Determining Factors of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals

LeBron James and Paul George - both the leaders of their
respective teams that will clash tonight in what should be
the most intense and hard fought game of the playoffs

Well, it's been a hard fought series and just when we thought that 1 team would pull away, the other responded right back. The Pacers Heat series has been fantastic and will come to an epic conclusion tonight night. What makes this series so special is that neither team has won 2 consecutive games. [Just a quick note, I'm going to stop making lists and rankings and stuff like that for a while, I don't want to be that person who wants to seem smart by stating the obvious.] Here are the determining factors of this
game 7:

Chris "Birdman" Andersen will have a HUGE impact
on the outcome of tonight's epic matchup

Birdman's Contributions - Since Miami signed Chris Andersen, they've been deadly. Though he's not the highlight reel he one was, his motor and defensive presence have anchored the Heat's second unit throughout the regular and post-season. Even if his stats don't show it, Birdman is invaluable. However, Birdman has always been criticized due to his overly-aggressive play. This was showcased in game 5, where he threw Tyler Hansborough to the ground and was later suspended a game. Naturally, the Heat were outscored 44-22 in the paint the next game, and lost 91-77 which brings me to my next point.

Rebounding Margin - In game 6, Indiana creamed Miami on the boards. They had 20 more rebounds than Miami. While the Pacers usually win the rebound battle, a plus-20 margin almost ensures a victory.Both teams will be counting on their bigs to haul down boards at a massive rate.

Which Lance Stephenson will we see? - When Lance Stephenson is performing well, Indiana is a deadly team. Stephenson has been Jekyll and Hyde all series though. In game 6, Stephenson scored

3 pf the most crucial players in this series wrapped up into 1 picture
as Lance Stephenson goes up for a tough layup against Dwayne Wade
and Chris Bosh, the Heat's 2 underperforming stars

only 4 points, but pulled down 12 rebounds [not bad for a 6'5 combo-guard]. Not only has he been a phenomenal rebounder for his size, nut Lance is also great at attacking the rim. In games 2 and 4 [both Pacers' wins] Stephenson scored 10 and 20 points, respectively [also grabbing a combined 13 rebounds]. However; in all 3 losses, Stephenson has combined for only 17 points. Not so good. We'll see which Stephenson

Will Wade and Bosh play like the stars they're supposed to be? -  Lately, it seems as though Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh have been mere shells of their regular-season selves. In game 6, Wade had 10 points on 3-11 shooting while Bosh had 5 points on 1-8 shooting. If this type of play holds up. It will be LeBron's Cavs [only more magnified].  As good as James is, I don't know if he can will his way to an NBA title without a supreme running-mate. Jordan had his Pippen, Magic had his Kareem [or vice versa however you want to look at it], Wilt had his Jerry West [or vice versa once again] and even [in this postseason] Paul George has his Roy Hibbert.  Who's LeBron's wing man? Thus far it appears to be Norris Cole, that just won't cut it against a defensively stout Indiana Pacers club.

Projected Winner - Indiana Pacers: The stars are aligned for Indy to make its move and shock the world on the shoulders of Paul George and Roy Hibbert.

Creating the "All NBA Underrated Team"

In an NBA season dominated by superstars like LeBron James, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul among others, a lot of this season's top performers have flown under the radar.

*Note: the starters and bench-players weren't determined by skill, but how underrated they are*

Starting Point Guard: Isaiah Thomas - Thomas is one of the most criminally underrated players in the league. A big reason for that is that he plays for the dysfunctional Sacramento Kings. After off starting the season with a long slump, Thomas has come alive in the past 3 months of this season. So far in March, Thomas is averaging 18 points, 5 assists and one and a half steals while shooting .466 from the field.

Starting Shooting Guard: Paul George - I'll probably find Paul George underrated until the day I die. It may seem a bit strange that I'm considering an all-star underrated, but it's true. Paul George is averaging nearly 18 points and 8 rebounds per game to go along with 4 assists and nearly 2 steals per-game while playing . He's also keeping the Pacers afloat [with the 2nd best record in the East] while Danny Granger has barely seen the court this season due to injury. But you'll never hear his name when discussing the NBA's top 20 players.

