NBA Playoffs Predictions

Let's start with the East.

Derrick Rose goes down... Okay so we can count the Bulls out. Sure they might win their series against the 76ers but they're not beating the Heat in a seven-game series.

The Knicks got waxed by about 40 points in Game 1 against the Heat, let's go ahead and count them out.

The Pacers lost Game 1 at home to a Magic team playing without Dwight Howard... ouch. Yeah, let's count them out as well. Like I said with the Bulls, they might go on to win this series but they're not getting past the Heat either.

The Celtics and Hawks should be a very competitive series. I could see the winner of this series winning the next series as well and playing the Heat in the Conference Finals.

That being said, nobody in the East can beat the Heat. I mean they just beat the Knicks 100-67! A Bulls team with Derrick Rose possibly could have, but that didn't work out.

Now let's look at the West.

Whereas the Heat are the the only team that can make it out of the East, there are six teams that could make it out of the West-- Thunder, Mavs, Spurs, Lakers, Clippers and Grizzlies. 

What a first round series between the Thunder and Mavs, that's a Conference Finals type of a matchup. I expect the Thunder to move through the West and play the Heat in the NBA Finals, but the Mavs will not be an easy first test, as it took a buzzer-beater for the Thunder to take Game 1.

The Clippers-Grizzlies is also a very interesting series, and it is really a toss-up.

The Spurs should have no problem getting past the Jazz and the lakers should have no problem getting past the Nuggets.

Once it is down to the Thunder-Lakers and Spurs-Clippers/Grizzlies, any of these five teams have the ability to win a seven-game series. If I had to pick, I would have to go with the Thunder-Spurs advancing and the Thunder making it out the West. In the NBA Playoffs, unlike the NCAA March Madness, the best teams nearly always win.

So Heat-Thunder in the Finals... big surprise. There is no question in my mind that the Heat are the best team if they are healthy. But with a player like Kevin Durant, if a game is close he just finds a way to win and hits buzzer-beaters with ease. He is as clutch as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan when the game is on the line.

So I am going with the Heat, but saying with Durant anything is possible. Hopefully that qualifies as an answer.

NFL Draft Recap

As an Ohioan living in Northern Virginia, I consider myself both a Redskins and a Browns fan... Clearly I am no fair-weather fan. I'm pretty sure those two teams have gone through more starting QBs than any other in the league over the past 10 years, and they have really struggled offensively for years.

That being said, I am very happy with what both organizations did during the draft. Of course the Skins took RGIII with the second overall pick, and the Browns traded down to grab Trent Richardson with the third overall pick and then took Brandon Weedon later in the first round, which I thought were great moves. The Skins also drafted Kirk Cousins, an interesting pick considering they had already taken RGIII, but I was actually really happy with that pick as well. RGIII and Cousins is already better then the two options they had last year.

Aside from the Skins and Browns, I was impressed with several other teams as well.

I thought the Giants had a great draft considering they had the final pick. They took both David Wilson and Jayron Hosley from Virginia Tech and wide receiver Reuben Randle from LSU, all of whom will instantly make this team even better.

Staying in the division, I thought the Cowboys were smart in trading up to grab Maurice Claiborne, who has Derrelle Revis-like potential.

The team I believe had the best draft was the Colts. Obviously they had the No. 1 pick and were able to get the most heralded QB in NFL Draft history-- Andrew Luck. Then they took Luck's TE and favorite target from Stanford, Coby Fleener, followed by another great TE named Dwayne Allen. Then they stayed with offense and took T.Y. Hilton, a wide receiver from FIU who was one of the best WRs in all of college football that nobody has heard of. They even took another QB, Chandler Harnish, who similarly was one of the best QBs in college football that wasn't well known because he played for Northern Illinois. They drafted some serious talent on offense.

Other interesting picks came from the Lions and Broncos. The Lions picked up WR Ryan Browles. On most teams he would be the No. 1 option, but alongside Calvin Johnson he can do some serious damage. The Broncos picked QB Brock Osweiler. He will be able to learn under Peyton Manning for a couple years and then will be able to take over the team, the perfect position for a young QB.

Poised for victory in NBA Fantasy finals

I consider myself a fantasy phenom. I play fantasy football, basketball and baseball, and more often than not I win. Maybe it takes talent, maybe it doesn't, but I am a flat out fantasy winner.

