NBA Playoffs: Who Will Advance?

The NBA Playoffs have been full of some great games along with a few unexpected blowouts. Let's take a look at who is left and my predictions on who will survive and advance.

In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors. The Cavs were hot from downtown from start to finish and held the lead throughout the game. I believe the Cavs will advance to the Eastern Conference Final. 

Also in the East, the Boston Celtics took a 2-0 lead over the Washington Wizards. The game was extremely physical and Boston came up with the victory in overtime. The Celtics were lead by their point guard Isaiah Thomas who had a game high 53 points. I believe the Celtics will advance to the Eastern Conference Final and take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

In the West, the San Antonio Spurs bounced back from their ugly loss from the Houston Rockets and tied up the series at 1-1.  Tony Parker injured his leg in the win and left the game early. Reports are saying it does not look too good for TP. I believe the San Antonio Spurs will advance to the Western Conference Final. 

Also in the West, the Golden State Warriors took a 1-0 lead over the Utah Jazz. Steph Curry lead the  the Warriors with 22 points in their 106-94 win. I believe the Warriors will take the series and advance to the Western Conference Final and take on the San Antonio Spurs. 

My predictions are right on track. The Spurs will beat the Warriors and the Celtics will beat the Cavaliers. The finals will consist of San Antonio from the West and Boston from the East. 

What do you think? Let me know your predictions below. 

- H²

NBA Playoffs To Start Sunday

The regular season is over in the NBA and it is time to move on to the playoffs. My prediction is that the San Antonio Spurs will face the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals! I feel like the Warriors will not beat the Spurs and I hope that Cleveland chokes against the Celts. What do you all think? Check out the NBA playoff bracket below. Let me know your predictions.

Evening Thoughts

Sunday 

March 16th 

2016

9:22pm 

*** Joseph Campbell once said, “If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track, which has been there all the while waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.” At a very young age, my parents signed me up for any sport available. I started out scoring goals in soccer, hitting line drives in baseball, and I even wrestled for a year. When I got older, the small white baseball shifted into a much bigger, brighter yellow color and I began playing softball in the spring. I hung up the tight singlet and dribbled a basketball all winter long. My fall days became occupied by my first sport soccer and a new game, much more tame than the others, golf. It does not matter if I am on the course putting for par, scoring a goal in the upper right ninety, dribbling through the defense and dishing the rock off to an open teammate, or even hitting in a pair of runs…there is one thing I know for sure. Sports are my passion, my true love, my absolute bliss. Like Campbell said, the life I was living when I was young, infatuated with all aspects of sports, should be the one I am living now. What better way to pursue my passion than to keep the one thing I’ve always known close to my heart as I graduate high school. The major “Sport Management" allows me continue my love for sports. ***

I wrote this excerpt for a scholarship I was applying for towards the end of my senior year in high school. Even though it was written less than a year ago, I feel like I was so naive back then. I was naive to think that my love for sports was a good reason I entered this major. I was naive to assume that my personality was my top attribute. Last but not least, I was extremely naive to believe that being a female in male dominated major and industry would be easy. 

Over the course of this year, something has been bothering me. It has been under my skin for quite some time now. I see it happen almost every day on television. I listen to it happen over the radio. I read it on social media. I experience it myself. 

The lack of respect for women in the sport industry. 

I should not have to address this, but I am in no way complaining. I am not "crying" about it like I have been told by some of my peers. I am not acting like a baby either. It's just I had this preconceived notion that women were equal to men. As time has gone on, I have learned that the sad truth is women are not equal to men. Not in this industry. Not in life. 

I see women on television taking the backseat to men. I hear women on the radio getting cut off when trying to voice their opinions. I read horrible, terrible things written about females in the sport industry on twitter. For me, I do not feel equal. I don't feel like my opinion means as much as my male peers. Honestly, it's not a feeling: it's a fact. A fact that upsets me. A fact that I disagree with. A fact that I will have to experience every day for the rest of my life. A fact that should not be a fact. 

Shannon L. Alder once said, "Every woman that finally figured out her worth, has picked up her suitcases of pride and boarded a flight to freedom, which landed in the valley of change." That's exactly what I am going to do. I don't feel sorry for myself at all. In fact, I am motivated. I am ready to show the world what I can do. What a female can do in the sport industry. The many things she can accomplish and achieve. The ideas she has to offer. Gain the respect that she will earn and deserve. 

Most of all, I want to be the example for a young girl from a town like Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania. I want to tell her that knowing the entire New York Yankees team at age six is something to be proud of. I want to ensure that her long hours studying film, and sketching offensive sets during basketball games at age ten will pay off some day. I want her to know that she can do anything she puts her mind to. I want to instill strength within her to break the barriers. Most importantly, I want to encourage her to pursue a male dominated major and industry. 

Sure, it will be a challenge; however, I know if anyone can do it, it's that little girl from a small town in central PA. 

- H²

Lonzo Ball: Moving On To The NBA

In an post game interview after UCLA's heartbreaking loss to Kentucky on March 24, freshman guard Lonzo Ball told reporters he is off to the NBA. When a reporter asked Ball if that was his final game as a Bruin, Ball said, "Yeah that's my final game for UCLA. I appreciate all the fans and all the support." 

It did not come as a shock to most people considering the comments that his very outspoken father, LaVar Ball, has made regarding Lonzo's time at UCLA. Lonzo is a crafty guard with a lot of potential. He is the playmaker, the quarterback of the team. UCLA goes as he goes... or went, I guess I should say. 

