Third time’s the charm, right?

Why do I keep doing this? Every time I try to get back into sports blogging, schoolwork gets in the way and I completely forget about writing. Well, this time I decided that if I want to become a sports journalist in the future, I’ll need to improve my writing by….duh, WRITING. The writing we do in school is sooo boring. Plus, sports writing allows me to convey my thoughts about my favorite topic using the most widely-used medium in the world: the Internet. \

Enough of that, let’s get back to work!

Watching the Knicks/ Heat game, cannot believe they’re still in this 55-52 10 minutes to go in the 3rd. Game 1 was an embarrassment for Knicks fans everywhere. They got KILLED by 30 points. On a side note, Shumpert tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the season and half of next season.

Derrick Rose also tore his ACL in yesterday’s Game 1 win agains the Sixers. Everyone knows he. was in the game up 12 with a minute left. As a result, fans everywhere are blaming Tom Thibodeau and the compressed schedule for the injury. Come on dude, you’re gonna blame a coach for leaving his star in, who’s played half the season this year for various injuries??

Does the drama ever stop in New York?

I don’t know where to start with this. At the beginning of the season, Knicks fans had really high hopes for this team. They were ready to send this team to the Eastern Conference Finals with players like Carmelo, Stoudemire, and Chandler. I guess teamwork is more important than individual talent, because the Knicks struggled mightily at times. Most recently, they’ve gone on a 2-8 losing streak. Just one month ago, we were stunned with Linsanity and the energy he brought to the team. That was back when Carmelo was out with the injury. In that span, I believe the Knicks won 6 games in a row. With Carmelo on the floor, the Knicks aren’t nearly as efficient than without ‘Melo.

So why is D’Antoni to blame here? Isn’t ‘Melo the guy who’s jackin up stupid 3 pointers and expecting to get foul calls (see Derrick Rose)? To be honest, the Knicks have too many guys who want huge minutes: Melo, Chandler, Amare, JR Smith, and Lin all demand a ton of minutes. I always rant about LeBron, but you never hear him complaining about minutes right? That’s because he’s on a team where HE and Dwayne Wade are the go-to guys.

A couple of years ago, a fan would say the Knicks didn’t have enough talent. Well, know it looks like they have too much talent. It’s impossible to spread minutes out correctly when you have a team like the Knicks have.

And that, folks, is why D’Antoni resigned yesterday.

I know you guys are still gonna say ” His system didn’t fit the team he had” and I understand that. It’s a valid argument. However, regardless of the system you have in place, the minutes crunch couldn’t be resolved at all.

Let’s see what interim coach Mike Woodson has in store for us in the final quarter of the season.

Ball-hog Rose fined $25K for whining

Monday night’s game against the Knicks showed us that it’s Derrick Rose or bust for the Chicago Bulls. Rose scored 32 points on 12 of 29 shooting to lead the Bulls to a 5 point win over the slumping Knicks.

After the game, Rose felt that the referees weren’t giving him enough calls to send him to the stripe, and he displayed that when talking to the press. In a post-game interview, Rose said: ” I’ve gotta be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now, but I can’t say too much about it (espn.com)” For proclaiming his anger towards the refs, the reigning MVP was fined $25K by the league. This is Rose’s first fine since coming into the league in 2008.

[Related: Derrick Rose fined for criticizing officiating]

Rose did just enough in this game to push the Bulls past the Knicks. Before this loss, they had a streak of 5 losses in a row.

Here is what I don’t like about Derrick Rose: He is a shoot-first PG. That is enough for me to say I like Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul’s game better, regardless of how little they score. Rajon and Chris both can definitely score the basketball, but their passing ability is extremely coveted in this league.

I mean, the Bulls do great with Rose, but could you imagine if Rose learned to pass the ball more? Granted, he doesn’t have Blake Griffin or 3 future HOF’s on his team, but he’s got players like Noah, Boozer, Korver, and Deng who can score the ball if given a good look. If you’ve ever watched D-Rose play, his gameplan is to attack the basket. However, the difference between him and Rondo is: Rondo will pass the ball off to an open player off the penetration, while Rose just takes the layup and expects a foul to be called.

