Miami Heat Take Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals via OT

The Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 tipped off last Wednesday, May 22, and it proved to be the thriller it was marketed to be. Paul George emerged as a hero for the Pacers, standing his ground with a three-point shot in front of Lebron James' defense that sent the game into overtime. However, Lebron had his sweet revenge after sinking in the shot that won it for Miami Heat.

If you missed Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, you can check out the highlights below courtesy of NBA.com:



On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies host the San Antonio Spurs for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The Grizzlies are hoping to secure their first win in the series after the Spurs won the first two games at home. Aside from the first knack at a win in the series, the Grizzlies are also trying to protect their winning streak at home. They hadn't lost a game at their home court since the Playoffs started.

For more on the NBA 2013 Eastern and Western Conference Finals schedule, you can check here.

Will Miami walk away with this series? Or are the Pacers going to even it up on Game 2? Share your thoughts below.

NBA 2013 All-Star Game: West Beats East

Image: sbnation

The battle between East vs West closes out a fun-filled weekend featuring some of the best talents in the NBA this season. This game is the most anticipated event out of the NBA 2013 All-Star Weekend and the superstars surely did not disappoint their fans who were expecting to witness a showcase of hoops and slams. However intense the battle may be, only one can emerge as the winner and it is the West that outshone the East superstars via a 143-138 victory.

Chris Paul was named as the NBA 2013 All-Star MVP after he scored 20 points and dished out 15 assists. It was his connection with teammate Blake Griffin that brought the house down as the twosome delivered several exciting plays. This helped Griffin establish his own 19 points into the game. Seems like Lob City found its way to Houston!

Aside from Chris Paul, Kevin Durant also had an impressive showing for the West courtesy of his 30-point performance. What is more impressive than his scoring is the 13-of-24 shooting percentage!

The East team also had a few stellar performances such as Dwayne Wade with 21 points and went 10-of-13 on the field, which makes him the best All-Star performer out of the three Heat players that were on the lineup. Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett has previously expressed that this might be his final All-Star Weekend appearance so he gave the floor to the younger guys and played only for 6 minutes.

Check out highlights from this spectacular game below:

Who were you rooting for in the NBA 2013 All-Star Game?

Underrated Players and Their Superstar Counterparts

Andrea Bargnani = Dirk Nowitzki
Season Stats 2011-2012:
Andrea Bargnani: 19.5ppg 5.5rpg 2.0apg 43.2%
Dirk Nowitzki: 21.6ppg 6.8rpg 2.2asp 45.7%

What Andrea fails to achieve?
MVP, Championship ring and Finals MVP

What's their big difference?
Andrea and Dirk have similar skill set which made them an effective NBA players. Though Dirk stays healthy most of his career and Andrea miss most game last season where in his team loss most of those games without him.

Also Dirk shots more winning shots, crucial shots and unbelievable fade away shots which brought him to the label SUPERSTAR.

David Lee = Amare Stoudemire
Season Stats 2011-2012:
David Lee: 20.1ppg 9.6rpg 2.8apg 50.3%
Amare Stoudemire: 17.5ppg 7.8rpg 1.1apg 48.3%

What David fails to achieve?
Carries team to Playoffs, Multiple All Star Appearance.

What's their big difference?

If you remember, the New York Knicks let David Lee go to free agency even though he was a Double-double machine. The Knicks was just not committed to him for some reason. Mybe because Lee is white thus he don't get enough that attentions. Outside of that, Amar'e plays in a team where he is the main guy or one of the main guy where in David's role in the team is just being a team guy but able to produce numbers like a star. Though Amar'e is more athlethic than Lee. To be a STAR, the brand of being a player which is trying to be that guy or assert his self is what make the difference between Amare and Lee. 

Josh Smith = Lebron James

Season Stats 2011-2012:
Josh Smith: 18.8ppg 9.6rpg 3.9apg 45.8%
Lebron James: 27.1ppg 7.9rpg 6.2apg 53.1%

What Josh fails to achieve?

3 time MVP, Championship ring and Finals MVP.

What's their big difference?

Though no one can really match Lebron but what Josh Smith done is being underrated and he even miss the All Star line up last season even though he strive as an all around player for Atlanta just like Lebron. 

Kevin Martin = Kobe Bryant
Season Stats 2011-2012:
Kevin Martin: 17.1ppg 2.7rpg 2.8apg 41.3%
Kobe Bryant: 27.9ppg 5.4rpg 4.6apg 43%

What Kevin fails to achieve?

Multiple All Star Appearance, MVP, NBA Championship ring and Finals MVP.

What's their big difference?

Though both can light up the score board at will, no one can match the game of Kobe. Kevin Martin's don't get that recognition as a premiere scorer. The key in order to stick a label superstar on your name is you have to make big shots after big shots after big shots and be one of the Leagues top scorer. Just like Lebron, no one ever comes close to them.

