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Who is going straight to the NBA finals, who can beat the Warriors and more!

by SportsWhat's Hot
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Photo: www.nba.com

With Tuesday night’s win over the Lakers, the Warriors are 33-2, 1 game ahead of NBA’s previous best, the Chicago Bulls at this point in their 1995-1996 season. Their next game is tonight at Portland. MVP Steph Curry has been playing through the pain with a shin injury that he should rest for 4 weeks but if he doesn’t rest it he is not in any great danger. According to ESPN Scorecenter, he attended full practice yesterday and will be playing tonight.

Even when a key player like Curry or Klay Thompson are out of the game, their line-up is big and they have other key players like Draymond Green who will step up big time and they still win. Green just won player of the week for the Week of December 28th. An average team will have to play GREAT to beat them says former basketball player and ESPN analyst Tim Legler, and the majority of their remaining games are versus average teams. They seem relaxed but hungry at the same time. Only a serious injury to one of their main players can stop them. Will Matthew Dellavedova kick Curry in the shin and just end his season? If the Warriors break the Bulls 72-10 record, it would only be right that they go for and win the NBA Championship title based on pure logic and historical statistics.

So which other teams are in the mix and who actually poses a serious threat?

To date, considering both the Eastern and Western Conference, the League standings for the Top 10 teams are as follows:

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Photo: www.espn.go.com

So for the West, if Warriors meet the San Antonio Spurs it will not be easy. At the looks of it now, only the Spurs pose a threat to the Warriors in the West and vice versa. The Spurs probably still have the deepest bench in the league. Their bench alone scored 70 points in the 123-98 blowout win over the Jazz on Wednesday. Screenshot_2016-01-07-23-50-59-1.png

They also finally have some young, fresh players that Coach Pop is giving time on the Court. There is Past Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills and more. Then the Big Old 3 are still present. Old Man River Walk, Tim Duncan is still looking good, not to mention Manu Ginobili who looks like he got his act together. Tony Parker is forever talented but hardly ever consistent. Perhaps he has his young baby on his mind.

Even though Suga gives the Spurs and Warriors the edge in the West, OKC is not to be forgotten. Past MVP Kevin Durant is back! He is on form after a broken bone in his right foot that needed 3 surgeries and after spraining his big toe last week. Hopefully he doesn’t continue to break a leg. No pun intended. He returned Tuesday night to beat the Grizzlies 112-94 and note that OKC went 12-3 in December. Westbrook is great, Ibaka and Adams are good, but without Durant, OKC will lose.

Now where all my LeBron James haters at? Sorry folks, he won’t go away. He has won player of the month 29 times now and his stats keep buzzing, equalling and breaking record after record. He scored 9 points in 1 minute Wednesday night versus the Wizards at Washington. It’s a pity he isn’t pretty to watch though. Suga predicts the Cavs will go straight to the NBA Finals again this year. All eyes are on the Warriors, so no immense pressure on LeBron, which is good because we all see how he buckles under pressure. There is also no serious threat on the East side. The Bulls are doing well but the Cavs will still destroy them. The Cavs are the kind of team that elevate their game based on their opponent. They are confident, arrogant, hungry and some bitter.

I would say LeBron’s partner in crime is back, but LeBron is a lone, selfish soldier on the court. Kyrie Irving is back yall! Now HE is pretty and exciting to watch, just 23 years old and full of energy. He is back on form, scoring well, up to 32 points Wednesday night versus the Wizards compared to LeBron’s 34 points and these are under restrictions in minutes he is allowed to play, which the Cavs will soon remove. The Warriors beat them on Christmas Day 89-83, but with a healthy Kyrie Irving and no minutes restrictions, it will be a whole new ball game. The Cavs also have a good starting line up and bench with dangerous players like Matthew Dellavedova and J.R. Smith. When teams feel excited about catching up with the Cavs or lessening a point deficit, J.R. will just burst their bubble with a 3-pointer. Then they also have Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and Sasha Kaun.

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Sad to say but Suga believes if the Cavs meet the Warriors in the Finals again with a now healthy Kyrie Irving, they will get the formula right this time and get revenge. But if somehow the Spurs, a team with a totally different dynamic and ball movement make it to the Finals, they may actually make a more exciting match up versus the Cavs and LeBron could have a Finals nightmare all over again. But we just have to wait and see. It is just January and there is still time for players to grow and teams to make adjustments. Don’t you just love this game?!

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Warriors look to win 16th straight game tonight vs. Lakers to make NBA History for Best Season Start

by SportsWhat's Hot

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On Sunday night, the Warriors tied the NBA record for most straight games won to open the NBA season at 15-0 vs. the Denver Nuggets.

Golden State has bolted out of the gate this season and the Lakers should pose no threat to them tonight, playing at home at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland California at 10:30pm.

Reigning MVP Stephen Curry improves every season and he has certainly been entertaining the crowd. But most importantly, he is a team player and Curry along with Thompson, Barnes, and Green have been scoring an even spread to dominate other teams so far this season.