Also, if you watch closely, you’ll notice that Rose is initiating the contact with the defensive player (most of the time), which should be called a charge as opposed to a blocking foul.

I’m not trying to rant and “hate” on the MVP here, but if he can find a way to make plays for his team, THEN they have a good shot at beating Miami.
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Bulls/Heat Game 5 Recap

Full credit for this goes to the awesome people at: http://hesaidshesaidfootball.com/

                I could cut and paste the Game 4 recap and make it the Game 5 recap because the story is the same: Finishing in the 4th Quarter.  Love it or hate it, that’s the story of the 2010-2011 Miami Heat in the post season.  At the most critical point in the game LeBron James has silenced all critics by finishing games in the 4th Quarter.  Here’s a post game quote from Joakim Noah that says it best: “You have to give credit where credit is due. They are Hollywood as hell, but they are good.”

                Say what you want about the Heat:  you hate them, they’re a manufactured team, THE DECISION made you throw up, etc…Whatever your reason for disliking them doesn’t matter–they are good.   They were better than the Bulls last night and throughout Eastern Conference Finals.  Not taking anything away from the Bulls (I believe they will have their shot again) but they were outplayed and out coached.  We already know that D Rose has no supporting cast, meanwhile the Heat, not only has a supporting cast, they all know their role: stay out of the Big 3’s way. In Game 5, the Big 3 combined for 69 points, more the Bulls whole starting line-up. The other two starters for the Heat combined for 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. The 3 bench players that played last night for the Heat had a combined 11 points.  3 All-Star players for the Miami Heat beat the league’s MVP.

                MVP Derrick Rose has fallen on his sword again: “At the end, it’s all me,” Rose said. “Turnovers, missed shots, fouls. The series is over.”  I’m a HUGE fan of D Rose .  Admittedly, it was disappointing to watch for the 2nd game in a row Rose miss critical game ending shots and miss a free throw with 26.7 seconds left…While he did not have a stellar game (shooting 9 for 29, with 25 pts), it was not ALL his fault.  It was the CHICAGO BULLS’ games to lose, not just D Rose’s.  His supporting cast was not in the game (literally and figuratively).  Carlos Boozer (the other “scorer”) was on the bench the entire 4th quarter due to foul trouble.  Boozer’s pine rider in crime, Noah (usually a reliable power player) was also a non factor in the 4th quarter.  Together, Boozer and Noah combined for 10 pitiful points. 

                The reason the Heat work is that the Big 3 have individually transformed themselves into supporting roles when needed.  In last year’s off season, the question was, “Who’s gonna be the man, Wade or Bron?” (Funny that no one asked if Bosh was going to be the man).  They have found a way to coexist and play together (at least so far).  The “real” supporting players DARE NOT step out of line (you see what happened to Michael Beasley).  It’s unfortunate that all of Miami’s success and swag has to come at the expense of the Bulls, who need to give D Rose the help that he desperately needs.  As much as I hate saying this, the Heat deserve to play for the NBA title.  They worked out the regular season kinks and are clicking on all cylinders.  With that said, “GO MAVs!!!”

Heat Beat Bulls in OT; Take 3-1 Series Lead

As I said in my previous post, Game 4 was a must-win game for the Chicago Bulls. The reason: if they didn’t win, they’d fall into a 3-1 ditch and into the hands of the Miami Heat. Looks like we jinxed it after all….

