Spurs of the Moment

Well today is the day. LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics.. again. Call me crazy, but I am going to go out on a limb and make predictions one more time this season. I nailed the first round, and most of the Western Conference. However, my underestimation of the Boston Celtics pretty much ruined my bracket. I say no more! This time I am going to call it and get it right, so here goes.

Backcourt:
Kobe Bryant is among the best players in the NBA ever, and Ray Allen is among the best shooters in the NBA ever. They seem to share a mutual dislike for eachother dating back to Ray Allen’s days in Seattle, if not further. Kobe will be forced to run around and defend him all series or try to shut down Rajon Rondo instead. Rondo is making a case for himself being considered the best point guard in the league. The only problem is that he is banged up and the Celtics need him to run the show or they will be in trouble. They got a lift from Nate Robinson in Game 6 against Orlando, but that can’t be expected to work all series against LA. Derek Fisher is the weakest link here for either team, but that isn’t saying much as he is not a very mistake prone player and has a knack for hitting a timely shot or two in crunch time.

Frontcourt:
Lamar Odom and Ron Artest will be bothersome to say the least. Paul Pierce had his way with the Lakers pre-Ariza/Artest era, but it’s a different situation now. If Pierce can get going at all in this series it will help to keep Artest less active on offense, but the jury is out on how effective either can be against each other. KG has obviously lost a step since the Celtics won in 2008, but he has learned to adjust quite well. I’m sure it helps when you have a decent supporting cast around you. The question is how they will contain Pau Gasol. Presumably, Kendrick Perkins will do the honors of guarding Gasol most of the time, and that would be fine but there is one worrisome factor here. Perkins is one tech short of a one game suspension. Can he keep under control enough to not get T’d up or ejected? Then there’s Bynum who is still having problems with his knee. How effective can he be? I’m guessing not as effective as Rasheed Wallace - and that’s not saying much.

Bench:
Both teams have decent benches that can give them a boost when needed. Odom may start with Bynum having issues with the knee, but the Lakers also have Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Adam Morrison (just kidding). The Celtics can lean on Tony Allen sometimes (of course that could mean a timely five points or untimely five turnovers), and Nate Robinson in the backcourt, with Rasheed and Glen Davis in the frontcourt.

Coach:
Then there’s the Phil Jackson factor. Phil is a far better coach than Rivers, but Doc has surprised me lately. He is doing all the right things and navigated the Eastern Conference with relative ease.

In the end, I think the Celtics have the edge. They beat Orlando and Cleveland without home court so I don’t see why they couldn’t beat LA in a series format that arguably favors the road team. My prediction: Celtics in 6

Well, here we go again. It’s time for another showdown with another rival – this time the Phoenix Suns. The Suns (54-28) have home-court in the series, but that means nothing to the Spurs who dismantled Dallas’s team in six games. The Suns shouldn’t be any more difficult to beat than those pesky Mavericks. Let’s look at who we’re facing.

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Well Game 5 is tonight and the Spurs can dust off the Mavericks once and for all this season with a win in Dallas. Eduardo Najera will be available as the league opted not to suspend him for his flagrant 2 foul on Ginobili. I honestly don’t think it warranted a suspension. He was ejected and that’s that. He has never really been a dirty player – physical yeah, but not dirty. I expect nothing less than more fireworks from both teams complete with some posturing from the soft Mavericks while they are in their own building. I doubt it will save them, but I did say Spurs in six games so we’ll see.

Some folks seem to think that the Mavs should go small against the Spurs. That’s an interesting idea at least, I mean it’s not like their bigs are doing anything to win them ballgames right now. That’s probably why DFW writers are throwing in the towel left and right. I don’t blame them.

Let me not get too ahead of myself though, there is still at least one game to be played and the Spurs have been known to play some bad basketball this season. I still believe they’ll win the series, but it ain’t over til it’s over.

Go Spurs!

Game 2 is tonight and what better way to get things jumping than to check out some of the recent internet buzz about the series?

Dirk doesn’t think Pop can do anything new vs. him

“He threw basically everything at me the last, whatever, 10 years we’ve been competing against each other,” Dirk said. “Guarding me with smalls, switching on pick-and-rolls, fronting me as soon as I walk across halfcourt, double-teaming me with three guys, playing me one-on-one. There’s not much I haven’t seen yet.”

