Game 2 for the Heat was a must-win. It didn’t happen. After the buzzer of the first quarter rang, it wasn’t even close. A 21-0 run in the 2nd quarter knocked the Heat down. And then an 18-0 run in the 3rd quarter kept them there. Glen Davis had big shoes to fill coming into this game, as he was taking the position of Kevin Garnett. I think you can declare those shoes filled. 23 points to go along with 8 rebounds was what Big Baby brought to the table. After a rough Game 1, Ray Allen responded with 25 points, shooting 7-9 from beyond the arc. Not a bad way to rebound. Pierce also had 13. Kendrick Perkins had 13 and grabbed 9 boards. And Rajon Rondo dished out 12 assists, as well as scored 8 points. Boston shot a great 48% from the field, as well as an amazing 60% from 3 (12-20). Miami was another story. In the 2nd quarter they scored 10 points, which set a franchise low for points in a quarter in a playoff game. That’s just embarrassing. Dwyane Wade was the only bright spot in this game. He went 5-8 from 3, for 29 points, as well as 5 assists. They did a good job not turning the ball over, but it’s not good enough when it seems like the basket you’re shooting at has a lid covering it. The next two games will be held in Miami, and are both must-wins for the Heat.

Brandon Jennings is a rookie, and right now is without a doubt the best scorer on Milwaukee. When he gets held to 9 points and 2 assists, there is a slim-to-none chance that the Bucks are going to come out on top. Atlanta proved that tonight. Joe Johnson led the way with 27 points, and 6 assists, but Josh Smith deserves the player of the game. 21 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists. He continues to prove that the Hawks may not be getting the credit that they deserve. The big man Al Horford added 20 points, and 10 boards as well. All 5 starters (Johnson, Smith, Horford, Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams) were in double-digits. I would have to say that these two series’ are wrapped up. I’m going to say that the Hawks and Celtics both win in 5 games. The Celtics will get snubbed by the Cavs, but I think the Hawks will beat Orlando in 6. We’ll wait and see.

Let me start this article off by saying kudos to Jeff Green. The Thunder guard doesn’t get nearly enough praise for the exceptional defense that he applied on the best basketball player of this past decade, Kobe Bryant. He held Bryant to 20 points, 7 less than his season average, as well as only 6-19 from the floor, 14% less than his season average. It also must have been hard for him to score because whenever Kevin Durant got the ball he’d take a garbage shot. Durant who shot a terrible 29% from the field, 13% from beyond the arc, still managed to score 24 points. That’s how much he shot the ball. When you shoot that bad, and still score in the 20s, you know your a major ball-hog. He had 2 assists, which seemed like 2 too much. It made me sick to my stomach watching him take awful shots. And it’s not like he was barely missing. He threw up brick after brick, and even a couple airballs. If that’s what Oklahoma City is paying him millions of dollars to do, they are better off paying me to go out there and play. Even I can take horrendous shots, and embarrass myself in front of millions. But seriously, when you dish out 2 assists, and that’s barely lower than your season average, you know that none of your teammates like it when you have the ball in your hands. Even Kobe Bryant, whom everyone thinks doesn’t pass enough, averaged 5 on the season. So hears a big “You Suck!” to you Kevin Durant. Start sharing the ball. In case you didn’t notice, your teammates saved your ass in Game 1 to keep it close. Also just pointing out that the Thunder, minus Durant, shot 47% from the field. To switch gears, the Lakers clearly showed how much bigger they were as Gasol had 19 and 13, and Bynum gave them 13 and 12. And even though Ron Artest looked like a younger Eminem, I have to give him props on the how good his defending was. If Durant doesn’t start taking better shots, and sharing the ball more, this series isn’t going to go past 4 games.

Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat want another NBA Championship. They certainly aren’t going to get that championship if they continue to play as poorly as they did in the 4th quarter this past Saturday night. Even with Wade’s game-high 26 points, team-high 6 assists, and 8 rebounds the Heat still came up 9 points short of the Mean Green. Celtics’ team leader, Kevin Garnett took mean to a whole new level after getting ejected from Game 1, and suspended from Game 2 for jarring with Heat guard, Quentin Richardson in the 4th quarter. Richardson had a solid showing with 15 points. One reason for the Heat loss should be turnovers. Wade and forward Michael Beasley alone committed 12, while the entire Boston team gave only 17 away. Some key players for Boston were Paul Pierce who had a team-high 16 points to go along with his 5 rebounds. Garnett had a solid 15 points, and 9 rebounds. Point guard Rajon Rondo had his usual reliable showing of 10 point, 10 assists, 7 rebounds. The top two players off the bench for the Celtics were guard Tony Allen, and Forward Glen Davis. Allen had 14 points, and also played great defense with 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Davis gave the team a solid 8 points, and 8 boards. One thing the Heat have got to do tonight is to get to the line. They only shot 13 free throws, compared to the Celtics’ 28. Another key would be to commit fewer fouls, as they committed more than 2 times the amount the Celtics committed. The Heat are in need of a Game 2 victory. They cannot allow the Celtics to go up 2-0 in the series. The task will be slightly easier, though, as the Boston big-man Kevin Garnett will not be playing tonight.

In what has been a uniquely entertaining NBA season thus far, the excitement and glamour once known as the Golden State Warriors has slowly slipped it’s way out of view. The memories of an impacted and enthralled Oracle Arena virtually every night have now faded, and the T-shirts and signs of “We Believe” are diminishing from existence. It seems as though it was just yesterday when Baron Davis was leading this team to the playoffs as the catalyst of one of the most electrifying teams in sports; and it seems as though it was just yesterday when Baron Davis and the Warriors shocked the sports world.

Things have now changed in the Bay Area, and the conversion process has been rough to say the least. Davis has now moved on and is now playing in his hometown, the cast of surrounding characters has been estranged, and the fans of Oakland just aren’t the same.

Some key pieces are still left from what could be called their most recent “glory days,” but as the old saying goes, things usually get worse before they get better. This seems as if it is now the case, as the worst may be descending from its peak and shifting towards the better.

In what has been considered a throwaway year for the Golden State Warriors, things appear more positive than they had to start the year.

The Warriors currently stand at 13-30 in the regular season standings, a record that seems nowhere near promising; however, recent performances have led Warrior fans to obtain some feelings of hope.

There has been a clear sense of urgency, an apparent sense of pride; and the players are starting to use those elements and convert them into competitive performances and improvement in the win column.

Golden State has now won three of their last five– their two losses consisting of a triple-overtime thriller against the Sacramento Kings and a last second buzzer-beater by Jeff Green of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Despite the demoralizing loss to Oklahoma City, the Warriors played at a high level offensively throughout the contest. This was surprising considering the Warriors currently have five injuries to key players on the squad. The most recent being center Andris Biedrins, who suffered an injury to his wrist in the win over the Washington Wizards on Monday. Biedrins is their leading rebounder, and is one of the leading rebounders in the league (12.0 per game).

The injury resulted in an obvious affect on the team, as they were out-rebounded 39-32, and only halved the amount of offensive rebounds that the Thunder hauled in. The Warriors did shoot impressively (52% from the field), and have been doing so at a consistent level in recent contests.

One major impact on this (and many other improvements in this five game stretch) has been the return of Stephen Jackson, who returned from a hamstring injury on January 16th when his team faced the Atlanta Hawks. Jackson would score 24 points in that game, and the team portrayed a noticeable sense of confidence and will with their captain in the lineup.

This has stayed true since, as Jackson has scored 26.3 points per game in his last three games. This has also opened up opportunities for guard Jamal Crawford, who has been playing at a stellar level as of late, and has molded his flashy style of play into the Golden State offense exceptionally well in recent weeks. Crawford was acquired early in the season via trade, and is now starting to build chemistry with the veterans as well as the core group of young players on the Warriors.

To support the newly attained persona of this team, Don Nelson has made Corey Maggette his sixth man, and it has done wonders.

This has made Maggette more efficient offensively (averaging 22.0 points per game in the three game stretch that he has been sixth man), and it has also benefited the offensive scheme by creating mismatches. Maggette is a very strong, physical forward, and has the willingness and mentality to aggressively drive the ball into the paint. There are very few players in the NBA that can come off of the bench and successfully guard a player of his stature. In turn, successful drives to the paint lead to more free throw attempts, and more drive and kick opportunities for Golden State’s lethal outside shooters. Maggette is still just beginning to connect with the rest of the players on this team as well, as he was newly acquired in free agency this past offseason.

Stephen Jackson, Jamal Crawford, Kellena Azubuike, and Anthony Morrow have all been thriving off of such opportunities that Maggette and others may pose, and have been shooting spectacularly as of late.

