NBA Finals Review/ Me Getting Bluffed

I'll just come out and say it, I really didn't watch that much of the 2009 NBA Finals. Umpiring, Reffing, and other things caused me to miss the first half of about every game. Then, upon seeing the score of most of the games, I just casually watched the rest of the game, because it was either a blowout or just not that interesting. As did most, I correctly chose the Lakers to win, but said it'd be in 6 instead of 5. I wanted to choose them in five but just couldn't. I still am going to hold onto the fact that the Magic should game won Game 2, and then the Lakers the title in Game 6 in LA.

Something with the NBA over the last few years has me losing faith. I have been bored by every NBA Finals over the last 3 years. I always come in with high expectations for the playoffs, and then get pretty excited for the NBA Finals, only get to get let down. Maybe the right teams just haven't been facing each other, and maybe it will get better. Who knows, let's just hope. Unfortunately for the casual NBA fan like me, we didn't get to see the best team in the West play the best team in East. The Celtics with KG would have been the best opponent for the Lakers. Just my opinion, and I'm sad we didn't get to see it.

Regardless of what was done by the two teams, the Finals was all about Kobe. All throughout the playoffs the announcers went over how bad Kobe wanted it and was ready to do what he needed to win it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again (it was that annoying). However, what happened in this NBA Finals and playoffs did not change my opinion on Kobe one bit. He's not that guy that makes everyone on his team better or brings magic to the court. He is just a really great player, that lead to the Championship. He finally dropped the "can't do it without Shaq" tag, but I really don't care. I have never, and will never be able to root for a team he is on (besides the Dream Team). There is just something about him that just makes him unlikable to me. It never seemed like things he was doing were natural (such as celebrations). It was always like he was thinking about how he was going to be perceived, and seemed intent on being like Jordan. We don't need the next Jordan, there will never be another one. How about creating something unique? My friend Kurt pretty much summed up my thoughts on Kobe winning this title with his excellent post game text. It read: "This is the way I wanted to see Kobe win...boring series...very forgettable...didn't have any huge shots or plays...on the road...bad opponent...perfection." Well said.

The End (if you don't care about poker)

I now want to get share a few very crazy poker hands from last night, both of which I got played like a fool. But before that I just wanted to say a few comments about Sammy Sosa. Waaaaittt a minute, I don't care enough to do that. If you didn't see this coming, you had blinders on your eyes. On to poker. It was a very lively game last night, and it seemed like most everyone at the table had their super aggressive shoes on for some reason. I had been raising an average amount of hands before the flop, but that is to be expected in a short handed game. I had been showing the good nearly every time I bet and got involved in a hand, but apparently the rest of the table did not take notice of that. Anyway, on to the first. I was under the gun, and I raised (blinds 25/50) to $1.75 with King Queen suited in diamonds. My friend Hermie called behind me, and then my friend Corey raised to $6 from the big blind. I of course obliged with a call (after considering a reraise, but expecting Hermie to call) and Hermie followed suit behind me. Flop was K J 2, Everyone checked around (Mistake #1 by me) the turn was a 6. Check by Corey, bet of I think of like 8 bucks by Corey, I called (Mistake #2), Hermie folded. The river was a 3. Corey comes out with a huge bet of $26. Huhhhh????? The whole hand I pretty much thought, I was beat, but I should have raised earlier to see where I stood. I thought for awhile and folded my KQ, fearing AK, KJ or a small set. I folded my King face up (Mistake #3), and Corey showed his lovely rags of Q4, raking in a huge pot. Embarrassing. Sometimes players lose their minds like Corey did in this hand, but it sometimes is hard to call a huge bet with one pair. Great play by him.
The second hand was a four way multi pot. My friend Drew raised to $4 preflop, called by Corey, me (with 97 of clubs) and my friend Mike Tyus. I really liked my hand in this multi-way pot because if I hit, I thought I'd take in a huge pot. Flop- 9s 8s 3h Check by Corey, Check by Me, Check by Mike, Drew bets $5 and Corey called. Just before the flop came out I said "Drew has won almost every hand he's raised". By the look of his bet, I think Drew was just living off that reputation, and trying to steal the pot there. I felt that Corey was aware of this, thus making the call. All I had was a pair of nines, but I felt I could take the pot right there, so I raised to $15. The person i wasn't even thinking about in the hand was Mike. He thought forever, then pushed all in for about $27 dollars more. Drew and Corey instantly folded (at least I was right about them). See usually when people make these plays they are very strong. I thought about it a good while, eventually folded. Mike showed Q6 of spades for just a measly spade draw. I should have called. Mike either lost his mind on this hand or just wanted to gamble (I think a little of both). We ran the hand out just for fun, and he missed the spades but would have hit a queen on the river. Regardless, I still should have called, and yet again got bullied out of a pot that most of the time would be mine. Next time I play, I will make sure my balls are attached. :)

