2009 NBA Draft
June 27, 2009
Draft time in any sport is an exciting time. For sports fans finding out who is heading to your team is something worth checking out. Will the team make a smart choice and change the future for their club, that is always the question. Just imagine how different things would have been if the Houston Rockets selected Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Amazingly he went at no. 3 behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie.
Another missed opportunity was with Kobe Bryant in the 1996 draft when he was picked at no. 13. He was going in straight out of high school but history shows he should have gone higher.
The 2009 NBA draft took place in New York on June, 25. You may remember that last year the first pick went to the Chicago Bulls and with that they selected Derrick Rose. He went on to take rookie of the year honours.
The Los Angeles Clippers had the first pick in this years draft. The chosen one was Blake Griffin from Oklahoma. He is a 6′ 9″ power forward. The second pick went to the Memphis Grizzlies. They selected Hasheem Thabeet who hails from Tanzania.
For the rest of the 2009 NBA draft picks you can go to the wikipedia site as they have the info nicely presented.
The no. 55 pick was of most interest to me. It was the Portland Trail Blazers who selected Patrick Mills. Not only is he an aussie, but he comes from my hometown Canberra. Mills played for Australia at the Beijing Olympics and more recently for Saint Mary’s College. It would have been good if Mills was picked in the first round as that guarantees a contract. Now as a second round pick Mills will need to play for a contract. If Mills makes it into the NBA he joins Andrew Bogut as current players from Australia in the NBA.
Can’t wait to see the players take to the court in the new season towards the end of the year.
Kobe and No Shaq wins NBA Championship for LA Lakers
June 15, 2009
Kobe Bryant has shown that he does not need Shaq as he led his team to the 2008/09 NBA championship. The Lakers took the series 4-1 over the Orlando Magic. The win for the Lakers also took coach Phil Jackson to 10 titles and that makes him the most successful coach in NBA history in terms of championship wins.
The Magic will look back and think what might have been. The Magic lost two overtime games. In game two they had a chance to win as Courtney Lee missed converting an alley-oop play in the final second of regulation. In game four Dwight Howard missed two free throws at the end of regulation and that opened the door for Derek Fisher to sink a game-tying 3-point shot. The Lakers as they did in game two, took game four in OT.
Game five was won by the Lakers 99-86. A 30-18 second quarter put the Lakers well on their way to the championship. Kobe Bryant was well ahead of the pack with 30 points for the match. He also picked up the finals MVP award.
Phil Jackson won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and now has four with the Lakers to take his tally to ten. He previously shared the honour of most championships with Celtics Red Auerbach.
Well done to the Lakers.
NBA finals recent happenings
June 6, 2009
It has been a while since I wrote about the NBA. I have been keeping up with the action but have been busy with other things and not able to post.
Here is a summary of what has happened since my last post back on May 27. In that I wrote that the Cavs were close to elimination from the NBA playoffs.
The Cavs were in fact dumped from the NBA playoffs by the Orlando Magic. Who would have picked that at the start of the playoffs? The Cavs had the best record from the regular season, while the Magic limped into the finals going 5-5 in the last ten matches of the season. As it turned out the Magic took the series 4-2 after a 103-90 home win in match six of the Conference finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers also won their Conference final series 4-2 against the Denver Nuggets to return to the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant and his Lakers team are keen to go one better than last season when they lost to the Boston Celtics.
In game one of the NBA finals Kobe Bryant was running hot as he helped the team to a convincing 100-75 win in Los Angeles. Bryant scored 40 points to guide his team to the win. After a close first quarter the Lakers blew away the Magic in the second and third quarters to setup the win.
Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard could only manage one field goal for the match as he scored 12 points for the match.
The NBA finals continue with game two in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Cavs Close to Elimination
May 27, 2009
In game two of the NBA Eastern Conference finals LeBron James pulled off the miracle buzzer beater to snatch a win for his team. The following game in Orlando saw the Magic take a 2-1 lead in the series after a 99-89 victory. Game four in the series took place on Tuesday night, once again in Orlando.
Just like in game two LeBron James had the final shot to win the game, however this time he could not pull it off. The shot came up short as time expired in the first period of overtime, the result was a 116-114 win for the Magic.
James had seen his team level scores at the end of regulation time as he knocked in two free throws to level the scores. Dwight Howard lifted in the OT as he scored 10 of the 16 points scored by the Magic in the period. For the Cavs 44 points from James was not enough to get the win.
