(63-19) First Round Wraps Up [4-0]

[Axel The Great]

10k views

That. Thanks everyone!

what about Ak47's wife...he has her AND she gives him a 1 free pass (for other women) once a year

also Okur's with the Miss Turkey and JJ Barea is with Miss Puerto Rico (no matter how much taller she is to him hhaha)

Well Parker is divorced from Longoria. Odom had Khloe,not Kim
But if the 3 where together, the focus would be on Longoria ,then Sharapova and Kardashian...

Odom has Kim....No Comment.
Sasha.. Maria
Parker aint got a girl... Does he?

It would not be a party, rather than everybody around Sharapova.

with Odom winning 6th man, if Sasha had won MIP, then I would have had to round off the group with Tony Parker winning MVP could they have celebrated with a really really hot party??
The ladies would be a bigger deal than guys the party would be thrown for...

How 'bout just inviting their women to the party and not allowing the NBA players in?

[Axel The Great]

Posted by Axel Gomez May 8, 2011 at 5:45 PM
Game Three Recap
San Antonio, TX - Things began in an atrocious way for San Antonio. Manu Ginobili could not get it going, and they shot below 30% from the field in the first quarter. They were outscored 25-14 in what seemed like it was going to be a lopsided game. Houston began to play lockdown defense, forcing the Spurs into tough shots, and limiting penetration from Ginobili and Tony Parker.

However, the Spurs bounced back nicely in the second quarter, as they were able to force turnovers and help themselves back into the game. Turnovers were costly for the Rockets, as they coughed the ball up 16 times compared to just six times by the Spurs. With this, the Spurs had 14 steals, and that ultimately kept them in the game. They re-took the lead as the half was nearing a close, but Houston closed the half out better and had a slight 39-38 lead at halftime. San Antonio was shooting 32% from the field at the half, which is a testament to the defense that was played by Houston.

In the third quarter, things went back to the way they were before; high scoring up tempo action. Ginobili scored nine of his 30 points in this period, helping to keep the Spurs alive in this one. Kevin Martin edged him out by scoring 12 of his 31 in this period, penetrating his way to the rim at will. The smaller George Hill had a hard time keeping up. Not also that, Hill was rendered almost useless on the other end by Martin. Hill scored just 10 points on 4/14 shooting, being harrassed by the bigger Martin all game long. Fortunately for Hill, he came through in the final period.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth showdown, with neither team giving an inch. The Rockets looked in great shape at times to pull away, and had their opportunities for daggers, but they just couldn't convert offensively. They scored just 17 points in the final period, which is not the usual amount they score.

With a three-pointer from Manu Ginobili, San Antonio was able to tie the game at 77 with just a couple of minutes remaining. Yao Ming answered back nicely with a 16-foot jumpshot over DeJuan Blair which got the friendly bounce, to make the score 79-77. On the other end, Hill was fouled and sent to the line. With a lot of pressure on, he knocked down both free throws to keep the game tied at 79.

The story of the fourth quarter, was Kevin Martin. The Spurs brought the double-team on him the whole quarter, shutting down his driving lanes and not allowing him easy pull-up jumpers. Martin was held to a very unusual four points in the final period. "After witnessing the scoring wrath that Martin can put forth, the double-team had to be brought. It worked, and we didn't allow him shots that he wanted to take. All season long, he put away teams by scoring in bunches in the final period. A pivotal game this was, I'm glad we gave the effort on defense to shut him down," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

After the Rockets failed to convert on offense, Ginobili drove right and was fouled by Aaron Brooks, converting the bucket as well. He hit the and-one free throw to put the Spurs up 82-79. Not calling a timeout, Brooks came right back at the Spurs as he rushed up the court and found himself a clear path to the basket for an easy layup, 82-81 the score was then.

Parker shaved some time off the clock, and got the ball to George Hill. Hill, as mentioned earlier, was harrassed by Martin and could not get past him, as he was forced into a difficult, contested fadeaway that somehow dropped in. That put the Spurs up 84-81 with four seconds remaining.

After the timeout, Martin ran to the corner and shot a three off the inbounds pass, but it clanked off the side of the rim as DeJuan Blair grabbed the rebound, and that was that. The Spurs pull one back and gain some momentum to be able to tie the series next game.

San Antonio shot 37% from the field, while Houston shot 41%. Houston won the battle of the boards once again 48-46, but the turnovers was the deciding factor. As said before, Houston had 16 turnovers, and the Spurs only had six.

