Cavs Live Another Day!

Facing elimination for the first time this season, Lebron James had one simple goal coming into Game 5.

Dominate.

Did he ever.

Lebron James took over Game 5, finishing with a triple double to keep the Cavaliers season alive for at least one more game as he led his team to a 112-102 trumping of the Orlando Magic to trim their deficit to one game, 3-2. Facing in a unusual situation this year, James played with urgency as he consistently set up his teammates during the first half. Once his teammates get going, the King unmercifully ended Magic's desire to enter the NBA finals, again for just a game.

James scored 37 points, 21 in the second half but a big 17 points in the final quarter to keep Magic's rally in check. Despite leading by 22 in the first half, Cavs found themselves in a dog-fight by the end of the third quarter, a rare sight from them during the entire course of the season. Mo Williams, who has been in a hot seat since his post-Game 3 prediction that they would win the series, added 24 points on top of six three-pointers.

Dwight Howard, the main catalyst for victories in Games 3 and 4, struggled to finish the game as he finished with a mediocre stat line of 20 points and 12 rebounds. He also committed 6 fouls. But most importantly, Magic failed to drew points from their spitfire guard, Rafer Alston, who just finished with 3 points on 1/10 shooting. "They deserved to win this one, after the way we played poorly." coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Daniel Gibson nailed 2 clutch three-pointers in the final canto, both feeds from the King to withheld Magic's furious comeback. Mikael Pietrus, the X-factor of the Orlando for this series, continued to play well, finishing with 13 points and 3 three-pointers but somehow laughed off the court after losing the game, somewhat showing signs of overconfident.

Can the Magic cast their spell to the hapless Cavaliers on Game 6? Or can the King proclaim himself once again and force a do-or-die showdown?

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Lakers, One Win Away From NBA Finals!

Dahntay Jones and Denver Nuggets decided to gang up on Kobe Bryant. But, they forgot one thing Kobe can do except scoring.

His passing.

A game after Jones deliberatly tripped Kobe Bryant, the runner-up MVP changed his stand, as he finished with 22 points and 8 assists to lead LA Lakers past Denver Nuggets 103-94 and seize a 3-2 series lead in their own Western Conference Finals. Bryant, who just attempted 13 shots, played a decoy role thus resulting to big games from Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom. Derek Fisher scored 12 points, his biggest output of the series and Odom added 19 points off the bench to typify their balance scoring.

"It was a big gamble for me coming in, but I want to change my approach and be more of a decoy." Bryant said. Another main key for Lakers victory is Pau Gasol, who just scored 6 points after the third quarter. Gasol scored 8 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and being aggressive when the game is on the line, resulting to Nene's 6 fouls and George Karl's sourgraping.

"I thought they got the benefit of the whistle. Every players in our locker room is frustrated. Nene has 6 fouls, 3 or 4 which doesn't exist." Karl said in frustration. A point which Karl is pointing out is Nene's stat line. He finished with a unusual 4 points and 8 rebounds while attempting just 3 shots for the entire game. Inside defense have been the key for this Game 5 for Lakers, wherein they also limited Kenyon Martin to 12 points and Chris Anderson to 2 points.

With Kobe's ability to pass to his open teammates, Nuggets were caught surprised after the superstar guard burned them with 40,32,41 and 36 points in their first four games. Not even Chauncey Billups can match Kobe's assist total as he was hounded with 5 fouls and finished with just 5 assists and 12 points.

Game 6 will be played on Denver. Can the Lakers finish off the Nuggets?

"We have to stay focused and poised and try to cut them up." Bryant said.

It's easier said than done. Hopefully, Kobe can lead this team to promise land, once again.

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Orlando Magic Takes A Commanding 3-1 Lead!

ORLANDO(MK) - Got any more predictions Mo?

After predicting the Cavs would win the series, Orlando battled back, this time with their play on the court to prevail a nail-biting 116-114 win over the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers. 48 hours after their Game 3 loss, Mo Williams boldly predicted that they would win the series despite being down 2-1 and being outplayed in Game 3. "I'm a leader on this team. Whatever I can do to spark this team and give us confidence, I'll do. Even if I have to take the heat, so be it." Williams said.

Now, the heat is even heater, not only for Williams, but the whole Cavaliers instead.

After finishing the regular season with the best record in the east and completely dominating the first and second round of Eastern Conference playoffs with 8 straight wins and 8 straight blow-outs, Cavs now fould themselves in a hole against a team who was ruled out during the regular season after the injury of Jameer Nelson. "We just have to keep fighting. We have an excellent opportunity in front of us. We can't think that anything's going to be easy." a resilient Dwight Howard said.

