The fact is the NBA is getting boring and predictable. Right now, the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs are definitely going to meet in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are also destined to win the whole thing. And these two – they are the most boring basketball teams I have ever seen.

Why don’t we watch? The East is always a boring conference, save for Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls Dynasty in the 90’s and last year’s titlist Miami Heat and its star Dwyane Wade. Why should we watch LeBron James and his Cavs teammates? LBJ holds the ball 90% of Cleveland’s possession. His teammates can’t seem to find the hoop. Detroit is so methodical, that their game has become similar as life’s home-work-home routine. Well, for most people.

Then there’s the Utah Jazz and San Antonio in the West. These two don’t belong in the “Wild Wild West” actually. For neophyte NBA observers, they may mistake these two as Eastern teams, since they play the really lackluster type of play. “Alright guys, let’s hold the ball, play the full 24 seconds, get the ball to the post, screen a little, dish out if the shot isn’t there, or back on your man Tim, Carlos.” They run this play all the time. Not to mention, the Spurs cheated their way here. How much are they paying you Stu (Jackson)?

Last year, I sided with the Miami Heat and witnessed one of the more exciting Finals in recent years. Not to mention, NBA had the best playoffs in recent memory last postseason. This season is far from it. No wonder the NBA’s ratings have plummeted down to the grave. Even San Antonio natives failed to appear in Game One of the Western Conference Finals. They are smart enough to realize that their team is boring and dirty. Not worth the ticket and the time!

But last night, Nash and the Phoenix Suns stole away that spotlight from his best friend Dirk. As a huge Phoenix Suns fan (I love to say that a lot!), I could say it was the best game my Suns have played all season long, going toe-to-toe with the league-leaders, and beating them when it seems that the game was already over. It even toppled that classic Suns-Nets game.

Anyway, I had goosebumps as I watched that game. I know I predicted a so-it-seemed-impending Dallas victory, but I was just playing it safe since the Mavs had the depth and D (defense – 3rd in the league in limiting opponents’ field goals to a minimum). Well, the departure of Devin Harris due to injury and the non-availability of Devean George helped the cause, but still they should have the depth to compensate for their loss. I’m babbling here. The point is I was wrong. I lost trust in my own team. What a bad fan I am.

Going back to the game, the Suns were down by seven with just 55 seconds to go. If you have seen it, you would have thought that the Mavericks had that game already. But seeing what Nash can do, and how he did it against a tough New Jersey team earlier this season, I know something great was bound to happen. Guess what? With 55 ticks left, Nash scored the last ten Suns points, all ten, to force an overtime. He made all five of his free-throws, hit a lay-up over Josh Howard and Jason Terry, and shot that big three that sent the game into overtime, all in that stretch.

Well, what did Nowitzki do in that stretch? He missed two very crucial and most important free-throws..again! Why again? He also missed four against the Heat in last season’s NBA Finals, which cost them the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Nowitzki is a 91% free-throw shooter for the season, and Nash is just at 88%. But Nash knows when to hit, and he converts those that really matter.

Nowitzki had a great game. But Steve had the better game between the two MVP contenders. Other candidates like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant don’t matter anymore. It’s now down to these two best friends and one-time teammates. Who would have thought that it will get to this? Them, pitted against each other for the league’s highest individual award. But I know that they will want nothing more than the championship.

Wait, where was I? Oh, yes, Steve had the better game and made a strong case last night. Nowitzki had 30 points, 6 assists and 16 rebounds. But Nash had a near triple-double with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 16 assists. And those points, rebounds, the one crucial steal and assists came when they were most needed. And he got the win for his team when it seemed that Dallas already had it. He willed his team for that 129-127 double-overtime triumph! It was a classic, and I watched the replays. All of it!

All I am trying to say is Steve Nash is still the MVP, and you don’t need more proof than this!

Wade may delay the surgery till after the playoffs, and may opt for a continued rehabilitation of his shoulder. But this could be risky, and it might backfire. One bad fall, and Wade’s career may be in jeopardy. I suggest, same as what Lebron James suggested, that Wade sit out the rest of the season, and undergo surgery now.