Starting Small Forward: Luol Deng - Luol Deng is basically a lesser version of Paul George. Deng is an  extremely underrated player despite being named to the all-star team, averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, nearly 3 assists and one steal per game, playing 39 minutes per-game while keeping his team afloat despite the team's best player having not played this season. Sound familiar?

Starting Power Forward: Paul Millsap - Paul Millsap is an undersized power forward and an extremely hard worker on both ends of the floor, crashing the boards [despite standing at just 6"8], playing great defense and keeping defenses honest with his silky-smooth mid-range jumper. Millsap averages 15 points, 7 boards, 1 steal and 1 block.

Starting Center: Al Horford - Like Millsap, Al Horford is an undersized player [a 6"10 center] who works extremely hard. Al Horford isn't the most fun player to watch, but you have to appreciate his work ethic. Millsap averages 17 points, 10 boards, one block and one steal per game while shooting .551 from the field

Bench:

6th Man / Backup SG: Jamal Crawford - Since Crawford is the most underrated 6th man in the league, it would only make sense for me to put him as my 6th man on my "All Underrated Team".  Crawford averages nearly 17 points per game coming off the bench for the Clippers.

Backup PG: Ty Lawson - If somebody were to take a survey of 100 people and ask them who the best player of the Nuggets is, 20, at most, would say Ty Lawson. The other 80 would say it's Andre Igoudala. Lawson IS the best player on the Denver Nuggets. He currently averages 16.8 points and 7 assists this season while Denver is currently riding a 14 game winning streak.

Backup SF: Maurice Harkless - Harkless is by far the least known player on this list. Just to give you a little background information: Harkless was drafted 16th overall by the 76ers before being traded to Orlando as part of the Dwight Howard blockbuster trade. Now back to the task at hand, Harkless has recently been placed into the starting lineup, since the all-star break he averages nearly 13 points,nearly 2 steals and 5 rebounds per game, while shooting over .500 from the field.

Backup PF and C: Derrick Favors and Enas Kanter - I put these two players together because they're always mentioned together and barring any trades, they always will be. In Utah, Favors and Kanter are the heirs to the thrones of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson once they both leave the Jazz in free agency. Between these 2 players, there's enough potential for 5 good players. Favors averages nearly 10 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks per game in 22 minutes per game on over.470 shooting, while Kanter averages 7 points, 4 and a half boards and shoots .790 from the free throw line [excellent for a center] while shooting.549 from the floor.

SUPER BOWL PREDICTIONS

We're less than a month away from the most exciting game in sports and it features a match up that's perfect on so many levels. The San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens. There are so many key match-ups to look at in this game:

The Quarterback Match-up - This may come as a shock to you, but Joe Flacco has more road playoff victories than any other quarterback to ever play in the NFL. Flacco has also won a playoff game in each of his seasons in the NFL. Flacco also has a powerful arm and isn't afraid to pull the trigger on the deep ball [which is extremely effective]. However, the best safety duo in the league [Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson] may take advantage of Flacco's trigger-happy play style which may lead to some interceptions. Meanwhile, on the other side, Colin Kaepernick is a strong, mobile quarterback with TONS of raw arm talent [he threw a 70 mph ball in the regular season against New England]. The main reason why people doubt Colin is inexperience. He only started 9 games in the regular season, but that's an overrated factor that shouldn't make much of a difference. The real concern that I have with Colin is middle accuracy. His deep ball is great but, when throwing 11-20 yards past the line of scrimmage, his completion percentage is under 54% which may be a problem if the Ravens' pass rush doesn't give him enough time to throw 30 yard bombs.
Running Backs and Receivers - Both teams run somewhat of a 2-back rushing game [Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce vs Frank Gore and Lamichael James]. Rice's diversity along with the hard running style of Bernard Pierce may be too much for to overcome especially with a passing game that keeps the defense guessing. Even though the 49ers have a stout run defense, I think Baltimore will have a huge game on the ground. But, I'm not as sure about the 49ers running game. They have 2 great backs, but they tend to use Gore an awful lot and don't seem to trust James as much as I think they should.
 The receiving matchup isn't as close as the others and Baltimore has a huge advantage. Michael Crabtree is a great receiver, but there's no one else there to draw attention from him. Meanwhile, Flacco has many options. Anquan Boldin is the type of receiver that annoys defenses. He keeps catching these 8-10 yard passes all game long and opens up up the deep game with [possibly a top 3 deep threat in the league] Torrey Smith and kick-return specialist / one of the league's fastest players [and best touchdown celebrators] Jacoby Jones.
Defense - Barely gonna debate this one. With the exception off possibly the pass rush, San Francisco has the clear edge in every category. Speaking of the pass-rush though, for Baltimore it's; the BEST LEADER in all of professional football [and best linebacker to ever play the game] Ray Lewis, the best interior lineman in the game, Haloti Ngata, reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Terrell Suggs, and newly emerged outside linebacker, Paul Kruger. They're up against an extremely tough 49ers pass rush consisting, the 2nd best interior lineman in the league, Justin Smith, The soon-to-be [once Lewis retires] best linebacker in the NFL, Patrick Willis, and the man who cleans it all up [and gets all the credit, even though the other guys force the quarterbacks out of the pocket] Aldon Smith.
Coaching - This one's even. The Harabaugh brothers are both equally brilliant [even though Jim gets all the credit]. But they do have different preferences. Jim [despite working with Andrew Luck in the past] likes to run a rush-heavy offense [that's why he picked Kaepernick over Smith]. But, John likes to run a pass heavy offense, often bringing his backs out of the backfield into the passing game.
Leadership - Ray Lewis. That's all I have to say about that.

