| Basketball Talk

The Linderella Story

"The Knicks are back in playoff contention and Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire seem to be thrilled about LINsanity"

With LINsanity taking the Big Apple by storm and having the Knicks winning the 5 games that Jeremy Lin started, the stock price of Madison Square Garden company has hit an all-time high since it started issuing stock back in January 2010.

The stock market star will be in action against the Toronto Raptors in a sold out Air Canada Center where people are greatly anticipating taking a first look at the sensation that has hit New York and the NBA.[1] The Linderella story as it has come to be known is really amazing as he was actually reported to have been sleeping on his brother’s couch in New York City and also teammate Landry Fields home while he was looking for a place when the Knicks were exploring his uncertain contract options.[1] Read more about The Linderella Story

All-Star Starters: Eastern Conference

I posted about the starters for the Western Conference last week and now I want to talk about the all-star starters for the Eastern Conference.

Dwayne Wade (SG)

With his seventh straight start in the All-Star game, D-Wade is one of two Miami Heat players that will start on February 26. This member of the Heat Big Three was also MVP of the 2010 All-Star game.

Derrick Rose (PG)

Averaging 23 points per game, Derrick Rose makes his third appearance in the backcourt of the All-Star game. I really feel that the East has the edge at the point guard spot even though Paul is seen as a hard worker and a better point guard by some experts. Rose is more exciting to watch and that is why he was the third leading vote getter overall.

LeBron James (SF)

Dwayne Wade is not the only member of the Miami Heat Big Three to be an MVP in the All-Star game as LeBron James has two of them in 2006 and 2008. James is having a very good season with a career high shooting percentage of 55 percent and a 12 games of at least 30 points.

Carmelo Anthony (PF)

There seems to be a bit of debate going on about whether it should have been Chris Bosh that should have been voted in instead. But Anthony seems to be doing his part to right the Knicks boat and make them playoffs contenders once again.

Dwight Howard (C)

With 1.6 million votes, Superman is the leading vote getter overall and beat Kobe by about 45,000 votes. This dominant center is averaging 15 rebounds a game which is the most in the NBA. Read more about All-Star Starters: Eastern Conference

All-Star Starters: Western Conference

The City of Angels has four starters in this month’s All-Star game with the Lakers with a guard and a center and the Clippers with a guard and an explosive forward.

Kobe Bryant (SG)

This is the fourteenth straight appearance for Kobe Bryant with every one of them as a starter. This pretty automatic given his highest points per game in the NBA of 30 points and 4 games of at least 40 points. He has a chance to increase his 4 All-Star game MVPs which is one ahead of MJ, Oscar and Shaq and tied with Bob Pettit. Read more about All-Star Starters: Western Conference

Basketball Talk will be NBA Talk for Today

With NBA All-Star Weekend exactly a month away and the end of the regular season 3 months from today, I wanted to talk about the NBA on this blog. I think I can start getting some NBA playoffs talk going now since about 20 games have been played in the shortened 66 game season.

Conference Leaders

In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder are at the top with a 15-3 record and a 2 game lead over the Denver Nuggets. Young stars Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook have kept the Thunder rolling since making it to the Western Conference Finals last season. This was as expected by NBA analysts who felt that a shortened season will be to the advantage of the Thunder who have a young and deep group of players.

In the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls after having their hearts crushed by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season have surged ahead this season with a 16-4 record and look on course to get the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the second year in a row. Read more about Basketball Talk will be NBA Talk for Today

His Airness says that only Kobe Bryant deserves to be compared to him

I was watching the Denver Broncos take on the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional playoffs last weekend and was excited for the match-up between Tim Tebow and Tom Brady. Then I happen to come across this Nike commercial on TV about the Kobe System. People had always asked me about who inspired me and I had stated that it was without doubt Kobe Bryant. Then everybody would rebuff that he was an NBA player and how could I use him as a role model. Well, this ad definitely shows that anybody can take inspiration!

College Basketball games to Watch out For

Today has been exciting watching the divisional playoffs and seeing the San Francisco 49ers advance to the NFC Championship by beating the New Orleans Saints in a thriller. Furthermore, Brady, Gronkowski and the Patriots are up 45-10 against the Denver Broncos with Brady throwing a record 5 touchdowns in the first half of a post-season game.

As wonderful as football is going to be, it’s that time of the year when we look ahead to March Madness. I want to list some of the games that I’m greatly looking forward to watching.

Thursday, January 19 - Cal at Washington: The newly formed PAC-12 has a good game in Seattle which the Golden Bears should win to gain momentum and topple Stanford in the standings before heading to the Big Dance.

Sunday, February 5 – Michigan at Michigan State: I guess I need to give some love to my favorite conference the Big Ten. Michigan State is on top of the Big Ten standings with a 4-1 record and Michigan is number three with a 4-2 record. I know that Michigan State travel to Ann Arbor next Tuesday, but I am looking forward to this one because it is a lot closer to the Big Ten Tournament.

Saturday, February 11 – Kentucky at Vanderbilt: I love Kentucky basketball and they had to be included here. Vanderbilt and Kentucky are on a hot streak and it should be a very exciting game to catch some Big Blue Nation action with ESPN’s College GameDay crew in town.

NBA back with a bang and some NCAA projections

Christmas Day Season Opener

So the NBA is back! Fans were very pleased with its return on Christmas Day as evidenced by the TV ratings. The game that I was looking forward to greatly after having my roast turkey and sweet potato pie (highly recommend it; those Southerners sure have great cuisine) was the Chicago Bulls at the Staples Center taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. This was a great game that unfortunately ended in a one-point loss for my favorite team the Lakers. However, it was record-setting and went down as the third most-watched regular season game ever on ABC.