Rant Sports: D12 Joins Rockets, Escapes L.A.

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2013/07/05/dwight-howard-signs-with-houston-rockets-what-do-los-angeles-lakers-do-next/

Heat Vs Spurs... NBA Finals Predictions

Let The Games Begin!

Tonight is the night.  Finally, the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs engage in battle for league supremacy.  The battle of the "Big 3's" are in full effect.  Now the question is, who has the edge?

By Haz Bey

The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a 9 day layoff after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies en route to the franchise's 5th appearance in the NBA Finals.  Their batteries are recharged, their legs are fresh and they run the most efficient offense in basketball.  The Spurs' core group consist of the league's best coach in Gregg Popovich, the league's best point guard in Tony Parker, the league's best big-man in Tim Duncan and the dynamic sixth man Manu Ginobili.  This core group has won 3 NBA Titles (2003, 2005 & 2007).  Coach Pop and Tim Duncan has won all 4 of the franchise's NBA Titles together.  The core unit is now mixed with young, athletic role players that just flat out do their job.  Danny Green, Kwahi Leonard, Tiago Splitter & Gary Neal are perfect pieces to the Spurs championship puzzle.  Reliable veteran Boris Diaw can handle the basketball, play in the post and shoot from the outside.  Along with Matt Bonner, DeJuan Blair, Cory Joseph and former All-Star Tracy McGrady as back-up, the San Antonio Spurs are deep enough spoil the Miami Heat's chances at a repeat.

The Miami Heat have LeBron James.  There is no answer for him.  No matter what the Spurs will try to do, bottom line,  he is going to get his numbers.  Coach Pop, recognizes that, so the key to the Spurs winning this series will be how the Spurs guard everybody else.  Dwyane Wade is not himself right now due to the bone bruise to his knee.  Chris Bosh is struggling, majorly.  The way Ray Allen is playing, I do not even realize that he is on the Heat's roster. There is no ands, ifs or buts that Miami's stars must play at a higher level than they did in that physical, grueling 7 game series with the Indiana Pacers.  The Spurs will capitalize on all of Miami's mistakes.  The Heat's main job is to limit those mistakes and do give LeBron James the help he needs to so he doesn't have to take matters into his own hands for all 48 minutes of each game of this series.

Both teams have championship experience.  Both teams has MVP quality players.  Both teams can win this series.  My prediction is that this series will go 7 games and I have the Miami Heat repeating as champions.  I believe that the Spurs have the better team, but LeBron James is the has the ability to take over games on both ends of the floor and with his legacy on the line, I believe he will find a way to will his team to a series victory.  So I have the Heat in 7 over the Spurs.  Enjoy the NBA Finals.  If it goes the way I predicted it, then we are in for a very entertaining series.

The "Original 6" Game 7 Victory By The Blackhawks

Blackhawks Win Game 7 in OT 2-1

By Haz Bey

With the Chicago Blackhawks facing elimination against the Detroit Red Wings  being down 3 games to none, Chicago regrouped to rally from facing elimination to moving on to the Western Conference Finals.  Game 7 came down to the wire with a dramatic ending.

The "Original 6" (Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings & Chicago Blackhawks) is the backbone of what the NHL is all about.  Other than the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Original 6 seemed to be always in contention for Lord Stanley's Cup, year-in and year-out.  With this year's playoffs, it is not any different for not only did the Blackhawks and Red Wings duke it out for 7 straight games, in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins are back in the Eastern Conference Finals again.  So for another year the Original 6 are representing for the O.G's.

Detroit fought hard and hand a commanding lead over Chicago, but nothing is ever guaranteed in playoff hockey.  The NHL is the hardest league out of the American four major pro sports league to predict because it takes a lot more than X's & O's win a hockey game. Heart, effort, speed & toughness can change a series outcome in a heartbeat.  The Red Wings couldn't stop Chicago's momentum and now they have all summer to think about it.

