To play or not to play? That is Nelson’s question

Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson was declared out for the season with a torn shoulder earlier this season. But with the matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, there is word that Nelson may return to play.

The Magic defeated the Lakers twice in the regular season, mainly because of the play of Nelson. Nelson averaged 27.5 points and 6.5 assists in the two games against the Lakers. Nelson was able to be so effective against the Lakers because Lakers guard Derek Fisher could not stay with him.

Even though Nelson may return Magic fans should not get so excited.

First, Nelson hasn’t played a game since early February. He will not be the same player that he was early this season when he was playing at an All-Star level.

Second, with the more physical nature of the playoffs, there is a chance that Nelson could get beat up and maybe injure the shoulder more. What happens if he takes a shot driving to the lane and lands on that shoulder?

Third, Orlando is playing well right now with Rafer Alston in the lineup. Does Magic coach Stan Van Gundy risk bringing back Nelson and messing up the chemistry of the team?

If the Magic think they can beat the Lakers without Nelson, they should keep him on the shelf. But if they believe they need him to beat the Lakers, it’s a no-brainer and they should play him. Whether they play him or not, it is a decision that will probably be second-guessed if they don’t beat the Lakers.

History in the making for Federer?

With the loss of Rafael Nadal to Robin Soderling at the French Open, Roger Federer has the chance to ties Pete Sampras’ mark of 14 career major titles and complete the elusive career grand slam (winning the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open and French Open at least once).

Federer has had the chance to win the French before but it was Nadal that defeated him three times in the finals of the French Open. This will be the best chance for Federer to close the deal at Roland Garros. Not only is Nadal out, but Novak Djokovic lost a round earlier.

Federer did defeat Nadal on clay in the last tune-up tournament before the French Open so he had confidence coming in to the tournament. But knowing that he will not have to run into the world’s best clay-court player must give him even more confidence.

Federer is still the second-best player in the world. If he doesn’t win the French Open this year, he will have no one to blame but himself.

LeBron should have manned up

When you are a professional athlete there are bound to be disappointments. The fact is at the end of any game, series or tournament there is only going to be one happy party. Saturday night, that party happened to be the Orlando Magic after they eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to advance to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Instead showing sportsmanship like any professional should do, LeBron James walked of the court without congratulating any of the Magic players or showing up to the post-game press conference to answers questions from the media. He left the arena for the team bus wearing his headphones and leaving teammates like Mo Williams to  answer the tough questions from the media.

I understand that LeBron was frustrated but it is no excuse for his actions. LeBron had no problem celebrating when the Cavaliers won games. No one expected him to be happy about being knocked out of the playoffs. All that was expected of him was to be a professional and fulfill his media obligations. I did not see members of the Detroit Pistons or Atlanta Hawks blowing off the Cavaliers and the media after LeBron and the Cavaliers eliminated them from the playoffs. If the Cavaliers had come back and to win the series against the Magic, I have a hard time believing  Dwight Howard or Rashard Lewis would have blown off LeBron or the press like that.

LeBron apologists will try to make excuses for him. They will say he was frustrated or he is young. It’s no excuse. If you can face the media when things are going well, then you better be able to face the media when things are not going so well. The fact is, as the leader of the team, it is LeBron’s responsibility to answer those questions.

LeBron is going to take some heat from this and he should. Hopefully, he will learn from this because it will not be the last time his team will be eliminated from the playoffs.

Time for Kobe to get ring without Shaq

Ever since the divorce of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe has been trying to prove that he can win a ring without one of the most dominant big-men in the history of the NBA. Kobe came close last year as his Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

It is important that Kobe wins a ring without Shaq for a few of reasons. The first is Shaq won a ring in 2006 with the Miami Heat (even though Dwyane Wade was the catalyst for that team). The second is many people still blame Kobe for Shaq being traded to the Heat. Then you add in the fact that Kobe is getting no younger, one can see this may be his best shot to win a title while being the undisputed man on his team.

This year Kobe and the Lakers get Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. Even though the Magic eliminated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in impressive fashion, the Magic will still be significant underdogs to the Lakers even though the Magic defeated the Lakers in their two regular season meetings.

