Recap of Spurs-Thunder and tonight's matchups

Spurs struck by Thunder
Last night the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder battled to the very end until Russell Westbrook iced the game with an and one. The Thunder now lead the series 3-2 and have any opportunity to close this series out in front of their home crowd. Kevin Durant and Westbrook have found a happy medium that is winning games against the second best team this season. On the other season I really do not know what has happened to Spurs, yes Tim Duncan is suffering through that whole father time issue but Kawhi Leonard and Lamarcus Aldridge are struggling in times where they are needed the most. The team is doing what is needed, they are keeping the Thunder under 100 points and yet they could not win last night. Maybe this whole "new regime" of the Spurs is not good enough. I think San Antonio has a very slim chance to pull this comeback and even so I do not believe they will win against the Warriors in the conference finals.
Tonight's matchups
Tonight the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors both look to go up a game in their series and the Warriors will look to close out their series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Predictions: Toronto wins yet ANOTHER nail biter and goes up 3-2 and the Warriors will close out this series in a game that never really felt close.

Till next time, Keep on Swishing!

Frank Vogel out as Pacers head coach

Pacers move on, finally
Larry Bird, President of the Pacers, has announced today that after 6 seasons with Frank Vogel as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers he will not be returning now that his contract has ended. It is important to note that Vogel was not fired, Bird felt it woud be best that he not return. I think this makes a lot of sense because although the Pacers made the playoffs this season, they have been stuck in the "good team purgatory" where a team is good, but they are not considered a title contender. The Pacers have also seen a small decline from a solid 56-26 team two years ago to a 45-37 team this year. The Pacers only real star is Paul George and adding talent this offseason is key because Geroge is in his prime. It has also been reported that the Lakers are looking to trade for PG and this would truly set the Pacers into rebuilding mood, however I do not believe that Bird is willing to take that chance. For now, the Pacers have to go digging in the box of unemployed coaches and hope the right one comes out.

Lets talk about the Eastern Conference

So what exactly is wrong with the Eastern Conference? Analysts always seem to emphasize the fact the east is weak whenever they can. I would argue however in the west you have three contenders, one team still stuck on the border, and everyone else is background noise. In the east you have the Cavs and.....? Well I'm here trying to state that I think this year it had drastically improved with the emergence of the Raptors and of course my Celtics. Now I get it the Celtics are closer to being out of the playoffs than 2nd place but currently they're third and they earned that. And yes the raptors did get swept in the first round by the Wizards, but they didn't have Demarre Carrol then. So can anyone legitimately challenge the Cavs? Yes, the two teams I just stated, now that doesn't mean they'll win and play someone like the Warriors in the finals and lost in 4 or 5 games, but this idea that the Cavs are a shoe in just annoys me. I feel like people will look at records more than watch the team, now I've watched both these teams and they won't go away until the buzzer sounds. Come playoff team I especially think the Raptors will be making noise. 

How do you fix it?

So what's wrong with the East? Lack of talent? Poor GMs? Bad draft picks? I simply think it's just that players don't want to sign with Eastern Conference teams, and I don't know why. A big free agent this summer, Kevin Durant is gathering interest for the Warriors... Yes the Warriors! But why? Why doesn't he join a team like the Rwptors, Celtics, Heat already set up who need a piece to be in contention, and plus you're in the East? Why have to go through the Wariiors, Spurs, and Clippers? Lebron James? If that's really what you're scared of you shouldn't want to be on a contending team because eventually you will have to play him. This is a big summer for eastern teams and I hope that someone big signs or gets traded to a team looking for a piece like my celtics. Now as for teams at the bottoms like the 76ers and Nets, that is a lack of good management with the Nets trading their souls to the celtics for the next couple years and 76ers being a place to go if you wanna lose. Will it be fixed? Who knows. 

Latest NBA Headlines

Warriors

Let's talk about the Warriors and how they are demolishing everyone. Everyone seems to be so focused on this team being compared to the pace in record of the '95-'96 bulls, but to me they're just an amazing team to watch. Not only does Steph Curry makes crazy shots, but everyone in that team is incredible and whenever a big game comes up against the Cavs, Sours, or Thunder they beat them down. Do I think anyone can challenge them? No, not the way they are now but injuries and the weariness of the season can take a toll even though they haven't dealt with any of that... 

Cavs Resurgence

I personally thought Tyronn Lue was not going to contribute much to this club as they seemed more like a broken team than coaching problems. He's 10-4 now and simply destroyed the Thunder in their own building a couple days ago. Everyone believes that they are a shoe in to represent the east but I still personally believe the Raptors could win a seven game series and even my Celtics could give the, some trouble.