With Wade coming down, so do the hopes of the Heat repeating as champions. Let it be remembered that the man called “The Flash” single-handedly brought back the team to life in the Finals against Dallas, he, by his lonesome, brought the first ever NBA Championship to the city of Miami. Currently, they are gunning for the eighth and final seed of the East, gutting it out against New Jersey, Orlando and even New York. With Miami struggling this season, and with Wade carrying most of the load, the chances of Miami defending their title are very very slim, so do their chances of carving a backdoor way to the postseason wars. If ever they make it, there is a big possibility that they will face Detroit in the first round, and the Pistons are tough opponents. Their starting five is easily one of the best in the NBA. And without Dwyane, Miami isn’t that dangerous anymore.

I hope Wade makes the right decision. Miami should not risk Wade’s grave injury. The Heat will have to do without their superstar, and salvage every chance of competing well in the playoffs. They still have an outside chance of making it to the top four as they are only down 3.5 games behind the Washington Wizards in the Southeast Division. The other players like Jason Williams, Jason Kapono, James Posey and Shaquille O’Neal must bring their game to the highest level possible to compensate for Dwyane’s loss. They should, or it will be an early summer vacation for them.

As I was waiting for my car getting fixed at a local shop, I turned on the TV and the Cleveland-Miami game popped on the screen. I was a disinterested spectator at first, excitingly anticipating my Suns play the Spurs. Naturally, as it has most been all season, the Heat were playing catch-up, being behind by double-digits most of the game, the largest at 12.

Then came the fourth quarter, the Heat suddenly abandoned their set plays especially at the five minute mark, when All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal fouled out. I thought the game was over for Miami because Shaq just draws so much attention. He was constantly double-teamed that he freed up his other teammates a lot. That kept them in the game.

Anyway, Miami’s interim coach Ron Rothstein made the best decision. He totally abandoned the playbook, and drew the same play all night. I believe the play was – “Give the ball to Wade, and stay out of his way.”

Wade crashed the hoop, burned every defender the Cavs threw at him and getting fouls. He relentlessly drove to the basket, outscoring Cleveland by his lonesome, 24-23, in that final canto. That was a franchise-record. He also went to the line 24 times, another team-record. Miami went on to win from behind, 92-89.

I always thought that the reason the Heat became NBA Champs last season was due to the fact that they have Shaq at the middle, and that Wade was another Kobe Bryant for Shaq. He is another side-kick who mostly benefits from Shaq’s imposing presence.

But that game reminded me that Wade was phenomenal in last year’s Finals. That the Heat became champions not because of Shaq, but because of the Jordanesque-like game of D-Wade.

They may still be ninth in the East, behind the also-struggling New Jersey Nets. But make no mistake, the playoffs will be a different story. Even if they will be just the eighth seed, that would be no hindrance to their title defense. With a healthy line-up come play-off time, a strong and able-bodied Shaq and Jason Williams will make a difference. Add to that the acquisition of Eddie Jones, the veteran pride of Gary Payton, Antoine Walker and Alonzo Mourning, and the new-found shooting of Jason Kapono (leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage), Miami will be a force to reckon with in the postseason no matter who their opponent will be. They may repeat. They want to repeat!

Washington, Cleveland and Detroit, you may top the East right now, but beware! For Dwyane Wade stands in your way.

After being embarrassed by the Phoenix Suns, the Heat appear to have their groove back. Thanks mainly to the comeback of Dwayne Wade (from injury), and the stellar games of reserves Jason Kapono, Alonzo Mourning and Dorrell Wright. They have won four games in a row before bowing down to a stellar Los Angeles Laker team, who are one of the two biggest surprises in the West. (The other team being the Utah Jazz).
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Kapono have had career-highs of 28 and 25, while Wright, who has been in the reserve list for two full seasons, is also having a career-year. They will even be a lot stronger in a couple of games as former MVP Shaquille O’Neal will be back from knee surgery. Slowly, the Heat will start its title defense this month, and will be in full throttle after the All-Star break.

In an unpredictable Eastern Conference, Miami is currently striding in the ninth and tenth spot. Cleveland leads all teams in the East, and is the only team in the top 8 NBA teams. It will be hard for Miami to take that top spot from the Cavaliers, but they will be in the playoffs.

