Courtside Conversations - April/May 2016 by Courtside Conversations

April/May 2016

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: t n a y r B e Kob e l a n i F The

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Where were you on that late November day when you heard that Kobe Bryant would be retiring after a 20 year NBA career? Wherever you were, at that point in the season the cards were really showing for Bryant and almost everyone knew it. What was really interesting however, was the change of heart that ensued after we all found out that this was really Kobe’s last ride in the NBA. Perhaps we should start way back in 1997 in a year that boasts one of the more interesting draft classes. At this time the NBA still allowed players to jump from high school straight into the pro’s. Not everything started out peachy for a young Bryant at 19 who was relatively unknown to most teams at the time. It was at this time, unknowingly to alot of people, that a generational player was entering into a league and a franchise that would influence millions of basketball fans worldwide. Bryant has always said that he wanted nothing more than to be a Laker through and through, so when they decided to trade for him there was no telling how much this would attribute to his acension and eventual superstardom. Even though the story has been written, the young Kobe Bryant was stuck in a few years of distrust and whole lot of self reflection. The potential however was more than apparent in terms of raw talent as we would soon find out. Let’s come back to 2016 - after all the injuries from 2010 onwards, the 2015-2016 season from November and after turned the LA Lakers into a different type of showtime than the team had adopted back in the days. Dubbed by the media as the “Farewell Tour” it was now a season-long shower of jubilation for a player that was hated by many for a range of reasons for the past 19 years of his career. But all was forgotten after the last day of November.

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Now revered in every stadium he visited, the farewell tour was well underway and a new Kobe Bryant was surfacing that had not been seen before. We all know It’s been well documented, by Bryant and those who have picked his mind, that he was in awe of Michael Jordan and everything he did with Basketball. For 10+ years, specifically regarding basketball, Kobe has been hated by fans of any team that wasn’t the Lakers. Bryant has been tagged as selfish, a ballhog, demanding and a collection of other names. And yet, for the first time in 19 years all was forgotten. So why do we give respect to a villian? Well, much like Jordan, you can only hate the best for so long until the best is no longer the best. Seems simple right? But for one year in the NBA this was never more pronounced with Kobe Bryant. Every stadium he entered, the cheers rang out on every isolated posession all the way past the final buzzer. Home or away, the people came to see the Black Mamba win - but it wasn’t the game. Considered to be an easy feat for Bryant, all he had to do was finish the season and put on a show. One of those 2 things he’s been doing all his basktball life and the other had kept him out of the spotlight for 2 long years. The results were in on April 13 of this year when Kobe Bryant redeemed himself in the final game of the season. With the energy resembling a playoff game, for Bryant’s career this was his lifelong Game 7. Never has a career been summarised in one night, as the world was torn between witnessing NBA history as the Golden State Warriors went for 73 regular season wins. Bryant took the floor, and while flooded with tribute videos, continued to receive the ball from his teammates and capped of his final night with a 60 point performance on 50 shot attempts. Regardless of how you remember Kobe, he was an integral part of the NBA for the last 20 years - whether it was providing a source of inpiration for future players, keeping a franchise tradition alive - everywhere you look - Kobe’s imprint on the game is solidified. “Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.”

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The Playoff Stretch It’s every NBA fans favourite time of year as we hit the final day in April of regular season basketball and we begin the journey to the playoffs.

With history showing us that the playoffs don’t require an enlarged pool of teams to have a competitive and successful playoffs - why do we need it in todays game?

We get excited as we start discussing match-ups of the 1 through 8 seeds and fill out our brackets to see if we can predict our desire for the most entertaining series. The key word here is entertainment, and while we hope for it from the start, it seems that there are only a few series that we deem worthy to watch.

The NBA still kept the 5 game format even after allowing the 7th and 8th seeds into the playoffs in 1984. However, since the 7 game format there has only been 2 instances of an 8th seed upsetting a 1 seed - and yet those 2 teams didn’t get past the second round.

This pick and choose mentality is never more evident than in the first round of the playoffs and even possibly the second round. Before 2003, the NBA playoffs first round was a 5 game series which was obviously then extended to todays format of 7 games. If you go further back into the NBA playoffs history there weren’t even 16 teams in play - in fact it was actually half of that. In the 80’s, the NBA extended this to 12 teams which put the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th seed against each other in the first round - and the 1st and 2nd seed wouldn’t play the winners until the second round. Imagine that, as a 1 or 2 seed you automatically advance through the playoffs! That doesn’t seem so farfetched if you’ve worked to be the best in your conference.

So what would be so wrong with going back to the old format? Are we afraid of a lack of competition? Would we begin to asterisk every champion in relation to the road less traveled?

“Imagine that, as a 1 or

2 seed you automatically advance through the playoffs! That doesn’t seem so farfetched if you’ve worked to be the best in your conference.” PAGE 11

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It is important to note at this point that it would be ridiculous to not want as much basketball as possible in the regular and post-season. This of course needs to be within reason - and that reason is time and entertainment. The post-season is suppose to be entertaining as the best 16 teams the NBA has to offer is on display. Unfortuantely this is not always the case as teams sneak into the playoffs sometimes without even being a .500 win team. The split in conferences causes arguement over the fact that a team in the East can be an 8th seed when they have a record worse than that of a 8th or 9th seed in the West. The idea being thrown around is to allow the best 16 teams to go to the playoffs regardless of conference. But would this fix the dilemma of a possible 1 vs 8 matchup that doesn’t live up to the bill? It’s possible that it just might, but we would still get the david vs goliath series where we wish the other team could call the series with a first round mercy rule? If your team is the 8th seed while it might be nice to see your team reach the playoffs, maybe for the first time in a long time, but at what price do you and other fans pay for it? Being thrown into the playoffs and having to face the 1 seed is not ideal and is now thought to be prolonging the playoff process. It’s not about whether we hate that team or not but rather that we lament to have to watch them pull out the short straw almost immediately as they enter the playoffs. Theres no secret that the 8th spot is usually reserved for that team that is either not ready but has promise. It is for this reason exactly that it can be widely considered unfair to grant them an extra week of basketball before taking their summer break early.