Spurs Wearing Down

Before the all star break the Spurs had been riddled by injuries which later affected them after with Kawhi Leonard getting hurt. The Spurs seem like a team that coach Pop can't get the best out of just yet. Kawhi Leonard hasn't exactly taken the mantle as that guy yet and Veterans are getting rested. How much should they worry going into the playoffs? That all depends on their health. Funny how I ridicule them when they're only like three games back from the Warriors.

Clippers better without Blake?

Now I'm not trying to get punched my Blake by stating that the Clippers have been better without Blake. Nobody has really been paying attention but CP3 has been revived and Deandre Jordan well he's Deandre Jordan. The team has more wins they did with Blake. How much do they need Blake for the playoffs? I don't know I still need to see what they're like when he's back.

Spurs Cavs game

This weeks spotlight in the NBA was put in tonight's Thursday night game on TNT matching up the Cleveland Cavaliers(1st in East) and the San Antonio Spurs(2nd in West). So what did we learn from this game? The Spurs are still the dominant team in the NBA. I get it the Warriors have a better record and the Cavs have Lebrom James but the Spurs are just so good defensively they are never out of the game. Looking at tonight's game I was thinking at the half that the Cavs were going to win this game narrowly, but then I looked back and thought, wow the Spurs are playing bad but they're defense is so elite they were somehow still in the game. I find it amazing how LaMarcus Aldrige can get 0 points in the first half and the Spurs still be able to win this game. Something that I noticed and thought about while watching the Cavs in the second half is, how much can Kyrie and Kevin Love step up with Lebron James in big games like this? Lebron can't win on his own in a seven game series and tonight showed me there is a reason to pause and worry about the supporting cast around Lebron. I personally believe they can win the East easily as long as these guys contribute something, now I understand the Spurs may have the best defense in the league, but hey the Cavs may have to meet these guys in the finals and Lebrons supporting cast is just as important as he is. As for the Spurs I was thoroughly impressed by the way Tony Parker stepped up and scored 24 for his team and also how Gregg Popovich can keep his team in the game mentally, but hey what else is new?

Well that's all for me Swishers! See ya tomorrow!

Update on the NBA

So here we are again from my last post and once again the NBA has flipped from that post. I'm just gonna quickly analyze what has changed from when we last met up. 

2 loss Warriors

With the Warriors starting to deal with the injury bug, albeit small, affecting Steph Curry and Draymond Green many are beginning to change their opinion on the Warriors and just how ready this team is for another championship run. I personally believe they still have Steph Curry and as long as they do have Steph they'll be ready.

Spurs Surge

How underestimated have the Spurs been not only this year but in past years and I feel like there was just absolutely no hype with this team when they're clearly should've been with the addition of David west and Lamarcus Aldridge, and now it's absolutely paying off as we all overlook the Spurs once again, they even jumped ahead the Warriors for the #1 spot in ESPN's power rankings.

Thunderstruck?

I do not know what it is about this team but I just don't like it how the thunder find ways to keep games close with average or mediocre teams when they should be closing out. Russell Westbrook is still Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant's numbers are what they should be so what is going on in the fourth quarter when KD gets overshadowed by his pal?

Wild West or Beasts of the East?

The past couple of years analysts and experts have had the sweet as the way better conference but this year we're seeing some change. Now I get it the West has tougher teams and competition causing a drop in records but hey look at the eastern conference and try and tell me it's still that pathetic conference when you have teams becoming more competitive, closer games, and better records than the West. I believe very soon enough once Lebron James fades away as the worlds best player the East will have a flow of stars coming in and with so many teams having a base or start for their franchise be ready for a shift in competitiveness.

Well that's all I have for you Swishers! I'll be back shortly to analyze some specific teams and with the trade deadline coming maybe some trade talk!

Rookie prospects

Hey Swishers! Today's topic is about the future NBA players. I know it's pretty early to be discussing this topic, but it's pretty important to know who we'll be rooting for next year.

