Last night was a blowout! Oladipo and the Pacers pushed a Game 7 with LeBron and the Cavs.
This is the first time LeBron James has faced elimination in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Will he join Westbrook?
Raptors vs Wizards
Kyle Lowry and the Raptors took care of business last night, routing the Wizards and sending them home. They play the winner of the Cavs-Pacers series next.
OKC vs Jazz
Rookie, Donovan Mitchell destroyed OKC! Westbrook put up 46 points but they were null and void without any help from Paul George, Carmelo Anthony or anyone else.
Mitchell was also without the help of Rubio, who had to leave the game with a nagging hamstring injury.
Spectular show put on by Mitchell. He gets Rookie of the Year over Ben Simmons for Suga.
Rubio may be out for 2 or more weeks, which is bad if they have to play the #1 seed in the West, the Rockets.
Stay tuned! Don’t you just love this game?!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Oscar Robertson held the record for the most triple-doubles in an NBA season. He scored 41 triple-doubles in the 1961-1962 season with the Cincinnati Royals. The 12-time All Star was also a key player for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970-1971 season, helping them to win their only NBA title.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook set the record last night with his 42nd triple-double, passing Oscar Robertson.
He did it in fine style with 50 points, grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists in a 106-105 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Congrats Russ!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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First of all, Suga would like to Congratulate Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavs for joining the 30,000 points club and being the 1st International Player to do so. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Who is the closest NBA player in line to try and join the club? LeBron James. He may take about 63 more games to do so based on average points per game. Other players are way off with hundreds of games more to go.
Now to the meat of the matter. It’s almost Playoff time and teams on the chopping block are striving for every win they can get.
How are The Finals looking?
Eastern Conference
Suga believes the Cavs are going straight to the Finals again. The teams on the East continue to be weak and King James and the Cavs are just too good right now. Despite their last 3 consecutive losses, they turn it up when they need to. The closest contenders, currently a close 2nd in the East are Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics. They beat the Warriors Wednesday night without KD but they aren’t consistent enough. They should give the Cavs a run for their money though.
Main concern for the Cavs
The main concern for the Cavs has been not enough time to rest their star players. The plan to do so got a dent with them obtaining Warriors’ Andrew Bogut.
How so?
He’s so fragile. Bogut fractured his tibia within minutes of his team debut and will be out for the rest of the year. Kevin Love is still out and J.R Smith is just returning after an injury to his finger. However, they added Deron Williams and Kyle Korver. Coach Lue has already started to implement a system to trim minutes for Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson whose defense game has stepped up majorly this year with 70 blocks and he still has more games to go this season.
Suga Finally Anoints LeBron James as King
Oh and yes I said it earlier, King James. The rain is going to pour and the gates are going to open because I have finally put some ‘respek’ on his name and anointed him. Timing is everything though and he anointed himself before his time, that is, before he even got a ring. I still do not think he is better than MJ, so let us not get carried away folks.
If and when LeBron and the Cavs reach The Finals this year, it would be LeBron’s 7th straight Final! I’m sure everyone would agree that is quite commendable.
There may be many times he may not be able to hit the game-winning shot and a lot rests on Kyrie but Kyrie and the team could not keep winning without him.
The best players are usually arrogant but they aren’t usually babies crying, falling to the floor and begging for calls from the Ref after every little hit or shove. So quit being a baby LeBron and you will get some more respect from Suga.
Western Conference
The Warriors have acquired Matt Barnes but at the same time have lost Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, Leandro Barbosa and Marreese Speights. They therefore have no BIGS in the paint. The Splash Brothers are no more because Steph Curry and Klay Thompson no longer play in sync as they used to and they are not unstoppable. Both Klay and Curry have been very inconsistent with scoring and something seems off with the overall chemistry of the team. Even with Kevin Durant (KD), Suga doesn’t see a Super team. I see a weaker team.
Hold up, I should say without KD because right now KD is sitting it out with a Grade 2 MCL Sprain after his teammate, Zaza Pachulia fell on him while his knee was hyperextended in a game on February 28th. Grade 2 MCL Sprains normally take about 6 weeks to heal but the Warriors say he will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks and could return before the end of the season.