In other words, Dirk is getting cocky. Then again, he should be. He is one of the most difficult players to match-up against, and part of his problem in the past is his lack of an “I don’t give a !@#% what you do, you are not stopping me” attitude. He has had moments where he tapped into that side of himself, but it’s not always the norm for him.

Dallas Morning News columnist: Dirk Nowitzki will be seeing double, as in double-teams, in Game 2

I’m not sure that all the jaded Mavericks fans who have come to expect outrageous shooting performances from Nowitzki realize just how good he was in Game 1. But I bet that Popovich does.

So yeah, let the double-teaming begin. I don’t think that it’s going to help a whole lot because the Mavs have too many weapons. The main thing for the Spurs is that if they commit to the double-teaming then they will need to be sharp with their help defense and closing out on three-point shooters. It’s gonna be tough, but it’s been done before.

Jefferson Has Yet to Pay Off for Spurs

“I think we’ve got to have a few more people step up and play worth a damn,” Popovich lamented. “I thought we had a lot of guys that played like dogs.”

Ouch. Well, it’s not like he said anything that everyone with an ounce of basketball knowledge didn’t already know. Several players came up way short and it’s next to impossible to have that happen twice in a series and still win it.

Spurs’ role players must improve

Popovich didn’t specify which players he thought had gone Lassie, but Sunday’s box score supplied a few clues.

Richard Jefferson was 1 of 4 for four points. George Hill, logging just 17 minutes on a sore ankle, went scoreless for this first time this season. Matt Bonner had five points in 19 minutes, part of a Spurs bench that — outside of Parker — scored nine.

More people chiming in on the lack of production from several Spurs in Game 1. The first three players mentioned there are pretty much the “dogs” that Popovich was talking about… at least some of them.

Mavericks’ Cuban: ‘I hate the Spurs’

“No, I mean I hate the Spurs. I have a hard time being civil to [Spurs owner] Peter Holt at the board of governors meetings and he has a hard time being civil to me even though we both like each other. It’s what it represents,” Cuban said one day prior to Game 2 of the heated first-round NBA playoff series between the Texas rivals. “We can both be 0-80 and if those last two games are Spurs-Mavs, it’s going to be like a playoff game because we dislike each other that much.”

The NBA’s favorite drama-queen is back to running his mouth again. I can’t say I blame him though – he just wants to drum up more interest in the series and sell more Mavericks jerseys and license plates. Besides, we all know he is just bitter because the Spurs have four championships to the Mavericks’ zero.

Cuban’s edge — not about words

When Cuban isn’t as sure of his place in a series, the hate is more real than calculating. His Tim Duncan-baiting, river-slamming spiel during the 2006 playoffs was about promotions. But he also cursed at Bruce Bowen at the end of a game and generally acted like a drunken frat boy all the way to the Finals in Miami.

Buck Harvey tells it like it is here. Cube is gonna blabber to anyone who will listen for the duration of this series. He’s passionate – I’ll give him that. I still want to see him slip and fall down the steps of the American Airlines Center and land on that ginormous noggin of his.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the Spurs stealing game 2 from the Mavs tonight and watching Mark Cuban lose his $@!# on TV while blaming the refs for his team jacking up errant three-pointers. Good times.

The rivalry continues tonight and I’ve already let it be known that I expect the Spurs to win in six games. I have to agree with Kenny Smith in this video when he says it wouldn’t really be an “upset” so to speak, since we are talking about a couple of 50 win teams that might not even be facing eachother if the regular season went a week longer.

Kenny and I aren’t the only ones who believe the Spurs could win this series. ESPN has 3 of 10 analysts picking the Spurs (Abbot, Hollinger and Thorpe). I’m not enthused about only getting 30% support from their “experts” but Dallas has been a popular pick since the All-Star Break trade.

In J.A. Adande’s playoff preview, he lists the Spurs as the “Scariest Team”:

Put it this way: They even had the Suns wondering if they might be better off losing their final game of the regular season to avoid any possibility of facing the Spurs in a potential 3-6 matchup. After all, these are the Spurs that sent the Suns home in the 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008 playoffs.

Record since Dec. 15: 38-20.

Number of playoff games: Tim Duncan, 160; Tony Parker, 122; Manu Ginobili, 107; and Richard Jefferson, 78.

