Monday, June 29, 2009

Orioles Magic

Monday, June 29 - Wednesday, July 1

Boston Red Sox (46-29) at Baltimore Orioles (34-41)

Pitching Matchups

Monday: BOS - Jon Lester (6-6, 4.68)
BAL - Jason Berken (1-4, 6.32)

Tuesday: BOS - John Smoltz (0-1, 9.00)
BAL - Rich Hill (3-2, 6.03)

Wednesday: BOS - Josh Beckett (9-3, 3.48)
BAL - Brad Bergesen (5-2, 3.76)

Interleague play is over and after finishing a respectable 11-7 in Interleague play the Orioles move back to only playing the American League. They welcome the Boston Red Sox to town as Camden Yards prepares to turn into Fenway Park lite over the next three days. Red Sox fans take over the stadium and almost always get to see the Red Sox whoop the Orioles. Things figure to not be much different in this series.

The Red Sox are atop the AL East and their potent lineup has a lot to do with it. 1B Kevin Youkilis leads the team in hitting with a .312 average. LF Jason Bay has made it easy for Red Sox fans to forget Manny Ramirez. He has provided just as much production without any of the headaches. Bay leads team in home runs with 19 and RBIs with 69.

Boston just lost Daisuke Matsuzaka to the disabled list and have employed the aging John Smoltz to take his spot in the rotation. Smoltz was clubbed by the Washington Nubionals in his debut last week, and will look for better results when he takes the mound on Tuesday. Wednesday's pitching matchup should be a treat as Red Sox ace Josh Beckett takes on the O's new found ace, Brad Bergesen. The poo poo platter of Jason Berken and Rich Hill get the starts on Monday and Tuesday for Baltimore.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Orioles Magic

Tuesday, June 23 - Thursday, June 25

Baltimore Orioles (32-37) at Florida Marlins (35-36)

Pitching Matchups

Tuesday: BAL - Koji Uehara (2-4, 4.30)
FLA - Andrew Miller (2-3, 4.56)

Wednesday: BAL - Jason Berken (1-3, 6.84)
FLA - Ricky Nalasco (3-6, 7.15)

Thursday: BAL - Rich Hill (3-1, 5.18)
FLA - Sean West (2-2, 3.97)

It is a lot more fun to do these previews when the Orioles are winning so it is with great excitement that I bring you this edition of Orioles Magic. The Orioles just completed a series sweep of the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia. Baltimore has now won 5 in a row and is slowly climbing their way back to the .500 mark.

The Florida Marlins are just a game under .500 after taking 2 out of 3 at home against the New York Yankees. The Marlins started the year 11-1 but haven't played the Washington Nubionals in a while so their record has floundered since then. However, they are still just 3 games out of first in the pathetic NL East.

The Marlins have struggled offensively, with only SS Hanley Ramirez batting over .300. 2B Dan Uggla leads the team in HRs with 13 but is hitting just .213 on the season. 1B Jorge Cantu leads the team in RBIs with 44.

The Orioles are lucky to be avoiding the Marlins best pitcher in this series, Josh Johnson. As is the norm the Marlins are stacked with young pitchers. The O's face Ricky Nalasco on Wednesday, Nalasco got off to an awful start, but has not given up more than 2 earned runs in his last three starts. The Orioles face the Marlins rookie Sean West on Thursday, who has shown some early promise.

The Orioles pitching has improved as of late but they will be hard pressed to win this series with the arms they are throwing out there. Koji Uehara hasn't won a game since April, Jason Berken has been awful, and the O's never know what they are going to get out of Rich Hill.

Offensively, 1B Aubrey Huff has bumped his average up to .276. Like the Marlins, the Orioles only have one player hitting over .300, Adam Jones (.316), but have a bunch of guys hovering around .300; Luke Scott (.298), Nick Markakis (.292), and Brian Roberts (.291)

Friday, June 19, 2009

Orioles Magic

Friday, June 19 - Sunday, June 21

Baltimore Orioles (29-37) at Philadelphia Phillies (36-28)

Pitching Matchups

Friday: BAL - Rich Hill (2-1, 5.81)
PHI - Antonio Bastardo (2-1, 5.25)

Saturday: BAL - Brad Bergesen (4-2, 3.79)
PHI - J.A. Happ (4-0, 3.53)