FINAL PREDICTION - RAVENS, 21-17

NFL Award Predictions

Well unlike the NBA season, the NFL season is coming to a close and while there are some unanswered questions about the playoff picture, I'm pretty clear about my award predictions and here they are:
MVP: Adrian Peterson - I narrowed it down to Peterson and Peyton Manning, both having incredible seasons and both also leading candidates after brutal injuries, but I ultimately went with AP. The reason behind that is [amazing stats aside] the meaning of the word valuable. In football, the most valuable player is a player that his team wouldn't possibly be able to do with this. Don't get me wrong, Peyton means a lot to Denver but Tebow's Broncos were a playoff team. But, Adrian Peterson means the world to the Minnesota Vikings. Adrian is he leader of this team and without him the Vikings would be the worst team in the NFL because they don't have a good passing game, secondary and the only thing that makes their pass-rush decent is Jared Allen. Oh yeah, he's also 200 yards away from breaking the single season rushing record.

Defensive Player of the Year: J.J. Watt - I've been going back and forth between Watt, Aldon Smith and Von Miller but I went with J.J. because of the dimension he brings which the others don't, pass deflections. Watt has 15 pass deflections, better than any non-cornerback in the league. Watt [along with Aldon] is also challenging for Michael Strahan's single season sack record of 22.5. Watt also leads the trio with 74 sacks.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck - In a season STACKED with record-breaking offensive rookie performances I also narrowed this award down to 3 front runners; Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. Griffin III [who was born in Japan for those who didn't know] turned a hapless Washington team into the NFC East division leaders with his arm and his feet throwing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for over 750 [a new rookie record] leading Washington in a great position to win the NFC East. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson is one passing touchdown shy of breaking Peyton Manning's rookie rushing record [26]. Russell has led his Seahawks to an automatic playoff spot after routing the division leading 49ers. However this isn't his first blowout victory, in fact it's his 3rd consecutive blowout also beating Arizona 58-0 and then Buffalo 50-17. But Luck has completely transformed this Indianapolis franchise, from going 2-14 to a 10 win team a week before the season ends with a guaranteed playoff spot. Luck has also broken Cam Newton's record for rookie passing yards in a season Luck has accumulated  4183 passing yards heading into week 17 and will likely eclipse the 4200 yard mark. Luck has also done this without a stellar running game [22nd in the league in yards per game] or defense [19th in the league in yards allowed per game] so he's carried this team by himself leading them to multiple fourth quarter comebacks including one against the Green Bay Packers the first game since head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with treatable leukemia, and a touchdown pass as time expired against the Detroit Lions.
Other notable rookie performances:
Alfred Morris - 4th in the NFL with 1413 yards and tied for third with 10 td's
Doug Martin - 6th in the NFL with 1312 yards and tied with Morris for third with 10 td's and a mind blowing fantasy performance in week 9 scoring 51 points [standard-scoring, not PPR]
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Casey Hayward - In what [I've considered to be] an underwhelming season in terms of defensive rookies, there are only 2 particular standouts for me, Casey Hampton the cornerback out of Vanderbilt and Luke Kuechly; tackling machine. Before I explain my decision, I have one question, why is Luke Kuechly not getting any attention at all for DRoY? I mean, he leads the league in tackles and he's done everything the Panthers asked of him, to tackle. He doesn't do much else but he's really good at tackling. But, Casey is going to win this award. Hayward is tied for second in the NFL with 19 passes defended and tied for third in interceptions with 6. In an underwhelming draft class, that's all he needs to take home the award.

