SuperMan vs The Black Mamba

Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant will face each other in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday at Staples Center, Los Angeles. The Kobe-LeBron face-off fizzled out, instead Superman and his bunch of magical teammates will try to win the NBA championship after 14 years of going back to the Finals.

Howard and the Orlando Magic eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 6 of their Eastern conference finals, 103-90. It was a defining moment for the Magic after losing their superstar pointguard Jameer Nelson to injury. The Magic are a bunch of overachieving basketball heroes with no Finals experience.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers will play in their 30th Finals appearance. This is also their second consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals after losing to the Boston Celtics last season's NBA Finals. It will be redemption time for the Lakers.

Kobe and the Lakers dominated their regular season, 2-0, and also have the homecourt advantage throughout the Finals.

Stay tuned for more updates in the 2009 NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in their 30th NBA Finals

The Black Mamba did it again!

Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers will advance to their 30th NBA Finals appearance in the post-Shaq era by eliminating the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, 119-92, at Pepsi Center, Denver.



Kobe and the Lakers were in their best postseason game after playing 18 games in the playoff against the Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, and Denver Nuggets. The game was a clear manifestation of the Lakers serious bid to win the NBA Championship this season after losing it to the Kevin Garnett-led Boston Celtics last year.

The game finale against the formidable, pesky Denver Nuggets was their most complete team effort of the postseason on both ends of the courts. Kobe was in his MVP-like tallying 35 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in 42 minutes of Lakers’ basketball. He was complemented by his teammates most especially by Trevor Ariza with 17 points, Lamar Odom contributing 20 points off the bench, and the surprise package in Luke Walton with 10 points (breakout game of the playoffs) – after hounding Carmelo Anthony most of the game. As usual, Pau Gasol - the most consistent Laker after Kobe - had another solid all-around game with 20 points, 12 caroms, and six dimes in 42 minutes of action.

Carmelo Anthony finished with 25 points, while Chauncey Billups could only amassed 10 points in 39 minutes of action. J.R. Smith contributed with 24 points for the Nuggets. The Lakers reserves outscored the Nuggets bench, 40-34, to cap their court brilliance Saturday night. The Lakers will get their much-needed rest and wait for the winner of the Orlando Magic – Cleveland Cavaliers series before the NBA Finals begin on Thursday.

Confidence. Focus. Maturity. These were evident in Kobe Bryant and the Lakers game for the rest of the 48 minutes NBA basketball which they hope to sustain in winning the coveted NBA championship.

Kobe bushwhack Denver Nuggets in Game 3

Kobe Bryant made crucial free throws and MVP-like plays down the stretch to beat the Denver Nuggets, 103-97 for a 2-1 lead in the NBA Western Conference Finals.

Bryant made a 24-foot three point shot over J.R. Smith with 1:08 remaining in the regulations to give the Lakers a 96-95 lead over the Nuggets. Kobe scored 41 points and made 5-of-6 free throws to capped his sterling performance.

Denver Nuggets was not able to execute well their offensive plays and committed a costly inbound turnover which sparks the Lakers finishing run with Kobe and Trevor Ariza making free throws in the last 0:36 seconds of play in the regulation. Kenyon Martin made an errant inbound pass to Carmelo Anthony intercepted by Ariza. Anthony fouled Ariza putting him on the line and giving the Lakers a 99-95 lead with 36 seconds left.



In the ensuing play, Chauncey Billups made two free throws cutting down the lead at 99-97. However, Bryant sank two more free throws with 22 seconds left to pad Lakers lead. Billups missed a potential 3-pointer and Bryant sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left.

Carmelo Anthony paced the Nuggets with 21 points after sitting most of the 2nd half with foul troubles and fouling out with 36 seconds remaining in the game. He was 4-for-13 in the field for his worst performance of the postseason. Denver led most of the first half with heads-up plays of Chris Anderson, Nene, and Dahntay Jones. J.R. Smith closed out the first half with a three point buzzer beater over Sasha Vujacic. He drew a technical foul for thrashing Vujacic after the play.

Anderson chipped in 15 points, Billups with 18, and the duo of Nene and Smith with 10 points apiece in a losing effort for the Nuggets. This is the Nuggets first home lost since March 9. They had been dominant at Pepsi Center in the playoffs against the New Orleans Hornets and Dallas Mavericks with a winning average of 17.5 points.

Pau Gasol had another dominating performance with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and a block for 43 minutes of play. Ariza chipped in 16 points in spite of an injury with 7:18 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Billups' made a four-point play on a Bryant foul gave Denver an 89-86 lead. However, Paul Gasol hit back-to-back jumpers over Nene to put the Lakers back on top, and Bryant's twinner made it 92-91 with three minutes left in the game.

King James Reigns!!

King James reigns!!

LeBron James made a 25-foot prayer-of-a-shot in the last second of the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals for a 96-95 win to tie the series at 1-1 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic at Quicken Loans Arena.

LeBron scored a game high 35 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists to cap his astounding performance in the end game. He made the play after Magic's Hedo Turkoglu converted a two point jumper in the last 13.5 seconds of the game to give Orlando a two point lead with a second remaining in the game. The Cavaliers sued for a timeout and designed a play for James to pop out over the top of the key for the twinner with Mo Williams issuing the pass from the sidelines.



LeBron made the play after committing a traveling turnover with 30 seconds left in the game and the score tied at 93-all. Orlando called a timeout and was able to designed a play for Turkoglu.

Magic's Courtney Lee made a 10-foot running jumper in the last 5:26 to seized their first lead of the game at 86-84 after trailing the game as much as 16 points. Heads-up plays by Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Michel Pietrus, Turkoglu, and Lee cut down the lead of Cleveland after halftime.

