Ten years of absence: oh my goodness what have we here!

Crazy buckets!  It's been almost ten years since I've updated this blog, which was originally a project for a Professional Writing class.

Well, I have since long graduated from college, I still love basketball, LeBron James is back on Cleveland, Kevin Durant that puke bucket has since decided to bolt and try to win an easy ring with Golden State, and there are few people who would ever want to win a free Dwightmare Howard basketball jersey card anymore, which was apparently my last blog entry.  lulz.

And thank goodness, Kobe the Selfish One is no longer playing in the league anymore, so we don't have to deal with him ever again.

Still, there are other problems.  My team, the OKC Thunder, is now a Russell Westbrook side show.  Westy may indeed end the season with the first triple double average since Oscar Robertson, but he and former teammate James Harden may also set single season records for turnovers per game as well.  You have to love Westy's heart, but with so many games where he goes about 8-27 with eight turnovers, this isn't exactly watching Michael Jordan style dominance or efficiency.  OKC is missing Durant, plain and simple.  Durant, that jerk.  Ugh.

Speaking of jerks, it's so hard to find players and teams to root for anymore.  I know not to be naive -- I mean, these players deal with zillions more temptations than any of us John and Jane Does ever have to face in a given day -- but you always want to find those David Robinsons and A.C. Greens amidst all the Draymond Greens and their weenie pics and the DeMarcus Cousinses and their volatile tempers, but it seems that's harder than ever in the day and age of social media and scrutiny for every little thing.

I'll take Cleveland.  The Cavities are my second favorite team to cheer for after my beloved Thunder, OKC being the closest thing I ever had to a hometown team.  Cleveland is relatively more classy than a lot of other teams, and their star players more than other star players, but there's still all kinds of subtle stuff.  Let's start with LeBron.  LeBron deals with stardom pretty well, but there's still the pouting on the court when he doesn't get his way (especially with the refs), and the possible Illuminati connections off it, and thus we have to come to the conclusion that -- as well as he probably handles all the traps of stardom -- he's still not a saint.  Same with Kyrie.  And don't even get me started on Love and Thompson.  The latter, while being a fan favorite whose offensive rebounding hustle is great to watch on the court, is nonetheless a Kardashian fanboy off it.  And the former, while being a great teammate who has sacrificed much to win rings, still loves to titillate his female fans with sexy pictures when he's not on the court.  I'd like to be able to encourage him on his Facebook page, but when he's posing naked for ESPN, or wearing tight pants for Banana Republic, or laying around in Saxx underwear, I suddenly forget about what a great outlet passer he is, or how many rebounds he gets in a game.  Along with tons of other women who -- not surprisingly -- have left all kinds of racy comments on his social media accounts, it's amazing how easily distracted I get by what a handsome piece of muffin he is.  I had to stop going to his social media pages this summer, that smoldering stud.  Exciting me and all the other ladies for all the wrong reasons.  What a jerk.

So yeah, too many jerks, and not enough upstanding citizens.

But I still love the game.  Will just have to deal with all this and keep enjoying the game for what it is in spite of it all.

-B-ball girl

NBA Playoff Contest - Win a Dwight Howard card!

I am now hosting a special playoff contest. It's very simple: pick which team you think will win the NBA championship, and send your pick to me via Khendradm@aol.com. If your pick ends up winning the championship, you have a chance at winning a free 2006-07 Upper Deck Dwight Howard game-worn jersey basketball card. The first person to submit the correct answer wins. The playoffs are still in the first round, so there is plenty of time to make a submission. Don't wait too long, though, because someone might pick the correct team before you do!

I will notify the winner through e-mail. The winner will have to provide his/her name and address so I can send the card. The card will be sent in a plastic sleeve and top loader inside a bubble envelope for protection. Beckett.com values the Howard at $8.

Good luck!

