THIS IS AN EASY PICK: GOLDEN STATE TO WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
The NBA playoffs begin Saturday – a two-month, 16-team tournament to decide which team gets to lose to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
Golden State was an NBA-all-time best 73-9 record last regular season before losing to Cleveland in the Finals – partly because Warriors star Desmond Green managed to get himself suspended for a momentum-turning loss in Game 5.
The current edition of the Warriors didn’t win quite as many regular-season games (67-15 reco0rd), but they’re a better team because of the addition of Kevin Durant.
I’m not as certain that Cleveland can do its part to make it the first time in NBA history that the same two teams will meet in the Finals. Maybe the Cavs are playing possum and are ready to turn it on. But their team chemistry has been lousy for months.
My first-round picks (best-of-seven, unfortunately; as usual, most of the eight series are mismatches):
Golden State in 4 over Portland
San Antonio in 5 over Memphis
Cleveland in 5 over Indiana
Washington in 5 over Atlanta
Toronto in 5 over Milwaukee
Boston in 6 over Chicago
Houston in 6 over Oklahoma City (James Hardy vs. Russell Westbrook will be a fun watch)
Los Angeles Clippers in 6 over Utah.
MIAMI HEAT AND THEIR FANS DESERVED BETTER
Wednesday night should live in infamy in the annals of the NBA.
It was the final night of the regular season, and three teams were in a battle for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana (vs. Atlanta) and Chicago (vs. Brooklyn) could clinch the two spots with home victories.
Miami needed a win at home over Washington and a loss by Chicago or Indiana to get in.
Miami did its part, beating Washington 110-102.
But Indiana and Chicago also won as their opponents -- Pacers and Nets – also “rested” several top players. The Nets couldn’t use the excuse that they were being rested for the playoffs because the team didn’t qualify for the playoffs.
In fairness, it must be pointed out that the Wizards sat out a few top players against Miami.
Miami had a remarkable season and probably deserved to make the playoffs. The Heat started 11-30, the second-worst record in the 30-team NBA. But Miami was 30-11 in the second half of the season, second-beat in the NBA.
The entire scenario was a fiasco and an embarrassment for the league. Commissioner Adam Silver should’ve strongly recommended that all teams involved in games with playoff implications on the final night of the season should not “rest” anyone.
WHY THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ARE SO GREAT
The first two nights of the NHL playoffs were not atypical and demonstrated why the NHL Stanley Cup tournament is so special. Most games are close and every team in the field has a shot at the title.
In the first eight games:
Visiting teams were 5-3.
Six games were decided by 1 goal (including 2 in overtime) and the other two games were decided by 2 goals.
The games produced 5 foals three times, 4 goals once, 3 goals twice, 2 goals once and 1 goal once.
There were 28 goals in the 8 games (4.0 goals per game). Some fans and people who don’t understand Stanley Cup hockey would prefer more scoring, but these games tend to be low scoring because there are so few breakdowns on defense and players aren’t afraid to use their bodies to block shots. The referees don’t call as many marginal penalties. Consequently there tend to be fewer power plays.
NO “WOE CANADA” FOR THIS STANLEY CUP FIELD
The 2015-16 Stanley Cup playoffs were tough to swallow for hockey fans in Canada. That includes almost everyone north of our border.
For the first time in 46 years (the 1969-70 season), Canada had no representatives in the 16-team Stanley Cup field.
This season, five of the seven Canada-based teams qualified for the playoffs – Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Vancouver and Winnipeg missed out.
There appears to be a decent chance that a Canada-based team will win the Stanley Cup for the first time since the Canadiens in 1993. Canada-based teams losing in the Finals since were Vancouver (1964), Edmonton (2006), Ottawa (2007) and Vancouver (2011).
COLUMBUS, NASHVILLE AND MINNESOTA (WILD VERSION) SEEK FIRST STANLEY CUP
Nine of the 16 teams in this season’s Stanley Cup field have won the Cup. Here’s the list – with the most recent Cup and – in parentheses -- the record in trips to the Finals:
Pittsburgh 2016 (5; 4-1)
Chicago 2015 (13; 6-7)
Boston 2011 (18; 6-12)
Anaheim 2007 (2; 1-1)
New York Rangers 1994 (10; 4-6)
Montreal 1993 (33; 24-9)
Edmonton 1990 (6; 5-1)
Calgary 1983 (2;1-1)
Toronto (1967 (21: 13-8).
