Let's talk Playoffs!

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It's that time of the year again - all 30 NBA teams have played their 82 games, and the best 16 (top 8 from each conference) move on to the second season, aka, the most exciting time of the year - the NBA playoffs.

The postseason tips off on April 17th - playoffs will be held in knockout fashion with the teams fighting in best of 7 series in each round. The actual postseason lineups are slightly different from what I had predicted a few months ago following the trade deadline.

Here are the playoff matchups for 2010:

Eastern Conference

Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Chicago Bulls (8)
Orlando Magic (2) vs. Charlotte Bobcats (7)
Atlanta Hawks (3) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (6)
Boston Celtics (4) vs. Miami Heat (5)

Western Conference

Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Oklahama City Thunder (8)
Dallas Mavericks (2) vs. San Antonio Spurs (7)
Phoenix Suns (3) vs. Portland Trailblazers (6)
Denver Nuggets (4) vs. Utah Jazz (5)

There are a lot of young teams in this year adding excitement to the playoff picture. The Bobcats and the Bucks have been playing out of their minds in the east and fully deserve to be in the postseason. In the West, a nod obviously goes to Kevin Durant and the young Thunder as well as the injury-plagued yet surviving Trailblazers.

Here are my first round predictions:


Cavs vs. Bulls: Cavs in 4 - The Cleveland LeBrons have finished the season as the best team in the league (61-21) for the second straight year and will have home-court advantage right through the playoffs. Reigning (and soon to be named future) MVP LeBron James will be back after being given a week's rest, and Shaq will be back since his injury at the end of Feb. The Cavs are looking great, with Antawn Jamison, Big Z, Mo Williams, Varejao, Boobie Gibson, JJ Hickson all ready to fire.
The Bulls did beat the Cavs twice this season, but a healthy, motivated Cleveland team is too good. Despite Derrick Rose's brilliance, and the Bulls' late season form to sneak into the playoffs, I call a clean sweep here as Cavs will win all four games with relative ease.

Magic vs. Bobcats: Magic in 6 - I don't see this series being too easy for the favoured Magic, led by Dwight Howard and Vince Carter. The Bobcats are a tricky opponent: Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and the tutelage of Larry Brown will make things scrappy and difficult for the Magic. Still, the Magic, who were last year's finalists, have too much experience of the playoffs and should be able to win the series in six games.

Hawks vs. Bucks: Hawks in 6 - The Hawks are number three not because they deserve to be number three (yes, I'm a hater) but because the Celtics kept on shooting themselves in the foot towards the end of the season. Now, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and my main man Al Horford will step up against a defensively great Milwaukee team, who will now be lead by rookie Brandon Jennings. Unfortunately, their best player Bogut got injured at an inoppurtune time, and the Hawks should be able to take advantage of that and get through to the second round.

Celtics vs. Heat: Heat in 7 - Here I go, predicting my first upset of the playoffs. Teams 4 and 5 are always the closest matched, and to be honest, I wouldn't have given the Heat a sniff of a chance against the Celtics in a playoff series at the beginning of the season. Things have since changed: the Celtics are struggling big time, the Big three are looking really old, and unless KG can wake up and take charge, this team will not replicate their famous 'ubunto' identity again. The Heat on the under hand have been on fire to end the season. The incredible Wade has led the team to win 12 of their last 13 games, and there is nothing better than momentum entering the playoffs.
Still, the talent on the Celtics can't be denied. This will be a tough, exciting series, and will go all the way to seven. But D-Wade will eclipse the Big 3 (and 4 now, counting Rajon Rondo) and win an exciting game seven.

Lakers vs. Thunder: Lakers in 5 - Good job at making it this far, Oklahama City. Kevin Durant will be a second-favourite on MVP vote, after already becoming the youngest player ever to win the scoring title. Speaking of scorers, Mr. 81 aka Kobe will be back, and so will the Lakers. Too much experience in Phil Jackson, Kobe, Gasol, etc here - the champs will win again.

I'm excited to see Kobe and Durant go off against each other, too. And to see Ron Ron deal with Durant defensively. Gasol (and the probably returning Andrew Bynum) will eat the Thunder post players alive.

