Buzzer beat down

  I know that the Heat pulled off the late W over the red hot Lakers today. But still that doesn't mean I take back what I said on Facebook about them drafting Kemba Walker from UConn. If you weren't watching the game live like me I am sure you have seen the highlight by now. He missed the shot with like 40 seconds left they got the rebound called time out. Then off the in bound set a high screen for Kemba who got the mismatch and broke the big mans ankles. This wasn't the first time this year he has hit a buzzer beater. He has hit a hand full of them versus I think maybe 2 misses. I was surprised that UConn got past Pitt I didn't think they could hang with Pitt especially with how hot Gibbs was. After he hit that 3 to tie it with 40 seconds left or whatever it was, I thought it was going to OT for sure. But now we get a rematch of the famous 6 OT game, when UConn meets Syracuse in the semi finals match. The Lobos will meet BYU for a 3rd time this season this time it is in the MWC semi final game. The Cougars were down one at half to TCU today but they rallied in the second half for the win. The Lobos should be stoked they get to face the Cougars in the semi finals, hopefully we can complete the season sweep and get to the finals.

   Now back to the Laker game, I think that the first half is what killed the Lakers not being able to get the rebounds that they wanted to. Bynum only had 1 board in the whole first half, he had a great second half though but it wasn't enough to stop the Heat. Ron Artest took 3 horrible 3 point shots in the second half of the game. I know he thinks he is an offensive weapon but really he needs to stick to defense and be cool with maybe 8 shots a game. I think they need to look more inside to Bynum instead of Artest shooting airball 3's. Bynum is red hot lately and the Lakers should ride that going into the playoffs. I know they don't wanna over work him and risk injury but he seems to be fine to me. If you watch when he is really trying and jumping to get the rebound hardly anyone can get higher then him with his arms in the air he looks about 12 feet tall. Tough loss for the Lakers great win for the Heat. They finally realized they need to go the Wade late in the game and let him get into the paint and let LBJ play more of a passers roll. The Mavericks bounced back just how I thought they would after the tough loss they suffered last night. Everyone seemed to have a great night except maybe Dirk who still scored 23 points but missed 12 shots which isn't like him. I am still convinced that Roddy B. will be a huge part of their playoff run. He had another double figure scoring night with 14 and added 6 dimes and a steal. People keep saying to me that this is the same old Mav's they will be out in the first round. But the way this team plays defense not just Chandler although it starts with him, everyones defensive numbers are up including Dirks, who hasn't been known for his defense, but this has been his best defensive year. That and they have so much depth they can get their Vets rest if they need it and not worry about their replacement getting out scored because the guy off then bench might just drop 20 on them. Now there is 6 minutes left in the Nuggets v. Suns game but I think it might be safe to say that I went 3-0 tonight seeing as how the Nuggets are up by 20. This week has been a great week for me picks wise except monday of course wherer I went 3-3 but still every other day has been great.

