NBA Finals Corner

NBA Final Corner…

Who would have thought that the NBA finals would have been this exciting without the East and West Champions from last year. The top teams were knocked out in the second round of the championships. I wonder would the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks be in the finals if the best teams in the WEST and EAST were healthy and playing at their best. Never the less the finals have been an interesting one with close games coming down to the wire and keeping the series tied. One would only think that the Heat will come back with a win in Miami Sunday, June 12. But if they do not, what will that say about the dream team consisting of Chris Bosh, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. No one thought that they would have got this far their first year together. Season started out rocky for the team with James and Wade each not wanting to take the lead role and passing the ball when they should be taking shots.

As we move in this series we see the problem that James cannot seem to pull through at the end of the game. Like everyone has said, it seems that he checks out at the end of the game. Could it be that he is no Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan? If he does not win this year with the help that he clearly did not have with Cleveland, then it is only safe to say that it may just be him. He may not be ready to take that lead role of carrying a team to reach the RING! James has been under ten points for the pass five games. Thursday night was his first triple double of the series. Where has this guy been? Yet the Heat still lost the game. James has not been that crutch player that the Heat needs him to be. Falling short with much needed baskets.

I can see the Mavs pulling away from this series with a win and Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki getting a ring finally. They just seem to be the better team. Miami cannot hold off the threes that Jason Terry, Josh Barea and Nowitzki are providing. Tyson Chandler is stepping up to be the big man they need in the paint. Both teams want it bad but Dallas seem to be the team that can come up from behind and fight until the end. Four out of the last five games, Dallas has been behind until the third quarter and they have come back to putting pressure on the Heat.

It will be interesting to see if James can be the player that so many think of him as. Lets see if he can shut Skip Bayless up. By the looks though he is proving Bayless right. James has to prove himself and perform in the clutch for the next two games!  

Drafting Darius Morris

While Michigan isn't known for producing a lot of NBA point guards, Darius Morris might just be the school needs. From a physical standpoint Morris has great NBA size at 6'5, he is capable of overpowering defenders. And his game has improved since his freshman season, he adjusted while leading Michigan as their best play-maker. Morris averaged points 15 and 6 assists a game in a tough Big Ten conference. He has good ball handling skills, excellent mid range game, shooting 56%, and an uncanny way of getting to the paint. While Michigan needed him to be their best player every game, at times you'd see Morris forcing the issue by over dribbling in the paint with n o place to escape, and forcing passes causing turnovers. Morris have the potential to be a good role player, on any team.
There is no doubt that Darius Morris has talent. He could've stayed an extra year to improve his draft stock. Seeing that he improved significantly from his FR to SO season the potential alone would be good enough to draft Morris. His height and ability to handle the ball remind many of Tyreke Evans. They both play better when being the playmaker. While Evans is a NBA starter, Morris in the league will be a solid role player. Any NBA team can benefit from this type of player. The size gives teams the option to play Morris at point or shooting guard.

  Defensively Morris can be a solid defender. He doesn't possess the a quick first step, but he has done everything that Michigan has asked him to do. While he still needs to improve his free throw shooting 77%, and perimeter shot 28%, is intriguing because he would be a tough match for other teams. If Morris can improve his three point shot it would allow him to become a slasher, allowing teams to use him off the ball.
Overall Darius Morris stood out this season because he made huge improvements in his game. The Knicks could use his talent with the 17th pick, while that is a bit higher than he should Morris is a late first round talent. If the Knicks don't draft Morris the Heat could with the 31st pick or the Clippers with the 37th pick could be teams that offer playing time right away.

 

Appointed King James

There have been times in the past where King James, passed on the moment to be a superstar. Like in 2007 game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Instead of taking the game tying shot on the collapsing defense King James passed out to a wide open Donyell Marshall who missed the game winning three. As soon as the media saw this we questioned his leadership and ability to take and make clutch shots. This year reminds us of how much pressure is put on King James to silence his critics. Something that he will never be able to do, until this year. How you might ask? He signed with the Miami Heat after 7 seasons of seeing that he needed another superstar, not role players, to deliver him a title. Now with Miami up 2-1, King James can taste the title that...