With any problem that we face in the NBA in relation to its rules and playing format - If you’re going to ask the question you must at least offer some solutions too. The NBA has a rich history of playoffs formats and for the sake of this article, these are the few that would work in todays game: 1. Best 8 teams from each conference, 7 game series in each round. The Current format, the main pro being more basketball providing great entertainment. But do we need such a long post-season when sometimes the teams are clear cut to be in the conference and then finals. The lengthy time also allows for injuries to happen at an alarming rate. 1. Best 4 teams from each conference, 3 seed plays 4 in first round, 1 and 2 seed play winner in second round for finals matchup. A much shorter playoffs that would provide instant entertainment and high quality basketball, depending on the number of games in eachs series, injuries would decrease and the preferred matchups would happen almost immediately. This format is an example of also rewarding a 1 and 2 seed by advancing automatically. 1. Best 6 teams from each conference where the 3, 4, 5 and 6 seed play in the first round with the 1 and 2 seed advance automatically to the 2nd round. If the best 4 teams is not enough, it wouldn’t be a stretch to allow the 6 best teams to play. This is much like the option above, but would at least allow NBA fans to soak in the playoffs and still receive entertaining teams but still reduce the length of a playoff run.

1. Shortening the series to any of the above formats to Perhaps the NBA should go in reverse and look into the best of 5 games or even best of 3 games. reward system of the 1 and 2 seed. This way the playoffs go back to 2 series for the first round while the 1 and With any of the options above, more so the current 2 seed get to rest and await their next opponent. This format - reducing the number of games in the first and type of system would second series, maybe even almost defintiely have the conference finals, The post-season is some fans feeling like would cut out the suppose to be entertaining as those teams receive some “boring games” and still sort of “treatment” and the best 16 teams the NBA has give fans their much ultimately have the easy to offer is on display needed playoff intake. road to a championship. Are we missing the main point here? If you are the best, So are the playoffs too long? Do we need to tweak it and even second best in your conference, then why even if only a minor change? shouldn’t you be rewarded?

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W ith the NBA draft drawing ever closer, its that time of the year where we have free reign to unashamedly recount the previous 10 years of NBA draftees, the good, the bad, and the ugly (did somebody say Anthony Bennett?). So, do you want the good news or the bad news? I’ll give it to you straight, lets start with the bad, and believe me, its not pretty; here are the biggest NBA draft busts in the last 10 years. To clarify, to be categorized as a bust I am not taking into account players who were injured or suffering personal issues at the time, a bust is a player who, in my opinion, who in twenty years time, when you look back on your teams draft history once again, makes you think “I cant believe we drafted him!”

WRITTEN

JAMES SEYMOUR

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The Cavs and Pistons gave us the best first round series hands down and had Detroit been the 7th seed, things could have

gone very differently in their post-season. The Cavs did come away with a sweep but not without a fight from start to finish, as we saw in game 1 where the Pistons almost stole a home game win from Cleveland but in the end they just couldn’t get any momentum going. For LeBron and the rest of the crew this was the start of something great as they began to click on all cylinders and find a way to dominate as a team with Kyrie being able to take over when needed and Love to find his shot at no better time than the playoffs. Detroit’s fight in this series should put the East on notice even if they were outmatched from the beginning - and should give the team a huge amount of confidence going into next season. Reggie Jackson didn’t even have to lead the team in scoring as the team was more than happy to rely on the powerful inside scoring of Drummond and guard play from Caldwell-Pope and Morris. The Pistons had every chance to extend this series and challenge the Cavs for a game or 2 which leads us to beleive that the Pistons didn’t finish games rather than just losing to the Cavs outright.

Unless you were a Boston or Atlanta fan the consensus for this series was that it wasn’t going to tip the scales on NBA

viewership and while it gave us a great point guard battle where ultimately it would be agreed that Isiah Thomas is something Boston needs to hold on to. Boston didn’t seem to have too much luck on their side as they were hit with a Avery Bradley injury and then late in the series Thomas suffers an ankle injury which was the nail in the coffin for the Celtics in the end. Even with the Celtics lack of luck, the Hawks were hot and cold throughout the series with players showing up one night and then fading the next. This type of play, and had the Celtics been anymore powerful, would have given the Hawks an early playoff exit. The Hawks looked dominate last year grabbing those 60 wins in the regular season and then got bounced in the Conference Finals. Atlanta’s “pray for the best” style relys on one of their players going off and being the beacon of offense and if another one or two players also begin to produce then it’s the best case scenario.

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Another pair of Eastern Conference teams gave NBA fans something to look forward to as we move through the first

round with Miami giving Charlotte and ultimately MJ the first-round MJ crying face. This series was a showing out party for the young Hornets team who havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been taken seriously for a long time until they re-shaped the team and re-branded to wash the dirt off that was the Bobcats franchise name and history. But more interesting than that, the Heat-Hornets series showed fans everywhere that Dwayne Wade has reformed his career and taken a leap back in time by proving he is still one of the best players in the league and a player that relishes the playoff spotlight like no other. It took the Heat 7 games but it took more from the Hornets - such as 30+ point games from Kemba Walker - which in reality would have never held up had the Hornets moved on throughout the playoffs. On the flip side of that however, The big time games and big time shots from Dwayne Wade is something that you can bank on to happen when the time is right and at the end of the day it simply comes down to exeprience. Alot would have had to go right for Charlotte to advance, but much like the Pistons, theres no reason to not use this as momentum as the team continues to grow.