    Now lets hope I keep up the good work with my picks for tomorrow. The first game of the night is the Clippers v. the Nets in New Jersey. Both teams are coming off wins and a nights rest, but I think that the Clippers have more talents then the Nets do and I think since Blake didn't have a great night last game he is looking to come out big tomorrow. I know the Clippers are not a great road team but still I look for them to get a rare road win tomorrow, especially if Williams is still out. Next game up is the Celtics v. the Sixers in Philly, while the Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the Clippers the Sixers are red hot in the second half. The Sixers don't lose 2 in a row often last time they did was in mid January but the Celtics have beat them both times they have faced eachother this year. That being said both times it was by single digits, this is a tough one here but I am going to go with the upset pick and take the Sixers to beat the Celtics. The Pacers travel out of country to face the Raptors, and while the Pacers may have slipped a little recently I think they will be able to get the W on the road tomorrow, I think Granger will have a big game he hasn't been a factor lately I see that changing tomorrow in their win. Next up is the Blazers vs. the Bobcats and while everytime I picked against the Bobcats in the first half they would prove me wrong I don't see it happening tomorrow. The Blazers are so much better then the average fan gives them credit for, especially with the addition of Gerald Wallace. I know Aldrige has calmed down as of late but I see another big game from him tomorrow on the road I am going to go out on a limb here and say he drops 30-35 in their win tomorrow. The Hawks travel to Chicago to face the Bulls who have been hot in the second half but their most recent loss was to the Hawks. Since the Hawks have been kinda struggling as of late I think this will be a great game, I just don't know if the Hawks can pull it off. If Joe Johnson has a great game then the Hawks win, but I am taking the Bulls and my leading MVP candidate Rose to get the W, I think Rose will have a great night with a 20-10 (dimes not rebounds) night. The Jazz are on the road again this time to play the T-Wolves, I know the Jazz are not a great road team and the lost Williams but they have been playing pretty good since then. This one is tough for me with Beasley back along side Love its tough but I am going with the Jazz. Although I say Love has another 20-20 night in the loss. The Pistons travel to OKC to face the Thunder, who haven't been playing great as of late, just pulling off a come from behind win over the Sixers. I think Durrant found his shot again in that game though which only means trouble for the Pistons. I think the Thunder are going to go on a little win streak here that started last game. I look for Durrant to drop 30 again in the Thunder win over the Pistons. The Kings travel to San Antonio to play the league leading Spurs, the Spurs are a team that wins games its supposed to. Now that Tony Parker is back sooner that expected it only means good things for the Spurs. I don't care what you say but without him in their lineup they really struggle, I know Neal is great but the just need Parker in there, what he does is unmatchable by any backup, Spurs win. The Magic travel to play the Warriors, who I don't think will be able to stop Howard which will be their biggest problem tomorrow night. If the Magic don't get someone else to have a good night besides Howard then they will lose, do I think they will lose no. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Warriors got hot and stole one from the Magic, I am still taking the Magic though.

      Now to spring training and of course I will start out with the Rangers. C.J. Wilson started on the mound for the Rangers today against the White Sox. He threw 4 innings with 3 hits 1 run 1 walk and 3 K's in the Rangers 7-6 loss. He left the game in the 4th behind 1-0 after he left the next pitcher gave up 3 runs off 6 hits. The Rangers bats were really to blame for the loss, even though they were leading going into the 9th by 1 run. The Rangers were only 8-35 at the plate today, granted if whoever was in the last inning closed it out they woulda been off the hook, but that wasn't the case. Of couse it is spring training so it is not that big of a deal, yet. The Phillies played the Yankees again today, only today the 2 ace's of each staff was on the mound. Thats right Halladay v. Sabathia, neither of the two gave up a run, Halladay went 6 gave up 4 hits and struck out 2. While Sabathia only went 5 gave 3 hits and also struck out 2, Sabthia had the ND. Halladay on the other had obviously got the W for his second of the srping putting him at 2-0. The Phillies didn't get a lot of offense but they had two big innings and one of them was while Halladay was still in there. The Giants had a good outting today from Bumgarner for his first win of the spring against the Reds. Today wasn't the Reds day, the had Arroyo on the mound which is usually a good thing but not today. He went 4 innings with 5 hits gave up 4 runs and 3 of them from home runs, this for his second loss of the spring. Again I am not too worried about Arroyo he will figure it out when the season starts he always does. Bumgarner on the other hand had a great day going 4 innings only allowing 1 hit and striking out 6. This is a great sign for the Giants who have a rotation that is as good as any in the league, except for the Phillies, but not that far behind. The Red Sox lost to the Rays today with Matsuzaka on the mound, which usually is a good thing when he is healthy. But he just didn't seem to have it working today, he pitched 3 and 2/3 innings giving up 5 hits and 5 runs with 2 walks 2 K's and a home run. This is what I was talking about with the Red Sox, we know the offense is there, but will Beckett be the good Beckett or the off Beckett. Same with Matsuzaka and Lackey. If the Red Sox are going to do what they set out to do by spending all this money in the offseason, they are going to have to hope their pitching holds up.