That's all, thanks for reading. Grayslake this weekend, pretty excited! I leave you all with a link to this short video featuring Illinois State Basketball's Osiris Eldridge.

NBA Finals Preview

Welllll.... I didn't think I was going to be writing this blog post. Well, actually I knew I would be writing a post adddbout the NBA Finals, just not about these two teams. Anyone that talked to me about the NBA playoffs at all, there was no doubt in my mind that it'd be Lakers/Cavs. Granted I was a lot more convinced that the Lakers would be there than the Cavs, but I just thought this would be a year that Lebron would make sure his team made it there, no matter if the surrounding cast just wasn't that good. And they weren't that good. Which makes me ask: Did the front office really thing that team would be able to get to/ win the NBA finals? I don't know how they possibly could have. Mo Williams and Big Z had damn impressive years, but going into the season the Big 3 of Mo Williams, Big Z, and Lebron didn't seem that impressive, and in the playoffs (Besides Lebron of course) they just weren't. I don't really see this being a problem for much longer, because good players are going to want to come join Lebron (i think?).
Now onto the Finals. I'm going to break the series into a few categories, picking a winner for each one, and at the end I'll make my prediction.

Superstar- Dwight Howard v Kobe Bryant. Advantage: Hands Down Lakers. Obviously, this two won't be going head to head, but their contributions will have a huge effect on who wins. Dwight really performed towards the end of the Eastern Finals, but this one is hands down Kobe. Knowing Kobe's personality, I bet his drive is higher than ever to win this title for one reason, to do without Shaq. And he needs to. I think it was Shaq that was said that Kobe wouldn't have won those earlier titles without Shaq nor Shaq without Kobe. I agree. BUT, I think there would have been a much better chance of Shaq winning one without Kobe, than Kobe without Shaq. Just sayin...

Surrounding Stars- Pau/ Odom v Rashard/Hedo. Advantage: PUSH. And I saw push soley because of Pau. He is one of the main reasons I chose the Lakers to win the title before the Playoffs started. I think of all of the teams in the Leagues, they have the best Post/Perimeter combo. Pau is just under the borderline of being a superstar, and I think he will have a large role in success in this series. It is hard to pick against the other two Magic stars, because of how amazing they have played for most of this postseason. However, I just don't have enough confidence that those guys will not burn in the spotlight. They rely a lot on their three point game, and sometimes that can go away in big games.

Other Players- Advantage: Magic. Outside of Pau/Kobe/Odom (and maybe Ariza), I just don't think that Lakers surrounding cast is that great. On the other hand, for the Magic Courtney Lee, Pietrus, and Alston all make up a solid supporting cast for their stars. With Jameer Nelson possibly back into the mix as well, I think the answer is the Magic here. Will it be enough to win the series? (keep reading! haha)

Coaching- Phil Jackson v Stan Van Gundy. Advantage: DUHHHHH. It's Phil Jackson and his 9 title rings. I just don't think Phil isn't going to have his team mess up two straight opportunities to get a ring for that 2nd thumb.


Prediction- Lakers in 6. I picked the Lakers before the Postseason started and I'm sticking with them. But that isn't the only reason I'm picking them. I could be wrong on this but I think the Magic will be surviving from the "just happy we got here syndrome". In the Cavs series they had the "nobody believes in us" thing going for them. While they may still have that going for them in this series, I think a few people are starting to believe in them. I just don't see the Magic shooting the lights out like they have been doing since the 2nd round. Bottom though, I'm picking the Lakers because of Kobe. If he doesn't win this title, it's always going to be, "He couldn't win one without Shaq". I don't think he is going to let that happen.