Nuggets beat Rockets....hmmmmmm

This eighth Western Conference playoff spot just won't rest...but to paraphrase Chris Rock, something ain't right.

Denver just grounded the Rockets with 17-point thumping today, when only two days ago, Houston absolutely blitzed the mighty Phoenix Suns. That's one hell of a turn around.

Hey, call me a conspiracy theorist but i'm still searching for an explanation on this. Even NBA.com reporters are scratching their heads. And i quote from the game report:

"This was a surprisingly easy win for the Nuggets, who pulled away with a 10-0 run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from Smith spanning the first and second quarters."

Now if Denver beat Memphis they're in. But if they lose, the Warriors must win their final two games. This is more complicated than a Presidential election.

Golden State could become the first team ever to get 50 wins and still miss the playoffs.

Over the Top!

The Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors are in the midst of a thrilling dual for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot this week. Two games remain and only one team will go through. I just can't take the pressure...

The truth is that the Warriors play an exciting, fast-break, free-flowing style of basketball and as a result are capable of knocking-off anyone on their best day. By contrast, the Nuggets play a brand of hoops that can only be labelled "junk ball"; the rock crosses halfway, possibly touches one other pair of hands and then is carried to the basket in a selfish, blinkers-on drive that either clanks off the rim or happens to drop. When it drops, the team inevitably wins. So if Carmello and AI can successfully repeat this move over the next two fixtures, the Nuggies will surely qualify.

On the flip side, when the Warriors adopt the me-first game plan they usually lose. Baron Davis needs to share the ball and the other guards work better when they attack the basket via passes.

Whoever makes the eight will certainly challenge the Lakers in the first round. But as a bandwagon supporter of the exciting GSW squad, I'm rooting for the west coasters. They remind me of basketball during the mid-1980s, when fancy passes and last minute shots were the norm on highlight reels, and at the same time unprecedented. It was an exciting time and rarely relived in today's NBA, mainly because we've seen it all already.

C'mon Warriors, remember what Sly said..."over da top!".

We Believe! Well at least I do...



It's that time of year again when your team either packs their high tops and jerseys for a playoff road trip or board shorts and sunblock for summer in Baha.

I think if I was a player, spending May and June on the beach would be fairly tempting after six months of being pummeled in the paint. You could hardly be blamed for tanking the season could you? Plus your club gets the added bonus of a lottery pick. Not a bad deal really.

But then I'd probably come to my senses and remember the atmosphere inside the Oracle Center last year, when the Warriors and their fans recreated the Great Western Forum from 1987. That was playoff basketball at its best. Warriors 4 - Mavericks 2: and all because we believed.

Can they do it again? Here's hoping. The last five games of the regular season will play out this week with the Warriors still stuck in 9th. I think if they can take down the ridiculously overachieving Denver Nuggets we may just be treated to some high octane Golden State playoff basketball once again.