St. Louis (0-3), Ottawa (0-1), San Jose (0-1) and Washington (0-1) have made the Finals but never won the Stanley Cup.
Columbus, Minnesota Wild (not the North Stars) and Nashville have yet to reach the Finals.
“OTHER AMERKS” WHO WON THE EDDIE SHORE AWARD
Several readers were surprised by the note is this space that the Rochester Americans have not had a player win the Eddie Shore Award (the outstanding defenseman in the American Hockey League) since Al Arbour for the 1965-65 season.
The Eddie Shore Award began in the 1958-59 season and the winner was Steve Kraftcheck of the Amerks. The only other player to win Eddie Shore award as an Amerk was Arbour in 1964-65.
Believe It Or Not: 13 players a total of 17 times won Eddie Shore Award with other teams before or after they played for Rochester:
Larry Hillman (Providence 1959-60)
Kent Douglas (Springfield 1961-62)
Marc Reaume (Hershey 1962-63)
Bob Blackburn (Buffalo 1968-69)
Noel Price (Springfield 1969-70; Nova Scotia 1971-72 and 1975-76)
Joe Zanussi (Providence 1974-75)
Richie Dunn ((Binghamton 1984-85)
Jim Wiemer (New Haven 1985-86)
Dave Fenyves (Hershey 1987-88 and 1988-89)
Chris Snell (St. John’s 1993-94)
Ken Sutton (Albany 1998-99)
Andy Delome (Syracuse 2005-06)
T.J. Brennan (Toronto 2013-14 and 2015-16).
YOU KNOW IT IS VERY EARLY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON WHEN...
The leaders in run differential are Cincinnati (+21) in the National League and Minnesota (+20) in the American League.
Toronto (1-8) and Seattle (2-8) are a combined 3-16.
The Blue Jays have scored the fewest runs in baseball (24 in 9 games).
Chicago’s two teams have the lowest earned-run averages: the Cubs (no surprise) 2.30 and the White Sox (big surprise) 2.72.
Yankees bit player Aaron Hicks does an impersonation of Mickey Mantle and hits home runs from both sides of the plate in one game (Thursday night’s 3-2 win over Tampa Bay). He trails Man tle’s team-record 10 times.
One of the hottest hitters in spring training – Yankees first baseman Greg Bird – is batting .050 (1-for-20 with 10 strikeouts.
San Francisco is 4-7 and Madison Bumgarner has a 0-2 record.
SHORT SHOTS
The Buffalo Sabres have a 7.615 percent chance to get the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL entry draft lottery April 29. Colorado has the best chance at 19.936 percent.
Among the last three NHL Stanley Cup champions, 48 percent of the rosters of the winning teams were players drafted by those teams. Over that span, 46 percent NFL, and 31 percent each for Major League Baseball and the NBA. (SOURCE: NHL Vegas Golden Knights) champions.
The purse for the 2018 Pegasus World Cup, the world’s richest horse race, will be $16 million next year at Gulfstream Park. Each starter would get a minimum of $650,000.
.HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Friday, April 14 – Joe Haden (28)...Max Unger (31)...Anderson Silva (42)...Gregg Zaun (46)...Steve Avery (47)...Brad Ausmus (48)...Greg Maddux (51)...David Justice (51)...Stan Humphries (52)...Meg Mallon (54)...Pete Rose (76). Sarah Michelle Gellar (40), Adrien Brody (44) and Loretta Lynn (85) are invited to the birthday party.
Saturday, April 15 – Chris Tillman (29)...Daniel Paille (33)...Iyla Kovalchuk (34)...Austin Aries (39)...Jason Bonsignore (41)...Jason Sehorn (46_)...Jeromy Burnitz (48)...Dara Torres (50)...Kevin Lowe (58)...Eveylyn Ashford (60)...Michael Cooper (61). Seth Rogen (35), Luke Evans (38) and ERmma Thompson (58) are invited to the birthday party.
Sunday, April 16 – Will Fuller (23)...Nolan Arenado (26)...Reggie Jackson NBA (27)...Kyle Okposo (29)...Luol Deng (32)...Cat Osternan (34)...Boris Diaw (35)...Jonathan Vilma (35)..Craig Worthington (52)....Hu Na (54)...Dave Huppert (60)...Bruce Bochy (62)...Bill Belichick (65)...Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (70)...Jim Lonborg (75).