|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th): 41-14 (first place, Southeast Division)
|
4
|
This Month:
2
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Joel Anthony
 At one time Joel Anthony started for this Miami Heat team and was considered as a valuable role player on a team headed for numerous championship titles; however, now he has simply disappeared without a trace without as much as a whimper. According to his game log on ESPN.com, he played in all but nine games in the regular season; however, no one can really remember them as he barely made little or any impact while on the floor. At a price tag at nearly 4$ million this season, you would think that Joel Anthony would have a more prominent role and expect a greater impact on this team. Unfortunately that has not been the case as Joel Anthony has been virtually invisible for the bulk of the regular season and has contributed little if anything to this season's Miami team. With another two years left on his deal, expect Anthony to end up yet another bloated dead weight contract joining the likes of his teammates Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis. |
First Player
of the Month: Lebron James
 Usually this portion is reserved for the unsung heroes that get overshadowed by their team's superstars; however , Lebron James' performance was so amazing that he actually outdid himself. In the month of January, James was simply unstoppable offensively as he simply torched his opposition averaging 27.0 points per game while shooting .555 from the field. In that month, he shot .500 or better in all but two games, and as if you think he could surpass that, he went on to abusive his opponents in February scoring near 30 per game while shooting .647 from the field and a scintillating .432 from beyond the arc. To add insult to injury James not only steamrolled his defenders but also showed true overall perfection as a player posting nine double-doubles and two triple doubles to boot. Such a performance is only a testament of how truly great Lebron James is and what he can do when he utilizes his full potential. |
|
Analysis:
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, the Miami Heat has continued their "scorched Earth" policy essentially laying waste to their competition leaving nothing else but a smoking crater remaining. Although the Heat started the new year on a sour losing four of their first seven games, they bounced back by winning all but three games by the end of February. After a loss on the road against the Utah Jazz (1/14/2013), they went on a four game run torching both the Golden State Warriors (1/16/2013) and Los Angeles Lakers on the road (1/17/2013) while making short work of the Toronto Raptors (1/23/2013) and Detroit Pistons at home (1/25/2013). They hit a small speed bump on the road in the form of the Boston Celtics losing to the aging team by a basket in overtime (1/27/2013); however, the Heat bounced back by simply humiliating the Brooklyn Nets on their home court as the blew them out in front of their fans by a 20 point margin (1/30/2013). Despite starting 2013 with a less than stellar 8-5 record, the following month, Miami would go on a merciless rampage leaving nothing but ashes and rubble in its path.
February would start on a sour note losing on the road against the Indiana Pacers (2/1/2013); however, that would be the Heat's only loss as they simply breezed through the month scorching anyone who dared to get in their way. And they won in impressive fashion to say the least scoring 100 or more points in all but two games--a surprising close contest between the lowly Charlotte Bobcats (2/4/2013) and a routing of the Chicago Bulls (2/21/2013) where the Heat scored just 86 points, but held the Bulls to just 67. In their twelve game thrashing, they beat their opponents by an average margin of nearly 13 points per contest beating as but three teams by ten or more points--and these teams were not really pushovers either as six of them had .500 or better records. Miami laid waste to such powerhouses such as the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Clippers (2/8/2013) showing no hospitality whatsoever to their guest as they blew them out the arena. The Heat then went on road to show what terrible house guests they were by slapping the Oklahoma City Thunder, who own the second best record in the Western Conference, along with their home fans across the face as they beat them rather simply by 10 points (2/14/2012).
And it did not stop from there as the Heat would go on to ransack the homes of the Atlanta Hawks (2/20/2013) followed by the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers (2/23/2013) beating them by an average margin of 19 points. Unfortunately, the Heat started to show signs of fatigue after wasting away the competition as they barely managed to win against one of the East's whipping boys in the Cleveland Cavaliers (2/24/2013) and had to go through overtime to put down of all teams, the Sacramento Kings (2/26/2013). In the Sacramento game, the Heat not only had to take overtime to beat the Kings, but allowed one of the worst shooting teams in the league to score 129 points and shoot an very uncharacteristic .515 from the field, considering that Miami is one of the league's best when it comes to holding their opponents down defensively. Miami had to drop a season high 141 points to beat a team who they would have otherwise snuffed out easily at any other time. Nonetheless, it was all about getting the win and they did finishing their clear domination of February as they won twelve straight reaching their win total to forty one games all but clinching themselves a playoff spot with still a little more that a month left in the regular season.
