The Weekend Run-down May 16, 2011

The NBA and NHL playoffs took center stage this weekend as both leagues are now in the conference finals. In the NBA, one of the most anticipated match-ups of the playoffs turned into a laugher as Chicago behind its stifling defense and a couple of monster dunks by Taj Gibson of all people took game 1 from Miami and its big 3 of James, Wade, and Bosh. Memphis tried its best but finally lost their Cinderella slipper as OKC eliminated them in game 7 of the Western semi-finals. The “Believe Memphis’ campaign comes to a bittersweet end as the Grizzlies enjoyed their best season ever and look to have a bright future ahead of them.

In the NHL, Vancouver rallied late to push past the San Jose Sharks, to take the first game of their series. San Jose’s penchant for blowing leads was never more evident then in this game, but more of that later. The Boston Red Sox demise has been greatly exaggerated as they swept the New York Yankess and finally get back to .500. On top of getting swept, the Yankees are dealing with Jorge Posada’s refusal to go into the game after being placed at the 9 spot in Joe Giradi’s lineup card. A circus has ensued as the ageing Posada and his wife took to social media (which never makes anything better) to vent their frustration. Just another day in Yankee land right?

Now for the rundown:

NBA:

Eastern Conference Finals Game 1: Chicago 103 Miami 82 – The Bulls came out and made this one a street fight. Chicago doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of three of the games superstars but they proved that they will be a tough match for Miami. MVP Derrick Rose scored 28 points and Luol Deng chipped in 21 as for Chicago. The Bulls vaunted Tom Thibodeau defense held Lebron James and Dwayne Wade to just 33 points combined. The Bulls just outhustled Miami all over the floor as they dove for loose balls and boxed out Miami on multiple occasions. The isolation plays Miami ran with so much precision and efficiency against Boston were met with double teams as Joakim Noah packed the paint and didn’t allow James and Wade to attack the basket. This is the blueprint for Chicago. Miami may have the stars but Chicago has the depth and will look to wear down the Heat. So far so good as they take game 1 and look to carry their momentum into game 2 Wednesday.

Western Conference Semi-Finals Game 7: OKC 105 Memphis 90 – Kevin Durant was mad at himself for letting his team down in game 6 and came out took it to the Grizzlies in game 7. Durant scored 39 as he saved his best game of the series for the most important one. Durant’s Dr.Jerkyll-Mr.Hyde sidekick Russell Westbrook also turned in his best performance as he notched his first postseason triple double with 14 points 10 rebounds and a season high 14 assists. You never know what you will get from Westbrook but when he plays under control like this, he makes the Thunder as good as any team in the league. The Grizzlies battled but an 18 for 23 stretch that extended from the first quarter to the second quarter all but doomed their chances. Mike Conley scored 18 to lead Memphis and would cut the Thunder’s lead to 52-49 on a 3-pointer in the third. That would be as close as Memphis got as Durant got hot again as he scored eight points in a 14-2 run for OKC that all but sealed it up for the Thunder. Oklahoma City now will face Dallas in the Western Conference Finals. Memphis fades off into the sunset but they had their most successful season ever. They return 20 point a game scorer Rudy Gay and now have fan support that hasn’t been there for years in Memphis. Things are looking up and as long as they can sustain their success, things will only get better for the Grizzlies. Congrats on a great season Memphis.

NHL:

Western Conference Finals Game 1: Vancouver 3 San Jose 2 – When your making your first conference finals appearance in 17 years, your not going to let a little 2-1 deficit hold you back right? The Canucks scored two goals in the third to take game 1 of the Western Finals. This continues an ugly trend for San Jose. They have blown three leads in these playoffs when leading in the third period of the game. Vancouver capitalized in the final period as Henrik Sedin set up Kevin Bieksa’s tying goal and Bieska would score the winning goal as well. San Jose looked a bit sluggish at times which was understandable after their emotional game 7 win over Detroit. Anitti Niemi kept San Jose in the game as he stopped 35 of 38 shots but it wasn’t enough. Game 2 is Wednesday in Vancouver and I’m sure San Jose will respond with more rest under their belts.

MLB:

Boston Sweeps New York – The Boston Red Sox were suppose to win over 100 games this year, run roughshod over the American league and meet the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Armed with the acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez this is what you were told to believe coming into this season. However things started out rough, as a matter of fact very rough for the Sox. After starting out a major league worst 3-10 after, the Sox have slowly crept back up the standings.

They completed their sweep of the hated Yankees last night as Jon Lester pitched 6 innings and struck out 7. New York now is the team struggling as they have lost 5 in a row and have a drama developing in the club house with Jorge Posada. Posada went out of his way to apologize but the damage has already been done to his reputation. He refused to go into the game after being dropped to 9th in the lineup but what can you expect after hitting just .165? New York’s defense has also abandoned them as they now have made 13 errors in 10 games. A-Rod allowed a ball roll to through five hole in the seventh and it stretch the Red Sox lead to 6-4. Jonathon Papelbon came in and got the save the in the ninth to preserve the sweep.