk away from the NBA?

Hey, you can shrug it off if you want, but we saw age finally conquer the Shaq and recently the Pistons.

But deep down, the Spurs know something else: At some point, there won’t be a next season. Not for Tim Duncan. If the past few months have proven anything, it’s that the clock has finally begun to tick for the Spurs and their greatest player.

For all the concern about Ginobili’s ankles, the Spurs’ success in these playoffs was always hinged to Duncan’s health. For weeks, Duncan has told friends how much his knees have bothered him, and that’s telling for one reason: He never complains about his injuries. The Spurs gave Duncan three games off to rest at the end of February, but he has continued to labor.

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All you had to do was look at the Lakers team at the beginning of the year and they were the odds on favorites to win it all. Sure the Celtics were going to be tough, but think about it, they were getting older and had lost a few key players and maybe were not as hungry. The age factor especially was going to be an issue. You can only go so long without an injury or two when you play hoop for that long. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce have been playing that long.

Kevin Garnett is trying to decide who is better, the Lakers or Cavs?

But hold on here, haven’t we forgot a team? Like Cleveland?

Cleveland? Yeah, they actually present some odd match ups on the court that just seem to work because the best player on the planet is on their team. That would be LeBron James, but Cleveland is more than King James. Mo Williams and Delonte West with Anderson Varejao, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas give the Cav’s a unique mixture of size and defense that make LeBron even more effective.

Now it appears that the Cavaliers may take home court advantage into the playoffs.
Cleveland 61 victories
Lakers 59

But despite going 10-4 in March, the Lakers (58-15) are two games behind for the best overall record to the Cleveland Cavaliers (60-13) — who are 15-1 this month.

The Lakers are at the Charlotte Bobcats today in the sixth of a seven-game road trip, while the Cavaliers look to extend a franchise-best 12-game winning streak in hosting the Detroit Pistons.

Making up two games won’t be easy. “We’re certainly not going to win out,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson says of closing the regular season on a 9-0 run. “But we’ll continue to put pressure” on the Cavaliers.
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The Cav’s ended up beating the Pistons and the Lakers took down the Bobcats, so the difference still stands and the number of games are running out.

Don’t sneeze about it, home court advantage is huge!

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Kobe Bryant is ready, but is Pau Gasol ready?

Image details: NBA Finals Game 4: Boston Celtics v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

The Lakers blew it in game 4. A 24 point lead and still they did not win. The Celtics stepped up the defense and Paul Pierce went crazy on offense and that was it.

The Lakers have to face game 5 as a game to get respect.

Let me lay it out for you.

First off your leader has to be cool. Kobe Bryant is the ultimate cool right now.

Bryant insists the Lakers have moved on since their Game 4 collapse. There’s no time to dwell on what happened, all that counts now is what happens next.

“We’ve got to take care of business on Sunday,” said Bryant, who spent much of the past two days relaxing at home with his family. “So what are we going to do? How am I going to get my teammates in the right frame of mind, make sure they’re energetic, and that’s what it’s been all about.”

Bryant said he spent much of the past two days reading a Harry Potter book to his daughters.

“It was awesome,” he said. “He had more problems dealing with Voldemort than what we have dealing with the media and the Celtics.”

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Lord Voldemort? Hmm, that would be interesting.

Garnett goes up for a rebound and what is this? Lord Voldemort has pulled out his wand and, oh my gosh, the ball just exploded. Did you see that? Kevin Garnett is just lying on the floor in a crumpled heap.

Anyway, secondly you cannot think beyond this next game.

The finals are in a 2 – 3 – 2 format. The Lakers almost came from 20 down to win game 2, but did not. The Celtics came from behind to win game 4. That made the series 3 -1. Hopeless is the major feeling right now. No NBA team has come back from 3 -1.

Even if the Lakers can get up for game 5 after the major disappointment of game 4, they would still face game 6 and 7 in the house of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Not to mention the ghosts of Celtics past like Red Auerbach and Larry Bird. It is human nature to just not believe you can win all three games in a row, but you can always convince yourself to win the next game, the one right in front of you.

