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Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe Bryant Finishes What Pau Gasol Started
For about three quarters, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to Pau Gasol to keep them in the game and in the playoff picture. Once the fourth quarter began, so did Kobe Bryant, who saved his best for last, hopefully serving as some sort of metaphor for a season that might end up not being as disappointing as it looked to be heading towards earlier in the year.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook Continues to Outscore Kevin Durant
If Kevin Durant had any chance of winning the scoring title for the fourth consecutive time, he probably needs someone to tell Russell Westbrook to stop shooting so much, although it probably wouldn’t help even if Scott Brooks, the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thudner if someone forgot, would go and scream it in his ear.
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Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin Doesn’t Help James Harden Do All the Work
After a series of games in which it seemed the Houston Rockets were headed in a new direction of a bit more cooperation and sharing of the ball handling and decision making role between Jeremy Lin and James Harden, it was back to step one for the two and the team, who did win the game and clinch a playoff spot, but needed a little bit of luck to get it.
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Miami Heat – LeBron James Makes the NBA Look Unfair Sometimes
When LeBron James is this good, you really do wonder if there is any parity at all in the NBA, as he didn’t even need Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, instead getting a bit of scoring help from Norris Cole and Ray Allen, but not too much, as the Miami Heat continued their late-season cruise towards securing home court advantage all through the playoffs.
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New York Knicks – Carmelo Anthony Can’t Be Stopped
With his first scoring title in sight and in his grasp, Carmelo Anthony just won’t stop this crazy scoring spree that he’s on, coincidentally going well with the New York Knicks being quite unstoppable themselves at the moment, winning 13 games in a row and clinching their first division title in 19 years. Even though the […]
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Playing 3000 Minutes Means no NBA Championship
To win an NBA title, apparently, you need your star player to clock in less than 3000 minutes a season, as the meaning of an NBA minute has changed over the years, becoming more physically taxing as time goes by, which might mean player like Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant (who might not even make the postseason) need to take a rest before this season is over.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Replicating NBA Playoffs Success Harder in 2013
A look at some advanced stats and overall efficiency suggests the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the best team in the Western conference, let alone the NBA, but their over-reliance on the individual skills of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, not to mention their struggles in head-to-head games against the conference’s best teams suggests reaching the Finals for a second consecutive season isn’t going to be this easy.
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New York Knicks – What They Need to Be Actual NBA Title Contenders
The recent run of wins by the New York Knicks, heralded by the amazing scoring spree Carmelo Anthony is currently on, has put them back into the discussion of being a serious contender for the NBA title in the eyes of some, but the fact remains that without fixing some defensive issues that have been plaguing them for quite a while, they’re not going to get that far.
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Kevin Love, A Season of Failure and Injuries
As if Kevin Love needed another nail in the coffin that is his 2012-2013 season, the news of him needing arthroscopic surgery to remove a buildup of scar tissue in his left knee came and completely crushed any chance of him playing a few games for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the garbage time of the season, making it a campaign that started badly and ended the same way for the team’s star.
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Louisville Cardinals – Luke Hancock, Deserving Most Outstanding Player on the Deserving NCAA Champions
For the second time in a row, Luke Hancock came off the bench to keep Louisville on the right course, ending an incredible finish to the season with the NCAA tournament title, making Rick Pitino the first head coach to win two national titles with two different schools, while Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan more than made up for the fact that Russ Smith didn’t really show up on the most important game of his career.