Lakers, Bynum Suspended and Fined.

Los Angeles Lakers' center, Andrew Bynum has been suspended and fined by the NBA, after his flagrant foul on Dallas' J.J Barea. The NBA announced that Bynum has been suspended for the first five games of the start of next years season, without pay. Bynum also got fined $25,000 for taking off his Lakers jersey as he left the court. All up Bynum will lose $702,272 from the suspension and fine.

Bynum talked about the foul on Wednesday:

"My actions ... don't represent me, my upbringing, this franchise or any of the Laker fans out there that want to watch us and want us to succeed, Furthermore, and more importantly, I want to actually apologize to J.J. Barea for doing that. I'm just glad that he wasn't seriously injured in the event and all I can say is, I've looked at [the replay], it's terrible and it definitely won't be happening again."

The 7-foot, 280-pound Bynum, elbowed Dallas' 6-foot Barea, as he soared to attempt a lay-up, in Dallas' 36 point blowout of the Lakers, eliminating them from the playoffs. Bynum got ejected from the game after the foul. Lakers forward, Lamar Odom also got ejected in the game.

Information from ESPN Los Angeles was used in this article.

2011 NBA Semi-Finals Preview.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls V (5) Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks pulled of the first upset of the 2011 NBA playoffs, beating the Orlando Magic in 6 games. On the other hand the Bulls had a hard-fought series with the young Pacers, but outlasted Indiana in 5 games. One of the biggest stories in this series will be the play of Carlos Boozer. Boozer didn't show up in the Indiana series, and will need to show up this series, facing off against Atlanta's one-two punch of Josh Smith and Al Horford. If Boozer can't step up, the Bulls will need to do out they have done for most of the season......trust Derrick Rose to make the right plays, not a bad idea. With Kirk Hinrich out for the Hawks, Rose shouldn't have too much problem against either Jamal Crawford or Jeff Teague, depending on who Larry Drew starts. Rose will be the best player in the series by far, but it will be interesting to see if Joe Johnson can carry Atlanta to a couple of wins. Johnson will need to score at least 25 points a game this series for the Hawks to have any chance. 

My Prediction: Bulls in 5.

 

(2) Miami HEAT V (3) Boston Celtics.

This is going to go down as one of the greatest playoff series in NBA history. The star-studded team of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh taking on Boston's big 4 of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics beat the HEAT 3-1 in the regular season but Miami bet Boston late in the season at home by 23 points. This series will come down to match-ups. Will Rajon Rondo take over against Miami's weak line of point guards, will Dwayne Wade chase Ray Allen around all of them screens, will Pierce's offense take a hit while guarding LeBron, will Bosh choke against KG and will Shaq be healthy for the series. Also what team's role players will come up with the goods? Will Jeff Green finally show his talent with Boston, will Glen Davis be the spark for the Celts or will James Jones hit big 3's for Miami and can big Z take care of the rebounds for the HEAT. Will the home court advanage make a difference in the series? This series if full of questions, and all we can do is wait and see what happenes.

My Prediction: HEAT in 7.

 

Western Conference

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder V (8) Memphis Grizzlies.

The Memphis Grizzlies pulled of one of the biggest upsets in NBA history, knocking off the number 1 seed, San Antonio Spurs. It was the franchise's first ever playoff series win and sent the city of Memphis in a frenzy. Meanwhile Oklahoma City took care of them tough Denver Nuggets in 5 games. This is going to be the most entertaining series out of the 4, and it's going to be great to watch the NBA's future in action. Both teams have young legs who love the run up and down the floor. The thing that Memphis will need to do to win the series is shut down Durant and Westbrook....easier said than done. While Mike Conley is a great player, he in no-where near the level that Westbrook is. Westbrook should get the better of Conley in the series, unless Conley can use his speed to beat Westbrook up and down the floor. With KD, the Grizz are going to go to their two best defenders....Tony Allen and Shane Battier. But KD is still the NBA's leading scorer, and Memphis can throw everything they want at KD, it's not going to work. While in the paint the Gasol/Randolph V Perkins/Ibaka match-up will be massive. Will Memphis' pair take care on offense or will OKC's pair shut them down on defence?

My Prediction: Thunder in 6.