Mavericks vs. Spurs: Mavericks in 7 - The Spurs are hitting form again, led by the return of Manu Ginobili's manhood. Tim Duncan can never be counted off, and that is why I believe they will take a supremely deep and talented Dallas team all the way to seven games. Still, Dirk, Kidd, Marion, Butler, Terry, Haywood... Oh the Mavericks are deep! They'll survive this one!
Here's an amazing Spur stat for you: The Spurs are starting the playoffs without home-court advantage for the first time since Tim Duncan's rookie year. That, my friends, was 12 years ago. Amazing.

Suns vs. Blazers: Suns in 4 - This series could've been so much more - but an unfortunate injury to Blazers guard and superstar Brandon Roy has meant that the Suns, who have finished the season in amazing form, will continue dominating opponents. Amar''e is on fire and Steve Nash is playing like its 2003. Add a rejuvenated Grant Hill and the serviceable Jason Richardson, and the Suns are looking great to sweep this series.

Nuggets vs. Jazz: Jazz in 7 - You smell that? I smell an upset. A Jazzy, Jerry Sloan led, Deron Williams dominated, Chauncey overshadowed, Boozer post destructing, Melo buzzer-beating missing upset. These two teams are too close to call, but the Nuggets seem to have lost their footing a little bit, and the class of Deron and the Jazz will see them through this very, very close series. I'm very excited to see the Chauncey-Deron matchup: two PGs of different generations who play very similar games.

April 17 is the date. Bring on the postseason - only the 16 now matter. Who will be the last team standing? I can hardly wait.

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BFI to launch the Mastan Basketball League in Mumbai

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More More More BASKETBALL! Nearly a week ago, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced the Mastan Basketball Professional League for Men & Women to be held at Mastan Y.M.C.A in Mumbai from 5th to 15th May, 2010.

The Mastan league is yet another positive step taken by the BFI to introduce what I call a "league-like" experience to some of the countries top players. Following the news of the Mahindra-NBA recreational league which will target amateur/casual basketball players, the Mastan league will offer a similar structure to the top-level basketball players in the country.
Ibrahim Lakdawala, an enterprising former national-level player has been behind the planning of this first of its kind professional basketball league in a hope to change the face of the game in the city.

From BFI News:

Top 48 players from all over India and 32 players from Maharashtra State will be selected to play in the Men section forming 8 Teams from these 80 players.
While top 25 players from all over India and 15 players from the state of Maharashtra will be selected to play in the women section forming 4 teams from these 40 players.
CASH AWARDS TO EACH PLAYER will be provided during each match of the League as per details mentioned below: -
Winner – Rs. 3,000/- (per player)
Runner-up – Rs. 2,000/- (per player)
Semi Final Matches: Winner: 4,000/- (per player)
Runner-up Rs. 3,000/- (per player)
Final’s Winner: 5,000/- (per player)
Runner-up: 4,000/- (per player)
Each match will have a best player award.

As mentioned above, the league will feature nearly 30 percent players from the state of Maharashtra and the remaining will comprise of the best from the rest of India. I spoke to BFI secretary Harish Sharma about the league today, and he said the purpose of this league will be to introduce a new concept and new teams to the players.
"We want to mix the teams up, like it would be if we had a national league system," said Harish, "They will be given cash rewards for their appearances and performances. We will hold tryouts to choose the final teams and also recruit coaches for this. It will be one more step towards a professional league in India."
Many of the country's best players have been invited for this league, and beyond them, other good basketball players will also be given a chance. Check out the BFI website news for contact details if you wish to participate.
The players will have to report to the venue on the 5th of May and the teams will be formed on the 6th and 7th. The matches will kick off on the 8th and end on the 15th of May.

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An NBA preseason game in India? Dream on...