Almost There

April 18 marks the final day of the NBA regular season, featuring a whopping 14 games. Playoff seedings are at stake for several teams - including LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, who not only need to beat the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow, but need the Chicago Bulls to lose to the New Jersey Nets in order for the Cavaliers to clinch the #2 seed in the East. The Eastern #2 seed will face either the Washington Wizards or the New Jersey Nets in the playoffs. If the Cavaliers lose, they will drop to the #5 seed and have to face the defending champion Miami Heat.

Speaking of LeBron, he has been the target of increasing criticism from the media. His detractors point out his decreased free throw percentage and reduced assists and points per game this year compared to the 2005-06 season. While LeBron's stats may have dipped slightly in those regards, people mustn't forget how instrumental LeBron is to the Cavaliers' success. It would be almost impossible to top what he did last season, and it's unrealistic for his critics to expect him to do so. Michael Jordan's points, assists, and rebounds all dropped in the 1990-91 season compared to the 1989-90 season, but he won his first championship in 1990-91. Like LeBron, he still put up incredible numbers, and his team still won games. If the Cavaliers win tomorrow, they will equal their season record from 2005-06, so LeBron's "drop-off" apparently hasn't impacted his team that much. What really matters is how he and the Cavaliers fare in the upcoming playoffs - if they can put together a run like they did last season, the critics will be silenced.

Bryant image courtesy NBA.com (David Liam Kyle/NBAE/Getty Images)

Kobe On Fire

Kobe Bryant has made headlines again, but not for flagrant fouls this time. Instead, Kobe has done something else the league hasn't seen in awhile - post three straight games of 50 or more points. Better yet, the Los Angeles Lakers won all three games. What has caused this sudden boom in the play of Kobe and the Lakers? It's quite simple, really, according to Kobe: Luke Walton and Lamar Odom are healthy again. In the postgame interview after his third consecutive eruption of 50 or more, Kobe credited Luke and Lamar for directing the offense, sharing the ball, and generally making the game easier for him and the team. This credit may seem like a surprise or overstatement to casual fans, but those who have watched the Lakers this season cannot underestimate the importance of Luke Walton and Lamar Odom to the Lakers' - and Kobe's - success.

As good a player as Bryant is, he cannot win games by himself. He can score at will, but when he doesn't have other players directing the offense, he can force too many shots and disrupt the team's rhythm. But with smart players around him who are catalysts for good team play, Bryant takes better shots and scores even more without forcing his way. The result is good for the whole team - Kobe puts up incredible numbers, and the Lakers win ballgames. If this trend continues, the Lakers could become a team to watch in the playoffs, and Kobe could end up stealing the Most Valuable Player award from Dirk Nowitzki or Steve Nash.

Bryant image courtesy NBA.com (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images)

With or Without You

Late in the season, streaks have been notable for several NBA teams. The winning streaks of the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs have been impressive, but others are also worth analyzing. Perhaps the most surprising is the recent surge of the Miami Heat, who have won their last seven games without superstar Dwyane Wade. Shaquille O'Neal is back, though, and the Shaq Attack looks geared for the playoffs.

Another surprise is the Atlanta Hawks' four-game win streak. Leading scorer and superstar Joe Johnson went down five games ago - and ever since, the team has actually gotten better. The Hawks are a very young and hungry club who look like they are finally coming together and playing with a maturity they've lacked the past couple of seasons. Proving they can win without Johnson is a huge step in their ascent toward a competitive level, which they haven't been at for several seasons.

Two losing streaks could have large playoff implications. In the East, the Indiana Pacers have dropped ten straight games. They are still holding onto the eighth playoff spot, but don't expect that to last long - their team leader, Jermaine O'Neal, has missed the last three games, and isn't expected to return soon. In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers are on a six-game skid, looking woeful without Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Smush Parker - the three main ball-handlers on the team. Injuries have really hurt the Lakers of late; they also had a six-game slump back in February.

Expect more winning and losing binges as the season comes to a close. Injuries and the playoff race will each have a hand in making or breaking team chemistry around the league.

