Thunder beat Nuggets (4-1): A Seires in Review

With a defensive Serge and a Durantula bite the Thunder clinched a spot in the Western Conference semi-finals.

In Game 5 Serge Ibaka exploded on the defensive end putting up 8 rebounds (4 defensive), 9 blocks, and even 2 steals. Serge Ibaka has never been an offensive powerhouse, in fact he only put up 1 point in the entire game, however, during the game the Nuggets were stifled if they tried to drive the ball into the paint.

Also, Kevin “The Durantula” Durant exploded in the fourth quarter finishing with 41 points (also did that in Game 1), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and shot 92 percent from the free throw line. Kevin Durant rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter after TNT’s announcers were denouncing Durant saying he was having an off game, but then the Durantula poison set in and he took a Thunderous responsibility on his shoulders and powered through.

Durant averaged 32.75 PPG and had a  +/- of +8.5 over the 4 wins. Westbrook averaged 22 PPG and had a +/- of +8.75.

The Thunder showed why they have a serious chance to take the West even though they are a 4 seed. The next match up will be either the Spurs or Grizzlies and it seems likely the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have a horrible road record and do not match up well at all against the Thunder. If the Spurs manage to win the series through some peculiar providence those old legs will be tired going up against a young Thunder team. A grueling 7 game series does not look good for a Spurs team that is already showing their age.

The Thunder look to have a promising series ahead of them and might be the favorite right now to make it to the finals out of the West.

Heat beat 76ers (4-1): A Series in Review

The Heat shined in their series, showing the most dominance of any Eastern Conference team in route to a 4-1 series win.

Despite uninspired starts against a team the Heat were head and shoulders above, the heat dominated. From the 2nd quarter on in the 5 game series the Heat outscored the 76ers 368-309. In the first 3 games of the series the Heat outscored the 76ers by 49 points. In every game the Heat outscored the 76ers with the lowest being 2 points in game 5.

The Big Three average 66.4 PPG, 29 RPG, and 12.2 APG over the course of the series. LeBron James average 24.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 6.2 APG. Chris Bosh averaged 19.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and .8 APG. Dwyane Wade averaged 22.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 5.2 APG.

The Heat showed in this series that when they show up they are nearly unstoppable. Even though they sleep walked through the first quarter they still won 4 games showing dominance for 3 quarters.

Every team has had their struggles. The Celtics could barely win at home against the Knicks and had a hard time closing them out in the fourth game. The Celtics were also playing a depleted Knicks roster, whose injury troubles greatly affected the series (https://journalisticjustice.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/celtics-sweep-knicks-a-series-in-review/). The Bulls showed their futility against the Pacers winning 3 of their 4 games by 6 points or less even though the Pacers were 8 games under.500 in the regular season (https://journalisticjustice.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/bulls-beat-pacers-4-1-a-series-in-review/).

The Heat showed subtle glimpses of dominance in their way to a 4-1 series win against the 76ers. If they can continue this dominance into the later play off series they can make a deep run and possibly live up to the massive ring promises LeBron made.

Bulls beat Pacers (4-1): A Series in Review

The Chicago Bulls, the team with the best record in the NBA, barely beat the Indiana Pacers, a 8 games under .500.  This series shows why the regular season is designed for players and the play offs is designed for teams.

Derrick Rose the single most dominant player in the NBA this year which is why they pulled out the best record. However, when you look past Rose and Boozer there isn’t much depth on their roster.

Joakim Noah would be considered the third best player on the Bulls and Noah is a scrapper and not a superstar. He gets all his points off of offensive rebounds. Noah is not a reliable threat on the court.

Then there is Taj Gibson, Kyle Korver, Luol Deng who are again solid role players. However, if you move past them who’s their seventh best player? Keith Bogans? He’s their starting shooting guard. How does Bogans match up against the star shooting guards in the East? It seems like they’re going to play the Hawks in the second round. There is no way Keith Bogans can match up with Joe Johnson. Will the Bulls move Rose over to guard Johnson and have Rose use up energy guarding a bigger, more athletic player. Even if they do move Rose over will Bogans be able to handle Kirk Hinrich and Jamaal Crawford at point guard? The Bulls were lucky enough to face a team who’s best shooting guard is Dahntay Jones.

The Bulls better be apprehensive because they might be facing Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade, or even Kobe Bryant later on in the play offs. They better be aware of their weaknesses and not get cocky after this lackluster 5 game series win.

Scandal U: Ohio State

Scandal U Post 1 Ohio State

Jim Tressel is now being accused of lying to keep players on the field which would be a major violation.

Ohio State’s struggle with scandal has been well documented. Terrell Pryor and 4 other players were caught selling memorabilia, which is against the NCAA’s tyrannical rules.

Coach Jim Tressel was handed a 2 game suspension for not telling the NCAA when he knew about the violations. Coach Tressel voluntarily expanded it to 5 games saying that he should get the same suspension as his players.

The problem with the suspension is how does it really affect the Buckeye season. The first 5 games on their schedule are Akron, Toledo, at Miami, Colorado, and at Michigan State. Excluding Michigan State, who Ohio State seems to beat regularly, the teams’ combined record is 21-29 with an out of conference record of 6-12. The only foreseeable lose in this 5 game stint, even without Pryor and the 4 other players, is at Miami, and that might even be a win.

The suspension seems to be worthless when the suspension might not cause any loses, if anything it will cause a maturity of back up players.

The only way “The Great Buckeye Memorabilia Sale” can actually have a significant affect on the Buckeyes is if this new allegation the NCAA is accusing of Tressel causes a bigger suspension and affects recruiting. However, as of right now, 5 games may seem big but its merely a smack on the wrist.