Rookies
The first year for everything is always challenging whether it be school, work, or whatever. In basketball it's implied that the first year for any player is always the "make or break" year. The stars we see today like Lebron and Kobe all had strong rookie years and that's basically how we got to know them. So who can come into the NBA and be a star? Who will completely crack under pressure? Well I'm going to tell you who I think will show and others who will go. There are three players that I am going to look at and if you wanna know some more well just tell me and I'll go way more in depth. So who's a winner? I know this is coming from out of the park, but watch out for Shabazz Napier. The senior from UCONN is dancing right now cause of the championship under his belt. Well guess what, this kid is coming into the NBA hot and that I know for sure. You're gonna see why my next two picks are the two who will break under pressure. My first pick that is not going to show up is Andrew Wiggins. This probably has everyone shaking their heads right now. My second pick that'll crack under pressure is Jabari Parker. These two players were just amazing this year. Well here's my main reason why I have the freshmen at the bottom and the senior at the top. Well the NBA right now is full of men who know what they're doing. These players are men and they are going to stay there. The freshmen should stay in school and wait a little because the NBA is not fit for the young ones. I think Shabazz has a deep understanding of what basketball really is and he has a strong possibility of being a great player in the NBA. That's just my opinion, tell me what you guys think in the comments! And until next time keep on swishing!

Shabazz Napier link:Here

Phil Jackson to the Knicks

Hey Swishers! Welcome to Pro Swish! Today's topic is going to be about Phil Jackson taking over the Knicks basketball choices. It's going to be a very small post because there's not much to talk about recently so I have to try and dig the information out of small topics.

Phil Jackson

News came out that Phil Jackson will take over the New York Knicks basketball operations. Phil Jackson was previously the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers back when they were actually an elite team. Once Phil "retired" and left the Lakers he never guaranteed he wouldn't come back to basketball. The Lakers were even looking to hire Jackson and they chose the inferior Mike D'antoni over him. After all the talks were over more teams and basketball organizations saw Jackson as an option for coaching and staff. The New York Knicks recently hired him to make all the decisions basketball-wise for the Knicks. Well what does this mean? It means that nothing the team wants to do can happen without Jackson's consent and approval. Jackson can make choices that he feels will be the best for the team. Is this good news? I think so yes, but we can't look over the fact that the Knicks are absolute trash this year. We can't say Carmelo Anthony might leave New York. In fact, I think everything Jackson wants to do has to have Carmelo in it. If Carmelo is not included in the plans why did Jackson even come? Many questions need to be answered to be able to say this is a really good decision or a really bad decision. I'm happy for New York, they can celebrate Jackson coming to the team, but they certainly cannot celebrate their team as of now. Personally, I think the Knicks have had some bad luck this year and that coupled with that fact that they are not a very good team just a team with a really good player makes them a disappointment to the NBA. I think Jackson needs to also get rid of head coach Mike Woodson. Mike Woodson is a very respectable coach, but it's time to completely blow up the Knicks and hit restart. They have to center their team around Carmelo Anthony, make some MAJOR trades and get rid of some staff. One of those staff members being Mike Woodson. I think he's not the only reason for the Knicks failure, but one of the biggest. So in conclusion, Jackson really needs to make some changes with the team if he wants to succeed or else we're just going to see the same team over and over and once Carmelo is gone, it's all over.

Thanks for coming, I hope you found some interest in today's post, I sure had fun writing it for you guys! I'm going to try and get another post this week before Friday so keep your eye out for that. See you next time and until then Keep on Swishing!

Also I want to say I get most of my topics from the famous NBA.com so go check them out, they're really good!

 

Playoff preview

Hey Swishers! As the playoffs get closer and closer and this year is coming to a close this post I would like to focus on who I think will have a push for the championship and who will crack under pressure

Who will win

Who will win it all this year? Well first lets say that this year WILL be one of the most exciting years ever... In the west. This year in the east it's going to come down to two teams and the same teams it came down to last year the pacers and heat. The pacers, a stellar team that has proved they can win a championship, will end up winning in the east in my opinion. The Heat are just not as good as a team this year and do not have what it takes to win the conference or a championship. Dwayne wade is almost done and the only two assets they have left are Chris Bosh and LeBron James. The pacers have a combination of strength, size, and skill to win both the conference in championship. So sorry to heat fans but it is time to move on the heat era is over.

Our biggest loser

As I have already stated the heat will be a disappointment and that will probably be the biggest loser, so lets just go through the smaller upsets. In the east there is really nothing to see there so to the west we go. The west is gonna be full of surprises this year. The first team to address is the thunder. As the season is coming to and end the thunder have  found themselves losing consecutive games people have questioned their ability to win games so why would it be different in the playoffs? The first thing is I think the thunder are a very strong team and I will not say that they will fail to show up in the playoffs. However I do not think they will win they west. The team that will win are the warriors. They may be an upset team but they are my favorite because of their shooting and defense. They will show they can win the west. The last surprise will be the rockets. They have been doing amazing this year and will take that into the playoffs. The upset will be a trail blazers, as much as I love the blazers, they will not show up in the playoffs. I think they need another year to develop and they will be so much better

In the end it will end with pacers holding up the trophy and that's it... Until next time Keep on Swishing!

