Great Players Get Stats, Great Teams Win Championships

Great players get stats, great teams win championships.

Late in the 4th quarter J.R. Smith tried to get the Cavs to game seven, making it a four point game with less than 30 seconds to play due to his 3-pointers made, but when your sending Stephen Curry to the line in the closing seconds, your team is in trouble. Curry sank three of his last four free throws and the Warriors ended up with a 105-97 win. 

Cleveland had eight turn-overs in the first period,  and the Warriors got 19 points off those for a 23-15 lead first quarter lead.  

The Warriors won the first quarter, and the Cavs got the 2nd one. The Cavaliers ended the half with an 8-0 run and Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson each had three fouls as the Warriors clung to a 45-43 half time lead. 

Cleveland made it tough, Timofey Mozgov had four blocked shots, including at least one against Curry and one rebound shy of ten. Cleveland's Tristan Thompson also kept Cleveland in the game scoring some big points. 

The Warriors dominate the 3rd quarter and begin the 4th with a 73-61 lead. 

The finals MVP Iguodala, did his part with 16 or 18 points when the Warriors went on a 16-4 run with under 5:30 in the 3rd period for a 61-51 lead. Golden State's bit player Festus Ezeli  had 10 points in 11 minutes of play and Green had himself a triple double.

The Golden State Warriors became the third team in NBA History to total 82 or More Wins in Single Season. Rookie coach Steve Kerr is the first to win an NBA championship since Pat Riley did it in the 1982-83' season. Not since the Chicago Bulls of the mid 90s has an NBA been so good. The Warriors had the best record in this years NBA season with 67 wins. They continued their dominance in the post season amassing a 16-5 record en route to the franchise first championship since 1975.

Since losing game three of the series, their second loss in as many games, the Warriors whipped up a three game winning streak to close out the Cavaliers. 

Game 5

For second time in as many games, the Warriors were double-digit winners, but the game was a real nail biter up until the last two minutes. 

It's a team sport to win. Remember in game one, James had 44 points and his team lost. Warriors won a game this series when Curry had 22 points. 

Game five in the Oracle Arena was fantastic TV. As a Warrior fan, it was a nerve racking game, but for any NBA fan, especially those who are not fans of the Cavaliers or Warriors, this was a great show-down between two power house teams.

Klay Thompson still did next to nothing in these finals, but it's a classic example of team-ball and clutch defense. Late in the last quarter of play, the Warriors stole the ball more than once and then ran down court for some late scores, including phenomenal 3-point shots made by Curry. Dellavendova defended great, but Curry displayed why he is the MVP this year, netting the tough shots.

LeBron James was spectacular, amassing more than 40 points and he finished with a triple double, but in the end it was the team play of the Warriors that did in the Cavs. Mid way into the fourth quarter, game five was up for grabs. There was more than 15 lead changes in this game and the score was tied at least 10 times. 

Timofey Mozgov was on the bench for I'd say 90 percent of this game which was confusing for me, because in game four he had a career best 28 points and dominated in the paint. I'm also confused about the NBA announcers talking about the fatigue factor for the Cavaliers. They don't have enough dept in the bench department perhaps to get James his needed rest, boo-woo. 

Fatigue is why the Cavaliers can't finish in the three games they lost? Give me break, all the rest in between games and the superstars are getting paid millions of dollars and even the bench warmers are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to play a boys game. 

No excuses, play like a champion, and the Warriors are one victory away from becoming this years NBA champs and they have home court advantage again after Cleveland took that away from them in game two. 

Game Four

The Warriors for the first time all season long started Andre Iguodala and it paid off nicely, yet Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt may have dropped the ball.

For the first time in his ten years in the NBA, Iguodala was a bench player for the Warriors this season. Iguodala had six point in the first, several 3-pointers in the final quarter, and shut down LeBron James very well. Iguodala has been the Warriors best player the first four games of the series Warrior coach Steve Kerr said.

Draymond Green finally showed up to the finals as well, defending nicely and getting 17 points. Harrison Barnes also had double figures in the scoring department making it at least three out of the five starters with 10 or more points, one guess who the other Warrior in double digits was, incidentally that Warrior had more than 20 points. Iguodala also had more than 20 points.  

Kerr's adjustments for tonight's game paid off brilliantly as the Warriors opened up a can of whoop gluteus max on the road with a 103-82 victory. They go to game five at home on Sunday night in the Oracle arena. 

