Enrique's NBA Playoffs Prediction and my Final Sports Related Post Until the Playoffs

Per my prediction in my previous post, I officially predict the following:

Lakers go on a bad stretch, but enter the playoffs re-energized. The Lakers eventually win the Finals in 7 games. The Heat are slightly re-energized, but they lose in the East Finals.

In the immediate future, I'm predicting the Lakers to lose against Dallas and Orlando while the Heat get back on track and manage an average record from this point forward. Once the playoffs hit, the Lakers will have a similar performance from last year, struggling early in the first round, but eventually steamrolling through the Western Conference to reach the Finals. If the Heat meet the Knicks in the first round, I predict a tough series, but the Heat will prevail. If the standings continue the way they are though, the Heat will lose to the Bulls in the 2nd round.

The way Miami played was exactly how they needed to, actually playing in the goddamn post for once and allowing Chris Bosh to play the way he does. Miami also miraculously got help from their bench, scoring points that if not scored, would have led to an easy Lakers victory. The Lakers played pretty well, with the exception of Kobe who was well-guarded by Dwyane Wade. Ron Artest and Matt Barnes each did fantastic jobs containing LeBron, but it just wasn't enough.

If things continue the way they are, the Lakers will steamroll through the playoffs while the Heat will fall once they start getting overconfident again or the bench has another epically bad stretch.

Why Tonight Could Potentially Determine the Fate of the NBA Playoffs and Beyond

In just over an hour from now, the epic collision between Heat and Lakers will happen again. With the Celtics officially out of the Finals race with the loss of Kendrick Perkins and the indefinite absences of the O'Neals, the new favorites to win the East are the Bulls, Magic, and Heat in that order. In the West, it's become clear that the only team capable of winning the West without fatigue are the Lakers who have been steamrolling their competition since the All-Star Break, mostly consisting of teams that are title contenders. Since the Break, the Heat have also managed to not only lose, but lose in epic fashion 5 games in a row.

Based on the way these to teams have been playing, the Lakers have about an 80% chance of winning by 20+ points. However, one must keep in mind that it's games like this that can make a team that is performing very poorly perform exceptionally well. Despite all that, the Heat have been exposed and have three glaring weaknesses: their complete lack of post-play, the weakness of LeBron when he is double-teamed, and the complete lack of talent on the bench. Meanwhile, the Lakers have three big men who are all averaging double-doubles, Kobe thrives on being double-teamed, and the Lakers bench is one of the deepest in the league.

Here, I present multiple possible scenarios for the rest of the reason based on what happens tonight:

• Lakers defeat Heat by 10+ points
• Lakers continue to steamroll through the regular season and sweep the playoffs en route to their three-peat. The Heat are re-energized, but fall in the Conference Semis or East Finals.
• Lakers defeat Heat by 9 or less points
• Lakers continue to do well, but lose occasionally. The playoffs go well for the Lakers and they win their 3rd consecutive championship. The Heat are crushed beyond belief and Erik Spoelstra is eventually fired as head coach. The Heat lose in the 1st round of the playoffs.
• Heat defeat Lakers by 9 or less points
• Lakers go on a bad stretch, but enter the playoffs re-energized. The Lakers eventually win the Finals in 7 games. The Heat are slightly re-energized, but they lose in the East FInals.
• Heat defeat Lakers by 10+ points
• Lakers get revenge by demolishing the Mavericks this weekend and begin steamrolling again through the season until they reach the NBA Finals, where they may or may not win. The Heat are immensely re-energized, but still falter in the East Finals.
• LeBron or Wade again fail to make a game-winning or game-tying shot
• Erik Spoelstra is immediately fired as head coach.
• LeBron or Wade makes the game-winning/tying shot
• Confidence boost even superior to that of normally beating Lakers by 9 or less points. They potentially make the NBA Finals, but get swept by the Lakers.
• Kobe makes the game winning shot
• Lakers eventually sweep the playoffs.
• Kobe misses game winning shot
• Lakers lose this weekend at Dallas and possibly lose at home to the Magic, but they enter the playoffs similar to last year.