Sunday: BAL - Jeremy Guthrie (4-7, 5.42)
PHI - Cole Hamels (4-2, 4.48)

The Orioles head to Philadelphia to take on the defending World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. The O's are coming off an impressive series win against the New York Mets, while the Phillies were just swept at home by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Phillies best player had been LF Raul Ibanez, but he was just placed on the disabled list due to side effects of steroids, I mean an injured groin. However, the Phillies still have dangerous hitters without Ibanez, such as 2B Chase Utley, who is hitting .308, with 15 HRs, and 44 RBIs, RF Jayson Werth (.261, 12 HRs, 36 RBIs), and 1B Ryan Howard (.257, 19 HR, 51 RBI). Someone who the Phillies are not getting production from is SS Jimmy Rollins. Rollins is going through an awful season, hitting just .225, with 6 HRs, and 27 RBIs.

The Phillies haven't had the greatest pitching this season. Ace Cole Hamels has been battling injuries, 102 year old Jamie Moyer is finally pitching like he is 102, and their closer Brad Lidge, who was perfect last year, struggled before finally being put on the disabled list. The Orioles face the Phillies most consistent pitcher on Saturday, J.A. Happ. Happ started the year in the bullpen but is now in the rotation and has steadied the Phillies staff.

The Orioles started the season with Jeremy Guthrie as their ace, but Guthrie has been terrible, so the Orioles now rely on rookie Brad Bergesen as their ace. Bergesen hasn't allowed more than 2 earned runs in his last four starts. It is great to finally see an O's pitcher showing some promise.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Orioles Magic

Shaking things up in this edition of Orioles Magic. The Orioles welcome the New York Mets to the Yard. Rather than have me bring you a preview, I have decided to let guest contributor Matt, a huge Mets fan, do the honors.

Coming off an 19-9 month of May, Mets fans thought that only brighter days were ahead. This winning month, one of the best in franchise history, was highlighted by the beginning of the injury bug (Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes) but nothing seemed to phase them. All of us knew, that once June hit a lighter schedule was in place in the beginning (Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nubionals), followed by tough interleague play. Unfortunately for the Mets (and fortunately for the Orioles), everyone has seemingly started dropping like flies, whether it be John Maine having shoulder discomfort, or even 34-year-old journeyman Ramon Martinez breaking his pinkie.

Things have gone from bad to seemingly worse in our view. First getting swept in Pittsburgh to the lowly Pirates. Then the Phillies came to town, and after holding them off for a 6-5 victory in game 1, the Mets decided to blow 2 games in extra innings, giving us that gut wrenching feeling we are far too used to. This pain went into Friday nights game with Luis Castillo dropping a routine pop up (TWO HANDS!!!) and then our ace Johan Santana getting shelled for 9 runs in 3 innings to our inter-city rival the Yankees.

Needless to say this Orioles/Mets series will be quite interesting. For the Mets, Tuesday they will be throwing out Mike “Big Pelf” Pelfrey (4-2, 4.68) who is coming off a 6 inning performance against the Phillies and has been much improved since the 2nd half of last year. The middle game will be pitched by Tim Redding (0-2, 6.18) who is also coming off an impressive start against the Phils where he went 7 innings allowing only 3 runs, followed by Livan Hernandez (5-1, 4.33) who is coming off his worst start of the year giving up 6 runs in 5 innings to the Yankees. The keys for the Mets in this series will be whether or not they can put some terrible losses behind them (a dead horse subject), and continue to get quality pitching from Pelfrey and Redding, and attempt to get good hitting out of their backup players. One player that has been on fire, throughout the month of June is third baseman David Wright who is hitting .364 for the season, and .489 for the month.

For the Orioles, they are coming off a series where they welcomed the Atlanta Braves to Baltimore and took 2 out of 3 from the Bravos. For this series Jeremy Guthrie (4-6, 5.52) takes the hill on Tuesday night, Koji Uehara (2-4, 4.37) on Wednesday night, and Jason Berken (1-3, 7.32) in the finale. The keys for the Orioles will be whether their offense can continue to have an explosion like they did against NL East foe Atlanta, or if the offense will revert back to its form for most of the last three weeks. Orioles super prospect Matt Wieters will have to get things going as he is only hitting .233 through 12 major league games.

