Game One Takeaway's

Golden State won game one last night as many expected, but Cleveland came pretty close. Iman Shumpert's off balance shot at the horn fell inches short of going in. The shot would've given the Cavaliers a huge game one win on the road, and at the same time would have prevented both overtime and Kyrie Irving's eventual injury. Cleveland did not play its best last night, but they played about as well as they could on the road in Oracle Arena. LeBron James had another great performance with 44 points, but it took 38 shots to get it. Andre Iguodala played exceptional defense on James all night, including many great stops down the stretch of the game.

While I do think Cleveland can play better this series, I think the Warriors can play much better. The team got off to such a slow start, missing a lot of shots. Golden State looked too excited for what was every players first ever finals game. As the game went on the team settled in and played much better in the second half and overtime. The Warriors are capable of so much more as this series progresses. I thought the defense was not as good as it could have been. The three point shooting did not really get going until later in the game.

I fear that this series is already over because of Kyrie Irving's injury. However, it may just be over because Cleveland missed their shot in game one. I'll stick with my prediction that the Cavaliers win get one game at home, most likely game three at the Q. The series will wrap up next Sunday night in the bay, and Stephen Curry will get the first of what could be many championships to come.

LeBron Time

This is a defining moment for LeBron James and his second stint in Cleveland. A game four on the road. Trailing the Chicago Bulls two games to one. This is also a big game for Kyrie Irving. We have seen James come through in these situations so many times before, but will he be able to do it again with an undermanned squad. The Bulls may not have Pau Gasol this afternoon which would be a huge break for the Cavs. Even if he is absent, the pressure will still be on James to put on one of those vintage LeBron performances. Chicago has to be careful for this reason. The mindset has to be the same as it was in game three if they want a chance at winning this game. You know that LeBron will do whatever it takes. I think it's inevitable that the Cavaliers will tie up the series today and it will be because of LeBron James. The Cavs will win today 100-93 with LeBron going for an easy 30 and many rebounds and assists to go with it.

What the Rose Shot Means

Last night many witnessed the greatest playoff moment to date for Derrick Rose. In a tie game after a game-tying three from J.R. Smith, Rose stepped back from way downtown and banked in a shot at the buzzer to give Chicago a two games to one lead in this second round series. 99-96 was the final, and it ended any talk of a statistic being thrown around a lot this week. The Bulls twice in the past four years have won game one against a LeBron James led team in the playoffs, and both times went on to lose the next four and the series. That won't be happening this year, as Chicago has taken control of the series with a game four on tap for Sunday afternoon.
So far in the series Rose has not shot the ball particularly well, but in the teams two wins he has been very aggressive and created a lot of scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates. If the game last night had gone to an overtime I would've put my money on LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to close it out after forcing an extra period. However, Rose's shot shows both the city of Chicago and the rest of the league that this team is for real. A team that many picked to make it to the Finals at the beginning of the season has caught an undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers squad. They have four games to win two more, let's see what happens. I'm starting to think that Rose may have opened the door to the rest of the eastern conference, not just this year but for years to come.

Why LeBron James Did Not Play Last Night

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers last night 103-94, led by solid games from both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were strong as well for Cleveland, but the game lacked a little extra excitement. Something that would have been provided if a certain former MVP had decided to play. LeBron James sat out last nights affair in Oklahoma City due to "knee soreness". Now I have never been the biggest fan of LeBron James, but I have never lacked respect for him as a player. When I heard he was missing the game due to, again, "knee soreness", I could not help but think of why he really was not playing. Think about it this was a perfect game to play in. The Cavs had won eight straight games, and were really starting to find their groove. On the other side both Durant and Westbrook were returning from very recent injuries. This could have been an opportunity for LeBron to have a signature game on the road. Not to mention we are only guaranteed two Durant-James matchups every year (not including the All-Star game). Alas, I suppose we will have to wait for Sunday January 25th, when the game will be played in Cleveland. But then again, maybe Kevin Durant will be out with knee soreness.

LeBron James Deserves Some Blame for Cleveland's Early Struggles

Why do the Cleveland Cavaliers kind of suck right now?

