NBA Basketball Blog

I haven’t been to the Staples Center for a few years, so when I had a trade show to attend at the Los Angeles Convention Center I was in! The convention center is part of an area called “LA Live” that features an impressive array of hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues including the Staples Center. The Staples Center is home to the LA Lakers and LA Clippers NBA teams as well as the LA Kings NHL team.

If you are heading to the area, I highly recommend staying at the JW Marriott LA Live. The hotel has large modern rooms, oversized bathrooms, and a lovely pool area with a hot tub. The views from the rooms are also fantastic. My room faced the famous Hollywood sign in the hills. Try to upgrade your room to the Executive Club level and get your breakfast, wine-time, evening appetizers and desserts served in the club’s 4^th floor. It’s well worth the upgrade cost.

It seems most everything is within walking distance to the LA Live area. The shopping district is 6 blocks away

This weekend Damian Lillard will have the opportunity to expedite his path to becoming great.  In just his second year Lillard has the chance to become the king of NBA All-Star weekend.

Damian Lillard is not your average NBA sophomore and this weekend he will be out to prove it.  Baring any last minute changes the Portland guard will be competing in almost every possible event during the NBA All-Star weekend.   The only event he will not compete in is the Sears Shooting Star competition.  A competition that is more like the celebrity game than a true challenge.  So for the purpose of this accomplishment we can just say he is competing in every All-Star event.

1, 2, 3 Go!

It will all begin with the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge.  Last year Lillard played in this game and managed 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.  A nice line but not worthy of MVP.  So this year he will have another shot to make his mark against the players of his generation and possibly take home an MVP.

Whoa!  The sports world is going crazy right now!  So much going on and it is all too exciting to miss.  To catch up with the sports world I have harnessed all the major news/results from the recent events.  I am going to briefly hit on each sport and give a few predictions for the Masters, MLB, NBA, and NHL.  Ready?  Lets go!

NHL

Seems like the season just started but it will shortly be coming to an end.  But I guess that's what happens when you are in a shortened and compressed 46 game season.  Thanks lockout.  The story early on in the season was the winning streak by the Chicago Blackhawks and then both the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins went on their own winning streaks.  Although no one has matched a start like the Blackhawks, it seemed for a while like the Penguins might be the best team.  Now that Crosby is out the battle for best appears to be between the Ducks and Blackhawks.

The NBA season is beginning to heat up as the temperatures outside begin cool off considerably.  The 2012-13 season is the first full length season after a strike shortened 2011-12 regular season.  It feels good to get back to a full 82 game season.  Last year just felt weird.  Especially the All-Star game.  In a condensed season the All-Star game almost seemed irrelevant when so few games had been played.  This year we can get back to status quo.  Although things are a little different this year when it comes to the All-Star voting.

2013 NBA All-Star Game -February 24, 2013

The NBA All-Star game will be played in Houston, TX this year.  The All-Star game will make its second appearance at the Toyota Center.  The last All-Star game in Houston was in 2006 and the host city featured 2 Rockets in the starting lineup for the West All-Stars.  Forward Tracy McGrady and center Yao Ming starting on an All-Star roster seems like an ancient memory.  Makes me think of the Little Texas song "What Might Have Been".  Sad memories for Rockets fans.  Sorry Houston.  LeBron James was the MVP of that All-Star game with 29 points and T-Mac lead all scorers with 36.

This week the NBA regular season began with several early season marquis match-ups.  It is a little too early for much meaning to come from these games but the bottom line is the NBA has returned.  It is becoming increasingly more obvious that there will be no NHL season so the NBA will have the undivided attention of most sports fans.  Of course the NFL is only half done but NBA doesn't really interfere with football.  Which is perfect for a sports nut like myself.

So let me welcome back the NBA with brief guide to the 2013 regular season.  There is a lot oh hype going around several teams this year and I'm here to clear up a few things and let you know the real story when it comes to NBA basketball in 2012-13.  Follow the bullet points to all the answers for your upcoming NBA season.

