How the Cavs are winning by going Big

By Brian Winhorst in ESPN.COM

THE NEMACOLIN RESORT is tucked into the hills of southern Pennsylvania, a high-end property with a chateau hotel, two golf courses and a modern spa with everything from gentlemen's facials to IV nutrient infusions.

In September, the Cleveland Cavaliers' coaching staff checked in for a stay and enjoyed absolutely none of it.

For days, the group, led by coach J.B. Bickerstaff, was holed up in a conference room watching film, studying analytics and working through meals.

"It's a really nice place," Bickerstaff says. "But we mostly worked."

Preseason coaching retreats are common in the NBA, but the mission the Cavs had for that trip was not. In a league that has been on a decadelong march to get smaller and faster, the Cavs were workshopping how they were going to get bigger.

Bigger, in fact, than anything the NBA has seen in a generation.

And so what began inside a hotel conference room some 70 miles south of Pittsburgh has knocked a procession of teams off balance throughout a league that has become infatuated with small ball.

Using a starting lineup featuring three 7-footers and reintegrating a former All-Star big man, the Cavs have big-footed their way into Eastern Conference contention. And doing so has not only changed the fortunes of a franchise not long ago predicted to continue its residence in the East basement, but also served as a resurrection that could disrupt NBA roster construction.

LAST MAY, CAVS general manager Koby Altman held a brutal season-ending news conference. He was asked if he thought he might get fired after a 22-50 season that capped a three-year run during which the team had amassed the most losses in the NBA.

Altman was grilled about young guard Kevin Porter Jr., who showed flashes of brilliance with the Houston Rockets after he'd washed out with the Cavs following a series of off-court issues. He had to explain how the midseason trade for center Jarrett Allen had disrupted chemistry and led to a buyout of center Andre Drummond.

Altman had to dance around the future of disgruntled center Kevin Love, whose injuries and disillusionment with the team had led to an escalating series of embarrassing events, from him inbounding the ball to the opposing team to just refusing to shoot.

As Altman sat on that Zoom call, he said he and owner Dan Gilbert had the same vision. He explained that rebuilding teams take chances on draft picks and miss, and he wished Porter the best. He said he tried to do right by Drummond by letting him go, and that the trade for Allen was too compelling not to do. And Altman said -- and this may have been the hardest to believe -- he thought Love "can really help us, I really do."

Altman was convinced there were small victories all around him. He knew that young guard Darius Garland had a 25-game stretch after the All-Star break where he'd shown tremendous growth, averaging 20 points and seven assists while shooting 47%. He knew that the team's internal numbers had shown Allen, whom they picked up from the Nets as part of the James Harden trade, was their most effective player. He knew that as bad as things looked with Love, that the numbers had shown the team was better when he was out there. And when he had talked to his players, they said they liked playing with Love when he was actually focused.

"There's a lot of optimism as to where we are as a franchise," Altman said that day. "The future's really, really bright."

You could almost hear the eyes rolling.

"It wasn't a dark place when we were losing," Altman says now, seven months later. "We were there, we saw it. People liked coming to work. They stayed in the offseason. J.B. had worked hard to make it a welcoming place, and you felt that."

No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley is a front-runner for Rookie of the Year. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

THEN, SOME LUCK. Projected to land the No. 5 pick, the Cavaliers heard their name called at No. 3 during June's draft lottery, a vital turn for a team in need of game-changing talent. Some years the No. 3 pick is a gold mine. Luka Doncic went third. So did Harden and Joel Embiid. But it's no guarantee, either: Jahlil Okafor, Otto Porter Jr. and Enes Freedom all were selected there in the previous decade.

Following the selections of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green, the consensus top two picks in the 2021 draft, Evan Mobley from USC was on the board.

There was no mystery in the first two picks in the draft and for weeks the Cavs felt confident it was going to be Mobley there for them at three. So they dove deep on him. They'd already watched him a lot in his one season with the Trojans and their background data kept checking out positive.

They loved Mobley's size combined with his skill. They loved his attitude as the son of a coach, who their research told them liked to be coached. They loved his work ethic, a feeling solidified after the draft when he asked the team if they could send a strength coach to work with him in Los Angeles in the offseason.

The Cavs had been in the lottery three straight years since LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers, but this was the first time they were able to get an immediate difference-maker, a belief that has been backed up by his role in the Cavs' turnaround.

