Does Bosh Injury Give the Miami Heat a Pass?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by TheSportsBlitz.com

We all know that the Miami Heat has self proclaimed to be the dream team… if you don’t remember the quote…

“Not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7. Hey, and when I say that when I say that, I really believe it. I’m not just up here blowing smoke at none of these fans, because that’s not what I’m about. I’m about business. And we believe we can win multiple championships.”

I understand the confidence, you don’t want to come to a new team and say that you will try to win one championship. You want to win multiple, you want to be borderline arrogant with your statement.

The Miami Heat disposed of the New York Knicks this playoff season in dominate fashion. Although it should have been a sweep, the Knicks posed no threat, due to multiple injuries and chemistry issues. Now the Heat are faced with an intriguing matchup. The Indiana Pacers are a different type of team, no superstars, nothing flashy, just basketball. How will they do?

Well… Game 1 proved to be no problem for the Heat winning easily 95-86. Although they won the game with no issue, they lost a key player Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh, although he has faced many criticisms, averages 18 ppg and 8 rpg. Although he doesn’t prove as dominate in games as his teammates Lebron and Dwyane Wade, he stills bring a certain flash that helps his team get to the next level. Rebounding and scoring in certain situations has been his skill since coming from the Toronto Raptors where he was the number 1 threat.

Unfortunately for Bosh this is what was reported earlier by SportsNation.com…

Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh has been sidelined indefinitely with an abdominal strain as his team prepares for Game 2 of its Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pacers.

What does this mean for the Heat? Can teams like the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics or even the San Antonio Spurs/Oklahoma City Thunder. Take advantage of this important injury? With the pressure that the Heat have put on themselves, will it be a failure if the they don’t deliver a championship this season?

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How Many Rings Will It Take to Save LeBron James’ Legacy?

Posted on May 8, 2012 by TheSportsBlitz.com

Barring a major injury or a life ending cosmic collision, LeBron James and the Miami Heat will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Final this season. The Heat will likely face the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could be one of the best finals matchups NBA fans have been treated to in quite a while. If LeBron and company can find away to get it done, his critics, who currently fault him for having none, will then emphasize the fact that he only has one. That leads to all important question of how many rings will it take to save LeBron’s legacy?

In order to begin answering that question one must look at other NBA greats who have won titles. We all know that Michael Jordan won six, Magic Johnson five, Kobe Bryant has five, Shaquille O’Neal four, and Larry Bird three. Each of those players are considered NBA royalty and if LeBron James wants to join that illustrious fraternity, then he needs to at least bring in three…right?

Well maybe not so fast. James is in his 9^th NBA season and was deeply criticized for stacking the deck with the Miami Heat in hopes of bringing home multiple championships. This is unfair criticism because all of the previously mentioned “NBA royalty” had stacked decks too. Jordan had Pippen, and the right role players, Magic had Jabbar, Worthy and Scott. Bird had McHale, Parrish, Johnson and Ainge, Kobe had Shaq, and Shaq had Kobe and Wade. That was a tremendous amount of NBA talent concentrated on the aforementioned teams which allowed them to be so successful. No one has ever done it alone yet LeBron has caught so much heat for not getting it done and changing teams so that he could. Why?

Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley were NBA superstars of their era and both changed teams in hopes of winning a championship. It worked for Clyde only because Jordan retired for two seasons before coming back and winning three more. Patrick Ewing was an elite player on some solid New York Knicks teams and he never got a ring. Hakeem Olajuwon won two, but again that was largely in part to Jordan’s brief retirement. Even the legendary Jerry West, the NBA logo himself, only managed one championship.

Here’s the point. In order to salvage his legacy LeBron James needs one ring… period. It doesn’t matter what team he wins it on, or whether he dominates the series to get it done, his name just needs to be affiliated with a team that won an NBA title when his career comes to a close. In sports, the disparity between those who have won championships and those who haven’t is so great because any one player can be good, but it takes a special team at the right moment in time to become elite. Maybe this is the year that James and the Heat begin that run of three or four championships that they are capable of winning. Only time tell.

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Kobe Bryant Rivals Michael Jordan

Posted on May 2, 2012 by TheSportsBlitz.com

Playing in 1,161 career games (not counting 210 career playoff games), Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers seems to be getting better and better.

Like Hall of Fame player Michael Jordan, Kobe is building on his reputation for playing and winning hurt.

In this 66-game condensed season, first it was the wrist, then it was the occasional turned ankle. Finally it was his broken nose and playing with a mask for the first time in his career.

Despite all of this the Lakers keep winning and doing it against great teams, while other teams struggle and other superstars fold under the pressure.

Like Jordan, trade rumors, injuries, and changes in the roster have slowed other stars this year, but not Kobe. Not now. Not when he’s so close.

Like Jordan, Kobe is driven.

Skeptics may say he had Shaq. He did. He had Robert Horry (the only non-Celtic to win more than 6 rings). Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Jordan had Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant. Now Kobe has Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. Kobe has help. Jordan had help. If Kobe wins this time, it will be minus Lamar Odom, minus Phil Jackson.

With superstars linking up to create super-teams, Kobe attracts talent to his team. Like Jordan. Who knows what the roster will look like after this season, but Kobe is not leaving. Kobe plays on, at 33 years old, outshining his former peers, and now his current peers.