 

(2) Los Angles Lakers V (3) Dallas Mavericks.

Pau Gasol. That one player is either going to win the series for the Lakers or he is going to lose the series for the Lakers. Pau failed to show up in the Hornets series but the Lakers still prevailed. If he fails to show up again, the Lakers won't win this series. The reason? If Kobe isn't shooting well the Lakers give it to Gasol and Pau will be facing one of the best power forwards of all time, Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk can always score when he wants and he can take Pau out to the 3 point line, which will give Gasol problems. Meanwhile, will Kobe's ankle be healthy for the series? Even if it isn't, the Lakers shouldn't need to worry that much, seeing that it is Kobe. For Dallas, they will be hoping that Jason Kidd can continue shooting the lights out from downtown, like he was in the Portland series. Also will Lamar Odom give the Lakers the spark they will need at one time during the series or will Jason Terry find his shooting touch and give Dallas the spark? This seems to be a very intriguing series between two of the NBA's oldest teams.

My Prediction: Lakers in 6.

What Ever Happened To...?

Every season, year and decade in the NBA, we see superstars come and go. Sometimes it's a great ending to an amazing and spectacular career, and sometimes it’s a heart-breaking injury which ruins a career full of hope and potential. Here’s a list of some of the NBA All-Stars that just well...went missing.

Tracy McGrady: An athletic 6’8 that can play the guard or forward position, Tracy ‘T-Mac’ McGrady has always been one of the best scorers in the NBA, and a fan favourite. In his prime T-Mac was a match-up nightmare. He can use his quickness to take it hard to the rim for another highlight reel dunk or just pull up in the defenders grill and swish yet another jumper. In his prime at Orlando, McGrady took out 2 NBA scoring titles (32.1ppg in 02/03 and 28.0ppg in 03/04) McGrady also took part in 7 all-star games. A career with so much hope, McGrady ended up being played by injuries and is now on has 3^rd team, in 2 years. We will always be wondering, what else T-Mac could do.

Allen Iverson: The Answer. Only 6 foot 0, on his tippy toes, Allen Iverson was truly the answer....well for most things. Many people well say that, yet only being 6’0 or less, Iverson is one of the, if not the, greatest scorer in NBA history. With killer crossovers that no one could guard, and the jumpshot of a champion, Iverson was a four time NBA scoring leader, and he ranks sixth in the highest ppg in NBA history. Iverson averaged 26.7ppg, 6.2apg and 3.7rpg. Now what? Nursing an injury in...Turkey? I am sure I am not alone when I say this.....I hope Iverson’s NBA days are over.   

Gilbert Arenas: An always fan favourite in Washington, Agent Zero (for  his old jersey number) or Hibachi (for his ability to hit shots and heat up in a hurry) Arenas was the Wizards franchise for a while, carrying the team to the playoffs and make EA Sports NBA covers. After going for 29.3ppg for Washington in 05/06, Arenas planted his spot as an NBA superstar. But then injuries caught up on Arenas and a ‘gun in the locker room’ scandal last season, really put Arenas’ career off track. Now in Orlando averaging 10ppg, Arenas’ career is one gone because of injuries and one very silly and immature mistake. Yes Gilbert, no one knew what you could have been.

Steve Francis: Steve ‘The Franchise’ Francis exploded on the NBA in 1999, averaging 18.0ppg, 6.6apg and 5.3rpg, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Francis was living the American dream, earning dunk contest invites and All-Star berths. With his high-flying, street-savvy game, Francis killed defenders with his lethal crossover, and gravity-defying hops. In his third year in the league with Houston, Francis averaged 21.6ppg, 7.0rpg and 6.4apg, great stats for a 6’3 guard. Then what happened? Francis was killed by bum knees and was out of the league by the age of 30. But does anybody know where Francis is? I guess he just disappeared.  

Grant Hill: The next Michael Jordan. That is how high NBA experts rated Grant Hill, coming out of Duke. Hill’s career was right on track from his rookie of year winning season in 94’ all the way to averaging 25.8ppg in 2000. Then injuries came along and ruined Hill’s career. From ’94 to ’00 Hill averaged over 22ppg, and in season 00/01 Hill averaged 13.8ppg. From that point on Hill didn’t become the next MJ. He didn’t become the NBA’s best scorer either. He just became a very solid starter for Orlando and Phoenix. But yet a career that could of been.....

