Western Conference Finals: Preview & Prediction

The Western Conference Finals, featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, is set to begin tomorrow night at 8:30 PM EST. My preview will look at the matchup position by position to see who has the advantage. I will conclude with my pre-series prediction.

Point Guard Matchup: Tony Parker & Russell Westbrook

Spurs: Tony Parker
Parker is having what many people consider his best season ever. He finished fifth in MVP voting. Parker's play in the postseason has been just as good. He is averaging 19.1 points per game and 7.1 assists per game. Parker also has very good career numbers against the Thunder, including a season-high 42 points on February 4.

Thunder: Russell Westbrook
Westbrook is ultra athletic and as volatile a scorer as point guards come. He has become more of an efficient shooter this season and even more so in the playoffs. In the postseason, Westbrook is shooting 47.2% from the field and averaging 24.1 points per game.

Advantage: None

Shooting Guard Matchup: Danny Green & Thabo Sefolosha

Spurs: Danny Green
When Manu Ginobili broke his hand in January, Green took the starting spot and never looked back. The Spurs love his athleticism and ability to defend the perimeter so well. Green's ability to stroke the three fits perfectly with the Spurs offense. He led the way in the last regular season matchup of these two teams with 21 points.

Thunder: Thabo Sefolosha
Sefolosha is considered to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. His athletic 6-7 frame allows him to matchup with the other team's best player. Not known for his offensive game, he can make the open three on occasion. He is 7 for 14 from behind the arc in the playoffs.

Advantage: Spurs

Small Forward Matchup: Kawhi Leonard & Kevin Durant

Spurs: Kawhi Leonard

Over the course of his rookie campaign, Leonard has continued to get better. This improvement has transpired in the postseason. Leonard is shooting 51.1% from the field and 45.4% from three in the playoffs. His 6-7 frame, long arms, and defensive awareness on the court will mean he will likely first defend superstar Kevin Durant.

Thunder: Kevin Durant

Durant's 28.0 points per game during the regular season earned him his third consecutive scoring title. He is a supreme athlete and has the dual package ability of being able to effortlessly attack the rim and drain most any jumper. No player means more to his team's success than Durant.

Advantage: Thunder

Power Forward Matchup: Tim Duncan & Serge Ibaka

Spurs: Tim Duncan

Duncan is possibly the greatest power forward ever to play the game. His post moves are as consistent as ever, and his presence is the foundation to the Spurs defense. Despite being 36-years-old, Duncan's numbers have improved drastically with his increased minutes in the playoffs. During the Spurs last series, he averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds per game.

Thunder: Serge Ibaka

Ibaka led the NBA in blocks this season averaging 3.65 per game. Due to his emergence as a top shot-blocker and post defender, he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Ibaka is still a young, raw talent from the Congo and will continue to improve.

Advantage: Spurs

Center Matchup: Boris Diaw & Kendrick Perkins

Spurs: Boris Diaw

Diaw came over to the Spurs in a midseason trade with the Charlotte Bobcats. Ever since, he has assumed the starting center role for the Spurs. Having played a variety of positions in his career, Diaw is a diverse big man who can stretch the floor. He is also a great passer for a big man.

Thunder: Kendrick Perkins

Bringing championship experience, Perkins is a hardworking post presence who is a solid rebounder and defender. He struggled mightily against the Spurs during the regular season. He also might have his handful defending Diaw's versatility.

Advantage: Spurs

Bench Matchup: Manu Ginobli & James Harden

Spurs Bench

The Spurs had the most points off the bench during the regular season and that has continued in the playoffs. Manu Ginobli is the clear leader. His veteran experience and playmaking ability is crucial for the Spurs. Guard Gary Neal and center Tiago Splitter make notable contributions off the bench. Stephen Jackson may be needed off the bench to help defend Durant.

Thunder Bench

James Harden, this season's Sixth Man of the Year, is the energizer off the bench. He is averaging 17 points per game in the playoffs. Derek Fisher brings a veteran presence at guard. Nazr Mohammad and Nick Collison are important post players off the bench.

Advantage: None

Coaching Matchup: Gregg Popovich & Scott Brooks

Spurs: Gregg Popovich

Popovich is the longest tenured coach in North American professional sports. He is a genius on the court and has an eye for spotting talent. His four championship titles and 116 playoff victories is the most among active coaches.

Thunder: Scott Brooks

Brooks is one of the NBA's best young coaches. He has a 152-78 record, despite coaching one of the league's youngest teams. Brooks was also named coach of the year in 2009-10.