Third the Lakers have to play a complete game with enthusiasm. Derek Fisher is a veteran and understands the playoffs, but does Pau Gasol or is he and his other teammates just happy to be there?

Fourth, Kobe Bryant has to get hot. He cannot just dribble into the paint and dish off. If he is the best player in the league and Phil Jackson is such a good coach, then a new strategy has to be devised to make Boston unable to stop Kobe. Right now Boston is over playing one side of the court and it is working. LA has to find a way to get down low or get open shots on the weak side.

Back to game 5. The Lakers need this game for respect, and then if they lose in Boston, they lose in Boston and that is that.

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Can Paul Pierce take his injured knee and guard Kobe Bryant and still score points?

Image details: NBA Finals Game 1: Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics served by picapp.com

Doc Rivers is cautiously optimistic about his two injured starters.

Pierce (sprained right knee) and Perkins (sprained left ankle) spent much of the media-access portion of practice riding stationary bikes, and coach Doc Rivers indicated he was more optimistic about Pierce’s chances of playing against the Lakers than he was about Perkins’s, even though the fifth-year center said he figured to be about 75-80 percent.

“There’s still aching in it right now, but it’s all right,” Perkins said of his ankle.

As for Pierce? “The swelling is down a little,” he said, after showing up at a news conference wearing a multilayered sleeve on his knee. “Still some stiffness, can’t quite all the way bend it like I want to, but it’s definitely a step forward.”
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In a classic, don’t say what you want to say comment, Derek Fisher of the Lakers had this to say about Paul Pierce.

“It obviously changes their personnel,” said Lakers guard Derek Fisher. “Paul is a very talented player. He’s their go-to guy in a lot of situations, so, for whatever reason, if he doesn’t play, then a lot of things change. It doesn’t mean that they’re any worse.

“I mean, they went on a 6-0 run while he was out, so I was pretty happy to see him come back,” Fisher added. “We played them pretty even after that, but that 6-point difference after he left continued to change the momentum of the game.”

If either Perkins of Pierce are missing for game two, the Celtics are a considerably weaker team. The pressure would be on Kevin Garnett, big time, to score and rebound. Who would guard Kobe Bryant? Sam Posey? Who would keep Gasol off the boards?

Even if they do come back, how effective will Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins be?

Coach Rivers will remain cautiously optimistic!

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NBA Finals – Let the games begin!

This series is unlike most series in a very dramatic way. Neither team has earned their way into the NBA Finals in the ordinary sense.

Hey, before you get all defensive, hear me out.

That earlier sentence did not say that either team did not deserve to be there. Both teams deserve to be there.

Will Kobe Bryant triumph over Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen?

Image details: Boston Celtics v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

Just to be clear (Because my wife claims my ways to be wishy washy), my contention was that My Pistons (Authors note: exposing my personal loyalties) were the best team to beat a team from the West.

The problem with the Pistons is how poorly they matched up with the Celtics. Thus the Celtics would ultimately triumph over My Pistons.

In the West, it was Lakers all the way. Once Pau Gasol was added to the team to replace the missing height of Andrew Bynum, and to add another scorer that could shoot and occasionally post up, to Kobe Bryant, then it was clear that the Lakers would prevail.

Pick: Lakers over Celtics in 6.

What does everyone else think?

Willl the Lakers struggle with Kevin Garnett?

Will the Celtics struggle with Kobe Bryant?

What about the old rivalry in the sixties and who was Elgin Baylor?

Why Charles Barkley is choosing the Lakers!

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Tim Duncan at 32 is the baby in this group with Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, and Kurt Thomas

Image details: San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 served by picapp.com

Los Angeles Lakers stay young

The Lakers are a young team and their victory over the Spurs may cause some changes to the league.

San Antonio’s elimination might signal the end of its era of dominance. With Duncan leading the way, the Spurs won championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, but with a rotation made up solely of 30-something players except for the 26-year-old Parker, the future seems uncertain.