Jason Williams: Chris Webber remembers that ‘crossover on Gary Payton.’ Yep that’s right. The rookie Jason ‘White Chocolate’ Williams pulled of one of the greatest crossovers of all time on one of the best defenders of his time, Gary Payton. Jason Williams well always be remembered for his dazzling passing and killer crossovers on helpless defenders (Gary Payton) just to name one victim. Williams’ career numbers don’t jump out, 10.5ppg, 5.9apg and 2.3rpg, but Williams was one of them players where the stats mean nothing. Always the floor leader, Williams won his only ring with the HEAT in 2006. It was great to see Williams retire in Memphis, seeing that’s where he made a statement in the league in the early 2000’s. Williams just couldn’t break out in the Orlando line-up which is a shame.

Why Cleveland went so badly this season.

Coming into the season Cleveland’s best player on the roster could have been one of these three: Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao or Antawn Jamison. Not looking too good on paper, but I don’t think anybody would have guessed it would as bad as a 26 game losing streak and becoming the laughing stock of the NBA. But it did and here are 3 reasons why.

Inconsistency

All Cavs fan will agree with me on this, Cleveland couldn’t sting together at least 5 solid outings this season. If we won it was great but if we lost it was a disaster (in most cases.) A perfect example of the Cavs inconsistency this season was the team’s final west-coast road trip of the season. After a great win in Sacramento, the Cavs came out a couple of nights later and let Portland run out to a 24-2 lead in the first quarter, eventually turning into a 111-70 loss. The team never showed us that they were capable of going on a winning streak. Cleveland only had one winning streak this season, 3 wins in a row in early November 2010.

Injuries

As I stated before, coming into the season the Cavs three best players were Mo Mo, Andy V and ‘Tawn. What do you know; all three of these guys got injured at some stage this season, missing long periods of time. Cleveland eventually parted ways with Mo sending him to Blake and Co in LA for Baron Davis and the Clippers 2011 1^st round pick...which shouldn’t turn out so bad. Anderson Varejao is no all star in this league, but is Cleveland’s energiser bunny. He rebounds, plays defence and is a never give-up hustle guy. Losing him early in the season was a huge blow as many of the Cavs loses came on the defensive end this season. Antawn is the Cavs leading scorer this season (18ppg) and losing your leading scorer really shakes up a team. When he went down, someone had to step up....no one did and you can see the results....at least he got injured late in the season.

No Heart

Many times thought-out the season, Coach Bryon Scott questioned this teams heart, for good reason. So many lost games this season came down to players not diving on the floor for free balls, rebounding, hustle plays and just simply not looking like they care. The lost to the Heat (LeBron’s return) on Dec 2 was our biggest match of the home and away season.....we lost by 28 points and LBJ played one of his better games of the season. A 55 point loss to the Lakers is some more evidence, just if you need any. No heart=bad basketball. Cleveland learnt the hard way. 

 

Is Derrick Rose the Real MVP, and Who Can Catch Him?

The Chicago Bulls have only had one MVP ever since they entered the NBA, his name? Michael Jordan, he only won 6 of them as well. This year though could be a little bit different...a lot different actually.
  Coming in the the 2010/11 season, no one expected Derrick Rose to win MVP, and some say he didn't even stand a chance against people like LeBron, Dwight, Kobe, Wade, Durant and the list goes on. This looked to be true as Dwight Howard played amazing ball early in the season. Same can be said about Amare Stoudemire, who has turned around the New York Knicks this season.

