MySports Today

Lebron James is your 2008-2009 NBA MVP!  James received 109 of 121 1st place votes to tally a total of 1,172 votes.  Kobe Bryant, the 2007-2008 NBA MVP, finished in 2nd place with 698 total votes (including 2 1st place votes).  Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul rounded out the Top 5.

James had a phenomenal year on both sides of the ball.  He is the 1st Cavaliers player to win the Top MVP Award.  James averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.  At 24 years old (and 106 days), he is the youngest player to win the award since Moses Malone did at the age of 24 (and 16  days) during the 1978-1979 NBA season.  James also set some personal career highs – 81 games player; 49% field goal percentage; 79% free-throw percentage; and 93 blocked shots.

The Cavaliers had the best record in the NBA () and lost only twice at home during the regular season.  The Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons 4-0 in the 1st round of the playoffs and will take on the Atlanta Hawks in the 2nd round of the playoffs starting on Tuesday night.

The West is all set; the East still has 2 Games 7’s this weekend before we know who the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic will face in the next round.

Here’s how the west will play out:

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers – Monday, May 4th and Wednesday, May 6th at Staples Center.  The Lakers won the season series 4-0.

Dallas Mavericks at Denver Nuggets – Sunday, May 3rd and Tuesday, May 5th at Pepsi Center.  The Nuggets won the season series 4-0.

In the East, the Cavaliers and Magic have already advanced.

Game 7 of the Chicago Bulls – Boston Celtics series is Saturday night at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.  If the Celtics win, they will host the Magic on Monday, May 4th.  If the Bulls win, the Magic will host the Bulls on Monday, May 4th in Orlando.

Game 7 of the Atlanta Hawks – Miami Heat series is Sunday at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.  The Cleveland Cavaliers will host the winner of that series on Tuesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-94 in Boston on Friday night.  It was a battle of the 2 top teams in the Eastern Conference – the Cavs (48-13) now lead the Celtics (49-14) by percentage points because they have played 2 less games than the Celtics.  It marked the 15th straight time that the home team has won the contest between the 2 teams.

The Celtics used a 33-26 edge in the 3rd quarter to pull away in the 2nd half.  Paul Pierce led the way for the Celtics – 29 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists.  Leonard Powe also turned in a solid night off the bench with 20 points and 11 rebounds.  Ray Allen chipped in 17 points and 6 rebounds, while Rajon Rondo dished out 10 assists.

For the Cavs, Lebron James had a mediocre night – 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.  Mo Williams actually led the Cavs in scoring with 26 points.  Delonte West had a productive night too – 5 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.

We’ll likely see a rematch of these 2 teams in the Eastern Conference Finals later this year.  It should be a joy to watch, as the Cavs are much more balanced this year and have the ability to beat any team in any arena – even the defending champion Boston Celtics.

WOW!

Another amazing performance from King James. Lebron James scored 55 points on 16 of 29 shooting – 8 of 11 from 3-point range, dished out 9 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds against the Bucks on Friday night. The Cavs needed his entire effort as the Cavs trailed by 6 at halftime and had to ride James’ coattails in the 3rd quarter to take a 4-point lead heading into the 4th quarter. James hit a 33-foot heave at the buzzer before halftime to give him 25 points before the break. Then James went nuts at the start of the 3rd quarter – 16 points scored in the quarter’s 1st 3 minutes of play.

The Bucks are still looking to find a groove after losing their 2 best players – center Andrew Bogut and guard Michael Redd. Carlos Villanueva led the Bucks with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Richard Jefferson chipped in 17 points in the loss. The Bucks hold on the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference is slipping – they now lead the Bulls by only 1/2 game.

As for the Cavs, they have played 3 less games than the top seed Boston Celtics, so they are sitting pretty. Will they have what it takes to take the #1 East Seed away from the defending NBA Champion Celtics? We’ll find out soon in the season’s final 29 games…

For a while there, it looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to run their home winning streak to 24 games to start the season. The Cavs led by 2 points after the first 12 minutes of the game, and had increased that lead to a comfortable 10 points by halftime. But the 2nd half was a completely different story. The Lakers outscored the Cavs 50-30 in the 2nd half and cruised to a 101-91 win at the Quicken Loans Arena – handing the Cavs their first loss at home all season long.

While everyone expected Lebron and Kobe to duke it out all night long, it was Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Zydrunas Ilgauskas who led the charge. Kobe battled the flu pre-game and needed an IV at halftime to even keep playing after the break. He ended up playing “only” 35 minutes and scoring “only” 19 points on 8 of 17 shooting. Lebron played 40 minutes and had an awful shooting night – 16 points on 5 of 20 shooting from the floor. Lebron did manage to grab 8 rebounds and dish out 12 assists though.