Monday, June 15, 2009

The Week That Was


The Los Angeles Lakers captured their 15th NBA Championship last night, crushing the lifeless Orlando Magic on their home floor, 99-86 to win the series 4-1. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and had 4 blocks, and earned his first NBA Finals MVP. He also quieted any rational haters of him their might be (their are very few) by winning a title without one of the most overrated players of all time, Shaquille O'Neal. Bryant was spectacular this season, embracing his role as a leader of this team. He almost seemed to be more of a coach than the greatest coach in NBA history, Phil Jackson, who captured his record 10th NBA Championship. The Lakers face some question marks for next season with both Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza being free agents. It would be ideal to re sign both, especially Ariza but the Lakers may not be able to afford that. Ariza has to be the one that's kept if it is decided to let one walk. He was huge in the playoffs and stepped up consistently on both offense and defense. Odom can be a force on both ends but you never know what to expect out of him. Jackson has one year left on his contract and there is talk he might retire and leave the game as a champion. I couldn't blame him if he decides to. All of that is irrelevant for now, the Lakers are champions and Bryant has secured his legacy as one of the Top-10 all time players in the game.

The NHL season also wrapped up this past weekend with the Pittsburgh Penguins shocking the hockey world and defeating the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit to capture the Stanley Cup. The Penguins were left for dead after being beaten soundly in the first two games in Detroit. They managed to even the series up in Pittsburgh but then were left for dead again after dropping Game 5 at Detroit. I think the Penguins themselves might have been the only ones who thought they could win a Game 7 at Detroit. Cindy Crosby left the game with a hang nail in the second period but the Penguins still were able to take a 2-0 lead on goals by Maxime Talbot. Detroit cut the deficit to one and then furiously tried to tie the game but were denied by some brilliant goaltending by Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins were on the outside looking in for the playoffs before firing their coach Michael Therrien. They replaced him with minor league coach Dan Bylsma and the rest is history. Pittsburgh now has the Super Bowl Champion Steelers and the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Orioles Magic

Friday, June 12 - Sunday, June 14

Atlanta Braves (29-30) at Baltimore Orioles (25-35)

Pitching Matchups

Friday: ATL - Tommy Hanson (0-0, 9.00)
BAL - Jason Berken (1-2, 7.04)

Saturday: ATL - Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.62)
BAL - Rich Hill (2-1, 5.24)

Sunday: ATL - Derek Lowe (7-3, 3.44)
BAL - Brad Bergesen (3-2, 4.04)

Interleague play returns as the Orioles welcome the Atlanta Braves to the Yard. After a 5 game winning streak elicited some hope a few weeks ago, the O's are back to playing like crap. The Braves are hovering around .500 and trying to stay in the NL East race.

When you think of the Braves one man comes to mind, 3B Chipper Jones. The 37-year-old is having another solid season and leads the Braves in almost every offensive statistical category. He is batting .320, with 8 HRs, and 31 RBIs. The Braves other major offensive threat is C Brian McCann, who is hitting .312, with 6 HRs and 24 RBIs.

For years, pitching was the Braves rock. You could count on the Braves having at least steady pitching from the ace to the number four spot in the rotation. Times have changed and now the Braves have the ace, but not much else. The Orioles are terrible on Sundays and unfortunately for them they get to see the ace, Derek Lowe on Sunday. Lowe is 7-3, with a 3.44 ERA and has been exactly what the Braves were hoping for. Tommy Hanson makes his second career start tonight for Atlanta, he gave up 6 earned runs in his first start against the Milwaukee Brewers. The O's are fortunate to be avoiding the Braves second best pitcher, Jair Jurrens, who leads the team in ERA, at 2.85.

The Orioles have been struggling for about a week offensively, which has coincided with their poor play. Adam Jones has cooled a bit, Brian Roberts has been mired in a slump, and Aubrey Huff is only hitting .258 for the season. Matt Wieters is starting to get his stroke, but still is hitting just .208 since being called up a few weeks ago. It seems like Luke Scott hits a home run just about every night, he leads the team with 15. Also worth mentioning is the play of call up Nolan Reimold, who is hitting .271, with 7 HRs and 16 RBIs.

