East vs West

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The NBA Playoffs are in full swing!!!

The Eastern Conference is as strong as it has ever been with no Lebron this year. It is quite interesting to see. The semi-finals are underway with the Celtics and Bucks &76rs and Raptors.

Paul Pierce made an interesting statement after the Bucks lost Game 1. He said the series was over and that Boston was going to sweep them. Paul first of all should’ve just kept that to himself lol. The Bucks came out in Game 2 and beat boston in team fashion. That game was good to watch. I am sure the Bucks are going to come out very strong in Game 3. Keep making Pierce eat his words!

The Philadelphia 76rs and Raptors series is real good too. Lots of grit, heart, passion in this one. This series is also tied 1-1. Jimmy Butler went off in Game 2 and helped his team tie the series heading back to Philly. I know the east teams will make me proud, my focus has been in the western conference.!

The Western Conference is always the conference to watch! To me it is the most entertaining. The surprise in the west this season is the Denver Nuggets. I love a good underdog, even though I am pulling for my Warriors to win it all. It will be fun.

The Portland Trailblazers and Denver Nuggets are tied 1-1, I would love the blazers to close this series so Seth and Steph can play each other in the Finals! That would be lots of fun 🙂 and I mean who wouldn’t want to see brothers battle it out on the court and push each other. Seth is an assassin on the court when he is in a rhythm. We shall see how this series plays out!

Now grab your popcorn because the real movie is now in session….HA…..

Rockets vs Warriors Round 2….

As you can remember last season the Rockets and Warriors played a gritty series, with Chris Paul missing the rest of the series due to injury. The rockets are now out for revenge and will do anything to beat Golden State or at least try too.

Game 1 was so chippy and fouls everywhere… Curry, Thompson, Iguodala combined for 14 fouls. CRAZY..right?!…Complaints from Diva James Harden and his side kick Paul regarding fouls and having a fair chance of play. The Rockets had more free throw attempts than the Warriors and it was Curry who closed it out for his team and protect home court.

Game 2…was called alil tighter but KD who has been having an amazing playoffs put his team on his back and went OFF!.. Klay is back in a rhythm, Curry dislocated his finger but was still able to pour in 22 points to go up 2-0 over the rockets. James Harden had 29 points as well after leaving with a eye injury that he said affected his scoring, but he had a pretty decent game, I will give him that. 🙂

I’m super excited for Game 3 and the rest of the games to come between the East and West Teams.

Let me know who you got winning it all!

Drop a comment below or hit me on twitter @bballmypassion.

As always I appreciate my readers!

*Pics courtesy of @nbaontnt instagram*

 

Live Life..Leave your legacy

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These past couple of weeks have hit the sports and entertainment world by unfortunate storm. The music world lost a legend in Ermias Asghedom aka Nipsey Hussle. Sunday, March 31,2019, Nipsey’s life was taken from us by someone he knew, broke bread with, possibly even shared some of his success with. For me, however it made me stop, re-evaluate my life, my relationships, my own legacy.

Questions posing in my head: Why did this happen to someone doing so much for his community, for his people, honestly for the world. He impacted almost everyone he met or didn’t meet including Barack Obama. CRAZY! but it shows the kind of heart he had. His impact on the world and specifically the South Central LA area where he grew up and passed away, Nipsey left his imprint. Another question I asked myself is Why are people (the people that say they ride for you) are sometimes always the ones the most jealous or intimidated by your success? I often pride myself with treating everyone how I would like to be treated, but in life it will never be that way. I have learned how to do deal.

From a sport’s perspective: Music bridges the gap and makes sports games lots of fun. For players and teams, music gets you in the zone, gets you game time ready to put on a show. Music is therapeutic in a sense that it helps you block out unnecessary noise (haters, rumors, unwanted news).

