Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and NBA Top Performers

On Mavs and Suns…

I route for the Phoenix Suns but when the Miami Heat made it to the Finals deep inside I know the Mavs have to win the game to make the Finals series a classic. It’s not that I undermine the Suns but having a guard leading the team against a center is not a sight to see. The Suns would not be able to fuel enough fastbreak point because of the mountain folks rebounding in Miami.

It is logical and better to see a tale of two big men slugging it out, with each one showing his own style. Brute Force against Science. Strength against Finesse. Power against Grace. That makes sense. Dirk is now firing from all cylinders starting with his demolition against the Suns with 50 points on Game 5, and followed it up with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 block shots. Dirk Nowitzki focus is so intense, you could feel it radiating in the arena. Combined with Avery Johnson’s defensive wizardy, this is a very tough team to beat.

On Heat and Pistons… I really thought Detroit Pistons had a chance to win that Game after sending it back to the Beach. I do not like the coach of Detroit knowing his incapability of leading the Pistons to the Finals but by the way the game played was played it seems the players were given the freedom to play what they know best. Tayshaun Prince after sitting it out in favor of Hunter was back in the game once again scoring a total of 29 points. Billups scored 17 points and 10 assists, Rip finished with 10 rebounds and with the rest of the team in their normal averages showed the same old Pistons team that could actually come back to the finals.

Game six came and Shaq destroyed the Pistons. I am not a big fan of the Diesel but the way he played during that game was tremendous. He was muscling and pivoting his way to the basket against Ben Wallace who did a monster job in defense. I could not ask Wallace for more, he planted his feet in the right position limiting the space and movement that Shaq could opearte, consistently nudging the Diesel just a hairline before getting a foul, spreading his biceps that could impede lateral movement of the big guy; but still Shaq pivoted a step back, sideways, in front creating space for himself and getting the shot done.

[tags]NBA, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Shaq, Dirk[/tags]

The Phoenix Suns rose from a sunset scene in Game 3 to even the series at 2-2.

In game 3 of the Suns vs Dallas series Avery Johnson successfully taught his team to play defense against the running Suns. I could not help but admire the little guy for drawing defensive and offensive strategies that totally controlled the game from Phoenix.

Two or three years back I remember reading a survey conducted by the NBA on who among the players will
become a good coach in the future. To my surprise and little had I known about Avery he was the GM’s first pick.

Back to the future, he transformed the MAVS into a different team in Game three as if I was watching either the Spurs or Detroit Pistons playing defense. The win also came in the homecourt of the Suns.

In Game 4 a different story is told. The NBA’s MVP brought his team back to avoid getting buried 3-1 like the Pistons. With Raja and Barbosa providing the speed, hassle, offense and defense they went back to their running game. Without Amare, Steve has taken Raja’s 15.3 point 2.9 point to a different level enroute to a 2-2 series tie in the conference finals.

The next three games is going to be a battle betweem Avery and Steve Nash. As long as Steve has his pawns intact, Avery may be a little behing Steve. After all, he’s closer to the game than Johnson is.

[tags]Sports, Basketball, NBA, Suns, Dallas[/tags]