As the playoffs started, fans of the Raptors were probably confident that this year would be different and that the

previous playoff runs of years past were the showings of a Raptor team that was climating themselves to being in the playoffs and trying to gain the experience to move on. Indiana on the other hand, being lead by the story of the year that is the reemergence of Paul George, showed that they are primed to be ready to start being competitve once again in the East. From the very start of the series Toronto looked shaky and that they were falling back into their old ways as they allowed Indiana to take them to 7 games in their Round 1 opener. For a second seed who promoted great defense all season and some great play from Lowry and Derozen this series was inexcusable to put it politely and merly echoes the stigma that Toronto is a great regular season team that plays at one level and thats it. After it was all said and done, the Raptors did something they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t done in 20 years and finally proceeded to a second round playoff series - but at what cost?

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The Golden State and Houston series was one that should have annoyed alot of people who like competitive basketball

and in this series for the most part that was up for interpretation by the masses. Houston haven’t looked right since the start of the season after coming off a playoff run last year that at one point made them look like quite the opponent, but as quickly as that came - the quicker it went. Golden State really had no problem with Houston and at no point did it creep into anyones mind that the series would be over in more than 5 games or a sweep to some extent. As it unfolded the crisis that Warriors fans (and the NBA) feared became apparent as Stephen Curry suffered an early ankle injury in the first game, then as he returned in Game 4 re-injured himself after slipping on a wet spot on the floor. The crazy part about all of this is that the Playoffs appeared to be in jeopardy (for the Warriors at least) as the Clippers vs. Portland series was coming to a close. Regardless, the Dubs pulled out the closer and assisted in magnifying the exhibition of a dismantled and disgrunteled Houston Rockets who are now under heavy scrutiny to recitfy the internal problems that sorround the play of James Harden and the teammates around him.

At this point in the season if you’re a Clippers fan you were probably feeling really good about your chances in the first

round as they faced a gutty Portland team that would have given the Clipper a series but would most likely have fell to LA. The series was tied 2-2 as LA won the first 2 at home and Portland also defending home court, but all the focus came down to the turning point in the last moments of Game 4 in Portland when the Clippers lost both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The impact that this injury had on the playoff picture was highlighted by the Curry Injury just less than a day before which had analyst quickly pointing out the window of opportunity that had opened for the Clippers to become a big componenent in the West. As quickly as that window opened it was shut just as fast and that was the all that needed to be written for LA as they would fall quickly to Portland and be left wondering what to do next. Portland discretly deserved a shot at the second round even if it came by the way of LA’s detriment because nobody deserves it more for a team that stayed competitive after losing so much in their offseason.

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OKC and Dallas can be summed up quite quickly and can only be described as one of the earliest scrappy playoff series

that we usually don’t receive until the Conference Finals. Right from the jump alot of doubt was placed on a Dallas team that wasn’t taken seriously as an opponent agianst the Thunder until they showed a resisliance that woke up OKC early. The Mavericks were without a few key players and while this attributed to their early exit it would be wrong to let it define their play as an overall. The scrappy play and off-court “mind-games” from the Mavs definitely seemed to wake up the Thunder and they should be thankful to Dallas as they will be moving on to take on a Spurs team that they’ve had trouble with before. OKC have been quizzed all year about their play and their 4th quarter closing abilities and how this would translate into the playoffs and if it would ultimately be the reason for their demise. Overall, this series was entertianing for everything but the competitive basketball play and it was for this reason that the series was entertaining at all.

Questions are the only thing that sorrounded this series from the very beginning but the main question on everyones

mind was how long before this ends? The Grizzlies had a tough season after dealing with more injuries than any other team in recent memory so much so that they ended up with roughly 25+ different players in their lineups. Even with this stunning number of players and games missed combined, the Griz still managed to produce a .500 win season and get to the playoffs for a 6th straight time. A great fight put up by the Grizzlies all season until the playoffs started as the Spurs came in with no doubt of surpassing this Memphis team in an unfortunately bad first round series. While this series was an eyesore it should go without saying that a moral victory for Memphis was still acheived even though the scoreboard will tell you otherwise. The Grizzlies did not lay down and after the series gained the respect of the Spurs for giving them the maximum effort that was reinforced by their now former head coach David Joerger.

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ROUND 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Really Atlanta? Again? It’s a tough time to be a Hawks fan and if you thought that they would make a deep playoff

run then consider their fate decided earlier rather than one round later. Atlanta had just come off an up and down series against a beaten up Celtics teams that still required 6 games from the Hawks who had the advantage and were the better team. Atlanta was doomed from the very start as Cleveland wasted no time putting a beating to the Hawks without any remorse as Atlanta attempted to try to find any hope of stopping them - to no avail of course. The scoring piled on so bad during Game 2 of the 4 game sweep that the Hawks twitter was using gifs and the mj crying face to express their dispair for their teams performance. The sweep is a big mirror reflecting to the Hawks as they faced the same fate last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, but at least in that series they showed a considerable amount of fight in comparison to this series. With this win the Cavs slot themselves into the Conference Finals with their second series sweep and with days of rest ahead as they await Toronto or Miami to finish at this point are looking unstoppable in the East.