But teams always fall in love with their picks. The Cavs weren't just going against the grain; they were committing to a path that would be difficult, if not impossible, to untangle.

Four days after drafting Mobley, the team signed Allen to a five-year, $100 million contract. Some draft experts and scouts projected Mobley could develop into a franchise center in the current taste of the NBA. In truth, Mobley and his camp thought this was possible too, so when Allen got paid there was some chin rubbing.

"People were looking at us sideways. It's one thing to be big but we felt Jarrett and Evan were big and active. It was building around that." Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff Twenty-five days after that, the Cavs acquired 7-footer Lauri Markkanen from the Chicago Bulls -- and then didn't make a move with Love, either via a trade or a buyout as some had expected.

Back in the hotel conference room, Bickerstaff and his assistants churned through their most fundamental question: How do you design an offensive and defensive system with two centers in 2021?

Bickerstaff, 42, has been around the NBA a long time. This is his 18th season in the league, but he was a ball boy and sponge as a child next to his father, longtime NBA coach and executive Bernie Bickerstaff. Translation: He's new-school as a head coach; old-school in philosophy.

Ask him about his favorite teams and he'll talk about the 1990s, when his dad was GM of the Seattle SuperSonics and they started three guys 6-foot-10 and taller. He'll talk about when his dad drafted 6-foot-8 Jalen Rose to the Denver Nuggets and made him a point guard.

Lessons, he says, that inform now.

"People were looking at us sideways," Bickerstaff says. "It's one thing to be big but we felt Jarrett and Evan were big and active. It was building around that."

Says Altman: "We watched a lot of film and we looked at the last few champions. They were great defensive teams. The Bucks had Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and [Brook] Lopez. The Lakers had LeBron, [Anthony] Davis and [Dwight] Howard. They played big and they won.

"We didn't see Evan as a player exactly like Jarrett and thought they could play together."

CLEVELAND'S BIG SWING has been working. The Cavs ranked No. 25 in defense last season, and in 2019-20, when Bickerstaff took over midseason after John Beilein resigned, they ranked dead last.

This season, with Allen and Mobley, who are both mobile enough to switch out and defend the perimeter and long and defensive-minded enough to challenge shots in the paint, the Cavs' defense has soared up the rankings, settling in at No. 2 behind the NBA-best Golden State Warriors.

Their size has overwhelmed opponents, who are shooting a league-worst 59.3% in the restricted area against them. It's the bedrock for their turnaround, which has them 20-13 and in position to challenge for a top-four seed.

"The other teams really feel that size," Bickerstaff says.

The Cavs initially signed Markkanen to be a backup. After the signing, Altman met with Love. He told the veteran, who had two years and $60 million left on his contract, that he'd be a bench player for the first time in his career.

Love accepted the situation but had a request: If he earned minutes, he wanted to get them. Love saw veterans with big contracts get stuck when teams went young, namely John Wall in Houston, and wanted to know he wouldn't be buried to wait out his contract.

There was something else in mind for Love. Over the summer, Altman traded for Ricky Rubio to be a stabilizing backup guard. But it was also someone Love could connect with on the second unit. They played three seasons together in Minnesota, where Love became an All-Star.

Love came into camp in September in good condition -- which was in some doubt after he left Team USA training in July after struggling to get into shape. With limited depth on the wing, Bickerstaff made the decision to put Markkanen in the starting lineup at small forward so Love would have more room to play.

"I thought we had a tremendous offseason by getting Evan, Lauri and Rubio," Altman says. "We had [a] process and ping pong balls. But I really liked our top seven to eight guys and I knew we were going to take a step forward."

Led by big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Cavaliers' paint defense has suffocated opposing teams. EPA/SHAWN THEW Not everyone agreed. Sportsbooks set the Cavs' preseason over/under total between 26 and 27 wins. ESPN predicted a 26-56 season. The decision to start the three 7-footers was mocked. They gave up 255 points combined in their first two games. Then, 11 games in, Collin Sexton, Cleveland's leading scorer last season, was lost for the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

But the Cavs started winning. Garland, with more playing time with Sexton out, expanded his play from last season and is a sudden All-Star candidate, averaging 19.5 points and 7.3 assists per game. Allen, whose big contract was questioned, has been a defensive rock and extremely efficient offensively, averaging a career-high 16.8 points and shooting 70%.