To get a better idea of how good a spot the Heat currently are in, just ponder on this--if Miami were to lose every single game for the season, which the chances of that being slim to none, Miami would still finish with a .500 record and still be eligible to qualify for the playoffs. If they managed to finish the season winning just nine of the last 27 games, they would still end up with a respectable 50 win season, a feat that most teams in the league often strive for. To put it bluntly, the Heat not only have already punched their ticket to the post season while the rest of the league battles it out, but have also secured themselves home court advantage throughout the playoffs and into the Finals. Miami is so far ahead in the East, that no one in their own conference comes near to them in the standings and if they continue at their winning pace, which would be mind boggling to say the least, the Heat will have the East in the palm of their hands. Simply put, there is literally no team that can get stand in the way of the Heat for their third straight NBA Finals appearance and possibly their second straight NBA championship crown.
Now for most fans and observers, it is basically a waiting game as the outcome has essentially been already determined--2013 will be the Heat's year yet again. Knicks fans in New York can stop gassing themselves up saying that this is the year they win a title, because it is simply not going to happen, not this year of the following three years after that. The Heat essentially have positioned themselves as the undisputed king of the Eastern Conference and barring a cataclysmic disaster, they will remain there until the trio of Dwayne, Lebron and Chris (or RUN DLC, as I like to call them) remain in South Florida. Currently they may rest second in the league in win totals just resting behind the San Antonio Spurs, but that means absolutely nothing because come playoff time, it's going to be the Miami Heat Invitational. Forget about winning a title because all the other 15 teams that qualify for the postseason will be simply vying for a spot for who will face and inevitably lose to the Miami Heat thus making this the most predictable and mundane season in NBA History. |
||
Saturday, May 18, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 2. Miami Heat
Friday, May 17, 2013
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/16/2013)
After a hard fought series, the San Antonio Spurs have advanced to the next round as they defeated the Golden State Warriors in a decisive game six while the New York Knicks live to fight another day as they win the crucial game five against the Indiana Pacers. Watch all the highlights from those two pivotal games last night right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
After elimination from the Playoffs, Stephen Curry and the Warriors show their appreciation for the fans at Oracle Arena. Check out the heart felt speech he gave to the fans.
To prevent his team from becoming another playoff casualty, the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony really had to dig deep to ensure his team would stay alive in their series. Anthony scored 28 points to assure that his team's season is extended at least one more game.
Finally, let's take a look at the five most memorable plays of a climactic Thursday night as chosen by the editorial staff of NBA.com.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/15/2013)
One number one seed advances to the Conference Finals while the other gets shockingly eliminated and starts its summer vacation earlier than expected. See which one advanced and which one floundered right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
Last night, Zach Randolph scored 28 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lift the Memphis Grizzlies over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a decisive game five giving the team its first ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals in its history.
In shocking twist, instead of just giving us five plays, the gold folk on the editorial staff of NBA.com treat us with ten top plays. Watch which play made number one right here.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/14/2013)
The New York Knicks find themselves in the most unenviable of spots down three games to one as they will head back to Madison Square Garden to try and stay alive in their series against the Indiana Pacers. At the same time, the San Antonio Spurs win the crucial game five at home against the Golden State Warriors to get them one game away from advancing to the Conference Finals. Watch all the highlights from last night's playoff action right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
George Hill was key in Indiana's win over the Knicks as he scored 26 points to lead the Pacers over the Knicks to take a 3-1 series lead. Check out some of his best moments right here.