The Chicago Blackhawks started Game 7 with a the type of physical intensity that had let them to rally from a 3-1 deficit.  Then 3 1/2 minutes into the 2nd period, Patrick Sharp scores the game's 1st goal off a terrible line change from the Red Wings.  The way Chicago was playing it seemed that 1 goal advantage would be all they needed.  They continued to play picture-perfect hockey up to the 2nd intermission.  Then all hell broke loose in Chi-Town when Henrick Zetterberg scored off a Chicago defensive lapse and the game was all nodded at 1 goal a piece only 26 seconds into the 3rd period and Detroit was "back in the game, baby!" (in my Tryone Biggums voice aka Dave Chappelle)  Chicago thought they had won in the final moments with a potential game winning goal, but the back referee called roughing penalties on  both a Red Wings player and a Blackhawks player so the potential game winning goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson did not count.  Finally in overtime, Brent Seabrook shot the game winning goal off of a deflection that sealed the deal for the Chicago Blackhawks.

With the Blackhawks moving on the conference finals, their is a 50/50 chance the Original 6 will be in Stanley Cup Finals with a possible match-up between the Bruins and the Blackhawks, which would be epic.  Even if the Original 6 doesn't make an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, we will truly see who the true best team in the last 5 years will be.  This is because for the 1st time since 1945, the NHL's "Final Four" will consist of teams that have each won Stanley Cup Finals in the last 4 years.  It's the "Best of the Best" going at it and Lord Stanley's Cup is the ultimate prize.  Now let's sit back watch how it all plays out.

THEY'RE BAAAAAACK!!!! The Western Conference Champion Spurs

Spurs Sweep the Grizzlies En Route to the Finals

Haz Bey

After a 6 year hiatus, the San Antonio Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the 5th time in franchise history.  The Spurs are 4-0 in the NBA Finals, but a potential match up with the defending champion Miami Heat may threaten their perfect mark.

Tony Parker led the way in the Western Conference Finals Game 4 series clincher with 37 points and 4 assist as the Spurs won 93-86.  The Memphis Grizzlies had no answer for Parker as he dominated the series from the opening tip of Game 1.  This is nothing new for Tony for he was the 2007 Finals MVP.

The Grizzlies showed the type of heart and resiliency of a champion, but the Spurs proved to be too much to handle this time around.  The lack of offense with the absences of Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo has proven to be the Grizzlies downfall as they could not keep up with the free-flowing offense of the San Antonio Spurs.  Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol shot under 40% from the field each as Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter controlled the paint all series long.

Respect the San Antonio Spurs.  They have an all-time head coach in Gregg Popovich, a Hall of Fame "Big 3" in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker & Manu Ginobili and they been the most consistent franchise in Sports since 1989, way back when "The Admiral" David Robinson first stepped on the scene.  The Heat better take notice, because the Spurs will give the defending champs all that they can handle.

Ready to Jump Ahead to the Finals? Heat vs Spurs

Haz Bey
The Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies both had great runs this post season, but even though it is not official as of yet, both of their seasons will not include a trip to he NBA Finals.  With that out of the way, now we can focus on a much intriguing match up between the San Antonio Spurs and last year's defending champs, the Miami Heat.  

LeBron James is the best player in basketball.  His overall game is on a all-time level and repeating as a champion will put him in company of the game's greatest to ever play.  There's a problem though.  Tim Duncan is arguably the best power forward of all-time and he is hungry for one more shot a fifth ring. When you talk about who the greatest players in NBA history are, Tim Duncan is in the conversation.  In some people's cases he just makes it and with others he just misses out.  Winning a championship this year will put an end to any doubts that Duncan is indeed a top 10 player of all-time.  Both of these players have their legacies on the line that go hand & hand with winning another ring.  

Let's not forget that Dwyane Wade has a shot a third ring to add to his Hall of Fame career and both Tony Parker & Manu Ginobli are going for their fourth rings as well.  The star players in this series have a lot of motivation to help them compete for this seasons's NBA Title.  

I know both of these teams need to close-out their respective opponents, so I am not going to break down the series' match ups, possible strategies & predictions, but come June 6th, prepare yourself for one of the most competitive NBA Finals we are ever going to witness.