NBA Finals Game 2

The Big 3 of Miami put the Spurs and the NBA world on notice in Game 2. Do not wake a sleeping giant. LeBron James and the Heat were dormant throughout the first half or so of the game only to erupt midway through the third quarter. The Heat exploded and went on a 30 to 5 run to knock off San Antonio 103 - 84. The highlight of the game had to be the monster block that LeBron James had on the 7 footer, Tiago Splitter. Splitter sprung to the rim only to be met at the summit of his dunk attempt by a frying pan sized hand extending from James' forearm. LeBron palmed the ball and threw it back the other direction. Moments later LeBron threw down a rim shaking jam that almost caused the roof to blow off of the American Airlines Arena. Momentum had firmly swung in the Heat's favor and they finished off the Spurs with a flourish.


(Photo courtesy of: sports.yahoo.com)

Curiously enough with around 9 minutes to play in the fourth and down roughly 15, Popovich essentially elected to throw in the towel as he replaced his own big three and two other starters with bench players. I don't know what Pop was thinking unless he really did just feel it best to give up on game two and give his older big 3 some rest before heading back to San Antonio. Whatever his goal was, he certainly didn't do much to try to stop the Heat from stealing momentum in this series. I'm not sure if Popovich had the best idea in mind essentially conceding game two to the Heat with lots of game left to be played. If anyone recalls the Finals last year, the Thunder stole game one and momentum, only to lose the next four games in a row and drop the NBA Finals to LeBron and the Heat. Granted the Spurs ARE capable of beating the Heat but they are not at all capable of dominating them. At the other end of the spectrum the Heat are easily capable of blowing out San Antonio on any given night, if their play-makers are on their game as they were in the second half tonight. For that reason alone Spurs fans should be very concerned about the direction of this series and very wary of the fact that history very well may repeat itself. Ultimately I still think Heat in 6.

Can the Read Option Continue to Thrive in the NFL

Seeing as it is the culmination of basketball season my first posts were about the NBA, however my true expertise is the game of football. Well, baseball too but I'll get to that later. Last year we all bore witness to the rise of a new dynamic offense in the NFL, the read option. Actually it is not a new offense at all as it has been around the high school and college game for a very long time. The read option is meant to capitalize on the athleticism and perhaps compensate for the lack of passing ability of a given quarterback. Let's be real here, if the QB had an arm like Peyton Manning he damn sure wouldn't be running a read option offense. Never the less the read option has taken the NFL by storm and young gun QB's like RGIII, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, and Colin Kaepernick are capitalizing.


(Photo courtesy of: nfl.com)

 However, is this new style of offense just the latest fad? History tells us yes. For starters there is a reason why the option offense has been prolific in the college ranks over the last couple decades but has never made the jump to the NFL. NFL defenses are simply too big, too smart, and too fast to run the same type of play over and over again. It is a style of offense intended to confuse defenses and that simply will not happen nearly as much in the NFL. Plus injuries will be far too common for quarterbacks running this style of offense, similar to Griffin's at the end of the season last year. Quarterbacks are not built to handle all the hits.
So why now though? The read option flourished last season as the NFL saw a rise in athletic style QBs over pocket passers. Quarterbacks like the ones listed above along with veteran Michael Vick have the pure speed and athletic ability to give defenses fits. Athleticism alone, however, will not be enough to make the read option stick.


(Photo courtesy of: nola.com)

Another knock against the read option is that it seems like an all too familiar fad. Oh yeah that's right a couple years ago an innovative new offense hit the scene in Miami called the Wildcat. The Wildcat put a tailback or athletic quarterback in the backfield with another quarterback out wide. The player receiving the snap could then keep it, hand it off, pass it, or pitch it. The Wildcat presented athletic mismatches and options to the offense that confused defenses for the rest of the season. However, after accumulating a full season of game tape defenses locked it down. The wildcat was no longer difficult to stop. The defensive end just needs to stay home on his assignment and allow the outside linebacker to take away the pitch and the inside line backers to shoot their gaps and disrupt anything up the middle.The same can be said about the read option. It is so difficult to stop because it puts the D-End in a tough spot. He has to choose to pursue the QB or take away the pitch. All the defense has to do against these teams is prepare to play the run a whole lot. Lets face it these young QBs do have good arms but they are not THAT good of pocket passers. I would not put a single one of these option quarterbacks in the top 15 in passing ability. Which means that defenses simply have to pack the box ( because they know whats coming) and dare the offense to throw the ball over the top. The defensive end will just have to commit to the QB and then rely on the linebacker or safety to cover up the pitch. Inside linebackers can then jam the gaps inside along with the defensive tackles and boom no more read option. Easier said than done?


