- So I’m going with DEN, probably in 5.
- I only watched the 2nd half of Miami’s Game 6 win, with Miami not blocking the offensive rebound and White just sailing in to put it back with 1s left. Defending against an off reb is a basic play and they were just left watching the ball with their mouths open completely overconfident waiting for the buzzer.
- At any rate, Boston was far from impressive. Only Tatum was doing damage, and Smart and Horford nothing like who they back in the bubble. Especially Smart, who was pretty good then.
- Mia on the other hand has Jimmy Buckets, who they’re selling as the next MJ now, (eye roll). He wasn’t playing well in Game 6 and was resorting to that silly drive to the basket + fake + stretch out to get fouled method of getting to the line. He was actually planning to win it on fts, which is the worst thing in the world for NBA ratings. But my point here I think is that even with Buckets not playing well, Boston could hardly beat them. Winning on an off putback is a fluke. If the opposing team’s best player is having a bad day, a championship calibre team should at least win by double digits, but no, Boston just didn’t have the firepower.
- Speaking of firepower, this is the reason I choose Den. If Murray has his confidence and Jokic doing double digit assists + .6xx ppg, they’ll easily beat Mia. Murray like I said previously is just unstoppable, and is at the peak of his career. I think he’s even better than when I last saw him, and he knows it, with his mouth constantly yapping and trashing (i wish he would just shut up).
- Otoh, there is no Herro for Mia, which may even them up if he was around. That guy is special, so not having him is a disaster for Mia at this biggest of all stages.
- Adebayo is at best a top 3rd percentile nba center. He has quick feet, handles and is powerful to the rim, but checking basketball-reference dot com, he only has 1.2 blkg and .540 fg%, which seems ave for a dunking center.
- The rest of the guys ie. Lowry, Martin, Robinson and KCP, Gordon, Porter (another eye roll here), needless to say, just need to play better, but we can’t count on those things in the Finals. At this stage teams just stick to what they know works and even if those guys suddenly wake up (esp., porter, who is a consistent disappointment afaic), it won’t really matter.
- Finally, I hope Mia wins for Kevin Love. The old man is probably the only reason why I get excited to see Miami recaps on Youtube. He is an intelligent, supremely talented ex nba superstar that’s on his last legs. If he can get another ring I will personally feel just as gratified.
- Finally finally, having a ‘boring’ finals, which this is, just makes me reminisce about the good ol’ days (early to mid 90s). I thought that the reason that era was special was just it so happened to be at the time I was young, healthy and playing as well, and so following the games then was incredibly thrilling. But it appears my generation wasn’t the only one who felt that way, because even the millenials and younger reminisce about MJ, the 90s Knicks, Barkley’s Suns, Olajuwon, Gary and Shawn, Orlando Shaq (not the fatter Shaqs), and so on. Those days when a Championship was going on were so super special. I remember my hair standing on end and everyday I just couldn’t wait. If the Bucks were to face off against Den this championship I’d be far more excited. Not 90s excited, but the idea of jokic v. antetokounmpo (the wisest, most intelligent and well spoken nba superstar ive seen atm), would’ve really sold some tickets.
- on to the WORLD GAMES!!
Stupid Cowards
Puro kayo duwag at tanga.
Si Chot Reyes alam niyo di papalag, so malakas ang loob niyo i-boo.
Pero itong magnanakaw ng bilyon bilyon, pinalakpakan niyo pa.

So either duwag kayo o tanga. Sa tingin ko pareho.
Dev 1 LAL 2 and I Told You So
Honestly even if I did say you shouldn’t count Denver out in my last post I don’t necessarily feel like a genius. You see, basketball is a game played in waves. In a game either team in a good match up can go up by ten or more points after which you can bet the other team will inevitably follow suit. That’s why there aren’t a lot of situations where each team takes turns scoring for long periods. The word ‘momentum’ is very much at home in basketball and unless a team is completely overmatched it is perfectly normal to go ahead by 10 in the first quarter then see their lead disappear in the 2nd.

LAL 2 DEN 0, Davis Scores Last 10 Pts. to settle Game
By now everyone in the basketball world knows about Charles Barkleys’ proclamation of a sweep just after Game 1 and after watching that game I didn’t blame him. His analysis of the game being a simple matter of match ups is spot on and as of Game 1 Denver was woefully lacking in answers. Their first 5 for the past games were literally smaller than LAL’s resulting in early foul trouble for Jokic who eventually had to sit out most of the first half.

Jokic Dominates, Goodbye LAC
Only 14 pts, 6-22 fg from LAC’s main star

and only 10pts (!!), 4-15 fg from their 2nd star.
Continue reading “Jokic Dominates, Goodbye LAC”And So There Go The Rockets
I renewed this blog not only to harness my considerable influence upon the international basketball community to support the NBA during the pandemic but also because I really wanted to know how far the Rockets can go small ball. Ok I’ll be honest, that’s a great big part of the reason. Like anyone interested in the game I wanted to know: How far can small ball last? Is it really the new way to play basketball?

