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Did anyone else notice Duhon's travel celebration in the background? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crSD-x-IvFc

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant Defensive Player of the Year: Tyson Chandler Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich Most Improved Player of the Year: Jeremy Lin Sixth Man of the Year: James Harden All-NBA First Team C - Dwight Howard F - Kevin Durant F - LeBron James G - Kobe Bryant G - Chris Paul All-NBA Second Team C - Andrew Bynum F - Blake Griffin F - Carmelo Anthony G - Tony Parker G - Rajon Rondo All-NBA Third Team C - Tyson Chandler F - Kevin Love F - Dirk Nowitzki G - Dwayne Wade G - Derrick Rose KD, LeBron AND Paul (which is unfairly forgotten when talking about the MVP) are the top 3 players for MVP this year, Kobe's shown that he's still clearly the best SG in the league and there is no center that can even be compared to Dwight right now. I do not think a case can be made for any other players against those five ones for All NBA First Team. Bynum has showed that he is now clearly the second best C in the league and Chandler's impact on the Knicks D has been absolutely unbelievable this year. He's changed the defensive mentallity all by himself and yes I agree that he should be the DPOY. A case could be made for Love in the 2nd Team but the fact is that team results are very important as well which is why I eventually put Griffin over him. As for Melo he's been very criticized this year but since the arrival of Woodson he's showed that he was a fantastic player, a true leader and it's thanks to him that we will be in the playoffs this year. I am glad that, contrary to many people (too many) I never doubted him. As for Dirk many people might be surprised by this choice but he's gotten back to a great level lately and it is just totally impossible for me not to mention him here. A case could be made for Pau but, even if he got back to a better level lately, he's just not the Pau Gasol we saw two years ago any more. Parker and Rondo have been fantastic this year, they've played the best bball of their career and no case can be made for any other G against them for the 2nd Team IMO. Especially cause Rose and Wade spent too much time on the injured list this year. But they still have to be on the Third Team. Rose is the reigning MVP and it's impossible not to have him among those Teams, even with all the injury problems he had this year. All-Defensive First Team C - Tyson Chandler F - Serge Ibaka F - Luol Deng G - Iman Shumpert G - Rajon Rondo All-Defensive Second Team C - Dwight Howard F - Kevin Garnett F - Andre Iguodala G - Tony Allen G - Chris Paul Eastern Conference Finals (team vs. team) Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat Western Conference Finals (team vs. team) Memphis Grizzlies vs Dallas Mavericks NBA Finals (team vs. team) Miami Heat vs Dallas Mavericks 2012 NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks Here's the explaination for my choices and my overall views for this year's playoffs : EASTERN CONFERENCE : At the beginning of the season two teams were the clear favorites to make the ECF for me*: the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat. And to be honest I still expect those two teams to make the ECF despite the fact that Rose is now injured. Although other teams have a chance to make the ECF. Let's take a closer look at this : The Heat are clearly a favorite to win it all this year. There is no doubt that they are good enough to win. But contrary to many people I don't consider them as the VERY favorites to win. I actually never have. I remember not so long ago, when James and Bosh arrived in Miami, that many (too many people) were 100% sure that not only the Heat would easily win rings (their only question was how many rings in a row can this team win..) but that they would beat the Bulls records for sure. Even Jeff Van Gundy said it.. And at the time I don't know how many times I tried to explain to these people that it's not because the Heat are the most talented team that they would win for sure, that anything can happen in sports and that, as ironic as it might seem, teams of stars usually do not work. It's been almost two years since and not only the Heat were far from being the Bulls records but they haven't won a ring so far and they actually didn't even end one of their two first season as the best team in the league or even in the East for that matter. So I hope that those people have learned their lesson by now. Anyhow the Heat are nonetheless a top team in the league. And it certainly would not be surprising to see them win it all this year. But I personally still have my doubts about this team. As a matter of fact we saw last year what were the obvious flaws of that team and the fact is that they still have the same flaws this year, in fact they were already at their best last year and didn't improve since. Once again how many times have we seen them lose games in the clutch*? Their main problem is that they have no clear hierarchy. They have two leaders. Which is very confusing, you need a clear hierarchy in order to win a ring, you need one true leader to carry you in the money time. So the fact that they have two is actually a problem.. Problem that could actually be easily solved IMO if James accepted once and for all to give the leadership of the team to Wade. Cause we can say it for sure now*: LeBron might be the most talented player in the world right now, but he is just not clutch and cold blooded enough to be a true leader. We saw that again many times this year. For me he rather is second option material. Another problem that the Heat have is that Bosh never succeeded in playing the role he was supposed to play : take care of the dirty work. Not only that but he spends way too much time in the perimeter for an inside player, especially that the Heat are already loaded with wing players and certainly do not need their inside players to play on the wings as well.. And Bosh has no post moves. The Heat have no true post players. And Bosh, Wade and James are too similar to be a real efficient big three. So they might be the most talented team in the league but I definitely still have my doubts about them. Contrary to the Heat the Bulls definitely improved this year. They depended too much on Rose last year. They just couldn't win without him. But this year they can. And they have. Which is bad news for Rose in a sense, as he has now no chance to be MVP, but great news for the team as they are now a real team who have a true chance to win a ring. And even if most people weren't convinced by the signing of Hamilton, he actually brought them a lot of things, even if he spends too much time on the injured list. Last year their main weak point was the SG position but now with Hamilton, Korver and Brewer the least we can say is that this position is full. The Bulls are a much better team than last year, no doubt about that. But, as we all know, they are now without Rose. Rose has had a lot of injury problems this year , there were a lot of questions considering his health and it's not that surprising to eventually see him out for the playoffs. And if the Bulls showed that they can win without their leader this year, the playoffs are an entirely different season and it's just totally impossible to win in the playoffs without your leader. So the Bulls just have now zero chance to achieve anything this year IMO. If Rose was healthy and played at his best level during this playoffs, the Bulls would have been my favorite to win the Eastern Conference this year. But now that he's out I doubt that anyone in this conference can stop the Heat. It is still possible to see the Bulls in the ECF this year though. Most people thought the Celtics were done this year. But they've shown that they're still here. After a slow start the C's got back to their best and it ain't gonna be easy to beat them in the playoffs this year again. Although, even if I admit that it's possible to see them in the ECF, or even Finals for that matter, I personally don't see them passing the second round. Because even if they got back to a very good level KG, PP and Ray just aren't as young as they used to be.. And the three of them are injury prone. And because of their age KG just can't dominate defensively as he used to be, Pierce can't carry the team on his shoulders the way he used to be.. Rondo is now clearly the best player of the team. But can he be a true leader ? He's still very young, he still has a lot to prove. And let's not forget that he's been injury prone this year too.. So to be honest I think that the Celtics should quite easily beat the Hawks in the first round but after that it will all depend on what Rondo can achieve as a leader and on the team's health. If the C's stay healthy and Rondo definitely asserts himself as the leader then the Celtics will be a major threat and they could eventually make the ECF, or even the Finals as they played quite well against Miami this year. But if not I don't think they'll beat the Bulls in the second round. Even without Rose. The Knicks were just horrible at the beginning of the season. A major disappointment considering how talented they were. The Linsanity got us back on track for a while but when Carmelo came back from injury it was obvious that we had now to make a choice between Melo and D'Antoni. And fortunately for us Mike made the right choice himself. I kept saying it all year long*: it was now clear that D'Antoni was not the right coach for us. Personally I think that all the hate D'Antoni received as a Knicks was uncalled for, which is why I always stood up for him, despite the fact that I really dislike his style (I've always been first of all a fan of huge D, 90's Knicks forever). Besides it was totally unfair to judge him during his first two years as a Knick as we were a starless team at the time. But after that we got Stat, Melo, Chandler.. But we didn't play at the level we were supposed to play. The fact is that D'Antoni has had his chance. But he failed. And he just had to go. He was clearly not the right coach for us. At the time D'Antoni resigned the hate that most people had for Melo was.. just unbelievable. And disgusting. I personally always stood up for Melo. And I knew that, with a more suited coach, Melo would show us how terrific a player he was. I was 100% against the trading of Melo. And the fact is that I was right. I was more than happy for Jeremy Lin during the Linsanity but I just couldn't believe how overrated he got at that time.. The fact that some people actually thought that he should have become our leader instead of Melo was incredible to me. Lin showed that he was a talented player but it's important not to forget that he had those stats thanks to D'Antoni's system. Which is the perfect system for Lin who's a Nash like PG. But the fact remains that despite the huge stats and the wins we got at that time, Lin is basically a rookie and he still has a LOT of things to learn. It was obvious that the Linsanity wouldn't last and that Lin couldn't have led us anywhere in the playoffs. One day maybe Lin will be a top PG in this league but right now he's just a very talented young PG who still has a lot of things to prove. Anyway it was then clear that D'Antoni and Melo were totally incompatible. One of them had to go. As a matter of fact D'Antoni is all about full court offense and quick shots while Melo, like all true superstars and leaders for that matter, is all about half court offense and isos. If D'Antoni stayed we would have only relied on Lin, so basically a rookie. We could have become a top NBA team but, like the Suns, with no defense and half court offense I doubt that we would have ever had a chance to achieve anything. While with Melo and a more defense minded coach we can definitely have a chance to win a ring in the next couple of year. Personally I always thought we had to keep Melo and fire D'Antoni and we can see now for sure that it was the good solution indeed. Besides with Lin injury I have no doubt that we wouldn't even have made the playoffs this year... But now with Melo and a better coach it seems that we have a bright future indeed. I don't think Woodson is the real answer though, cause even if we got by far better with him, he's too much about isos (isos are essential to win in the NBA but it's important not to use too much at the same time cause it will kill chemistry otherwise) and if we have the opportunity to sign Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy or Sloan for example there is no doubt we will have to take it. Anyway everyone who doubted Melo is now proven wrong, just like everyone who thought that Denver won the Melo trade is proven wrong as well (Denver has a nice team but they have no leader and once again you just can't win without a leader in the NBA, and real leaders are certainly not that easy to find..). We have now a very nice team overall, and we definitely can frighten the Heat (despite the fact that they easily won game 1). But I don't think we will pass the first round this year, we had too many trouble this year and we need more time. But I definitely think that we can win two games against the Heat. As for the four other Eastern teams they have in my opinion 0 chance to win a ring this year. The Sixers have a wonderful chemistry but they have no real leader, the Hawks won't win anything with Johnson as their leader, the Magic surprisingly won their first game against Indiana, surprisingly not only because they don't have Dwight but mainly because they've seemed like a total mess lately but I don't see them going to the second round nonetheless and wouldn't be schocked if the Pacers won the four next games in a row, and finally the Pacers could win a couple of games against Miami or New York (but rather Miami) in the second round, but I would be very surprised to see them in the ECF. WESTERN CONFERENCE : In the West it's for me very hard to come with two main favorites for the WCF. Many teams can make the WCF. Let's take a closer look at them : The Spurs have been fantastic this year. Their staff have once again made a great job and found young blood to improve the team. Their roster is very impressive, and the addition of Boris Diaw was an amazing move, he's absolutely perfect for this team. Not to mention the return of Jackson.. Honestly if Duncan was still at his prime, I think that a case could be made for this team as the best Spurs team ever*! But... Duncan is not at his prime any more... It is not surprising that the Spurs staff found some great players to improve their team, they've done that for quite some time now. But the fact remains that the big three is getting old year after year... And if the Spurs are still good enough to be among the top teams in the regular season, the fact is that, once again, you need a leader to carry you on your shoulders during the playoffs. And, even if Duncan seemed to be a little better this year, the fact is that Tim just cannot be that leader any more. Ginobili never was and is not leader material, he's too crazy (you can't get him under control) to be a true leader. He can get you back in the game but also easily can get you out of it because of his crazyness. Besides he is, like Duncan now, injury prone. So the only player who can be the Spurs leader now is their best player : Tony Parker. Tony has had a fantastic season, certailny his best season so far, but we still have to ask ourselves this question : can he be the Spurs leader*? Being the best player of your team and being a true leader and two entirely different things... And it's in the playoffs that you see who the true leaders are. I personally said it many times, I don't believe that Parker can be a true leader. I don't believe in him. Sure I know that he was Finals MVP in 2007, but being Finals MVP and being a true leader are two different things. For example if you think that Maxwell was the Celtics leader in 1981 you're just kidding yourself. Duncan was still the clear leader of the team that year, there is no doubt about it. So we're gonna see this year if Parker can be a true leader. That's the Spurs' only chance to win a ring might I add. And, again, I don't believe in him, that's why I don't think the Spurs will win this year. Even if I admit that it is possible.. I don't think the Spurs will be eliminated in the first round like last year though, but I see them losing in the second round, WCF at best. We'll see. The Thunder have been fantastic all year long and they are now a true contender. No doubt about that. And the addition of Fisher was great as he brings them something they didn't have : experience. But I'm still not sure about this team either. First of all they lack of scoring inside. In the NBA history only two team have won a ring with so little scoring inside : the 75 Warriors and the 90's Bulls. Besides I am not sure that Westbrook is the second option that Durant needs. He's had a great season but once again the playoffs are totally different.. It might be not enough. And finally there is Durant himself. Fantastic player, no doubt about that. But young, very, very young.. And still a lot of things to prove. He's not at his best yet (which is scary in a way). So yes the Thunder could win it all this year, but I personally still have my doubts about this team. The Lakers had a tough beginning of the season. Which is why Kobe played that great this year in a way, he didn't have to play like that those last seasons, he could rely more on his teammates. This year the team was not as great and Kobe had to bring his A game again. And he did. But the team is not as impressive as it was two years ago. They eventually got better by the end of the season though. Bynum has had his best season ever, and Gasol is back to a great level. But the rest of the team is quite weak. Besides it's great for them that they eventually found a decent PG in Sessions but still it would have been better if they didn't have to let Fisher go. Fisher is not any more starting PG material, that is true, but he's clutch and is a leader and there is no doubt IMO that they will miss him in the playoffs. Well if the big three keep playing at a great level in the playoffs they definitely have a chance to win, no one can deny that, but I personally don't think they will beat either the Thunder or Mavs in the second round. With the addition of Paul the Clippers got to the next level. Paul showed once again this year why he is clearly the best PG in the league. The Clippers are now legit. But can they win it all ? Might be hard the first year... Especially that Billups is out. Many people doubted that Billups was the answer as the starting SG but he showed them otherwise. Not only did Paul and Billups played PERFECTLY together but Billups asserted himself as a true leader once again. And every time Del Negro experimented Paul, Billups, Mo at the same time on the court it was a success as well. When Billups got injured the team wasn't as great, and it was no surprise at all... They got back to a better level recentely, and the addition of Young was quite interesting, but I still don't think they're as good as they were with Billups. With Billups I think that they would have had a better chance to make the Finals. Besides they're now playing Memphis in the first round, they don't have HCA, and it's gonna be very hard for the Clippers to beat that team. The Grizzlies have had a tough season. Lot of injuries. But now they're back to their best. And they have a true chance to do something. The main change this year is the change of leader. Because of Zach's injury Rudy Gay has been the leader of the team for most of the year. And Randolph was now a sixth man. I am personally not sure about this. Rudy has done quite a good job as the leader this year but Zach might want to be the leader again in the playoffs. It might be a problem for them. What if Zach starts playing like he did last year ? When he was unstoppable in the playoffs ? Could Gay accept to become a second option ? On paper this team is certainly the most complete team in the league. But this leader thing might be a problem for them. We'll see if they can handle that. But if they can it wouldn't be surprising to see them in the Finals. After all they are the most complete team in the league. Most NBA fans now do not believe in Dallas. But I do. The Mavs have had a lot of troubles this year. Dirk was not himself for a couple of months, there were some major changes.. But the fact is that Dirk eventually got back to his best, and the new players seem more and more comfortable in the team. Besides the only important departure was in fact Chandler. Barea and Stevenson were important for that team in the Finals, don't get me wrong, but they were not essential at the same time. Dirk, Kidd and Terry were the three best players of the team and.. they're still there. Sure no one can have the same impact on the defense as Chandle had. But Mahinmi and Haywood can get the job done at C. Mahinmi clearly improved this year and he clearly had his best years so far. Also Delonte West is a much better player than Barea was, just like Carter is clearly better than Stojakovic.. The loss of Chandler is important but overall the Mavs are more talented this year. So they can win this year again, I'm convinced of it. But they've had so many ups and downs this year that it wouldn't be surprising to see them out in the first round at the same time... In my opinion either the Mavs will lose in the first round, either we'll see them in the Finals. That's what I think of them. We'll see. Also I would like to add that there are several similarities between the Mavs and the 95 Rockets, who won despite the fact that no one believed in them after a disappointing season : - both teams had just won a ring the year before - both teams had/have trouble during the regular season - both teams had major roster changes - both teams had lost a valuable inside player (Chandler for the Mavs ; Thorpe for the Rockets) - no one believed/believes that they could/can repeat (except Chris Webber for the 95 Rockets and.. me for the 2012 Mavs) - both teams were more talented overall than the year before but were also not as well balanced We will see if the Mavs will repeat like the Rockets did in 95. Never underestimate the heart of a champion. As for the Jazz and Nuggets I think that they are the only teams in the West that don't even have a slight chance to win a ring. The Nuggets are like the Sixers of the West, great chemistry but no leader... While the Jazz are slowly getting back to the top but they're still a little young and unexperienced to expect achieve anything this year. Anyway the least we can say is that the playoffs are very open this year. No one is a clear favorite (at least for me) but many teams have a chance to win it all this year. I think that the last time I saw so many teams who had a chance to win was when Jordan retired for the first time... Honestly OKC, Miami, SAS, Mavs, Lakers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Boston, or even the Knicks (I don't think we'll pass the first round but we never know, after all we got one of the deepest teams, if not THE deepest, in the league), they all have a chance to win it all. It's just too bad that Rose got injured in the first game... But those playoffs are gonna be great nonetheless, I feel it.