And now, with Ginobili’s extension locked up, the Spurs enter the playoffs distraction-free. Not that they’ve traditionally been an easily distracted group. The last time they had issues looming, with David Robinson’s pending retirement and the possibility of Jason Kidd replacing Tony Parker at point guard, the Spurs won a championship.

Interesting. The Spurs did what they always seem to do, start off slow then click late in the season. They clicked waaay late this season and are still overcoming an injury to George Hill, but beyond that are ready to go. George Hill is a better defender than Parker and will be needed big time to help slow down the Dallas point guards.

The Mavs have some ferocious rebounders in Haywood and Marion, but Tim Duncan, DeJuan Blair and Antonio McDyess should be able to battle them to a draw if not out-rebound them. The problem is that the Mavs have the best rebouding point guard in Jason Kidd. A problem for the Mavs is that DeJuan Blair is the most ferocious rebounder on either team, and Richard Jefferson has been improving on the glass as well. It will be interesting to see how the battle of the boards plays out.

Manu Ginobili will be the guy the Mavs have to focus on the most. He can and will wreak havoc on the Dallas defense by slashing to the rim, popping threes, dishing to teammates, creating fast-breaks, etc. However, the Spurs will have their hands full with Dirk trying to do much of the same. He isn’t as good a play-maker as Ginobili is, but he doesn’t need to be with Kidd running the show.

One of the biggest keys to this series for the Spurs is going to be turnovers. The Spurs simply have to take care of the ball and play near mistake-free basketball for 48 minutes. Turnovers have been an issue all year and especially with Tony Parker. We need him to make better decisions and play like his All-Star version in this series.

The Spurs have been getting better and better all season and I still don’t think they are playing their best basketball. What better time to crank it up a notch than right now?

I couldn’t help but goad Chris Stuckey from MavsBall.com into a little smack talk over the first round matchup between the Spurs and Mavs. Here’s our email exchange:

Brian (Spurs of the Moment) vs Chris (MavsBall)

Brian: Chris, I noticed you mentioned that Popovich was being arrogant since he benched Duncan and Ginobili for the season finale. I think it was more a testament to a) not wanting to risk injury to a key player after finally getting everyone healthy again, and b) not wanting to risk facing the Jazz. What do you think?
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Chris: If you say that resting Ginobili and Duncan was in part due to the fact that the Spurs did not want to risk playing the Jazz, you are disrespecting Mavs. I understand not wanting to risk injury, but the Jazz excuse is weak.
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Yeah, Utah is crazy good at home and if the Spurs had to play the Jazz they would be playing that series without the luxury of home court advantage.  That would certainly be a tough task but why would playing the Mavs be an easier?  Who has the best road record of any team in the Western Conference?  That would be the Dallas Mavericks.�
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Let me get this straight.  The Spurs would rather play a team that is great at home and the best on the road than a team that is one game over .500 on the road?  Child, please.
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Brian: Given that the Jazz beat the Spurs all four times this season I am personally more worried about them than those choke artist Mavs, then again, maybe I am crazy (probably) and Popovich could care less. That’s entirely plausible and probably the case. The concern over injury is legit though. After all, Manu missing the playoffs last year sure didn’t hurt the Mavs effort to advance.
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Chris: Sounds to me like Pops is trying to channel his inner-Phil Jackson.  Head games galore.  The media is making this more of a story than it really is and I guarantee you Pops is loving it.  But I do think that Pops wanted the Mavs and that’s exactly what he got.  Be ready.
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Brian: What do you think are keys to this series for the Mavericks?
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Chris: The Mavs can’t let Ginobili beat them.  Manu is by far the best player on that eyesore of a Spurs roster and when healthy he is borderline dominant.  But that’s where Shawn Marion enters the picture.  The Matrix is the best defender in the league…yeah I said it.  Beware.
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Some other keys are bench scoring and the battle of the second scoring options.
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Brian: Which league are we talking about again? I’m just wondering if that’s the same Shawn Marion that let Richard Jefferson drop 29 on the Mavs earlier this year, then have a 13-point and 11-rebound game, and a 15 point game after that? I’ll be the first to admit that RJ took a long time to adjust to the Spurs system, but the Mavs are going to have to account for him cuz he seems to have an easier time against them.
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Bench scoring I think will be a wash. The Mavs have some nice backups in Terry and Beaubois, the Spurs have Blair and Hill. Even Matt Bonner and Roger Mason can be problematic when they come in and start hitting threes right away. The problem for the Mavs is that Blair is a madman on the glass and can grab a ton of offensive boards. Dirk or Marion are likely to get an arm ripped off they try to battle him for a rebound. I gotta admit that Haywood is going to be a nuisance, but I think McDyess and Blair can hold down the fort – not to mention Duncan.
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Chris:  It’s hard to take Matt Bonner seriously when my banker looks more athletic. The dude can shoot but he’s streaky at best. Just another reason to not like the Spurs.
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Is Blair going to get many minutes? He’s a rookie with no playoff experience or ACLs.