Player of the Game-

Manu Ginobili
30 points | 4 rebounds | 3 assists | 11/22 FG | 4/9 3P | 4/5 FT

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Kevin Martin - 31 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 12/23 FG, 7/7 FT
Yao Ming - 11 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 5/9 FG
Luis Scola - 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 5/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 8 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 3/6 FG
Aaron Brooks - 7 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 3/9 FG

Spurs:
DeJuan Blair - 12 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/10 FG
Richard Jefferson - 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 5/8 FG
Tony Parker - 11 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 5/15 FG
George Hill - 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals, 4/14 FG

25 14 25 17 81
14 24 24 22 84



Game Four Recap
A series that was thought to be either a defensive grind or a high scoring affair was a bit of both in Game 4. Both teams shot well over 50% in the first half, credit that to the sharp offense played.

The Rockets got out to an early lead despite San Antonio shooting a higher percentage and getting to the free throw line more often. Luis Scola scored eight points in the first quarter to help the Rockets to a 29-point period, and Kevin Martin chipped in with nine of his own. In the second quarter, Manu Ginobili got his rhythm going. He scored nine points in the second period, but the Spurs were not able to narrow down the margin by halftime, as the Rockets still held a 55-50 lead.

The second half started with DeJuan Blair knocking down a baseline jumper, and for the next seven minutes, the Rockets propelled themselves to a 19-6 run. They grabbed their largest lead of the series, at 16.

For the second half, both teams shot a pretty low percentage. Houston shot 43% (48% for the game), and San Antonio shot 39% (45% for the game). After starting 8/11 from the field, Ginobili was shut down by the Rockets' wings of Shane Battier and Kevin Martin. Ginobili only scored seven points in the second half, after scoring 15 in the first. He finished with a team high 22 points, on 10/23 shooting.

Meanwhile, for the Rockets, Martin scored a game high 25 points, six of them coming in the closing minutes of the game. "The luxury of having a taller wing post up against San Antonio's small lineup is a good one. Martin can just bulldoze his way into the paint, creating more opportunities to score," Rockets head coach Rick Adelman praised Martin's game.

"It wasn't all about the one-on-one defense. We began to bring the double team on him (Ginobili), to not allow him anything easy. What they did to Martin last game, we did to Ginobili this game," premiere defender Shane Battier said.

Both teams began to lock down on defense in the fourth quarter, as both teams shot an equal amount of 8/20 (40%) from the field. "Heading to San Antonio, we wanted to play more up tempo with Duncan out of action. A high-octane offensive team like Houston I thought would've played along, but they've slowed down the tempo on us and forced us to play halfcourt. Teams underestimate their halfcourt defense and that's why we're down 3-1," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said.

"Free throws are something we need to work on. If we can knock down our free throws, we have a fair chance of coming back into this series. The opportunities are there, we just went 15/24 from the line and that's not where you want to be to get to the Conference Finals," said Richard Jefferson. 15/24 amounts to just 63%, a very low percentage in NBA standards.

San Antonio is now forced to take one on the road in Houston, where the Rockets lost only six games (35-6) in the regular season. It will take a bunch of miracles for them to pull that one out without Tim Duncan.

Player of the Game-

Kevin Martin
25 points | 5 rebounds | 4 assists | 2 steals | 10/21 FG | 4/4 FT

Key Performers:
Rockets:
Luis Scola - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7/13 FG
Aaron Brooks - 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 4/8 FG
Yao Ming - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 6/11 FG
Kyle Lowry - 10 points, 2 assists, 4/7 FG

Spurs:
Manu Ginobili - 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 10/23 FG
Tony Parker - 15 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 5/10 FG, 5/7 FT
George Hill - 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3/10 FG, 6/8 FT
DeJuan Blair - 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 5/6 FG
Richard Jefferson - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4/9 FG

29 26 25 17 97
24 26 19 20 89

[Houndy]

Finish them

[Mavs4Life]

2 Game 3s , you should take em' out next game.

[Bucket]

Small typo ''Game 3'' two times
This win was a last win for Spurs in 10-11 season. Finish them in The Holy Hot Humid Hell that is Houston. K-Mart is unstoppable right now. Looks like Spurs can't win without Manu's 30

[rise]

Just get it over with, finish the Spurs off by scoring 50 with K-Mart.

[Radioman]

Now you got the Matchpoint, i hope your Ming era can last some years more than the real one.

[Cruzerr]

Axels inviting women idea rules, going with that

[Larvae]

Just one more and your advancing once again on a high note

[Axel The Great]

Finish them

I will.

2 Game 3s , you should take em' out next game.

As I said, bad part about using images for things like this. Would take a long while for me to fix that, and I'm not willing to do that. As a reader, just disregard it as you know what I'm trying to imply.

Small typo ''Game 3'' two times
This win was a last win for Spurs in 10-11 season. Finish them in The Holy Hot Humid Hell that is Houston. K-Mart is unstoppable right now. Looks like Spurs can't win without Manu's 30

I will finish them in the humidity of the so-called "city" I live in. And the Spurs have been relying on just Manu to bail them out; Parker, Hill, and Jefferson have been shut down most of the series.

