The 2011 NBA lockout has quickly become an ugly battle between the owners and players.  New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul is one of the stars of the league and is widely considered one of the best ambassadors for the game. So when he says a quote like this, it really gets your attention:

Obviously, everyone knows that we are very far apart right now. I’m hoping like everyone else that something turns and happens. But if not, we’re prepared.  The players are not stupid, they know the whole negotiating process is no joke and it must be taken very seriously. After getting a resounding “W” in the 1999 labor dispute, the players are obviously reluctant to give up all of the benefits they have been reaping for the last 12 years.

So when the owners constantly talk about the hundreds of millions of dollars they are losing (the approximate number has still yet to be found), they are doing so to get leverage. They are trying to sway the fans opinions in the dispute. It’s their way of controlling the media’s message and that’s their biggest bargaining tool…how can a league be successful when over half the league is in the red?  Yet the players aren’t going to sit back and let the owners sway the fans.

Their latest bargaining idea is telling the media they will begin to explore options for playing overseas. Deron Williams made headlines last week when he announced a deal with a team in Turkey to play with if the lockout were to bleed into the regular season.  Now the floodgates have opened and stars like Kobe Bryant, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant and Ron Artest have all openly suggested they will strongly consider perusing a team overseas. Nate Robinson even has talked about trying out for an NFL team.

But will they actually consider the move?

Probasketballtalk.com writer Kurt Helin talks about the bluff the players are currently pulling off:

The players union has threatened to take action to make sure players can go overseas now. Of course they are, they want the leverage. Which is why you see this coordinated “I’ll consider playing overseas” line from so many stars. We’re still skeptical many will follow, but the players would love to tell the owners they have other legitimate options (even if those options pay a lot less).

Money is always the root of any decision an athlete makes and European teams simply can’t compete in this department. The contract of Williams would be worth $200,000 a month in addition to a personal driver and other various perks.  If the lockout ends in time, Williams will make $16.6 million with the New Jersey Nets. That’s the equivalent of playing for his Turkish team 12 months a year for the next seven.  The gap in salary is far too great for the big name players to risk their bodies and the odds of a star going to Europe are slim to none.

Sure the love of the game will be weighing heavily on the players, but protecting the greatest asset—their body—is the most important thing here and ultimately their agents will remind them of that.  It’s a great idea in theory to stay in shape and get a taste of overseas ball…but money talks and it’s loud and clear on this issue. This is the player’s best way of scaring the owners into thinking they don’t need the NBA. Yet in reality, if they want their Hummers and mansions—they need the league badly.

So when you read the latest story of a star player going overseas, remember they are bluffing. The players aren’t holding a full house…they have a two and a four.

You can throw those games out of the window though because the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls both took the season series from the Miami Heat, but fell to them in the playoffs.  Despite what Miami did to the Bulls and Celtics the Mavericks are going to present something the Heat have not seen during the playoffs, a team that has four or five players who can put up big games.  The entire Mavericks team is shooting the ball at a high percentage right now, and that will be a big change from the Bulls lack of difference makers on offense.

The Mavericks are looking to avenge their 2006 Finals loss to Miami after they went up 2 – 0 and then watched the Heat win four games in a row to take the title.  The only players left from that 2006 team are Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki, and the 2010 version of the Mavericks is a different animal to deal with than the 2006 version.

Keys for Dallas to win

Dallas will win if they can stop the dribble penetration of the Miami Heat, and force Wade, Bosh, and James to be primarily jump shooters.  This will give Dallas more opportunities to take advantage of their size in the paint and create second chance opportunities.  The Mavericks have an overall size advantage against the Heat, and they will need to win the rebound battle in order to win this series.  Some or all of Miami’s big three will get hot at different times during the series, and the only way to weather that storm is for Dallas to not foul and rebound when they miss shots.

Putting Wade, Bosh, and James on the free throw line repeatedly is what killed the Bulls, Dallas needs to play disciplined defense, rebound the ball effectively, and utilize the match up advantages they have with Dirk in certain situations.  The final key is for the Mavericks bench to outplay the Heat’s reserves significantly because they have an advantage there with JJ Barea and Jason Terry coming off the bench.