Losing a loved one is difficult, as much as you grow up, live life, and make memories the person who is no longer on this earth, you always tend to imagine what life would be like if they were still here. YOU NEVER GET OVER LOSING THEM….The grieving may stop, but as long as I live, they are always on my mind. I have unfortunately dealt with the loss of losing a sibling so I know all to well the non-stop grieving. I know what it’s like to have success and then 2 seconds late I am wishing my brother was here to share the success with me. I always give those I love, all the appreciation and all the praise while I can, some times it is the most random moments but it is always from the heart.

Last question I found myself asking: What will my legacy be? When I leave this earth, what am I leaving behind? We all see the ongoing legacy of Nipsey Hussle, It is his brand The Marathon Clothing, All money in No money out label, his community outreach,vector 90 for STEM, All of his music( go listen), and his Smile…I have listened to his music prior to his death but one thing I wish I did was tap into him more. Now that he is gone, I just have to make sure that the marathon continues in my life..Keep grinding..staying dedicated, working hard, and being patient.

I wanted to leave you guys with one of my favorite interviews! 🙂 Stephen Curry has this 5 minutes from home series on YouTube where he speaks with athletes, students, celebs anyone making a difference in the community. They meet after a game at Oracle and talk and get some food( my favorite part lol). I love the whole interview aspect but the food segment is always my favorite part, so I know what food trucks to try next time I am in LA!. Thanks Steph! 🙂

Nip &Steph -click to watch lol 🙂

I just wanted to shed some light on a awesome human being, humanitarian and artist who also helped bridge the gap between hip hop and sports! Music makes us feel good but Sports also makes us feel good and come together.

Live your Life….Leave your Legacy!

Thanks to all my readers, I appreciate it!

Next Week: NBA Playoffs…:)

R.I.H. Ermias Joseph Asghedom-Nipsey Hussle

August 15,1985-March 31, 2019

*Pictures/Video Courtesy of Google Images/Youtube*

I love my team:)

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wizards

In my last post discussing my concern with the Wizards and their progress, I was wondering should I be concerned at all about the way in which their season was going.

They proved me wrong with winning 6 of their last 7 games with their only loss coming to the Pacers on December 19,2016.

Their record now is 13-15 after winning to the bulls and time and time again I see the strategies and advice that Coach Brooks playing out on the court in regards to using John’s speed as an advantage.

I also love the progress of the second unit which includes: Trey Burke who is getting his confidence and making better decisions while on the court, Jason Smith who from the perimeter is a very good shooter, Marcus Thornton who attacks the basket or makes a heads up play for himself.

The team as a whole is doing what they need to do night in and night out and finally seeing the success of their hard work. I am so proud of them and ready for the next game.

This post is short and sweet!

Thanks for reading and as always if you have any suggestions please tweet me @bballmypassion or comment below on this post- Mariah B.

*Pics/Videos courtesy of Google*

Washington Wizards: Should I be concerned? A fan perspective

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For as long as I could remember, I have been a Wizards fan. I will go far back as the year 2001, the last season Michael Jordan played, I got to see him in person but he didn’t play. Fast forward to 2006 the Gilbert Arenas era and I experienced wins and playoff appearances and playoff losses. Then fast forward to 2008-2010 alot of mess and turmoil and changes. John Wall was drafted in 2010 on the tail end of the Arenas era and now the organization would build around their #1 draft pick. Now 6 years later, The Wizards have added key pieces such as Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce (who was only here a year or so) and others who have helped the Wizards succeed and see playoff success the last couple of years.

December 6, 2016 The Wizards now see themselves with a record of 7-13 after their loss to the Orlando Magic where John Wall scored a new career high of 52 points.  I began to look back and analyze the losses and tried to see where the Wizards have fallen short.