The 25-year old Azubuike has shot the ball at 65% from the three point line in his last five games, and undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow is the league’s leading three point shooter, and currently has a season average of 50% shooting from three. The Warriors have made 49% of their threes in the last five games.

This is what has kept the team within reasonable reach in games in which they have struggled in, and has pulled them through unexpected wins, despite an entirely injury-plagued season.

These injuries have allowed many young players to come into the fold and show what they can ultimately contribute to this team in crucial points during the season, and have capitalized offensively in spurts. However, with this being such a young team, a majority of close games result in tough losses because of the lack of experienced players to take advantage of pressure situations.

Nonetheless, many young players have emerged as capable of coping with those pressure situations because of the extended opportunities due to team injury.

Another reason for the recent surge and advanced level of play is the imminent return of Golden State’s star guard, Monta Ellis. Ellis suffered an offseason ankle injury and hasn’t played all season. He was recently listed as day-to-day in the Warriors’ injury report early this week, and has now officially been inserted into the lineup and will play for the first time this Friday night when the Warriors face the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ellis is highly valuable towards the success of this team, and should make an immediate impact once he steps on the floor this Friday night. This has given not only the fans, but the players a sense of hope and excitement, as the thought of Ellis returning to the team has all but motivated the team to play at an extensively higher level. This team hasn’t been completely healthy once this entire season, and the return of Monta Ellis and Andris Beidrins will bind the cornerstones of the Warriors’ future together for the first time since late last season.

Golden State is currently the second-leading scoring team in the league (107 points per game), and with an extra 20 points per game added to the offense from Ellis, this team could be deadly in the second half of the season. There was a similar occurrence in the 2006-2007 season, when the club started off the season fairly average, made a trade to acquire Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington from the Indiana Pacers before the trade deadline, and surged into the coveted 8 spot in the West. This eventually led to the victory over the first-seeded Dallas Mavericks in, arguably, the greatest upset in NBA playoff history.

A now “big four” consisting of Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Andris Beidrins and Jamal Crawford is what head coach Don Nelson and General Manager Chris Mullin have been waiting on for a long period of time, and that shall become a reality sooner rather than later.

Along with the progression of the emerging talented young players this team has received, the new “big four” and the rest of the team, the Warriors should surprise many teams and exceed any expectations thrown their way.

The pieces are all there for the Golden State Warriors, those pieces have just been broken and scattered throughout. Some of the pieces are now starting to mend, and are starting to become clear of where they should be placed. Others have always been there, but need other pieces in order to create the complete picture. As all of the pieces to the Warrior puzzle start to find their way and become intact, the pleasing image should be evidently exhilarating for years to come.

It may seem unlikely, but who knows? Maybe Golden State will reclaim glory and shock the world once more.

Sometimes it pays to Believe.

Christmas day was full of enjoyment, happiness, generosity, and most of all, vigorous competition.

Besides the holiday itself, nothing was more hyped-up this week than the anticipation of the Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals rematch on Christmas day. Everybody was in good spirits, but as we all knew, those good spirits would soon fade away as this historic rivalry would begin to heat up.

After all, this was a significant game for both teams. Boston was looking to extend their winning streak from 19 to 20, and they felt more than confident coming in, knowing they had won six of their last eight against the Lakers, including a dominant performance in the NBA Finals last season. This was a statement game for Los Angeles, as they were looking to prove to the rest of world that they could compete, and possibly even defeat the defending champion Celtics, and end their franchise record-breaking streak.

In the end, Los Angeles would prevail, placing that extra gift in Laker fans’ stockings.

However, it would take a cast of characters, and a hint of perfection for the Lakers to pull off the Christmas day miracle.

It was a close contest throughout, but the Lakers seemed to have the edge almost the entire game. Boston took occasional leads, and had a strong performance from their expressive leader, Kevin Garnett. But the key in an intense rivalry game such as this one is the emotional edge, and the Lakers clearly had that to their advantage.

In almost every respect, the Lakers played the perfect game. They exploited Boston’s known weaknesses and ran with them.

Boston is 29th in the league in turnovers per game, which is a glaring statistic for a team with the best record in the league, and a team who now hold the longest winning streak in franchise history. The Celtics are 4th in forced turnovers per game, so the Lakers stayed smart and made minimal mistakes to erase this statistic from having any part in the game. Boston turned the ball over 16 times, and Los Angeles would only have 10 turnovers in the game. Advantage: Lakers.

