NBA: Recap of the 2010-2011 Season

This past NBA season was exciting. Lots of stuff happened. This article will recap the significant events that happened in chronological order.

The Washington Wizards chose John Wall with the first pick in the draft. He was instantly considered to be the front-runner for Rookie of the Year.

Before the season started, many players were free agents and had to decide what teams to sign with. LeBron James made his long-awaited decision and decided to take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Amar'e Stoudemire signed with the Knicks and Carlos Boozer joined the Bulls. Players who stayed with their teams included Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, and Rudy Gay. Meanwhile, Allen Iverson didn't get any contract offers from any NBA teams and ended up playing in Turkey.

Though some expected the Heat to break the regular season record for games won, they lost their first regular season game and had a 9-8 record later in the season.

Jerry Sloan retired midway through the season and ended his 22-year tenure as head coach of the Utah Jazz.

During the All-Star Weekend, Blake Griffin won the Dunk Contest and James Jones won the 3-Point Shootout. The West beat the East in the All-Star Game and Kobe Bryant won MVP.

Two major trades occurred before the trade deadline. Deron Williams was traded to the Nets and Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Knicks.

At the end of the regular season, the Chicago Bulls finished with the best record in the league and Derrick Rose won the MVP award. The San Antonio Spurs ended up finishing with the best record in the West and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was named Rookie of the Year.

In the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies upset the Spurs and won their first ever playoff series as a franchise, while being seeded 8th in the West. Meanwhile, the Knicks got swept by the Celtics.

In the Semifinals, the Mavs swept the Lakers and the Thunder beat the Grizzlies in the West. In the East, the Bulls beat the Hawks and the Heat beat the Celtics.

During the Conference Finals, both series ended in 5 games. The Mavs and the Heat advanced to the Finals while the Thunder and the Bulls ended up losing.

The Finals proved to be exciting. Some people wanted Dirk to get a ring while others rooted for LeBron and the Heat. Each game seemed to go down to the wire. Although the Heat won Game 1, the Mavericks came out on top. I correctly predicted in my Finals preview that the Mavs would win in 6 games and Dirk was named Finals MVP.

What's next? The NBA might go into a lockout. Let's hope that next season (if there is one) is just as enjoyable as last season was.

Have any thoughts on this past NBA season or the possible lockout? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Baller Bio: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

If you followed the NBA in the 90's, then you've probably heard of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. In my opinion, he is one of the most underrated players in NBA history. He has also dominated overseas and in college at LSU.

He was born Chris Wayne Jackson on March 9, 1969 in Gulfport, Mississippi. He played college basketball at LSU where he was named the USBWA National Freshman of the Year in 1989 and won the SEC Player of the Year award twice (1989 & 1990).

After entering the NBA Draft, Jackson was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 3rd overall pick. He spent the majority of his NBA career in Denver. His highlights with the team included participating in the 1993 Slam Dunk Contest, winning the Most Improved Player Award in that same year, and scoring a career-high 51 points against the Utah Jazz on December 7, 1995.

However, at the peak of his career, Abdul-Rauf became the center of a big controversy around the league when he refused to stand for the National Anthem. His reasons for doing it were that the flag was a symbol of oppression and tyranny and therefore, it went against his religion as a Muslim. The NBA suspended him one game and he compromised with the league by standing for "The Star Spangled Banner," but closing his eyes with his head down while doing it.

After his tenure with the Nuggets, he played 106 games with the Sacramento Kings over two seasons. His last season in the NBA was played with the Vancouver Grizzlies during the 2000-2001 season. He averaged 6.5 points and 1.9 assists a game in 41 games with the team that season.

After playing nine seasons in the league with three different teams, he went overseas to keep playing and is still playing today at the age of 42! While overseas, he has played in Turkey, Russia, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and currently plays for the Kyoto Hannaryz in Japan.

Have any thoughts on Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf or any suggestions on who I should write a Baller Bio on next? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

BBall Book Review: Fight for Your Dreams by Mike James

I recently finished reading Fight For Your Dreams: Memoirs of an NBA Star by Mike James. Overall, I was impressed.

In the book, James writes about everything from growing up in Amityville, New York to his days in the NBA.

He wrote from a very honest perspective and didn't hold back. He wasn't afraid to put in the things that most people wouldn't. He even wrote detailed descriptions of when Juwan Howard threw a basketball at his face and when Shaquille O'Neal trash-talked him. To find out what Shaq said to him, you'll have to read the book.

His playing career was very interesting to read about. As a pro, he's played overseas and with nine different NBA teams. He even averaged 20 points a game with the Toronto Raptors one season.

I think that a lot of people can relate to his perspective. I highly suggest this book to basketball players who dream of playing professionally because Mike James' book will show you what it is like to play in the league.

The only real negatives about this book are that the book is only 158 pages long and some parts of it lack detail, but other than that, I thought it was a great book.

Fight For Your Dreams is a fun and interesting read. For me, it was a page-turner. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Have you read Fight For Your Dreams or have any thoughts on Mike James? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Mix of the Week #4: Latrell Sprewell - The American Dream (tmedny20)

This week's mix is of Latrell Sprewell. This mix shows clips of him from his days with the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks.

The song is "American Dream" by Children of the Corn and the mix was made by tmedny20 on Youtube.



Spree was a great player in his prime.....and a ferocious dunker! It's a shame that his career ended the way it did.

To see more of tmedny20's mixes, check out his Youtube channel.

Have any thoughts on Latrell Sprewell or have any ideas for next week's mix? Leave a comment below amd tell me what you think.

