NBA Conference Finals -- What Did We Learn?

BC MAFIA Godfather back again -- going 2-0 in Conference Final predictions.
But while I picked the correct winners, I really didn't expect the Bulls and Thunder to go out like a bunch of softees............but, they did!
Are the Heat and Mavs really that good?
NBA fans should hope so. It would make for one FANtastic Finals series.

But before we go any further: Now that the Championship series is set...what did we learn from the Conference Finals?

Here are my top 5 lessons:

5. Jason Kidd is HUNGRY.
He's looking better than he did the last time he was in the NBA Finals (2003).
Kidd sees this for what it is, his last chance to be an NBA Champion.
This realization could make him the "X-factor" should the Mavs beat the Heat.
He's making smart decisions, showing great court vision, poised on defense, and hitting his open shots.
What more could one want from their point guard?

4. This Dallas Mavericks bench is deeeeeeeeeeeep.
What most observers suspected in the regular season has really shown itself to be true in the playoffs: The Mavs bench is the deepest in the league.
Lead by JJ Barea and Jason Terry, a Championship for Big D rests as much on the shoulders of the Mavs' bench as it does on Dirk's.

3. Oklahoma Thunder were not who we thought they were.
Giving the Mavs their props, one still has to recognize that Durant is not going to bring home the Championship trophy as OKC's sole offensive threat.
Kendrick Perkins was a solid pick-up and is complimented well by Serge Ibaka in the paint on defense.
But no one but Kevin Durant can reliably create his own shot against decent teams.
Sefolosha ain't gonna do it.....and don't even get me started on Westbrook.
Although they are young and athletic, OKC will not make it back to the Conference Finals despite the experience they gained this post season unless they fill one glaring need: A SOLID POINT GUARD who can create easy shots for others.

2. The Bulls were not who THEY thought they were.
Chicago was a team that presented itself as a hard-nosed tough-as-nails squad that would not be mishandled by any other team in the NBA.
Boozer & Noah gave the appearance of an intimidating presence in the paint.
But what we saw against Miami showed these Bulls are little more than grizzly bearded teddy bears.

1. Derrick Rose is human.
He had been unstoppable night after night after night.
Then Game 2 against Miami happened and he never recovered.
Some day he will look back at this post-season and realize he missed his only opportunity to be a Season MVP and a Finals MVP. What a shame.




In an unrelated story......

It's nice to see Shaq is back at the gym and working on his free throws

I kid because I love!

The BC has got it going on Foo!

New York Yankee Fans - I Did Not Know That About You

For all the stories about how fickle sports fans are in the Big Apple...
For all the stories about how impatient and unforgiving Yankee fans are...
The Jorge Posada incident this weekend, or rather the reaction to it, was a pleasant surprise.

Posada is having a terrible year at the plate for the New York Yankees.
A career .273 batter, he's at .165 this season.
And just when I figured New York fans and media were about to tear him into pieces, Posada made the bait all the more tantalizing to them: He asked to sit out of Saturday's game against rival #1, the Boston Red Sox.

So, Posada asks to sit out of a home game against the Yankees' hated rivals in the middle of a hitting slump (and in the middle of a Yankee losing streak) and what do we get from their fans....
Jeers? Obscenities? Shredding of his public persona with insulting signs in the stands?
Nope. We got NONE of the above. And that's as it should be...

Posada has been an excellent member of the New York community.
He's been a great role model for Major League Baseball as a whole.
And he has handled the New York spotlight better than most.

Let's face it, how many star players can suit up for the Yankees for SIXTEEN seasons and stay out of trouble with fans and/or the media as well as Jorge Posada has?
That's very tough to do....just ask A-Rod or any number of other star Yankees who have failed to keep a positive image in the middle of that media circus.

Sixteen years and so few steps backward for Posada.
He's earned more than a day off in the midst of a hitting slump.
Thankfully, Yankee fans seemed to recognize it.

Hats off to Yankee fans for supporting Posada upon his return to the field as a pinch-hitter on Sunday.
The support was deserved. The applause was classy.

