So the Bulls and the Celtics series has FINALLY ended with the good guys coming out on top!!! With Boston winning and the Hawks pulling out the “W” over Miami, the door has opened to the glorious second round of the playoffs. As I love to do, I am going to force feed you all my theories on how these series will play out and then when I am horribly wrong, I will blame it all on you!!!
Orlando vs. Boston
If Kevin Garnett were able bodied (don’t they have cortisone in Boston?) I wouldn’t even waste my massively valuable time writing up this synopsis but since he isn’t, here I GO!!! After a long series with Chicago we learned a few things about the “new” Celts, #1 Paul Pierce isn’t as good as he thinks. Sure he made some big shots but he also effed up a lot, i.e) fouling Noah on a bonehead play that probably cost them the game if not another over time. #2 Boston can get REALLY thin, REALLY fast up front (I am really trying to get a Big Baby joke in here but I am tired) and #3 Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen are part of an elaborate rouse by Ashton Kutcher to Punk the whole world into thinking these 2 DUDS could actually make and NBA squad. As for Orlando, I think they are way too big for the Celts but not too deep for them. If they can get O Town in foul trouble, I think they will be able to pressure their back up players into a big enough hole that they can’t recover but that is a LOOONG stretch….Magic in 6
Atlanta vs. Cleveland
If you skipped the first match up to get to this one you may want to go back to the first sentence and read slowly. My time is valuable and the Cavaliers time is too. I mean how is LeBron going to celebrate being MVP at 24 years old when he has to play these damn playoff games. Cavs = good, Hawks = not good enough. Cavs in 4
Lakers vs. Rockets
I think this is a match up I am anticipating more than most people. One of 2 of the worlds best players (depending on who you like better) vs. one of the worlds best defenders and piss off artists. And if you don’t know who I am talking about, its Yao Ming and Sasha Vujacic…..No seriously, earlier in the year Kobe vs. Artest was AWESOME and gave me my favourite clip of the year which I posted on the site here. I think people are MAJORLY looking past the Big Man and his band of merry men and just thinking LeBron/Kobe finals. Houston is here for a reason, they have a deep team filled with role players that just come to play basketball. Sure they don’t have T-Mac but T-Mac doesn’t have knees or a back so he would only slow them down. What I think this series will come down to is how well Ming can play Gasol and how bad Artest can piss off Kobe. If Ming gets in foul trouble consistently, Houston loses. If Artest can piss Kobe off enough to make him shoot 50 times and forget his teammates, I think LA loses. But…LA in 6
Denver vs. Dallas
I have previously stated my disdain for the Mavericks and their style of play and nothing afforded me more happiness then seeing them get beat on Sunday while I was nursing a WICKED hangover (THANK YOU PACQUIAO). I think Denver is WAY too deep, too dirty and too well rounded to even get sucked into the Diggler’s one man band act. Billups is better than Kidd (at this point in their career), anyone is better than JJ Barea, JR Smith is Jason Terry with attitude, Melo and Dirk are fairly even, Martin is a real thug as opposed to Josh Howard and Nene is a REAL beast as opposed to Ericka Dampier (shout out to the Big Shaqtus). I can see the Mavs lulling the Nuggets to sleep for a game or two so I will say….Denver in 6
Let me know what you guys think in the comments section….PROVE ME WRONG CELTICS!!!
The clever people over at The Basketball Jones have uncovered a mysterious lost tape from the Houston vs. L.A. game on March 11th, 2009. The video clearly shows the level of trash talking that Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest were involved in during the game.
Written on February 14th, 2009 by goatdieselno shouts
By FAR the best All Star Weekend of any major sport. NBA’s All Star Saturday Night is probably my favourite night of the sports year and has been since I was a little kid. It basically wraps all the best parts of the game into one night of awesomeness, I even like the Shooting Stars competition (Yeah I said IT!). Along with the main staples, 3 point Shoot out (Go JK), Skills competition and OF COURSE the Slam dunk, this year they have added H-O-R-S-E to the slate of Saturday Night magic. I have heard a lot of people say this could be crap but I also know a lot of people are excited about this and I am one of the latter. Ever since the Jordan and Bird commercials back in the late 80’s or early 90s, I have dreamt of watching NBA All Stars playing horse. Sure they won’t be throwing the ball off the score clock from the 300 level of and arena but I expect to see some crazy things this to go down.