This is only my guess of what could possibly happen, note that only one scenario leads to the Lakers not guaranteed to win it all. The only team I could see beating the Lakers in the Finals are the Chicago Bulls who have a real shot to win it all if the Lakers start to crumble.

NBA Temperatures: Miami Heat at 1 Degree Celsius, Lakers at 99 Degrees

To start off the night, the Lakers have continued to steamroll their competition since the All-Star Break, defeating the Atlanta Hawks by 14 points. This game is of particular note because it is actually the first time Pau Gasol has ever defeated the Hawks at Atlanta as a Laker, Gasol and Bynum both got double-doubles, and Kobe Bryant surpassed Moses Malone's scoring record to become #6 on the all-time scoring leaders, now behind his former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. If Shaq does not retire at the end of this season, it is entirely likely that Kobe and Shaq will battle for the #5 spot around the middle or possibly end of next season.

Meanwhile down in Miami, the Heat were struggling the entire game against the Portland Trail Blazers, a team they have no business struggling to. When I say the Heat were struggling, I literally mean that; the only two players contributing were LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Much to no one's surprised, LeBron again became Mr. Invisible during the 4th Quarter. The Heat were outright outclassed and no chance of winning whatsoever against the new-look Blazers, who beat the Heat by 9 points. Although the Blazers have lost some bench players, Brendon Roy and Gerald Wallace are currently coming off the bench and it's become clear that the Blazers are not going to be satisfied with being a first round exit team again this year. If the standings remain the same, Dallas is in serious risk of getting upset in the first round (again).

At this point of the season, it's become clear what Miami's problems are (which I listed in an earlier post): No true PG, No inside presence, No respect for the coach. If Miami loses to the Lakers on Thursday (which is looking increasingly more likely), expect the boo-birds to come out in full-force, calling for Spoelstra's and [whichever of the Big 3 has a bad game, most likely Bosh] heads. If the Lakers beat the Heat Thursday, I can guarantee that Pat Riley will fire Erik Spoelstra and un-retire from coaching, he will remain as GM and trade away every single player that has failed to contribute (Bosh, Bibby, Miller, Jones, Dampier, and Ilgauskas) and sign any free agent willing to work for minimum wage.

Suffice it to say, it's incredibly likely that Miami will enter re-building mode this offseason regardless of what happens Thursday, because they will not get past the 2nd round of the playoffs playing the way they've played all season.

A neat stat for you: with the Lakers victory in Atlanta, they not only extend their win streak to 8 games, but they tied their previous longest win streak of the season.

Miami Crashes and Freezes, Lakers Show Why They're the Champions

Today there was a "marquee double-header" as ESPN loves to hype, the Chicago Bulls vs the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers vs the San Antonio Spurs. Although I usually hate how much ESPN hypes up key games, I was actually looking forward to these two games because they would ultimately be proof of whether or not the Heat were just going through a bad slump and if the Lakers' Playoff Switch indeed existed.

Copyright NBA 2011

Miami has been notoriously going through very hard times recently, blowing a gigantic lead tot he Magic, getting blown out by the Spurs, and now facing the possibility of getting swept in the season series by the Bulls. When the game started, it looked like Miami finally decided to pull out of their slump (if it was one) and play like ESPN had been hyping all season long... that is until halftime. Just like the Magic game, Miami blew a significant lead they had against their opponent. In the end, once again, LeBron failed to score ANY points in the 4th Quarter including attempting yet ANOTHER game-winning shot which again failed to go in. It was thankfully rebounded by Dwyane Wade, but even he couldn't get his shot to go.

In the end, the Heat lost again because of their hubris. Actually, that's not completely fair. LeBron James is the one person to blame, especially for this loss. LeBron scored no points in the 4th quarter and attempted the game winning shot. Why the hell would he think he could make that shot WHEN HE'S MISSED IT SEVENTEEN PREVIOUS TIMES THIS SEASON. After the game, LeBron blamed himself for the loss, but it was too little to late. The damage has been done and it's becoming clear that LeBron James is just not that good. ESPN talked non-stop about how good LeBron was as a rookie (which is an undeniable fact) and how he would become even better once he had 5-7 more years of experience. Well, it's been 7 years and LeBron has managed to improve sideways, in other words, he's remained the same player. The only thing that's changed is that LeBron is very rarely referred to as King James these days. I have a new nickname for him: Mr. 1st Half.