  1. Turnovers- in the losses the Wizards have suffered they have committed 20+ turnovers with their opponent scoring off those turnovers. Imagine if they would try to limit turnovers and play smart how good they would be and not to mention confidence.
  2. Defensive Stops- in times when the wizards loss close games, they would either have a small lead and not close out the game or on defense make a costly mistake costing them the game, and saying the same thing we messed up on defense and not executing once the stop is made.
  3. Confidence- Are the Wizards lacking confidence or am I reading too deep into this? The opportunity to win games come every night but I notice when the Wizards have a somewhat comfortable lead and the second unit comes in, they can’t build on that lead or shot don’t fall.
  4. Changes- I know the players on this team love what they do or they wouldn’t be in the position they are in to be successful. But then I think about this whenever Washington would go through a coaching change: Eddie Jordan, Flip Saunders, Randy Whitman, Scott Brooks the first season it would always take the entire team a few games to get adjusted and mesh. Maybe this is what is happening this season, Coach Brooks is the new coach, you have new players who are still getting adjusted to him and his system but at the end of the day this game is about trust, communication, confidence, and achieving the goal that is set in place win games, make the playoffs, win championship.

So I ask myself should I be concerned for my team in the long. The NBA season is a long grueling process and I know the Wizards will be successful and hopefully make the playoffs. It’s still to early to talk about the playoffs as the Wizards are currently 12th in the east. I love this team and I am rooting for their success but should I be concerned that the outcome of this season may not be what I want it to be? I will continue to cheer on my guys and push for their success but something has to give. The will to Win games and work hard has to be there. I can’t speak for the players but if that love isn’t there then concern starts to float in.

Washington plays Denver tomorrow night at home, I hope the lost to Orlando fuels some fire and motivates them to fight to the finish. It is a long season but it’s time for a Wizards win streak! 🙂

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy

As always if you have a suggestion for me please comment below or tweet me @bballmypassion

*Pics/Vids courtesy of Google*

USA Basketball

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It has been a minute since I blogged but I wanted to at least have a couple posts for the month of August.:)

This week USA Basketball held its annual mini training camp in Las Vegas, Nevada where 34 of the NBA’s elite met up to work on their game but also get a feel for what it is to come next summer.

Some of these players include: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul and the list goes on. All of these talented men are vying for a spot for the men’s national team to compete for gold in Brazil next summer.

NBA TV aired Real Training Camp which took a live look at the practice and the players coming together.

Last Night USAB held its annual exhibition game for the fans and coaches just to give everyone a feel of a potential team to compete in Rio. It will be very exciting to see who will be selected as no spot on this team is guaranteed.

We should have an idea of who will be on the official roster July 2016. I can’t wait and believe its about to be an Olympic year yet again.

Who do you have on your USAB roster? You can only choose 12 out of the 34… Hard I know lol

Stay tuned as NBA season is just around the corner and most of these men pictured above will be monitored all season long to hopefully secure their spot on this coveted team.

Go USA !!!!

This was a short post, I will have a longer post next week 🙂 I appreciate you all reading!!

Be sure to follow me on twitter:@bballmypassion and let me know what you would like to see next

*Pictures/Videos courtesy of google images*

Playoff Time!!!..

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The NBA has had an amazing season thus far but the best is yet to come. With only 10 days left in the regular season teams are making their final playoff push for positioning. I often have my favorite teams doing well even if they don’t go deep into the playoffs. One of those teams The Washington Wizards are now 44-33 and a game back out of the 4th spot with the Toronto Raptors who they will play one more time before the season ends. Out of all the 3 meetings this season, Toronto leads 3-0. Washington would need to win this game to give them some confidence going into the playoff run. With Washington potentially playing Toronto in the first round, I wanted to offer my 5 keys on a potential upset.

My 5 keys to playoff win success….

1. Limit Turnovers.

Toronto is a team that if you let them can get out and run. Washington can run to but also need to be mindful of scoring off turnovers they may cause.

2. Keeping Leads

Washington is a team that can blow teams out early but often let them creep back in on them in a hurry rather than put the nail in the coffin. In the playoffs, it’s no different but enhanced. If you want to get a jump on a team and secure victories ,you have to be able to hold a lead and still play strong.