Brian: Ahh, the ACLs again. They didn’t stop him from having a 27-point, 23 rebound game in the season finale in Dallas. I don’t expect that in the playoffs, but he is clearly a force on the glass and can give the Mavs problems in the paint.
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What matchup do you think the Spurs should be most worried about?
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Chris: The big German. Honestly, who on the Spurs can guard Dirk Nowitzki?  Still thinking?  Perusing the roster?  Yeah, I can answer that.  No one.  Prepare the double-team.  But just want to let you know, Dirk will throw 10 assists on the Spurs if they double him.
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Brian:  You may have forgotten about this guy named Tim Duncan, but he is a pretty decent Power Forward and has been known to play some good defense. Now if Dirk actually remembers how to take the ball to the hole he might do well, but I don’t see him sticking a ton of those jump shots over Duncan. Never know though, they usually have a pretty good battle, especially when the teams are both at full strength which neither team has really been in any meeting this year. I don’t think Dirk can count on another silly foul from Ginobili to help them squeak into the next round though.

What matchup are you most worried about?
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Chris:  You must be talking about the Mavs currently unknown second round opponent…right?  Nah.  I’m just kidding.  The Mavs should be worried about Ginobili. They can’t sleep on him or his bald spot.
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Brian: I would agree with that. And yes, the bald spot has a dizzying, hypnotic sort of power. We have already seen it work against Dampier, or is he always that useless?
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Chris:  Ask Timmy D if Dampier is useless then get back to me.

It’s your turn.  What matchup are you most worried about?

Brian: You mean besides a classic Duncan vs Dampier battle? Hmm, I would have to agree with you and say Dirk. Like I said, if he settles for jumpers all series then the Mavs are beatable. When he goes to the rack, the rest of the team follows his lead and that’s when they get to be the most dangerous since as soon as teams start clogging the paint it starts raining threes. Duncan’s lateral movement isn’t what it once was, so if Dirk insists on taking him or McDyess off the dribble more often than not then we’re in for some long nights. Heaven forbid Popovich puts Bonner on him.
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Chris:  Let’s get this on the record.  What is your official series prediction?  I have the Mavs taking down the Spurs in six games.  The Mavs are simply a better basketball team.  Don’t be a homer, Brian.

Brian: I say Spurs in six. It will be Miami and Golden State all over again. High expectations and no delivery, but either way it should be another great Texas Shootout.

Thanks, Chris! I know we’re both looking forward to Sunday night’s tipoff and more smack talk next week!

Go Spurs!

The NBA Playoffs are ready to start and the bracket is below along with my thoughts on each round and my own predictions all the way to the NBA Finals. If I am wrong then so be it, but if I get it right I need proof that I “knew it all along” so here goes…

First Round
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder > LA Lakers
This has the potential to be one of the funnest matchups in a long time. Durant is the youngest scoring champ in NBA history and is going against one of the best players the league has ever seen. It has all the makings of one of those classic “pass the torch” matchups. The only problem is that it isn’t. The Thunder just aren’t there yet and will be lucky to win a game against a well coached Lakers team who will make quick work of the young OKC squad. Scott Brooks is on his way as a fine coach, but this is where the real lessons are learned and the happy-to-be-in-the-playoffs-Thunder are going to get a quick, not-so-subtle lesson in humility. Still, I think that Durant and company will make this an entertaining series and Kobe has no shortage of fans or haters (me included) to keep things extra interesting. Prediction: Lakers in 5

Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz > Utah Jazz
The Nuggets are falling apart and have lost their coach and their mojo over the past month. They are 6-7 in their past 13 games and got pummeled in a blow-out loss against Phoenix in their season finale. Coach Karl is expected to miss at least the first round of the playoffs which means he is basically going to miss the playoffs. However, the Jazz don’t exactly inspire much confidence either, especially after the way they lost in their season finale, also against the Phoenix Suns. I think that neither team is a serious contender but they will battle eachother to a near standstill before one ultimately prevails  over the other only to get ousted in the next round. Prediction: Jazz in 7

Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers > Phoenix Suns
The Suns are on a mission right now after thrashing both Denver and Utah in the past week en route to a 14-2 finish. The Blazers are likely going to be without their leading scorer and best overall player, Brandon Roy. The Blazers have shown that they can meet many challenges over the course of the season, but this is the end of the line for Portland. They can only hope that next year Greg Oden doesn’t get another case of janky-knees or pose for anymore risque pictures. Prediction: Suns in 5

Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs > San Antonio Spurs
Oh boy. Revenge or Repeat? I say revenge for the Spurs. The Mavs made a nice little blockbuster deal during All-Star Weekend, but Caron Butler is not having quite the impact he was expected to. He’s no slouch, and is miles better than the inconsistent, injury-plagued, blitzed out of his mind Josh Howard, but he is not taking this team to the next level – at least not yet. Haywood has probably had a bigger impact for the Mavs. Still, after the Mavericks went on their 13 game win streak shortly after the trade, they came back down to earth and started looking mortal again. Can they win it all? Certainly, but they are known more for blowing up for no apparent reason than winning championships. Enter the Spurs. San Antonio has been slowly but surely integrating several new players into the Spurs system and while the results were not so great early on, they are now showing signs of being a legit contender. They can absolutely upset the Mavericks and anyone else in their path. Last year the Spurs didn’t have Manu Ginobili for the playoffs, and this year he returned to form in a big way and got a $39 million contract extension to boot. George Hill’s defense will factor in as well. He won’t stop Kidd from getting his fair share of assists, but he can keep the point guards for the Mavs from running amok. I’ll do a more in-depth preview of this matchup, but for now let’s just say that this matchup has “upset” written all over it. Prediction: Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls > Cleveland Cavaliers
The Bulls barely managed to make the playoffs, and while their epic series against the Celtics showed a lot of promise, the only promise they have this year is a swift execution. Cleveland is the favorite in the East if not the league and will dispatch the Bulls quickly and with authority. Prediction: Cavs in 4

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat > Boston Celtics
The Celtics are nowhere near the dominant team they were a few years ago when they were NBA champs. The Big Three are older, slower, and a little bit rickety. Even Doc Rivers is hinting at bailing out before it gets worse next season. They just aren’t the same squad. Bill Simmons blames Rasheed Wallace to an extent which is probably about accurate, although I think it’s more an effect than a cause. The cause is that they simply aren’t as hungry, aren’t as desperate, and aren’t as good as they once were. Having said that, the Miami Heat have very little chance of advancing. As hopeless as I think the Celtics are when it comes to winning it all this year, the Heat are not any better. Can they upset the Celtics? Certainly. Will they? I think not. Prediction: Celtics in 7

Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks > Atlanta Hawks
I don’t really like Milwaukee, but I like Brandon Jennings. He won’t be able to win this for the Bucks though. Atlanta has a veteran point guard in Bibby who will run all over the Bucks who really don’t have anyone on the team that’s playoff tested unless you count Jerry Stackhouse or Kurt Thomas  – and I don’t. John Salmons has a little bit of experience with Chicago, but that won’t be enough to overcome the Hawks. Atlanta wants everyone to know they are for real, and they are not going to let the Bucks stand in their way. Prediction: Hawks in 6

Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Bobcats > Orlando Magic
The Charlotte Bobcats are making their first playoff appearance with Larry Brown leading the charge. They have the coaching and the personnel to flat out embarrass the Orlando Magic if they don’t come with it. I still don’t see it happening though. The Bobcats are good, but Orlando has too many weapons at every position and even an injury to one of the Magic’s key players probably wouldn’t be enough to derail them this early on. They need to focus on this opponent and this round though, or they will be taking an early vacation. Prediction: Magic in 6