Compared to the loud-mouth Williams, Howard made his play do the talking. The hulking center of Magic finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, most notably shooting 7/9 from the foul line. Rafer Alston added 26 points and Rashard Lewis chipped in 17. Cleveland meanwhile, whose dream season is starting to be a nightmare, have 4 players in double digits, a rare sight for this series. Lebron finished with another monster stat line with 44 points, 12 rebounds but 8 big turnovers while the loud-mouth Williams scored 18 points but a big flat 0 in the fourth quarter.

In a game that almost reminded everyone of the game 2 heroics of Lebron James, Orlando couldn't close the deal in overtime. Leading 111-105 with just 1:12 remaining in OT, Lebron scored 4 straight points in a span of 33 seconds to trim the lead to two, 111-109. Howard and Ilgauskas traded 2 free throws before Lewis added a pair to extend the lead to 4, 115-111 with 6 seconds remaining. Lebron nailed another three-pointer to cut the lead to one and Cavs intentionally fouled Lewis to stop the clock.

Then came the near nightmare, as Lewis split his charities, giving Magic a 116-114 cushion but setting a positive stage for another Lebron dramatic.

Not this time, Lebron.

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What's Happening To The Chicago Cubs?!

2009, Chicago Cubs might celebrate their 101st year since their last World Series Title. Last 2 years(2007,2008), this team entered the playoffs just to be swept in the National League Divisional Series. But what makes last year's playoff exit more frustrating is that they entered the playoffs with the best record in Major league, amid speculations that they might break the curse of the billy goat.

This year, Cubs made their offseason moves. They prioritized pitching and a left-handed bat despite their pending sale of the team. Tribune Co, owner of Chicago Cubs, filed for bankruptcy and posted the team for sale, making team's financial stability in jeopardy. But the genius mind of Jim Hendry, fulfill the needs of the Cubs. They resigned Ryan Dempter, the co-ace of pitching staff behind Carlos Zambrano to a 4 year, 52 million contract. Here, they strengthen their pitching rotation with Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden and Marshall. They unloaded an inconsistent pitcher and his 9 million contract in Jason Marquis and acquired Luis Vizcaino. They added a left handed bat in Milton Bradley, who led the Americal League in RISP%(Runners in Scoring Position Percentage) and acquired Aaron Miles,Aaron Heilman and Kevin Gregg in seperate trade deals. Those are the acquisition of Hendry. Now,let's focus on the departures of the Cubs. In order to acquire Bradley, they decided to trade 2B/OF Mark DeRosa. They let their closer, Kerry Wood go to Cleveland, signing a 2 year deal.

Certainly, financial could be the reason for letting go of DeRosa but the question lies, is it really worth it? As of May 26, 2009, Cubs are just 21-22, good for 4th place in NL Central. They acquired Bradley to provide pop in the heart of the batting order, but he gives the Cubs an unusual stat line. He is hitting just .200 with 5 homers and 14 RBI's(Runs Batted In). What makes this worst is that they're suffering a big gap at second base, which DeRosa could have filled if they didn't trade him away. The reason they traded for Bradley is that they could have an insurance in case Fukudome struggles again. Looking at Fukudome's stat line, he is hitting .308 with 4 homers and 18 RBI's and being placed at the third hole of the batting order.

As for Ryan Dempster, he signed a 52 million 4 year contract to have an ERA close to 5.00. For a pitcher earning that kind of amount, he has the nerve to ask for that kind of amount of money just to be a bust for a team which was dubbed as the loveble losers. Aaron Miles has been a complete bust for the Cubs, batting just .204 with no homers and just 4 RBI's. I would take DeRosa rather than this piece of crap. Kevin Gregg, their current closer, has 6 saves but has yet to show consistency closing out games compared to Kerry Wood last year. Aaron Heilman, do we still need to talk about the primary goat for the last 2 years of collapse of New York Mets?!

So far, all Hendry's move have been a bust. Bradley, Dempster, Miles and Gregg. If i were given a choice, DeRosa is the one that got away. DeRosa provides versatility and more offensive pop compared to Miles. They gave the second base job to Miles and Mike Fontenot. Fontenot has also been a bust, with his current slump of 2 for 36. With the addition of injury to Aramis Ramirez, their leading run producer, certainly makes this team more vulnerable.

Don't take me wrong. I'm a Cubs fan since my college days which was 1997. I watch Sammy Sosa smack home runs and his alleged corked bat incident. His home run duel with Mark McGwire will be the most memorable moment for me. And of course, who can forget Steve Bartman, who deflected the ball out of Moises Alou's hands in Game 6 of National League Championship Series in 2003 that cost the game for the Cubs and their hopes of entering the world series since 1945.

