CAN INDIANA KEEP PACE WITH THE HEAT?

What are the chances the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat?  What are the chances my San Antonio Spurs (that’s right, I said MY Spurs) can get a break this NBA Finals and play the Pacers? My guess is that the Heat will beat the Pacers in 7 but wouldn’t it have been nice if head coach Frank Vogel didn’t f-up game 1? Indiana would be up 3-1 right now and just chillin.  Instead, they’re tied 2-2, and have to start from scratch. I believe the odds of winning the series are in favor of the game 5 winner so I’ll definitely be rooting for the Pacers.  Indiana has played the Heat tougher than anyone this post-season and I’m giving them about a 35% chance to pull off this upset.

On a side note, I do think the NBA needs to crack down on all this flopping.  It makes me sick.  Back in days of the Detroit Pistons and Celtics v. Lakers, any player would get knocked out if they ever flopped like Lebron and David West did the other day.  The $5,000 fine they levied on these guys is a joke (unfortunately, his name slips my mind right now). Oh well, they don’t make them like they used to and clearly the game has changed. I must say though, I’m actually enjoying these finals.  If you have any good karma left, throw it the Spurs way.  They deserve to win.  They will win.  They’re the prototypical franchise with ideal players.  No complaining, no talks about contract extensions. Heck, Parker and Duncan don’t even have twitter accounts! With that said, let’s go Spurs!

What Happened to the New Orleans Hornets?

Two years, ago, this team took the San Antonio Spurs to a game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals and lost.  And all everyone could think about was, this team is going to be a contender for the next 5 years, AT LEAST.  They had the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul, an up and coming emerging power forward in David West, a Peja Stojakovic who could still hit a three, and a supporting cast of Tyson Chandler, Morris Peterson, Chris “Birdman” Anderson, Bonzi Wells, Bobby Jackson, and Rasual Butler, to say the least????  What the heck happened to this team? If the playoffs started today, they’d be watching from the sidelines.  No more Tyson, no more Birdman, an injury prone Chris Paul.  Sure, they play in the powerful Western Conference but this team went from one of those scary teams on the schedule to a sorry ass, maybe sneak into the playoffs as an eight seed and one and done.  It goes to show you how hard it is to stay competitive for consecutive years, let alone 5 or 10.  Kudos to winning franchises like the Celtics and Lakers who have been winning for years, even through making trades. After losing to the Spurs at home tonight, the Hornets are now a whimpy 31-30, 1 game over .500.  I personally hope they make the playoffs so the Lakers get a first round bye, so to speak…

RECOGNIZE Chris Paul

I believe in Chris Paul.  Apparently, Rajon Rondo doesn’t. After the Celtics beat the Hornets by 10 in Boston on Sunday, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo felt he needed to let Paul know what up. Words were exchanged but nothing ensued.  Let me just say this: Rajon Rondo can’t hold Chris Paul’s jockstrap (if that make sense).  What I’m trying to say is Rondo wishes he can become as good as Paul.  I turned into a huge Rondo believer after he tore it up in the playoffs last year.  But disrespect is not cool.  Rondo needs to realize the truth.  He has 3 hall of famers on his team in Garnett, Pierce and Allen.  Not only that, but throw in a Rasheed Wallace and they’ve already become the favorite to win the East.  Unfortunatley Paul’s supporting cast isn’t as good, Emeka and David West? Paul is averaging 26 pts and 7 assists, Rondo 6.5 and 12.  In 5 years, Paul is averaging 20 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 2/5 assists.  Rondo on the other hand, in 4 years, 10 points, 6 assists, under 2 steals and 4.4 rebounds.  I know Rondo is on his way to bigger and better things.  Hell, he just signed a 5 year $55 million extension with the Celtics. Although, he needs to show respect to the players that have earned theirs, and Chris Paul is that.  Heck, I don’t even think Rondo has a nickname yet.  CP3 or Chef Paul (I like the latter), might be the coolest in the league.  Back off Rondo, you don’t want to wake up a sleeping little giant. That’s the best point guard in the league…