Advantage: Spurs

Prediction

Both teams have basically crushed their opponents up until now. The Spurs are on an 18-game winning streak. Their average margin of defeat in the postseason so far has been 14 points. The Thunder only have one loss in the playoff so far. They knocked out the past two NBA champions to get to this point. Nothing will be easy for either of these teams. I expect this series to be hard fought throughout. That being said, I like the Spurs to win this series. I don't believe the Thunder will have an answer for Tim Duncan. The Spurs motion offense has been running on all cylinders during the playoffs. The Spurs talent from top to bottom is hard to match. I don't think Durant and Westbrook can do enough to carry the Thunder through. The supporting cast isn't good enough yet. While I do believe the Thunder are on their way to a title, I don't believe it will happen this year. The Spurs will do enough to hold off and put away the Thunder.

My prediction: Spurs in six games.

Rangers & Rays Offenses Explode in Wins

Rangers outfieler Nelson Cruz had 8 RBIs, including a grand slam. (David Klutho)

With the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays facing off this weekend, everyone expected a lot of power and runs to be scored, but I doubt anyone expected to see this. Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow lasted only 2/3 of an inning and gave up 6 runs. Josh Hamilton and Yorvit Torrealba both hit solo home runs the next two innings. The Rangers added three runs in the 6th, and Nelson Cruz capped things off with a grand slam in the 7th. The Rangers hammered out 18 hits and 14 runs. Cruz matched a career-high with 8 RBIs. The Blue Jays simply could not recover, ultimately losing the game 14-3.

After Franklin Morales threw behind Luke Scott, the benches cleared. (Charles Krupa)

The Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox really don't like each other. John Lester was on the mound for the Red Sox, but didn't have his A game. The Rays took Lester deep three times. Matt Joyce stuck the big blow with a grand slam in the 3rd. Elliot Johnson and Carlos Pena hit back-to-back bombs in the 4th. With the Rays leading 7-4 in the 6th, Rays reliever Burke Badenhop hit Dustin Pedroia with a pitch. Fast forward to the top of the 9th, same score. Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales threw behind Luke Scott. Scott had some words for Morales, and the benches cleared. No punches were thrown, but lots of words were. Fernando Rodney closed out the win for the Rays in the ninth.

Two very exciting starts to a pair of great weekend series. The Rangers showed again why they have one of the most feared lineups in baseball. I expect the Blue Jays to play better, but Arlington is a tough place to win for anyone. The Rays and the Red Sox were already fired up for this series, but will be even more so now. Things could get interesting with David Price and Josh Beckett on the mound tomorrow. The Rays showed they have just as much hitting to keep up with the Red Sox in any game. We will just have to watch and see how these two series unfold the rest of the weekend.

Indians and Reds Complete Home Sweeps

Indians closer Chris Perez celebrates another save. (David Richard)

The Cleveland Indians don't care how many people come to watch them play. Right now, they are too busy winning. This afternoon the Indians completed a sweep of their division rival Detroit Tigers. Today's game featured a pitchers duel between Tigers ace Justin Verlander and Indians young stud Justin Masterson. Verlander only gave up a solo home run to Shin-Soo Choo and a RBI single to Jose Lopez in eight innings of work, but he only got limited support from a floundering Tigers offense. Masterson didn't dominant the Tigers (gave up five hits and had five walks), but he limited the damage, only allowing one run. He gave the 2-1 lead to setup man Vinnie Pestano, who earned his 12th hold of the season. Closer Chris Perez shut the door in the ninth, picking up his 16th save of the season. After criticizing the Indians' fans, Perez backed up his talk with a perfect save in each of the three games in the series. Winners of eight of their last ten, the first-place Indians (26-18) now have a 3 1/2-game lead over the White Sox and a 6-game lead over the Tigers in the AL Central.

Rookie Devin Mesoraco hits first career grand slam. (Al Behrman)

The Cincinnati Reds powered their way to a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. In their series opener, the Reds hit four solo home runs, including three in a row, to win 4-1. During Tuesday night's 4-3 win, Brandon Phillips went yard twice and had three RBIs. Last night, Todd Frazier hit a walk-off solo shot to propel the Reds to the 2-1 win. Tonight's finale saw rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco cap the series sweep off in style. The Reds were down 2-1 in the sixth, but had the bases loaded. That's when Mesoraco connected for his first career grand slam. The Reds pitching definitely deserves credit as well. They held the Braves to only eight runs in the four-game series. The Reds closer-by-committee worked to perfection. Sean Marshall, Arolids Chapman, and Logan Ondrusek each picked by a hold and a save during the sweep. The Reds (25-19) now have won six games in a row, which puts them in first place in the NL Central following a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Two Ohio teams completed home sweeps tonight. Both are unexpectedly in first place in their respective divisions, but absolutely deserve it. They are playing complete team baseball. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it going the rest of the season.

