NBA Playoffs

What's up swishers!!!! I'm back, I know it's been a while. I've been busy with a lot of other work I apologize. It has been a while since my last post about the playoff and my predictions for it. Today, I will be analyzing the playoffs and all the exciting series that have taken off so far. From there I will be predicting what will happen from there, including my winner.

The East
The first subject that I would like to cover is the series that have been completed. I will go in depth to the each series.
First Round
Heat and Bobcats
The Heat and the Bobcats was the only sweep of the playoffs so far, however there were a couple of points that can be taken out from this series. I think that almost everyone could have seen that the Miami Heat were going to win this series. At the same time I believe that the Bobcats did put up a fight. It may sound a little silly, because hey they got swept, but they showed me something that I have been looking for in the Bobcats. The Bobcats showed me in 2 or 3 years they will be someone to look out for. I am going to say that if the Bobcats had Al Jefferson, fully healthy, for the whole series the Bobcats would have taken two of those games. Of course, the Heat would still win the series, but the Bobcats would have gave them a little more. As for the Heat, well they did what they were expected to do, win the series. Am I impressed that they swept the Bobcats? A little bit, yet there is nothing too big that the Heat showed me.

Pacers and Hawks
Well, this is a HUGE surprise to me. The first thing to notice is that the Pacers are not what I thought they were. In previous posts, I have said that the Pacers will end up winning the NBA playoffs, I sort of shoved it off that they were struggling towards the end of the series.  The Pacers are losing to the heat. I hate to say it, but the Heat will absolutely demolish the Pacers. It is over for them and that is all I have to say. For the Hawks, I have thought that the Hawks are a team to never gloss over. The Hawks impressed me and they will eventually be a team that will be winning.

Wizards and Bulls
This series was one that not everybody is sure of and is up for grabs. The Bulls had the potential to win this series, however the Wizards completely dominated the series. The series showed that the Wizards are a team to watch out for. I think a couple years back, everybody was laughing at the Wizards, however now they are a team that is ready and desperately wants to win. Bradley Beal and John Wall have displayed the will to win, and I think if they can keep this up, then the future holds nothing but good. The Bulls are a team I was very unsure of, and they are a team that always is ready to win, however they could not pull out the series and were sent home.

Nets and Raptors
The Nets and Raptors was another series that I was unsure of. After the first game I thought the Raptors would eventually go on to win the series. The Nets showed that they were not willing to go down without a fight. The Nets had the veteran leadership and will to win, that was definitely not enough to win later in the playoffs. I think their future is very dull, there almost is no future with almost no young talent. The Raptors are a very young team and in a couple of years, will show that they can dominate a very weak Eastern conference.
Second Round 
Heat and Nets
This was no shocker, a 4-1 series win over the Nets for the Heat surprised almost no one. The Heat show no weakness in this series, but I believe once these playoffs are over, their glory and bling is all gone, that is, if LeBron decides to leave. There is one key point to show in this series, the Nets won't go down without a fight, even to the Heat. The Nets are a team that are one to go deeper and deeper, just to get a win in a series. The Heat however, did was what is expected and they will continue to play at the level of play they are.

Pacers and Wizards
After the Pacers and hawks series, I expected this. In fact, I expected the Wizards to win the series. The Pacers won, they did not win amazingly, but they won. They are obviously not the team that they once were a while ago, but they have something in them to help them win a series. The Wizards were very impressive in this series. John Wall took over, he is not afraid nor will he ever be afraid of a team. This player has the potential to be something special and if he continues, then he can lead the Wizards, with the help of Bradley Beal, to a Finals.

Prediction
The Heat and Pacers will end quickly, in fact too quickly. The Pacers are not capable of beating the Heat in seven games. They are done, and I think Indiana fans should prepare for the worst.
The West 
First Round
Thunder and Grizzlies
There was not much to take out of this series, other than the fact that the Grizzlies are always a contender. The Thunder however have a team that can stop anyone. The Grizzlies are just not there yet, and I believe they never will be, especially if they have to face the Thunder/

Warriors and Clippers
The Warriors disappointed me big time. I expected Steph Curry to absolutely dominate, well it is too bad that he decided to basically be invisible. Curry was not there, just not there, and the Clippers driven by the emotion of the incident with Donald Sterling, took advantage of these injured Warriors. In the future, they have a lot of rebuilding to do if Curry cannot step up.

Rockets and Blazers 
The Blazers, in my opinion, did what they were expected to do. The Rockets did have the potential to win, but they simply did not want it. The only one trying was James Harden. The Blazers do have a lot of explaining to do however, they are great, but later on in the playoffs they just lost it.

Mavericks and Spurs
This was a little surprising, actually really surprising. The Spurs should have completely destroyed the Mavericks. The Mavericks did have a lot of heart. I think if other teams had the mentality of the Mavericks, they could have won their series. The spurs were a disappointment, a big disappointment.

Second Round 
Spurs and Blazers
the Spurs woke up and stepped up. The Blazers could have won this series. The Blazers fell asleep, and they just lost it. I feel bad because the Blazers were my surprise pick. The Spurs were the Spurs at 100% and when they play like that, it is over, for everyone

Thunder and Clippers
Easy series, could have been an easy series, yet it was impossible got the Thunder to just finish them. I mean, eventually they did win, but it was very surprising however I expected this to be a dominating series. The Clippers have a lot to show for.
Prediction
Thunder, Thunder all the way and that is all I have to say.

Thanks for coming guys and stay tuned for more! And until next time keep on swishing!

Taking a break from the NBA, Paige Woodard

Hey guys, it has been a while since I have posted and I am sincerely sorry for this. However, this week I will not be blogging about the NBA. Later today, I will be posting another post about the playoffs thus far and my analysis. However, as you know I am a freshman in high school and my teacher here had us participate in a google hangout with a Senior at Franklin community high school in Indiana, Paige Woodard. Paige Woodard taught me a couple things. If there was one thing that I truly learned, was to take the opportunities that present themselves to you. These opportunities that show up to your doorstep may not be the best things in the world, however these jobs, these opportunities need to be taken advantage of. The way that this needs to apply to people's lives is make sure you are paying attention to what is being told to you. Millions of times, people will just overlook what is being told to you, and they do not go anywhere. However, with the advice I learned from Paige, I have realized that nothing should be taken for granted. One small job, can lead you to another step. I strongly encourage people to take Paige's advice. Another thing that I learned from Paige is time management. I realize that the average person may not have the greatest amount of time, however Paige taught me that balancing so many different things, you have to realize that nothing is easy. If you have a job, school, and a sport, it may not be the easiest thing to have to go to practice, then your job, and then have to end up doing homework late at night. The people that are the top of the line, are the ones that are the most passionate. The people that will pursue what they want to do, and not just sit down and dream are the ones that will  be the most successful. As I said earlier, nothing comes easily, so get up and do what you truly want. One of the most important things that I learned from Paige is that whenever you are on social media, make sure you have a purpose. Whenever you tweet, Instagram, or Facebook there has to be a purpose behind it all. Paige taught me to ask questions before I actually do anything on social media. Everyone out there who reads this post, make a difference, change yourself for the better. Also go check out Paige's blog! And even though this was not a basketball post, keep on swishing!