Did the Cavaliers coach David Blatt miss run his team tonight, or was it fatigue that took away much of LeBron James and Matthew Dellavedova play tonight? After game three Dellavedova was hospitalized for cramping and James did look lackadaisical in tonight's game.

During Blatt's post game interview, he did state that fatigue may have been an issue for James, but why? All the rest in-between games these days just don't seem to be excusable. Personally if I was star player, especially after two days rest between games, fatigue would be a zero percent issue in my potential sub-par performance, especially when my team is at home and could have put a choke hold on the Warriors, had they won tonight.

Dellavedova did next to nothing on defense in tonight's game, and James lacked any sort of intensity. The Warriors would have won by about 40 points had it not been for Timofey Mozgov stellar play getting points in the paint and getting to the line.  

Cleveland continued to get offensive rebounds, but lucky for the Warriors, the Cavs did not score much on second shot points which they did in the first three games. As I said in my last article, toss a coin as to who wins game seven. 

Defense Wins Championships

The Cleveland Cavaliers are dominating the Warriors on the offensive glass and Matthew  Dellavedova  and his marvelously coached crew have completely shut down the leagues MVP Stephen Curry.

As I watch the Cavaliers offensive flurry currently in the third quarter of tonight's game, it's clear the Cavs will win the series in five games. Their defense has Curry at a whopping five points with less than three minutes remaining in the 3rd, now it's a 17 point lead as Curry has made a 3-pointer giving him eight points toward the close of the 3rd period.

The commercial break has started for the 4th, and the Warriors are getting waxed 72-55 and for the second straight game against the tenacious defense of Cleveland, the Warriors have failed to score 60 or more points by the end of the 3rd. First time in 100 games the Warriors have had less than 60 points entering the 4th quarter.

Cleveland has Golden State hanging their heads, it's over. Despite the Warriors current 5-0 run to begin the 4th it's still a 12 point deficit. Andre Iguodala just made a 3-pointer to make it a nine point game with 9:52. Hmm, the first two games of this series did go into over-time and the Warriors furious come back in game two fell short, but game two also looked like a Cleveland blow-out in regulation.

Klay Thompson I feel is still over rated, he's only had three maybe four good games in the playoffs thus far as the Warriors are 13-4 in this illustrious final run. For any team to capture an NBA title, both teams bench players need to step up as well as have production from their star players. Harrison Barnes also needs to get going!

Eight point game now, I should stop writing and watch the game more intently. The Brazilian blur, Leandro Barbosa just made it a six point game.

The Warriors need to halt the Cavs offensive rebounds and somehow get Curry going. LeBron James will always do his thang. Remember the King had 44 points in Cleveland's game one loss. 77-74 now after a Curry three! Over seven minutes now.

If J.R. Smith can be stopped from making down town shots as well as Dellavendova, and Thompson steps up to the plate, the Warriors have a shot at victory in Cleveland to regain home-court advantage.
Both teams are playing solid D as they did in game two, the Cavs are just better at 'D' right now. Nice, Curry with a reverse layup for a three point game after being down by 20 points!

Barely over five minutes remaining and it's still a three point game, J. R. Smith missed a three and look out, ally-oop, Dellavedova with a  sweet pass to James, and it's  81-76 Cleveland. Oh, James has a hurt foot, but he'll be fine.

The announcers and refs are not so good, bad calls against both teams and Van Gundy and company say Curry struggled in game two and was struggling the first three quarters, but it's  Cleveland's 'D' shutting down Curry, give  credit were it's due.

Curry makes it a one point game with another three pointer. Dellavedova gets fouled on a made three, wow, maybe a four point play and he completes it, he has 18 points now. Dellavedova could be the dagger in the heart of the Warriors, he's a savage player.

Under two minutes remaining and James nails a three pointer giving Cleveland an 87-80 lead with 1:44 left in regulation.

That's another thing, Draymond Green needs to stop taking long shots and 3,'s he's a defense player, he just missed another long shot, oh wow a five point game after Curry makes another three, 88-83 Cavs lead with under a minuter remaining.

Cavaliers in six games I predict now, they just have a better defense and just know how to get it done. Curry makes another three, too little too late. Still down by four and all Cleveland has to do is make their free throws.

This game is over, the king just got a steal and the Cavs are running away with the game now. The lead will be nine when James makes his free throw and he did. It's a seven point Cav lead and so it goes, a 2-1 series lead for the Cavs and home court advantage now.

Hmm, 18.8 seconds left after Curry nails another three in this quarter, a three point game now, but it's still too late unless the Cavs miss their free throws. Nice, after being down by 20 in the 3rd, the Warriors didn't go down without a fight.