A-Rod Homers Twice and Pettitte Stifles the Royals in Win

Alex Rodriguez hits his second of two home runs on the night. (David Pokress)

After another difficult night at the plate last night, Alex Rodriguez told reporters that he was "about to go off." The reporters probably had to muffle chuckles and smiles. After all, there was no signs of improvement. Many wondered if Rodriguez was injured. However, it turns out that A-Rod was just a bit prophetic, as he homered in both of his first two at-bats off rookie Will Smith tonight. When asked about what he had said, Rodriguez stated, "I said it because I meant it. I said it because I meant those things. I said it with conviction, not because it was going to sound good here in my locker. It is good to back it up."

Andy Pettite allowed just two runs in seven innings of work. (Robert Sabo)

In his last start, Andy Pettitte threw eight shutout innings, while striking out nine in a win over the Reds. Pettitte was nearly as dominant tonight. Other than giving up a pair of solo home runs to Billy Butler and Mitch Maier, the Royals could get nothing going. Pettitte only gave up those two runs, while striking out eight in seven solid innings. The 39-year-old has been just what the Yankees rotation needed. His consistency on the mound and leadership in the clubhouse is clearly felt by all the Yankees.


The Yankees are a far cry from where they want to be. A 23-21 record and fourth place in the AL East is simply not going to cut it for this ball club. This team is full of talent. They just really need something to get them going. This might be it. A-Rod came into tonight homerless in his last 52 at-bats. That streak is over. Coming into tonight, the Yankees were 8 for 41 (.195) with the bases loaded on the season. In their last nine games, they are 9 for 85 (.106) with runners in scoring position. Those are streaks that need to end as well for this team to turn things around. The Yankees organization is like a family. They can hope that outstanding performances, like these out of Rodriguez and Pettitte, can propel the rest of the team to do the same. The Yankees have won two games in a row now. Well, you've got to start somewhere.

Devils Survive Scare, Hang on to Beat Rangers

Martin Brodeur is no stranger to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

With his team up 3-0 just ten minutes into the game, the Canadian-born goaltender had to be feeling good about his team's chances. But that confidence slowly vanished as the Rangers managed a goal in the first, and a goal very early in the second and third periods to tie the game 3-3.

With the crowd chanting his name in jest, Brodeur did his best to maintain composure. Composure that is hard to come by when you can barely hear yourself think inside Madison Square Garden.

That's when the players in front of Brodeur took over for him.

The scoring came early and often in the opening period. Gionta, Elias, and Zajac all had goals on the formerly-solid Henrik Lundqvist in the first ten minutes of the game. That scoring would take a long hiatus that most likely scared the "Devil" out of New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer. Late in the third period though, all the offensive action finally came back to the stick of Carter with only 4 minutes and change left in the game.

Carter had the game-winning goal back in Game 2 for the Devils, and was a bit of an unlikely hero in Game 5. Although not the biggest name on the roster, Carter stepped up for the team when called upon and sent the Devils back to the Prudential Center in Jersey with a 3-2 series lead.

Golden State Warriors Hope to Strike Gold with New Arena

Artist sketch of early plans for new stadium (Art Zendarski/Future Cities)

In 2010, Joe Lacob and and Peter Guber bought the Golden State Warriors for a league-record $450 million. Ever since, they have been working to try and find a much needed new arena. They preferred to make the short move from Oakland to San Francisco for obvious economic reasons. Up until recently, nothing had worked out. However, news that Larry Ellison's America Cup team decided that a complete renovation of San Francisco's Piers 30-32 would be too costly, meant that the coveted spot was once again available. Upon seeing the location for the first time Guber whispered to Lacob, "Man, we got to do this."

The two owners called for a news conference with NBA Commissioner David Stern and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to be held Tuesday. Guber told reporters, "We can turn this dream into a goal by giving it urgency. We will play here in 2017. Take that as a promise we will fulfill. There will be a world-class entertainment venue. We're all in." 2017 is when the team's current lease runs out at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Warriors also revealed some of the plans for the estimated $500 million, privately-funded arena to be built at the 13-acre Piers 30-32. Repairs on the pier itself will likely cost between $75-100 million. The fabulous waterfront location is near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, "one of the most beautiful views in one of the world's most beautiful cities."

