Spurs Not Ready to Give Title Up

The San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, beat the young New Orleans Hornets 91-82 to advance to the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs arranged a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Spurs were anchored by their three superstars, however, it wasn't only the three who delivered the blows against the Spurs. Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley and Robert Horry delivered big three's in the crucial third quarter, a quarter that determines who will win the game in this series.

Tony Parker added 17 points, including a crucial jumper in the final minute, as the Spurs held off a late rally to become the first team in this series to win on the road. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, seeking to win back-to-back titles for the first time.

The Spurs aren't ready to give up their title just yet. The defending champs showed that they are still the champions and until someone beats them, they won't go away. The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers showdown will be an exciting match-up as Kobe Bryant brings in a new crew of Lakers to regain NBA Supremacy from the Spurs.

Spurs Fans are classless

Derek Fisher…Key to Lakers’ Success?

Johnny Ludden wrote a column in Yahoo! Sports about Derek Fisher being the "Most Valuable Teammate." It was something I have never thought about when thinking of the Lakers' success story this season. I always attribute it to Kobe's passion for the game, or Gasol's addition to the team. But thinking about it, Fisher might be the 2nd biggest factor for the Lakers' winning ways. In 1996, the Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher Lakers career started. They won 3 championships together then the Laker Dynasty pieces went their separate ways. Kobe stayed on, and the Lakers weren't winning that much.

Last season, when Kobe was eliminated, Derek Fisher was deep into the playoffs. Then came the news on Fisher's Daughter's cancer. Fisher needed to move to a city where there are facilities that can cure Fisher's daughter. He moved to L.A.

Kobe was delighted to have his most trusted teammate back in a Laker uniform. Fisher was the veteran presence they needed. Now, he has played big for the Lakers. Unfortunately for the Jazz, it was Fisher, the guy they let go for his daughter's cause, who nailed the dagger in game 2 of the Lakers-Jazz series.

The Lakers is often about Kobe Bryant, but after reading Ludden's column, this duo may somehow be likened to the famous quote about Jordan and Pippen, "Michael never won a ring without Scottie." The Lakers is not just about Kobe Bryant, it can also be about Derek Fisher.

Spurs Not Ready to Give Title Up

Watch The NBA Playoffs Online!

The NBA playoffs is the most important part of the NBA season. This is when you find out if your team's offseason or mid-season moves are worth it and will take your team to the NBA Finals. This is the time when the game gets more physical compared to the regular season. The true character of a player, or a team, shows in the playoffs. Is your favorite player a true superstar? Or will choke when it comes to the last shot of a game 7 of an NBA playoff series? In short, the playoffs is the most heart-thumping part of an NBA season. Not being able to watch it...SUCKS!

Our cable provider had a disagreement with the cable channel that carries all the NBA games in the Philippines late last year. Early in January, all I could do was read the news on the internet. I write about the NBA a lot in my Sports Blog, that's why it was hard for me not to watch the games.

But come February, I discovered a way to watch the games online. Their called P2P Channels. These channels give live feeds of live events such as sports, news channels, movies, tv shows, etc., to people all over the world. How do you use it? First, you have to download a P2P player. I've got three on my computer: SOPCast, TVU, and TVAnts. There are more players, so just pick what suits you best. Once I have installed the player on my computer, I go to http://myP2P.eu and look for live sports and click it. There you will find the NBA Playoff Schedule and the games that are available. Just pick a game, click play, and there you go, you're off to watching your favorite NBA team...LIVE!!!

Good luck to all the teams! Hope all of you could watch the NBA Playoffs!

Spurs Not Ready to Give Title Up

Kobe Bryant Will Be Named MVP

Finally, after 12 years in the NBA, one of the most explosive players in the game's history will finally win his first, and much deserved, MVP award. Reports are saying that he will be awarded by David Stern in L.A. next week. Chris Paul is probably the player who came in second. Paul might have won the MVP award if he was playing like this in other years. His MVP-like season however was overshadowed by Bryant's brilliant handling of the Lakers' trade fiasco, and the way he turned the Lakers around into a championship caliber team.

Lakers Sweep Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers brought out their brooms in Game 4 of their playoff match-up with Denver as they beat the Nuggets 107-101. This series has been the only sweep of this season's post-season.

The Nuggets tried to get back into the game through the efforts of J.R. Smith. But Smith's efforts weren't enough. Kobe Bryant then took over when it mattered most scoring nine points in a row in the 4th quarter and lead the Lakers to a 107-101 win over the 8th seeded Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers didn't really have a good game, but the Nuggets didn't take advantage of the Lakers' sloppy game. Aside from J.R. Smith, none of the Nuggets seemed pumped up to win this game against L.A.

Rockets Should Trade T-Mac

I think the Houston Rockets should trade T-Mac if they want to be among the elite teams in the NBA. The tandem of T-Mac and Yao Ming was very exciting news when the trade with the Magic happened. But nothing big really has happened since. And the Rockets performance without T-Mac (during games when he is injured) suggest that he is not that much of an impact. T-Mac is not a Kobe Bryant who can carry a team on his shoulders, even without a sidekick. T-Mac is always injured nowadays and couldn't give the Rockets the consistency they need. I don't know if there is a team that is willing to give up much for a T-Mac trade. Maybe a veteran team who is gunning for a championship can gamble on T-Mac. But take note, that is a gamble. I have no team in mind who can fit T-Mac in their team, give up some talent, and still be good.

Maybe the Rockets should trade for prospects. Or draft picks. One thing for sure is that the Yao Ming-TMac duo is nowhere near being a Shaq-Kobe tandem.

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Does Kobe Still Want To Go To Chicago?

Early in the off-season, Kobe demanded the Lakers to trade him. He gave a shortlist of teams that he wanted to go to. At the top of the list was Michael Jordan's old team, the Chicago Bulls. Kobe "want(ed) to be Michale in Michael's Town." The young and upcoming Bulls were a rising team in the East, especially after last year's playoffs where they beat the Defending Champions, the Miami Heat, in the first round of the playoffs. This Bulls team were gaining elite pre-season rankings from analysts around the league. Kobe wanted to join in the success. Then the season started, and the Bulls are off to a horrible start (again). Their start is so horrible that fans in Chicago chant "Kobe! Kobe!" in games in United Center. In L.A., however, they are having a better start than some people around the league had expected. The Lakers are at 7-5, while the Bulls are at 2-10. These records include a game where the Lakers beat the Bulls.

Now, the question is: Does Kobe still want to go to Mike's town? Right now, I think it is better for him to stay in L.A. For the Bulls, they really need move fast and change things around. Change in any form, like trades, staff, game strategies, etc.

I am a Bulls fan, who at the start of the season hoped that Kobe traded to Chicago in exchange for a combination of players that would not destroy the core of the young Bulls that much. Now, those hopes are slowly becoming doubts. With the addition of Trevor Ariza, the Lakers now look like the more explosive team than the Bulls. And the Bulls right now look like the Lakers that Kobe wanted to get out of.

Now, we just have to wait, probably until the trade deadline, and see if Kobe Bryant could be the next Michael Jordan who'll bring back the NBA Championship to Chicago.