The team dropped its fourth game in a row last night. The Cavs blew an early 18 point lead and ended up losing by 17 at home. There was no stopping the Toronto Raptors in the second half, as the team scored 110 points on Cleveland's home court. LeBron James was reasonably upset at the teams loss, and its second straight poor performance. Going into this season the Cavaliers had high expectations, and justifiably. The Cavs not only added the best basketball player in the world (4-time league MVP and 2-time champion), but also acquired another star in Kevin Love. Those two along with all-star point guard Kyrie Irving and a cast of well known role players, led many to believe that Cleveland would be in the title discussion at the end of the season. That very well may still be true, but it is not the case right now. Cavs fans have had to watch a not so impressive team to start the season.

There are a couple reasons the Cavs have gotten off to such a shaky start. One is the defensive play. Cleveland has been very poor defensively. On the eye test alone the Cavs have looked very bad on that end of the floor. Pick and roll defense has stood out, as it seems every time Kyrie and Love are asked to defend a pick and roll together they get burned.

Cleveland is no more impressive statistically. Allowing opponents to shoot almost 48% from the field and 35% from three. That puts them at 25th in the league in terms of opponents points per game. It does not help that they also allow 40 rebound per game landing them at 22nd in the league in that category.

So the defense is a huge problem, but another one is the lack of experience. The "other" two stars in Cleveland's new big three have zero playoff experience. This means both players have not played any meaningful NBA basketball games. This is an adjustment for a guy like LeBron, who just played with a core of guys that made it to four straight NBA Finals. However, not an excuse for the Cavs slow start.

The best player in the world should start acting like it and lead his team to some victories. While LeBron seems very comfortable taking shots out the court, he should focus on taking more on the court. James' passive play of late seems even more immature than his younger teammates. If he wants his team to succeed and have home court advantage come playoff time, he should step up his own play.

The man wanted to come home. Now he must display to his hometown exactly what they have been missing the pasts four years: the best basketball player on earth.

Besides San Antonio Who Are the Title Contenders in the NBA?

While it is still just 10 games into the season for most NBA teams, last nights Spurs-Cavs game was an early season signature game. San Antonio, of course, is coming off a season in which they led the league in wins and went on to win the championship. That championship run concluded by dispatching the then LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Cleveland, however, is a team yet to find itself. It of course has a star studded cast led by the return of LeBron, and the all-star play of both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

These two teams played an exciting game resulting in a close 92-90 Spurs win. The Spurs are still contenders to win the title, and should still be favorites. The rest of the league is sort of up for grabs at this point. Cleveland should definitely be in the discussion in the east, but the lack of a defense is concerning. You would be a fool to pick that defense against any Western conference opponent. Chicago is in a similar position as Cleveland, but for a completely different reason.

The Bulls have a great defense. Since Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach that has been the case. The concern in Chicago is the uncertainty of Derrick Rose's health. While he has played well, he has not been on the court enough. He has not suffered another terrible injury, but has missed plenty of time with nagging injuries. How much will that effect a potential deep playoff run? Will he need to sit a game in the Eastern conference finals?

The rest of the east consists of a couple more very good teams in the Raptors and the Wizards. However, I am not ready to call those two true title contenders.

The West is tricky. Houston has gotten off to such a great start, but I still find it difficult to see a team with only James Harden as a true dynamic offense threat as a contender. Houston's offense is potent when they are hitting the three ball, but at the end of games Harden is the only player they can go to. Memphis is a little higher on my list, because of the elite defense and post play. Mike Conley is still an underrated point guard in the loaded west.

Golden State has replaced Oklahoma City for now as that potentially great contender in the west. The star power of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in backcourt, along with an elite front line of Bougt and the return of David Lee. The bench play is also elite. Led by players like Barnes, Iguodala, Livingston, Barbosa and Green. Now if Westbrook and Durant are able to return to top 5 form and lead the Thunder to the playoffs, the conference could be in for a huge shakeup.

Dallas, Portland and the Clippers round out the conference contenders, but as far as NBA title goes there is still much room for improvement. Mostly on the defensive end.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that both conferences (especially the west) are wide open. No one should be doubting the Spurs at this point of the season though. This could be the last season for both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, and what better way to end their careers than with another championship. If I had to put money on it today, it would be on the Spurs.