Change is Inevitable. -- Dwayne Wade

Change is inevitable indeed. If it's for the good, however, Dwayne Wade welcomes anyone who joins him in his quest for the championship ring -- even if its a LeBron James we're talking about.

The King certainly came to Miami.

Unfortunately, the opening game against the Boston Celtics gave them their first loss this season - 80-88 points. A loss that tells a lot on how these two basketball superstars' rapport will be in the next few months.

Aside from the big tweak that happened in Miami, Carmelo Anthony could make use of change by making a huge career move. Melo told Yahoo! Sports that he's still not set on re-signing a $64 million dollar contract with the Denver Nuggets.

"I feel it’s a time for change," said Melo.

2010 NBA Playoffs: Game On!

Here are the list of schedules for the upcoming 2010 NBA Playoffs. Most have really exciting matchups.

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Source/s:
http://www.nba.com/playoffs2010/series/index.html?ls=nbaplayoffsTab?ls=iref:nbahpt1

NBA Outdoors! Oh yeah?

The basketball season has begun and new things have happened in the NBA. Apart from the trades, which are normal, there's this outdoor games. Okay, James Naismith created the game basketball as an indoor game for his students, right? So, the idea was really quite out-of-the-ordinary.

But David Stern surely has his ways. And unbelievably, he had the preseason tickets between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets sold out. The Suns and the Nuggets definitely had a wonderful view of the night sky in the Indian Wells Tennis Center. The game went well but it was pretty chilly that the players had to put their towels over their heads for some warmth. Allen Iverson, who's missed the game because of a sore knee, didn't have to endure the cold while watching his teammates win 77-72 against the now-defense-oriented Suns. Carmelo Anthony sat out for the second time with a sore finger while JR Smith did his own thing despite the icy-cold weather and finished with 12 points. Nene also had his share of the Nuggets' victory with 10 points.

The Suns played differently, giving more emphasis on their defense which is expected to improve. Among the problems of the cold Suns during the game was their turnovers and their poor 3-pt shooting. It was probably one of their lowest ever. Even so, Steve Nash played pretty well with 16 points while Boris Diaw took care of the ball with 10 rebounds. There's no one to blamed for the poor shooting of the Suns and Nuggets, who have showed offensive power during the past seasons, it's probably because of the wind slicing every now and then through the Indian Wells.

P.S. The new look of NBA.com is great!! Luv it!

KB24 Brushes Off the Nuggets

Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and the rest of the Denver Nuggets are off to an early vacation after being swept by the LA Lakers 4-0. Even if the Nuggets lost 101-107, they've definitely put up a good fight against the Lakers. As usual, Kobe Bryant dominated the scoreboard with 31 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Lamar Odom finished with a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. And Pau Gasol helped by adding 21 points. For the Nuggets, it was the usual Allen Iverson-Carmelo Anthony combo. This combo didn't work with KB24, who is as determined as ever to take his team to the Finals. But this I'm sure of, the Nuggets didn't quit.

Pistons Even Out the Series to 1-1

The bad boys of Motown tied the series against the Philadelphia 76ers 1-1. Rip Hamilton got most of the baskets with 20 points. Antonio McDyess was the king of the boards having 12 rebounds and sharing the same number of baskets with Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, all with 16 points. Louis Williams took me by surprise with his 17 points while Andre Igoudala getting a single field goal. That I think was made possible by the Pistons tight defense. The Pistons will leave The Palace and head out to the Wachovia Center, where it was once dominated by Allen Iverson come playoffs time. Speaking of Iverson, the Denver Nuggets are 0-2 against KB24 & Allies. The Nuggets lost Game 2 to the Lakers, 107-122.

The hottest news I've got with regards to the Sixers is that Larry Brown wants out as the Sixers' executive Vice President. He wants to coach again!.. He could be back to coaching on either the NBA or college basketball. Mr. Browni is a true genius when it comes to coaching. He has the heart and passion not just for the game but also for his players. He just loves the game so much. So, I salute him for deciding on continuing his coaching career, it doesn't matter if it'll be in the NBA or not. For sure, he'll do good. "He's one of the best in the business and should be coaching. I think he's got a lot more to offer as a coach. I think it'll be on the pro level," said Sixers President Billy King.