Bench scoring would become a vast advantage as well for the Lakers, and the cast of role-playing characters would emerge. Sasha Vugacic, Trevor Ariza, and Lamar Odom all made significant contributions off the bench and benefited the Lakers immensely. Boston had been criticized throughout the week that their bench would not be strong enough in such an emotionally-driven game. Well, this proved to be true with the 22-13 differential. Again, advantage: Lakers.

Phil Jackson also made some great coaching decisions and brought in solid rotations at the precise times, resulting in his 1,000th win as a coach. For example, as Garnett and Kendrick Perkins would sit out for a breather for the Celtics, Phil Jackson would keep center Andrew Bynum in the lineup. This would result in a huge advantage for the Lakers, as neither Leon Powe nor Glenn “Big Baby” Davis could match up well against the 7-footer. The perimeter players of Los Angeles such as Vugacic and Odom had substantially better games than Boston’s Eddie House and Tony Allen. Once again, advantages for the Lakers.

Forward Trevor Ariza made eminent contributions off the bench, despite having minimal numbers on the stat sheet. His amazing hustle play of the second quarter, saving a loose ball and zipping it to Vujacic for a lay-up, set off the sell-out Staples Center crowd. This play would set the tone for the rest of the game, and the crowd would stay fired up throughout. This, as it always does for teams with the home crowd on their side, would carry over to the contributing role players as well.

Once again, Lamar Odom received minimal minutes, but knocked down two key 3-pointers in a row in the third quarter to keep the fire burning. This would become a playoff atmosphere-type game, and whoever was watching at home or at the Staples Center felt the same. It was almost a continuation of the Finals, and in such an emotional game with the home crowd creating such a hectic environment; the home team has the advantage, without question.

Even though the Lakers had an apparent advantage throughout the game, the defending champs would keep the game within reach, and even take a 2-point lead in the fourth quarter. After all of the hustle plays and amazing bench play from Los Angeles, somebody other than Kobe Bryant had to step up and contribute from the starting lineup.

Well, just as the game began to shift Boston’s way, Pau Gasol delivered for the Lakers in more than a big way.

Gasol would score 7 points in the final three minutes of the game, and scored 20 to finish the bout. He was the physical presence of the fourth quarter, not Kevin Garnett, who, most would assume, should take that role when it counts most. Garnett made some big plays, but none as game-changing as Pau Gasol down the stretch. This would end any comeback attempt by the Boston Celtics, and the Lakers would win with a final score of 92-83.

Kobe Bryant would score 27 points, and record 5 assists and 9 rebounds for the Lakers, and Kevin Garnett would score 22 points at 11 of 14 shooting, while also recording 9 rebounds for the Celtics.

The Lakers would prevail in this game; however, over-confidence can be a problem for this team. They have shown this already in the regular season after losing to the Kings and the Pacers, and squeaking by a below average Knicks team after being down by a large margin. They also had to play the perfect game against Boston to win. It is hard to say they could play as perfect and do all of the right things in a seven game series against a highly motivated Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and company, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The Lakers came in with something to prove, and did it in an impressive fashion, ending Boston’s streak and making their own statement that can compete with the champs and perhaps capture the title in a possible NBA Finals rematch. Kobe and company have the pieces to be a championship team, and gelling together for the rest of the regular season will only cause this team to highly improve, especially with the assistance of their role-players.

The Lakers played Scrooge on Christmas for Boston this year, but were nothing more than Santa for the fans in Los Angeles. Merry Christmas to you, Laker fans. And to all a good night.

It has been a brutal year for head coaches in the NBA, as six have already been fired within the first 25 games. There have never been this many firings this early in the season. Slow starts mean swift firing in the NBA; but why? Why are teams in the NBA going through coaches like no other? Why are teams kicking coaches out the door so quickly?

Quite frankly, it has been pretty ridiculous.

P.J. Carlesimo of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sam Mitchell of the Toronto Raptors, Eddie Jordan of the Washington Wizards, Randy Wittman of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Reggie Theus of the Sacramento Kings, and Maurice Cheeks of the Philadelphia 76ers have all been victims of the viciousness by teams in the NBA. Unbelievably, this has all happened before Christmas, and it’s a wonder if any of these teams will actually benefit from these firings.

Carlesimo was the first of the group to get ousted, going only 1-12 in his short run as head coach of the Thunder. Obviously this hasn’t helped the team, as they have gone 2-23 in their first 25 games, and are on pace to finish with the worst record in NBA history. Now it is hard to believe that the most dreadful start to a season in NBA history is purely at fault of the head coach. This team has no reason to be this terrible with the young talent of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green on their roster. Durant seems to be the only player with the willpower to spark any type of fire under this team. Yes, the head coach has a big part in motivating and encouraging a team, but it will have to take a lot more than a coaching change to turn this team around.

