Heat Win Second Straight Title; LeBron Finals MVP

I guess nobody was leaving the AmericanAirlines Arena early tonight.

The Heat won game 7 of the NBA Finals by a final of 95-88. It was a close game throughout and it wasn't until the final minutes did Miami manage to separate themselves from San Antonio. A huge jumper made by James with 27 seconds left and costly turnovers by the Spurs sealed the win for the Heat as they claim their second title in a row.

LeBron James, NBA Finals MVP, had 37 points in the title clinching game along with 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Dwayne Wade had 23 points in the game, Shane Battier came alive with 18 himself, and Mario Chalmers had 14. Chris Bosh actually didn't score a point in game 5 but did have 7 boards, 2 assists, and 1 block.

It seemed like it was just Tim Duncan trying to keep the Spurs alive late in the 4th quarter. Duncan would have 24 points in the game along with 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. Tony Parker only had 10 points going 3-12 from the floor. Manu Ginoboli did have 18 points but committed 4 turnovers with one of those coming within the final half-minute of the game.

Many people say that the Heat should be better than this, that they should be able to win this series before the 7th game. I don't think so. I'm not bashing the Heat, they're a great team. But San Antonio is a great team as well that has been here before and quite frankly the kind of opponent you want to beat in the Finals. A team that has won titles and have claimed a dynasty in their own way.

This win OVER THE SPURS legitimizes this Heat team as an historic team. Maybe not the best in NBA history, you can't make that argument now and if you tried, most ex-players wouldn't hear you out. But they have done well enough to become memorable.

P.S. Again, not the best yet, but LeBron has earned memorable mention in NBA history as well.

Lakers Get Swept Out of the Postseason in Round 1

It was no surprise that the Lakers got eliminated from the postseason in the first round, especially when Kobe Bryant went out with an injury. But getting swept out... that's just icing on the cake.

The Spurs beat the Lakers last night 103-82 and completed their 4 game sweep of the Lake Show. Tony Parker was one of five Spurs players to get into double digits in scoring netting 23 points. Dwight Howard of the Lakers only got 7 points as he was ejected early in the third quarter after receiving his 2nd technical for arguing with the officials.

Please, please, let that be how Dwight's career in LA ends.

Dwight and the Lakers season does end with a lot of questions left to answer, most notably, will Howard return to the team next year or go somewhere else. He will be a free agent this off season and can choose to go anywhere he wants to. If I was him, I'd go to Brooklyn or Dallas. You know, to a team that actually knows what they are doing. Hell, the Bobcats might a better choice right now.

Okay, that last one might be a bit of a reach, but almost any franchise would be better for Howard than the Lakers. Not having to clash with Kobe (who might not be up to par when returning from injury), or having to play with a coach that knows nothing about using big men or playing defense, or having to play for management that isn't big enough to hire the right coach for you. Staying in such a place would be madness, Dwight.

But alas, Dwight might stay in LA anyway out of guilt. He really needs to stop caring about what other people think. We hate that about him so much.

Russell Westbrook to Have Knee Surgery

The Oklahoma City Thunder's chances of getting an NBA title this year were already slim considering that they had traded James Harden away shortly before the season began. Now their chances have basically been reduced to none.

Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook will have surgery on his right knee to repair cartilage. Westbrook will be out indefinitely as a result of the injury. He had injured his knee in game 2 of the Thunder's series against the Rockets.

A huge blow to the Thunder's chances as their star point guard is likely out for the remainder of the postseason though his teammates hope he can return. This clearly shifts power in the western conference, likely in the favor of the San Antonio Spurs. Though perhaps to a lesser affect, it also affects the NBA Finals and makes it easier for the Miami Heat to repeat as champions knowing that one of their potential Finals opponents has been weakened so much that they might not even get there.

Unless there is another team in the west that can challenge the Spurs, the Finals picture seems to coming in San Antonio vs. Miami.

P.S. Now my little interest in the NBA postseason is gone till the Finals.

Warriors Beat Spurs in Nifty New Uniforms

You're probably wondering: why is he writing about a Golden State Warriors game? Did he actually watch it? Has hell frozen over and the Bobcats suddenly become good?

I'm writing about the game because I did watch some of it. The Blackhawks-Sharks game ended and I happened to flip over to the Warriors game. There were no other sporting events on and I was too lazy to get up and do something else. But I also wanted to check out the new uniform design the NBA is trying out with the Warriors. They look alright with the short sleeves.

However, I do emphasize some of the game. I watched for about two minutes before finally tapping out and going to computer to stream some Netflix. That two minutes of watching was at that point a new record for me. Not watching basketball, per say, but the Warriors.

I did happen to flip back to it on ESPN trying to tune into Sports Center when the game still happened to be on. Overtime was just starting and, again, laziness crept in for either changing the channel or getting up so I watched the Warriors beat the Spurs 107-101 in OT. Amazingly, this was Golden State's first win over San Antonio in the last 16 meetings against them. Last time they beat the Spurs was in early 2008.

Whether it was laziness or just morbid curiosity to see how good the Warriors are, I saw Golden State down the stretch and they seemed pretty good. Not good enough to make me watch a whole basketball game but still good. Then again, probably no team out there can make me watch a whole basketball game... at least on TV. In person is a much better but I still wouldn't go out of my way to buy tickets.

This all being said, the Warriors are still not going to win the NBA title this year so it was all for naught.