With the Cavalier blowout of the Celtics in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, we are setup for another showdown of the heavyweights of the NBA. A rematch of last year's finals, the Cavaliers and Warriors will face off in what should be another good season finale series.

The Big Dance is almost here again. The Madness has already begun with a number of teams punching their tickets to the tournament. FGCU, Winthrop, UNC Wilmington, Iona, Wichita State, Jacksonville, and ETSU have all earned their entry into the field of 68 with 4 more spots being determined tonight.

It was a night to remember for the NBA last night.  Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his final game as the Los Angeles Lakers upset the Utah Jazz 101-96 effectively eliminating them from playoff contention.   On the same night one of the greatest ever hung them up, the Golden State Warriors capped off the greatest (record wise) regular season in NBA history beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125-104, to finish the season 73-9.  Regardless of whether you a fan of Kobe and the Lakers, or Steph Curry and the Warriors, it was still an exciting night for the NBA, and should lead to an even more exciting postseason.  While the Warriors have shown that they are extremely tough to beat, I think anything is possible and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even make the finals, as well as the favorite in the east, the Cavaliers.  I expect to see a Warriors-Cavs final, but as what usually happens in sports, you can almost always expect the unexpected.  So while I think it will be the favorites matching up, I won't be surprised if we see Raptors-Thunder.  Regardless it should be fun to watch.

The NBA regular season has come to an end and with that brings a postseason where the Golden State Warriors will try to cap off their record breaking season, and LeBron James again trying to bring a championship back to the city of Cleveland.  Here are the matchups for this year's NBA playoffs.

Kobe Bryant will take the court for the final time tonight at 10:30 PM against the Utah Jazz.  This has been a season to forget for Bryant and the Lakers as they are one of the worst teams in basketball.  Kobe has been resting more recently in anticipation of this final game and is expected to play considerable minutes.  I think being the competitor he is, he will want to go out with a great game so I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to score 40 points.  Also of note in this game, the Jazz actually have something to play for.  If they win tonight and the Rockets lose, the Jazz will make the playoffs.  So I think you can add that to Kobe's motivation as well.  It may not be much but he can go out by eliminating a team from playoff contention.  It would be a positive send off for Bryant and the Lakers, seeing as how the team has struggled tremendously this season.  All that being said, I think the Jazz will come out and not let Kobe and company spoil their playoff hopes.  My prediction is that the Rockets will lose to the Kings, setting the Jazz up for a win-and-in scenario, and I think they win this game tonight by 10 plus points. 


How do you guys think Kobe will play tonight?  Can the Lakers pull the upset?

It was a night to remember, or maybe one to forget.  Kobe Bryant's final season hasn't been a memorable one, considering the Lakers currently have a terrible record of 16-65, with one game remaining against the Utah Jazz.  Last night was no different, as the Lakers fell to the Thunder by 33 points, 112-79.  Bryant finished with 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting, only playing 19 minutes.

The Golden State Warriors tied the NBA record for wins in a season set by the 1995-95 Chicago Bulls last night with a 92-86 victory in San Antonio.  That makes 3 times that the Warriors defeated the Spurs this regular season.  In typical Spurs fashion however, they are lamenting on this loss and are looking ahead to the playoffs, still believeing that they have a team that can make a run and beat the Warriors.  To break the record the Warriors will have to win in their final game against the Memphis Grizzlies.   David West, of the Spurs, was asked if he thinks the Warriors hold the advantage, "It's a whole different ball game in the playoffs".  LaMarcus Aldridge when talking about the Spurs play, "We definitely had some easy looks we didn't make.  We had some breakdowns defensively.  It's just about being sharp the whole game". 

San Antonio definitely did not shoot the ball well against the Warriors, shooting only 37.8%.  While the Warriors shot 44.2% and Steph Curry contributed 37 points with 4 threes.  If these two teams matchup in the playoffs, which I think they will,  the Spurs are going to have to play great defense for the entire series as well as shoot much better than they did last night if they want to have a chance to beat the Warriors.  Otherwise the Warriors will be in the NBA Finals again this season.  With that being said I think that these two teams will matchup in the Western Conference Finals and I think the Spurs will pull off the upset in 7 games. 

With just 2 games remaining in the regular season, the Golden State Warriors are just 1 win away from tying the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record of 72-10.  If the Warriors want to break the record they're going to have to win both games, which isn't going to be easy.  The first of the 2 remaining games will be tonight at the San Antonio Spurs.  This one won't be easy, but I think the Warriors will get the win tonight to tie the record of 72 wins.  
This will set up the chance for the Warriors to break the record Wednesday night at home against the Grizzlies.  In this game I think the Grizzlies will actually pull the upset and leave the Warriors only tying the record for wins in a season at 72.  
With all that being said I think the Warriors will actually lose to the Spurs in the playoffs which will lead some to think of this season as a failure, probably even the Warriors themselves.