Coming into this series the Raptors were being questioned as to how far they could really go and as a 2 seed in the East

it raised the question that could they be the least threatening 2 seed we’ve seen in the last 5 years even? The Raptors had trouble with the Pacers attributing to poor performances from the Raptors 2 All-Stars and one of those All-Stars being inept in guarding Paul George. But surely it couldn’t continue? Perhaps the Raptors were shaking off the playoff rust? In the beginning this series was swinging to Miami’s favor and thanks to 2 key injuries of both Raptors big man Valanciunas and the Heat’s Whiteside. In that small moment of Game 3 the Raptors lost a big part of there dominance but with the Heat losing Whiteside it was a grueling series of basketball to watch. There are 2 things we should take away from this series - Dwayne Wade is amazing and looks unstoppable and Toronto has a maximum of 5 games left in their playoff season.

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ROUND 2

WESTERN CONFERENCE

One of the most competitve series so far goes to the Warriors and Blazers as a Curry-less Warriors battled the NBA’s

second best backcourt. The underlying story to this series had alot of people posing the question of what could have been as explained earlier in the results of the Blazers series agianst the Clippers. Nonetheless the Warriors pushed on without their star and didn’t look to be afraid for one moment as the hopped on the backs of Thompson and Green to lead them through the series to a Game 5 finish. Don’t get it twisted however, the Blazers didn’t necessarily lay down and die but rather they kept the Warriors playing and forcing them to beat them. This series was looked at as a resting stop for Curry as he was to return on his MCL injury, and in Game 4 NBA fans would be treated to a return that perhaps in a different situation would be one of the greatest playoff moments in history. However, the Warriors were already up 2-1 and honestly would have finished the Blazers even without Curry - but for what it was we can enjoy it for the time being.

The Thunder started this series by receiving a haymaker like no other from the Spurs that was more a reflection of OKC’s lack of preparation rather than a Spurs beatdown. Thats how it felt with the series now over as the Thunder finished the Spurs at Chesapeak Arena in 6 games. After that Game 1 performance it seemed there was no turning back for the Thunder as they went into San Antonio and stole Game 2 and Game 5 at which point these are the 3 games that will forever be questioned as one of the worst officiated series as well as others this post-season.

Game 2 will go down as one of the most chaotic finishes in the playoffs that has ever been witnessed as the referees missed some blatant fouls that would have been called in any regular season. If that wasn’t bad enough the refs thought that they’d end their night early as they turned a blind eye to an obvious attempt to purposely foul Russell Westbrook at the end of Game 5 that ended up allowing Westbrook to go directly to the hoop for a layup. Honestly though, I’d rather see the Thunder play the Warriors with all due respect to the Spurs and thankfully we have it.

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Cuban & Carlisle: The Salty Brothers Written by Mark Bruty

The Oklahoma City Thunder vs Dallas Mavericks first round playoff matchup has been just as exciting off the floor as it has on the hardwood. The Thunder took the first game in a blowout, while the Mavericks fought back in game two, grabbing a W when Steven Adams couldn’t get the put back out of his hands before the game clock expired. However, for all the great game play, it has been the commentary that has really sparked the feeling between these two sides and fan bases. Rick Carlisle called out the Thunder and Kevin Durant specifically for being “overly physical” in their play. He pointed to some extra-curricular stuff off the ball, the physical nature of fighting over and through screens and basically used the post-game press conference to plead his case to the media (and indirectly the referees) to give his team a bit more of an advantage. Carlisle isn’t stupid. He knows that if he brings up the way the Thunder are playing basketball in the media, the refs will take notice and then look to try and “balance” the ledger.

“There were four, what I would categorize as non-basketball physical escalations that were initiated by them, including one intentional, unprovoked elbow at the free throw line, which I didn’t understand,” Carlisle said. “And I’ve never seen a guy like Kevin Durant ever do that to a player. Then ultimately, that led to two more escalations between the teams, the fact that that was missed. I’m concerned about that. There’s no place for that in our game.”

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It’s not uncommon – especially for a team that knows they can’t hang with the big boys – to try and gain any advantage possible. It’s almost the coach’s duty to try anything and everything. Not dissimilar to coaches earning themselves a technical to “point out” elements of the game to the officials, to stem the flow of play or to fire their own team up. However, Carlisle has gone a step further than this, and I doing so has looked more “salty” than strategic. His comments regarding the Thunder and Durant being dirty highlighted the fact that OKC are no longer going to be pushed around. It may have worked in the Mavericks favour as games were called a little more “favourably” to Dallas just after. It also heavily influenced Kevin Durant’s flagrant two and ejection. Whether or not you agree, Durant took a swipe at the ball, got the face / head of Justin Anderson. It should have been a flagrant one, but the “Carlisle effect” ensured the harsher penalty. Having lost another game and realistically losing any hope of making this a series, Carlisle then went and implied that Thunder centre Enes Kanter was nothing more than a “bottom feeder – feeding off the stars in OKC. Kanter had just demolished Carlisle’s Mavericks who really could use a decent centre (and thought they had one in DeAndre Jordan until – well – you know – Clipper, Hostage situation etc). It was this particular commentary that revoked all credibility and made Carlisle look more salty than strategic. I think Rick Carlisle is a brilliant coach, but he’s a monumental sook. He has done well with a roster that is less than stellar and in a partial rebuild, but for all those efforts, he now looks bitter and childish rather than a coaching craftsman.

“We’re not looking to do it unless it’s within the rules,” Carlisle said. “But there were some things that I know are going to be looked at today, that going into Game 4, we’re going to be ready for.”