>> ON THE Suns-Spurs MATCHUP >>

"We are trying to put different people on Steve so he doesn't get used to (the same person) guarding him. I feel we did as well as any human being could do to just hang with him," said Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich.














“I don’t think our defense is causing us to lose right now. It’s our offense. We need to up the production.” - Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix Suns

Nuggets Move to the 8th Spot

Good news Denver Nuggets fans, the team has moved to the eighth spot, which I'm sure rattled the beard of Baron Davis. The reason for the team's advance to the eighth spot was the win against the blazing Phoenix Suns. They're hard work paid off and the Suns could no longer recover. Allen Iverson finished with 31 points and Carmelo Anthony adding 25 points. On the Suns' part, it was Leandro Barbosa who had the lead the team in points with 27. Steve Nash has been sharing the ball well with 18 assists and 17 points. Shaquille O'neal and Amare Stoudemire has a sum of 23 rebounds. Not bad for Shaq, but I still think he's not playing his role that well. What he gives to the Suns is still not enough.

Jazz Burned Out the Suns

I miss writing here! I miss writing about basketball and it's like i've been away from home for a long time. Okay so here is the news, the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Denver Nuggets, 109-96. AI topped the Nuggets in scoring with 29 points and 9 assists. Carmelo Anthony helped out by adding 25 points. For the Spurs, it was Manu Ginobili that rolled the ball a lot with 24 points and Tim Duncan adding 23 points. Pop sure haven't made up his mind yet about the right rotation for his team. The Spurs are now 43-18 while the Nuggets, with 6 games behind the top teams, are 37-24. "What I like about San Antonio is I think we like playing them," said coach Karl of the Nuggets.

But what's shocking for me when I was checking today's games was the loss of the Phoenix Suns to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz win over the distressed Suns, 126-118. Honestly, the Suns' bench is too shallow. They need depth, more of it. And their D? It's not good. Okay, Shaquille O'neal can block, but can he get more rebounds for his new team? It's one of the reasons why he was acquired by the Suns, right? Oh. I miss Shawn Marion, such a big loss to the Suns. I'll move to the boxscores. The Jazz Big Three [??] Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, & Mehmet Okur? [big question mark] each had 25 points. Andrei Kirilenko still out because of the injury acquired during the previous Jazz-Mavericks game. To the side of the Suns, well, Amare Stoudemire was blazing hot with 37 points and O'neal adding 20 points. But the Suns were short and could not contain the 41 points from the Jazz during the 4th quarter. The Suns [40-22] now have lost 2 straight games, putting them 4 games behind the LA Lakers. And the Jazz? Well, they're 41-22, 3 games behind.

Cavs-Nuggets-Suns

And so the Cleveland Cavaliers [21-18] have avenged themselves against the San Antonio Spurs [25-12] yesterday, 90-88. LeBron James yielded 27 pts, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. Three other Cavs were in double figures, Zydrunas Ilgauskas [17 pts], Anderson Varejao [12], and Daniel "Boobie" Gibson [11 pts]. On the Spurs' area, the Big Three were the only ones in huge numbers. Tim Duncan, were in double-doubles again with 20 pts, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Tony Parker poured in 23 pts, 6 assists, and a black eye! Parker, though he said he's shooting 200 free throws a day, missed two crucial free throws with only 29.4 seconds remaining. The i-wish-6th-man-of-the-year Manu Ginobili had 31 pts, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. There would've been an overtime, but Manu's shot during the remaining seconds just didn't went into the rim. And so the win goes to Cavs 90-88. "At times we're defending well and we can't score. At times we're scoring well but were not defending. It's a little bit of everything," said Duncan.