(Photo courtesy of: winycitygridiron.com)

 I'm sure it is but I am also sure that with a full season of game film from countless teams that the read option will be a short lived fad. Give defenses more credit, they won't let one play crush them all year. Not after having an entire off season to prepare for what they already know is coming their way.

The NBA Finals

The NBA Finals

(Photo Courtesy of: The New York Daily News)

My original prediction for the NBA finals this year was for the Heat to close it out in six. After the loss in game 1, my prediction stands. The Miami Heat will win the championship in six games. In game one the Spurs took the victory by forcing Miami to settle for jump shots and LeBron James not taking over in the fourth quarter. I don't see Miami rolling over in the fourth in two consecutive games. Given their propensity to rebound with a vengeance following a loss, I foresee Miami going off in game two to even the series. Furthermore given they way they decimated the Thunder after losing game one last year, I don't feel like I'm exactly out on a limb with this prediction. After all, LeBron James is the best player in the game. Yes, Tony Parker is great, as is Duncan, as is Ginobli, but come on, Parker dribbled around and lost the ball about four times before jacking up an off balance prayer as the shot clock literally hit zero and barely got the ball off of his fingertips to finish the Heat in game one. No, I am not trying to say it was pure luck that the shot hit bottom...but seriously it was pure luck. Not only was it a horrid offensive possession by Parker who never passed and proceeded to lose the handle on the ball around 3 or 4 times but the ball was barely off of his finger tips when the shot clock hit zero. Plus LeBron James, all 6'8" and 260 pounds of him, had a hand in his face. Lets face it, the Spurs caught a break on that shot and in the fourth quarter in general because LeBron James shifted into facilitator mode instead of attack mode. I don't think there is a team on the planet that can stop that freight train when he is in attack mode. A mode which we saw him shift into in game seven against the Pacers and a mode I am sure we will see throughout the rest of this series. We all know LeBron still has something to prove and he will not settle for another finals loss to the Spurs' big three. I don't see anyone stopping a motivated Heat squad. Granted I have no idea why they wouldn't be motivated to win game one but by their play in the fourth quarter of that game, it did not appear that they were. None the less Heat in six.

Top 10 Active NBA Players

10. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Dwyane Wade is one of the leagues premiere scoring threats. Wade possesses a solid enough mid-range jumper to force defenders to stay close and a lethal enough first step to blow by them when they do. Wade is beginning to show signs of age as he has become more injury prone and may have lost a step but he still possesses incredible explosiveness when going to the basket.

9. Blake Griffin, PF, Los Angeles Clippers

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Blake Griffin number nine in the league? Ahead of  Wade? What has Blake ever done? He is so young! How? You're crazy! I know I know I know but Blake is the present and future of the league at power forward. He is a dominant scorer and can throw down some monster slams. It doesn't hurt that he is playing with arguably the best point guard in the game but we'll get to that later. If Blake continues to work and perfects his post game and rebounding and perhaps adds a mid-range game, wooooh, look out NBA! Not to mention if he could ever knock down a few of those always difficult free throws...Look Blake needs some work but he is spectacular and will continue to be for a long time.

8. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Why so low? Kobe Bryant is near the end of his NBA playing career and it is starting to show. Injuries have begun to pile up and his most recent injury will certainly not help him out. Never the less Kobe continues to be the most dominant 2 guard in the game today. He has an absolutely lethal jump shot and can still finish at the rack as good as ever. Oh and did I mention he is still the most clutch player in the league! They don't call him the Black Mamba for nothing.

7. Tim Duncan, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Why in the world is Timmy ranked ahead of Kobe? Simple, Tim Duncan is still playing as well as he always has while Kobe is dropping off and breaking down. Duncan remains injury free and continues to dominate the paint with authoritative blocks, huge rebounds, and powerful jams. He has a stellar mid-range game and he isn't afraid to bang down low. The man has not lost a step since he first got into the league in 1997. Plus he is playing for his Kobe matching fifth NBA title this season against a much younger big 3 in Miami. Duncan is an iron man and a true ambassador of the game. He is soft spoken but as good as it gets at whatever position you want to say he plays. The four or the five no one has a clue what to list him as but the man is great and that is all that matters.

6. Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Carmelo Anthony took home the scoring title this past season and is one of the league's best pure scorers. Melo has a sweet shooting stroke and can also take it inside when it suits him. Melo has some drawbacks though as he seems to always have to have the ball in his hands which sometimes brings down his teammates around him (i.e. Amar'e Stoudemire). Never the less, there aren't a whole lot of players in the league who can match Melo shot for shot and for that Melo earns the 6th spot on my list. Melo still has a bright future in the league and perhaps some championship gold. Maybe a trip to South Beach would produce a quick ring? No? Alright then.

5. Dwight Howard, C, Los Angeles Lakers

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Dwight is the most dominant big man in the game today. He is an absolute monster on the boards and can finish with authority. Dwight has huge upside as he is still a bright young star but he is already the best center the league has seen since Shaq. Superman has wowed crowds with his powerful dunks but has drawn criticism for his work ethic and focus. In the right system Dwight can certainly rise to the same status as some of the all time greats. Maybe if he could hit some free throws he would be higher on this list, but I digress. Dwight is spectacular and that is all that counts.

4. Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

This will come as a shock to some people out there and it likely will not be the last surprise on this list. Derrick Rose takes my fourth spot despite missing all of the 2012-2013 season due to an ACL injury. Derrick Rose is without a doubt the best athlete at the point guard position. I don't think there is a player in the game with a quicker first step. He is as fast as they come and can finish at the cup as well as any of the bigger guys. He has improved his jumper in the last year or so and it is said that he has added a solid three ball to his game during his rehab stint. Rose has the potential to return the Bulls franchise to greatness not seen since the end of the Jordan era. Oh and by the way that Bulls team he is on, turned in a phenomenal season even without their captain. The league is on notice when Rose returns, the Bulls are coming.

3. Chris Paul, PG, Los Angeles Clippers

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

This may come as a surprise to some but not to others. Chris Paul is as dominant of a player as they come. Chris Paul is an excellent defender with a spectacular floater and a great jumper. Paul can easily produce points and is clearly the best point guard in the NBA. Now getting to what Paul does best, facilitate. Chris Paul is without a doubt the best passer and court general in the league. Paul runs the offense to perfection and excels at hitting open targets for easy buckets. Chris Paul is still a young player and at the end of the day will go down as one of the top five point guards to ever play the game.

2. Kevin Durant, SF, Oklahoma City Thunder

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Kevin Durant is easily the best pure scorer in the game of basketball. There is simply no stopping the Durantula from nailing buckets. The man is a machine from outside and can even take it to the rack. Durant is a match up nightmare standing near 6'10" at a position that is typically no bigger than 6'8". Put a bigger man on KD and he will simply wear them out with his sheer speed. Put a smaller quicker man on him and he will simply rain buckets over the top. Kevin Durant is an unstoppable force and will continue to be for a very long time. Don't forget this kid is only 24. NBA you have been warned.

1. LeBron James, SF, Miami Heat

(Photo Courtesy of: nba.com)

Talk about a no-brainer. LeBron James is undoubtedly the best player in the NBA. He is also the most gifted athlete and most prolific scorer the league has seen since Michael Jordan. The King certainly warrants any and all comparisons to His Airness. LeBron is without a doubt the league's best finisher and he has refined his jump shot of late as well. He has become a triple threat on offense as he can now drive, dish, and shoot. As if he already wasn't giving defenses headaches. How exactly do you stop a 6'8" 260 pound monstrosity from destroying you? Simple. You can't. Go big and he will shoot and pass all over you. Go small and he will run right through you. Furthermore he has become quite the closer now. LeBron has ditched the not clutch criticism and has begun to take over late in close games. It is easy to say that when all is said and done LeBron will be regarded as one of the two greatest players to play the game. All that is left to determine is the order in which people will list these two greats.

Honorable Mentions

Look, I know some people will be clamoring for some names that didn't make the cut but here are a few guys who arguably could have taken some of the top spots but didn't. 

Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs

Kevin Love, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves

Russell Westbrook, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

Deron Williams, PG, New Jersey Nets

Paul Pierce, SF, Boston Celtics

Kevin Garnett, PF/C, Boston Celtics

Amongst others! There are so many great players to acknowledge but so little time to do so! Comment with your favorite that didn't make the cut! Keep on reading, more to come soon (Top ten young stars and more sports analysis).