NBA Swish Has A NEW Home

Due to the continued growth of the NBA Swish’s audience over the last 2 years, I’ve upstarted an official website!

Looks the same, but will give much more flexibility in the future to make the website more interactive and fun!

CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.nbaswish.com/

Break it Down – Why Miami Heat’s Season May END Tonight?

Miami Heat Problems Are Clear Cut

The Miami Heat, have two of the leagues hottest stars in Dwayne Wade and LeBron James (season’s MVP) and a solid number 2 guy on any other team, Chris Bosh. And yet for the second straight year, after being up 2-0 in a series, the once ‘OmgJamesWade&BoshAreGonnaBeUnstoppable’ team are on the verge of elimination dropping 4 straight for the second time (the first, being against the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s NBA Finals). WHYY!?!

Many people speculate, but I have the answer!! (or atleast I think I do..)

There’s Always Something Funny..

The Heat’s problems are clear, cut and 3-fold..
Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. What is SOO funny??

This is such a mind blowing thing to me. When playing basketball, soccer or hockey out on your local court, field or ice rink, caught in a highly competitive game, but for some reason or another, your down, losing or have lost..

… would you be laughing??

I don’t know if there’s a clown in the stands juggling hoola-hoops or if they’ve got Russell Peters on the announcers mic doing jokes, but if it were you or me fighting for our legacies on the NBA Playoff stage, I can’t see a single reason for a grin without a win.

The Spurs, Thunder and Celtics have shown that locked-in mental focus thus far and they are proving why hard work and passion can possibly override talent.

2. Big Time Egos NEED Big Time Coaches

Coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t the worst coach in the world. There are many young teams in the NBA who could use an inexperienced coach to grow together, but he could possibly the worst coach for this organization and this situation.

How could one expect three players with egos as big as their multi-million dollar bank accounts, to listen to, abide by or respect a coach who has thus far individually accomplished nothing significant in the NBA. Sitting along side Pat Riley and the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals is one thing, doing it yourself is another… especially when you have LeBron James.

LeBron needs what very few coaches provide, guidance and authority over superstar players. Doc Rivers has it, Greg Popovich has it, George Karl and Phil Jackson had it. Not to say that Erik Spoelstra may not earn it eventually, but talk about an uphill battle, this is it.

3. Leave the Showmanship to the Announcers:

LeBron, Wade and Bosh need to stop worrying about their appearance, the way they look or are perceived and just play hard fought basketball. No need for ‘Flash’, ‘The Chosen One’ or ‘Side Show Bosh’, the only thing welcome at this point is toughness and confidence, the rest of the cast will follow suit.

GO MIAMI HEAT!
I have nothing against the Heat, I’m not one of those! I don’t hate LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, in fact, I wish they would succeed together. I just wish this message could be delivered to them with the best of intentions. They may win a championship based on talent, but a DYNASTY is built by so much more.

NBA Playoff Predictions – Conference Finals

Eight Wins To Go

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Last night, Rajon Rondo stepped up BIG to close out the Second Round of the Playoffs. With Pierce fouled out and the Celtics struggling to score, Rondo went on a personal 9-0 run to put the game and series away for the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo comes up BIG for the Celtics, Game 7 vs 76ers.

… And here come the Conference Finals..

And as we’ve done through every round, Scamz and I have our predictions (well Scamz has decent predictions, my predictions have been as good as Montreal weather predictions)

But first, here’s an update on the competition!

First Round Scores

Second Round Scores (Points are Doubled)

It’s bad.. I know, Scamz is running away with this one.
Scamz 197 – 134 Swish

Conference Finals, Points are now TRIPLED!

Select correct series winner: +30 points
Incorrect selection will cost: -15 points

Having selected the correct winner, additional points can be earned:

Correct number of games: +18 points
One game error in guess: +9 points
Two game error: +3 points

Here are our Predictions for the Conference Finals, starting with Scamz and then Swish!

Scamz’s NBA Playoffs 2012 Conference Finals Predictions

Swish’s NBA Playoffs 2012 Conference Finals Predictions

NBA Playoff Predictions – Semi Finals All Set

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Tough Comeback

On Saturday we pitched out our predictions for the Eastern Conference Semi Finals while we waiting for the west to get set, now that they are, here it is!