Paul Pierce has been on fire (Google Images)

That being said, it looks like I am going to win my NBA fantasy championship as I currently hold a 200-point lead with just a few days left in the matchup. But this is no surprise.

I won my first 10 matchups of the regular season. For those of you who don't know how fantasy basketball works, there were 11 regular season matchups this year, each spanning one week. So I did lose in week 11, the final week of the regular season, but I was just resting my players for the playoffs and was satisfied with a 10-1 season (sure, let's go with that).

Anyway, my team returned to dominance in the playoffs, as none of my matchups have even been close. My team is paced by Derrick Rose, who puts up crazy numbers when he actually plays, Paul Pierce, who is having probably his best season ever, Pau Gasol, a steady fantasy star, and Josh Smith, the most underrated player in the NBA.

Also playing well for me this year has been Ty Lawson, Marcin Gortat, Gerald Wallace, Mike Conley and Lou Williams.

Unfortunately I had to drop Jeremy Lin due to his injury, but man was that a good pickup during the regular season. Although his national attention died down after the first couple weeks, his numbers remained really good. Another one of my point guards, D.J. Augustin, has also been battling injury problems all season.

My most recent waiver pickups were Clay Thompson, J.J. Hickson, Glen Davis and Kevin Seraphin. These four guys have been just playing ridiculously well lately, and have added a major boost to my team. Who would've thought that Hickson, a guy the Cavs didn't even want, would become a great player in Portland? And Thompson has been a pleasant surprise as a rookie, and is probably the second-best rookie in the league only behind Kyrie Irving.

Long story short, I am going to win yet another fantasy championship. If only I actually played for money.

Did I mention the Nationals would be good?

Yes, yes I did.

After years of losing seasons, the Washington Nationals are sitting pretty atop their division with a solid record of 12-4. They have far more talent this season both at the plate and at the mound, and it is showing.

 Strasburg continues to impress (Google Images)

In terms of offense, Jayson Werth is looking much better so far this season as he is batting .322. Ian Desmond and Adam LaRoche have also looked pretty good so far, batting .294 and .288 respectively. I am still waiting to see Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa to play like they are capable, meaning there is still room for improvement at the plate for the Nats.

The most impressive aspect of this year's team is without question the pitching. Paced by phenom Stephen Strasburg, who has an ERA of 1.08 in four starts, all five starters have played very well. Strasburg has 25 strikeouts compared to just 6 walks in his four outings and is showing no sign of elbow problems. Jordan Zimmerman is also off to a good start with an ERA of 1.29 in three starts. Ross Detwiler has been a pleasant surprise, replacing John Lannon in the rotation. He is leading the team in ERA with 0.56 in three starts.

Gio Gonzalez, the biggest off-season pickup for the Nats, has also been solid on the mound with an ERA of 2.04 in three starts. The other off-season pitching pickup, Edwin Jackson, has not been as steady, with an ERA of 4.26. This is somewhat typical of Jackson, who is a very up and down pitcher, famous for his no-hitter in 2011 with 149 pitches and eight walks. He has potential for great games but is not as consistent as guys like Strasburg and Gonzalez.

This is a talented young ball club with the potential to become even better as the season goes on. I'm not going to guarantee a World Series title or anything crazy like that, but the 12-4 record is no fluke.

Should the NBA regular season be shorter?

How many times have you heard guys saying, "we don't need to be playing our best ball right now, we need to be playing the best in the playoffs?"

The players seem to say things like that every day.

There are 82 games in standard, lockout-free NBA season, and most of the time the playoff seeds are determined long before the 82nd game, aside from maybe the seventh and eighth seeds. Only one instance in my lifetime can I recall an eight seed making it to the finals, most of the time these teams don't even really matter. Unlike the college format in which anything can happen, the best team always wins in the NBA playoffs because it is a seven-game series.

So with the playoff spots being essentially locked up weeks before the final regular season games, teams often don't even try down the stretch. Players like Derek Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade have been sitting out games just so they can get healthy, knowing their respective teams are already in the playoffs. Similarly, the Spurs have been sitting all of their veteran players lately just because they are older and need to be fresh for the playoffs. So what's the point of playing 82 games when the players aren't even trying right now, aside from those teams fighting for the last couple of playoff spots, which don't really matter anyway.

The answer to that question is probably money, so this isn't something that is going to change.