It's official, Cavs win tonight 96-91. Great reality TV, I'm stoked for Thursday's nights game which will also be in Cleveland. ( 6 p.m. on West Coast) Thursday night is a must win for the Warriors, make no mistake about that, win for a 2-2 series tie, or be down 3-1. Changing my mind again, toss a coin as to which teams wins game seven.

Also in the world of sports, the San Francisco Giants rookie pitcher, Chris Heston hurled a no hitter tonight against the New York Mets.  

First Time Since 1946, Two Rookie Coaches Square off In NBA Finals

Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors has home court advantage against the Cleveland Cavaliers leader David Blatt.

The stage is set for what should be a fantastic best of seven game series against the last two basketball teams standing.

The opening round of the finals had a classy start as 10-year-old Nayah Damasen wonderfully sang the national anthem. She has been singing for the Warriors since she was 8-years-old. Warriors pulverized the Cavaliers in the Overtime period, but the first four quarters was wire to wire round balling.

   

The Warriors come into the series with the leagues MVP in Stephen Curry and Blatt has arguably the best player in the entire game in LeBron James. James like Curry can bring 'it' in all aspects of the game. James, unlike anyone else it seems has the ability to make his four counterparts on the court play above themselves, just like Michael Jordan used to do in the 90s NBA. Without James the Cavaliers are a first round playoff exist at best, and the same could be said about Warriors.

Aside from which team you were cheering for, whether they won or lost, did game one live up to the hype? Upon recap, yes. After four quarters of regulation play the score was knotted at 98. In the first quarter alone there was nine lead changes and the score was tied three times.

The Cavaliers offensive prowess on getting rebounds was the key to their 20-9 run to end the first quarter for a 29-19 lead to start the second period. In the second quarter, the Warriors had a 29-12 run and finished plus 2 in the rebounding aspect as opposed to finishing -8 on the boards after the first 12 minutes of play.

Notables in the 2nd period of play was Curry nailing a 3-pointer to tie the game at 36 with 4:25  to play in the half. The Warrior bench players were also stellar, scoring 18 points by half time. J. R. Smith was the only bench player to score for the Cavs by half time, (entire game) but his three 3-pointers, including the quarters final basket were daggers, giving the Cavs a 51-48 half time lead.  

In the 3rd period, both teams traded baskets, but it was the the final seconds in the quarter that ignited the excitement. Andre Iguodala stole the ball from King James and sprinted to the hole for a sweet layup to knot the game at 73 to start the last quarter of regulation.

The Warrior bench outscored the Cavalier bench 39-9 tonight and with less then 31.9 seconds in the 4th, no team scored, and the stage was set for a 98-98 overtime showdown.

By the start of over time there was a total of 18 lead changes and 10 ties. The Warrior defense held the King and company to a mere two points in the extra period and waxed them 108-100 to win the first game of the series. Game two is also at the Orcale Arena on Sunday night; 5 p.m here on the west coast.  

Latest John Grisham Novel, A Bust or Must Read?

Number seven on the FBI's 10 most wanted list, Pete Duffy and two of his comrades seek to make life miserable for 8th grader Theodore Boone and his parents.

Despite not having read the first four books of the Theodore Boone series, John Grisham has mustered up a worthy afternoon read in his May 12 release of  "Theodore Boone (the fugitive)."  This book contains no profanity and is fit for all ages.

While on a 3 and a half day field trip in Washington, D.C., 8th grader Boone spots the fugitive Duffy in the airport. A $100,000 reward is offered for information leading to Duffy's arrest and conviction. Enticed by the reward money, Boone with the aide of his uncle Ike seek to help the FBI catch Duffy.

While in Washington, D.C., Boone plays detective and stalks Duffy, a wanted killer as opposed to spending time with his classmates at the Smithsonian Institution, the worlds largest museum, aka 'the nations attic.'

As I was reading the book, I never could figure out why Duffy was still wanted by the FBI, because he was acquitted of the murder of his 46-year-old wife Myra because of a mistrial. Then again I never read the first four books of the series, and the other vague points in this novel did not hinder the over-all understanding of this read.

The plot heats and cools fluidly throughout as Duffy seems to know who Boone is, and for obvious reasons doesn't want to go back to trail for the strangulation of his late wife Myra and possibly live in LWOP, Life With Out Parole.