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The NBA is a very rich league, a league much richer than other sporting leagues in North America, and a huge reason for this is that the NBA is a lot more famous internationally. There are three major reasons for this:
1) Basketball is the one sport that both North Americans and the majority of the rest of the world understand and enjoy.
2) There once lived a man named Michael Jordan who was the biggest thing since basketball itself.
3) NBA commissioner David Stern is a shrewd man - and ever since he took the role of commissioner in 1984, the one thing that the NBA has done best is spread the game to other parts of the world while at the same time feature more and more international players in their own league.
Let's focus on point number 3: there are countless examples of the NBA's efforts to promote itself to a far greater international audience than just those in North America. Outside the US and Canada, NBA games are regularly broadcasted live in at least 31 more countries around the world. The recent All-Star game was broadcasted in 215 countries in 41 languages! The NBA has set up a dedicated 'Global' page to showcase its efforts around the world, and it has global websites in Brazil, France, India, Taiwan, Canada, Germany, China, Japan, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, and the UK. There were 83 international players from 36 different countries on NBA rosters to start the 2009-10 NBA season.
And then its the NBA's outreach and grassroots events in other countries that continue to make them the ubiquitous name in basketball. The Basketball Without Borders (BWB) programme has served as "has served as a summer camp for young people designed to promote friendship, goodwill and education through sport." BWB have been to India, too, and as you may know, the NBA has teamed up with Mahindra to start a recreational league in three Indian cities this summer. Programmes such as BWB have also encouraged current and former NBA players to visit other countries, including India.
So where do we go from here? In most countries, usually the NBA's next step has been the most interesting one - organizing preaseason games featuring NBA teams on foreign soil. The NBA has been holding games exhibition games in Europe for several years already, and recently announced that the Lakers, Knicks, and T'Wolves will be playing again in Europe this October.

Even Asia has had its share of NBA action: The NBA has played six games in Japan since the 1990s, and has held preseason games in China since 2004, after Chinese star Yao Ming joined the Houston Rockets in 2002: the first game obviously featured the Yao-powered rockets against the Sacramento Kings. In 2009, when the Nuggets met the Pacers in Taipei, it became the eight Asian city to host either an NBA regular season or preseason game, along with Tokyo, Yokohama, and Saitama in Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China; and Macau.
You know where this train of thought of heading... an NBA game in India? FUGGEDABOUDIT! What is the one thing in common amongst all the other countries that we lack back home in India? We have the money if someone chooses to spend it (for proof, see IPL). Our extra large population ensures that even a small percentage of NBA fans make up for enough to provide enough audience for any game. And the IPL has proven that we have the technological, energy and security infrastructure to host large sporting events.

No, what we really lack back here are good, ol-fashioned arenas! Not the kind of sharp-shooting, gun-toting Arenas that plays for the former Washington Bullets; no, I mean actual, international quality indoor basketball courts, made of good quality, polished hardwood (or similar surface), with fiberglass boards, and the capability to hold a large-capacity audience. Yes, there are some new courts around the country now which come close, but we're talking NBA-quality here, people! Yes, the NBA has brought in everyone from AC Green to Dikembe Mutombo opened several courts in India over the past few years, but we're far, far hehind.
Hell, even the Indian national team has to practice on shoddy surfaces most of the time. One of the biggest complains is that the best players in India play most of their basketball on concrete courts with rubber balls, and so when they move on to play on a hardwood court with a leather basketball they are constantly struggling to adjust. Even the men's national team members that have been training with JD Walsh, Craig Esherick, and Dr. Bob Baker in Bangalore have had to work in embarassing facilities.
I'm sorry, but there's no way that David Stern is going to allow his preciously talented millionaire NBA stars to break a sweat in any of our Indian courts.
Who knows, maybe the Reliance-IMG alliance to develop sports facilities in India will change things in the future. The extremely distant future. Otherwise, no, no chance in hell.
Go ahead, David Stern, NBA, Reliance... prove me wrong.

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Several NBA teams amongst the highest-paid sports teams in the world

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Seven of the top 12 highest-paid teams in sports around the world last year were from the National Basketball Association (NBA). The list is topped by baseball team New York Yankees of the MLB, worth $7,000,000, but they are the only baseball team represented in the top 12. Real Madrid (Spain), Barcelona (Spain), and Chelsea (England), all football teams, make up positions 2-4, and Dallas Mavericks of the NBA are at number five. 6-11 are also NBA teams, and a surprise inclusion at number 12 are the Bangalore Royal Challengers of the Indian Premier League (IPL)!
The list has been published by sportingintelligence, as part of their Annual Review of Global Sports Salaries (ARGSS). The list has been decided on the basis of the average salaries in the squad.