J. O'Neal image courtesy NBA.com (Ron Hoskins/NBAE/Getty Images)

The Playoff Race and Potential Match-Ups

Most teams are now around 60 games into the season, so there are only about 20 games left for each team. The playoff race is heating up in both conferences, and the competition for playoff seeding is intense. If the playoffs started now, here is what the first round match-up list would look like:

EAST
Seed 1 Detroit vs. Seed 8 New Jersey
Seed 2 Cleveland vs. Seed 7 Miami
Seed 3 Washington vs. Seed 6 Indiana
Seed 4 Toronto vs. Seed 5 Chicago

WEST
Seed 1 Dallas vs. Seed 8 Denver
Seed 2 Phoenix vs. Seed 7 L.A. Clippers
Seed 3 San Antonio vs. Seed 6 L.A. Lakers
Seed 4 Utah vs. Seed 5 Houston

From my view, the first and second seeds from both conferences should win the first round with relative ease - unless Dwyane Wade comes back at decent health for the defending NBA and Eastern conference champion Miami Heat. Wade and Shaq together in good health would make it far more difficult for the Cleveland Cavaliers to take the series. All the other match-ups could go either way. The Washington Wizards are only a few games ahead of the Indiana Pacers in the standings - and the Chicago Bulls actually have a better record than the Toronto Raptors, but have a lower seed since the Raptors are first in their division.

In the West, the Spurs and Lakers match-up could be a more competitive series than the teams' win and loss records indicate. The Spurs have eight more wins than the Lakers at this juncture, but the teams have a notorious rivalry dating back to the late 1990s, and it's never a good idea to count out a team with the likes of Kobe Bryant. The Lakers nearly beat the higher seeded Phoenix Suns in last year's playoffs, so don't be surprised to see Kobe and company make a run against the Spurs this year.

Finally, the Houston Rockets might be a better team than the Utah Jazz, but Houston has seldom been at full health this season. After starting out slow, Tracy McGrady is now playing his best basketball of the year, and Rockets teammate Yao Ming is expected to return to his dominant ways when he comes off the injury list on March 5th. The lethal duo of McGrady and Ming might be too much for the Utah Jazz to handle.

McGrady image courtesy NBA.com (Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images)

Dirk for Most Valuable Player

One of the curious and ironic developments over the last few seasons is the emergence of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki as all-world superstars. It is curious because Nash was never an MVP candidate prior to his second stint with the Phoenix Suns - and ironic because Nash and Nowitzki were teammates in Dallas, but have really come into their own without each other. In their third consecutive season playing apart, the two players are once again MVP candidates.

Historically, the MVP has gone to the perceived 'best' player on the team with the most wins. That is one reason why I believe Dirk Nowitzki should win the MVP this season over Steve Nash. Not only is Nowitzki the unequivocal leader of his Dallas Mavericks, who have the best record in the NBA with 46 wins and just 9 losses, but it would also be a bit embarrassing to have Nash win the award for the third straight year since only three NBA players have won three consecutive MVP awards - Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Larry Bird. As great a floor leader and player that Steve Nash is, he does not belong in such company. Chamberlain was an unstoppable scoring and rebounding force who set many records and changed the face of the game with his ridiculous dominance in the paint. He also led his team to the NBA title in one of his MVP seasons, which Steve Nash has yet to do. Russell, as most die-hard fans know, led his Boston Celtics to almost a dozen championships in his career, and Larry Bird later led Boston to an additional three in the 1980s. Imagine Steve Nash winning a third straight MVP award only to lose in the playoffs again this season - it would look silly, especially since Michael Jordan himself never won three MVPs in a row in spite of his obvious dominance individually and the dominance of the Chicago Bulls over the rest of the NBA.

I have made my case for Nowitzki over Nash, and unless another player takes over the second half of the season and leads his team to a number of wins comparable to Nowitzki's Mavericks and Nash's Suns, there won't be any other candidate whose name will be in serious running for the award.

Nowitzki image courtesy NBA.com (Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images)