Quick Recap

Hey swishers! I know it has been a while since my last post, I apologize for the delay of posts and the missing posts. I will try to stay more frequent with my posts, it's just with the amount of work and things I have to do including this blog, it makes it hard to keep tabs on all of them. Moving on welcome back to Pro Swish! . I will be quickly talking about the previous All-Star weekend because I know I did not talk about it.
The 2014 All-Star weekend was, in my opinion, awful. There is almost no way to describe it for me. First of all the Shooting Stars was a extremely fun experience when it first was an event. Today, it is just like a pre game shoot around. I also hate the idea of the two sides and teams idea. The idea that out of two teams, one wins and moves on. I understand the whole charity aspect of it, but it was just awful. The contestants did not look like they wanted to be there and participate, and you when that happens, it has gotten bad.

Skill Challenge
Next thing is The Skills challenge. What was that? I would like to know whose idea it was to put two point guards on a team and play it that way. Once again the team aspect annoyed me. The fact they are two teams apart of one and see who moves on is just annoying. The finish was exciting, but the overall challenge was just awful.

Three Point Challenge
Moving on to the three point challenge, it just was not what I expected it to be. Once again, the idea of East and West working together is just stupid. Another thing was the shooters. I truthfully believe they are not putting enough thought into the actual shooters. The winner, Marco Belenelli? What? When was the last time you saw Marco Belenelli make consistent threes? Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good upset, but it seemed like the only one to upset was Steph Curry. Not only that, but he did awful. These guys aren't taking it serious enough.

Dunk Contest
Moving on to the Dunk Contest. This probably was the biggest upset to me than anything else. It annoys me that the NBA thinks they can put people like Ben Mclemore in the dunk contest and call it a Dunk Contest. I wasn't looking forward to him dunking, what I was looking for was for the East to obviously dominate the West, but for there to be some amazing dunks. The only dunks that actually showed me something was Paul George and John Wall. Those two were great, but there was nothing else. The west was absolutely awful, they were given no good dunkers and the fact that the winner was pieced by the audience was just ridiculous. Back in the day, the most amazing players to ever play the game would decide a winner, not a random guy sitting home.The opening round was also very disappointing. This was a warm up, yet they were still judged? I think if the NBA fails to meet expectations next year, everything goes down for the All-Star weekend. I also think the only way to improve the dunk contest is to get better dunks, but the problem is they don't want to participate in the contest, and that is the worst part. They also have to change the format and add a round.

Rising Stars and All-Star game
The Rising stars challenge was actually very cool, I liked it mostly because they actually tried unlike the  All-Stars in the All-Star game. Speaking of that, there was absolute no defense and there were better dunks than in the dunk contest. The NBA needs to rethink this and go back to square one before it all goes bad. I am going to grade it a 2 out of 10.

I will blog about LeBron James' recent headlines next time. Thanks for coming! Keep on Swishing!

Skills Challenge

Hey Swishers! This is just going to be a quick update on the Taco Bell Skills Challenge this weekend. This is one of my least favorite events simply because it is too quick and just seems a little too simple. Nevertheless it is apart of the fun that the weekend brings. The guards selected will have to compete in a course where they will be ranked according to time. The lower the time the better the rank. The course will have multiple challenges in which a guard would have to undergo during a game such as passing and dribbling through defenders. Some of the names that stand out to me are Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan. These two have just been unbelievable this year. Reggie Jackson also deserves some high praise due to the work that he has done for the Thunder due to Russell Westbrook's absence. For a winner I project that Lillard will win because he has just been great this year as a guard just doing everything a guard needs to be able to do to succeed. Well that's all tell what you guys think in the comments? Who do you think will win? Keep on Swishing!