• The OKC Thunder trade was necessary and will help them in the long run
• James Harden will produce but the Rockets will not
• The Lakers will not win the West or make it to the Finals
• Steve Nash will average less then 9 assists per game
• At least 1 Star will be traded this season (LaMarcus Aldridge?)
• Derrick Rose should not play this year
• The new All-Star Game voting is unfair
• San Antonio will defy age yet again with another #1 seed
• Kevin Durant will win 4th straight scoring title
• Miami Heat will go back-to-back
• Knicks will fire their head coach again
• Anthony Davis will win ROY
• Tom Thibodeau will scream a lot
• LeBron James wins MVP #4

This season is sure to be full of excitement and drama.  The good news is we won't have to listen to Dwight Howard drama all season long.  Or will we??  I sure hope not.  He did already mention that he wishes the trade to the Nets would have worked out.  Really Dwight?  Just be quiet.  In the end I think he will happily stay in Los Angeles.  Big market, big money, and lots of history.  Lets just hope the Lakers don't tank and bring up Howard drama 2.0.

With the first pick in the NBA Draft the New Orleans Hornets select.....  Well I think we all know that Anthony Davis is going number 1 overall.  However, the rest of the first round is really up in the air.  The draft is pretty deep this year and there are a lot guys with the same talent level.  This makes it difficult to predict how the first round will turn out after Davis is drafted by the Hornets.  Another factor that makes this draft hard to predict is the vast trade possibilities.

Heat vs. Thunder......  LeBron vs. Durant......  Wade vs. Harden......  Folks we got ourselves one heck of a talent filled Finals this year.  Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals kicks off tonight in Oklahoma City at 9:00 P.M. (ET) on ESPN ABC.  Before I get into some numbers and what I think they mean, here is a quick look at the schedule for the NBA Finals.

Game 2 - June 14:  Heat @ Thunder - 9:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC
Game 3 - June 17:  Thunder @ Heat - 8:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC
Game 4 - June 19:  Thunder @ Heat - 9:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC
Game 5 - June 21:  Thunder @ Heat - 9:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC  *
Game 6 - June 24:  Heat @ Thunder - 8:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC  *
Game 7 - June 26:  Heat @ Thunder - 9:00 P.M. (ET),  ABC  *

* if necessary

During the last two weeks there has been a new sensation in the NBA.  Whether you like it or not Jeremy Lin has taken the league by storm with a monumental run since his insertion into the starting lineup.  Injuries to star forwards Amar'e Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony provided an opportunity for the Harvard grad to get his shot at making his mark in the NBA.  Prior to his recent surge of greatness, Lin was cut by the Warriors, the Rockets, and was fighting just to stay on an NBA roster with New York.  Fast forward to today and you can't watch sports highlights with out being assaulted with "Linsanity". 

For the first hundred or so games of Blake Griffin's career we have confidently learned one thing about his game.  Folks, the man can dunk.  In the game of basketball a dunk counts for just as much as any other 2 point field goal but there are always a few athletes in the league that turn the dunk into an art form.  The dunk can also get the crowd pumped at home or get your teammates fired up on the road.  Much like a fight in hockey.

Through the years we have seen the evolution of the dunk from Darryl Dawkins and Julius Erving to MJ and 'Nique, to Vince Carter and Kobe, to LeBron and now Blake Griffin.  NBA fans have been witness to some amazing dunks over the last few decades, but I'm not sure any of them are as impressive as the B. Griffey's dunk from last night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Clippers end up winning the game which should be noted considering OKC has the best winning percentage in the NBA at the moment.  However, the dunk that Griffin

Just when it seemed like the NBA season was lost the players and owners came to an agreement on a new CBA.  Both sides of this battle took a stand at several points during the negotiations over the last few months.  In the beginning both sides were asking way too much and by the end of it the owners wound up compromising the most.  In the new deal the players will still receive over half the money.  With many teams struggling financially, something had to be done with the money and salary distribution.  For now everyone is happy but it will take some time to discover whether or not enough changes were made to the old CBA to ensure economic stability in the NBA.