Jason Berken starts for Baltimore tonight, and brings his 7.04 ERA with him. Saturday, the O's hope they get the good Rich Hill who seems to alternate between looking amazing and then downright awful. In his last start against Oakland he couldn't find the plate and was pulled in the first inning. Rookie Brad Bergesen starts Sunday, and he has pitched very well as of late, and has been the Orioles most consistent pitcher thus far.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Orioles Magic

Friday, June 5 - Sunday, June 7

Baltimore Orioles (24-30) at Oakland Athletics (22-30)

Pitching Matchups

Friday: BAL - Jeremy Guthrie (4-4, 4.86)
OAK - Dallas Braden (4-5, 3.63)

Saturday: BAL - Jason Berken (1-1, 2.25)
OAK - Trevor Cahill (2-5, 4.33)

Sunday: BAL - Rich Hill (2-0, 4.15)
OAK - Vin Mazzaro (1-0, 0.00)

The Orioles quick run through the AL West continues in Oakland this weekend. The O's dropped 2 of 3 in Seattle and have recently seen their hitting completely disappear. This of course comes during a time where they actually pitched very well against Seattle. Just can never seem to get good hitting and good pitching going at the same time.

The Athletics have been a bit of a disappointment in this young season. With the addition LF Matt Holliday, and 1B Jason Giambi, along with some good young pitching, the A's were expected to contend in the AL West. Instead they sit in last and Holliday is already talking about how he would be alright with being traded.

You know your offense is strugg a ling when your catcher leads your team in batting average. That is the case with the A's and C Kurt Suzuki (.284, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs). DH Jack Cust leads the team in HRs with 8, and Holliday leads the team in RBIs with 33. As a team Oakland is hitting just .239 for the season, which is atrocious.

As mentioned before, the A's have some good young arms, and pitching is actually the reason the A's record isn't worse. The O's face their wins leader Dallas Braden tonight, who despite an ERA under 4.00, has a losing record, due to the A's inept offense. Braden also leads the team in strikeouts. On Sunday, the Orioles will hope to crack rookie Vin Mazzaro, who in his debut against the Chicago White Sox, gave up no runs over 6.1 innings.

Rich Hill takes the mound for the O's on Sunday. He is coming off a brilliant shutout performance against the Mariners on Monday. Jason Berken gets the start on Saturday, he has shown some potential in his few starts. The O's bats cooled against the Mariners but Luke Scott continues to hit the ball very well, but the O's will have a hard time getting the offense going against the good pitching they will face this weekend.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

2009 NBA Finals - #1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #3 Orlando Magic


Players to Watch - Orlando Magic: What makes the Orlando Magic so dangerous is their dominance inside with C Dwight Howard and their ability to hit the three with guys like PG Rafer Alston, potentially PG Jameer Nelson, SG Courtney Lee, SF Hedo Turkoglu, and PF Rashard Lewis. SG J.J Redick is also a threat, but considering he only played 10 minutes in the Eastern Conference Finals, he figures to not be much of a factor. Howard is dominant because of his size, not because of his basketball acumen. He still has a ways to go as far as developing actual post moves and having the type of game that Hakeem Olajuwon had. However, that doesn't discount his ability to take over games and be a force inside. Lee has been the biggest surprise of last year's draft. The rookie shows no fear taking big shots, is a good defender, and a great shooter. Turkoglu and Lewis present matchup problems for just about every team in the league. They can both drive to the hoop, but are at their most dangerous when left open behind the three point line. If those two are both on fire the Magic are unbeatable. Alston was a smart pick up by Orlando after Nelson went down. He can be turnover prone and shoots poorly at times but he steadied the ship for Orlando. It is believed that Nelson will return for the Finals after missing the past 4 months. A healthy Nelson had blossomed into an All-Star this year. A healthy Nelson can facilitate, hit threes and be a factor. Nelson was the Magic's leading scorer in their two wins over LA this season. It remains to be seen how effective a rusty Nelson will be. SG Mickael Pietrus is another dangerous weapon for Orlando. His shooting percentages have gone way up in the playoffs, as he hit 50% of his shots against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. C Marcin Gortat is an adequate backup for Howard. Of course there is a drop off from Howard to Gortat but Gortat moves well, shoots well, and can be a force on the defensive end.