Meanwhile, starting guard Derek Fisher and seldom-used reserve Ira Newble are the only players on the Los Angeles roster over 30.

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Something happens to the body as it moves into its thirties. You don’t jump as quick or push as hard. The mind is still there, but the body begins to back off. Bruises hang around longer and injuries appear more often. It signals the beginning of the end.

The group of 30-something Spurs could not keep up with the in-their-20s Los Angeles Lakers.

After another fast start at Staples Center, San Antonio seemed to tire, again blowing a substantial lead and falling 100-92 on Thursday night as the Lakers won Game 5 to advance to the NBA Finals.

San Antonio took a 17-point lead in the second quarter, but the Lakers caught up in the third and put the game away late in the fourth.

In the Western Conference finals opener, San Antonio was up by 20 in the third quarter on the Lakers’ court before the Spurs began to struggle and Los Angeles stormed back to win 89-85.

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Age takes its toll. It does not mean the same Spurs team cannot come back next year and win a title, but it may be time to rebuild parts of the team.

Tony Parker, at 26 the lone member of the Spurs’ regular rotation under 30, and 32-year-old Tim Duncan did their part in Game 5, with Parker scoring 23 points and Duncan getting 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

But down the stretch, the Lakers again outplayed them and teammates Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry, each 36; Michael Finely, 35; and Manu Ginobili, 30.

Popovich didn’t use Robert Horry, who is almost 38, going instead with Kurt Thomas, who is 35. Thomas had 11 points in his 20:38 on the court.

Kobe Bryant, 29 and the Lakers’ oldest regular except for 33-year-old backcourt mate Derek Fisher, led Los Angeles with 39 points. Pau Gasol, 27, had 19 rebounds and 12 points, while Lamar Odom, 28, chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Although they’ve been the league’s best team in recent years, the Spurs still haven’t been able to repeat as champions.

One should keep in mind though that the Kobe came to the NBA from High School, so his body has taken an extra toll.

But none of that matters to the Lakers right now. They are going to the NBA Championship series! That is all they can think about.

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Legendary Jerry West and Kobe Bryant celebrate winning the Western Conference title

Image details: San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 served by picapp.com

The Lakers defeated the Spurs and earned a trip to the NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the conference finals in five games.

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Stern rejoices

Commissioner David Stern could get his dream matchup of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Boston Celtics after all. Two big money cities, one from each coast, filled with championship lore, fighting it out for the NBA Title. What more could Stern even dream of? Well, how about the series goes 7 games?

The matchup he feared was the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Detroit Pistons. That series would feature a lot of defense and low TV ratings. Sorry, but when one team has a player known as the Big Fundamental and the other team features no one, it is hard to market to the world.

Consider that in Detroit the Hockey games have been drawing better than the Basketball games.

Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win on Wednesday night earned a 2.8 national rating and an 18.2 rating in Detroit, beating out the 15.9 rating for the Pistons’ matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals drew a 5.3 national rating.
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How can your host city be beaten by Hockey? You remember that sport, the one with the puck? Hockey and the Red Wings are huge in Detroit.

One final note and it is not even close, Boston and LA have been to more finals individually in Basketball than any other teams. Just look at all the titles that Red Auerbach won with Boston.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has won nine championships, tied for the NBA record with former Boston coach Red Auerbach.

Lakers fired up!

The Lakers could not contain their excitement. The Western Conference had so many teams that finished with close records that to finally win a trip to the finals was just too much to handle. It is a good thing the Lakers had home court advantage.

The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven’t lost in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.

“My heart’s still pumping, that adrenaline is still running from the game,” said Lamar Odom, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “Maybe when I sit down and have something to eat, I’ll realize what just happened.

“We came out here, played our game, and won. It’s satisfying, but one more step.”

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The NBA Finals start next Thursday.

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A quick news rundown of game 2.

How can the Spurs come back from such a major beat down in game 2?

Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant playing at his peak looks more and more like the NBA Champions for this year.

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