Last night, it seemed like the Heat made all the hustle plays; all the plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet. These plays include diving for loose balls, hustling on defense, and setting good screens on offense. You may not think these

The Heat look to Close Out the Series Tommrow Night against the Bulls

plays make a difference, but they make a big difference in the outcome of the game. Because, lets face it, most teams have around the same “level” of talent. What really sets them apart is their hustle and their mentality. If they always hustle, give 110%, and are mentally tough, they will probably win most games. Thats why the Lakers and Celtics win most games; although they have more talent, what really sets them apart is their mental toughness. Have you ever seen Kobe Bryant in the 4th quarter, with less then 4:00 min left? He is lights out when the game is on the line. This is thanks to his mental attitude that says, “I can hit this shot, and I don’t give a crap what everyone else think.” Although he might hog the ball a bit, most of the times its for a good reason: he’s clutch.

Getting back to the Bulls/Heat series: the Bulls lost last night. This put them in a deep hole, probably too deep to climb out of. Hopefully MVP Derrick Rose can lead his team to some back-to-back wins so they can force a Game 7. That would be really exciting for me considering I’m a Bulls fan. Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 pm ET.

For more on this story, go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2011/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=heathustle-110525

Must Win Game for Bulls Tonight; Down to Heat 2-1

I hate to say this but: the Heat are living up the hype. Remember when they were prancing on that stage in July as if they won 3 championships (before the season even started)? Well, their pretty damn close, already up 2-1 in the NBA Conference Finals. That means only 6 more wins and they get their first championship in the LeBron/Wade/Bosh era. How sickening… I never thought they’d get this far. Remember when LeBron took an hour to “take his talents to South Beach”? Well, he certainly did, averaging 26.7 points this season. At least Bosh had the decency to just GO to Miami instead of announcing it like it’s the biggest thing since sliced bread.

However, with all that star power on that team, should we really be surprised? Miami’s Big Three combine for like 70 PPG for the Heat. That is a lot of points from just 3 players on your team; you still have the other 2 starters and a couple bench players. On paper, no team would be able to even compete against the Heat, not even the Chicago Bulls. Nonetheless, the game of basketball is not played on a piece of paper; it is played on a basketball court. This is why the Heat did not win every game during the regular season, although they had the best players on paper. I was also very surprised when the Heat knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the 2nd round. They are turning out much better than I thought they would.

Tonight’s game is a must-win for the Bulls because they need to tie up the series. If they do not, they will fall in a 3-1 ditch going into a game 5. Not a good situation at all. I’m not sure they’ll be able to win 3 in a row against this Heat team; they have too much offense for that to happen. I will certainly be watching how the Big 3, Derrick Rose, and the Bulls bench contribute to their teams. The game starts at 8:30 pm ET.

Oh, and DERRICK ROSE NEEDS TO FINISH AT THE RIM!!!!

LeBron/Wade/Bosh have Turned Things Around for the Miami Heat, Leading them to the NBA Conference Finals

Heat Take 2-1 Series Lead Over the Bulls

In Game 2, we saw that the Bulls could not finish at the rim or drive to the basket at all, forcing them to take jumpers. I guess they realized they needed to be more aggressive, because they did a much better job picking up fouls in Game 3.

Bosh Scored 34 In the Heat's Game 3 Victory Over the Bulls

However, whenever they did take jumpers, they missed most of them, which really hindered their ability to produce on the offensive side of the ball. In addition, I saw a much more aggressive offense in the Miami Heat then in the Chicago Bulls. The Heat shot 25-29 from the charity stripe (86.2%), while the Bulls shot 16-21 (76.2%). This really helped them close out at the end of the game. There was one surprise for

the Bulls in this game: Carlos Boozer shot 8-19, scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. The MVP Derrick Rose scored 20, and had an off night just like in Game 2. in order for the Bulls to win the series, they need Rose to hit his shots, get to the line, and make great passes. In addition, nobody on the Bulls can create their own shot except for Rose. So, by driving to the basket and making his layups, he is planting a seed in the defenses mind that says, “We need to cover Rose more when he drives to the hoop.” This will cause the Heat to crash to the inside, creating open 3-point opportunities for Deng and open jump shots for