Not exactly making things any better, Dwyane Wade continues to make excuses for his team's continued shitty performance in games that actually matter. It's rather sad how Wade's team, formerly known as Wade County, has been usurped by LeBron. I've always liked Dwyane Wade and I really feel sorry for him. Wade had the opportunity to leave the Heat and go to his hometown Bulls, but LeBron convinced Wade to stay so that they could create a so-called superteam along with Chris Bosh and other free agents. At this point, Wade has to be regretting his decision to stay with the only team he's ever known.

Making things even worse though, was Erik Spoelstra, who decided to be a wiseass and call out his players for crying in the locker room. Although no names were given, most people predict it was either Bosh or LeBron. It'll be up to Pat Riley as to whether or not Spolestra's decision to call out his players was a good idea or not, though personally, I think Riley will fire Spoelstra either tomorrow morning or at the end of the season.

Copyright NBAE 2011

Now we get to transition from the Heat losing to... the team that the Heat most recently lost to. On Friday, the Spurs absolutely demolished Miami in a performance that was seen as dominating to the point of showcasing why the Spurs are legitimate title contenders.

And then Kobe and the Lakers came to town. You could tell something special was going to happen since the Spurs beat the Lakers handily back in December and won off an Antonio McDyess tip-in last month. The Lakers have been on a 6-game winning streak since the All-Star Break (or losing embarrassingly to the Crapaliers, pick your poison) and the Spurs have been on cloud nine after annihilating the Heat.

Instead of a classic match-up of the ages, we got another annihilation, but it wasn't who we expected it to be.

At one point in the 3rd quarter, the Lakers were leading by 32 points. That's all I need to say to illustrate how hilariously awful the Spurs played today. Actually to be fair, it wasn't for their lack of trying. If the Lakers' defense weren't so good, San Antonio would probably have played just like they did on Friday. The Lakers were just plain better in every single way and demonstrated exactly why they're the two-time defending NBA champions: When they actually care about a game, no team can possibly beat them.

The game got so boring at one point that ESPN's own Big Three of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy started talking about how the Miami Heat choked yet again. Normally I would be offended by commentators talking about other games in the middle of a game, but the Lakers vs Spurs game was over and Breen made the most fascinating comment I've ever heard from an ESPN announcer: Mike Breen was unbelievably close to apologizing for ESPN hyping the Heat since LeBron's "Decision." The only thing that stopped him from all-out saying the apology was probably fear of getting fired. The best quote from Breen was "Miami has been hyped all season and we're responsible for that as well." My respect for Breen went up quite a bit after that quote!

This Thursday, the Lakers travel to Miami to face their rematch for losing on Christmas. The way both teams have been playing, it seems obvious that the Lakers will win, but stranger things have happened and I'm not taking my chances.

Why the New-Look Miami Heat Have Been a Spectacular Failure

AP Photo/ Bahram Mark Sobhani

There are many reasons why the Miami Heat have managed to fail spectacularly in all the games that actually matter this regular season. Although it is generally accepted by this point that the only function for the regular season is determining playoff seeding and draft lottery chances, there still are important statistics to take into account, the most important being that the team that wins the regular season series almost always goes on to win in the playoffs if the two teams should meet. When it comes to West vs East matches, they become even more significant if its a match-up that could potentially by any chance be an NBA Finals preview.

During this past season, the Miami Heat have not only managed to accumulate a losing record against teams with a record of .500 or better, but they have yet to beat a team with a .700 record or better. The Heat have also become notorious for being unable to maintain huge leads and win games decides by 5 points or less. With that in mind, I present to you the reasons the Heat have been such a failure in no particular order:

