NBA Western Conference Finals Prediction

We are down to four teams in the NBA.  Here is my pick for the Western Conference Finals.

Western Conference Finals

#2 Oklahoma City Thunder v. #1 San Antonio Spurs

These two teams have been the best in the west the entire season.  The Thunder are coming off of a hard fought series against the Lakers that OKC won in 5 games.  Oklahoma City had to make big comebacks in Games 2 and 4 to win against the Lakers.  Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden have all been outstanding this postseason.  The Spurs have swept both the Jazz and Clippers this postseason and have won 18 straight contests dating back to the regular season.  Tim Duncan has looked rejuvenated this postseason, Tony Parker was in MVP talk and Manu Ginobili is finally healthy for San Antonio.  This series has the potential to be the best in years because these teams give each other multiple mismatches.  Will Tony Parker be able to guard Russell Westbrook? Who will the Spurs throw on Kevin Durant? How will Kendrick Perkins handle Tim Duncan?  The key matchup will be the Super 6th men for each team, James Harden for OKC and Manu Ginobili for San Antonio.  Harden, this year's 6th Man of the year has really turned the NBA's best shooting guards as he is averaging 17 points per game off the bench this postseason.  On the other hand Ginobili has been here and done this before, by moving Ginobili to the bench Coach Greg Popovich has saved some extra wear and tear on the fragile Ginobili.  So to the pick, this will be the best series of this postseason and it maybe the best series we have seen in the NBA since Boston and Cleveland in 2009 (Better known as the PJ Brown series).  Some think this series will complete the changing of the guard in the Western Conference from Los Angeles and San Antonio to Oklahoma City, but I don't.  I think the Spurs have 2 great series left in them and the veteran leadership of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili will outlast Durant and the Thunder in an epic series.

Spurs in 7

      

What Will the Miami Heat Look Like Next Season if They Fail to Win a Title This Year?

Everyone has been saying it since the Miami Heat fell 94-75 to the Indiana Pacers Thursday night, The Miami Heat are in trouble. Perhaps someone should have informed Pat Riley that if one of the Big Three got injured, the Heat had no fall back plan.

That being said, let’s start with the obvious change the Heat will make if they can’t get past the Pacers. Erik Spolstera will be looking for a new job. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as he lost what little control of the team he had Thursday night after his altercation with Dwyane Wade. The question is, who would be the new coach? The obvious choice would be Pat Riley, but you’d have to assume they’d at least contact Phil Jackson just to gauge his interest.

Joining Spolstera on his search for a new job would be one of the members of the Big Three NOT named LeBron James (we’ll get to him later in this post). I think the obvious choice would be to trade Chris Bosh for someone without a max contract. That way you can open up your salary cap a little too and try to get some bench depth, which the Heat are clearly in need of.

Getting back to LeBron, he has an opt-out clause in his contract at the end of next season. If big changes aren’t made in Miami and LeBron’s still ring-less, watch for him to at least consider testing the free agent market.

Yes, I'll Have Another

I'll Have Another did it again. The colt came from behind to beat Bodemeister and win The Preakness just like he did at the Kentucky Derby.  Bodemeister had control of the race until the last few furlongs when I'll Have Another made his charge and won the second leg of the Triple Crown.  With the way the first two legs of the Triple Crown has gone, may we be witnessing the best horse rivalry since Affirmed and Alydar in 1978. And to be honest, I think we are.  I'll Have Another will have a chance to win the Triple Crown at The Belmont Stakes on June 9th, looking to become the first horse to attain the coveted honor since Affirmed in 1978.

Drogba leads Chelsea to First Champions League Title

 

Didier Drogba is probably the greatest soccer, rather football player ever from Africa and he proved why in the Champions League final.  Drogba scored the equalizer against Bayern Munich in the 88th minute of off Chelsea's only Corner Kick of the game to force extra time.  Drogba then won it for Chelsea on the Blues' final penalty kick, beating Bayern Munich's keeper Mauel Neuer to complete a storybook ride to Chelsea's first Champions League Championship.  Chelsea needed a goal from Fernando Torres in stoppage time in the second leg against Barcelona to just get to the Champions Final.  Bayern dominated most of the game but did not capitalize on their chances until the 83rd when Thomas Muller headed one passed Petr Cech.  To make things even more amazing for the Chelsea victory is that the game was in Bayern's home stadium, Allianz Arena.  Drogba's contract is now up with Chelsea, but even if he leaves the Blues, he will forever be in Chelsea lore. 

Three Reasons The Los Angeles Kings Will Win The Stanley Cup

            For my first post on this great new blog, I’m going to cover a league that doesn’t get much attention from the national media, the NHL. More specifically, I’m going to break down the three main reasons that the Los Angeles Kings will be hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup high above their heads come June.

            The first (and probably most important) reason is the goaltending. Goalie Jonathan Quick led the league in shutouts during the regular season with 10, and has two so far in the playoffs. For a team that was offensively challenged for the most part during the regular season, those 10 shutouts were the difference that vaunted the Kings into the playoffs as an 8 seed.

            The second reason I feel this team has what it takes to win the Cup? The fact that they have yet to lose a road game so far in the playoffs, going 3-0 in Vancouver vs. the Presidents Trophy winning Canucks, 2-0 in St Louis vs. the Blues, and 2-0 so far in Phoenix against the very tough Coyotes. Usually in playoff hockey, you love it if you can manage a split on the road. What the Kings have done on the road so far is absolutely incredible.

            Finally, the Kings have had success to this point in the playoffs because they finally found their offense. Before the season, a fair amount of writers said this team would be great. They have great young stars in Mike Richards and Dustin Brown, but they couldn't get it going offensively, finishing 29^th in the league with 2.29 goals per game. In the postseason, however, that number has jumped to 3.10 goals per game.  The Kings have scored 4+ goals 6 times in 11 playoff games. For reference, in 82 regular season games, they reached the 4+ goal mark only 16 times. 

Welcome to the Blog

Hi everyone, welcome to the blog Robbery in Parldise.  This is a sports blog with some fun mixed by yours truly, Jeff Parles and Rob O'Neill.  Both of us will be Sophomores at Mizzou come August, and we both want to get into the field of Sports Journalism one day.  So sit back, relax and enjoy the blog.