Mobley, 20, has shown he can shoot, pass and defend multiple positions. It is rare for a rookie to impact winning, but he's doing so. He is one of the front-runners for Rookie of the Year despite missing time with a sprained right elbow.

Love, for his part, is having his most efficient season since he came to the Cavs in 2014-15. He plays 20 minutes a game and has maintained a positive attitude throughout the season.

"We've got a good thing going and I'm having a lot of fun," Love said after he scored 22 points in a blowout win over the Toronto Raptors Sunday night. "It's going to be great watching this young team develop."

Through nearly half the season, the Cavs have played the toughest schedule of any team so far. Despite injuries and COVID-19 issues, Bickerstaff has them racking up milestones. They went 3-2 on an early Western Conference-heavy road swing, the first time they've had a winning record on a five-game trip since their title-winning 2016 campaign. They won in Miami for the first time in 20 tries. And they have the easiest schedule remaining.

On Christmas, the Cavs announced a contract extension for Bickerstaff through the 2026-27 season, the first time a Cavs coach has landed an extension since Mike Brown in 2008.

The team still has holes, notably at wing. But it is unquestionably overachieving -- a welcomed situation for a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs without James on the roster since 1998.

"We're not done evolving," Bickerstaff says. "But we like where we are."

Is the NBA finals riggged?

It is time for the playoff again!!

It is time for the NBA playoffs and me getting up early for watching the live matches.On the ongoing series 2 of them are interesting, Grizzlies Vs Warriors and Bulls Vs Cavaliers.

Here is an article from SBNation's Tim CaTO on a pivotal Game 3 at Memphis

That the Golden State Warriors would make a fourth-quarter comeback and narrow a 20-point lead to just a few was inevitable. The only question was if the Memphis Grizzlies could weather the storm.

They did. The Warriors cut what was once a 19-point deficit to four thanks to a parade to the free throw line, but Memphis never gave up the lead on its way to a 99-89 win on Saturday. With another game in Memphis looming on Monday, it's the Grizzlies who hold a surprising 2-1 lead over the NBA's best regular season team.

It was a tough night for the Warriors shooters, who missed both open and contested shots without discretion. Golden State is renowned for its ability to make shots this season, but 43 percent from the floor and just 25 percent from behind the arc through three quarters wasn't enough, not for the quality of looks the Warriors



The Warriors will blame themselves for missing those looks, but it was also clear they were rattled. Arriving in the Grindhouse in the raucous Memphis arena, and facing Tony Allen and Marc Gasol defensively, the Warriors had to work for everything. Memphis' identity isn't rooted in transition three-pointers or superb athleticism, but grit and toughness. Their goal is to make opposing teams feel it for 48 minutes and it took most of the game for the Warriors to react appropriately.

Let's say the Warriors felt it for at least 40, since they did make that fourth-quarter comeback. After pushing Memphis into the penalty, they closed the gap at the free throw line and found some easy shots inside. Down 91-85 with 2:05 to play, Golden State played great defense and forced a Gasol back-breaking prayer.

Here are three things we learned. 1. There is no one tougher than Mike Conley It wasn't a great offensive night, but it didn't matter. Conley's main impact came from relentless, physical defense on Stephen Curry throughout the game, bothering him around every screen and on every screen. He knew exactly what he could get away with from the refs on his home court, and he faced up and took a charge even with his face injury. Without Conley, the Grizzlies wouldn't have a 2-1 series lead, and in true Memphis fashion, he's fighting through the pain when he team needs it most.

2. You have to make shots to win The best three-point shooting team hit 6-of-26 from deep. There are surely technical adjustments for Steve Kerr to make, but the main thing for Golden State is simply to hit some shots going forward. Curry was just 2-of-10 while taking the same mix of pull-ups that he does every game. Taking nothing away from the Grizzlies, the Warriors just aren't playing like themselves.

3. Zach Randolph just keeps going Once again, the big man led the Grizzlies with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, plus eight rebounds and three steals. Memphis' style is to never adjust from its big-man heavy, grind it out lineups. There were questions whether they might have to against a killer small-ball Warriors team, but Randolph has more than held his own and punished Golden State at its own game all series.