1. LeBron James' Arrogance Coupled With His Teammate's Lack of Heart
• In every game decided by 5 points or less that the Heat lost, LeBron James ended up taking the go-ahead shot to either tie or win the game. If he had actually made them, we'd all be talking about how clutch James was, but he didn't make them so instead, we're all talking about how LeBron needs to stop being such a ballhog at the end of games... except the only teammate he can honestly trust to make a game-winning basket is Dwyane Wade. No other Heat, specifically none of the supposed expert 3-point shooters, is known for being clutch.
2. Shitty Point Guards and Centers
• LeBron James hates being called a point guard and would rather be referred to as a small forward. That would be fine by me if he would actually play like an SF and not a Combo Guard. James has gathered the most triple-doubles of any small forward in the history of the NBA in his short time playing. Well, if James wants to keep playing SF, let him. In the meantime, the Heat has an incredibly poor selection of PGs because they were really counting on Derek Fisher leaving the Lakers to go to Miami. Making things even worse, the Heat have horrible centers as well, having to rely on Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the man once known as being THE Cavalier, as their go-to center. Although it's true that the Chicago Bulls won championships without dominating centers like Shaq, Duncan, or Bynum, they still had a great rotation of point guards and backup centers. This Heat team is basically relying only on the SG, SF, and PF positions. Which brings us to...
3. Chris Bosh Either Doesn't Give a Shit or He Has Been Massively Overrated
• I don't need to explain this one. Chris Bosh is having his worst season ever and either had inflated stats playing for the Toronto Raptors, or he just likes living in Miami getting lots of attention rather than living in obscurity in Toronto. My guess is that Bosh was just a massively overrated player.
4. Erik Spoelstra May Be A Student of Pat Riley, But He Has No Leadership Skills
• Spolestra's style of coaching and the plays he designs are straight out of the Showtime Lakers and Wade & Shaq Heat handbook. Yet, LeBron and the newest members of the Heat generally run their own plays and give Spoelstra lots of eye-rolls. It's sad to say, but if Spolestra were canned and Riley were to step in, he'd design the same plays and use the same rotation of players, but the players would likely follow them more because Riley is THE Pat Riley.
5. Hubris and Hype
• Here, I'm not quite sure which has been worse: the Heat's continued excuses that "Rome wasn't built in a day" or "These things take time" or "It's unrealistic to expect results so quickly," or the unbelievable amount of hype ESPN has been feeding to the masses. Whatever the case, the arrogance on part of the Heat as well as ESPN's (until recently) continued hype of the Heat has been this continuing perpetuating cycle; the more ESPN hypes the Heat, the more they make excuses, and then ESPN hypes them more. With the embarrassingly hilarious losses to the Magic and Spurs two days in a row, all the Heat need is another loss to the Bulls on Sunday to cement ESPN stopping all hype.

In order for the Miami Heat to live up to their hype, they need a massive overhaul at this point. At this rate, I expect them to be a first round exit come Playoffs.

The Best NBA Stories ESPN Won't Talk About

ESPN has long be accused of having a bias towards East Coast teams in every major sport and the Lakers. I'm not going to dispute that because quite frankly, it's true. The Western Conference gets very little coverage on ESPN other than the Lakers to the point that the Spurs are a non-story to ESPN and the Mavericks holding on to the #2 seed even without Caron Butler is ignored, instead focusing on "what's wrong with the Lakers?" There's nothing wrong with them idiots, they're just bored! This same shit happened to the Shaq & Kobe Lakers during their three-peat year and both three-peat years for the Bulls.

But there's other stories that ESPN simply will not acknowledge whatsoever, and I'm here to tell you them and why they're so fascinating.

• The Philadelphia 76ers are above .500 for the first time this season and are playoff contenders. This is huge news because Doug Collins was seen by ESPN as a coach with only marginal talent, but he's taken a team from the bottom three all the way back to .500 basketball. Expect them to do better in the playoffs this year than the Bobcats did last year.
• The Phoenix Suns have been above .500 for a while now, receiving lot of benefit from that trade with Orlando. At this point in the season, it's become incredibly obvious that the General Manager for the Orlando Magic should have his ass fired for getting Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, and Jason Richardson on the team while giving up key players to their rotation. Who the fuck trades away their backup center in exchange for another 3-point shooter? Phoenix has been doing so much better that it looks like the Warriors will have no hope of getting a playoff berth.
• The Houston Rockets have quietly become the most improved team in the NBA compared to the first month of play. They had a very rough schedule after expecting Yao to be healthy, only to see him get injured AGAIN. The Rockets have clearly given up, choosing to trade away Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks, while getting Hasheem LOL Thabeet to hopefully start rebuilding mode. Expect Rick Adelman to say sayonara if this is the case.
• This one's a bit of a twofer. The Carmelo-less Nuggets are now ahead of the New Orleans Hornets in the standings. After beginning the season as the final team to lose a game, the Hornets have crashed and burned in more ways than one. With the team now owned by the NBA after their owner declared bankruptcy, the team having the possibility of being contracted, and their star player possibly leaving whether the team is contracted or not, things can't possibly get much worse for the Hornets.
• Here's one ESPN is simply just dodging the elephant in the room about. The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the worst road teams in the league, having won just 5 games on the road so far (including against the Lakers). Management clearly sees this as an issue, just by seeing their trade deadline actions and players getting bought out.