Here is the complete top 12 for 2010:
1. New York Yankees (MLB)
2. Real Madrid (La Liga)
3. Barcelona (La Liga)
4. Chelsea (EPL)
5. Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
6. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)
7. Detroit Pistons (NBA)
8. Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)
9. Boston Celtics (NBA)
10. New York Knicks (NBA)
11. Phoenix Suns (NBA)
12. Bangalore Royal Challengers (IPL)

You know what's funny? Check out the highest paid players in the NBA teams last year and you'll see that most of them are far from deserving of the honour. For the Mavericks its Jason Kidd, now in the twilight of his career. The Lakers and the Celtics get it right with Kobe and Garnett respectivelly. The Pistons paid the most money to Allen Iverson, who was a shadow of his former self and spent most of 2010 on the bench for the Grizzlies, and then signing and not playing for the 76ers.

How about the Suns at 12? They paid the most to Shaq, who is now out in Cleveland. And the Cavs themselves? You would think LeBron would be their highest paid, right? Nope - that honour goes to none other than Ben Wallace (now with the Pistons).
Undoubtedbly, the reward for the biggest waste of money goes to the Knicks, though, who are easily the worst team in this top 12 of all the leagues, and their highest paid player was Stephon Marbury, who has spent his 2010 streaming silly videos of himself and ballin in China.
And the Royal Challengers? Their highest paid player is none other than Kevin Pieterson, who if my knowledge of IPL is right barely gets to play for them.
So what's the moral of the story here? If you're good at basketball, you will be rich. Even if you're Stephon Marbury.
Indian parents - hand your child a basketball starting... NOW!

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Corporate Sports Fest to be held in Bangalore, Mumbai

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Modular Employement Skills (MES) under the Government of India will be organizing the largest ever Corporate Day and Night Sports Fest in Bangalore and Mumbai.

The tournament will be held on April 10 and at St Joseph's Indian High School, Vittal Mallya Road, on April 17 and 18 at E-Zone Club, Marathahalli and on May 8 and 9 in Mumbai at Goregeon Gymkhana.

The fourth edition of the "MES Corporate Day and Night Sports Fest-2010" will attract 150-odd top corporate teams and over 1,800 participants. The events include Six-a-side cricket, five-a-side football; throw ball, basketball, volleyball, paintball and go-karting.

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Video: Manny Sahota, Punjabi basketball prodigy

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Nearly a month ago, I got an e-mail from Manvinder 'Manny' Sahota, born in the village of Arjanwal near Jalandhar in Punjab 18 years ago, but moved to live in Canada in 1999. The youngster blossomed into a basketball phenom, and performed exceptionally for his high school St. Marguerite d’Youville in Brampton.

The 6 foot 6 small forward was named as part of the '09-10 Toronto Regional High School Basketball Boys All-Star team, averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks for the season. He has professed his dream to one day represent the Indian National team, the Young Cagers. For now, he's been recruited on a full basketball scholarship to the Cornell University in Ithica, New York where he will have a chance to play Division 1 basketball in the NCAA.

Here's a mixtape of Manny's highlights from the past season - let's wish this Arjanwali boy the best for the rest of his career. As I watched this video, I saw how he tore apart every silly stereotype about Indians not being athletically good enough to play basketball at a high level - with the right diet and fitness regime, there is no doubt that more Mannys can be discovered amongst the thousands of keen ballers back home in India.

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You can vote for the NBA MVP

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As if letting NBA fans vote for All-Star starters wasn't controversial up enough (see Iverson, Allen or McGrady, Tracy for further proof), the NBA is now going to give one of its 125 Most Valuable Plater (MVP) votes to the fans. The other 124 votes for the MVP are decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. The one fan vote will be the accumulated vote of all the fans.

Okay, so 1/125 isn't that big a deal when it comes to shaping the MVP award, but its still significant. You can vote for your top five MVP choices at NBA.com/kiamvpfanvote.