*One key note the Mavericks had Caron Butler for those games, and he will not be playing in this series.

Keys for Miami to win

The formula for Miami is relatively simple to win this series, they will not have a size advantage against Dallas and will need to take quality shots.  That means Wade, Bosh, and James getting in the lane drawing fouls on Tyson Chandler, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shawn Marion which will get them off the floor and allow the Heat to score easy points.  No one can match up with Lebron James, so the Heat always have an advantage there,  and the Mavericks will probably put Deshawn Stevenson on him.  Jason Kidd is a few steps behind Dwayne Wade, so whomever has Kidd on them will have an advantage.  The Mavericks are big in the paint and Bosh may struggle a bit this series because the Mavericks do defend the post well, it will be dribble penetration by James and Wade that will break this Mavericks defense down.  The Oklahoma City Thunder had a lot of success getting in the lane with Russell Westbrook finishing a the rim, the Heat have two of the best in the game at that.

The Heat play solid defense, but it’s going to be tough for them to slow the Mavericks down with the amount of offensive talent and shooters they roll out there.  The Heat will need quality minutes from their bench to help supplement the scoring from the big three, if the bench can contribute enough points and rebounds then the Heat can win this series.

Sports Session Prediction – Dallas Mavericks win in 7 Games

Whether warranted or not, there is one glaring disparity between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in their conference finals matchup. It isn’t a tangible discrepancy, such as free throw attempts or second chance possessions. It is an intangible that has been looming over the Miami Heat all season, and now looms larger than ever after the Heat’s Game 1 loss to the Bulls. So, what is it?  Pressure.

The Heat’s season has been riddled with scrutiny intense enough to make Barack Obama blush. And as the playoffs have progressed, the intensity of that scrutiny has reached new heights. After its poetically dramatic Game 5 win over the Boston Celtics, many assumed the worst was over with for the guys from South Beach, and that there was now a clear path to the franchise’s second championship.

But as the Heat’s Game 1 meltdown in Chicago indicated, that assumption was dead wrong.  The season-long attention with which the media has showered the Heat has created the perfect remedy for the higher seeded Bulls to “upset” the most hated team in America.  While being incessantly analyzed by the national media, the Heat’s 58-win season, good for third-best in the NBA, was deemed underwhelming by the majority of the basketball universe.

On the contrary, the Bulls began the season with no major expectations outside of the city of Chicago. Their biggest off-season story was that LeBron James didn’t sign with them. The Bulls flew under the radar and finished the season boasting a league-best 62 win season. Considered by most to be overachieving, the Bulls haven’t been getting the credit they’ve rightfully deserved.

So here we are, the Bulls up one game to none and the pressure mounting on the Heat. In Game 1, the overlooked Bulls relished their first true opportunity to prove themselves, while the Heat looked vastly over matched while attempting to prove itself for the 93rd time this season.

Chicago played like a team with nothing to lose, shooting confidently from deep (47 percent) and relentlessly crashing the offensive boards, snagging 13 more than its Miami counterparts.

To be honest, no one will blink an eye if the Bulls lose this series. They are playing a team with two roster spots reserved for two of the best basketball players on the planet, players who came together for the sole purpose of winning championships, and to start doing so immediately.

The Bulls, meanwhile, are lead by the 22-year-old MVP Derrick Rose, whose breakthrough season also warranted Most Improved Player consideration. He, unlike LeBron, has no playoff reputation to correct. He, as well as the rest of his team, has nothing to lose. But unfortunately for the Heat, it believes it has something to prove.

At this point, Chicago’s season has already been credited as a success by everyone not named Derrick Rose or Tom Thibodeau.

On the other hand, the Miami Heat’s season will be considered a failure unless it brings the Larry O’Brien trophy back to South Beach.

The Heat has bounced back from adverse situations all season long, and is undoubtedly prepared to do so again against the top-seeded Bulls.

Doing so, however, will unquestionably be the highest hurdle of the Miami Heat’s season thus far, as it will have to overcome a team with nothing to lose and out to prove that it is as good as its 62-20 record indicates. And after the shellacking the Bulls gave the Heat in Game 1, those 62 wins are beginning to seem like an accurate reflection after all.