Following KD’s injury, the Warriors suffered back to back defeats, which hasn’t happened since 2015. They suffered back to back losses again Wednesday night after they lost to the Celtics. KD was shooting the best in his career and led the team in points and rebounds per game. Sadly he can no longer be in the race for MVP because of his injury.
Suga thinks karma will come around to bite KD for going to the Warriors and all the players they sacrificed just to get him will go in vain.
If not the Warriors then who?Â
The San Antonio Spurs of course. They are currently in 2nd spot close behind the Warriors. They had a tough loss against OKC last night, especially when Kawhi Leonard had to go to the Locker room after getting hit in the head. They weren’t themselves last night but you have to keep in mind they were on a 9-game winning streak. They play the Warriors tomorrow night at 8:30pm!
Once the Spurs play to full potential they are quite hard to beat. This was proven on Wednesday night when they beat the Kings after overcoming a 28-point deficit with both LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi out resting. That win showed their Coach, Gregg Popovich all fired up. A sign they are going for that #1 spot in the West.
Also note that with veteran Gasol, Aldridge and Kawhi, they have BIGS in the paint.
The Spurs clinched an NBA record with their 18th straight 50-win season on Wednesday night.
Current Eastern & Western Conference Standings
Race for MVP
LeBron is in the race for MVP with James Harden of the Rockets, Russell Westbrook of OKC and Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs. It depends on how they define MVP but Suga thinks all roads lead to LeBron James for MVP, the Stats King.
To break it down briefly, let’s look at LeBron vs. Harden.
LeBron has better numbers from the field and 3-point line over Harden. He is actually better than KD and even with Steph Curry at the 3-point line. Let’s not even talk about Harden’s record for turnovers this season. Rockets’ defense improves when Harden is off the court. No MVP for him this year.
LeBron vs. Kawhi
Despite averaging 0.4 points more per game than LeBron, Leonard is a less efficient scorer. He shoots 5.1% worse from the field and 1.3% worse from the 3-point line.
Kawhi is known for his strong defense but surprisingly, the stats show that the Spurs are better defensively without him on the court.
Since the stats show that Rockets and Spurs do better and/or still win with Harden and Leonard off the respective teams, that rules them out for MVP in my books.
That now leaves LeBron vs. Westbrook.
Kudos to Westbrook for not crumbling after a bad break up. He has shown tremendous effort and focus in every game he plays and as a result, has led OKC to a spot they are likely to keep or move up by one to head to the Playoffs without KD. He does not have a good team and regardless of if they miss shots or good opportunities he hasn’t cursed them yet. He has shown he has prepared mentally for each and every game.
Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo and Enes Kanter showed their potential last night in a win vs. the Spurs. When it’s Playoff time, could OKC rise a dark horse? We’ll see because that was just one game and they played versus the Spurs’ bench in the 4th. This puts us back to the MVP race between Russ and LeBron.
Last night Russ tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31 for the 2nd most Triple-Doubles in a season. Congrats to Westbrook but LeBron’s shooting is still better at 53.8% vs. 41.9%. LeBron is first for Field Goal Percentage in the league and Westbrook is way behind.
Also keep in mind that Westbrook is on a team that may not make it to 50 wins this season. MVPs are usually on teams that made 50 or more wins during the regular season
LeBron is universally accepted as the best NBA player in the world and the fact remains that when LeBron takes a breather, especially if Kyrie’s game isn’t on point, the Cavs fall flat. The same occurs with OKC without Westbrook. The difference? The Cavs are an excellent team with LeBron and OKC is a good team with Westbrook.
Excellence wins the race and so may LeBron for MVP.
Let’s see how it all plays out. Don’t you just love this game?!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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The West beat the East last night in the NBA All-Star Game 192-182. Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans passed Wilt Chamberlain’s record by scoring 52, the most points in an All-Star Game.