Jose Calderon = Steve Nash
Season Stats 2011-2012:
Jose Calderon: 10.5ppg 3.0rpg 8.8apg 45.7%
Steve Nash: 12.5ppg 3.0rpg 10.7apg 53.2%

What Jose fails to achieve?
All Star appearance, assist leader and 2 MVP.

What's their big difference?

Jose Calderon is criticize due to his poor defense and devalue him as an NBA player but the truth is he can play as good as Nash. He have the vision and Basketball IQ as Nash but only he is not as clutch and determine as Nash.

Whose your Underrated = NBA star? 

Written by Fritz Castro

US Wins Olympic Gold Over Spain In Men's Hoops

LONDON (AP) - The Dream Team 2012 won the gold against a familiar opponent. Again.

image courtesy of NBA Philippines

The '92 Dream Team made basketball more relevant internationally. This year’s Team USA didn’t just prove that, they also show us how far they are from the pack.

The world number 1 Team USA fought off another big challenge from the world number 2 Spain, pulling away in the final minutes for a 107-100 win to bag their second straight Olympic gold last Sunday. And much like in 2008 Beijing Olympics, the American had to earn it.

Spain lost twice in the preliminary round and an 11-point halftime deficit against Russia in the semis’ halftime after scoring just 20 points, which is just on average, seven minutes worth of work for the USA. But Spain rallied with its twin towers of Gasol brothers and sweet shooting of Navarro for a 67-59 victory.

USA on the other hand, had a different kind of story heading to the semis. They get through opponents with large margins (with the exception of Lithuania) by pulling away late in the third or middle of the fourth.

But last Sunday’s Olympic gold match is off to the history books, as the scrappy Spaniards come with a fight.

USA lead Spain for only 1 point after 3 Quarters, it was a back-and-forth, physical, and impossible to dismiss finals and fans inside the North Greenwich Arena certainly got their money’s worth.

Juan Carlos Navarro was brilliant in the first half, especially in the first quarter where he scored 13 of his team’s 20 from three straight 3s. But the American’s perimeter defense picked off, and he wasn’t as effective in the second half as he was in the first half. He scored a total of 21.

Pau Gasol wasn’t a major factor for Spain in the first half, but his 13 points in the third were huge to keep his team close.

Kevin Love, on the other hand, may not jump off the stat sheets, but he kept on sending Marc Gasol to the bench because of foul-trouble with brilliant box-out and positioning.

Spain gave the US all they could handle, and the American just got enough breathing room late in the Fourth Quarter. Kevin Durant scored 30 points and 9 rebounds to lead the victory. Pau Gasol, on the other hand, gained the respect of the opposing team again with 24 points and 8 rebounds to keep Spain close to route.

Both teams got frustrated with the officiating, and it was a physical game as expected. Marc Gasol for example, was called for his fourth foul in the middle of the second quarter.

Both teams kept their poise heading to the fourth Q, but team USA spread their lead with under a minute to go, which all started from Lebron James’ monstrous get-away dunk and a dagger clutch 3.

Paul’s zig-zag drive to the basket in 50-second mark gives them an 11 point gap, and coach Mike Kryzewski of the United States responded with massive substitutions, sending James Harden and the current number 1 draft Anthony Davis to the court, as Bryant and James started their celebrations on the bench.

Earlier on that day, Russia also bagged the bronze with an 81-77 win against the 2004 Olympics champions, Argentina.

Dallas Mavericks - 2011 NBA Champions!

June 12, 2011. Game 6 of the NBA Finals 2011 between Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. The Heat have home court advantage. After an up and down series, with Miami winning games 1 and 3, then Dallas winning games 2, 4, 5, and eventually game 6, this was one of the most thrilling NBA finals that fans have gone witness to in a long time.

The basketball action was almost overshadowed by the off-court drama - there was the "coughing" incident that involved Wade and James at Nowitzki's expense, the amount of criticism on James about his inability to perform during the clutch moments of the ball game, and the superhuman abilities of Dirk Nowitzki that has made everyone believe in the Dallas' bandwagon that indeed "The Time is NOW".

With only about 3 minutes left in the ball game for Game 6, the Miami Heat was a hot mess on the court. Turnovers here and there, forced shots, and paralyzed defense. Even the fans of Miami knew the season was over for their team as many had left the American Airlines Arena even before the final buzzer sounded.

Dallas Maverick's lead superstar Dirk Nowitzki can finally add "NBA champion" to his resume. And so will Jason Kidd. At some point, the victory celebration got emotional as Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd has combined 30 years (13 and 17 years, respectively) of wait before they were able to raise the trophy. And for all that, it was a deserving win for the most recent NBA champs. The Finals MVP award for Dirk was only the icing on the cake. For anyone who appreciates a down-to-earth, humble, and resilient player (and team), this is one of the most satisfying NBA championships in a long while.