Have I told you I'm quite interested with the Denver Nuggets? Now you know. =) The Denver Nuggets [23-15] won 120-109 against the Utah Jazz [22-18]. The Jazz' "D" didn't even hurt the Nuggets , in fact it's the other way around. Marcus Camby alone throttled the Jazz. Camby had his season-high, 11 blocks, and 24 rebounds. Right on the offensive end of the Nuggets came Linas Kleiza with 41 pts [season-high]. "It was definitely a special night. I will remember this night for the rest of my life,'' said Kleiza. Allen Iverson poured in 28 pts and Carmelo Anthony added 23 pts. Camby's defensive numbers are overwhelming, I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to be the best Defensive Player this season. Oh I haven't really forgotten the Jazz. Deron Williams was the Jazz' leading scorer with 23 pts and 12 assists. Carlos Boozer had 18 pts and 11 rebounds. While Mehmet Okur [???] and Kyle Korver each had 16 pts.

Poor Kwame Brown, booed by Lakers fans. I don't wanna know the story 'cause honestly I don't have any sympathy for the Lakers. Hey don't be offended, I'm just trying to express what I feel here. I'm glad the Phoenix Suns [27-12] won 106-98 against the LA Lakers [26-12] after losing two straight to the Lakers. Steve Nash had a whopping 20 assists, such an unselfish player. 6 out of 7 from the Suns lineup were in double-figures, including Shawn Marion with 20 pts and 16 rebounds. The Lakers were shooting poorly with only 37.9 field-goal percentage while the Suns restored their offensive edge with 51.9 fg%. It's good that the Suns are back on top of the Pacific division and the Lakers on their rightful place. "It was very important. They beat us the first two times out, but we got this one tonight. That's all that matters now. We've got Minnesota tomorrow. It's one win. We still have a long way to go," said Marion.

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Wild about the Western Conference??

The Showdown

The King and the Big Fundamental face off at the AT&T Center today. The Cleveland Cavaliers [20-18] faces the San Antonio Spurs [25-11] first time this season after they were swept during last season's NBA finals. So, how will King James & Co. win? Now that the Spurs are finally complete. We'll find out soon!.. ;-)

The Phoenix Suns [26-12] visits the Staples Center to attempt a win against LA Lakers [26-11]. If the Suns win, then, they're back to top. But if they lose, they'll stay 2nd to the Lakers in the Pacific div and probably 5th in Western Conference [pls, correct me if i'm wrong]. The last time the Suns faced the Lakers, they lost. Will the Suns turn it over this time? Or, will KB24 carry the Lakers to a win even without Andrew Bynum?

Another game that everybody should check out today is the clash between "the neighbors," Utah Jazz [22-17] and Denver Nuggets [22-15]. The Jazz are playing better defense now, but will they be able to execute that big "D" well to the fast-paced style of the Nuggets?

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"The Spurs did a great job of loading and building a crowd behind Bruce as he contained me," LeBron James said.

"Our offense let us down and we couldn't stop [Clippers guard Sam Cassell]. Give them credit, they defended well. Our offense, for whatever reason, just wasn't clicking at all, and we just didn't play well." - Mike D'Antoni, Suns coach, on Clippers-Suns game

2nd Straight Loss for the Spurs

So, it's 17-5 for the San Antonio Spurs. The starters for the San Antonio Spurs included Jacque Vaughn, Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto, Bruce Bowen, & Matt Bonner. For the LA Lakers, the starters were Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, & Andrew Bynum. The Lakers won 102-97, with Bryant having 30 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, & 3 assists. As for the Spurs, the leading scorer was the underrated and tough defender Bruce Bowen. Fabricio Oberto topped the Spurs' lineup in rebounds having a total of 16 rebounds [season high]. Manu Ginobili got 14 pts, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 7 turnovers. Robery Horry had 3 blocks. Four of the Spurs are in double figures but still the Lakers have outscored the Spurs during the 2nd and 4th quarter. Tony Parker as I have expected was out of the game because of a sprained left ankle. I guess losing Tony Parker was too much a burden for the Spurs to get a win against KB24, who's got a whopping 30 pts and 3 assists. And oh! Kobe said he's happy he was not traded. I'm happy for him and to the teams that didn't lost their minds to make a trade for him.


The San Antonio Spurs record is now 17-5. The next game of the San Antonio Spurs will be against the Denver Nuggets. I think both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will be ready to play against the Nuggets. I'm hoping for the best. Go Spurs!

Anyone Interested On Kobe Trade?