Kobe will alwas be remembered as one of the greatest players to play in the NBA. But his legacy will be greatly enhanced if he can win a ring without “the Diesel.”

Let the LeBron debate begin

After being eliminated unceremoniously from the NBA playoffs by the Orlando Magic, the question coming to people’s mind is, will LeBron James stay in Cleveland. Before the Eastern Conference Finals began, many people, including myself, thought that King James would reign in Cleveland for the remainder of his career. But after the way the Magic dominated the Cavaliers in their series, it is once again in doubt.

The Cavaliers were the best team in the league the entire season. One of the biggest reasons for the great season was the play of their role players. Guys like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mo Williams, Anderson Varejao and Delonte West helped LeBron power the Cavaliers to the best record in the league and sweeps in the first two rounds of the playoffs. But when LeBron needed them the most, these guys were nowhere to be found.

In the past, the thought was LeBron would leave Cleveland because Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry could not surround LeBron with the type of talent needed to get him to a championship. Ferry seemed to have gotten rid of those thoughts as the Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals a couple seasons ago. After being knocked out of the playoffs by the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics, Ferry made another splash by acquiring Mo Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks. The move seemed to work, until the Cavs flamed out against the Magic.

Throughout the season, the Cavs said anything less than a championship would be a failure. So, as good as this season was, it was still a failure. And to add insult to injury, the Cavs role players did not show up. Before the Magic eliminated the Cavaliers in Game 6, LeBron was averaging over 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the series. That is too much to ask from one player, even if he is the best player in the league. Even Michael Jordan didn’t win until he got a supporting cast he could depend on.

Next season will be the most important season in the history of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. The success of the Cavs next season will decide whether LeBron will stay or go. Ferry may need to pick up another piece to complete the puzzle. Luckily for the Cavs, LeBron still has one more year left on his contract. They need it to prove they can put a championship team together in Cleveland. Ferry needs to make the right moves this offseason. The fate of the franchise depends on it.

Maybe Van Gundy, not Brown, the NBA Coach of the Year

I must admit that I chose Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, Mike Brown, the NBA Coach of the Year over Orlando Magic head coach, Stan Van Gundy.

It was pretty hard not to give the award to Brown. The Cavaliers won the most games in the league with 66, a 21-game improvement over last season. They won all 39 of 41 at home and one of those losses came in the regular season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers when the Cavs wrapped home-court throughout the playoffs and rested all of the important players like LeBron James and Mo Williams.

If the award was to be given after the playoffs, however, Van Gundy would win in a landslide.

Even though the Cavaliers haven’t played as well as they did in the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, Brown has not made any adjustments to slow down the Magic. Part of this is because of the Magic’s personnel, particluarly Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Both Turkoglu and Lewis are about 6’10″ and can shoot the 3.

While these guys are matchup nightmares, Brown has to figure out a way to put LeBron and company in the best position to win.

The Magic have run the same play (pick and roll) and Brown can’t figure out a way to at least slow it down. Shouldn’t the Coach of the Year be able to tell his team how to defend a pick and roll.

If the Cavs want to stay alive, Brown needs to figure out a lineup that can defend it. Not only is Turkoglu and Lewis getting good looks because of the pick and roll, but guys like Mickael Pietrus and Rafer Alston are hurting the Cavs.

Brown needs to show another reason, besides having LeBron on the roster, why he is indeed Coach of the Year.

Orlando takes 3-1 series lead, put Cavs on the brink of elimination

Overtime was needed bu the Orlando Magic was able to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-114, in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Dwight Howard scored 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. The biggest contribution, though, came from Rafer Alston, who scored a career playoff high 26 points.

James scored 44 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. James recieved a little help from his teammates as Delonte West scored 17 and Mo Williams chipped in 18 points, although Williams came on a 5-for-15 effort from the field.