Curry has also been named Western Conference Player of the Week, which is his 4th Career Weekly Award. It was for the games played, Monday, November 16th to Sunday, November 22nd. He joins Chris Mullin and Baron Davis with 4 and looks to even up with Tim Hardaway with 5. Note that the Warriors’ Klay Thompson is on 3.

LeBron who? Oh yes, he is still playing. Cleveland’s LeBron James was named Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference.

But look out for the Warriors tonight as they play to win and have the Best Start in NBA History!

 

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Last night, Klay Thompson of the Warriors suffered a head injury too!

by Sports

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Fun and joke aside, Steph Curry seemed to be alright in last night’s close out Game 5 versus the Rockets and has shown no symptoms of a concussion since his injury in Game 4.

Coincidentally, his ‘Splash Bro’, Klay Thompson collided harshly into Trevor Ariza of the Rockets last night in Game 5. Ariza was involved in both collisions. Thompson was bleeding from the ear. He was taken off the court and assessed just as how Curry was and later returned to the game. However, Warriors released this statement last night, ‘After the gane [Klay] began to not feel well and developed concussion-like symptoms. He will continue to be evaluated by the team’s medical staff tonight’.

Congratulations to Golden State for winning the Western Conference Finals, which hasn’t been achiteved since 1975! Hopefully the Splash Brothers will be alright and healthy for their war versus LeBron James and the Cavs for the NBA Finals starting next Thursday, June 4th!

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NBA Playoff Update! Steph Curry falls on his head and more! Ouch!

by Sports

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The Cavs now lead the Hawks, 3-0 for the series. The last game went into overtime and LeBron hit a 3 for the 114-111 win. Al Horford of the Hawks was ejected from the game before halftime with a questionable Flagrant 2 foul for falling then ‘elbowing’ Matthew Dellavedova that did not connect on the way down. The commentators then looked into Dellavedova’s previous games to see 2 other similar blows to the knees of other players, raising eyebrows, wondering if they were purposeful. The most recent one was Dellavedova diving into the knee of Korver causing him to fall and roll his ankle beneath Dellavedova. Korver has been out with that injury since the game last Friday. Cavs are expected to take the series but if Horford wasn’t ejected, they could have prevented the sweep they may get.

Steph Curry scared his mother, wife and fans last night with a horrible fall in the 2nd quarter. He fell over one of the Rockets’ players attempting to block a shot, onto his hands and his head. He later returned to the game with a possible concussion that I am sure will be monitored before the next game for any symptoms.

It was hard to watch. See link here with caution:

The Warriors were already trailing by about 15 points into the 4th. Some ground was made up by Klay Thompson and it took Curry a while to make a shot. He was still able to shoot three 3-pointers and score 12 points after the injury. The Rockets’ lead stretched again and Warriors’ Green was fouled out with 21 points with 3:09 remaining. Dwight Howard was also benched for a little bit after a flagrant foul but Harden was sensational. At that point you could probably call it a win for the Rockets. That made it the Rockets’ 4th straight win facing elimination. Rockets won 128-115. Harden made 45 points! They will head back to Golden State for Game 5.

Congratulations to the 5-time NBA Champions, the San Antonio SPURS !!!

by What's Hot

Congratulations to the San Antonio SPURS for their 5th NBA Championship title in franchise history, joining the Celtics, Lakers and Bulls as the only team to accomplish that feat. The Spurs won the series 4-1 last Sunday night in blowout fashion with a final score of 104 to the Miami Heat’s, 87.

LeBron James had a blazing start in the first quarter and ended with a commendable 31 points, but nothing could stop or stand in the way of the Spurs achieving their redemption title as it slipped through their fingers last year. This rematch was also a big hit with television viewers compared to last year. The unselfishness, teamwork and ball movement of the Spurs was phenomenal with superb execution. All players made a significant contribution to the title, however out of so much talent, an MVP had to be chosen, young Kawhi Leonard who scored 22 points in the final game. Imagine what he could have done if he wasn’t in foul trouble.

Special mention also has to be made to veterans Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Tim Duncan is now the all-time Double-Doubles leader in NBA Playoffs history passing Magic Johnson and also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabar to set the all-time record for most minutes played in play off history.

One word, GINOBILIIIIII! Manu redeemed himself majorly after 2 years of horrible inconsistency, but showed everyone how hard he is on himself and how much of a true competitor he is by both facilitating unforgettable plays and scoring huge necessary shots.

Tony Parker had his ups and downs this season and didn’t even score until the 4th quarter in Sunday’s game, but once he started scoring he was on fire. His style of play and speed is always a beauty to watch and he said this was the sweetest victory for him yet.

So what’s next?! According to Tony Parker and Owner, Peter Holt, the Spurs should be back to try to defend their title next year. Tim and Manu may play until they die. Gregg Popovich would also like to coach beyond this year. Congrats to him as well for an excellent season, many years of great coaching and the ability to bond with all players. The relationship Pop has with the Spurs is on a different level compared to other teams.

So until next year, Go Spurs Go!

Watch “San Antonio Spurs Tribute to The Beautiful Game” on You Tube by clicking on the link below: