As far as New York-Miami, the Knicks are a nice, young team led by newcomer Jeremy Lin but remain inconsistent. New York gets up for national TV showdowns versus the defending champion Mavericks and Lakers, 2009 and 2010 champs, while losing at home to terrible teams such as Charlotte (pre-Linsanity), New Orleans, and New Jersey. New York started 8-15, won 7 straight to get to .500, and then alternated losses and wins for last four games. .
Miami is a basketball team this year and not a bunch of rock stars playing basketball like last year. The Heat are on a seven-game winning streak. They are tied with Oklahoma City for the best record in the NBA at 26-7. They are the top scoring team in the league while New York is in the middle of the pack. Lebron James and Dwyane Wade are playing well together. I don’t believe the Knicks will cool off the Heat, Miami should win going away in the fourth quarter.
It’s remarkable that the Los Angeles Lakers are a decent team out west. If you look at their roster, Kobe Bryant is the only all-star player they have. Lamar Odom was traded to Dallas right before the season started. In fact, forward Pao Gasol is rumored to be traded. Kobe went off after a loss in Phoenix on Sunday complaining the team’s management was messing with the players’ chemistry and his teammates need to play harder. Maybe he was angry that the Clippers have a better record and lead the Pacific Division. Yes, the Clippers have two fewer losses than the Lakers right now, 20 wins and 11 losses to 20 wins and 13 losses. The Lakers seemed to fix their problems after a Monday team meeting. That night, they blew out Portland and last night they knocked off the Mavericks in Dallas. Before Wednesday, the Lakers last played a game in Dallas back in May 2011 when they were swept in the second round of the playoffs.
The Oklahoma City Thunder contain a lot of thunder and lightning in their offense. On Sunday, Kevin Durant reached the 50-point mark for the first time in his career scoring 51 in a overtime win over Denver. That wasn’t all. Russell Westbrook put in 40 points while Serge Ibaka collected 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 blocks. These three players accounted for 105 of the Thunder’s 124 points against the Nuggets. Last night, Westbrook pumped in 31 while Durant added 28 in a victory over Boston.
The Thunder had 72 points in the first half against the Celtics, some teams don’t get 72 in an entire four-quarter game. However, Oklahoma City gives up as many points to their opponents as they pick up themselves. Last night versus and Boston and Monday against New Orleans, they almost blew leads of 25+ points. Boston trailed 83-56 (27 point deficit) with 7:07 left in the third quarter. The Celtics chipped away and with 3:31 remaining in the game, they cut the lead to six points at 108-102. Monday night, the Thunder led the Hornets by 26 points at 68-42 with eight and a half minutes to go in the third quarter. From that point until a minute remained in regulation, they were outscored 49 to 29. Oklahoma City did hang on to win 101 to 93.
The Thunder’s attempt as a team to play defense is like TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley’s effort to play good golf. Both of them try but miserably fail. Oklahoma City should win tonight since they are the home team in their matchup with the Lakers. Nevertheless, I would pick L.A to win a best-of seven series in the postseason. I will go with Kobe, Andrew Bynum, and the Lakers with or without Pao Gasol versus Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and the Thunder. At least Los Angeles can some play defense.
In short, I predict the Heat over Linsanity and the Thunder over the Lakers tonight because they’re playing at home. However, there is a long way to go. The All-Star break is this weekend. This is the end of the first half of the NBA season, they still have to play the second half.
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