 That's all for this edition of NBA Stories that ESPN Won't Talk About.

Oscars Recap

Well, I batted an even .500 for my Oscar picks, but my second place pick for Leading Actress pulled through. I was incredibly surprised to see Tom Hooper win for Best Director, especially after many thought Christopher Nolan to be the greatest directing snub of the past decade. Most thought for sure Aronofsky would finally win. As far as Best Picture, most people made a pick of The Social Network because the film that wins Best Screenplay and Best Editing, whether it be Adapted or Original Screenplay, has only lost Best Picture 3 times. After Aaron Sorkin predictably won (which I predicted, but not officially), it became even more apparent that The Social Network would win. The King's Speech winning was an incredible shock even though it was a favorite to win recently. I still think Toy Story 3 was the best movie out of the 10 nominees, but there is no way the Academy would let an animated movie win Best Picture, even though Beauty and the Beast came dangerously close to doing so.

Here are the big things that stood out to me:

• James Franco was either high or disinterested in the entire event, despite the fact he was clearly the runner-up for Best Actor.
• Anne Hathaway's little "We're not worthy" bow to Billy Crystal was uncalled for. Crystal has never been known for being a good actor and to have an Oscar nominated actress appreciate an inferior actor as superior is ridiculous.
• Melissa Leo's F-Bomb was muted on the West Coast, despite claims from ABC that the event was "live". I'll have to do more research on if the East Coast gets a straight feed and how many seconds a delay the West Coast gets. It's really sad how it seems every live event these days is aired on a 5 second delay just because of Janet Jackson's nipple.
• Christian Bale acknowledging his Terminator: Salvation rant was hilarious and makes me love him even more. I only wish that he could have given a line like "Batman got himself an Oscar!"
• Natalie Portman's acceptance speech was allowed to go on WAY too long and she thanked far too many people, but I was glad to hear her thank the director of Leon (The Professional) for giving her-her first acting role. She's come a long way since then, but has always been extremely talented.
• My favorite acceptance speech has to be from the guy who won Best Short Film. It was short, sweet, self-deprecating, and he managed to thank the most important person.
• Nobody thanked God. THANK GOD FOR THAT LOL! I absolutely hate it when people thank God for winning a stupid award. Thank God for giving you the opportunity of life, not for your talent.
• The Academy gave Inception a sweep in the technical awards, winning Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Cinematography. So why wasn't Nolan nominated for Best Director again? An incredible and undeserved snub. At least the Academy recognizes Inception for being the greatest technical achievement since The Matrix.
• The auto-tuned segment was ironically funny. Almost every year since Chicago, some stupid musical gets nominated in some way and gets recognition at the Oscars (like Nine last year *shudder*). I say stupid because no musical made today will ever compare to the classics; once The Sound of Music hit, the musical reached its peak.
• The funniest segment was definitely Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law presenting the award for Best Film Editing. The punchline had fantastic build-up while acknowledging Robert Downey Jr.'s previous problems with the law, and showcasing Downey and Law's incredible chemistry together.
• Unrelated to the Oscars, but will the ads for The Dark Knight Returns now feature ads like Oscar Bait movies do? You know the type, STARRING: Academy Award Winner Christian Bale, Academy Award Nominee Anne Hathaway, Academy Award Winner Michael Caine, Academy Award Winner Morgan Freeman. It will be interesting to see what happens!

All-in-all, the show was pretty predictable and not enjoyable. I'm glad I recorded it and watched the Knicks beat the Heat instead.