It looked as if the Magic would win the game in regulation when Rashard Lewis hit a 3-pointer with with four seconds left to give the Magic the lead at 100-98. After a Cleveland timeout , James drove to the basket and was fouled by Mickael Pietrus. James made both free throws to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, Howard took over. The All-Star center made three easy baskets to open the overtime session. Howard then tipped in a Hedo Turkoglu layup attempt and made two clutch free-throws down the stretch to give Orlando a 113-109 lead. James made a fall away 3-pointer to pull the Cavaliers to a one-point deficit. Cleveland fouled Lewis on the inbounds and Lewis hit 1 of 2 at the line. James then missed a 40-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Orlando the win.

Orlando now controls the series with a 3-1 lead and looks to eliminate the Cavaliers Thursday night.

LeBron saved Game 2, but the Cavs still have problems

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals was one of the best games that I have seen in a long time. LeBron James came up big and nailed the game winning 3-pointer just moments after Hedo Turkoglu gave the Orlando Magic a two-point lead with one second remaining.

As good as the Game 2 win was, the Cleveland Cavaliers still have big problems.

After losing only two games at home in the regular season, the Cavaliers almost lost the first two games at home in the Eastern Conference Finals. In Games 1 and 2, the Cavs blew leads of 16 and 23 points, respectively. The Cavs also have problems matching up with Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. The Cavs do not have anyone to guard either player on a consistent basis. Turkoglu and Lewis can step out and hit 3-pointers and they possess the speed to blow by the Cavs front-court combination of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. The Cavaliers need to find a way to guard Turkoglu and Lewis because the pair were largely responsible for the comebacks in both games.

There will be much rejoicing in Cleveland tonight and there should be. LeBron hit the biggest shot of his life and one of the biggest shots in Cavs history to tie the series at 1-1. Even though the series is tied, Cavs fans need to remember their team looked very beatable, especially in the second half of both games. The fans also need to remember the Magic accomplished their main objective: to take one of the first two games in Cleveland.

LeBron and the Cavs won the battle that was Game 2, but the war with the Magic is far from over.

Western Conference Finals Tied at 1-1

The Nuggets did in Game 2 what they couldn’t do in Game 1: close out the Lakers. The Nuggets took Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, 106-103, to tie the series at 1-1.

Down the stretch of Game 1, Denver lost the game by fouling at untimely times and missing free throws. In Game 2, the Nuggets won the game by playing great defense and making clutch free throws.

Just think about it, the Nuggets could easily be heading back home to the Pepsi Center with a 2-0 lead. The Nuggets are playing great basketball right now. They have played lights out so far at home and are in a great position to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers played a lot better in Game 2 than they did they did in Game 1. They have their hands full. It’s not going to be easy to knock off the Nuggets in Denver but they have no choice since they dropped Game 2 at the Staples Center.

Most basketball people say NBA series don’t begin until a home team loses. Well, the Western Conference Finals just started.

Good Move for Peavy

I love the move for San Diego Padres’ pitcher Jake Peavy to reject the deal to the Chicago White Sox. Why go from one losing situation to another? If Peavy wanted to continue to lose, he could stay in San Diego where he is comfortable at.

Peavy has made it clear to the Padres that he wants to stay in the National League. Peavy has also made it clear that he wants to stay in California. It’s going to be hard for the Padres to fulfill both of Peavy’s wishes since the only other National League teams in California are the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, two division rivals.

While it’s unlikely the Padres will move Peavy to the Giants or the Dodgers, he will still be moved. The Padres have been dumping salary and are looking to get rid of Peavy’s contract, which calls for him to make $11 million this season. The Padres need to get rid of Peavy’s salary to lower the payroll to help finance the divorce of team owner John Moores from his wife and to make the team more attractive to potential buyers. Moores put the team up for sale this past December.

Other teams have been rumored to be interested in the former Cy Young Award winner, most notably the other Chicago team, the Cubs. Most people consider the Cubs to be a World Series contender and that would be good for Peavy since he is tired of losing in San Diego.

Peavy is lucky to have the no-trade clause in his contract. While he won’t be able to find the perfect situation, he will be able to find the best situation. The Padres need to trade him but Peavy can pick and choose where he wants to go. It’s not often in sports you see a player control where he will land in a deal. Luckily for Peavy, he is one of the few.