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He’s been joined on the “salty sidelines” by owner Mark Cuban. Love him or hate him, Cuban is great for the game. He is an incredibly switched on and passionate owner, and is never scared to voice his opinion – loudly – on anything and everything. It actually comes as no surprise that Cuban went on record as saying “OKC only one superstar and that’s Kevin Durant”. You see, Cuban is sneaky. He thinks that if he questions Russell Westbrook and calls him out, he might be able to take Russ out of his Maverickdemolishing game. Russ had killed the Mavs, getting everyone involved and scoring the basketball. He had poured in double digit assists in every outing and was scoring over 23ppg as well. Cuban must have thought his “head game” might be the only thing that can steer Russ awry. It wasn’t the case. Westbrook went on to pour in 36 points, grab 12 rebounds and dish out 9 assists in a superstar performance that silenced the Mavs and sent them fishing.

The very fact that the Salty Brothers sideshow had more grunt and effort than the Mavericks in this series speaks volumes. The Thunder take a 4-1 series victory and move on into the second round to face one of the toughest challenges in basketball – the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks – including Carlisle and Cuban can add some tequila to their salt and enjoy their extended holiday. Key Series Saltiness °

Dirk Nowitzki complains about Andre Roberson fighting through a screen

Carlisle comments on Thunder physicality

Kevin Durant gives an elbow on a free throw rebound

Raymond Felton shoves Steven Adams during rebounding “contest”

Durant whacks Anderson in the dome and earns a flagrant 2 and fine

Westbrook advises the crowd in no uncertain terms – issued with $35k fine

Carlisle calls out Durant and Kanter

Cuban throws shade at Westbrook

THUNDER SEND MAVS PACKING 4-1. Tears of Mavs are as salty as their coach and owner’s attitude

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SERIES LEADERS

POINTS - 26.0 REBOUNDS - 8.5 ASSISTS - 6.7 STEALS - 2.0 BLOCKS - 1.0

ASSISTS POINTS REBOUNDS - 10.3 - 4.2 - 23.0 BLOCKS STEALS - 1.8

- 0.8

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GAME 1 // CLE 115 - TOR 84 LeBron James scored 24 points in three quarters, Kyrie Irving scored 27 and Cleveland picked up where it left off before a long layoff by beating the Toronto Raptors 115-84 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, in a game where James made his first nine shots as the Cavs shot 67 percent from the field in the first half, the Cavs improved to 9-0 this postseason. Cleveland is the first team to start the playoffs with nine straight wins since San Antonio reeled off 10 in a row in 2012. More records were set by the 31-point win being the largest in Cleveland’s postseason history, but unlike their second-round series when they made 77 3-pointers and swept Atlanta, the Cavs did most of their damage from close range. Cleveland made just 7 of 20 3-point attempts which was still enough to hold off against DeMar DeRozan’s 18 points and Bismack Biyombo adding 12 points also for Toronto, which had just one day to prepare for the Cavs after going to seven games with Miami. Kyle Lowry, who scored 35 points in the Raptors’ series-clinching win over Miami, was held to a low scoring of just 8 points and just couldn’t seem to get get going at any point.

POINTS

REBOUNDS

ASSISTS

BLOCKS

POINTS

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GAME 2 // CLE 108 - TOR 89 More Dunks, More layups and a whole lot more offense by the Cavaliers as they now go 2 games up on the Raptors as they look to go into Toronto for the next 2 games. The Raptors started out alot better than the previous game but even with a 22 point game from Derozan it was quickly erased by Kyrie’s 26 and LeBron helped cover with 23 points and a triple double. Lowry left the game at one point to “blow off some steam” and with him and Derozan taking turns or just both being off and not shooting well it seems that the fight has left Toronto - at least for these 2 games. Cleveland improved to 10-0 in the playoffs with this victory over the Toronto Raptors as the Cavs became the fourth team to start the postseason with 10 straight wins, joining the Los Angeles Lakers (1989, 2001) and San Antonio Spurs (2012). For Cleveland, which swept Detroit and Atlanta and has beaten Toronto by a combined 50 points in two games, they’ve only allowed Kyle Lowry to score 10 points shooting 8-for-28 from the field, including 1-for-15 on 3-pointers, in the series. LeBron James also moved past Shaquille O’Neal into fourth place on the career postseason scoring list and posted his 15th playoff triple-double, securing it by running down his 10th rebound with 8:01 left in the game as Cleveland closed the first half with a decisive 16-2 run after they were up 20 after the score was tied at 48.

POINTS

REBOUNDS

ASSISTS

BLOCKS

POINTS

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GAME 3 // CLE 84 - TOR 99 Amazingly, up until this point in the playoffs the Cavs had swept both the Pistons and Hawks to gain an 8-0 start before the Eastern Conference Finals. This dominance didn’t stop as the Cavs began this series with 2 wins at home giving the team a 10-0 playoff run and putting Tyron Lue in the history books as the best playoff start for a rookie head coach. Unfortunately for the Cavs, as they traveled into Toronto for this Game 3, their streak would come to an end as they dropped this game to the Raptors by 15 points. Toronto kept the pressure on the Cavs the whole game as they allowed Derozan to go off for 32 points and gave Bismack Biyombo a Raptors playoff record of 26 rebounds. Time after time Cleveland just couldn’t get into the good flow of offense and for every quick shot or unadvised 3 point shot, they Raptors were there to clean it up and go down and make them pay. Cleveland had just 20 points inside the paint after putting a combined 100+ in the first 2 games on the Raptors. LeBron held his scoring up with 24 points and had JR Smith give 22 points but then lost the scoring load as Irving only got 13 and Love scored an abismal 3 points. Cleveland will need to enforce the dominant play they’ve managed to show over the last 2 series because the Raptors are still fighting for their chance in this series and won’t go down that easily - especially if you’re off your game.