NBA Awards Predictions

We're only about a month into the 2012-2013 season, but it's never too early to start predicting:

MVP: Kevin Durant
Durant is the hottest [and by that I mean on fire] player in the NBA. Kevin has been dominating every player and team and is unstoppable. Right now his stats stand at 26 points per game which isn't unusual, but he's become more of a well-rounder team player averaging 6 rebounds per game, 3 stocks [made-up stat by Bill Simmons, steals + blocks] and nearly 40 minutes a game. It appears to be working for OKC because they're currently on a 6 game win streak and remain one of the best teams in the league.

Other candidates: LeBron James - He's still the most athletically gifted and most well-rounded player in the league and is just a year removed from his last MVP victory
Kobe Bryant - He's just one 30 point performance away from being the 5th player to ever score 30,000 points and he remains one of the most prolific scorers and athletes in the game

Rookie of the Year: Damien Lillard
With 1st overall pick Anthony Davis going in and out of the lineup with injuries; the door is wide open for the rookie point guard to take this award from him. Lillard is having a monster rookie season averaging nearly 20 points a game 6 assists and with Lamarcus Aldrige struggling, he's even proving that he may be Portland's best player.

Other candidates: Anthony Davis - Health may be what's holding him back from winning this award, but when healthy, he's an animal; in 6 games this year, Davis is averaging 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks a game



Defensive Player of the Year: Larry Sanders - This is by far my boldest prediction, but right now nobody is more deserving of this award than the 3rd year pro from Virginia Commonwealth. The Center/Power Forward is averaging 7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, nearly 5 per game in the last 14 days.  Sanders is also one of 2 player [Roy Hibbert is the other] to record a triple double this season consisting of points, rebounds and blocks. Sanders is doing this in a 6th man role, so if he can sustain this level of play, he may soon start, which would lead to even more blocks and rebounds.

Other candidates: Serge Ibaka -  My pick from last year for this award; Serge Ibaka is a block machine, trailing only Sanders for the league lead, averaging 3 per game. He's also setting a career high in defensive rebound [5 per game].
Dwight Howard - Coming off of the most disappointing season in his professional career, Dwight is back. This season, D12 is averaging nearly 3 blocks a game and a steal, totaling him at nearly 4 stocks a game.

                                                                                  Most Improved Player of the Year: Goran Dragic -

Dragic has been deserving a starting role for the past few years, and now he finally has one, and he's the centerpiece of the post-Steve Nash era Phoenix Suns. Goran is averaging 15 points, 6 assists and 2 steals to go along with a .462 shooting pct. Those may not appear as amazing stats when you look at them, but they are sure to improve the as the team builds more chemistry, Dragic may be on his way to averaging a double double.

Other candidates: O.J. Mayo - Mayo has skyrocketed this season and is neck and neck with Goran for this award and I was thinking for 30 minutes whether him or Goran is worthy of this award [I'm still not even sure] Mayo is shooting over 50% on 3 pointers, enough said.
Larry Sanders - [See Defensive Player of the Year]

                                                      
6th Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford -

Usually, I don't like player who can only score the ball, but nobody scores off the bench as well as the 13 year old veteran Crawford. Jamal is averaging 17 points a a game off of the bench on a .442 shooting percentage. But Jamal's real specialty is the free-throw line shooting .932 from the charity stripe. That is ridiculously close to automatic and Crawford just may end up setting the record for highest free-throw percentage in a season.


Other Candidates: Larry Sanders [See Most Improved Player of the Year]
Andray Blatche - Blatche went from exciting young prospect - to underachieving locker room cancer - to being amnestied and then signed to a minimum contract - to leader of arguably the best bench group in the NBA. Blatche is averaging 11 points, 6 and a half rebounds and shooting .477 from the field in only 20 minutes per game!