But this year, it simply getting more and more frustrating. Maybe, my fellow Cubs can join me as I say our favorite slogan: "Wait till next year".

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Clippers Won First Overall Pick! Griffin Next In Line?

10 years after the Michael Olowokandi bust first round pick, Will the Los Angeles Clippers do the exact same thning?

This is the question lies ahead of the Clippers after they won the lottery last Tuesday to earn the right to draft the first overall pick in this June's Annual Rookie Draft. They beat out the favored Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. People can still remember the decision of Clippers to draft the busted Michael Olowokandi as their first overall pick of 1998 draft. Looking back to this draft class, this draft class was one of the best draft class ever in the NBA. Imagine, Clippers picking Olowokandi ahead of Mike Bibby(2nd overall pick, chief quarterback of the Atlanta Hawks), Antawn Jamison(4th overall pick, now the leading scorer of Washington Wizards),Vince Carter(5th overall pick, one of the most explosive player in NBA today),Dirk Nowitzki(9th overall, do i still have to describe the guy?), and lastly, Paul Pierce(10th overall, who just won his first NBA ring last 2008).

Past is past. Clippers probably at this point must think of entering the playoffs after signing Baron Davis last year to a multi-year contract, making a trade for one of the best defensive centers that ever played the game in Marcus Camby, and completing a mid-season trade for scorer Zach Randolph. At this point and in my point of view, Clippers have one of the most fearful starting lineup in the NBA. Kaman and Camby can switch playing center, Randolph at PF, a rising Al Thornton playing at SF, a fully developed Eric Gordon playing at SG and their star point guard in Baron Davis. With the additional of probably first round pick in Blake Griffin, I think the Clippers have no excuse of missing the playoffs next year.

But the problem with Griffin is that he's 6'10" and plays the PF position, which I think they're fully loaded with. Averaging close to 22.7 PPG and 14.4 RPG in college, I have some vibes that this guy might be the second coming of Michael Olowokandi. People can argue with the numbers he put up in college were monstrous but posting big numbers in college doesn't sum up being a good player in NBA. Some notable players who post up big numbers in college but became a bust in NBA are Sean May of Charlotte Bobcats and Greg Oden of Portland Trail Blazers.

For me, I think Griffin is not the real deal. They could go for a shooting guard or small forward to complement Baron Davis. They can go after Spanish guard Ricky Rubio. If ever this Griffin excelled as an NBA player, I can say's he's more like a LaMarcus Aldridge type of a player. Hopefully, I'm wrong since I've became a fan of Clippers ever since Camby arrived from Denver.

Am i right, Mr. Draft Bust Olowokandi?

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Tracy McGrady Is The Goat Of Houston Rockets!

Has Houston Rockets given up on T-Mac?

Every team to be a title contender must have an elite player that would lead them. Now the question is, Is T-Mac that guy for Houston? For how many years, T-Mac was the face of the franchise but did he ever led the Rockets past the first round of playoffs? No. How much T-Mac is earning this year and yet just to play half season, dooming the hopes of Rockets fans that T-Mac would be the one to lead them this year past first round following the acquisition of Ron Artest during the offseason.

But for those who counted the Rockets out of the picture after the departure of T-Mac, you better re-evaluate your decision. Rockets currently sits 3rd place in the tight Western Conference, thanks largely to newly addition in Kyle Lowry. A former starter in Memphis, he is thriving as a reserve role for Rockets, Lowry and Brooks forms one of the most dangerous guard combinations in the league. Both players can be considered underrated. Brooks has proven he is a scoring point guard while Lowry has fitted nicely into Adelman’s system.

This led to this question: do the Rockets still need T-MAC?

No. That’s just my opinion since the Rockets has proven they can win without T-MAC evident to their one win away from conference finals. It’s simply not worth of investing 10-12 million for a player who isn’t sure going to be healthy for the rest of the season. It’s also not worth of depending you season on a oft-injured player who again earns 10-12 million per year. Artest has proven he is a better sidekick with >Yao. The departure of Rafer Alston has made Rockets better by giving Brooks a chance to show his stuff and currently, he’s showing the promise that the Rockets has planted on him since they drafted him last year.

Houston have enough materials to win it all this season even without T-Mac.

In addition, he is shooting a measly 38% from the field. For s go-to-guy to shoot that kind of percentage, it’s kinda awkward. If I were the Rockets, try to trade him this summer. Resign Artest to a multi-year deal and find another shooting guard. Depending on Shane Battier is like depending to rain on a summer season.

Yao-Scola-Artest are the new faces of big three version of the Houston Rockets. Like it or not, T-Mac is out of the picture.

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