Finally, here are the five best play's from last night as selected by the editorial staff from NBA.com which features an amazing stuff courtesy of the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
SDH Presents the NBA's Worst to First for January and and February: 3. Oklahoma City Thunder
|
Overall
Win/Loss Record (as of February 28th): 42-15 (first place, Northwest Division)
|
2
|
This Month:
3
|
Team
Statistics and League Rank (as of February 28th)
|
Individual
Statistical Leaders (as of February 28th)
|
|
Worst Player
of the Month: Kevin Martin
 He was supposed to be the replacement for the loss of James Harden's production; however Kevin Martin has not provided that solid third option on offense as his predecessor, now with the Houston Rockets had. Although he has put forth rather respectable numbers averaging around 14 points per game, he has yet to show that he can handle the load of being that clutch performer that the Thunder will need him to be come playoff time. In January, Martin scored more than points only twice for the month, while in February, he only hit the 20 point mark. Martin has also shown the uncanny ability to completely disappear in games and his fluctuating minutes have proven that coach Scott Brooks does not consider him as reliable. Hopefully Martin will finally step out of the shadows and play the way he did in his time in Sacramento and Houston come playoff time, because they will need him to bring his A game then. |
First Player
of the Month: Russell Westbrook
 It such a pleasant surprise to see Russell Westbrook evolution from ball hogging chucker to an actual point guard. He has still shown a penchant to hoist it up when he can, but he has reined in his game to allow his teammates to catch up and contribute. Last season his teammates were more spectators than contributors on the offensive end, now they thanks to Westbrook's new found maturity, they have now become more active participants in the team's offensive schemes making the team better overall. One can even argue that it is him, not Kevin Durant that has been the team's top player as much of the team's improvement has to do with his new found devotion to being a point guard. In fact, Russel Westbrook can be considered so important that if anything were to happen to him come playoff time, it may spell disaster for the Thunder's aspirations for another NBA Finals run. |
|
Analysis:
Very few teams can be considered as invincible; however, upon looking at the performance of Oklahoma City Thunder thus far this season, one can say that this team certainly deserves such a title. While other teams in the NBA have gone up and down, the Thunder have remained pretty level providing the same production and have kept winning at the same blistering pace. In the past couple of the months, OKC have been almost unstoppable losing just nine games in that span of time--just five in January and four in February. After every loss, the Thunder proved themselves quite able to bounce right back to winning and not find themselves mired in any losing streaks. So far the longest losing streak the team has had thus far has been three games--a stretch that saw them lost three straight against the Utah Jazz (2/12/2013), Miami Heat (2/14/2013) and Houston Rockets (2/20/2013); otherwise the Thunder have simply been unstoppable.
And the Thunder's dominance was not only shown in the number of game that they had won, but also the way they did it as they resembled more a devastating hurricane destroying everything in its path leaving nothing but rubble and devastation behind. The Thunder not only beat their opponents, they simply grounded them into dust winning seventeen of their eighteen games by ten or more points by an average margin of more than 18 points. Their opponents simply could not stop the Thunder's offensive juggernaut as OKC would drop an average 104 points per game allowing them to put up 100 or more points in all but seven games. Only three teams managed to weather the Thunder's offensive barrage allowing them to score 100 points or more while still coming away with the win; however, they did not beat Oklahoma City as much they manage to survive and outlast them, which was a rarity to say the least. The Denver Nuggets only managed to scrape past the Thunder in overtime by just three points despite OKC dropping 118 on them (1/20/2013) while the Houston Rockets narrowly escaped regulation by three points having to score 122 to beat the Thunder(2/20/2013); and finally the largest margin that the Thunder lost by when allowed to score at least 100 points was ten courtesy of the Miami Heat (2/14/2013). Otherwise, save for the three teams that managed to live long enough to tell the tale of the Oak City Hurricane, the rest of the Thunder's would be opponent would simply get swept away--and not to the magical realm of OZ either. The teams that had the most success were the ones that actually managed to hold the Thunder from reaching the hundred 100 point mark as OKC was just 2-4 when held under the century mark. The biggest success stories were the Brooklyn Nets, who held the Thunder to just 93 points beating them by 17 (1/2/2013); the Los Angeles Lakers, who managed to best the Thunder by nine holding them to 96 points (1/27/2013); and the Utah Jazz, who shockingly best OKC by 15 as they held the Thunder to 94 (2/12/2013). Ironically, however, despite their penchant for struggling when held under 100 points--a rarity to say the least--OKC still managed to win by scoring its lowest point total in the season of against the Portland Trailblazers narrowly beating them by just three points (1/13/2013). Otherwise, save for a scant few exceptions, it was next to impossible for ANY team, even the best in the league, could not in any way manage to hold the Thunder back. While the Thunder simply scorched the opponents leaving noting but a smoking pile of ash and rubble in their wake, it was the team's defense that virtually snuffed their opponents not even allowing them to strike a spark. In the two inaugural months of 2013, the Thunder held their opponents to just 97 points allowing just eleven of them to eclipse the 100 point mark. Thus far, OKC literally has had a vice grip upon their opponents only allowing them to shoot under .430 from the field ranking second in the league. As if they were not punishing enough on the defensive end already, in January and February the Thunder found a way to continue tightening the thumbscrews even further to not only shatter their opponents to pieces, but to further grind them into dust. They simply showed mercy as they rose like a wave from a tsunami allowing any of their opponents any daylight to get off a quality shit then come crashing upon them laying waste to everything in its path. Unlike as tsunami wave that many consider a one time phenomenon, however, Thunder have continued to relentlessly rise and crash at the same power and intensity never showing any sign of letting up.