Regardless, I think the quality of the play would be far better if the season were only 50 games. Maybe players would actually play every game, actually play defense every night, and actually care about winning each game. People complain there's no defense in the NBA. Just watch the playoffs, these guys are freakishly good defenders, but only when they choose to be. If the season were shorter, maybe more games would be played like playoff games.

Shaping up to be best NBA Draft ever

This year's NBA Draft just might be the best draft in the history of the league.

KU's Thomas Robinson (photo courtesy Google Images)

Yes the LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony draft of '03 was pretty good. Certainly the Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton draft of '84 wasn't so bad either, but the 2012 version is has some serious potential.

The first two picks will most likely come from the National Champion Kentucky Wildcats-- Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Both of these guys are rare talents that could be game-changers fro teams in need. Davis is a difference-maker without even scoring due to his presence on defense and rebounding, and Kidd-Gilchrist is an incredible athlete and great play-maker.

Fellow Wildcat Terrence Jones will also be a top-10 pick, as he is a load on the inside.

Baylor's Perry Jones, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Kansas' Thomas Robinson and UConn's Andre Drummond are all big guys with incredible potential. Each one of these guys could be No. 1 picks in other years, as they have that type of potential.

But wait, there's more.

Clearly this is the year of the centers/forwards as North Carolina has three of them as well that will all likely be lottery picks-- Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson.

There's a legitimate chance that no guard is taken in the top 10 picks, that is how deep the center/forward class is this year.

But there are some solid guards as well on the big board. Florida's Bradley Beal, UConn's Jeremy Lamb, Duke's Austin Rivers, UNC's Kendall Marshall and Weber State's Damian Lillard are all outstanding prospects.

In about five to ten years we could be looking back on the '12 draft and realizing it was the best in the history of the league. There's also a chance that seven of the lottery picks will be from Kentucky and North Carolina, which as a Duke fan, makes me happy because they are no longer in college!

April is heaven for sports fans

What do the Final Four, the Masters, Opening Day for baseball, the NBA Playoffs, the NHL Playoffs and the NFL Draft all have in common?

They all take place in April.

The month started off with the Final Four, my personal favorite sporting event of the year. Although all of my favorite teams failed to reach the elite stage in college basketball this year, it is always a great even that I really enjoy. I am certainly no fan of Kentucky, but they were a really fun team to watch, and one of the best teams I've seen at the college level in a long time. It's rare that teams are that strong on both offense and defense.

The Masters just concluded this weekend, and what a show that was. Between Louis Oosthuizen holing out for double eagle and Bubba Watson hitting a snapping wedge around the trees in the playoff to capture the Green Jacket, it was truly a Masters for the ages. Check my blog below for more details about the epic Sunday.

The NHL and NBA Playoffs are both coming up soon. I am not much of a hockey fan, but I was glad to see the Capitals make the playoffs. In terms of the NBA Playoffs, I am actually really excited this year. Assuming that the Heat and Thunder don't fall to lesser opponents early in the playoffs, that will be one of the most exciting championships in a long time. Just think about a series with LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Durant and Westbrook. Wow. That is more of an All-Star game than a championship series. I can't wait.

Also upcoming this month is the NFL Draft. Assuming that the Colts don't do anything crazy and take Andrew Luck with the first pick, the Redskins will be getting Robert Griffin III, one of the most exciting and talented college quarterbacks in my lifetime. I am really happy for the Redskins and the city of Washington for finally getting someone who has the potential to turn the franchise around. They've been through more quarterbacks in the last 15 years than any franchise in the league.

So not a bad month for sports, huh?

Bubba Watson triumphs at the Masters

Wow, what a Masters Sunday that was.

Bubba Watson in his all white Masters gear (Google Images)

Unfortunately, I missed some of the early action because I was playing in my own golf tournament, but I watched all of the drama unfold on the back nine as well as the captivating playoff between Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen.

Early in the final round, it appeared Oosthuizen, a former British Open champion, was destined for the Green Jacket as he holed out for double eagle on the par-5 second, the first ever deuce on the second at the Masters. This gave him the outright lead, a lead which he held most of the day.

However, Oosthuizen's playing partner, Watson, was determined to make a charge, as he rattled off four birdies down the stretch to snatch a share of the lead. Unlike Oosthuizen, Watson was seeking his first major title.

After both players made par on the 72nd hole, the stage was set for a sudden death playoff.

The action returned to the 18th hole. Both players hit great shots but just missed the putts, extending the duel to a second hole. The contenders were carted to the 10th hole, where all golf enthusiasts were about to witness a historic scene.