Although, for now, my bold prediction is that Miami will lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to Cleveland. I don’t see in them the same heart that they had last season. Wade can only do so much.

But this year will be different. Since Shaq and Kobe had mend their misunderstanding last January of last year, plus the fact that Shaq has been out for the whole season except for four games, the attention has now shifted to the two superstar guards of this league. Bryant and Dwyane Wade should draw the attention this time, with Shaq watching from the sidelines. (It should be noted that both won titles with Shaq).

The Heat and the Lakers have met five times since the big trade, and Miami has won three. It’s now up to Kobe to even the match-up. Bryant has averaged 33.8 points against the Heat, while Wade averages only 23.6 against the Lakers.

However, this season will be a different story. The Lakers have been having much success when they share the ball. Bryant is just averaging 27.8 points this year, and the Tinseltown boys are 11-4 when Bryant scores below 25 points. Even impressive, they are 9-2 when Kobe has 6 assists or more.

In contrast, the Heat are 4-11 when D-Wade scores less than 30 points. He has been carrying the scoring load with Shaq sidelined.

What does this tell us? The whole Laker team should be involved for them to have a bigger chance to win, and Wade has to be more than “Flash” for them to emerge the victor. Hell, he has to be “Superman.”

Currently, Miami is at 12-14, while L.A. is 18-9, just 2 ½ games behind the league-leading San Antonio Spurs. (pics courtesy of yahoonba)

The Miami Heat wanted to celebrate on opening night as they received their championship rings, but the Chicago Bulls had other plans. The Bulls trashed the defending NBA Champions, 108-66, at Miami’s home court, the American Airlines Arena. This is the worst loss in NBA history for defending champions on opening night.

Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls with 26 points, on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, including three from beyond the arc. Fellow guard Chris Duhon also had a big night, in lieu of Ben Gordon’s absence. He added 20 points. Ben Wallace capped his Chicago debut with 5 points and 11 rebounds.

Dwayne Wade led Miami with 25 points. Center Shaquille O’Neal had an anemic performance with just 7 points and 5 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns suffered their first defeat in the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. The Lakers overcame a 26-41 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Phoenix shot all of their first nine field goals of the game. The Suns even led 58-43 at halftime.

Behind the brilliance of All-Star forward Lamar Odom, and with the absence of Kobe Bryant due to knee surgery, the Lakers stormed back, using a 13-0 run to cut the deficit to three at the end of the third canto, 70-73. Los Angeles turned things around in the fourth, leading by as much as 15. The Lakers won 114-106.

Odom led all scorers with 34 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. Sophomore center Andrew Bynum added 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Reserve guard Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 30 points. Two-time MVP Steve Nash added 15 points and 13 assists. All-Star Shawn Marion scored 16 points as well.

In his debut, after missing the whole of last season (except for just three games), Amare Stoudemire scored 6 points and grabbed a single rebound in just 11 minutes.

It can best be noted that both Chicago and the L.A. Lakers bowed down to Miami and Phoenix in round one of last season’s playoffs. The Bulls bowed down in six games to the Heat, while the Lakers gave away a 3-1 advantage, loosing three straight games against the Suns.

The Miami Heat felt that Payton, even being at age 38, still has a lot to offer. He can best be remembered for leading the Seattle Supersonics to the NBA Finals in 1996 (together with Shawn Kemp) only to loose to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games.

Payton was drafted second overall by the Seattle Supersonics during the 1990 NBA Draft. He has compiled 21,455 career points, 8,765 assists, 5,137 rebounds, 2,402 steals and 282 blocks. On top of that, he has a 46.7% career field goal percentage, and he is a 31.9% career three-point shooter and 73% career free throw shooter. He has also been named NBA Defensive player in 1996, being the first guard to do so since Michael Jordan.

With Payton aboard, expect the Miami Heat to defend their title vehemently. All NBA teams will try to snatch the title away from the Pat Riley-mentored Heat, and they will definitely have a hard time to do so with Miami having a well blend of veterans and young players. Riley has definitely put up a championship team. They will try to be the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Lakers who did it from 2000-2002.