Players to Watch - Los Angeles Lakers: SG Kobe Bryant is the reason the Lakers are in the NBA Finals. People tend to think the Lakers are this massively talented team but really its Bryant, FC Pau Gasol, and when he isn't on a sugar low PF Lamar Odom. Gasol is a very talented offensive player, who is one of the best big man at catching and shooting, instead of putting the ball on the floor and leaving himself open to being stripped. However, Gasol is soft on the defensive end. Odom can be a great scoring and rebounding lift off the bench when he plays interested. Other times he just takes up space. PG Derek Fisher is old, a defensive liability, and a spotty shooter at best at this point in his career. Some of his shots in the playoffs have not just been misses but Musson like (inside joke) in their awfulness. SG Shannon Brown has been a pleasant surprise since being picked up in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. He couldn't crack the Bobcats sorry rotation but has seen quality minutes with the Lakers. He did struggle against the Nuggets and will need to up his game against Orlando. PG Jordan Farmar saw his minutes decrease drastically during the playoffs. He barely played against the Jazz, saw decent time against the Rockets, and then saw limited time against the Nuggets. He plays alright defense, but doesn't provide much on offense. SFs Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza can be hit or miss, although Ariza has been fantastic in the playoffs. He couldn't crack Orlando's rotation but came up with some huge steals against the Nuggets and is shooting a tremendous 50% from three in the playoffs. Walton brings defense, and the occasional offense. I almost forgot C Andrew Bynum. He was seen as the missing link last year for the Lakers when he missed the playoffs due to injury. He got injured again this season and has been largely ineffective since returning. He has been a foul machine, played tentative, and added almost nothing. I would say the Lakers need him to step up but I don't expect him to. He can at least match up with Howard size wise.

Matchups: The Lakers trio of PGs, Fisher, Brown, and Farmar will match up with the Magic's PGs Alston, Nelson, and Anthony Johnson. The Magic have the edge but only slightly. Fisher will have some trouble guarding Alston but the Lakers have already played better PGs in Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups. Pietrus took on LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals and will get to guard Kobe in the NBA Finals. Pietrus is a very physical defender, James was able to dominate Pietrus with his size, something that Kobe can't do.The Rockets had Shane Battier who played very physical defense against Kobe, Pietrus can cause Bryant those sorts of problems, although he is not near the defender that Battier is. However, it is Kobe Bryant we are talking about, of course the Lakers have the advantage. The Lakers will have to be on constant lock down mode with Courtney Lee. Bryant will probably guard Lee some, along with Brown and maybe Vujacic. I think Lee could have a really good series. I think if Kobe is on him the Lakers will be alright, but if they rely on Brown or Vujacic then Lee will have a field day. The Magic killed the Cavaliers with Turkoglu and Lewis. The Lakers match up very well with those two. Ariza can definitely guard Hedo, while Lamar and Gasol can handle Lewis if need be. I am not saying that Lewis and Turkoglu will be completely ineffective but I guarantee they won't dominate the way they did in the Conference Finals. Gasol and Bynum will be responsible for Howard and Gortat. I expect Howard to have a tremendous series, mostly because the Lakers are soft inside. However, Howard can score his and the Lakers can still win. LeBron dominated Orlando but since no one else stepped up, the Cavs were cooked. The most important matchups to watch are the Ariza, Odom, Gasol vs. Turkoglu and Lewis battles. If the Lakers can win that matchup, they win the series.

Prediction: The Magic took both regular season meetings. If you think that means anything look back to the 2007 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers had beaten the San Antonio Spurs in both their meetings, then got swept. If the Lakers win Game 1 tonight this series is over. Phil Jackson coached teams are 43-0 in series' in which they have won Game 1. That is an astounding stat. That is exactly what will happen tonight. The Lakers will take Game 1 at home, the Magic will then even the series in Game 2. The series will be 1-1 and with the Magic having three straight games at home (the 2-3-2 format sucks) people will be on the Magic bandwagon. Kobe will take over Game 3 in Orlando and do what LeFraud couldn't, win in Orlando. The Magic will even the series with an inspired performance in Game 4. The Lakers will persevere in Game 5 and like they have done all season with their backs against the wall they will prevail. Then Kobe in front of all his LA fans will bring the Lakers their first title since 2002, and will get the unwarranted monkey off his back about not being able to win a title without Shaquille O'Neal. Bryant will be named NBA Finals MVP and all will be right in the world of basketball.