Getting ready for the NBA Season

Rocking the Rondo gear Lets Bleed Green!!!!. Got the original NBA gear from Jabong of one of my favorite Celtics Rajon Rondo. It is a shame that they would be tanking this year but still Rondo is the only true point guard left in the NBA

Apple just purchased what??? for 3.2 Billion dollars

I remember when I bought a duplicate version of "Beats by Dr Dre" from the nearby electronics store for 100 Rupees. It had a cool design but as with any duplicate versions,it didnt last more than a couple of months. But I liked the design with the long cloth like orange wire and instantly knew why Beats headphones/earphones were all the craze at that time and Im a fan of Dr. Dre (no one can scratch music like him) so felt good to buy a product associated with him

Dr Dre with Lebron with the Beats headphones

Dr Dre founded Beats (Beat Electronics LLC) and started producing premium high end headphones with the Brand. Due to their sleek design they very soon became a high-end fashion accessory and soon held the majority market share in headphones costing more than 100 USD. It became so popular that HTC bought 50.1 % in the Company in Aug 2011 for 309 million dollars which seems to put the valuation of the Company at 616 Million USD.

HTC bought the majority stake as a valuable accessory to their high end smart phones and boost their market share in the mobile market. When that didnt happen as they thought they immediately opted out of it by selling half their stake (25 %) back to the Company in 2012 and the remaining 25% in 2013 which in turn was bought by the Private Equity firm (Beats is still a privately owned firm, mind you !!)Carlyle Group at 500 million dollars investment in the Company for a minority stake. Eventhough the financials of Beats Electronics aren't open to the public it is easy to say that when a reputed PE Firm like the Carlyle group buys a MINORITY stake in a firm for 500 million dollars they are valuing the firm to the north of a BILLION DOLLARS.

Now suddenly out of nowhere Apple now wants to purchase this private firm "Beats LLC" for 3.2 Billion Dollars. From the SEC reported financials of Apple over the years these are the cash reserves available with them

One can understand it is not advisable to hold excess cash(problems the rich and successful have !!!) but how in the world can they justify this acquisition to their shareholders. Now again Beats Electronics financials are not public but according to New York Times article last year they had an estimated annual revenue of 1.3 Billion dollars in 2013. Now that number looks overstated to me but still with a premium headphone selling at 200 $ that makes it around 7.5 Million units sold in a year which is entirely possible if you take into account they have a majority market share in the headphones arena and about 150 Million IPhones (Source : Apple Annual report 2013)were sold in 2013. It is also amazing to note the valuation by successive reputed firms on Beats varies year on year.



How could such reputed firms have such variations in their valuations of the company , has Beats really more than quadrupled their valuation over the course of three years and if so based on what financial analysis.There are questions to be asked by the shareholders of Apple.

Found the article below at Forbes which tries to make sense of this acquisition

Rumors are flying about the imminent purchase of headphone maker and streaming music service Beats Electronics by tech giant Apple for a reported $3.2 billion dollars, which has caused a lot of head scratching in both the tech and music communities. Should this deal come to pass, a number of questions come to mind.

Why Is Beats A Fit for Apple?

Apple sees music downloads from its iTunes store diminishing, and if it reads any of the reams of research on the subject, knows very well that downloads may be more endangered than the CD. Apple dipped its toe into the streaming waters last year with iTunes Radio, which seemed like a half-hearted effort at the time and even more so now, as the subscription numbers have never really taken off and have been stagnant for the last two quarters

That said, a non-interactive service like iTunes Radio doesn’t appear to be where music’s future lies, at least financially. Pandora already has a huge lead in this part of the market, but relatively few paying subscribers. It’s thought that eventually most users will want to move to an interactive service like Spotify where they get more choice over what they’re listening to, which is where Beats Music is and iTunes would eventually like to be.

Beats Music provides a ready infrastructure for Apple and already is integrated with mobile partner AT&T T +0.11%. Plus, if it’s true that the company has accumulated between 10,000 and 20,000 subscribers (which can’t be verified since Beats doesn’t report these numbers), that’s actually a huge jump over every other service already in terms of paying subscribers. Even if the subscription numbers aren’t quite to that level, it’s still pretty good for a service that only just launched and is yet to be available outside the US.

Why Is Beats Not A Fit?