Injuries that will Devastate NBA Teams

Indiana Pacers - Danny Granger

Danny Granger has been sidelined since the beginning of the season and will miss about 3 months with a left knee injury. Danny Granger has always been the leader of this team and its best offensive weapon. Although many thought that this would be the year that Paul George becomes a star and lead to the Pacers trading Granger, Paul George has struggled since Grangers absence shooting just .385 against his own conference. Roy Hibbert has also been horrible this season after signing a max-contract last season shooting just .379 throughout the whole season.


Chicago Bulls - Derrick Rose
Many thought that Chicago would fall flat on their feet this season after losing their all-star point guard in last year's playoffs given their success without him last year. But what they didn't realize that both their backup C.J. Watson and his backup John Lucas III both left this year in free agency and have been replaced with Kirk Hinrich, Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague. Last year, Watson averaged over 4 assists and nearly 11 points as a starter last year while Hinrich only averages 6 per game in Rose's absence


                                                                        
New Orleans Hornets - Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis

This may not be a team that comes to mind when you think of injuries but the number 1 overall pick in this years draft has been in and out of the lineup this year while Eric Gordon, the best player the Hornets received in the Chris Paul trade has always been injury prone and has yet to step on the court this season due to knee injuries. He has often been considered New Orleans' best scorer when health but the problem is, he can't stay healthy.





Philidelphia 76ers - Andrew Bynum
Philly fans couldn't be more excited after the blockbuster trade that sent Bynum to the Sixers, they thought they had finally found that go-to-guy they never had, it turns out, they were getting the Andrew Bynum from 2 or 3 years ago. The one that couldn't stay on the court without his knee collapsing. The only thing different about that version of Andrew and this one is that now he has an afro. Bynum still hasn't played his first game in Philly and entering his contract year, this may turn out to be a disaster for Bynum who is looking to earn paychecks like the one James Harden just received, right now, things couldn't be worse. AND there's still no timetable set for Bynum to return, So Philly fans never know when their prized possession is going to return. Jrue Holiday has somewhat picked up the slack in his absnse, but nobody knows how long he can keep this up.

5 Players From the 2011 Draft Who Have Surpassed Their Draft Potential

With NBA experts already working on their draft boards, I thought I would take a look at some of draft day's biggest surprises. These players were drafted this past summer and have exceeded all expectations.

1. Iman Shumpert:
Drafted by New York with the 17th overall pick, tons of raw talent, and has shown tons of poise while stepping up in the wake of Jeremy Lin's Injury. For the whole season he's been averaging nearly 10 ppg and 3 apg and in the wake of Lin's absence; nearly 11 and 4. Not too shabby for a 17th overall pick, not to mention he beat out Baron Davis on the depth chart.




2. MarShon Brooks:
Originally drafted by the Celtics to be Ray Allen's succeeder and was traded to the Nets who have apparently used the athletic sharp-shooter well as he is averaging 12 points 2 assists and 3 boards a game. It would be a serious shame to see a talent like Brooks wasted on a team going nowhere like The Nets but hopefully for his sake; he will either get traded or be a valuable piece in a future [not probable] dynasty which can maybe be built around Dwight Howard in.....


3. Kenneth Faried:
Nicknamed "The Manimal",  Kenneth Faried was drafted with the 22nd overall pick by Denver and averages 9 points, 7 boards, 1 block and half a steal a game. He can hopefully become a valuable player in Denver's franchise; providing a defensive force to an offensive-minded team with great perimeter players like Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari. He has made some excellent progress and will most likely develop into a true defensive talent.


4. Chandler Parsons:
The 6'9 guard/forward was drafted 38th overall in the 2nd round by the Houston Rockets. He averages 9 points nearly 5 boards a game to go along with a .461 field goal percentage this season. In my opinion he's one of the biggest draft day steals from this past summer and will someday work his way into a regular spot into Houston's starting lineup.




5. Isaiah Thomas Jr:

The son of Isaiah Thomas the Piston's legend and worst coach of The Knicks in the history of the universe was the last overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft and has proven himself worthy of a 1st round pick averaging nearly 11 points, almost 4 assists and 2 and a half boards a game to go along with a .444 shooting percentage making himself the biggest draft day steal of this past summer. With apparent 1st round talent; Isaiah has made 29 other teams cringe or passing up on him in the 2nd round or even the mid-to-late 1st round.