3. Star Matchups

Playoff time is where your big stars flourish! I always get excited to see John Wall & Bradley Beal go head to head with Demar Derozan & Kyle Lowry. Each game whether home or away will continue to push players to play better, stronger and continue to find the will to win.

4. 3-point shooting

Many players on both Washington & Toronto can shoot the 3 very well and if consistent it can become dangerous on both sides. The main key is consistency and also not rushing 3’s because you panic. I think that is one of the ways teams mistakenly cost themselves games.

5. Have Fun( to a degree)

Now I know this is stretch, but both Washington & Toronto have worked very hard to get back to the playoffs multiple times and should be able to have a little fun while still focusing on the main goal which is ultimately winning a NBA Championship. As a fan this is where I get to shine and flourish. I have been able to experience playoff games in person and they are just as or more intense in person than tv. I always enjoy the opportunity to watch players I admire play well and push their teams. This also gives me another perspective into what drives a team to win and also fall in love more with the player.

Personal Playoff Story:

In the 2004-2005 season, Washington kept running into Miami. This season was the first time Washington was able to get to the second round after defeating the Chicago Bulls and had to face Dwyane Wade and Shaq. I was able to go to a game and I got to feel just how loud and intense the game was. I also got to see Dwyane Wade in action. Boy! was I impressed, he played lights out and ended up winning the game. It was just fun to watch while supporting my team , I started to love how well Dwyane played and just how explosive he could be. It definitely changed my perspective on the game but also let me have love for other teams&players. What are some of your playoff memories??

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me and share your thoughts 🙂

*Pictures/Videos courtesy of Youtube & Google Images*

3,2,1…… BANG

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Martin Luther King Jr. Day has always been a special time for me. I enjoy taking the time out of my day to give back in some way shape or form. Dr. King left an awesome legacy and one that needs to be remembered. From a basketball standpoint he paved the way for players of all races to come together and play this awesome sport. I appreciate all of the hard work and time Dr. King put in to ensure a world change. On this particular holiday in 2007, my dad surprised me and my sisters with some Washington Wizards vs Utah Jazz game tickets. The Wizards at this point were a top contender in the Eastern Conference in the NBA. The game was a wire to wire game and Gilbert Arenas was due for something special and I was very surprised that I got to witness such a great ending to a wonderful game. Before that however, the halftime show was dedicated to Dr. King and how players felt about him and their favorite memories of his life. For me, the I have a dream speech is one of my favorite speeches because it reminds me to never give up on my dreams or let anyone stop me from achieving those goals. He also reminded the world that all races and nations should continue to fight non-violently to help bring about peace and change. I often wonder how the world may be different if Dr. King was still alive today. Would he be disappointed with all that is going on since the Civil Rights Movement or would he still be working with the people. My ultimate guess is that overall Dr. King would have been still impacting lives such as the NBA players I got to see in this amazing game in DC. The 4th quarter came down to the final shot, tied at 111 with 6.5 seconds left on the clock, it was Wizards ball and Gilbert had the final play and shot. Clock is winding down….3, Gilbert gets set…..2, He steps back behind the 3 point line…1, Gilbert for the WIN……BANG!!!!…..Wizards win…. The entire arena in mayhem! and I was there to witness this special game. I honestly never really took into consideration at the time the major impact Dr.King would leave on myself. If he didn’t give up his life, something as small as being able to enjoy a NBA game buzzer beater wouldn’t have been so special or a memory. I always think back to this day as a fun one and reflective one as well. It’s the little reminders that can quickly bring you back to reality and remind you of how truly blessed and fortunate to enjoy the luxuries of life whether it’s a basketball game with friends or even just a regular school day we are able to live more freely without the discrimination’s this life brings. Dr. King sacrificed his own life so we didn’t have to experience the harsh reality he had to endure. Basketball helped me to fully understand that. Dr. King I Thank You!

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