Must-Watch Match Ups of the NBA's First Round

Of course we'd like to watch all the matchups. But that's just not possible. If you have to choose, then pick these three matchups.

TOP PICK: OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets.
Russell Westbrook versus James Harden, in the first round? The basketball gods must be crazy! This series should put a giant punctuation mark on someone's MVP candidacy...or raise even more questions. Either way, expect this series to be about firepower and not much defense. Plus, Westbrook knows he's got to get past Harden if he wants a shot at Durant.

SECOND PICK: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Indiana Pacers
On paper, this shouldn't be an easy out for the Cavs. Paul George may not be Lebron James but he's a top 15, maybe top 10 player in the league. Kyrie Irving may be better than Jeff Teague but again, not by a lot. Kevin Love is where they have a big advantage  (over Thaddeus Young) but the youngster Myles Turner is already much better than Tristan Thompson. Cavs should win but I have a feeling they're gonna bleed in every game.

THIRD PICK: Toronto Raptors vs Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are who I thought the Minnesota Timberwolves were going to be, a young, frothing-at-the-mouth-pack-of-rabid-ballers who will keep on swinging until the final buzzer rang. Also...Giannis Antetokounmpo in a playoff series? I'm salivating already at the thought of him throwing down from the freethrow line at the Bradley Center.

AWARDS TIME! Putting My Credibility Where My Mouth Is

MVP: Russell Westbrook. Yes, it was the triple doubles. Yes, it was the compelling storyline all season long.  Yes, it was the rising from the ashes of the Kevin Durant departure, like a mythical phoenix. Yes, it’s also about the winning. Without 2016-2017 Westbrook, the OKC Thunder would have been, at best, a 25-win team. Instead, they’re the sixth seed in the always-tough Western conference.

Rookie of the Year: Malcolm Brogdon. It should have been Joel Embiid, had he played more. Or Brandon Ingram, had he played better. Or Ben Simmons, had he played at all. Or even Dario Saric, had the Sixers won more. Instead, it is the cool, collected and unassuming 24 year old second round draft pick Brogdon, he of the 10.3 ppg, 2.8rpg, 4.2 apg, and 1.1 spg who was the year’s best rookie.

Coach of the Year: Tough call. I’ll go with Greg Popovich. Why? Anybody notice how the Spurs remain among the top 3 teams in the NBA despite losing Tim Duncan to retirement, having end-of-their-careers Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol, and David Lee as their bench and guys like Jonathan Simmons, Kyle Anderson, David Bertans, DeJounte Murray, and DeWayne Dedmon as their main pieces. Only Pop can make this possible.

Gilas Vs France: Predictions

Today is G-Day (or Game Day), when we embark on another (and last) journey to snare the last ticket to Rio.

But it’s going to be no walk in the park, as we’re going up against one of the best in the world, FIBA’s 5^th-ranked team France. Les Bleus (as they are called) boast of several NBA players, including superstar Tony Parker and veteran Boris Diaw. The French are, in fact, the prohibitive favorites to win this Olympic Qualifying Tournament leg.

That being said, here are three things I expect we’ll see tonight:

Bombs Away. Gilas has relied on their three point marksmanship heavily in the last 2 years and tonight won’t be any different. Andray Blatche, Jayson Castro, Terence Romeo, Ranidel de Ocampo and Jeff Chan need to be on point, for Gilas to have a chance of sticking around. So expect them (plus Bobby Ray Parks and Troy Rosario) to be spotting up from outside. Whether they make those threes or not is a different matter.

A Changing of the Guards For Iranian Basketball

Late breaking news: Iran finalizes its Olympic Qualifying Tournament team. And guess what? Their lineup is missing some big names that are practically synonymous to Iranian basketball.

Names like Hamed Afagh, Mehdi Kamrani, and even Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, a transcendent do-it-all forward who averaged 17.0pts and 6 rebounds for the Zheijiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball League.

Gilas Pilipinas Box Score and Video link here.

Video courtesy of Gilas 4.0

Enjoy.

Gilas Gets Back at China 72-69: Thoughts on the Win

After getting shellacked for two straight games (against Turkey and Italy), Gilas Pilipinas finally accomplished two things: prune their pool to a final 12 lineup for the Olympic Qualifying tournament and get a win.

Gilas Pilipinas faced a Chinese team lacking their three biggest guns in Yi Jianlian, teen sensation and recent NBA draftee Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun. Still, a win is a win and Gilas can take heart in the fact that China can never take them for granted ever again.

That being said, here are four thoughts from that game:

Gilas can win, even with their main guns having bad games.

Andray Blatche had a double-double (14points, 12 rebounds) but he was a horrible, horrible 4-19 from the field (4-13 from 2pt land, 0-6 from beyond the arc). Jayson Castro was able to get inside the paint numerous times but still seemed to have a mental block against the Chinese big men, as his shots just couldn’t find the bottom of the net (2-7 from the field). Still, the silver lining of their bad games is that other Gilas players stepped up to contribute and help get the win. But make no mistake; Gilas Pilipinas can’t afford to have either Blatche nor play as bad as this against teams like France or New Zealand.