Final Point Tally:
Scamz – 95 points
Swish – 63 points (.. looking rusty — need a comeback!)

Here are the Predictions for the Semi Finals

Scamz Predicts:

Scamz’ Predictions for the 2012 NBA Playoffs Semi Finals

 

Swish Predicts:

Swish’s Predictions for the 2012 NBA Playoffs Semi Finals

NBA Playoff Predictions – East Ready, Point Totals

Check-Point(s)

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So.. to Sum Up:
Derrick Rose got injured, lost to the 76ers; Heat made ashes of the Knicks; Pacer’s advanced; Celtics got lucky; Mavericks were embarrassed; LA is not serious; Clips and Griz are making games really exciting to watch AND Spurs have not disappointed us! phew..

8th seeded 76ers beat out top seeded Bulls in NBA 1st Round Playoffs 2012

Tallying up the Points!

Scamz has tallied up 66 points with 2 Series still undecided in the First Round.
And I’m saddened to announce that I’m trailing by quite the early margin with just 40 points thus far. But have no fear! I’m like the Clips, just looking to have a 27 point comeback in the end!

First Round Predictions Here!

Second Round, Points are Doubled!

Select correct series winner: +20 points
Incorrect selection will cost: -10 points

Having selected the correct winner, additional points can be earned:

Correct number of games: +12 points
One game error in guess: +6 points
Two game error: +2 points

Eastern Conference Predictions from Scamz for the 2nd Round:

Scamz’s Second Round Eastern Conference Winners, NBA Playoffs 2012

Eastern Conference Predictions from Swish for the 2nd Round:

Swish’s Eastern Conference Second Round Winners, NBA Playoffs 2012

NBA Playoff Predictions – First Round!

The Playoffs Are Here!

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The Playoffs are here!! — and the NBA Swish is featuring a friend and a basketball geek for the playoffs — the one and only Sherif Khalil (AKA. Scamz!) who will be competing verses yours truly in a Playoff Series Winner mashup!

High Schooling, back in the day

Here’s how its going to work:

Select correct series winner: +10 points
Incorrect selection will cost: -5 points

Having selected the correct winner, additional points can be earned:

Correct number of games: +6 points
One game error in guess: +3 points
Two game error: +1 points 

Lets get to it! Swish vs Scamz!

 

 

 

Starting with our Guest of Honor, here are Scamz’s Predictions:

Scamz's First Round Winners, NBA Playoffs 2012

Scamz’s Notes:

“Not really sure how Orlando and Indiana is gonna play out…that one was just a wild guess”

Here are Swish’s Predictions:

Swish's First Round Winners, NBA Playoffs 2012

Swish’s Notes: 
“No, its not a glitch.. I have the Mavericks taking out the Oklahoma City Thunder in 7. The Mavericks are underrated this year, and although OKC is my second favorite to win it all, I can’t stand ideally by.. wait, I WILL NOT stand ideally by and not give the defending Champs a shot out of the first round!”

Quick Knicks Fix

D’Antoni or Melo, Take Your Pick

70 games since the New York Knicks traded half their roster to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, it has become apparent that the D’Antoni-Carmelo Experiment does not produce results.

The Problem:

The Knicks who were 28-26 last season prior to the Carmelo Trade have gone 32-38 since. And when we consider the ‘Melo-less 7-1 record the team posted during Jeremy Lin’s explosive ‘arrival’ to fame, where does that leave us.. I’ll let u do the math on that one.

It’s not just Carmelo’s fault, Mike D’Antoni (head coach) has not made enough adjustments to take advantage of the talented players he has acquired. My issue here is that, the Knicks are 1-dimensional, they make no adjustments offensively or defensively depending on who their match ups are. And although, D’Antoni’s free flow offense keeps many players very happy statistically, the only time it has ever produced results was under a future hall of fame floor general PG Steve Nash.

The Solution:

One or the other must go, the trade deadline is Thursday, the experiment has failed. Either D’Antoni’s despicable reign as head coach must end, or move the all star talent who demands the ball in his hands and restricts a free-flow offense. The Knicks can upgrade all positions by trading Melo, but this team is just too talented and too deep to be 6 games under .500 this season.

My Solution:

Bye-bye D’Antoni… You had your chance, you have all the talent and you’ve produced little to nothing. A talent like Carmelo will always be more valuable than a stubborn coach.