The Cavs now have it all ahead of them as they fight to overcome a 1-3 deficit. It will be a huge upset for the Cavs if they fail to make the NBA final as they dominated the competition on the way to a 66-16 regular season record.
In game four the Magic ran hot from the three-point line shooting 17-38 compared with the Cavs shooting 6-22.
Do you think the Cavaliers can come back from being 3-1 down? History is against them as teams with a 3-1 lead are 182-8 in series dating all the way back to 1947.
LeBron James Saves the Cavs With Magic Shot
May 24, 2009
In what has been an amazing run of close matches in the NBA Conference finals Cleveland and Orlando did not dissapoint.
So far in four matches the biggest margin of victory has be three points. This came in game two of the Denver - Los Angeles series with Denver winning 106-103 after going down 105-1-3 in match one.
In the Cleveland - Orlando series both matches were decided by just one point. In game one the Magic stunned the Cavs with a 107-106 victory on the Cavs’ homecourt. In game two of the series the Cavs appeared to be cruising to a win but then something happened and the Magic came from 23 points down in the second quarter to hold a 95-93 lead with one second to play.
Seeing Turkoglu sink a 12-footer to take the lead for the Magic would have seen many Cavs fans thinking luck was not on their side again as it appeared likely that the number one seed in the Eastern Conference was going to head to Orlando facing a 0-2 result after two games at home.
The Cavs could not score with one second to play could they? I have seen it done before but Michael Jordan has retired. Cavs fans with a good memory would think back to 1989 when the great one shot over Craig Ehlo to eliminate the Cavs.
Now in 2009 could it be done? LeBron James said yes. A play was run after a timeout that put the ball in his hands just outside the three-point arc. He caught the ball, squared his shoulders and tossed up a looping shot. It hit the back of the rim hard but to the amazement of 20,562 NBA fans in the arena the shot dropped and the Cavs stole the match.
“Where Will Amazing Happen?” is the NBA slogan, it sure happened in game two of the Cavs-Magic series as the MVP from the regular season saved his team with that amazing three-point match winner.
The Magic now have to pick themselves up from that loss as they take on the Cavs in game three in Orlando. The Bulls won the opening game against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs and then went so close to taking a 2-0 lead back to Chicago. Instead of that they had a 1-1 split and seemed to suffer a let down as they played game three at home. The Bulls were thrashed, the Magic will not want to let that happen to them.
Game three will be played on Sunday.
Lakers and Celtics drop crucial home games
May 6, 2009
Monday night in the NBA saw both the defending champion Boston Celtics and the Western Conference champs from last season Los Angeles Lakers go down in the first match of their round 2 playoffs.
For Boston it was the Orlando Magic who like Chicago put the champs in a hole first up. Unlike Chicago, the Magic buried the Celtics in regulation time. Orlando pulled off a 95-90 win. The Magic led early and held off a fast finishing Celtics team. At the halftime break Orlando were up 54-36. Rashard Lewis was leading the way with 14 of his 18 points in the first half. There was a good spread of scoring across the team as Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Mickael Pietrus all scored nine points in the opening half.
For Boston Ray Allen only managed two first half points and nine for the match, Rondo also had two. It was left to Paul Pierce to pickup the scoring and his 23 for the match was not enough.
Going into the final quarter the Magic held a 78-62 lead. For the first nine or so minutes the margin was around 10 p0ints. A free throw by Howard to complete a three-point play saw the score at 89-77 before an eight point run trimmed the lead to four with 2:08 to play. A Pierce 3pt shot with 6.6 seconds left got the score to 93-90 in favor of the visitors but a pair of free throws by JJ Redick sealed the win.
Game two will be played in Boston on Wednesday night.
Over in the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers were outmuscled by the Houston Rockets and lost their first home game of the 2009 NBA playoffs. The final score was 100-92.
Yao Ming playing in the NBA Western Conference semifinals for the first time carried his team with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Ron Artest sporting a Houston Rockets logo shaved into his hair added 21 points and Aaron Brooks 19.
There was concern for the Rockets Yao when he bashed his knee against Kobe Bryant. He left the game for treatment but thankfully returned to the game with four minutes to play. He then managed to add eight points to help seal the win.
Game two will be played in LA on Wednesday night.