Like Jordan, Kobe elevates the play of his teammates. Whether it is by example, or intimidation, or love, or fear, or respect, players like Steve Blake, Bynum, and Josh McRoberts have never played better. Like Jordan.

Michael Jordan is the best basketball player that ever played. But if Kobe wins this year, it will be fair to compare the two. Kobe would have the same number of rings, accomplishments, etc. etc. If he never wins that last ring, then we can say Jordan is still number one, but if he wins one or two more rings, we may have to reconsider this discussion.

In the meantime, it may be time to stop watching for Kobe to fail, and time to just watch him play.

How would Jordan respond to getting his nose broken at an all-star game? Take your time, write it down. What Would Jordan Do?? Maybe we will say in the future, “Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe… none of those guys would have…”? Kobe has earned the right to be compared to the best that ever played, period.

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Can the Bulls win a title without Derrick Rose?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by TheSportsBlitz.com

On Saturday in Game 1 of the opening round of 2012 NBA playoffs the Chicago Bulls began what they hoped would eventually culminate into a championship run. Those aspirations quickly went out the window when the reining league MVP, Derrick Rose, suffered a torn ACL that will cost him the rest of the NBA season; or did they? Can the Bulls still win an NBA title without Derrick Rose?

Rose was injured while trying to jump off his left foot as time was running out in the Bulls 103-91 Game 1 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. The injury puts a serious damper on the Bulls title hopes but don’t count them out just yet.

Rose only played in 39 of the Bulls 66 games this season. Despite his injury plagued season, the Bulls managed to secure the best record in the NBA without their best player. Chicago plays exceptional team basketball; a lost art in the NBA. Even in Rose’s absence the Bulls are the second best team in the East which puts them in the conference finals at worst.

The Bulls probable opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals would be the Miami Heat. The Heat are a Jekyll and Hyde NBA persona. You never know which one will show up. If the Bulls are fortunate enough to catch the Heat off their game then they could very well advance to the Finals and as everyone knows, once there anything can happen.

The bottom line here is that the loss of Derrick Rose is a tremendous blow to the Bulls championship aspirations. Despite Chicago having the best record in the NBA during the regular season with Rose missing almost half of the games, the NBA playoffs are a different beast. I don’t know whether or not the Bulls have enough without Rose to beat the Heat four out of seven games with so much on the line. But know this, if any team can, it is without a doubt the Chicago Bulls. We’ll just have to watch this one play out.

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Magic’s Howard out for season: Is it just what he wanted?

Posted on April 20, 2012 by TheSportsBlitz.com

On Thursday the news broke that Orlando Magic Center, Dwight Howard, requires season ending back surgery that will keep him out the of the remainder of the NBA season to include the playoffs and the 2012 Olympics this Summer in London. Was this the perfect scenario for Howard to fall into?

All season long up until the NBA trade deadline the talk of the Association was where would Dwight Howard be traded to? Howard had made his desire to be shipped out of small market Orlando public so most NBA fans knew it was just a matter of time before he was dealt. The Magic front office had their backs up against the wall as if they didn’t trade Howard he would become an unrestricted free agent following the season and the team would lose him while getting nothing in return. As the trade deadline approached more and more speculation arose as to Howard’s destination but for one reason or another, the rumors never materialized in deals. Then, like a desperate magician with one trick left in his hat, the Magic offered Howard an unprecedented amount of control over the team. If he committed to the Magic beyond this season Howard would have the ability to fire the coach.

According to an April 6th article by the NewYorkPost.com as well as multiple other sources, Howard indeed asked management to fire current Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy at the end of the season. That says that Howard had no faith in his team’s chances this NBA postseason. If the so-called star of your team doesn’t believe in what the team is doing then why the hell even play. Because of his disbelief in the direction under Van Gundy the Magic were nothing but superficial contenders going into the playoffs with Howard despite having a 2-2 record this season against the Miami Heat, one of the NBA’s Eastern Conference elite teams.

Now, with Howard out for the playoffs the Magic don’t stand a chance. The trickle effect will be that his absence will likely result in an early playoff exit for Orlando that will in-turn justify the firing of Van Gundy in a distorted sort a way. Additionally, the Orlando Magic organization will truly get to see Dwight’s value as the team will likely appear discombobulated in his absence. This will drive his value up not only in Orlando but across the NBA as he potentially faces another opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2013 season if the Magic can’t sign him long-term.

Make no mistake about it. In no way am I insinuating that Howard is glad to be sitting out for the rest of the season or was somehow hoping for this sort of scenario. Nevertheless, he could greatly benefit from his injury.

With that said, Dwight Howard should be careful for what he asks for. The number of NBA coaches currently in the league who are better that Stan Van Gundy can be counted on three fingers. One coaches the Boston Celtics, another the Chicago Bulls, and the third the San Antonio Spurs. Not to bust Howard’s bubble but Orlando isn’t getting any of those guys.

As of now it may appear that Howard is having his cake and eating it too, but in the end he may very well be eating a slice of humble pie.

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Author Archives: TheSportsBlitz.com

Does Bosh Injury Give the Miami Heat a Pass?

How Many Rings Will It Take to Save LeBron James’ Legacy?

Kobe Bryant Rivals Michael Jordan

Can the Bulls win a title without Derrick Rose?

Magic’s Howard out for season: Is it just what he wanted?