I don't have a problem that Ball is headed to the NBA. He has the skills to be a premiere guard in the league and I believe that he is ready. But I do have a problem regarding this situation. First, the timing. Ball declared for the NBA directly after UCLA's loss to Kentucky in the sweet sixteen. In my opinion, I think that says a lot about him as a player. Your team just loss an extremely important game. For the seniors on your squad, they just played their last game. They would love to have just one more game let alone the three extra years you could have if you stayed. But yet, you go ahead and declare for the NBA. I think it's selfish to do that directly after the game. Ball made it all about him. It makes him look like he doesn't even care about the seniors or the team in general. Then it makes me question, "Did he ever really care about the team at all?" He did have an undeclared major which makes me think that he knew he was leaving after his first year anyway. Was he just in it for himself the whole time? 

Whatever the case, I cannot take away how great of a player he is. I am sure he will have success in the NBA. Good for him. But I think there are some unwritten rules when it comes to that kind of situation. A year ago when Peyton Manning won Super Bowl 50, he was asked a similar question, "Is this your final game of your career?" To that Manning responded, "I'll take some time to reflect, but I have a couple of priorities to take care of first." A month later, Manning announced that he was retiring. I think the way Peyton did it was extremely unselfish and classy. Maybe Ball could learn a thing or two from him. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! 

- H²

A Truly Touching Moment

On Sunday (March 26), Mississippi State upset Baylor 94-85 to advance to the women's final four. The Lady Bulldogs junior standout guard, Morgan William, led all scorers with a game-high 41 points. She was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish, leaving the Lady Bears with too much too handle. William was 6-8 from three-point range, and sank clutch free throws in the final minutes of the game to lead her team to victory. 

As if advancing to the final four for the first time in program history wasn't enough, William was emotional for another reason. Almost three years to the date, William lost her father unexpectedly from a heart attack at the age of 44. He passed away her senior year of high school, but she knew that he was with her on Sunday night in Oklahoma City. 

At the conclusion of the game, Mississippi State head coach, Vic Schaefer, spoke highly about his 5'5" guard to ESPN in an interview. He even pulled her into the camera view and gave her some words of encouragement. It was a touching moment. Check out the emotional video below.

- H²

ESPN Dragging Out Cavs Sitting Their Big Three

On Saturday (March 18), head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue, sat his big three against the Los Angeles Clippers to give them some rest. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love sat the entire game. The Clippers went on to win the game in front of their home crowd 108-78.  

The NBA season is long and brutal. It's not like Lue wanted to lose the game, and I am sure he didn't want to lose by 30 points either. The NBA was not happy with Lue's decision because of the ratings and how many people tuned in to watch a game between two of the top teams in the NBA. 

LeBron made some comments about Lue's decision. Naturally, ESPN jumped all over this. Don't get me wrong, I love ESPN. I am just sick and tired of hearing about what LeBron said and this entire situation about sitting players. Yes, I get it. The NBA is upset with Lue's decision; however, what does Adam Silver expect the Cavs and the 29 other NBA teams to do when their schedules are crammed? It is just one of those things where the NBA can't do much about it, and neither can the teams. Let it go ESPN. I doubt people will remember that on March 18, 2017 Lue sat LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin because they needed rest. 

The only people I feel bad for in this situation are the fans. People pay a lot of money to watch an NBA game, and when they go to see these stars play and they sit, it can be very disappointing. 

Once again, I understand ESPN's job is to report news so I have no problem with them reporting this story. I just feel like sometimes ESPN drags out one story that doesn't even deserve much attention because they can't find anything else to talk about. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! 

- H²

Round of 32: Upset City

The March Madness Round of 32 was filled with upsets. The defending national champions were knocked off, a seventh ranked team knocked off a second ranked team, and a few Big Ten teams are proving to be serious contenders with theirs wins. 

East 

Eight ranked Wisconsin upset the number one overall all seed Villanova by a score of 65-62. Wisconsin's star guard, Bronson Koenig, sat on the bench a lot of the game due to foul trouble; however, he gave the Badgers a boost in the final minutes of the game to knock off the defending national champions. 

Number two ranked Duke was upset by number seven ranked South Carolina by a score of 88-81. The Gamecocks forced the Blue Devils to commit 18 turnovers which proved to be the deciding factor in the game. This is the first time in program history that South Carolina is in the sweet sixteen. 

West 

The eleventh ranked Xavier Musketeers stomped the third ranked Florida State Seminoles by a score of 91-66. The Musketeers zone defense proved to be too much for the Seminoles. Five Musketeers scored in double figures. 

Midwest 

Number seven ranked Michigan upset number two ranked Louisville by a score of 73-69. The Big Ten Champion Wolverines have been nothing less than spectacular the past few weeks. Led by their exceptional guard, Derrick Walton Jr., Michigan committed only 6 turnovers in their big win. Ever since their plane scare a few weeks ago, the Wolverines have been playing at another level. 

South

There were no upsets in the South region of the bracket. The number one, two, three, and four seeds all advanced to the sweet sixteen (UNC, Kentucky, UCLA, Butler). 

With all of the upsets, my two brackets are not looking very good. However, I chose Kentucky to win it all in one and UCLA to win it all in the other. My predictions for the national championship are still alive. 

- H²