Just get it over with, finish the Spurs off by scoring 50 with K-Mart.

That would be the goal.

Now you got the Matchpoint, i hope your Ming era can last some years more than the real one.

It will. With the luck I've had so far with the lack of injuries, Ming era is secured.

Axels inviting women idea rules, going with that

Yep. Too bad it can't become a reality.

Just one more and your advancing once again on a high note

Advancing to the WCF for the first time since 97. Hope to advance to the Finals while I'm at it.

Games 3 & 4 around the league is next.

[Axel The Great]

Around the League: Game Threes

Eastern Conference

@
Game Three: BOS wins 111-100;
31 17 28 35 111
24 21 26 29 100

Key Performers:
Celtics:
Paul Pierce - 25 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 8/12 FG, 7/9 FT
Ray Allen - 22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5/10 FG, 11/11 FT
Kevin Garnett - 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 7/10 FG
Jeff Green - 16 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 5/11 FG, 3/6 3P

Magic:
Jason Richardson - 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, 5/12 FG, 2/3 3P
Brandon Bass - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 6/12 FG
Hedo Turkoglu - 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 6/13 FG
Dwight Howard - 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 4/7 FG
Gilbert Arenas - 14 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 3/9 FG, 6/7 FT

@
Game Three: NYK wins 120-112
30 21 32 29 112
29 31 34 26 120

Key Performers:
Heat:
LeBron James - 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, 12/25 FG, 3/10 3P, 11/11 FT
Dwyane Wade - 27 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 10/20 FG, 2/5 3P, 5/6 FT
Chris Bosh - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 7/15 FG

Knicks:
Carmelo Anthony - 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 11/21 FG
Chauncey Billups - 25 points, 11 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 6/10 FG
Amar'e Stoudemire - 24 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 9/15 FG, 6/8 FT
Landry Fields - 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6/10 FG, 3/6 3P

Western Conference

@
Game Three: DAL wins 96-95
26 26 20 23 95
32 22 20 22 96

Key Performers:
Thunder:
Kevin Durant - 26 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 5 blocks, 11/22 FG, 2/6 3P
Serge Ibaka - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3/4 FG, 10/10 FT
Russell Westbrook - 14 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 4/12 FG, 6/6 FT
Nate Robinson - 13 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, 5/10 FG

Mavericks:
Caron Butler - 24 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 10/16 FG
Dirk Nowitzki - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/11 FG, 4/4 FT
Jason Terry - 13 points, 7 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 6/11 FG
Jason Kidd - 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 5/15 FG

Around the League: Game Fours

Eastern Conference

@
Game Four: BOS wins 117-84; BOS leads series 3-1
28 35 27 27 117
24 18 23 19 84

Key Performers:
Celtics:
Ray Allen - 27 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 9/20 FG, 3/7 3P, 6/6 FT
Paul Pierce - 23 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 6/10 FG, 9/9 FT
Jeff Green - 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 7/10 FG
Delonte West - 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5/6 FG

Magic:
Hedo Turkoglu - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 4/8 FG, 9/9 FT
Dwight Howard - 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 6/14 FG, 5/6 FT
Brandon Bass - 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 6/11 FG

@
Game Four: NYK wins 94-90; NYK leads series 3-1
28 15 22 25 90
20 24 23 27 94

Key Performers:
Heat:
LeBron James - 28 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 9/23 FG, 8/9 FT
Dwyane Wade - 21 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 9/20 FG
Chris Bosh - 20 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 8/15 FG, 4/5 FT

Knicks:
Amar'e Stoudemire - 29 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 10/19 FG, 9/13 FT
Chauncey Billups - 21 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 8/12 FG
Carmelo Anthony - 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 7/15 FG

Western Conference

@
Game Four: OKC wins 99-93; Series tied 2-2
27 21 26 25 99
19 18 16 40 93

Key Performers:
Thunder:
Kevin Durant - 21 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 8/18 FG
Russell Westbrook - 20 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 8/21 FG
Nate Robinson - 17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4/9 FG, 8/8 FT
Thabo Sefolosha - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3/4 FG

Mavericks:
Dirk Nowitzki - 34 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 15/30 FG
Jason Terry - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3/9 FG, 6/6 FT
Tyson Chandler - 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2/6 FG, 6/7 FT
Jason Kidd - 9 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2/6 FG

[Solaris Phase Two]

Name: DaVonte Hughes
Age 21
Position: Pg/Sg
School:Central Florida
Height:6'1
Weight:215
Jersey #:22
Body Type:Normal
Skin Tone:2
5 Strengths: Great Passer and Adequate Shooter.
5 Weaknesses: Driving the lane
Playing Style: Allen Iverson
NBA Comparison: Steve Nash
Physical Appearance Just normal Black guy with Natural Waves and a goatee*with the mustaches*
Misc. Details Projected Late Round 1

[Bucket]

Damn, cHeat down 1-3.