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GAME 4 // CLE 99 - TOR 105 Lowry scored 35 points, including a driving layup in the final minute, and DeMar DeRozan had 32 as the Toronto Raptors evened the Eastern Conference Finals by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-99 in Game 4. DeMarre Carroll scored 11 points and Bismack Biyombo had 14 rebounds to help Toronto improve to 8-2 at home this postseason and got back on level terms after big losses in Games 1 and 2. Cleveland lost consecutive playoff games to an Eastern Conference opponent for the first time since dropping the final three games of the conference semifinals to Boston in 2010 even though LeBron James scored 29 points and Kyrie Irving had 26 for the Cavaliers, who trailed by as many as 18 points. Channing Frye scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter opposed to Lowry’s 9 in the fourth and DeRozan’s 12, connecting on five of six shots as the Raptors led 78-69 to begin the fourth but Frye made consecutive 3- pointers as Cleveland opened the final quarter with an 8-0 run, cutting it to 78-77. The Cavaliers made their first 11 shots of the fourth quarter when Frye’s errant 3-point attempt at 4:12 was Cleveland’s first miss of the fourth leading to DeRozan’s two free throws at the other end and, after another miss by Frye, Carroll made one of two to put Toronto up 99-96 with 3:23 to go. A long 3 by Irving made it 101-99 with 2:00 left, but DeRozan answered with a driving bank shot at 1:33 and Toronto got the ball back after Biyombo blocked J.R. Smith’s 3 then Biyombo kept the offensive possession alive by rebounding Lowry’s missed shot. After a timeout, Lowry let the shot clock wind down before driving for the decisive layup, making it 105-99 with 22 seconds to go as the Raps tied it 2-2.

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GAME 5 // CLE 116 - TOR 78 The Cavaliers defeated Toronto in a 116-78 victory to regain control of the Eastern Conference finals series in a blowout win that had LeBron James score 23 points and Kevin Love adding 25 in a resurfacing of the final part of the big 3. The Cavs opened a 34-point lead in the first half then pushed it to 43 in the second half and eventually took the 3-2 series lead allowing James, who had eight assists and six rebounds in 31 minutes, to check out of the game late in the third quarter with the Cavs up 37. By halftime James, Irving and Love had already outscored the Raptors 43-34 as a collective, while the victory added to Clevelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three game wins in the series bringing the total to a combined 88 points. DeMar DeRozan scored 14 and Kyle Lowry had 13 for the Raptors in a another subpar effort from the Raptors backcourt as well as Bismack Biyombo having just 4 rebounds after getting a whopping 40 the past two games. Jonas Valanciunas returned in this series for the first time after missing eight straight games with a sprained right ankle suffered during the Miami Heat series and scored nine points in 18 minutes. Cleveland held Toronto to 34 points in the opening half while building a 31-point halftime lead - the largest in conference finals history. Game 6 heads back to Toronto as the Cavs have the chance to close it out and end the series in 6 and do so in the 6.

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GAME 6 // CLE 113 - TOR 87

[CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WIN 4-2 - EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS] James scored 33 points, Kevin Love had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Cavaliers advanced to their second straight finals by beating the Toronto Raptors 113-87 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavs will again be seeking to end Cleveland’s 52-year championship drought, the longest by any city with at least three professional teams. Kyrie Irving had 30 points and J.R. Smith added 15 for the Cavaliers, who will face the winner of the Golden State vs. Oklahoma City series where Cleveland would open at home against the Thunder but would be on the road against the 73win Warriors. This marks the third finals appearance in team history for the Cavaliers after last year’s lost to Golden State in six games last year and a sweep by San Antonio in 2007. James broke the 30-point barrier for the first time this postseason and finished with 11 rebounds and six assists. James played in four straight finals with Miami before returning to Cleveland and will be the eighth player in NBA history to appear in six consecutive finals and the first who didn’t play for the Boston Celtics. James reaches this feat by taking down a Toronto team that set a franchise record with 56 wins and reached the conference finals for the first time in 21 seasons. Kyle Lowry scored 35 points and DeMar DeRozan had 20 as the deepest playoff run in Raptors team history ended, much to the disappointment of a sellout crowd of 20,605. Toronto prolonged the series with back-to-back home wins in Games 3 and 4 but never mounted much of a challenge to the conference champions in Game 6, falling behind by 21 in the third quarter.

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GAME 1 // GSW 102 - OKC 108 With the Thunder fresh off a victory over San Antonio and the Warriors with a few days rest it wouldn’t have been unreasonabe to think that the Warriors would be able to hold them off at home right away. However much like San Antonio did to the Thunder it appeared that a statement was the only way to start a series and thats exactly what OKC did with their win at Oracle. Going into the series it became more and more obvious that OKC would pose a problem to Golden State on the rebounding side of the game and that prediction was never more evident than in this game. If we fast forward to the eplosion that was Russel Westbrook int he 3rd quarter we could truly see the Warriors unravelling late in the game. The Warriors were 37-0 when they led by 13 points at the half (60-47), dropping their first game of the season (regular season or playoffs) when leading by double-digits at halftime now falling to 37-1 in those games. The Thunder kept themselves ahead through the 4th outscoring the Dubs 23-14 utimately leading to the lackluster effort in the 4th and OKC handing the loss to the home team. It would appear the biggest take away from this game is the ever echoed cliche that this really was “just one game” although it is now clear that the Thunder have the size advantage and that it will be there all game, every game. The Warriors on the other hand can have their off-nights and this looked to be one of them - will this continue though? It would be shocking if the Warriors couldn’t get their rythm back as they are too skilled to go back to back shooting poorly, but they now know that the Thunder have the upper hand in one looming category and how they answer must be from start to finish.