Randy Wittman was fired as T-Wolves head coach after a 4-15 start to this season and a 22-60 record last season. After a dismal season last year, what was general manager Kevin McHale thinking? If he thought he would fire Wittman if they got off to a bad start, why would he even continue Wittman’s tenure to start the season? Everybody knows this is a very dysfunctional Minnesota team, and a shaky start was practically expected. The only explanation for this would be McHale giving himself another opportunity to come in and coach a team and turn them around. It almost seems as though he set this up for himself. This team has some pieces, and can only get better with the talent that they have, but they definitely have a void in their frontcourt. As McHale tries to make himself look good, this will still be an NBA coaching fire with minimal benefit.

Now the firing of Eddie Jordan in Washington was what you would call ridiculous. After getting your team to the playoffs in four straight seasons, you would think your job is more than secure, right? Wrong. Jordan was fired after a 1-10 start with the Wizards. Now I know 1-10 sounds pretty bad, but it’s not his fault that Gilbert Arenas is one of the most injury-prone players in the NBA, and their frontcourt has been virtually invisible with the absence of Brendan Haywood due to injury. Eddie Jordan is a quality coach, and any coach who takes their team to four straight playoff seasons should be recognized. In this case, he was recognized; and fired. But expect to see Jordan coaching soon, as Philadelphia has been seriously looking into his coaching duties.

The most head-scratching and unreasonable firings to start this season were those of Sam Mitchell of Toronto and Maurice Cheeks of the Sixers. Both of these coaches led their respective teams to the playoffs last year, and even though these teams started out the season with sub-.500 records, they are still on the cusp of the 8 spot in the Eastern conference with over 50 games still left in the season. Both of these guys are quality coaches that didn’t deserve their firings in any way.

With the edition of Jermaine O’Neal, Toronto needs some time to mesh and create chemistry, and I felt that this team would make some noise in the stretch run of the season, until this coaching decision was made. In this case, a below average start was just enough to fire a great coach that led a team to the playoffs just one year before. This was a very bizarre decision, and Raptors management will look back at this decision knowing that this is what ruined their playoff hopes.

Mo Cheeks was also unexpectedly fired after a terrific coaching job for the Sixers last season. He turned a below average team into an entertaining playoff contender, and caused havoc for the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. However, a 9-14 start wasn’t good enough to keep Cheeks in Philadelphia. Again, this start to the season was not at the complete fault of the head coach. First of all, this is a very young team that has immense room for improvement. An inconsistent start is a result of that, and Cheeks had also integrated a perfect style of offense to accommodate this young team. However, the 76ers organization slowed down the improvement of this team by bringing in Elton Brand this offseason; an older player who has noticeably shown that he does not fit in with their fast-break style offense. This should be another case of another organization damaging their team’s chemistry and overall playoff hopes because of their own puzzling decisions.

Sam Mitchell and Maurice Cheeks are both high-class guys and high quality coaches who deserve to be coaching in the NBA, and don’t be surprised to see them coaching again very soon.

Reggie Theus is the most recent to be fired, as the now former Sacramento head coach was just fired Monday. Kings management was unsure as to whether they would bring Theus in for another season, and it is confusing that they did. I mean, what did they expect from this team, no matter what coach they would have? On top of an injury from their star player, Kevin Martin, this is another dysfunctional team that is very minimal in talent. Again, this is another ridiculous fire, and these types management decisions only create a steeper downfall for teams such as this one. The shocking upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last week wasn’t even enough for Theus to keep his job, and he is the last of the coaching fires this season. Well, so far.

It is shocking that the teams of the NBA have taken this ideal of firing coaches after such a short period of time, and organizations have become very impatient. It is hard to pinpoint why organizations can’t be more like Utah, who have now had Jerry Sloan as their head coach for 20 consecutive years. They’ve had their ups and downs throughout his tenure, but have had an overall successful two decades. If teams would be just a little more patient, who knows what would happen? Just ask Doc Rivers, who had a career coaching record that was 39 games under .500 before last season, and ended up leading Boston to the Promised Land. It is amazing what a couple acquisitions and a non-coaching change did for Boston, and it is even more amazing that NBA teams are currently doing the complete opposite.