Author Danny Vinik

Rockets Make A Statement

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The Houston Rockets walked into Portland as a slight underdog, but left the overwhelming favorite to win the series. After a 108-81 victory Saturday night, Houston is now in great position to move on to the next round. Yes, it is only one game, but this was quite a dominant game.Rockets Trail Blazers Basketball

They shot 58.5% from the field and out-rebounded the Trail Blazers 44-30. In every facet of the game, Houston outplayed Portland. No one on Houston played too many minutes (Shane Battier played the most at 37) and so no one was over exerted.

The offense was precise and destructive, but the defense was the star of the game. The Blazers shot just 41.7% from the field and were 1 of 11 from 3-point- range. This wasn’t just a bad shooting performance by Portland. This was a great defensive performance from Houston. Every shot was contested.

  1. LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged over 18 points a game during the regular season, mad just 3 of his 12 shots and scored only 7 points.
  2. Brandon Roy, the only bright spot for the Blazers, shot 10 of 23 from the field for 21 points, but even that was still below his 22.6 season average. Continue reading “Rockets Make A Statement” →

Why The Lakers Won’t Win It All

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The NBA Playoffs get underway tomorrow and everyone is expecting either the Cavs or Lakers to walk away as NBA Champions. With KG going down, most people have given the Boston Celtics very little chance of repeating. I agree. KG is the Celtics’ heart and soul and even though Paul Pierce is the best player on that team. their defense will be too weak and offense too unreliable for them to contend with Cleveland.

Speaking of Cleveland, they are the best team in the NBA. Period. They aren’t guaranteed to win the title, because the best team does not necessarily win it all, but I have them as the heavy favorites to win the crown. I don’t want to talk about the Cavs, though. Everyone knows about them.

Maybe its the East coast bias on ESPN, but I haven’t been hearing much about the Lakers except that everyone expects them to challenge for the title. However, let’s make this clear: THE LAKERS ARE POSERS

Here’s why:

  1. Kobe isn’t good enough. Not many times has that phrase been said, but he still needs to become more of a team player. He’s averaging less than five assists a game and that isn’t good enough. LeBron? He’s averaging over seven assists per game and is shooting a better FG% (48.9 for Lebron vs 46.7 for Kobe). If Kobe ever wants to win the championship with him as the leader of the Lakers, he needs to distribute more. Continue reading “Why The Lakers Won’t Win It All” →

Wakefield Steps Up

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The Boston Red Sox are off to one of their worst starts in years at 3-6. Coming in to today, that record was 2-6 and they were at risk of being swept by the Oakland Athletics. Last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up five runs in his one inning of work before leaving the game with arm fatigue (he’s now on the DL), forcing the bullpen to enter the game very early. On top of that, the game went twelve innings so the Boston bullpen had to pitch 11 innings. Oh, and they lost.

Now, more than ever, the Red Sox needed a strong, deep start from Tim Wakefield. They got more than they could possibly imagine.

Wake pitched a complete game, four-hitter giving up two earned runs, but he also took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. The Sox led the game 2-0 most of the way, before opening up the score in the top of the 8th and eventually winning 8-2. So desperately in need of a win, anything to boost the team’s confidence, that Wake’s performance could be a turning point in the year.

Reporters, coaches, and players all reiterate that a poor start to the season doesn’t mean the team will struggle all season. Yes, it is only seven games, but those seven games are what set your team up, present it with confidence to win or the doubt causing teams to lose. Continue reading “Wakefield Steps Up” →