BBVA Rising Stars and Sears Shooting Stars

What is up Swishers! Welcome back to Pro Swish, where all we do is swish. Today's post, as metioned in yesterday's post will be a brief preview to the BBVA Rising Stars game and the Sears Shooting stars. Let's start with the Rising Stars game. This is the beginning of All-Star weekend where you get a taste of the fun, but not too much. There will be two teams, Team Hill, and Team Webber. These two teams each have nine players, sophomores and rookies, and will be coached by Grant Hill and Chris Webber. So let's start with the first picks made by each team. On the Hill side, he picked Damian Lilard from the Portland Trail Blazers and Webber picked Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. These two have been two dominant sophomores this year and look to continue to have a great season. As for the finer details of the teams, Webber includes big names like Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, and Jared Sullinger. Hill has Bradley. Beal, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Drummond. Those are just some of the names on the teams. But looking at the two rosters, I believe that Team Webber will win because they have more dominant players and do not have to rely on one guy while Team Hill might have to rely on Damian Lillard. Tell me what you guys think in the comments. Moving on to the Sears Shooting Stars, which is always just meant for fun. There will be four teams that will have to through a mukititude of shots to complete the course in a certain amount of time. The lower the soccer, the higher your rank. Looking at the big names, we have the Tim Hardaways playing on the same team for the east. Chris Bosh and Dominique Wilkins along with Swin Cash will join forces to try and win this. Going to the West we've got Steph Curry being the big name there. And on the fourth team we have Kevin Durant with legend Karl Malone along with amazing WNBA player Skylar Diggins to play on the same team. In the end I believe Kevin Durant and his squad will win. They have the most talent and experience, however with this challenge anything can happen. Tell me what you think in the comments! That's all for now see ya later and remember Keep on Swishing!

All Star Weekend is Here!!!!!

Hey Swishers! Welcome back and guess what time it is? ALL STAR WEEKEND!!!! All the good stuff like the three point and dunk contest! I CANNOT wait. The all star weekend will star with the BBVA Rising Stars challenge on February 14 and will end with the All-Star game on February 16. So let's start with the biggest headlines coming out starting with Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers making history being in 5 events. The five events being the dunk contest, 3-pt contest, Skills Challenge, Rising stars game, and finally the All-Star game. Damian Lillard who has just been dominate this season with a 20.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 5.7 APG. Lillard, along with Wesley Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge, has led the Blazers to a successful season thus far. I expect Lillard to have a huge weekend, tell me what you guys think of Lillard in the comments. The next story tht has brought up a lot of controversy is Kobe Bryant not only making the All-Star team, but starting. Kobe, who had not played a game this season was voted in by the viewers of the NBA. This has brought up the idea that the people have too much power with voting the starters. I think it is ridiculous that Kobe has been named starter and should be changed before the game. What do you guys think of this? The last thing being something not as big, but I feel should get some attention is the fact the rules for the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest have been changed to an extent. I'm only going to point out the most important details. For one I find it ridiculous they have split the contestants into the two conferences. This was the one contest that was super popular and did not matter if you were from the West or the East. Another thing is this battle round thing. I love the idea of putting people up against each other, but I find it annoying how the winner is going to be a conference. The Dunk contest has been criticized the past years cause of the weakness that has been brought to it and I feel like it is going to continue that if they keep these rules. Give me some feedback on what you think of this. But that's all for now guys! Over the next five days I will be posting a brief analysis on the most important contests for each day. Tomrrow will include two(Rising Stars and Shooting Stars) Thanks for coming! And leave me some feedback please it really helps! Keep on Swishing!🏀

Andrew Bynum signing

On February 1st, 2014 news came out that was confirmed by multiple sources that former Cleveland Cavalier Center, Andrew Bynum has signed with the Indiana Pacers. Bynum has been bouncing from team to team lately with his latest cut being from the Chicago Bulls immediately off of a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bynum now has signed with the dominant Indiana Pacers adding size and skill. Andrew Bynum is a Center who once was a great player and has lost a bit of that "swagger" over the years. With the LA Lakers Andrew Bynum was a DOMINANT force. He was an amazing player who was adored by many, including myself. After leaving the Lakers and suffering multiple knee injuries and surgeries, he just has not been the same. Nevertheless, the Pacers expect big things from him. Pacers President of Operations, Larry Bird, stated “He gives us added size, he is a skilled big man and he has championship experience. With the minutes he gets, he should be a valuable addition.” As if the Pacers already did not have enough size with players such as 7' 2" C Roy Hibbert and 6' 8" Paul George, who has just been amazing this year. So the big question now is what can Bynum really do for the Pacers for the rest of the season. Well in my opinion Andrew Bynum will have little to no affect with the Pacers, this is because the Pacers right now are most likely the best team in the NBA and they really do not need any more size. They are doing perfectly fine with their big guys, that's not to say Bynum will not do anything, but Bynum has just lost it, the spark and the skill and there is just not enough there to have a massive affect on the Pacers organization and season. Well that's just what I think but I want to hear from you guys, what do you think? Am I completely wrong? Leave something in the comments and thanks for reading this! Sorry for posting this so late I will work harder to be more productive for you guys! Bye and remember Keep on Swishing!

Andrew Bynum as a Cleveland Cavalier