The pros: Obviously, more fan involvement, interaction, and as 'Wikinomics' preaches, "When you ask the customers to dance, let them lead!" This would mean that fans would (faintly) believe that there opinion is making a difference in deciding who has been the season's most valuable player.

The cons: It's the friggin MVP award. Not a popularity contest. The All Star Game is the popularity contest, where the game is an exhibition FOR the fans, and thus one can argue that letting the fans decide who they want to see is the right move. The MVP award, on the other hand, is about the one player who has been the most valuable in the entire league, not to the one player who fans like the most. Obviously, there is a great number of fans who would vote sensibly, but you won't find too many hardcore Kobe fans voting LeBron despite the latter deserving the award much more. I don't want to see a billion Yao Ming votes when he is injured or not as many votes for Tim Duncan (because everyone outside of San Antonio seems to hate the Spurs) or not as many votes for Kevin Durant (because despite his brilliance this season, Kobe/LeBron/Iverson/McGrady/Yao etc are a lot more popular than him internationally).

Still, it's only 1 out of 125. That gives like a million of us a collaborated 0.8% chance to determine the 2009-10 MVP. [In Napoleon Dynamite's voice]: "Yesss..."

Now, on to my top five MVP pics. I'm going to make two lists here, one based on sound reasoning and one based on passion. Because you know, if they ARE going to let us vote here, are we not going to let our opinions seep through?

Sound Reasoning

1. LeBron James: Duh... Obviously. LeBron has been the best player in the league and the best player in the best team and is near the scoring leader and has the best stats and may end up having the best PER EVER and he's the most untradeable and the most valuable and you take him out the league or his team and it'll make the biggest difference and damn I hate over-LeBroning of the world. I'm not the LeBron fan that many, many others are, but there is no denying that anyway you define the meaning of MVP, he is it this season. He won it last year and only the infinite improbablity drive can keep him away from doing a back-to-back. But most probably not.

2. Kevin Durant: Damn, the Durantula really sneaked up big on everyone this season, didn't he? I mean, we all knew he was talented, but no one imagined that along with invidual brilliance (he might win the scoring title from LeBron), Durant has also made sure that the awful Thunder of last year have already won more than twice as many games this season, and the young, inexperienced team is easily heading into the playoffs. The most improved team of the year, on the back of one of the best talents in the league. Durant deserves a nod for his efforts all year.

3. Dwyane Wade: Three weeks ago, Kobe would've been number three on this list. But the month of March has been gold for D-Wade and the Heat. He has once again carried an inconsistent and awful team into the playoffs, improving his play off late and making sure that the Heat are now an 8-game winning streak entering the most important period of the year.

4. Kobe Bryant: Can't believe that after the first month of clear-cut domination Kobe has falled to FOURTH on my list. But Lakers are the second best team, he's their most valuable player, and still one of the best talents in the league. Plus, there were all those game-winners that have been leaving us all in awe. Plus, I still think that he will be the last one standing with the championship trophy in June.

5. Steve Nash: The two-time MVP is again having one of his best seasons, and the Suns, who are surprisingly underrated this season, have been playing amazingly under him. Of course, this is an arguable choice because Amar"e has been just as awesome, but i'm gonna go with Stee here.

Passion

1. Wade: Ya, he's my favourite player. And I still believe that he's the one player I'd like to have on my time for any one basketball game anywhere in the world.

2. Chris Bosh: Bosh has been having an all-world season, and although the Raptors dipped in form for a while, he has been able carry them close to a playoff berth with his amazing form.

3. Pau Gasol: Don't laugh. The Spaniard keeps on getting overlooked for his awesomeness, despite being a rock for the Lakers all season. Give Gasol enough touches and Lakers don't lose, it's as simple as that.

4. Amar'e Stoudemire: Amar'e has been a friggin beast all season, but especially after the all star break. He's ignored all the trade rumours and the contract-ending stuff and has just played amazing basketball. He has also helped the poster-making businesses around the world. Just as Anthony Tolliver.

5. Deron Williams: The Jazz are a model of consistency, and no one player has epitomized it more than Deron.

So who will finally win the MVP? Let me know your top fives, and vote here to get your voice heard. The results will be announced at the end of the season.

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