The other highlight for Suga was the alley-oop from KD to Russ early in the game after their bad break up. Their ongoing squabbles and avoidance of each other has been the talk for a while now and this was the first sign of them putting their feelings aside as they were forced to be teammates in the All-star game
Watch “KD Lobs to Westbrook, West’s Bench celebrates” on YouTube here:
Westbrook was visibly competitive and serious throughout the game. The commentators had to say it seemed like a Playoff game to him.
That alley-oop dunk did not mend the split with him and KD based on his post-game interview though as he played with the reporters.
Poor Russ. Deeply wounded.
In other news, it was announced last night that DeMarcus Cousins has been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans to join Anthony Davis in exchange for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Gallaway and a furture 1st and 2nd round pick!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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When many started to doubt the determination and winning spirit of the Warriors who faced elimination last Saturday night in Oklahoma, Klay Thompson led the team with 41 points to force a Game 7.
73 wins was not enough for Klay Thompson though. He made an NBA record scoring 11 3-pointers and imagine it could have been more. He said it himself when interviewed after the game. He missed a few good looks in the first half and was visually upset with himself. Then in the second half he just turned on the nasty.
What happened to OKC? They choked. Plain and simple. Durant with 29 points and Westbrook with 11 assists did well but not great. In a Game 6 on your homecourt trying to put a away the Warriors so there is no Game 7 in California, you have to be GREAT. Both teams took a while to warm up in the 1st quarter, missing a lot of shots. Durant played selfish basketball in the first half. They still managed to lead by 13 and more at some points but the Warriors kept coming back within reach and closed in to be within 5 for halftime.
In the second quarter, OKC starters were in foul trouble then eventually both teams went over the limit. OKC failed to get crucial rebounds and for Suga, if your rebounds are not on point, forget about winning the game.
In the 4th, the other Splash Brother, Steph Curry came alive when it counted. No worries folks, there is no sibling rivalry here. Curry sealed the deal when he hit that floater over the energized, Serge Ibaka to take a 5-point lead with 14s remaining in the game. OKC marginally outscored the Warriors for 3 quarters but choked in the 4th with Warriors outscoring them 33-18. Warriors 108 – 101 OKC was the final score.
GAME 7 will be tonight at 8pm in California! The Cavs who destroyed the Raptors in Game 6 await the winner for the Finals.
The Cavs await the Raptors or Heat for the Eastern Conference Finals after sweeping the Hawks. The Raptors-Heat series is drawn 2-2 and they will play in Toronto tonight at 7pm. The Heat players have been plagued with injuries but they still managed to level the series. Can D-Wade win it for them again?
The Warriors should beat the Trail Blazers in California tonight at 9:30pm to advance to the Western Conference Finals. They will await the winner of the Spurs-OKC series.
On Sunday, Durant came alive in the 4th quarter, the Spurs fell apart and KD won the game for his Momma, who is the real MVP. OKC leveled the series at 2-2.
They headed back to San Antonio for a crucial Game 5 last night. OKC led the 1st quarter 22-16. Then it was all about the Spurs for the 2nd and 3rd quarter. But in the 4th, putting bad calls aside with acrobatics from Steven Adams and Westbrook swatting imaginary flies from his eye saying he was hit by Parker, the Spurs failed to make crucial shots. In particular, Aldridge and Parker. They went cold. While on the other side, Westbrook was hot and unstoppable. His athletisism was impressive resulting in steals and speeding through the paint. His last steal, then the and-1 in closing seconds sealed the deal for the Thunder’s Game 5 win over the Spurs. Westbrook ended the night with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
81% of the time, whoever wins Game 5 usually advances in the series. With Spurs’ performance during the season, they would have been expected to beat OKC. But it’s always about match ups. OKC has always been a serious threat to the Spurs. They lucked out with Ibaka’s injury the last time they met in the Playoffs. Now Ibaka may not be as much of a threat, but Westbook is unstoppable. When he is guarded by Kawhi, Durant will take care of everything else. If they happen to lock down those two, there are Waiters and Steve Adams who will do the job. Steve Adams’ game has improved tremendously. Someone should cut his hair. Old man river walk, Tim Duncan has to be present for the Spurs’ defense and to get crucial rebounds. Diaw is not playing as well who used to be a key part of the Spurs’ defense and facilitator for plays and magical ball movement. Danny Green works hard but is not where he needs to be yet for defense, then the Defensive Player of the year, Kawhi Leonard can’t do it all on his own. Ginobili is a ticking time bomb. Parker crumbles under pressure. West makes too many unnecessary fouls and Aldridge fails to make clutch shots. Leonard and Aldridge want it but the rest of the team seem comfortable with their previous rings and accomplishments. Let’s hope some desire to move forward is ignited and they can force a game 7.