If this is not a true example of invincibility, I do not know what is--the Thunder has certainly gone out of its way to show that they are possibly the most devastating force in the NBA next to the Miami Heat. If they continue playing at this pace as the regular season winds down to a close, they will certainly own the West come playoff and and be all but assured a second straight NBA Finals appearance, and unlike the first time, they will not be the pushovers that got rolled over by the Heat like last season. This time, the team has matured a lot since them and have developed their arsenal to be utilized at their full potential. It will not longer be a three man show as it was last season with the rest of the teams either watching as spectators or simply cleaning up all the misses. Whoever will be facing the Thunder come playoff time will now be facing a balanced well oiled machine that is able to attack all all sides giving little relief or mercy to anyone that dare to step against them. Just punch Oklahoma City's ticket to the NBA Finals already as virtually no team in the west can stop them.
|
||
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/13/2013)
The Miami Heat now have the Chicago Bulls against the ropes as the easily take game four on Chicago's home court while the Oklahoma City Thunder are on the brink of elimination after losing their game four against the Memphis Grizzlies. Check out the FULL highlights from both big game fours right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
Also take a look at the top five play from last nights action courtesy of the good folk on the editorial staff on NBA.com.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Monday, May 13, 2013
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/12/2013)
There was just one game last night on Sunday as the San Antonio Spurs faced the Golden State Warriors on the road; however, the Spurs fell short as ther head back to San Antonio with their series all even at two games a piece. Watch the highlights from that monumental game right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
Warriors rookie Harrison Barnes scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help Golden State even the series.
Finally, here are the five top plays from a pivotal Sunday night as selected by the editorial staff of NBA.com.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/11/2013)
Both the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder find their back against the wall as they both are looking down the barrel of a two games to one lead while trying to even the series on enemy territory. Check out the highlights of all the action from a PIVOTAL Saturday night right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
Check out some of the highlights from the Indiana Pacers big man Roy Hibbert's BIG performance against the Knicks as he scores a playoffs career-high 24 points and hauls in 12 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a Game 3 victory!
Also, check out some of the highlights from Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire's return to action Saturday night against the Pacers as he throws down the mean slam dunk and hits the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the 3rd quarter! Too bad the Knicks lost, however.
Last, but certainly not the least, here are the five top plays from a BIG night of game threes as selected by the good folk on the editorial staff of NBA.com.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
SDH Presents NBA Playoffs Nightly Highlights (5/10/2013)
On Friday night both the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs earned big game three wins on enemy territory giving them both a two games to one lead against their opponents. Watch all the highlights as we take a look back on all the best action right here on Slap Dog Hoops.
Check out some of the best of NBA.com's Phantom Camera footage captured from Game 3 of the Heat at Bulls and relive this physical battle in super slow motion!
Also take a look at the Top Five Plays of Thursday night as selected by the editorial staff of NBA.com which includes a surprising swat from the diminutive Nate Robinson of the Chicago Bulls.
As always, you can view full game by game recaps, highlights and post game interviews on www.nba.com/video and be sure to stay tuned in the coming days as SDH recaps, reviews, reminisces, and ranks all 30 teams for both January and February in SDH's Worst to First Countdown.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)