Rose Top Pick?

The Chicago Bulls landed the top pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery. The Bulls slated originally to pick 9th based on record of teams. However, the lottery yielded them a 17 out of 1,001 possibilities.

They now have to decide whether to select Chicago native Derrick Rose , an athletically gifted point guard out of Memphis , or Michael Beasley from Kansas State. Beasley is a player that could fit in and almost automatically get the Bulls 20 points and 10 rebounds a night according to some experts.

The belief is that Rose will be the pick when all is said and done, leaving the Miami Heat with Michael Beasley. The Bulls at this time are not tipping their hat as to what they will do.

Celtics stumble at home

The Boston Celtics used home court advantage against the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers to escape in two grueling 7 game series. The Celtics had not won a road game the entire 2008 Playoffs but won every home game in order to advance. They wont have that luxury now thanks to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons bounced back to defeat the Celtics 103-97 in front of a sellout crowd in Boston.
Richard Hamilton had 25 points and Chauncie Billups added 19 after struggling with a hamstring pull.
The Pistons also got a huge lift from their rookie Rodney Stuckie who added 13 impressive points off the bench and at times looked like the Celtics had no answer for him.

The Celtics finally got production from all of their “Big Three” including Ray Allen who struggled mightily this entire playoffs. Allen had 25 points and came on in the 4th quarter to spark the Celtics, who came out of the half down 9, but went on a 15-4 run to start the 3rd. Garnett added 24 points and 13 rebounds and Paul Pierce had 26.

Game Three will be on Saturday as the series moves to Motown. Celtics will try and steal home court advantage back by taking at least one of two in Detroit.

As a Die Hard Laker fan, lets hope they dont.

Lakers Steal Game One

Wow!!! What an incredible comeback by those cardiac kids. The Lakers, down by as much as 20 points with a quarter and a half to go did the unimaginable. Mount a monstrous comeback against the Defending Champs by starting the rally with a 14-0 run. Kobe Bryant who was too busy in the first half playing possum, turned on the jets and played more like , hmm Kobe? The MVP? The Lakers seemed to be rusty to start the game more than the Spurs seemed tired after having their plane stuck on the tar mac in New Orleans. However, by the end of the game the old tired legs of the Spurs showed and the Lakers polished off the rust and looked like the longer, faster and more athletic team.

This could’ve been a disaster for the Lakers to give back home court advantage after one game but, instead it may be a demoralizing game for the Spurs. Not that Duncan didn’t do his part, wound up with 30 points and 18 rebounds only to be outdone by Bryant who came on to score 25 of his 27 in the second half.

I don’t know what to think about the Lakers lately, they get seemingly destroyed on the glass in the first two rounds by the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz and still win pretty easily. Tonight , they fall behind to the champs by 20 in the second half and get little contribution from Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher yet pull it out again. One thing for sure, this team is resilient!

The next game will be a game of adjustments and well see what Spurs coach Greg Popovich has under his sleave. One thing he wont be able to use is the “Hack a Shaq” on the Lakers like he did to the Suns.

Lakers prepare to face Spurs

The Los Angeles Lakers will face their old nemesis the San Antonio Spurs in the 2008 Western Conference Finals. After 7 grueling games with Chris Paul and The New Orleans Hornets, the Spurs gain the right to advance and face the Lakers on Wednesday for Game One. These teams definitely have their history together in the playoffs. Most recently , the Lakers prevailing with the farewell tour team including Karl Malone and Gary Payton. The Lakers winning in six games after the Spurs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, the Lakers fought back with a back ended sweep winning the next four games to close it out only to lose to the Pistons .

However, these are the new look Lakers with the additon of Pau Gasol and newcomers to the rivalry such as Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar and ofcourse who can forget Sasha Vujacic aka “The Machine”.

Although there are new faces , there are also some old ones too like Derek Fisher who i am sure Spurs fans would love to forget . Fisher was vital to the Lakers beating the Spurs thanks to his HUGE and I do mean HUGE shot with .04 on the clock to save the Lakers from defeat in Game 5 and grab a strangle hold on the series.

Most recently, the Lakers beat the Spurs in Staples Center on April 13th by a score of 106-85 behind Lamar Odoms 17pt 14 reb performance. Speaking of Odom, i believe he will be the key to this series and an absolute match up nightmare for the hated ones from Texas. They do not posses anyone who can match the length and athleticism of Lamar . Pau Gasol, who usually steps up to his competition should give Tim Duncan some problems with his length. Oh yeah, have i mentioned “Mr. MVP” aka “The Black Mamba?” Who im sure will have something to say in this series when its all said and done. Kobe once again can smell the finish line in hopes of his 4th ring if Robert”Big Shot Rob” Horry doesn’t have anything to say about it. Ofcourse, Horry the owner of seven rings himself will be craving for his eight ring but might not have enough in the tank to make a difference.

Good Luck Lakers and bring it home!!!!