 Then a guy named Derrick Rose came along. Don't get my wrong, Derrick Rose is a great player and one of the more funnier players to watch in the league, but no one, me included, was expecting him to be the stand out MVP as this season comes to a close. Rose has gotten the Bulls (with help from every player on that roster) into first placed in the eastern conference, mostly with out Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. Did I mention the east has the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic?
 This season Rose is averaging 24.7ppg and 8apg, the only player in the NBA right now to be in the top 10 of points a game and assists a game. He put up 34 points in a 94-76 win over the Hawks on Saturday. Rose has risen his talents to new levels this season, as he carries the Bulls in the load of scoring each night, while getting his teammates involved. D-Rose is the Bulls leader this season and will be for many more years to come. D-Rose is getting the Bulls wins over the likes of 2-time defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and he put up a winning performance with 42 points to lead the Bulls past the team with the NBA's best win-lose record this season, the San Antonio Spurs.
  Now just because Rose has done all of the above and much more, there are over players in the NBA, who do just about the same thing every night. Here's a quick list:
 LeBron James- 26ppg, 7apg, 7rpg
 Dwight Howard- 22ppg, 13rpg, 2bpg
 Kevin Durant- 28ppg, 7rpg
 Dirk Nowitzki- 22ppg, 6rpg
 Amare Stoudemire- 26ppg, 8rpg
 Kevin Love- 21ppg, 15rpg
 So as you can see this is one of the most packed MVP race in recent history, and even though Derrick Rose is the MVP right now, watch right because a lot of other players are in the running.

Air Congo.

As everyone would know by now, the Oklahoma City Thunder are an up and coming team in the NBA. The main reason being Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, along with Jeff Green. Them 3 players are OKC's building blocks, but many people forget about 'Air Congo' Serge Ibaka.
With a full name of Sergeballu LaMu Sayonga Loom Walahas Jonas Hugo Ibaka, this young stud is making a name for himself in the NBA. After most people (me as well) would say Ibaka was 'robbed' of the 2011 Slam Dunk title, I mean come on the guy dunked from behind the free throw line. Ibaka was also a bit disappointed, as he posted on his twitter (@sergeibaka9) Congrats Blake for the win. Personally I'm a little disappointed by my punctuation, but I hope next year the @nba let's me participate again.
 So even though Ibaka didn't win the Sprite Slam Dunk, it isn't stopping him playing great basketball for the Thunder. This season Ibaka has been playing hard for OKC, putting up 9.4ppg and 6.9rpg. Not only that, Serge is ranked 6th in the NBA this season for FG% per game (.561), blocks per game (2.1) and blocks this season, with 114. He also in ranked 39th in Efficiency per 48 minutes at 27.28. Some other stats for you are Ibaka had 8 blocks (career high) in a game @Minnesota early this season, his career high for rebounds in a game is a massive 15 vs.New York on the 22nd of January this year and his career high for points in a single match is 22 @Utah, also early this season.
  Apart from all the stats, Ibaka is a hard worker for OKC, as he brings energy on both ends of the court every night. Being born in Congo, Serge had a tough transition to the NBA as he didn't speak much English when he got drafted, by the Sonics. Both Ibaka's Mum and Dad played basketball. Ibaka started playing basketball at a young age, as he used basketball as an escape from his Mum's death and from his Dad going to jail. Ibaka who now speaks English also speaks Lingala, French and Spanish.
  So when ever you watch Oklahoma City light up the court, watch out for Air Congo, number 9, Serge Ibaka.

                                          Ibaka dunking from behind the free throw line.

Still Fighting

-A 4.5KG baby.
-In his first year of his life he gets chicken pox, pneumonia, asthma and measles.
-This kid desperately needs emergency room services.
-His adenoids and tonsils need to be taken out due to severe breathing problems.
-When he is 3 years old he needs stitches due to a concussion after he got hit by a car.
-He required speech therapy due to over sized baby teeth and an overbite.

Where is this kid now? Number 2 draft pick in the NBA Draft, to the Philadelphia 76ers, Evan Turner. Evan's Mum Iris James said on draft day 'His a very hard worker, very determined person, so I knew he would archive anything he would put his mind on, but to get to this level um it is just absolutely amazing.'

'The Villan' Evan Turner, is putting up 7ppg and 4rpg for Doug Collins 76ers this season. Turner is getting minutes off the bench for Philly, but is making an impact for the 76ers. He put up 23 (a season high) points in a match @ Phoenix in late 2010.

Turner had a sensational collage career at Ohio State. As a Freshman Turner averaged 9 points a game and 4 rebounds a game. Turner really showed off his skills as a Freshman during the 2008 National Invitation Tournament. Averaging 18ppg, 7rpg, 4Aapg and 3 steals a game in the semi final and the final. Ohio State went on and won the tournament.