Los Angeles over Orlando, 4-2

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

2009 NBA Finals - How They Got There

How They Got There - Orlando Magic: The Orlando Magic's run to the NBA Finals began with an inauspicious start against the Philadelphia 76ers in the First Round. Andre Iguodala hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Sixers the victory at Orlando in Game 1. The Magic would recover and take Game 2 at home, but then found themselves down 2-1 after a tough loss in Philadelphia. The Magic got a must win in Game 4 at Philadelphia, then took care of business at home in Game 5, taking a 3-2 series lead. However, they faced question marks going into Game 6 as C Dwight Howard was suspended for the game due to an elbow he threw at Samuel Dalmebert in Game 5. The Magic's role players stepped up huge, including SG J.J. Redick and C Marcin Gortat, and the Magic rolled to an easy win to take the series, 4-2.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals the Magic took on the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics. The big story was the absence of Kevin Garnett for the Celtics. The Celtics were coming off a grueling seven game series against the Chicago Bulls and were nearly run out of their own building in the first three quarters of Game 1 against the Magic. They recovered and made a game of it in the 4th quarter, but the Magic pulled out the win. The Celtics then took Game 2 to even the series as the teams headed to Orlando. The Magic coasted to victory in Game 3, but then suffered another heartbreaking loss on their home floor, as Big Baby Davis hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Celtics the win, and even the series at 2. In Game 5 at Boston, the Magic led by as many as 14 points and seemed on their way to taking control of the series, then they choked and the Celtics won, putting the Magic on the brink of elimination. After the game Howard criticized head coach Stan Van Gundy for not sticking with the lineup that was working, and also for his lack of touches late in the game. Howard backed up his words in Game 6, taking command late, and led the Magic from behind to even the series at 3. The Magic then destroyed the Celtics in Game 7 at Boston, sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1996.

In the Eastern Conference Finals the Magic were heavy underdogs against what turned out to be one of the most overrated teams in the history of EVAR, the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs were blowing the Magic out in Game 1, but Orlando made a furious comeback, and got the win on a late Rashard Lewis shot. In Game 2, once again Orlando got down big, but once again made a huge comeback and seemed on their way to taking another game in Cleveland after Hedo Turkoglu hit a shot with 1 second remaining. However, LeBron James managed to get off a shot right before the buzzer, sending the Magic to their third heartbreaking loss of the playoffs. The Magic showed great resolve at home in Game 3, winning the battle of the fouls, to take a 2-1 series lead. The Cavs faced a must win situation in Game 4. The refs tried to hand the game to the Cavs on numerous occasions, including a ridiculous foul call on Michael Pietrus at the end of regulation that allowed James to hit two free throws and send the game to overtime. In overtime, Howard took over, and the Magic took a 3-1 lead. Back in Cleveland for Game 5, the Cavs once again got up big, and once again blew the lead. The Magic weren't able to hold their lead and faltered late, sending the series back to Orlando. The Magic dominated Game 6 at home, with Howard having a huge 40 point night. The Magic were back in the NBA Finals for the first time since getting swept by the Houston Rockets in 1995.

How They Got There - Los Angeles Lakers:
The Lakers were heavy favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, and lived up to the hype in their first two games against the Utah Jazz in Round One. They dominated the Jazz in both games, sending the series to Utah with a commanding 2-0 lead. In Game 3, the Lakers led the Jazz the majority of the game, but then seemed to lose interest and fell on a late shot by Deron Williams. In Game 4, Kobe Bryant played like a man possessed and carried the Lakers to victory. The Lakers then closed out the Jazz in Los Angeles in Game 5.

