Would you have fired Avery Johnson?

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson has been fired. He led the Mavericks to the third highest regular season winning percentage over his coaching span of all time. The post season is a different story, however. His Maverics wer below .500 in the post season. The Mavs wer not the favorite in their series against the Hornets, but they had Jason Terry and Dirk. Dallas ownership is giving Johnson the bulk of the blame. Many would give him the bulk of the blame for leading the heat 2-0 in the 2006 finals, and losing the next four games. He was a superb coach, in my opinion, and I think The Dallas Mavericks organization is doing this out of mere frustration that they were contenders year after year and never won a ring. If I were in charge , i wouldn't have fired him. Would you have fired Avery Johnson. Feel free to post a comment!

Boston wins in homecourt dominated series

Boston beat Atlanta 110-85 in a series where the team playing at home has one every game so far. Based on that, does a game seven seem likely. I don't think so. Garnett had 20 points in the blowout. Based on the way they played today and Atlanta's weakneses, I see Boston winning in Atlanta in game six. Atlanta is a very enthusiastic team when they can run and gun. With exception of their best player in Joe Johnson, the rest of the team has to run and gun in order to get going. Many anticipated Boston to sweep this series, but Atlanta has stepped up their game. This has been good for the Celtics in this series I think they'll win and go much further. Atlanta is teaching them that they can take no team lightly by seeing Atlanta coming back to win two in a row after the Celtics' won the first two games of the series. What do you think readers?

Riley to retire as coach

Pat Riley will be retiring as head coach of the heat. Riley, who led the heat to their first ever championship, yet experienced their worst season ever this year, will remain President of the team. Pat Riley, was always fascinating. He was very strategic in the clutch with all the champoionship teams he coached(five with Lakers, one with miami, took KNicks to the finals,) as well as All-Star teams he's coached. I'll miss him and so will the rest of the basketball world.

On Frenchman to Another: Suns survive, but down 3-1

While one Frenchman in Tony Parker helped put the suns on the brink of elimination, another Frenchman in Boris Diaw, helped keep the Suns' playoff hopes alive. Diaw fell just two assists shy of a triple double to blow the suns past the Spurs, 105-86. Raja bell had 27 points, keeping the Suns, slim playoffs hope possible. No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. Phoenix will be without an injured Grant Hill. Shaq can only get older. Phoenix has not benifited from one of the most controversial trades of all time.

Clevelan runs away with 3-1 lead in series:testy moment between Stevenson and Lebron

Cleveland sneaked by Washington in agame highlighted by explosive jams from lebron and the rest of the Cavs. Delante West's tie breaking thrre pointer with 5.4 seconds left clinched the winfor Cleveland, giving them a hefty 3-1 lead in the series. Stevenson tried to strip James at one point with what was believed to be a closed fist. After tumbling onto the courtJames kept his balance and Walked toward Stevenson. Words were exchanged, but teammates later stepped in. "If we was on the park, something definitely would have escalated." said James. "But you know, I guess thats what they want to do. They want to hurt Lebron James this series. It aint working." .................Go lebron! You tell em'!
This situation reminds me of a time in 1993 when Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan got into it. Miller punched Jordan and Jordan retalliated by raking him across the face!

Mavs take 3-1 Lead in Series

David West scored 10 points during an early second half rally, surgin the Hornets past the Mavs to take a 3-1 lead in the series. They ended up winning 97-84, beating a team that ended the game with star jason Kidd, who was ejected for a flagrant foul on Pargo. The Mavs' David WEst finished with 24 points and nine rebounds.

Playoffs: Insight into first round Matchups and beyond

As I said before, the sun's don't have go-to guys who can shoot the three and score big in the clutch when it counts like some of the great dynasty teams that came back from 2-0 deficits had, such as the lakers of the eighties and the rockets of the nineties. The Bulls even came back after a two nothing deficit against the Knicks in 1993. How did they do it. Well, they had a strategic Wizard in Phil Jackson and knew how to answer New York's on the spot defense with an instant triangle offense that could run and gun and pick and role, plus they had a guy by the name of Michael Jordan in his prime, who could carry a team. O'neal at one point could carry the team on his shoulders, but as he has slowed down it's been harder to feed him the ball,. He could have practiced Yoga like Kareem(but didn't). Aside from that, his current condition leaves him in no position to carry a team on his back like superman anymore.

Lets talk about the rockets in this day and age. Tracy Mcgrady and Yoa Ming have had some success, but they are without Yao right now and how could they possibly beat the Jazz without him when they lost to the Jazz in the playoffs last year with him, when most everyone was healthy. T-Mac can't be held responsible for all the free throws the rockets have missed and all the rebounds they have failed to get. Success and failure is in essence, a team effort.