This book was very vague about the scrupulous characters Omar Cheepe and Paco, but these two have definitely set the stage for number six in this series of books. Three and half stars for Grisham's latest release. I was thoroughly impressed with how the book catered to the minds of both the grown adult and the adolescent brain.

Does All Star Cast in Cut Bank Carry Movie?

"Cut Bank" is the name of a town in Montana in which the story of course takes place. Dwayne Mclaren characterized by Liam Hemsworth plan to swindle a huge amount of cash in order to leave Montana with his beautiful women Cassandra (Teresa Palmer) turns out not to be so cut and dry as he'd planned.

Derby Milton marvelously played by Michael Stuhlbarg proves to be a huge chink in the armor of Mclaren's plan to score huge bucks and run off to California with his enticing women. Milton is a demented soul who simply wants a package he ordered, and is not afraid to kill people in his quest to get it. Bruce Dern is the perverted mail man, George Wits who unwittingly complicates Mclaren's devious plan, which was a staged murder convincingly caught on Mclaren's cam corder.

John Malkovich is Cut Bank's sheriff who along with his pal Big Stan Steeley, (Billy bob Thornton) keep the story mildly intriguing. Steeley is also Cassondra's father, and when he begins to question her relationship with Mclaren, the plot thickens, but not enough to make this movie worthy of more than  2.5 stars. First on the big screen April 3, then on DVD May 26, it has all the ingredients for a true mystery suspense, corruption, murder and mayhem, but it could have been so much better.

"See You in Valhalla" Delves Into the Issues of Twisted, yet Soulful Family Values

While refreshing to see a new movie riddled with dialogue and no gluttony of special effects geared mostly for  adolescence minds, "See You in Valhalla" still lacks greatness.

First in theaters on April 24, then to DVD May 26, it's still worth a watch, but only once. "Modern Family's oldest daughter Sarah Hyland portrays Johana Burwood who returns to her home town after several years to attend one of her brothers funerals. Johana brings her new beau along to stay at her widowed fathers house along with her other two brothers and their families.

The deceased brother was a viking history advocate, and despite his suicide, the family who doesn't get along begin to confront their own personal demons. It's also a quest for the family to reunite and seek some sort of reasoning for death. "See You in Valhalla" validates that there are many ways to understand and interpret God, Odin, Mohammad, Bumba or any other name there is for an all powerful entity. Odin being of course the Viking word for God and their heaven which is called Valhalla.      

Johanna's boyfriend of the past factors into the flick for some more interesting wrinkles. While suddenly forced to deal with her former lover, she also has to deal with  one of her surviving brothers homophobia toward his other brother and gay lover Makewi played by "Shameless" regular Steve Howey. Makewi is the comic relief to the story, and possible wisdom enhancer for everyone.

"See You in Valhalla" is an average 2.5 star movie that doesn't live up to its potential. The ending is good with a great reference to how vikings dealt with losing a loved one.

"American Sniper," All American Classic, or Just Another One Time Watcher?

The story-line for "American Sniper" has all the elements for an intense mind journey for those of us who've never experienced real combat in a war zone.

The American involvement in the Afghan war just like the one in Vietnam has no true identification of its real enemies in the heat of battle, at least much of the time. In Afghanistan, like in the Vietnam war some children recently potty-trained are fully armed and eager to kill any American solider in sight. Too often in war, it's killed or be killed, even it involves killing the old and very young.

The focal character in "American Sniper," Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper)  is credited with more than a 160 kills in his many tours in the middle eastern war. He is faced with his personal demons and angles as to which of his kills are justified or maybe flat out murder of the innocent. The movie leaves open ends as to whether 'all' of his kills where legit, and I liked that aspect of the movie. If you see this flick, you be the judge of his war kills.

Deby Kyle (Elise Robertson) wants to raise her children she's had with her husband, and her spouse Chris wants the same, but he also wants to serve the U.S. in it's mission of madness. Chris, during his many encounters in the battle field manages to come out on the highly positive end physically, but dealing with Shell Shock puts tension in his marriage and over all life back home in America.

I give this movie an average rating of 2.5 stars. It was too pro war for me, and the scenes that were supposed to be intense simply lacked that knock-out cerebral punch. While having sympathy for the 6,848 U.S. troops killed in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (causalities.org), I also realize they volunteered, unlike the vets in World War I, II and Vietnam.

More than 50,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, more than 1500 troops have lost an arm or a leg and 100s of them have lost multiple limbs so we can drive our gas guzzlers to our next abomination. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/iraq-afghanistan-amputees_n_2089911.html)