The Miami Heat had the opportunity to be the first team to enter the second round of the NBA playoffs, but the Philadelphia 76ers had other ideas.  The Sixers were down by six with a few minutes left, and it looked like they were not going to be able to overcome the Miami Heat.  Well a 10 – 0 run to finish the game capped by a Lou Williams three pointer put the game away for good, sent the series back to Miami with the Heat up 3 – 1 looking to close it out at home.  Lebron James took the last shot for the Heat, and once again came up short.  Miami will ultimately win this series, but you have to wonder will they be able to fix their late game woes.

NBA

The Boston Celtics were up next, and had the opportunity to move on to the second round if they could take care of the wounded New York Knicks.  Chauncey Billups did not play, but Amare Stoudemire did recover from back spasms enough to take the court.  None of that mattered ad the Celtics dominated the game, and at one point opened up a 20+ point lead.  The Knicks battled back behind Carmelo Anthony and a surprising performance by Anthony Carter off the bench to bring the game within four points.  The Celtics put them away down the stretch and are now waiting on the Miami Heat to finish off the Philadelphia 76ers.

NFL

The wife of Brandon Marshall stabbed him with a kitchen knife, sheriff’s deputies said Saturday, and his publicist said the Miami Dolphins receiver was released from a hospital and would fully recover.  It is unclear at this point what led to the stabbing, but with the history of Brandon Marshall and his wife the thinking is domestic violence.  The both were seen back in 2009 punching and kicking each other outside of their condo in Atlanta, and both were charged with disorderly conduct.  Marshall’s wife Michi Nogami-Marshall told authorities that the reason she stabbed Marshall was self-defense, and she is free on a $7,500 bond.  What really happened is only known Brandon and Michi know the truth, but anytime someone gets stabbed it is never a good situation.

MLB

The Atlanta Braves swept the defending world champion San Francisco Giants over the weekend for their first sweep in San Francisco since 1998.  In the final game of the series the Braves roughed up the Giants star closer Brian Wilson who is best known for his beard and emphatic pitching mound reactions during games.  Wilson’s ERA this season is 9.82, and the Giants team as a whole is struggling which is not uncommon for teams the year after they have won a championship.

NBA

The Orlando Magic are on the brink of elimination after losing another close game to that Atlanta Hawks.  With Jason Richardson out the Magic got a lift from Gilbert Arenas (20 points), but the Magic’s shooting touch left them for this game and was almost non-existent.  The Magic shot 8.7% from three point land which is an NBA playoff record for futility shooting the three with a minimum of 20 attempts.  Joe Johnson scored the last 10 points down the stretch for the Hawks as the Magic fouled to attempt to cut the deficit.  Jamal Crawford was huge again, and the Magic simply do not have an answer for him in this series.  The series shifts back to Orlando for Game 5 to see if the Magic can stave off being eliminated in the first round by a team they dominated in the playoffs last season.

The first day of the NFL combine started on Sunday, and of course Cam Newton was the center of attention. Newton said before the combine that he was going to participate in all the drills that the other quarterbacks are doing, and he started out with an impressive 4.58 40-yard dash.  That was probably the highlight of his day as he struggled throwing the football and had several wild or errant throws on the day, but it’s just the first day and you can’t really gauge how good a player is off of one day.  Ryan Mallett and Jake Locker are two players who most agree helped themselves big time during QB drills on Sunday as their throwing performances were two of the best on Sunday.  This might help Mallett dispel rumors that he uses recreational drugs off the field because he clearly came to the NFL combine prepared and ready to show what he can do.

It seems that the St. Louis Cardinals have in fact lost one of their ace pitchers Adam Wainwright for the season as he is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery to correct the injury to his elbow.  That means that Wainwright will be out for the entire season, and maybe parts of next season depending on how things go.  The injury occurred at the right time at the beginning of Spring Training so he will have maximum time to heal and try to comeback next season.  It’s a crippling blow to the ST. Lous Cardinals who may also lose their slugger Albert Pujols to free agency at the end of the season.  Wainwright has easily been one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball the last two seasons, and even with Wainwright they were unable to overcome the Reds last year for a playoff spot.  The Cardinals season may in fact be over before it even gets started, and may signal the end of the Pujols era!