Things got much tougher for the Lakers in the Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers got a huge wake up call at home in Game 1. They played listless basketball and the Rockets made them pay. Yao Ming dominated the Lakers and all of the sudden the Rockets had a 1-0 series lead and home court advantage. Playing with their backs against the wall in Game 2 the Lakers played much more inspired basketball, sending the series to Houston, even at 1-1. The Lakers brought another strong performance in Game 3 at Houston, taking a 2-1 series lead. It was also learned after the game that Ming would be out for the rest of the playoffs, leading many to assume the Lakers were already on their way to the Western Conference Finals. However, Houston had a say about that and completely demolished the Lakers in Game 4, in what was by far the Lakers sorriest performance of the postseason. Embarrassed, the Lakers came out with vengeance in Game 5 and crushed Houston, once again making everyone feel safe that a Lakers series win was inevitable. But in Game 6 at Houston, the Lakers started slow again, getting down 17-1 to start the game. They slowly chipped away at the deficit but were never able to overcome it, and to the shock of most of the basketball world, the series was headed to LA for a Game 7. Game 7 was decided in the first few minutes, the Lakers jumped out to a huge lead and cruised to victory. They were back in the Western Conference Finals for the sixth time this decade.

While the Lakers had looked less than impressive against Houston, the Denver Nuggets were becoming the media's darlings as they zoomed past the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks. Many pundits had changed their minds and now decided that the Nuggets would be winning the Western Conference. In Game 1 at Los Angeles, the Nuggets controlled most of the game but were never able to get a big lead. Late in the game Bryant took control, and the Lakers got a key steal on an inbounds pass from Trevor Ariza, sealing the victory. Game 2 was another closely contested game, but this time the Nuggets held on for the win, sending the series back to Denver, tied 1-1. Much like he did in Utah for Game 3, Kobe decided there was no way the Lakers were losing and had a dominating performance, giving homecourt advantage back to LA. After already getting the win they needed in Denver, LA decided not to try very hard in Game 4, and it showed as they were out rebounded and dominated by Denver, evening the series at 2. In Game 5, the Nuggets once again played strongly in LA and the teams were tied after each of the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Bryant played a different role, this time he was the facilitator, finding open teammates left and right. Lamar Odom, who had been mostly silent in the playoffs, had 20 points off the bench. Derek Fisher, who had struggled shooting wise all playoffs hit some huge threes. Even Sasha Vujacic got into the act. The Lakers were headed to Denver up 3-2. Many assumed Denver would take care of business and the series would go 7, Bryant and the Lakers weren't having that. LA led throughout the first half and then blew the Nuggets out of their own building in the second half, give the Lakers the series win and sending them to their 30th NBA Finals.

Monday, June 1, 2009

The Week That Was


The supposed best player in the NBA walked off the court on Saturday a loser. The Cleveland Cavaliers were upended in six games by the Orlando Magic and their dream season of beating nobodies, and performing lame skits before games came to an end. James refused to shake hands with the Magic afterward or even address the media, leaving his teammates to do the job a leader such as himself should have done. The Magic proved to be far superior to the Cavaliers, who still appear to be LeBron and little else. Mo Williams had supposedly become the second banana, but he only showed up for Game 5, and otherwise was virtually useless.

On the other side of the spectrum you have the Los Angeles Lakers, who crushed the Denver Nuggets on Friday, to wrap up that series, 4-2. The Lakers have taken a beating this postseason, with claims that they haven't played hard consistently, but they will be playing in the NBA Finals Thursday, while LeBron and his puppet watch at home. Kobe carried the Lakers in this series, when he needed to be a facilitator, he facilitated, when he needed to score, he scored. That is what a leader truly is. It is funny and annoying to me how if Kobe had pulled what LeBron pulled people would have been all over him for being such a poor sport. LeBron does it and all of the LeBronites want to make excuses for him. Check back Thursday, when I have a comprehensive preview and prediction for the Disney NBA Final between the Magic and the Lakers.

The Stanley Cup Finals started Saturday night and in just two short days they appear to be over. For the second straight year the Detroit Red Wings have taken a 2-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins are actually playing much better this year but all it led to was consecutive 3-1 losses. The series resumes tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, in what is a must win game for the Penguins.

Orioles C Matt Wieters made his long awaited debut Friday night against the Detroit Tigers. It was a weekend of ups and downs for Wieters. Friday and Sunday he went hitless, and sandwiched in between those games was Saturday night, where he had a double and a triple. There is a ton of hype and pressure surrounding Wieters. Orioles fans are looking to him as a possible savior for a franchise that has been mired in crap for a decade now. Orioles fans will have to understand that Wieters can be a piece in the O's resurgence but he won't be able to bring that resurgence single handedly.