Either way, the Golden State Warriors will beat whoever emerges as the winner and beat the Cavs as well, who will reach the Finals, to start their dynasty. Steph Curry is back and he came back scoring 40 points, 17 of which were in overtime. Or can OKC just upset everybody? They surely look hungry. Let’s watch and see.
The West Indies Under 19 Cricket Team won the ICC World Cup vs India! Signs of a good future? Maybe not. They only scored 146 runs in 49.3 overs to win, however the bowling and fielding were impressive.
It is the first major title on any level that the West Indies has won since the senior team won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2012.
FOOTBALL
Arsenal put a dagger in Leicester’s campaign to win the Barclay’s Premier League title yesterday with Welbeck’s header in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 victory.
Leicester’s only goal was from a penalty kick at the end of the first half that probably shouldn’t have been awarded. They got a red card at 54′ downsizing them to 10 men, then Walcott of Arsenal equalised at 70′.
Here is a look at the BPL table now:
There was exciting action in La Liga yesterday too. Lionel Messi had an unbelievable Penalty kick, where it was Barcelona 6-1 Celta Vigo! Watch it here!
BASKETBALL Â – NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND
Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon put on a show for the Slam Dunk Contest! Zach LaVine reclaimed his title from last year with all 10s.
Klay Thompson defeated Splash brother, Steph Curry with 27 points in the final round to win the All Star Weekend 3-point shoot out competition. Thompson tied Curry’s score of 27 last year for the most points ever in the All Star 3-point shoot out competition.
The West beat the East, 196-173 with the record for the most points in a half, 92 and both sides surpassed the record for the most combined points in a half, 92-90.
Russell Westbrook got MVP for the 2nd straight year with 31 points.
Paul George of Pacers was on fire with 41 points, just 1 point shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 42 for the most points scored in an NBA All-Star game. Paul George also had the most 3-pointers in the game with 9.
This was also Kobe Bryant’s last All-Star game. All the greats were there to watch including the Greatest of all time, Michael Jordan a.k.a MJ. The commentator confirmed it saying, he IS still the greatest of all time. MJ sent his best wishes to Kobe. The other ‘MJ’, Majic Johnson also did a tribute. Kobe follows the 2 MJs with his level of skill and greatness. Kobe we salute you!
The real excitement began on Saturday night with the 3-point shoot out contest, where Golden State Warriors point guard, Stephen Curry scored 27 out of a possible 34 points in the Championship round. It was his first win in the event. Curry topped fellow Warriors guard, Klay Thompson who couldn’t handle the pressure after Curry’s superb performance, scoring 14 in the Championship round, less than in the elimination round and 2013 Three-Point Contest winner, Kyrie Irving of Cleveland Cavaliers, who scored 17.
The Slam Dunk Competition followed, which was totally dominated by Zach LaVine of Minnesota Timberwolves. Runner-up, Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo’s 360º Reverse Dunk deserves notable mention.
Check out how Zach LaVine gets all NBA players standing as he ‘Throws Down the “Space Jam” Dunk’ in the 2015 Sprite Slam-Dunk Contest here:
Last night, the West won 163-158 over the East, the record for the largest combined score of 321 compared to last year’s 318. But it was all about MVP All-Star, Russell Westbrook, guard for Oklahoma City Thunder, who racked up 41 points in style, just short of Wilt Chamberlain’s highest scoring MVP All-Star record of 42 made in 1962. Westbrook also set the record for most points in a half with 27. What a showman! LeBron who? James started out hot but fell short in the end with 30 points.
Congrats to all the winners of the All-Star Weekend!