Let's shift our attention to the east. I like Boston a lot. Their game reminds me of the NInety's Bulls or the eighties Lakers, and of course Bird, parish, and Mchale. These guys can secure their wins by keeping their leads. They have youth in, the "O". They have veterans like Sam Cassell who have won championships. They have the go-to guy superstar in Kevin Garnett. They also have instant offense from the perimeter in Ray Allen. Yes, Detroit has experience. T. Prince and Chancy Billups are mesmerizing. They will most likely meet in the eastern conference finals. Boston , I for sure expect to be there. Detroit is aging though, and what gives them points is starting to become predictable. Lebron and the Cavs have an expolsive team that could very easily knock them off as they did last year. Orlando is likely to light up some eyes this season, but their team is still developing. I look for them to be a very formidable opponent in the next two seasons.

Suns in the midst of tasting defeat yet again

They make one of the most controversial trades in Nba history, trading the matrix,"Shawn Marion" for an aging Shaq way past his prime. They Beat the spurs both times with Shaq in the regular season. Shaq prematurely goes through the motions of putting on a championship ring for a packed America West arena to see. Suddenly, the Suns go down 2-0 against the spurs, trailing behind them yet again for the third straight post season. Was it all worth it? Many would say, their team is still adjusting to the new chemistry with Shaq. Does that explain them blowing a perfectly solid third quarter lead with Amare Stoudemare and Steve Nash hitting less than thirty percent of their shots in the period? Nash tries to stay positive claiming,"We had beaten them two straight time, now they've beaten us twice, it just happens to be in the playoffs." Mike D'antoni, decides to pass on watching a tape of the game and settles for watching an episode from the television series "medium." Both films display death, which is in the works most likely since, no team has ever come back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Tim Duncan and the Spurs in the post season, except the 2004 lakers. The only other team I think could have done it would have been the Houston Rockets during their dynasty with the Hakeem. Not only would they have had a Hakeem Olejouwan in his prime to challenge Duncan, but Cassel, Horry(big shot rob,), kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Clyde Drexler) These guys could play in the clutch like Martha Stewart could cheat on her taxes. Those guys had their team chemistry in synch when it came crunch time. The suns have an efficient, yet still shaky set up right now and have not molded together in time for playoff success. Shaq has performed Cinderella stories in the past(Miami in the 2006 finals.) He was a key part of their comeback then. But can his synergy be enough to help the suns at all. I think it's too little to late for this postseason. What do you think?

Lakers Dominate Game One:Bynaum out, but Gasol Saves Day

With the help of an offensive surge led by Paul Gasol and seventeen fourth quarter points by Kobe Bryant, the Lakers came out strong in their 128-114 win over the nuggets Sunday. Coach Phil Jacksonsaid that he doesn't expect center Andrew Bynum to play anytime soonthough the controversial move of plating Paul Gasol, turned out to be a refreshing one. Gasol, whos some feared would interrupt the team's chemistry, had an exceptional all around game with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assist. "I just think his skill set at his size is unmatched in this league," brag's teammate Kobe Bryant. Game two is scheduled for tonight at 9:30 eastern time.

Kobe's Reputation Still Marred.

He scores over eighty points in a single game. He wins an all-star MVP award in a rare, impartial Las Vegas All Star game a season later. Now, he's seen on you tube jumping over moving cars and playing more of a 'team-player' role in championship contending Los Angeles. Despite all this, many people are still remembering one nineteen year old girl's accusation against Kobe Bryant for rape. Though he was aquitted, private details got out in the open, details that portrayed his character as brutally forceful, as well as highlighting his infidelity. Will people ever see Kobe in the same light as they once did before the 2004 incident. What do you think. I'm all ears.

Most Anticipated Matchup of NBA Playoffs

The third seed spurs and the sixth seed suns has to be the most exciting matchup in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Suns, over the past two years, no matter how good their team was overall, no mater how well 2006 MVP, Steve Nash played, could never stop Tim Duncan and the Spurs. After sacrificing one of their prime time players in Shawn Marion for an aging, yet still effective Shaq, the Suns finally have the defense in their game that was once a much needed element. O'neal, being the one adding that element has helped the Suns beat the Spurs in their last two regular season outings, once in a near blowout on San Antonio's home floor. The Suns have such an all around front court and backcourt now, that they just might have what it takes to knock of the defending champion Spurs in the first round.

Revival of Laker-Celtics Rivalry in the works?

NBA playoff time is near, and for the first time in nearly twenty years, both the the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have won over fifty games and are in position to be serious championship contenders. Instead of Bird and Magic, it's Kevin Garnett and Koby Bryant leading the way for the two powerhouse teams. The Lakers are having one of their best regular seasons since there recent dynasty days with Kobe and Shaq, while, the Celtics are celebrating their re-enstatement into basketball greatness with a Kevin Garnett in his prime, working a miracolus record season along side Ray allen and Rashard lewis. Together, they combine for for over half of the Celtics points, marking a chapter in the legendary team's history as the Celtic's new "big three" of the era. Is a reawakening of the rivalry in store? Atleast for this post season possibly?
Eeyes in the basketball worlsd are starting to see gold vs. green yet again.