Nuggets Arise From The Grave, Make it 3-1 AKA A Young Paul Millsap
I like this picture, supposedly the older version of that girl in the famous meme. It’s probably not her but someone that just looks like her. The ‘Feeling Old Yet’ however hits the mark.

Bigger Than the Game Itself

Many of you woke up to the news that the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted today’s potentially series-clinching game versus the Orlando Magic. In turn, every other playoff game scheduled for today was postponed. The NBA’s official press release states that “Game 5 of each series (today) will be rescheduled.” That would be good news on any other day. Today, it seems irrelevant.
Watching team staff pulling name tags and gathering draped towels from players’ designated chairs felt both familiar and surreal. We’ve seen this movie before. Regular season games were already cancelled for four damn months because of Covid-19. Then came the NBA’s restart. Although games have been hit or miss, for the most part they’ve been pretty good (albeit a bit sloppier than usual). At the very least, they’ve provided a glimmer of hope that some sense of normalcy was lurking just around the corner. But the games have been taken away yet again and the uncertainty has returned.
The Bucks boycotted in protest for the shooting of Jacob Blake in the team’s home state of Wisconsin. Blake – an African-American – was shot seven times in the back by police officers while his kids watched from the family car. Thankfully, Blake didn’t die. But the fact that he is alive doesn’t make this event any less horrific. It simply highlights the systemic racial divide that has pervaded American society for centuries. I didn’t understand the enormity of this issue until I came to live in the US. The wounds caused by racism cut deep and the players’ decision to boycott has shone a spotlight globally on an equally deep-seated anger. If just for that, they’ve earned a W without ever stepping onto the court.
“Who cares?” you may say. “None of that concerns us. We have our own problems here in the Philippines.” Maybe. But the parallelisms between the US and our country are quite clear. We have similar issues not driven by race but by class: between the uncaring powerful and the powerless; between abusive authority and tired masses; between those who twist the rules to perpetuate societal imbalances and those who can do nothing about it. Just like the US, we are a nation divided and it’s painful to see, especially during this pandemic when many of our countrymen are struggling big time.
Only a handful possess the global platform that the NBA does and many of us aren’t capable of enacting systemic change in our country. But in our own ways, we are definitely called to do what we can to make the world a better place. I get it. It’s hard, especially now. These are unprecedented times and we are all navigating uncharted waters. Some of us have found a way to keep moving forward, some are stuck, while some can barely manage to keep their heads above water. And some (like me) are really, really tired. Believe me, I get it.
Maybe we can’t make grand statements like the NBA players did today. But at the very least, we should always try to do good in this world, whatever state we find ourselves in.
If you’re strong, good for you. Go and make a difference.
If you’re exhausted, rest and live to fight another day (puwedeng mapagod, bawal sumuko).
If you have surplus, share.
If your family has pressing needs, focus on them.
If you have talents, sing, or speak, or write, or paint, or dance.
If you have skills, lend a helping hand.
And for God’s sake, please stop the hatred, the violence, the pettiness, the lying, the stealing, the insults. Instead, be kind and respectful. And once you are able, continue the fight for justice and the common good.
I’m sorry. My first post for Basketball Exchange and it’s only marginally related to the game. What’s more, I may not even get another chance to write because who knows if the restart will — uhm — restart again? But with everything going on now, cancelling the season may actually be what’s best. And if the playoffs do return, remember that it is entirely possible to enjoy the games with a passion and simultaneously accept the fact that there is much more to life than basketball.
Mavs Even Series, Finally A Good Game
In OT Marcus Morris nails the corner three over the outstretched hands of Maxi Kleiber giving the Clippers the lead 133-132 9s left.

A few seconds later, ball ends up with wonder boy Donkic. Despite yet another triple double and 43 pt game evoking memories of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and other Playoff rookie greats, he has been quiet all of the OT period instead giving way to teammate Trey Burke who is on fire.
Continue reading “Mavs Even Series, Finally A Good Game”Bos wins 1st Playoff Game; Phila Doesn’t Look too Good
So I caught Celtics 109 – 76ers 101 followed Clippers 84 – Mavericks 78.
This pic of Embid encapsulates how the 76ers looked like to me. Sure that may not represent their whole team but Embid is their main guy and trust me he sort of looked that way most of the game.

As a fan of the game it’s disappointing to see a main guy or any guy go out the court looking like that and in the Playoffs as well. He is a rebounding leader at 16/game and obviously a dominating big but it didn’t show today.
Continue reading “Bos wins 1st Playoff Game; Phila Doesn’t Look too Good”