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GAME 2 // GSW 118 - OKC 91 The Warriors really needed to put Game 1 in the rearview mirror and get out to good start and much like the previous game it was a compelte flip and a mulitude of role reversals for the Thunder for Game 2. Golden State earned its first win of the Western Conference Finals series, pulling even with the Thunder and improving to 12-0 in games following a loss this season, including a 3-0 mark in the playoffs. Golden State won by 27 points, earning its fourth 20-point win of the postseason, which is its most 20-point wins in a single playoffs. The Warriors outrebounded the Thunder by nine boards (45-36), their largest rebounding margin against Oklahoma City in any game since owning a +14 rebounding advantage (47-33) on 2/13/11. Steph Curry scored 17 of his team-high 28 points in the third quarter, including 15-straight Warriors points in 1:58 of game time during the frame. Curry connected on five three-pointers to extend his NBA record streak to 46-straight postseason games with at least one three-pointer. Golden State’s bench outscored Oklahoma City’s reserves 50-29, with Andre Iguodala leading the way for the Warriors by scoring 14 points, including nine in the second quarter, to record his fourth double-digit scoring effort of this postseason. As this series goes from here we still aren’t sure who the clear cut frontrunner is and the momentum hasn’t changed as we go to OKC where, much like Oracle, the crowd can influence the home team into a win almost the same way.

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GAME 3 // OKC 133 - GSW 105 The Warriors dropped their fourth-straight Game 3 of any playoff series, trailing by as many as 41 points en route to their second-largest loss after the 28-point defeat (largest: 32 on 2/19 at POR) and largest playoff loss since Game 2 of the First Round on April 21, 2014 at the Clippers.The Thunder’s 133 points are the most the Warriors have allowed in the 2016 playoffs and the second-most this season after again having 137 dropped on them in the 2/19 Blazers game. Oklahoma City scored a franchise-record 72 first-half points, followed by its highest-scoring playoff quarter in franchise history with 45 points in the third quarter - both were opponent season highs against the Warriors this season. Steph Curry had team-high 24 points, behind his 3 three-pointers to extend his NBA record streak to 47-straight postseason games with at least one three (every playoff game in which he has appeared). But even with Steph’s 24 it was no match for the overwhelming amount of players that put the Thunder over the top with Durant’s 33 points, Westbrook’s 30, Ibaka’s 14 and Roberson and Waiters going for 13 each. This game was a wake-up call for the Warriors who looked gutted after the second quarter and just couldn’t get anything going from that point onwards. They now position themselves into a must-win Game 4 in OKC to take this series back home and into some sort of control if they plan to win.

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GAME 4 // OKC 118 - GSW 94 The Warriors dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, suffering consecutive defeats for the first time since dropping Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers as they lost Game 4 at Chesapeake Arena. Oklahoma City used a 16-0 run from 8:04 to 5:29 in the first quarter to rack up a 22-8 first-quarter lead and from that point onwards the Thunder never trailed again. The Thunder scored 72 first-half points for the second consecutive game, matching a franchise first-half record and the most points scored on the Warriors in a half this season. The Warriors lost consecutive playoff games by at least 20 points for the first time - such a defeat hasn’t been seen since losing in Games 2 and 3 of the 1972 Western Conference Semifinals to the Milwaukee Bucks by 25 and 28 points, respectively. Klay Thompson attempted to get the Warriors back into the game after going into full “F THIS” mode and scored 19-straight Warriors points in the third quarter, finishing with 26 points, while Stephen Curry scored an abismal 19 points and hit two three-pointers. Russell Westbrook had the first postseason triple-double by a Western Conference player against the Warriors since Magic Johnson in 1991, tallying 36 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Now as the Warriors head back into home territory they find themselves in one of the most procureous positions as the team being down 3-1 in the series and as history will tell you that onyl 9 teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit - most recently being the Houston Rockets last year as they came back to beat the LA Clippers after falling 3-1.

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GAME 5 // GSW 120 - OKC 111 Trailing the series 3-1, the Warriors snapped their first two-game skid of the season with a 120-111 home win in Game 5, forcing a Game 6 in Oklahoma City. Andrew Bogut was huge for the Dubs and had a playoff career-high 15 points to go with 14 rebounds, his second double-double of the postseason, while Stephen Curry recorded his second 30-point game of the postseason with 31 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. The help was there for Golden State as Klay Thompson added 27 points while Draymond Green tallied a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds in a much better performance than the slump he’d been having for the last 2 games and Marreese Speights fed off the home crowd and scored 14 points in just nine minutes of the bench. Golden State hit 2016 posteason highs of 31 free throws and 91.4 percent from the line (31-of-34 FT), while closing the game with a 39-point quarter to fend off a Thunder attack that saw Kevin Durant score 40 points. Golden State won its 83rd game of the season (regular and postseason combined), matching a franchise record for total wins in a season, doing so in Steve Kerr’s 200th overall game as head coach. And yet, the Warriors still looked to be having a hard time getting what they wanted and almost didn’t even close the game as the Thunder dwindled it down to 6 points after a Curry turnover forced by a steal from Westbrook. With 45 seconds left Westbrook gets a bucket and foul to make it 108-114, then with a shot to cut it to 5 Westbrook misses the free-throw but collects his rebound to then throw it back out to a wide open Durant from 27-feet away who barely misses a 3 point shot that would have almost definitely allowed an upset - after all it wasn’t a pretty game by the Warriors but they got the win.