(50th Post!!!!!) NBA Finals: Mavs Win Game 5, Take 3-2 Series Lead

The Dallas Mavericks have defeated the Miami Heat for the second time in a row and now lead the series 3-2.

Like every other game in this series, it was close throughout the game. Each team went on late runs, but eventually the Mavs came away with the win.

In the 4th quarter, the Heat were down 95-90, but then went on a 9-0 run to go ahead by 4. The Mavs eventually went on a 10-0 run after that and played smart for the rest of the game. The Mavs ended up beating the Heat 112-103.

Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 29 points, but he received lots of help from his teammates. Jason Terry had a great game off the bench and ended up scoring 21 points. JJ Barea shot stellar from beyond the arc and finished with 17. Also in the mix were Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd, who each were in double figures in points.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 23 points. Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, and Udonis Haslem each scored 10 points or more. LeBron James had a triple double (17 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), but only scored 2 points in the 4th quarter.

As a team, the Mavericks shot 13-19 from beyond the arc compared to the Heat's 8-20 3-point shooting.

The top candidate for Finals MVP on the Mavs is Dirk Nowitzki who is averaging 27 points and 9.4 rebounds a game this series. The main Finals MVP candidate on the Heat is Dwyane Wade, who is averaging 28.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5 assists a game.

Oh, and by the way, my prediction of the Mavs winning this series in 6 games is right on pace. All I need is the Mavs to win Game 6, which is on Sunday in Miami.

Have any thoughts on how the Finals is playing out? Was LeBron's triple-double the least effective one in NBA Finals history? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Also, as the title states, this is the 50th entry posted on this blog. I'd like to thank whoever reads this blog. I really appreciate it. I'll appreciate you guys even more if you comment on my blog posts, follow this blog, post this blog as a status on Facebook, and tell your friends and family to check my blog out! Peace out and thank you for supporting me.

NBA Finals: Mavs Win Game 4, Series Tied 2-2

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 86-83 last night and now the NBA Finals is tied up 2-2.

The game was close until the Heat took a 74-65 lead early in the 4th quarter. But the Mavs came back and with less than 30 seconds left in the game, Dirk Nowitzki drove in for a lay-up to put the Mavs up by 3. On the next Heat possession, Dwyane Wade drove by Tyson Chandler and dunked it to cut the lead to 1.

After a timeout by Mavs, the ball was inbounded to Jason Terry who was then fouled by LeBron James. Terry then hit two clutch free throws to put the Mavs back up by 3. With seconds left in the game, the Heat inbounded the ball to Wade who fumbled it, but then saved the ball from going backcourt and passed it to Mike Miller who shot up a desperation three at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime, but was an airball. The Mavs won 86-83.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 32 points and Chris Bosh chipped in with 24. LeBron James only scored 8 points and was 3-11 from the field.

Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Tyson Chandler finished with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Shawn Marion scored 16 points on 7-12 field goals. Jason Terry had 17 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 11.

Game 5 of the series will be played in Dallas on Thursday.

Have any thoughts on the Finals at this point? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Mix of the Week #3: Kwame Brown Mix (kobejay)

This week's mix is of Kwame Brown during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. I find his mix to be very odd because not many mixes on Youtube show the player missing lay-ups and free throws. Also, the song choice is intriguing.

The mix was made by kobejay on Youtube and the song is "Why Can't I" by Liz Phair.



There aren't a lot of mixes like this one on Youtube.

Check out kobejay's channel on Youtube to see more of his videos.

Have any thoughts on this week's mix? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

NBA Finals: 4th Quarter Comeback by the Mavs Ties the Series 1-1

The Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat are tied 1-1 in the NBA Finals, thanks to a spectacular 4th quarter run by the Mavs.

The game was fairly close through the first 3 quarters of the game until the Heat gained a 15-point lead with about 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter. This is when I started getting mad because I am a Lebron James/Chris Bosh hater and I really want the Mavs to win this series.

But then the Mavs came back. They managed to cut the deficit and eventually take the lead on a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavs were up by 3 with less than a minute left and I honestly thought the game was over. But then Mario Chalmers was left open in the corner when the Heat were inbounding it and LeBron threw it to him and he drilled the three. The game was then tied 93-93. On their final possession, the Mavs went to Dirk (of course) and he blew by Chris Bosh to hit the game-winning lay-up. Dwyane Wade then missed a long three at the buzzer that would have won the game for them.

Dwyane Wade led the Heat in scoring and had a great game (36 points, 5 rebounds, & 6 assists), but it wasn't enough for the win. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs in scoring and finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The Mavs the ended the game on a 22-5 run. They were down 15 in the 4th quarter, but came back and won by 2.

After staying up later than I wanted to to see the exciting finish to Game 2, I had to represent the Mavs. I wore the only Mavericks jersey I have to school today, a grey Michael Finley jersey. The only comment I got on it though was some kid who asked if it was a Caron Butler jersey and when I said it was Finley, he said, "He's nasty!" By the way he said it, I didn't know if he meant it in a good way or not.

The current front runners for Finals MVP on the Heat are Dwyane Wade (29 ppg, 7.5 rpg, & 6 apg) and LeBron James (22 ppg & 8.5 rpg). The front runners for MVP on the Mavs are Dirk Nowitzki (25.5 ppg & 9.5 rpg) and Shawn Marion (18 ppg & 9 rpg). Personally, I'd love to see DeShawn Stevenson win the Finals MVP award, but his stats (7.5 ppg & 2.5 rpg) aren't quite MVP-caliber.

The series is now tied 1-1 and my prediction of the Mavs beating the Heat in 6 games is still alive.

Have any thoughts on the late comeback by the Mavs? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.