Great read by our NBA insider Derek Page. Follow him @DPageHoopsWorldhttp://www.hoopsworld.com/jordan-bobcats-scouring-coaching-market
Great read by our NBA insider Derek Page. Follow him @DPageHoopsWorld
The stage is set for another epic game in this historic rivalry that includes some of the greatest players in NBA history. I have the Cs winning this game purely because they are at home, have a veteran team, and Rajon Rondo should be motivated to make-up for his bad play in Game 6.
Despite early exits from Utah and Dallas, the playoffs have gone as expected. We started with 16 and now we are down to 8. As we move to the second round, teams to watch are the Thunder, Pacers,and the Clippers.These young teams are built to win now and in the future. With and least 1 or 2 superstar and a wealth of talent on the bench, they can easily be crowned this years champions. With such a compact season, these young guns are primed mentally and physically to challenge anyone for the championship. Its hard to watch and at the same time hate to see the old guys struggle to compete with the next generation of superstars.Take a good look now because I suspect that we are about to see the a new NBA Champion!
Lamar Odom will not get his $14,000 payout for the Mavericks short run in the playoffs. The Mavericks were swept by the young OKC Thunder on Saturday. This comes as no surprise since Odom has not been with the team for quite some time.
Don't miss tomorrow night's show when we will air the Mavericks exit interviews. Hear from Rick Carlisle, Donnie Nelson, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd on this tumultuous season and the uncertain future.
Many would look at the off season for the New Orleans Saints as a sports death march. Not only have they lost a head coach, a GM, staff, and players behind "bounty-gate", but they have yet to lock-up the most important piece to the puzzle Drew Brees. The Saints placed a franchise tag on Brees before the suspensions started to rain down much to the dismay of the former MVP. The last time Brees played under such designation he suffered a career-ending type injury on the last game of the season while a San Diego Charger. Many teams wrote him off after that except for the New Orleans Saints. Drew has been adamant that he will not start the season under a franchise tag; he wants to get paid.
The hammer has finally dropped. Roger Goddell and the NFL have finally issued out suspensions for the players they deemed most involved with the Saints' bounty program. Their level of involvement is debatable, but Jonathan Vilma, much like former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and head coach Sean Payton, received the most severe punishment with a full season suspension.
On Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off a last second victory over the defending champion Mavericks.Up by 7 points with less than 3 minutes to go, they went on a 7 - 0 run to win by 1.Here are my 3 keys to a Maverick victory in game 2:
The Washington Redskins selected with the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft the new face of the franchise Robert Griffin III. Then in the 4th round selected with the 102nd pick in the draft QB Kirk Cousins. This immediately drew the backlash of NFL analysts and scouts alike. Why would you want to bring in another rookie QB? Why start a QB controversy?
There is no controversy. Period. If Robert Griffin III can not outplay Kirk Cousins then he deserves not to be the starter. The QB position in the NFL is the most important position in sports. Nobody should blame Mike Shanahan for drafting Cousins to be an understudy for his offense. The Redskins have tried the veteran route for years with no success. Now they will the luxury of grooming a top QB prospect in their own offensive scheme. Just look at what teams like Green Bay and New England have done with Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Matt Cassel, and Ryan Mallett. This is good business for any franchise.
Up by 7 with less than 2 minutes left on the road in game 1 of a playoff series against the most athletic team in the NBA sounds like a steal for the oldest team in the league, but no. On a last second shot by Kevin Durant, NBA scoring champion for a third straight year, the Thunder get the win. The shot was well contested by Shawn Marion, but got a lucky bounce. Dirk Nowitzki turned the ball over in the last minute to give the Thunder a break-away slam to give them a 1 point lead before Dirk hit two clutch free throws. In short, a lot of different story lines to the game and it's outcome, but head coach Rick Carlisle wants all the blame.
After taking the blame, Carlisle reminded us of the one thing that his Maverick team has over every team in the playoffs this year; age. The Mavericks are the most veteran team in the league, even more than San Antonio and Boston. He says his guys will battle back and "keep coming...guns blazing every game". They have been threw these type of situations before in 12 start years in the playoffs.It is playoff time...
The feel in the Mavs locker room was anxiety as the players awaited the start of the real season. Delonte West after suffering a stomach illness will play. Dirk chose to skip the locker room media invasion to shoot hoops in front of the Thunder crowd with Brad Davis. James Harden did the same thing getting ready for his first game back from a concussion.
The stage is set. The players are ready. The season for the Mavs starts now...

I know there will be plenty of trades made throughout the first two rounds, but this mock draft is straight-up. Tune in to tonight's show for more analysis. Yes, I am a Cowboy fan and want them to get Mark Barron. Set your reminder HEREESPN NBA Kobe Bryant will play Friday night
Lakers went 5 - 2 in the 7 games that Kobe missed. Andrew Bynum emerged as the go-to guy in that stretch. Will Kobe buy into feeding Bynum the ball?
Colts GM Ryan Grigson addressed the media yesterday telling the world that indeed Andrew Luck will be the first pick in this years upcoming draft. This will be Grigson's first big move after the departure of Peyton Manning and will be his career defining move also.
The popularity of the NFL is higher than if has ever been. With the NBA season coming to a close, MLB starting to heat up, and the NHL playoffs giving us overtime hockey; the release of the NFL schedule is the top story.