J. Posada: Honorary member of the Billycock Mafia

BC Mafia's got it going on Foo!

NBA Playoffs - Conference Finals -- My Predictions

Yours truly, The Billycock Mafia Godfather, took a serious hit in Round 2 going 2-2 on my predictions.

Heat, Bulls, Thunder, and Mavs......welcome to the jungle, baybeeeeeee!

My Conference Champ predictions:

Western Conference Champs: The Dallas Mavs

Eastern Conference Champs: The Miami Heat

My pick in the East goes against my picks all post-season....but, I don't see the Bulls supporting cast helping D-Rose the way I had originally envisioned.

Bulls and Thunder......you may go.



The BC for life Foo!

NBA Playoffs -- Top 5 Things We learned In Round 2

The 2nd round is over....what did we learn?

Lesson #5:  Dirk Nowitzki is not soft
This guy may have deserved a reputation for being soft in the past.
But, no more!
He's got some solid help around him with Barea, Terry, and Kidd playing above expectations.
But, make no mistake: This team will only go as far as Dirk takes them.
And right now, it looks like he's prepared to take them all the way.

Lesson #4: Pau Gasol is soft.
Just reverse most of what I said about Dirk above.
This guy had a reputation for being soft when he was with Memphis.
Then he was gifted (not traded) to L.A. and all of sudden the dude is the "next Kareem"?
Uh....NO!
Paired with Kobe and a solid guard in Fisher, he played above his talent and heart last year.
This year, he played a little closer to what we saw in Memphis: Pretty good in the regular season...and then nothing.
Gasol is who we thought he was.

Lesson #3: D-Rose needs help.
I have been a fan of Rose's supporting cast all year long.
But, it's playoff time and some fellas need to step up.
Rose is carrying the Chicago Bulls as if he's got a bunch of nobodies on the court with him.
With names like Boozer, Noah, and Deng sharing the floor with him, Rose shouldn't be carrying so much of the load.
These boys better get in the game next series because there's one thing the Heat will do and that's contain Rose.
They won't stop him, but they will contain him.

Lesson #2: It's not better to burn out, than fade away.
Lakers and Celtics looked terrible in their Round 2 matchups.
Their opponents had something to prove. The Lakers and Celts didn't.
And from the opening tip, you could tell.
L.A. and Boston looked like teams satisfied with their past accomplishments, instead of looking like a team driven to repeat them.

Lesson #1: Mark Cuban can shut up when he wants to.
Mavs are winning and all of sudden all is right in Mark Cuban's world.
He's in love with the opponent. He's a fan of the officials. He's a dutiful NBA owner.
Are we to believe Cuban will remain quiet all through the playoffs should Dallas win in the Finals?
That would be amazing.
Mav-haters would see that as reason enough to hope Dirk raises the Larry O'Brien trophy in celebration this year.

No this is NOT Photoshop. He really did close his mouth for a moment.

Hear BC Mafia Get Wicked Foo!

Memphis and Oklahoma City...are FANtastic!

Watching the NBA's Western Conference playoff match-up between the OKC Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies I can not help but feel bad for the fans.
There is no better group of fans in the NBA than in those two arenas.
Why the basketball gods saw fit to match the two up now instead of the Western Conference Finals is beyond me.

All of the positives about Thunder fans apply to Grizz fans.
But, you can summarize them by simply stating they are FANtastic.

Do they care about basketball? I don't know.
Do they support the NBA in general? I don't care.
Do they live and die by their home team? Hell yes!

It's apparent that these fans would support their team whether they were in the NBA, NBDL, NHL, or even just playing checkers with the old guys at the park.
And I love them for that.

So how do fans from other NBA playoff teams stack up?
Glad you asked:

L.A. Lakers
Ho-hum. These fans are too busy trying to look good for fan cams to worry about the game.
They arrive late and leave early. There's just no time to sit for 4 quarters when you are late for your next boob job and/or your next spray-on tan session.