Despite hitting his tee shot way right into the tress on the lengthy par-4, Bubba pulled out a wedge from 155 yards away and pictured a high hooking shot onto the green. This is a shot only Bubba could even comprehend pulling off, and he had the benefit of being a lefty. Not only did he execute a miraculous 40-yard hooking shot, but he stuck it to about 10 feet from the cup. Considering the stage, this was the greatest shot I have ever witnessed and ultimately proved to be the difference as he captured the elusive Green Jacket.

If Oosthuizen had won, his double eagle would have been eternally glorified, but rather it was Bubba's high snapping wedge around the trees in the playoff that will forever live in Masters lore.

But perhaps the greatest moment of the day was after Bubba sealed his victory and broke down in tears on the 10th green, surrounded by his friends and family. Not represented in this small gathering was his wife and newborn child. A newborn and a Masters title, not a bad Easter Sunday.

During the Green Jacket presentation and his interview with legendary CBS broadcaster Jim Nance, Bubba was once again choked up. The quote of the year was when he tried to speak but simply said, "I never made it this far in my dreams." As an aspiring professional golfer, that quote resonated strongly with me.

What a moment. What a Sunday. What a Masters.

Let's talk about Kobe Bryant

Last night, Kobe Bryant went 3-for-21 from the field, marking his worst shooting performance of his entire career. Not to mention that he was 0-15 in the first half and didn't score his first point until the fourth quarter.

Kobe Bryant was clutch again in the midst of his worst game ever.

Kobe, a 16-year veteran, plays 38.6 minutes per game on a very down Lakers team and admitted fatigue may be becoming a problem. His scoring numbers are actually up this year, but that is because he is just needed more this year on a team without lots of scoring options.

Yet, the fact that he went 3-for-21 was not the story of the game. The story was the fact that he scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead three-pointer with just over 20 seconds left in the game, giving his Lakers the win. Granted it was against the struggling New Orleans Hornets, but this game just proves what I have long thought was the case.

If I needed one player to carry my team throughout a grueling regular season- LeBron James is the guy. He is the best all around player in the NBA and really could be the MVP every year.

However, if I needed one player to get me through the playoff- Kobe Bryant. He is without question the most clutch player in the game, and has been for a long time now. In late game situations and in the playoffs, he is just money. After having the worst game of his life last night, he went off for 11 points and hit the game winning shot last night.

Clearly LeBron is the better all-around player, but will he ever be the closer that Kobe has become?

What will be interesting to see is this year's NBA Finals, which the Heat will for sure be playing in, most likely against the Thunder. I am curious to see whether Dwayne Wade or LeBron gets the call in the late game situations in a championship series. We all know this is not LeBron's strength, but it's time this guy proves he can do it.

And speaking of the Thunder, Kevin Durant is the best pure scorer since Michael Jordan, and he may be even better than Jordan in that department by the time he retires, but that argument is for another time.

Kentucky vs. Kansas - A heavyweight title fight

The past two years we have seen Butler reach the Final Four twice and VCU once. Six years ago it was George Mason that broke through and reached college basketball's ultimate stage. But for the first time since 2009, the midmajors failed to become "this year's George Mason."

Anthony Davis, Kentucky's National Player of the Year

This year, four superpowers punched their tickets to New Orleans: Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State. These are four of the most successful programs in the history of the game. These squads have combined for 13 National Championships, and Kentucky and Kansas are the two most winningest programs in college basketball history.

And guess which two moved on to the finals: Kentucky and Kansas.

Kentucky will be looking for their eighth National Title and Kansas will be seeking their fourth. In terms of tradition, there is certainly no underdog in this title fight.

That being said, there is without question an underdog in terms of current personnel: Kansas. This 2012 Kentucky squad is one of the most dominant teams ever in college basketball. Freshmen Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are likely the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, and senior big man Terrence Jones will be a lottery pick as well.

Kansas is a team that wasn't expected to do great things this year. They lost several key players, including the Morris twins, and were not ranked in the Top-10 in the preseason polls. Yet, they seem to play with great heart and passion and could perhaps be the team of destiny this year. They have come from behind in nearly every game so far in the tournament only to pull ahead in the final seconds.

The neatest part about this matchup is that the two best players in the country - Anthony Davis and Thomas Robinson - will be facing off in the championship game, a rare occurrence indeed.