Bradley Beal's Max Contract (a video opinion)

LeBron, Referees, and Young Players

If LeBron's not fond of it, then neither am I. Just Like in any national sport we have official referees. And I'm upset when I see LeBron get hit, and I'm upset when I see LeBron push other players, which he rarely does. 

James has gotten pushed or hit in every single playoff series, and in each of those three series he has gotten hit or pushed in the third game. To recap: the third game against the Detroit Pistons, Andre Drummond threw an elbow at James's head; second round series game three, Jeff Teague pushes LeBron into the stands;  and finally, game three in the Eastern Conference Finals, Bismack Biyombo and Tristan Thompson share words to each other, and either DaMarre Carroll shoved Tristan's elbow into LeBron's chin, or Tristan threw his elbow at James' chin. Also, something to note: these guys are all young players.

So no wonder LeBron James is not fond of the NBA's officiating.

I forget what this referee's name was, but he was the one who ejected Shawn Livingston with what almost seemed like a baseball pitch. We need more officials like that. I would bet you he would have at least given Teague a Flagrant 1. None of the three fouls against LeBron were even Flagrant. Why? 

I don't know, there's been a couple of tweets here and there that are saying ref's that don't do a good job should be fined. The referees try to do the best possible job they can. Some people may say it's not a big deal if the refs miss a call, and some may say it is a big deal. The last second non-called fouls or violations is what is disturbing me the most. Shaq said that he didn't like games to be decided  on a non-called foul. LeBron said that it was bad for the youth. So yes, if Westbrook travels and it isn't called with in 45 seconds then the answer is obvious.

With all due respect you should be fined. Joe Borgia, V.P. of NBA officiating, said that the Westbrook travel was an " unfortunate miss." It's not "unfortunate" - it cost the Warriors the game! Referees have to do a better job and be more strict.

Spurs - Time to hit the restart button?

Coach Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili... Are they done?

I guess the real question is... Is it time to hit the restart button?

It has seemed like forever since the San Antonio Spurs haven't made the Playoffs. Success is what San Antonio gives, and it's hard give up that success that the Spurs have had. But if I was the Spurs' General Manager, I'm tired of that strange atmosphere in the locker room, on the court, and at the press conferences. I'm not sure if the team feels it, but I do, and strongly. 

Some people say the best relationship in the Spurs franchise is Timmy and Pop, but can that keep on going now? There's no disrespect in this report, or opinion as you can call it, but there's no father prime in this San Antonio basketball team unless you get Dwayne Wade. I think the biggest problem is if you're a rookie or a player who wants a new young team where the future is bright, the Spurs is not the place to go if you keep Popovich , Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. 

These fantastic three, as you could call them, aren't young and talented any more. The Spurs' Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge have rings to get, have titles to win, and most importantly, they need bright futures to look forward to. The Spurs Fantastic Three have slowed down quite a bit, and they've scored less. Does this have to do with age? I say yes, yes indeed. Even Tony Parker has taken a drop despite being only 34, and Tim Duncan now 40, and Ginobili 38, plus none of these guys are like Kobe Bryant or Dwayne Wade.

If Kevin Durant is going to the Spurs why not hit the restart button?You'd have KD, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and I would even try to get Russell Westbrook. And even if you don't get KD or Russell, I would still hit the restart button. 

Cleveland Sweeps Again - Playing Best BasketBall

Cleveland's dominance continued into the second round, sweeping the Atlanta Hawks 4-0. I read a tweet on NBA TNT Overtime that said the Cavs won't lose a game until the finals, and I highly think so the way that they've been playing. 

The Cavaliers have stepped behind the arc and have been successful doing so, averaging 19.2 three-pointers and 38 attempted threes against Atlanta. Cleveland has gotten hot starts averaging 30.7 first quarter points, but the fourth Quarter has taken a drop averaging 25.5 points in the final quarter. Three point shooting for the Cavs also has to come with assists, and they did just that by getting 25.7 assists per game. LeBron is near to averaging a triple double, having a solid 23.5 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists. And speaking of triples, LeBron has always had a big three around him. 

The Hawks did just about everything wrong this series: over helping, getting lost in pick and roll, giving up late 1 point leads, etc. The Hawks have two All-Star players on their team: Paul Milsap and Al Horford. The team doesn't have a great Starting Five but what really disturbed me was that the Hawks seamed to just skip right over the stat sheet. For example, Jeff Teague averaged 11.5 Points, Thabo Sefolosha averaged 9 Points, and Kent Bazemore averaged 8.7 points. You can't live up to those numbers if you're on the starting five.

I probably favor the Heat to win against the Raptors, but it would probably be easier for the Cavs to win against Toronto, despite LeBron saying it would be cool to go up against his former teammate Dwayne Wade.

The Cleveland Cavaliers still look to win the Finals, and I hope they do.

KYLE KORVER- HOW TO GET OPEN

Kyle Korver has shot pretty poorly in this second round series against the Cavaliers going 0/1 in his first game and 3/7 in second game, with his shot attempts.

Here is my idea on how to get Korver open.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Cleveland's Dominant Performance Showed in the First Round of the 2016 Playoffs (5/1/2016)

The Pistons tried to fend off the Cavaliers, and unfortunately they didn't. It's not one bit bad for me because I'm a Cleveland fan. 

The Cavs are looking at a second round series against the Atlanta Hawks after sweeping the Detroit Pistons. Cleveland shot lights out from three and the assist numbers were pretty decent, averaging 22 assists per game. LeBron James is averaging 22.8 points and 6.8 assists per game this playoffs, getting 11 assists in Cleveland's first game against Detroit this series. 

Stan Van Gundy, to me, is a bad influence on this Pistons team. For example, trying to fire up your team is not going to win games. You're just going to get more technical fouls, more fines, and more overall upsets. 

Reggie Jackson of the Pistons, seemed very upset with the calls, but the Replay Center showed that the last second shot by him was not a foul. Also Drummond threw a elbow at LeBron's head and that was never called. I think Stan Van Gundy answered unreasonably to the reporter who was interviewing him. 

Enough with the first round series and onto the second round. Their next series, against the Hawks, doesn't seem to be a nail bitter either. It will be a nail-biter whether the Cavs will finish Atlanta off in five games or four games. The Cavaliers have seemed somewhat similar to the Warriors averaging 14.25 threes made and I am hopeful that they will use that against the Hawks. The Hawks let Boston shoot a lot of open threes and if that's a factor, Cleveland is going to sweep. I think Cleveland has a good chance of going to the finals and getting the Championship in this 2016 Playoffs.

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