Dallas Mavericks
Think L.A. without the celebrities.
I always heard Dallas called the "Big D". I just always assumed the "D" was for Dallas.
I now realize the "D" stands for Douchebag.
Hardore Mav fans seem to stay home on game nights or are only allowed in the upper balconies.
The men and women court-side at Mav games seem to go to games only to have something to do until nightclubs in the metroplex really get thumping.

Atlanta Hawks
Great fans who show up ready to scream and cheer with all their might........for now.
Who can forget all of those empty seats before this playoff success.
This has been a young team in the process of rebuilding.
And even when the potential was clearly visible, no one came.
Now, you can't find an empty seat in the house.
But, no worries.
If you want to see the Hawks play live, just wait for a 2-3 game losing streak and there will be plenty of seating available thanks to their weak fans.
Look up "fair weather fans" in any dictionary and you will find these Hawks supporters.
Though occasionally you may find pictures of........

Miami Heat
Miami's fans are just like Atlanta Hawk fans...but with a Latin flare for fashion.
Where was the frenzied, passionate, hardcore Heat fan before last summer?
Let's be honest...The Heat's cheerleaders are worth the ticket price whether Lebron is in the game or not.
No excuses people. You should have been filling this arena in support of Wade (and those cheerleaders) long before last summer.

San Antonio Spurs
OK. So the Spurs won a few titles.
Get over yourselves already!
Spurs supporters at the game act like none of the games matter until the Western Conference Finals.
And even then the WCF is only the pre-season for the Championship round.
These Spur fans are BORING.
You'd better wake up people -- it's been four years since the boys in black made it to the Finals
One of you, the team or the fans, better wake up soon.
Learn something from Celtic fans. They've got the banners AND the spirit.

I wouldnt' care if Lebron retired tomorrow...I'd go to Heat games!

Respect The Billycock Foo!

Are These Your Father's Dallas Mavericks?

Known for choking in the playoffs and giving away a 2-0 lead in the Finals to the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks are in a familiar, yet unfriendly, spot against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nearly two months ago I asked the following two questions:

Are these the same Lakers we have come to know?
Are these the same Mavs we have seen fold?

This late in the season, this far into the playoffs....and still we don't know.
But, it sure looks like the answer to both questions will be a resounding "NO".

Mavs have earned the two wins in L.A. with clutch offense and solid defense.
Don't listen to the media reports that blame the losses only on how poorly L.A. is playing.
The wins in L.A. were more about how well Dallas played than they were about how bad L.A. looked.

Still, everyone not a Dallas Maverick fan should hope for a Game 3 win by L.A.

Why?
A game 3 win by L.A. and game 4 becomes must-see TV for the basketball universe.
And, if L.A. goes into game 4 only down 2-1, both of my questions above will be answered in those 48-minutes...Now that's excitement!

Artest don't know karate...but he does know karayzee!

BC Mafia -- In full effect, FOO!

NBA Playoffs - Round 2 Predictions

The Billycock Mafia Godfather went 5-3 on round one.
Apparently some teams didn't get the message.
Round 2 is upon us....and with it more predictions.

Here are your winners:

Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder
Los Angeles Lakers

Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls

All other teams sleep with the fishes.



The BC Mafia rules Foo!

Heat vs Celtics -- War Of The Worlds!

At 3:30ET today, two worlds will go to war.
And the battles that make up this war should be brutal and beautiful.
The Miami Heat host the Boston Celtics with something to prove.
The Boston Celtics visit the Miami Heat with something to prove.

The Boston Celtics are from the world of past glory, bannered rafters, gritty physical play, and basketball royalty.
The Miami Heat are from the world of modern superheroes, trend-setting alliances, flashy athleticism, and media royalty.

Miami's big 3, Chris Bosh, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade, were brought together as much by the beat-downs suffered at the hands of these Celtics as by anything else.
The Boston Celtics loathe the attention given to these Miami Heat despite the fact that the Boston Celtics are the reigning NBA Eastern Conference Champs.

The series is personal to both squads.

Now, the lines are drawn.
And the match-up that nearly every NBA fan has been waiting for will begin this afternoon.

And we few, we fortunate few, get to watch the two worlds collide!

The BC Mafia's got a brand new bag Foo!