Bulls fall at final hurdle
May 3, 2009
It was a series that will go down as a classic, the Boston Celtics versus the Chicago Bulls first round playoff for the 2009 NBA finals. So much drama, so many OT’s, but in the end there could only be one team to advance.
Was it going to be the defending champions? or the young Bulls team? After one quarter it looked like it could be the Bulls. They opened with a 28-23 first quarter. Early in the second things were looking good as well. The Bulls led 36-30 with 8 minutes to play before the halftime break.
Then someone flipped a switch and the Celtics got hot. The Bulls could only add another two points, and they came as 1 from 2 free throws. Boston scored 22 points to setup a win. At the half it was 52-38. The question now was would this be a blowout or did the Bulls have a comeback left in them?
The Bulls did give it a shake. The second of two free throws by Ben Gordon got the Bulls to within three points with 5.39 left to play in the final quarter. This time there was to be no overtime as the Celtics fought off the challenge and then jumped away from the Bulls. The final score was 109-99. The Celtics advance to round two where they face the Orlando Magic.
For Chicago Ben Gordon led the scoring with 33 points. Derrick Rose could only manage 18 points. Hinrich added 16, most of them came in the final quarter as the Bulls tried to catch the Celtics.
Ray Allen after his huge haul in game 6 came up with 23 points for Boston and Paul Pierce added 20.
All but one of the round two teams are now known. The final match of the opening round of games will be played on Sunday afternoon as Atlanta host Miami. The winner of the series will advance to a showdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chicago Bulls - Boston Celtics Game six video highlights
May 3, 2009
The Chicago Bulls versus Boston Celtics playoff series in round one is going to go down as a classic. Game six went to triple overtime in yet another epic ending. The video below has highlights of the big plays down the stretch. See the steal from Noah, the big Ray Allen three pointer and that block by Derrick Rose.
Houston Rockets advance, at last…
May 2, 2009
It has been a long wait for Houston fans but the Rockets have made it into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 1997. They advance following the 92-76 game six win over Portland played in Houston.
Ron Artest scored 27 points and Yao Ming chipped in for 17 to go with 10 rebounds.
Yao was drafted by the Rockets in 2002 and in that time he had played in three losing first round series. It is a big moment for Yao to finally reach the second round.
Things could have been better if the Rockets won their final regular season match as they could of had the no. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The loss saw them slip to fifth. That now means they face the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers who advanced with a 4-1 win over the Utah Jazz.
The Rockets lost all four regular season matches against the Lakers so it will be a big ask to see them get past the Lakers. The series starts in Los Angeles on Monday.
Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?
May 2, 2009
The heading above is the slogan of the NBA for the 2008-09 season. To give you an answer you can’t go past the Chicago Bulls - Boston Celtics NBA playoff series. Amazing is happening each time they take to the court.
The Bulls leveled the series at 3-3 after yet another thrilling overtime match. Single OT was not enough for these guys, they had to take it to Triple OT.
Ray Allen scored a career playoff-high 51 points for his Celtics team but that was not enough to grab the win that would have seen Boston advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
This series will be a hard one to top. It opened with the Bulls stunning Boston at home as they took the first match in OT. That set the trend as three of the first five games went to OT, including double OT in game four.
Game six was there to take right up until the final 8 seconds in the third period of OT. With the score at 128-127 to the Bulls Rajon Rondo took on Derrick Rose. The rookie of the year was up to the challenge and he pulled off the game winning block. He zipped away towards the basket but was fouled with 3.2 seconds to play. He missed two free throws but the Bulls had done enough.
Rose scored 28 points on the night to go with John Salmons’ 35. Ben Gordon only contributed 12 points before he fouled out. The Celtics saw Davis, Pierce and Perkins all foul out late in the game.
Joakim Noah also made a key play as he got a steal and ran the length of the court to throw down a dunk. He was also fouled by Pierce, that was his sixth. Noah converted the free throw to see the Bulls hold a 126-123 lead with 35.5 second to play in the third OT period.
A House jump shot got the Celtics to within one before Brad Miller made up for his free throw failure in game 5 as he hit two key free throws to take the Bulls out to 128-125. A Rondo tip in from his own shot saw the final score at 128-127. Then came the block by DRose and the rest is history.
What is going to happen in game seven when the teams meet again in Boston on Saturday at 8pm? Surely they cannot play another OT thriller.
Love to hear you comments about the series so far and what you think will happen in game seven.