Rose Needs to Play Better if the Bulls Hope to Win the Series

everyone else. However, the huge surprise was Chris Bosh, who shot 13-18 and scored a team-high 34 points. I’m sure nobody was expecting this out of Bosh. Maybe out of LeBron or Wade, but definitely not Bosh.  After Bosh missed his first 3 shots, he exploded and hit 8 in a row. Right after his 3rd miss, Taj Gibson was taunting him, trying to get in Bosh’s head and intimidate him. Obviously, Bosh used that to “fuel his fire” and score 16 straight points.The sad part is, the Bulls out-rebounded the Heat 41-32, and they still lost….That’s a +9 margin. I don’t think they should be losing when they have the rebound advantage. Final score: Heat over the Bulls 96-85. Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday in Miami.

Chicago Bulls/Miami Heat Game 3 Preview

In Game 1 of this series, we saw the Chicago Bulls out-rebound the Miami Heat 45-33. That’s a pretty good margin (net +12). However, in Game 2, the Bulls couldn’t find a way to grab rebounds, losing the battle on the boards 45-41 to the Heat. That really baffles me because the Bulls are a better rebounding team then the Heat. They shouldn’t let the Heat get 45 rebounds. This is one reason why they lost Game 2.

Another reason why the Bulls lost game 2: their offense went stagnant. In Game 1, they scored 103 points on 25 assists, but in Game 2 they only scored 75 points on 15 assists. That a 28 point drop! How the hell could you go from 103 one game to 75 in the next? I’ll tell you: being conservative. Instead of driving to the basket and picking up fouls (what they did in Game 1), they settled for difficult jumpshots. We all know the Bulls aren’t exactly the best jump shooting team. They get most of their points off layups and occasional jumpshots. Being aggressive is how this team will win Game 3.

I also saw some poor play from the MVP Derrick Rose. We are so used to seeing him finish layups at the rim, picking up and-ones, and hitting his jumpshots. We didn’t see any of that in Game 2. He only scored 21 points, not a bad total, but he shot 7-23 from the floor and 0-3 from downtown. I’m not saying he should be scoring 35, but he could’ve scored more from all his missed layups.

So far, I’ve only talked about the Bulls problems, and what they need to do in order to win Game 3. Let’s talk about the Heat now. Game 1 was their real bad game (they lost Game 1). In that game, they weren’t able to drive to the basket or pass the ball efficiently. This resulted (just like the Bulls in Game 2) in them taking jumpers for most of the game. In addition, they didn’t rebound well, which led them to have fewer possessions than the Bulls. The Big Three for Miami also need to learn how to share the ball. This will make it much harder for the Bulls to defend them if they pass the ball back and forth, wearing out the defense. I know this game will be exciting, especially since both teams are tied at 1 win apiece. Drop a comment and tell me who you think will win Game 3 (and the rest of the series too).

MVP D-Rose and the Bulls Look to Rebound Against the Heat Tonight

Heat Show Some Fight in Game 2

The game of basketball is a team sport. To win the game, you must play as a team. This means pass the ball a lot, don’t be selfish, set good screens for teammates, and help them in any way you can. This doesn’t mean take 40 shots in a game (*cough* Kobe Bryant). A

LeBron and Co. Prevailed Over the Bulls Wednesday, 85-75. Game 3 Is Scheduled for Sunday Night at American Airlines Arena

good indicator for determining if you’re a team player is the number of assists you rack up during a game. However, this can be misleading because a point guard could have 10 assists in a game, but also take 30 shots.  In Sundays Game 1 against the Bulls, the Heat really had a tough time getting their offense going. So, LeBron and Wade started running many isolation plays, which forced them to put up tough shots 1 on 1. Both those guys said they’d play better in Game 2. They made a promise to their fans, and they weren’t about to let them down now, especially in the playoffs. Last night in Game 2 at the United Center, they kept their promise. LeBron scored 29 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and picking up 5 assists. This performance was much better than his Game 1 performance when he only scored 15. Dwayne Wade scored 24 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and shot 8-10 from the charity stripe. Both of these great performances led to the Game 2 victory over the Bulls, 85-75. That’s a pretty low scoring game, don’t you think? Derrick Rose was only able to score 21 while dishing 8 assists. Not a bad game, but I think if they didn’t turn the ball over as much as they did, they would have definitely been able to come back and win. What do you think?

NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Game 2 Preview

Last Sunday, basketball fans witnessed a spectacular Game 1, pitting MVP Derrick Rose and the Bulls against the combo of LeBron/Wade/Bosh and the Heat. To be honest, the vast majority of fans are rooting for the Bulls to win the series. The only city that wants the

Wade and His Big 3 Look to Rebound Against the Bulls Tonight and Tie the Series at 1-1

Heat to win is Miami, their hometown. Outside of Miami, nobody likes the Heat. They’re much too arrogant for my taste, and they seem to think they are guaranteed a championship, because of their stacked roster. In Game 1, the Bulls comfortably defeated the Heat, 103-82. They are looking to take a 2-0 lead in the series, putting them one game closer to a spot in the NBA Finals. After their less-than-stellar performances on Sunday, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade vowed to come back strong in Game 2. I will certainly be watching them to see if they lived up to their promise. Coming into this game, the Bulls are carrying a 9 game winning streak. Their winning streak will obviously play a huge factor in the way they play tonight. They’ll be pumped for this, and I think they will be even more prepared then they were for Game 1. If that’s the case, then the Heat are going to have a hard time defending Rose and guarding Deng on the 3-point line. Plus, the Bulls won 62 regular season games, compared to the Heat’s 58 victories. The one positive that Miami is taking into this game, is that in Game 1 Chris Bosh dropped 30 points. The Heat will definitely look to build on that performance in this game. Luol Deng told media, “I think we’ve got to play better. I really do. We played really well. If you look at the final score, we won by a lot, but it really wasn’t that kind of game” (Courtesy of Sportsencounter.com). I’m super excited for this Game 2. Drop a comment and tell me what you think.

Eastern Conference Finals, NBA Playoffs

Tonight’s Game 1 match-up pitted MVP Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls against LeBron/Wade/Bosh and the Miami Heat. In the regular season series, the Bulls swept the Heat 3-0. However, most people believe that the regular season games have no effect on the post season. I am not one of those people. If you don’t agree, fine, drop a comment. But

D-Rose scores 28 points in the Bulls' Game 1 victory

anyway, the Bulls showed they were a much more consistent team then the Heat during the post-season. Tonight, Derrick Rose scored 28 and Luol Deng added 21 en route to a 103-82 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Chris Bosh had a big night, dropping 30 points on 12-18 shooting (66%), leading the Heat in scoring. LeBron was held to 15 points on 5-14 from the field, while D-Wade was held to just 18 points. Tonight’s game showed that the Bulls are a much more consistent team then the Heat. Personally, I’m hoping the Bulls can pull this one out and finish off the Heat in six games. Do you think the Heat will pull it together?

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities is a book by Charles Dickens, published in 1859. With over 200 million copies sold, it has been regarded as one of the best works in the history in fictional literature. I’m sure you’ve heard of that book right? Well, there are some real-life examples of what the book talks about. Bulls vs Heat. The Chicago Bulls have been in a slump since the great Jordan era. They hope to prevail over the Miami Heat, who most recently won a championship in 05-06 using a combination of Shaq and D-Wade to beat the Mavs in six games. The Heat acquired LeBron James  and Chris Bosh during the off-season in 2010. We all remember James’ own half-hour special dubbed ‘The Decision’. Because of his egotistical methods to make himself feel like a king, people started hating his guts. The combo of James, D-Wade, and Bosh might me too much for the Bulls to handle. However, I think that with the MVP (Rose), the Bulls will be able to beat the Heat in six games, assuming that they can play as a team and defend against the Big 3 of Miami.