On December 8, 2008, February 2, 2009 and February 9, 2009 Turner was named the Big Ten player of the week, all during his Sophomore season at Ohio State. Turner led the Buckeyes in points (17), rebounds (7), assists (4) and steals (2). Evan and current Cleveland guard, Manny Harris finished the season in the top ten of points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game, only the 4th and 5th players to do this in Big Ten history. Turner also lead the Big Ten in scoring that year.

The Villain, was a villain in his Junior year with the Buckeyes as he put up 20ppg, 9rpg and 6apg. In Turner's first game of the season he recorded his first ever triple double in the Coaches vs. cancer classic. He was named the Big Ten player of the week in the first 2 weeks of the new season. He got his second career triple double against Lipscomb, helping him to get his 3rd player of the week in the season. Evan suffered a major back injury which was going to keep him out for 2 months, but that wasn't going to stop The Villain. Evan returned early, on January 6, 2010. Going into the Big Ten championship, Turner helped get the Buckeyes to the number 1 seed. In the first round Evan's amazing 37 footer 3 point game winner got the Buckeyes over the line against rival's Michigan. Turner put up 31 points in Ohio's second round win against Illinois. In the final against Minnesota, Turner had another amazing game, scoring 31 points as the Buckeyes won the Big Ten championship.

Turner will become a force in the NBA as long as he keeps on improving and working on his game. Evan has gotten a lot of help from 76ers forward Andre Igoudala in his rookie season. Evan will try and help Philly get back to the playoffs, and please the 76ers fans. 

Swish-Eric Gordon.

ERIC GORDON FOR 3!!!
 That is what the Clippers announcer says a bit more than couple of times through-out a L.A Clippers match.
The 6'3 guard from Indiana has been a key part in the Clippers rebuilding process, along with rookie sensation Blake Griffin.
 Gordon is putting up just under 23.7 points a game and is shooting the ball at 0.460% from the field and 0.326% from down town this season.
  The 3 year guard can drive it to the rack and throw down some monster jams, but is also comfortable pulling up from down town. He can play inside-out with Blake Griffin, and is the Clippers go to scorer this season, helping the Clippers to a 13-25 record, but have beaten teams like Miami, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and the Lakers. In those 4 wins Gordon put up 26, 21, 27 and 30 points respectively.
 Gordon has always been a scorer, putting up an average of 29 points per game, along with 6 rebounds per game for North Central High School. He shot an amazing 57%FG and 46 percent from down town. In 2007, Gordon was named Indiana's 'Mr Basketball' and was also an All-American. Gordon played along side number 1 draft pick ,Greg Oden, in Indiana AAU ball. 
 Eric was also a great collage player, putting up just under 21 points per game for Indiana in collage ball, which lead the Big Ten in scoring in 2007-08. He also shot 33.7% from down town in that season. He was named 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, First Team of the Big Ten Conference and also was named in the 3rd Team All-American.
 On the 4th of April 2008, Gordon announced that he would enter the 2008 NBA Draft. He was taken number 7 in the draft, by the Los Angeles Clippers. He would become an instant star in L.A, putting up 33 points in a pre-season match in a win against the Kings. Eric put up a Clipper rookie record, with 41 points on January 23. He was named that months Rookie of the Month in the West. At the end of his debut season, Gordon averaged 16 points a game while shooting .456 from the field and .389 for three. His awards in his rookie season were: Second Team All Rookie Team, 5th in Rookie of the Year voting and he came 3rd in scoring among all rookies.
 He also has a great second season, where Eric put up just under 17 points a game and shot .449 from the field. He lost to DeMar DeRozan in the first ever Sprite All-Star Dunk In, which would of put him in the 2010 NBA Dunk Contest. Eric was in the Sophomore team in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge.
 Eric won gold at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey for Team USA. Gordon put up 8.6 points and came second in three point field goals on the team. He was a solid player for the US of A in Turkey, as the U.S went 9-0.
 Eric Gordon is already one of the great young stars we have in the NBA, and will continue to become a great player in the NBA, and a massive role in helping the Clippers to the playoffs.

                                                        Eric Gordon dunks on Roy Hibbert.