The Warriors believe that the 16-mile move will make all the difference. Despite the current old arena and the team only making one playoff appearance since 1994, fan support has been great for the Warriors. They finished 10th in the league in average attendance with 18,857. Those numbers are only likely to improve, but this move obviously isn't mainly about the fans. The difference that Lacob and Guber are trying to accomplish is to make the Warriors an attractive team for top free agents, something the team hasn't even been on the radar for in recent years. The new arena and new owners' willingness to spend money look set to change that. Basketball legend Jerry West, a Warriors executive board member, stated, "This would be my resting place if I were a free agent." With a move to the beautiful San Francisco waterfront in place, the Warriors look primed to become contenders once again.

Big Performance by Bass Sparks Celtics Game 5 Win

Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

When you think of the Boston Celtics teams of recent years, you probably think of the Big Three first. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are all great players and should be Hall of Famers in my opinion. Then, you have to think of Rajon Rondo next. Rondo runs the show from the point guard position. When he is on his game, he ranks among the best in the game. The Celtics second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers was tied at two games a piece coming into tonight. With the Celtics trailing at halftime, they needed someone to step up in the third quarter. That someone turned out to be the fifth member of their starting lineup, Brandon Bass.

Bass came to the Celtics in a preseason trade with the Orlando Magic for Glen Davis. Expected to come off the bench, Bass was pressed into starting duty following an injury to veteran Jermaine O'Neal. The Celtics were the real beneficiary as Bass steadily produced in his starting roll. During the regular season, he averaged 12.5 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds per game. Bass has the ability to spread the floor, which was evidenced by his making 48% of his shots from 16-23 feet during the regular season. This also provided a great compliment to Garnett's play.

During their Game 4 loss, Bass scored 15 points, but only played 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Following the game, head coach Doc Rivers admitted, "Honestly, if we made one mistake, we should have gone back to Bass." Bass made sure that didn't happen tonight. In the third quarter, he simply took over. Using a mixture of mid-range jump shots and drives to the hoop, Bass kept the Sixers defense off balance. His 18 points in the quarter outscored the 16 put up by the entire Sixers team. Bass also got the crowd into the game and the rest of his team into it with their energy.

The Celtics closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run, and then, opened the fourth quarter on a 16-6 run to grasp full control. The Sixers never recovered, giving the Celtics the 3-2 lead in the series. Bass matched his regular season career-high with 27 points. People may not have known his name before tonight, but they certainly do now. Brandon Bass is a starter for the Celtics for a reason, and he just showed everyone why. When asked about the performance by Bass, Rivers stated, "I thought the big difference was his energy. He played with a force. I thought he let himself go." The Celtics would be fine with Bass continuing to let himself go. If he continues to play like this, the Celtics will be a though team to beat.

Dufner's Honeymoon Success Continues at Byron Nelson

Photo Credit: Tim Sharp/AP Photo

Jason Dufner's life has changed significantly over the course of the last month. On April 29th, Dufner finally got the monkey off his back when he defeated Ernie Els on the second playoff hole of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The win was the first of his PGA Tour career and earned him a nice wedding present of $1,152,000. The timing was fitting because Dufner's wedding took place the next week. With his new bride by his side and a win under his belt, Dufner entered the HP Byron Nelson Championship brimming with confidence.

Beginning at the 17th hole of the Final Round, it was a three-man race to the finish. J.J. Henry entered the hole with the lead, but some misreads cost him as he had to settle for a double bogey. Dicky Pride, who was seeking his first PGA Tour win since 1994, made a 13-foot birdie. Dufner was left with a simple tap in for par, which he made.

On the 18th hole, Pride looked to be in trouble after his tee shot, which ended up in the water. However, he recovered nicely to save par. Knowing what he was up against, Dufner decided to crush his tee shot right down the center of the fairway (314 yards). Following his second shot, Dufner found himself with a 25-foot birdie shot. He confidently stepped up to the shot for the win. His ball looked good for the moment he it and rolled right into the hole.

The back-to-back wins have propelled Dufner into the lead of the 2012 FedExCup standings. In the span of just 22 days, Jason Dufner has got his first two PGA Tour wins, earned $2,269,000 in winnings, become a married man, and has thrust himself into the spotlight of golf. When asked about it all, Dufner simply said, "You probably couldn't dream it any better than what's been going on here."

Video highlights of the Final Round, including Dufner's winning birdie shot can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-x62mqBQu0