No one seems to want to hold on to the #1 ranking in college basketball this season as Due lost to Virginia Tech 60 – 64 on Saturday. This is the second time Duke was knocked off of the number one spot this season, and it just adds to the list of teams like Kansas and Ohio State who also failed to keep that ranking earlier this year.  What is it about the #1 ranking in college basketball that makes teams lose these types of games?  It is really an indication that there are no dominant teams in College Basketball this year, and some would even say that it means the product itself is getting worse.  Ohio State looked unstoppable for most of the season, but now they have lost a few games down the stretch and it looks like teams have a blueprint they can use to beat them as well.

There seems to be no movement in the NFL Labor Negotiations, and a lookout seems imminent. The NFL Players Association briefed over 700 Agents over the weekend on the status of the labor talks, and several people in the meeting came out of it thinking that the sides are no closer on an agreement.  There was a lot of optimism when the mediator became involved, but apparently that has not helped the sides get any closer to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).  The NFLPA is set to decertify itself which will open the door for them to take this to the courts and attempt to settle it that way, as the owners seem determined to reduce the amount of money the players are currently getting.  The agents of the players are solidly on the side of the players because that’s how they make their money, but at the end of the day it is not going to matter the owners hold the keys to the 2011 NFL season.

The most head scratching deal was the Boston Celtics sending Kendrick Perkins & Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic.  Why would Boston trade away their front line depth which gives them a decided advantage over Miami and Chicago, but the biggest part is they gave away the guy who gives Dwight Howard the most trouble in the paint.  Rumors are swirling that Perkins knee is not healthy, and he is going to command big money at the end of the year, so the Celtics wanted to get something for him.  That sounds like the same reason Utah traded Deron Williams, they didn’t think he was going to re-sign with them so they shipped him off to New Jersey.

Let me start by saying that I don’t have a problem with players deciding the future of where they want to play, but the way it is being done and with the frequency it’s happening is bad for the league.  The NBA is already very top heavy in terms of the teams who have a realistic shot of winning a championship, and with all these stars piling up on the same teams it is only going to make that worse.  Look at what happened to Cleveland when Lebron James left they went from first to worst, and have to face the stark reality that free agents don’t want to play there.

The glory days of the NBA were when every team had a star or even two, and there were not many easy games.  Night in and night out you had tough competition no matter what arena you went into that night, but now there are tons of easy games and it has gotten so bad the NBA is scheduling big time matchups on Sundays and the crappy matchups through the week.  There is almost no point to having a regular season anymore because the post season has the same teams in it just about every single year.

The frantic last minute trades are also killing the game, look at how many teams significantly changed how they are put together.  The Nets, Jazz, Nuggets, Knicks, Blazers, Bobcats, Clippers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Wizards, and Rockets are all teams that made significant changes.  If you are a season ticket holder you were not given the opportunity to cancel your seats because the team changed, how much are those Nuggets season tickets worth now?

What this has done is alienate fans in less than desirable cities who will quickly start to pull support for the local team because they can’t keep their star players anymore.  These teams will inevitably get into some sort of financial trouble because they won’t be able to keep the fans coming to games and buying Jerseys, and while it’s true Denver got a lot for Carmelo no one is rushing out to buy a Nene or Felton jersey.

The players are unfortunately going to get beat up by the owners, so they might as well do what they can while they have the advantage.  But fans have to spend money and watch the product, and with players basically saying they don’t care about loyalty anymore fans may take their money elsewhere.  Some may say I love the NBA, but that is usually the die hard fan who is going to watch no matter what.  Those types of fans are in the minority and capturing the casual fans attention and keeping it is what all sports leagues strive for.

We will see what the new collective bargaining agreement will bring, but the NBA needs something like the NFL similar to the franchise tag.  That way teams can hold on to their stars, but pay a huge penalty for doing so.  It would prevent teams being forced to accept trades for players just so they get something in return, they can deal the player on more even terms that are better for both parties.  If Memphis and Toronto are playing is anyone going to watch that game?  No, and that is the problem with the NBA too many meaningless games by meaningless teams, and no one cares until the playoffs.

No, that man doesn’t reside in the city of Denver.

Not even close, he’s from Detroit as a matter of fact and his name is Joe Dumars.