A good deal of the purchase price of Beats is based on the consumer electronics market share that the company now enjoys. Consumer electronics are the heartbeat of Apple too, but the one thing that is an integral part of its brand is a superior quality product. Unfortunately Beats headphones are more of a fashion statement and are nowhere near the overall quality one would normally associate with Apple, so you have to wonder how the electronics portion of Beats even fits into the equation of the deal. Beats does have plenty of urban appeal thanks to hip hop producer and co-founder Dr. Dre, but its not like Apple has been lagging in this area, so you’d have to figure that’s not a factor either.

Apple has some brilliant audio minds (Tomlinson Holman, who’s in charge of the company’s audio direction, is one of the world’s foremost audio scientists and inventor of the THX theater audio we all enjoy as well as one of the creators of 5.1 surround sound) and you can’t say the same for Beats, so it wouldn’t be buying the company for its engineering skill.

There’s some speculation that Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine and Dre would come along with the Beats acquisition to help Apple’s music initiatives of the future, but does this make sense? Neither exactly fits the Apple culture, and while Iovine is certainly a forward thinking music industry mover and shaker, why would he even be interested after the big payday that would come from the acquisition? There’s a big difference from owning the company and being responsible for its direction to being just a piece in a larger one, and most creative types aren’t that fond of the structure involved with real corporate (meaning not an entertainment company) life.

Why Now?

Apple could have swooped in and purchased Beats much sooner for a lot less money, but you get the feeling that they weren’t totally sold on either the technology or the business model of the music service and needed some proof before it would make a serious offer. If the rumors are correct, it didn’t take long for that to happen; a mere three and a half months after the Beats Music service launched.

That said, Apple is quite aware that its leading position in digital music is slipping, with Spotify making major market inroads and new streaming service competition from Amazon and Google on the horizon. Apple certainly has the resources to launch its own service, but you get the feeling that might take too long to come to fruition if left to the company’s internal devices. It would seem that Beats, or one of the other streaming services reported available, is a way to get into the market more quickly than with a home-grown product.

Keep in mind that Apple doesn’t need Beats or iTunes for the revenue that music generates. Although that’s significant, the real money for the company has always been from selling hardware. The strategic place that music holds is that it has been an essential key to selling that hardware in the past. That’s not so much the case anymore though, as consumers don’t buy a new device just to stream music on it, unless of course Beats has a new unknown consumer device in the works that might drive that.

Was This Really The Beats Exit Strategy All Along? The timing of this transaction feels odd in that Beats Music only recently launched in late January, making one think that perhaps the grand plan of Iovine/Dre was to prove the music service as viable, then sell to Apple at some point down the line. Iovine reportedly held talks with Apple execs before the service even launched, which makes one wonder if a tentative deal was in the works even then. Perhaps Apple was given a chance at the purchase before The Carlyle Group extended its most recent round of capital to the company, which now might have cost the company twice as much by waiting.

If Apple’s acquisition of Beats goes down as reported, it will remain a deal that is both obvious and curious at the same time. As with many tech acquisitions, it may take time before the results become clear, which gives us plenty to speculate on in the meantime.

The above article shed some light on the logic behind it but still 3.2 Billion dollars is a lot of money even for Apple.Lets look at who benefits from all this.



Carlyle Group

Being a finance professional Im interested in starting a PE firm and look for attractive investment opportunities. But I wish I could do what Carlyle Group just did. OK, here it is when HTC sold their stake it meant that they are trying to run away from Beats but Carlyle group saw this as an opportunity and infused 500 Million dollars into the company believing in their value and also in their attractiveness to be purchased by bigger firms. Now whether Carlyle Group knew that Apple would be interested in Beats beforehand I dont know nor whether they expected it to be 3.2 Billion dollars but when this deal goes through they are going to make a cool 1 Billion dollars in profit. Not bad for a 6 month investment. Dont you think. Suddenly I feel so small in this crazy financial world.

Dr Dre

No one knows what is the current stake of Dr Dre but it is expected to be around 15% in Beats Electronics. If this deal goes through he is gonna become rich. Wow Hip hop/Rap has not only given us some great music but has also produced entrepreneurs. Damn Dre Billionaire thats Bad real BAD!!!

The Biggest loser is without a doubt

HTC

HTC comes out a Big loser what??? how??? Remember their 50 % stake sale in 2013. Imagine what would have happened if they didnt do it they would have been a cool 1 Billion dollars in profit through the Apple acquisition and imagine what a big boost would that be to the 9 Billion Dollar loss making Company. Wow wat a hit that is to HTC to watch the investment they sold for 300 Million dollars to rise to 1.5 Billion dollars in a few months. Surely Apple seems to acquire Beats just to piss off HTC. A very cruel joke thats what this is for HTC.