You either don't know what goons are or don't know what girls are...

You're right, it wasn't the same. Lucas took the screen like he had a dick between his legs.

So does this mean that you'll have enough time to give TruTrojan his prize?

Recap: Tyson left his feet while lunging (lolzolz my nephew could have seen THAT one) Well, at least one of his feet was off the ground before he made contact.. Ok, well his foot definitely left the ground JUST AFTER making contact! ..it was still a lunge.

Its funny though how Heat fans start none of these off topic things that happen in 99% of our game threads. But then all of a sudden we aren't allowed to respond in the same way they hate on our team. The double standard is pretty ridiculous.

I just don't understand the need to continue about Lebron flopping, we all know it was a flop. Ok, you can think Lebron is little girl or a pansy, but it doesn't change the outcome of the game. At this point you guys are just doing it to get under our skin. Even the media is doing it. I feel as if the Heat games are no longer about basketball, but instead they are about drama and headlines. Heat vs. Bulls turned into Lebron setting a screen on Lucas, and then the other time was he jumped over Lucas. I am watching the recap this morning and everyone ignores what happened in the game and just talk about the screen and stupid stuff. Hopefully game 2 is just a good old fashioned game with no drama so people can just focus on the game.

Tyson Chandler performed a dirty play and deserves one hundred percent of the penalty warranted.

Knew it right when he fell, clutching the knee and screaming. Shades of Bynum. When I saw it happen to Rose, I posted about it on my Facebook...knew before he was helped off the court. Once you've seen it so many times throughout the years, and you've had a similar (yet less severe) injury yourself, it's really not as difficult as people make it seem to point it out on the spot, and when you combine how Shump's knee looked when he took that step + the fact that he was in a significant amount of pain, you knew he was done. I didn't have the Knicks winning the series, but without Shump (who is their best perimeter defender), this one is definitely over, unless they somehow bring back Jeremy Lin, never turn the ball over (funny how those two things don't go together), and score like the old Phoenix Suns used to (which won't happen). EDIT: And maybe ask Josh Harrellson to take out LeBron on a drive to the rim.

I've read enough of your posts to know that most of your arguments are fails. Chandler didn't do the exact same thing as Lebron, but Lebron is a punk. He did it on someone half his size. Also did you notice how Lucas got right back up? Lebron cried on the ground. Obvious biases show through for an idiot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh61gBDSvNE

Awesome win. Kreider has been the best player on the ice for us the past three games. Incredible future.

This series is made for NBATv...

WallaceNBA_ESPN: Let's be real for a second here. LeBron does that same thing to Lucas and no whistle. It's done to him and it's initially Flagrant2? Crazy.

I love you BFT. You keep it real. If you guys are going to blame this all the refs then go ahead, but we are just outplaying them. I knew that some of you guys saying you don't hate the Heat as much as you did last year were full of crap, all it took was one game and it returns. Tell me what the Knicks have done in this game to deserve to even be within 10 points? The refs gave us like 8 points, ill take it, but the rest of it was just outplaying them.

Then don't watch.

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-9dpkh5.gif LOL

I guess you had the more exciting draft. I mean, we did pick 32nd. http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2011/0907/ny_a_reese-manning01jr_600.jpg