Because of Dumars, there is no guarantee that Spike Lee and the rest of the New York faithful would be welcoming Anthony aboard.

It was June 26, 2003 when Dumars, the general manager of the Detroit Pistons, decided to draft a project in Darko Milicic with the second overall pick instead of Anthony, whom everyone had already anointed as the second best player in the draft (LeBron James went first overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers).

To Dumars defense, the Pistons were coming off a loss in the Eastern Conference Finals that year and won the title the following season.

Looking back though, the Pistons have since fallen on hard times, mostly because of bad personnel moves from Dumars. That all began with him passing on Anthony.

Had Dumars drafted Anthony, who knows how things would have played out? Detroit likely could still be a team at or near the top of the standings and Melo very likely isn’t headed to Madison Square Garden as a member of the Knicks.

It goes to show how one bad decision can have a snowball effect for years to come.

Knicks fans know all about that though, having to suffer through the Isiah Thomas years.

In the case of both Dumars and Thomas, one man’s foolish decision has turned into a pot of gold for another team.

The Knicks owe a big thank you to Dumars.

For once, the Knicks were on the right side of the rainbow.

The Orlando Magic’s star center Dwight Howard is annoyed by all of the talks about his future contract status and the possibility of leaving the Magic for greener pastures.  Howard is an avid Twitter user, and he has been responding to fans inquiries about the subject and made it clear he is focusing on a title run this year in Orlando.  Howard went further to say that he should not be compared with what Lebron James did and what is going on with Carmelo Anthony right now because they have nothing to do with Dwight Howard.

Howard’s current contract with the Magic runs through 2012 – 2013, and Magic GM Otis Smith said that he was going to offer Howard a contract extension over the summer.  Following Howard on Twitter there was an interesting exchange between him and a fan named Mike Philpot:

“Mike_Philpot Mike Philpot

@

@DwightHoward D12 … be different. Stay in Orlando. You can own this city. See Jordan and Tim Duncan for examples.”

Dwight Howard actually responded to the Tweet, which is very big of him.

“On Monday 7th February 2011, @DwightHoward said:
(In reply to Mike_Philpot)

@Mike_Philpot I never said I wanted to leave stop reading the rumors. It’s really stupid. And annoying to be honest. They tryna make something outta nothing I have another yr under my contract before I can sign”

The truth is Howard can do whatever he wants, and people are going to have an opinion.  Should Howard stay in Orlando?  The answer to that is yes, and it’s because that organization is his he will be the face of the Magic for the next 20 or 30 years, and although his career is young he is headed for a Hall of Fame type career.  He can go to the Lakers, or some other team and create his own Big 3, but a championship is not going to be guaranteed because there are a lot of factors that go into it.

The Magic are viable and one of the top 10 teams in the league because they have Dwight Howard, and all they need are a few more pieces before they can be an elite team again.  The Magic are close, and if Howard leaves there isn’t really a situation he can go to that is going to guarantee anything unless somehow he takes less money to sign with the Heat or Celtics.  The Lakers are an option, but Kobe is getting old, and unless they get Carmelo Anthony the window for that team will have closed.

That is the problem with the NBA right now teams no longer have identities as they are constantly trading and moving pieces around to dump contracts or what not.  If Howard leaves it will change the face of the Magic because they won’t get equal value in return, and it will change the face of the team that he signs with.  Look at the Cleveland Cavaliers they were the #1 seed in the East last season, and now they are the worst team in the NBA with a 25 game losing streak.  If Howard left Orlando it would have a similar effect, and although Howard is saying all the right things the one thing he never said is I will definitely sign my next contract with the Magic.

Without him saying that he will continue to be annoyed because he has not answered the questions.  Merely dodging it and saying I am focused on winning a Championship is not going to make fans feel any easier about the situation.  Fans have a lot invested over $4000 a year for season tickets; they want to know if the star is going to stay at some point.  Dwight has a right to do what he wants when his contract ends, but he will just have to deal with the questions for now.  All Howard has to do is say that he is going to test free agency and that will put the issue to rest for now, if he wants to come back to the Magic then he can say that as well.  But saying things privately will only get out to the public which the probably the real reason he is annoyed.