MVP!!!! MVP!!!!!

Miami Wins the NBA Championship

What a game it was today!!!! Lebron get his second consecutive ring...... Two in a Row .... You are truly a legend. But all of this would not have been possible if not for this amazing game tying three pointer in the last seconds of regulation in Game 6 from the Old Warrior Ray Allen

NBA Playoffs Post game chat

Weekend NBA Games

Had a chance to catch up on some live NBA action this weekend. Brooklyn Nets Vs Miami Heat
Started watching the game live for the last 5 minutes. Miami were up by 10 points.For the next 5 minutes the Nets never seemed like getting on a comeback.Infact they never got into the groove with a pretty good Miami defense ensuring that they missed almost all their first shots and the only points they got in the last mins were either through second chance points or in the charity stripe. One interesting fact is that the Miami style of play is drastically different from what i saw in 2012 playoffs. Almost all their shots in the last 5 Mins was almost 18-20 feet from the basket. It is their luck that they have Ray Allen in their team to take those shots.
It is ok for a regular season game to take so many long shots but in the playoffs you simply cant risk it...... If Miami wants to repeat it the only way they are going to do it is through Lebron/Wade driving to the basket as always.

This is how Team USA prepares for Olympics

I wonder whether our Indian Olympics Team received any speeches like these. Anyone would be motivated by this.

All Hail King Lebron

The Coronation was over the King has arrived. I was disappointed that my favorite Boston Celtics with their ageing stars managed to lose their 3-2 advantage against the eventual champions and also the opportunity to close out the Series and might be even the Title at their home - Boston Garden. Looking at the History how strong Boston was at home it almost looked likely that the ageing Boston will pull this through against an injured Miami Heat but one small problem . King James!!!! To say that Lebron went crazy that night is an understatement. He scored almost 30 points in just the first half and the game is over. To receive such a hammering at home must have been demoralizing and knew then that the series is over and Lebron has arrived.His stats has been remarkable all through the regular season but it was his postseason performance which comes under scrutiny. Lebron averaged 30 Points and 10 Rebound throughout this post season - actually more than his regular season stats.This proves that Lebron is a Champion afterall and certainly no "Choker". His assists are improving every year and his career stats will probably surpass that of Michael Jordan when he is finished.

Any individual who gives 30 - 10 every night is nothing short of an incredible player and Lebron certainly deserved this championship.Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh tagged along with the superstar to get a ring.It is to be seen where OKC goes from here. James HArden completely disappeared in the NBA finals.Ibaka and Perkins are in free trade next year. Eventhough KD and Russell are star players, they would need a better supporting cast than what they have right now to win a ring. Similarly Miami also needs a better supporting cast in place of the ageing defensive players like Joel Antony,Udonis Haslem,Shane Battier,Mike Miller etc. There are some talks about Steve Nash going to Miami - that would be a travesty what can a elite point guard do with "drive to basket" type players like Lebron and Wade.Trying to convert Lebron to a Jump shooter is like asking a Mercedes to drive like a Kia.Maybe Chris Bosh would love to play with Steve Nash.

Celtics SWEET comeback against the Heat

After the absolute travesty in game 2 where Heat came back from a 15 point deficit to an overtime victory at home. The Celtics deserved to win Game 2 of not for many many dubious calls from the refs.The worst of which is illustrated in the video below

But the Celtics showed their mental toughness in a roaring comeback in Game 3 at home. The Celtics took the early initiative and never let go. Eventhough Brandon Bass was off color and Rondo wasnt in the points the Celtics roared through the bench points and exemplary defense on the Heat. Thoroughly enjoyed a very professional performance from the home team this morning.Though the Miami had a late rally to come within 5-7 points in the final quarter the Celtic shut them down in the final minutes.I hope the Celtic scrape through to the NBA Finals and meet the other veteran team in San Antonio to make a final dance of the Veterans who played the Game the way it should be played.

Amazing Game 2 Dallas won !!!!

Got up early to watch this game and what a game it was....
Dallas down by 15 with around 6 min left somehow found the play to break the Miami defense and come out winning....

Lebron and Wade Clutch against Bulls