Who's callin' Kobe crazy?

It's so funny how people forget the fact that in a seven game series, one needs to win 4 games in order to advance. Yes, getting that 3-0 lead is something big and has never been toppled. But never ever assume that the series is over.

In the NBA, there have been 98 teams in history that had 3-0 leads and all of them went on to win their respective series. I think only the NBA has that distinction across all major sports leagues in the world - which goes to show that the league really is that tough, that teams don't choke 4 consecutive times, barring any significant injuries/comebacks.

But then again, this is the NBA and wilder things have happened. 8th seeds dominating 1st seeds. 6th seeds winning titles. 8th seeds getting to the finals. Several 3-1 leads toppled. A whole lot of 2-0 leads toppled. So why does 3-0 sound so impossible?

A 3-0 lead in a 1 vs 8 or 2 vs 7 series really does sound impossible to overcome. But hey, there have already been close calls back then. What's ironic is Dallas almost had that distinction back in 2003 when they almost blundered a 3-0 lead against the Portland Trailblazers - having to play a Game 7 after the series was supposedly "over".

I bet these Mavericks would no better. They're playing so well but they know they're still 1 win away from the Conference Finals. I understand that they have a huge advantage and yeah, I actually think they have a great chance to pull off the upset.

But then again, never assume that the series is over. Especially against the defending champs.

NBA Playoffs Conference Semis

We are now down to eight teams fighting for the NBA championship and look we have a diverse set of matchups this year. We have a bunch of surprise teams coming into the second round. Who would have thought that Memphis, OKC and Atlanta would actually dominate their first round foes. Dallas, LA, Boston and Miami were technically locked into advancing to the second round this whole time while the Bulls - are still the owners of home-court advantage. Let's quickly break things down and see which of the following teams will make it to the Conference Finals.

(1) Bulls vs (5) Hawks

Well hello there Mr. Jameer "See you next round" Nelson. Looks like you'll be seeing D.Rose on TV rather than face-to-face on-court. The young guns from Atlanta just showed how a year makes a difference. Unfortunately, Kirk Hinrich may just miss this series and this means Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford may need to exert as much effort on defending MVP Derrick Rose. Chicago has a lot of weapons and defends so well. Chicago has proven to be more than just an all about DRose but a bonafide team under Thib's system. On the other hand, the Hawks just might figure this out.

This is a bold one. Hawks in 7.

(2) Heat vs (3) Celtics

It's the matchup that every single one of us expected. It's kind of funny how the Big Three of Miami somehow modeled their decision to play together to how the Big Three from Boston ended up in the same team. Now we'll see what they are made of. This is the third time that Lebron will be facing the C's in the playoffs but now he totally upgraded his sidekicks. I expect this series to be a classic one. Once again, Rondo will be expected to be the X-factor that will bring the C's over the top. As for the Heat, they'll need the rest of their team to win this. LeBron-Wade-Bosh can easily win it for the team when they score a large chunk of the points. If one of them bogs down, expect them to lose against these gritty veterans from Boston.

Celtics in 6.

(8) Memphis vs (4) OKC

This perhaps is the most improbably Conference semis matchup in the past decade. We can probably start getting used to this because I feel a lot of potential coming from these two teams. But then again, them meeting in the second round is a clear stamp that they want to be on top now. Memphis just thrashed the Spurs' bigs. OKC's Perkins-Ibaka tandem just might be the best 5-4 combination in the league, second to Bynum-Gasol. The bigs, to me, cancel each other out. We will be left with Durant-Sefolosha-Westbrook vs Young-Allen-Conley. Flat out mismatch. Don't forget, Durant leads the league in scoring.

Thunder in 6.

(2) Lakers vs (3) Mavericks

Both these teams are in very familiar territory. This heavyweight matchup seems like an interesting one but seriously, it's the Mavs who need to make it one. These Lakers have revealed a lot of damages to their armor but they still close things out. In veteran-team matchups like these, execution and heart is the key. I don't want to keep carrying on the fact that the Mavs have been in the playoffs for quite sometime now (say 10-12 years) but never won a chip. And no, they may not use the Caron-Butler-was-injured excuse and say, "we'll be back next year" should they lose. They need to win now or break things up. Unfortunately, it will be the player of the decade playing against them across the court.

Lakers in 5.

More on Dunks

This Blake Griffin guy is sick.

It's one thing to dunk in every game. It's another thing to amaze people every single time.

Kobe's dead serious about winning

After losing to the fabled "big three" of Miami, Kobe put on some practice gear and went back to work - practicing his jump shots on Miami's homecourt. While the supposedly slumping Heat players celebrated their win against the streaking LA Lakers, Kobe went out of his way to "work". After all, he gets paid to play this game. That's a true professional in any book. Because at the end of the day, you are measured with what you contribute and in the NBA, you know winning that chip fits the bill.

I've always hated the fact that these players earn thousands of dollars a game. This is why I give a lot of respect to players who really practice so that they can develop / learn more skills.

March 9 Highlights

The NBA had a total of six games today but all eyes were on either the Heat or the Lakers. No surprise there. These two teams have been getting a lot of attention all season long. Unfortunately, at this point, the Heat and the Lakers are at way different ends of a string.

The Miami Heat just lost their fifth straight game, six of eight since the all-star game, thanks to the Portland Trailblazers. It was a close game and Miami looks like they're having a hard time closing out games like these. It's been really tough for Miami's big three to carry the load these past few games. Imagine facing the Knicks, Magic, Spurs, Chicago and the Blazers consecutively. The sad thing about these losses? All except for the Spurs game were decided by less than 10 points (three of them by less than 5). Against the Spurs, they were blown out by 30 - which all the more makes this losing streak so disappointing. There were even news that players were in tears after that game against D.Rose and the Bulls. I wouldn't be surprised if they got all emotional after that tough loss. Heck, expectations were really high. But they cried? I don't want to go down that road. Hah!

The worse thing? The Lakers are coming over.

The Lakeshow's been unstoppable since the All-Star break - winning eight games in a row. Just when we thought that the Lakers may have lost it before the All-Star break, when they lost three disappointing games in a row (which happens to the Lakers once in a blue moon), the big boys from L.A. have really stuck it into high gear. As Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant would say it, they're all in the same page right now. Well I think the key this recent surge has been Andrew Bynum's presence - especially on defense. And as they say, defense wins championships.

In other news, the PBA featured two games today and one of them involved the Philippine National team - Smart Gilas Pilipinas being pitted against the Air 21 Express. Since the news broke out that Gilas will be playing in the PBA, there's been a lot of buzz about the national team - the most since it's inception two years ago. This marked the first time Gilas playing regularly on national television. And after three games, Gilas has definitely lived up to the hype, coming out still unbeaten. Yes, Gilas has a naturalized 6'10 Marcus Douthit - which some people claim as an unfair advantage. But hey, we have a number of locals too who are 6'9 or 6'10 in Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Mick Pennisi, and a few more. Besides, the imports from other teams have a 6'4 height limit. This means, imports are expected to play wing positions rather than play as bigs.

I hear that Gilas has been playing so smooth that the two-year old program has been reaping fruits. I'm a big fan and I really follow their games. I hope they win a lot of games so they can get great support and following when they take on teams from other countries.

I read from Noli Eala's tweets that Gilas has definitely gained a following from Pinoy fans and PBA has benefited from this as well. Well said.