Last night was the annual Rookie vs. Sophomore game (which I usually miss) but this year I HAPPENED to actually be in a bar (what a fluke) and much to the chagrin of my girlfriend, ended up catching the whole game and was very surprised about how good it was. Sure there was NO defence and Kevin Durant took 25 shots but it was actually competitive. The rooks were leading pretty much the whole game and then the Durant show started! He was on fire, finishing the game 17 for 25 from the field for 46 points, the all time record for most points and the MVP. I think this game tends to be more sloughed off because its only the rookie and sophomores and for the most part is filled with guys that aren’t that well known yet but I think it tends to be more competitive for that reason and because NO sophomore wants to be beaten by a rookie, especially if you’re on their team. Just for a piece of history, the rookies have only won twice in 10 years of this format.
All the action starts tonight (on TV anyway) at 8pm ET. I will break down who I think will win the events and why don’t you let me know who you think is going to win and then we can have a friendly bet of bragging rights (maybe a beer too if we ever meet) for the winner. OK here it goes: Shooting Stars challenge – LA Lakers - I’m taking them because they seem to have the best shooters through the whole team. Skills Challenge -Devin Harris - I chose Harris because he is flat out the fastest guy here and he can shoot. 3 Point Shootout – Jason Kapono – Do I even have to say why? Raptors, 3 time champ, Raptors. Now for the BIG SHOW – Slam Dunk Contest – Dwight Howard – First off, let ME let YOU know, this guy is my favourite player and has been since I saw one of his high school games. He is not only the most dominant big man since Shaq but he is a real cool guy and loves playing the game. He also practiced for over a YEAR on the dunks he did last year and I have to imagine he wants to re-live that glory again and will do so tonight.
If I am around tonight (might have to make up for last night with the girlfriend) I will be live blogging all of tonight’s events so come around 8pm and see whats up. Well have a good night and a good weekend!
Written on February 6th, 2009 by goatdiesel3 shouts
Thank GoatDiesel It’s the Weekend! Too many sports, not enough time? Let GoatDiesel solve your problems! Every Friday, I will let you know whats worth watching this coming weekend. So your girlfriend doesn’t make you watch Grey’s Anatomy for the third time because there’s nothing on!!!
Saturday Night:MMA -UFC Fight Night – Free on SpikeTV at 9pm ET! The fight card MIGHT not be anything close to last weekends GSP vs. BJ Penn but it’s free, there’s ring girls and Cain Velasquez is going to be a beast in this sport and this might be the last time you see him for free.
NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens, 7pm ET on CBC - Two of the NHL’s most storied franchises, one for winning the most championships and one for well…Not winning one in about 42 years but who’s counting? Plus you may get another free fight night when Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn go at it for the Belorussian Featherweight title.
Sunday:NBA - San Antonio Spurs vs Boston Celtics,1pm ABC - Could this be the passing of the guard? Or the old dog showing the puppy who’s boss? San Antone used to be shoo-in’s for making the finals and always had a shot at winning it but lately, all we hear is the Celtics and Lakers are going to win. So let’s see how this plays out…
NBA – LA Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 3:30pm ABC – East vs. West, Kobe vs. LeBron, potential finals match up, what else could you ask for? If you think this is going to be a regular Sunday game you are sorely mistaken. Nobody hates losing more than Kobe and nobody hates everyone talking about LeBron more than Kobe. Nobody hates losing more than LeBron and nobody hates being compared to Kobe more than LeBron, so let’s see who comes out on top.
Well that’s what GoatDiesel will be viewing this weekend, what are you all watching??? Let me know in the comment section…
Written on February 4th, 2009 by goatdiesel2 shouts
BIG TINGS! (Yes, I intentionally left the H out in an attempt at being hip). Anywho, we here at GoatDiesel.com are always trying to bring you new ways to evolve your sports reading, watching, loving experience. Tonight we are going to expand further on that, by trying some “live blogging”. I tried to argue my blogging is always “live” but my internets guru DAG, tells me “although this may be true in the hip hop sense. “Live blogging” means live, as in while it’s happening”. So I digress.
Tonight we are going to start with the Lakers/Raptors game and see how it works out. Make sure you post your comments on the game as you watch it as well and feel free to let me know how terrible I am doing at this new venture too. It won’t be a play by play but more of a every 2-5 minute update about the nuances of the game. From the feel on the court, to the way certain players are playing and of course some recaps of big plays. Come back at 7pm ET tonight and add GoatDiesel on TWITTER as a friend.
Tonight you MAY have to refresh your page every few minutes, as we are just getting adjusted to this as well.