Second Round
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs Utah Jazz > LA Lakers
The Lakers will be well rested and the Jazz will be out of their element in this round. Aside from Deron Williams at point guard, the Jazz have no favorable matchups in this round and he won’t have an easy day with everyone from Fisher, to Kobe, to Artest pushing him around. Prediction: Lakers in 6

Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs > San Antonio Spurs
I don’t know why, but for some reason the Spurs always own the Suns. Maybe God hates the Suns or maybe just likes the Spurs – I don’t know. Maybe the fix is in. Either way, the Spurs almost always beat the Suns and this will be no different. Prediction: Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics > Cleveland Cavaliers
This is where the wheels fall off for Boston. This will be the last time the Big Three play in a series together, the last time Boston is considered a true contender, and hopefully the last time we are forced to look at Rasheed Wallace’s man-boobs. One can only hope. Prediction: Cavs in 6

Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic > Orlando Magic
Orlando can smell the NBA Finals by this point and will be itching to get to Cleveland without being battered too much. That’s too bad though because the Hawks will give them everything they can handle. Atlanta has a good team, but not a great team, but they can take another step in the right direction in this series. Prediction: Magic in 7

Conference Finals
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs > LA Lakers
I want to be wrong. I want so desperately to be wrong, but I just don’t see it happening. The Spurs can beat the Lakers, but I fear that Artest and Kobe will harass RJ and Ginobili too much. I don’t think the Spurs can really account for Gasol and Bynum. The keys to this series for the Spurs will be the play of Tony Parker and George Hill at the point guard spot, and whether or not McDyess and Blair can neutralize Bynum at the center spot. The Spurs can beat the Lakers, but probably not four games out of seven. I just hope the Spurs batter the Lakers enough to weaken them for the Finals. Prediction: Lakers in 7

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic > Cleveland Cavaliers
This is where the Magic are going to miss Hedo Turkoglu’s play-making ability. The Cavs defense is going to smother the Magic and do to them what they should have last season – knock them out of the playoffs. Prediction: Cavs in 6

NBA Finals
LA Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers > Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe wants to repeat, but not as much as LeBron wants to win his first title. Kobe doesn’t have the same motivation that he had in previous seasons since Shaq left town, but LeBron has all the motivation in the world. Also, Shaq will surely enjoy snatching a championship away from Kobe. This is LeBron’s year and that’s all there is to it. The Cavs all know that if they don’t win it all, LeBron could walk. If they do win it all, there is no way LeBron walks away. Everyone in Cleveland knows this. You know it. I know it. The Lakers know it… and there is nothing they can do about it. Prediction: Cavs in 7

It’s Friday (finally!) and the Spurs have a game against the Warriors, plus the March Madness continues (Go Kentucky!). There’s a nice article at hoopsworld.com on the maturation of Spurs youngsters DeJuan Blair and George Hill. Both have had to start a significant number of games this year and are clearly going to be integral pieces of the Spurs’ future.

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The Spurs have won seven of their last eight games and are on a three game winning streak again after that debacle against Cleveland. OK, so they only played the Clippers, T-Wolves, and Knicks, but as the Knicks showed our North Texas Nemesis, if you don’t come to play, there are no easy wins in this league – not even against the cellar dwellers.

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It looks like Popovich has started taking his meds again and is back to making (some) rational decisions. Manu Ginobili is set to start in the backcourt with George Hill tonight. Manu is the only real playmaker the Spurs have now that Parker is on the mend, and as Jeff McDonald points out, “Gregg Popovich obviously believes, with Parker shelved, he needs a creator in the starting lineup.”

LeBron James is apparently a game-time decision after he twisted his ankle a few nights ago. I am not convinced he is going to play so the Spurs might catch a break here. Not that they can’t spoil a golden opportunity (see the Blazers games this year), but I like their chances a whole lot more without James and Shaq around. It’s not that I don’t want to watch LeBron, but I want to watch the Spurs in the playoffs too so anything that helps that is ok with me.

On another, more comical note, Bogans is hopeful that LeBron plays tonight. Apparently he is under the impression that he can guard him or knows how to guard him or some such nonsense. Maybe he is just into getting dunked on, abused, and spanked by LBJ in front of thousands of people…. freak.