[Radioman]

I had a vision of a Rockets - Knicks Final

[karlsanada10]

, 12/25 FG, 3/10 3P(3rd) and 9/23 FG(4th game) for Lebron. Is someone choking again.xD

[kibaxx7]

Wow Heat down 1-3? Not expected

[Axel The Great]

Dmastawwe, that should've been PM'ed. I have an application here, but the one you filled out is just fine. Depending on who's active at the time, there's a possibility I may slide you into the 2012 draft.

Valdis, Thierry •, I bet everyone didn't expect that. Sim engine seems to be favoring the Knicks here.

Radioman, haha, that'd be a nice rematch. Of course, I have a strong feeling that series won't go to 7 games seeing as how the Knicks don't have a good center so Yao would just bully them in the paint. And of course, I believe Martin can outscore Melo.

karlsanada10, 12/25 isn't considered bad shooting in my books, that's just 48%, but that's taking way too many shots. But yes, 3/10 from deep and 9/23 is something that sounds like the RL LeBron.

Well it seems I've caught a cold, and am not feeling well at the moment. Good thing I'm off from work today, hopefully I'll feel better later on to be able to finish the Spurs off. Defensive Player of the Year winner is next, but it's not Dwight Howard.

[Axel The Great]

2011 NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Posted by Axel Gomez May 9, 2011 at 8:35 PM
Before you complain about how the media probably chose Dwight Howard for the DPOY because he's known as the best shot blocker, most athletic frontcourt player, and his defensive plays are one of the few that make the highlight reels, let me just tell you that Howard did not win the award this year.

Atlanta forward Josh Smith has been named this years best defensive player and for a good reason. Smith averaged 15.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks. He finished top 10 in the league in both the blocks and steals category, and was a huge reason for the Atlanta Hawks making the playoffs. All defensive reasons and stats led all the way to Smith, and the Hawks went 47-35 but were unfortunately eliminated by the Orlando Magic in five games.

"Josh (Smith) has always been an excellent defensive player. It's good to see that he's finally being recognized for what he does best out on the court," teammate Joe Johnson praised Smith's defense. "Hard work has payed off now. I always give my best effort on defense; I make it my mission to not allow the opposing team to score. People saw that this season, and well here I am with the award," Josh Smith said.

Next in line was Kevin Garnett, who had an excellent season contributing to the 59-23 Boston Celtics. Garnett averaged 15.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks. A sudden breakout season near the end of his career is definitely a welcome sign, and here he is as a runner-up for the award he won in 2008.

Dwight Howard was the next favorite, averaging 19 points, 12.1 rebounds (league-leading), and 2.4 blocks (also league-leading). Not choosing Howard for the award is somewhat of a head-scratcher, as he's the sole reason the Magic have had many games in which they hold opponents to less than 90 points. "Obviously, the media may have wanted to give the award to someone else, and probably didn't see enough out of me on defense to choose me for the award. Just added motivation to try harder next year," Howard said on being snubbed.

Tim Duncan and LeBron James were also contenders. Duncan was an excellent choice to win the award but he suffered a broken foot near the end of the season which crushed his chances to not only win the award, but also the Spurs' chances of a championship. Duncan averaged 17.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2 blocks. Meanwhile, James averaged 27.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 2.5 steals.

James' chase-down blocks have gone down to a minimum; his predictability on defense is probably why he's not any higher up in terms of contention.

I feel Smith was an excellent choice for the award this year, but you couldn't have gone wrong with picking Howard either. Well, without further ado, here's the list of contenders I described above, with the numbers they put up this season:

2011 Defensive Player of the Year Candidates:



Comments: (2)

Posted by The REAL K-Mart (Kenyon sucks!) May 9, 2011 at 9:32 PM
Award should've gone to Howard to make him the first player to win the award thrice in a row.

Posted by Ariza's Bricks May 9, 2011 at 9:45 PM
Awarding Smith the award shows you that brick shooters are useful and do have a place in this league.

[Bucket]

Fuck... KG>J-Smoove.
Ariza's Bricks

[Mavs4Life]

Posted by The REAL K-Mart (Kenyon sucks!) May 9, 2011 at 9:32 PM
Award should've gone to Howard to make him the first player to win the award thrice in a row.

What he said

[Lamrock]

With the Heat on the verge of getting knocked out and this series all but won, it's looking good for the Rox.

[Larvae]

Wow, shocking how Dwight fell in the standings

[Martti.]

Smith shot 53%, not too bad.

[Stress Fracture]

Damn, cHeat down 1-3.

ALL HAIL THE KNICKS!

[Justine.]

Dwight really got snubbed