But the real star of the game was Lamar Odom. Odom scored a game-high 28 points on 13 of 19 shooting. He also grabbed 17 rebounds – 7 of which were offensive rebounds, giving the Lakers countless 2nd chance opportunities which helped break the game open in the 2nd half. Pau Gasol played a game-high 44 minutes – he scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. For the Cavs, Ilgauskas turned in a team-high 22 points and 9 rebounds – 5 of which were offensive rebounds.

At 41-9, the Lakers now have the best record in the NBA. They just finished an undefeated 7-game road trip and get to have an easy home return against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at the Staples Center. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a percentage points lead over the Boston Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Cavs are 39-10, but have 4 games in hand against the Celtics who sit at 42-11. It should be a fun race in the East down the stretch.

Lebron James couldn’t bear to hear the news! In Wednesday’s 107-102 Cavaliers’ win over the New York Knicks, Lebron James was credited with his 21st career triple-double – 52 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. However, following the game, league officials reviewed certain plays in the game, and ruled that James was awarded a rebound with 39.3 seconds left in the game that should have been credited to Ben Wallace. Corrected statistics now show James with 9 rebounds and Wallace with 2 rebounds. Say bye-bye to your triple-double Lebron.

Now James has only 20 triple-doubles in his career – including 3 during the 2008-9 NBA season. The last time a player scored 50 or more points with a triple-double was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975.

Well it definitely lived up to the hype. For the 2nd time this NBA season, the Lakers ended a double-digit Celtics winning streak, this time on the Celtics own home court in Boston. It was a back and forth game all night long, with the Lakers leading by 3 points after the 1st quarter and the Celtics leading by 1 and 4 points, respectively, after the 2nd and 3rd quarters. In the end, it took 2 free throws by Lamar Odom and 2 missed shots by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in order for the Lakers to preserve the win.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. He also hit three 3-point shots in the final quarter to help the Lakers tie the game. Pau Gasol also stepped up the plate in a big way – Gasol scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Lamar Odom scored 20 points and had 6 rebounds, while Derek Fisher also chipped in 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.

For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo just missed a triple-double in one of his best performances of the year – 16 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22 points. The Celtics dynamic duo – Paul Pierce (21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists) and Kevin Garnett (16 points and 6 rebounds in only 33 minutes) had efficient nights, but they weren’t enough to lift the Celtics over the Lakers.

The Lakers (40-9) are now 5-0 on their current road trip and now have a percentage points lead over the Celtics (41-10) for the best record in the NBA. The Celtics have a 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and take on the New York Knicks tonight at Madison Square Garden. Will a Celtic player be able to score 50 points tonight to make it 3 games in a row in which a Knicks’ opponent scores 50 points? Stay tuned.

Just 2 nights earlier, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant poured in 61 points against the New York Knicks setting a Madison Square Garden record in the process. Last night, Lebron tried to 1-up Kobe, and although he didn’t quite reach the 61-point mark, his better overall game helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win a close game in New York. Lebron contributed his 21st triple-double of his young career. He scored 52 points on 17 of 33 shooting from the floor (16 of 19 from the free throw line). He also dished out 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. In 44 minutes, he only had 3 turnovers and he also had 2 blocked shots. In contrast, Kobe only had 3 assists and no rebounds in his performance at the Garden on Monday night.

The Cavs needed Lebron’s full effort in order to pull out the win against the feisty Knicks. The Cavs blew a 12 point 1st quarter lead, but held on for the 5-point victory with an efficient 25-point 4th quarter. Knicks forwards Al Harrington and David Lee were a formidable duo on Wednesday night. Harrington led the Knicks with 39 points and 13 rebounds, while Lee chipped in 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. But it wasn’t enough to take down the Eastern Conference’s 2nd best team.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers take on the Boston Celtics in Beantown tonight in a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. Then the Celtics take on the Knicks at the Garden on Friday night in New York. Will a Celtic player score 50+ points to make it 3 games in a row in which a Knicks opponent has a player that scored 50 or more points at the Garden? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Paul Pierce has it in him…

The Boston Celtics needed a 3-point shot from Ray Allen at the buzzer to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Philly on Tuesday night. Trailing by 2, Allen nailed the 3-pointer to snatch the win from the 76ers. Allen finished the game with 23 points, while Paul Pierce chipped in 29 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett for the 2nd straight game – he is battling the flu. The Celtics are 41-9 and sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 1.5 game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Speaking of the Cavs, the Cavs led the Toronto Raptors 37-15 after 1 quarter and cruised to a 101-83 victory. Lebron James proved his worth again – 33 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. Mo Williams also turned in a solid night with 16 points and 9 assists. The Cavs are now 23-0 at home and 38-9 overall. They are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2nd best record in the NBA.