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GAME 6 // GSW 108 - OKC 101 The Warriors staved off elimination with their first win of the series at Oklahoma City, becoming the 31st team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series. Golden State won its fourth-straight Game 6 of any postseason series, including its third-straight Game 6 on the road, previously earning wins away from home in Game 6 of the 2015 NBA Finals at Cleveland and Game 6 of the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals at Memphis. With its first win of the series at Oklahoma City, Golden State has won a road game in each of its last 10 playoff series since returning to the postseason in 2013. This game was tight from the get go as the Thunder took just a 5 point lead into halftime then a just an 8 point lead going into the 4th quarter. Then the 4th started and the Warriors never looked back as Klay Thompson connected on an NBA postseason record 11 three-pointers (11-of-18 3FG) en route to scoring a postseason career high 41 points. Stephen Curry recorded the first 30-point/10-rebound game his postseason career with 31 points and a postseason career-high-tying 10 rebounds to go with nine assists along with Draymond Green getting his second-straight double-double (seventh of this postseason) with 12 points and 12 boards. Road wins are never easy in the Playoffs and the script has been set for a Golden State team that seemed to be down and out as they were made sure to be ousted of the Finals by majority of the media. But just as Golden State did in OKC they now will be back home for Game 7 and for the Warriors that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t guarantee the win but it sure does help after the length and the ride of this series.

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GAME 7 // GSW 96 - OKC 88

[GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS WIN 4-3 - WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS] A special, record-setting season saved for the defending champs, with a memorable comeback added to the long list of accomplishments. Both Curry and Klay Thompson carried the 73-win Warriors right back to the NBA Finals, as Golden State rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-88 on in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Now, Curry and Co. are playing for another NBA title. The MVP scored 36 points with seven 3-pointers to finish with an NBA-record 32 in a seven-game series, and also had eight assists. Thompson added 21 points and six 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, just after his record 11 3-pointers led a Game 6 comeback that sent the series home to raucous Oracle Arena for one more. The Warriors became the 10th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win a postseason series. They return to the NBA Finals for a rematch with James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost the 2015 title in six games as Golden State captured its first championship in 40 years. With the Thunder trailing 90-86, Serge Ibaka fouled Curry on a 3-point try with 1:18 to go and the shot clock running out. Curry made all three free throws, then that 3-pointer to seal it. Andre Iguodala joined the starting lineup for just the second time all season and the 2015 NBA Finals MVP hung tough against Kevin Durant, who scored 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting. This game was everything for Golden State and only adds to the allure of their (still being written) historic season, while at the same time burning a moment into the careers of Durant and Westbrook for years to come.

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In the 2015/16 season The Orlando Magic appeared to be in Limbo. With a flurry of young talent which showed flashes of playoff potential, the young core still hasn’t tasted the success of a playoff birth. Still in a relentless pursuit back into the top of the Eastern Conference, it appears the club struggles to deal without a No.1 star leading their team. Built around GM Rob Hennigan’s ideology of a grass roots rebuild through the draft, it seems many of Orlando’s young talent hasn’t lived up to expectations just yet. A disappointing 35 – 47 record left Orlando finishing 11th in the surprisingly stronger but far less superior eastern conference. With a core unit built on young players with potential, many, such as myself had dreamed more for this team. Orlando face the reality currently that many of the young potential at this stage is just that, nothing more then potential that hasn’t and might not realise to be talent. A team that’s currant forecast looks to be a mid tear dwelling peril. With changes of Head Coach brings a new philosophy, Incumbent head coach Frank Vogal is a breath of fresh air for a team in desperate need of it. Coming off a successful stint in Indiana Vogal has been a proven commodity within rebuilding organisations. Unlike Indiana though, Vogal will not have a no. 1 guy, a Paul George he can count onday in and day out. Unlikely to be able to lure a superstar via free agency this offseason and doubtful they will find their next No.1 guy in the 11th pick Orlando and Vogal have the task to try and build Orlando from within.

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A team built on a young core many of Orlando’s players have shown flashes but lack consistency. A team whose currant best player is a 20 and 10 on paper, Nikola Vucevic has never through is career shown signs of being a presents as a defender often leaving our interior defence weak. Nearly Dunk Champion Aaron Gordon has taken the league by storm for his head to head battle with Timberwolves Zach LaVine in this years dunk contest. Unfortunately for Orlando his dunking talents haven’t translated to on court game just yet. The size of a 3 with the skills of a 4, Gordon faces the role of being a tweener, without a resemblance of any form of a consistent shooting touch, Gordon might be labelled nothing more then a high flier if he doesn’t acquire a shooting stroke. Our back court consists of Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja, and sadly between the three, non of them as of yet has been a constant knock down shooter. Hezonja drafted on the bases of his potential shooting threat, he has not shown much in his limited time in Orlando then being the teams Jr Smith. A trigger happy streaky shooter who will take shots regardless of form, if Hezonja can find his touch as well as pick up his defensive game he could find himself being a greater part of the Orlando plan. Oladipo is a 4th year player leading to his 5th, many view him as a future talent but after 4 years of hearing this rather then seeing this I’ve slowly started to have my doubts as him as a vocal point within our team and see him being an energy role in the grand scheme.

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I’ve been a relentless Orlando fan ever since my inception into basketball. I never shy away from my bias but sometimes reality does kick in. A team that so far hasn’t produced as much as predicted, young talent that hasn’t grown and no superstar names have even been linked. My highest hopes for this team come in with new coach Vogal. A successful coach with a style that suits Orlando’s game. In a weakened East its my hope that Orlando can recapture its dominance it once held. The need for small market team success in basketball is crucial, Orlando can be the next club to make that leap.

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