Lewis had 23 points for the Magic. Howard chipped in 10 points and a game high 18 rebounds in a losing effort.

Williams contributed 19 points for the Cavs, while the duo of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao scored with 12 points apiece and alternately defended Howard in the paint.

Game 3 will be played in Amway Arena, Orlando Florida.

LeBron James was oozing with lots of confidence and poise in making the last second shot. Another highlight reel for the King..

2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco

Jenson Button of Brawn-Mercedes F1 Team will try to defend his pacesetting standing in the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco on May 24, 2009 at the Monaco’s marina.

Button leads the F1 World Drivers championship with 41 points followed by his Brawn-Mercedes teammate Rubens Barrichello at 27 points. Sebastian Vettel of RBR-Renault is in third place with 23 points after 5 major races in Australia, Malaysia, China, Bahrain, and Spain. Button was able to win first place finishes in 4 out of 5 races for the 2009 season using a Ross Brawn Mercedes F1 car.

Grand Prix De Monaco will have 78 laps of race at Monaco’s marina with circuit length of 3.340 km and a race distance of 260.520 km. Ferraris’ Michael Schumacher records the fastest lap here at Monaco in 1:14.439 hours during the 2004 season. The race will run through the city streets of Monaco and runs parallel to its bustling marina and hotels.

Here's a drive-through of Monaco's racetrack for the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco.




In the team championship points Brawn-Mercedes leads the pack with 68 points, followed in second place by RBR-Renault with 38.5 points, and Toyota holding on to the third position with 26.5 points in 5 finished races. This is Brawn-Mercedes sterling-performance season with an almost-to-perfect F1 car performance and their drivers’ precision driving.

Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes were having troubles with their engines and team racing strategies in the past races. Both teams are still in the contention with many races still to come for the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Denver Nuggets overwhelm LA Lakers

The Denver Nuggets overwhelmed Los Angeles Lakers, 106-103, in their Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Staples Center. Carmelo Anthony torched the Lakers with his game high 34 points after losing game 1 in their best of seven games playoff.

Denver’s forward Linas Kleiza had a breakout game going 4 of 7 from the 3-point stripe for 16 points in 22 minutes of play. He was also very active on both ends of the court with 8 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had a team high 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 40 minutes hardcourt action. Trevor Ariza scored 20 points, Pau Gasol contributed 17 points, and Lamar Odom registered 10 points in a losing effort. The Lakers bench was routed by the Nuggets bench in both offensive and defensive efforts.



Chauncey Billups had another sterling performance with a 27 point production going 13 of 16 from the free throw line. Kenyon Martin had 16 points and 3 steals in 35 minutes of action.

The Nuggets were able to maintain their composure in winning the game and squaring the series to 1-1. They were too scrappy in the opening quarter with some turnovers but regained their poise on heads-up play by Billups, Anthony, and Kleiza. The series will return to the Nuggets’ Pepsi Center for game 3 of the best of seven NBA Western Conference Finals.

Orlando Magic Mystify Cavaliers

The Orlando Magic mystified LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Rashard Lewis helped the Magic pull one out of their hat, saving his best for the second half and hitting the winning 3 with 14.7 seconds left.

Dwight Howard scored 30 points, Rashard Lewis added 22 and the Orlando Magic rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to hand James and the Cavaliers their first loss of the postseason, 107-106 on Wednesday night in the Eastern Conference finals opener.

James finished with a career-high and franchise playoff record 49 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but the league MVP limped off the floor after Cleveland's loss -- just its third in 46 home games. The Cavaliers looked stunned. And for good reason. No longer untested, no longer unbeaten. The Cavaliers finally met their match in the playoffs.



Lewis made a 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left and the Magic, who dethroned the champion Boston Celtics in seven games in the previous round, survived two shots by Cleveland in the closing seconds. Williams missed a catch-and-shoot jumper off a jump ball as the horn sounded, dropping the Cavs to 8-1 in the postseason. Cavs guard Delonte West missed an open 3-pointer with five seconds remaining.

The Magic handed the Cavaliers their first loss of this postseason (8-1). The Cavs were playing for the first time since May 11, and teams with at least eight days rest between playoff games have now lost five of seven games.

Howard broke one of the shot clocks with a dunk in the opening minutes of the game.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 15 points with 14 assists for Orlando.

Cleveland gave this one away. The Cavaliers lost their grip on the game with a stagnant third quarter that carried into the fourth. Also, the Magic shot 55 percent from the floor -- 59 percent in the second half -- against the league's top defensive team.

Orlando, which went 2-1 vs. Cleveland in the regular season, took its first lead at 85-84 with 10:06 left when Anthony Johnson buried a 3-pointer from the left corner. The bucket seemed to suck the air out of the raucous building and Cavs coach Mike Brown quickly called a timeout to stop the Magic's run and get James back in.

The Magic, though, kept making big shots with Lewis hitting a jumper with 31.6 seconds left to give Orlando a 104-103 lead.

James then drove and scored on a runner while drawing a sixth foul on Howard, who added 13 rebounds. James completed the three-point play for a 106-104 lead but Lewis came down and nailed his 3-pointer over a closing Anderson Varejao.

On Cleveland's last possession, West missed his open 3 but James was able to tie up Turkoglu for a jump ball. James tipped it behind him to Williams, but his last-second prayer hit the back of the rim and the Cavs walked off knowing they had given up home-court advantage for this round.

Game 2 is Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena, which fell eerily silent after the Magic's win.

Attacking the Net

EVERY BADMINTON PLAYER KNOWS IT: the net can be your friend or enemy. Attacking the net requires a lot of shot perfection, patience, and practice. The net is a potent ally to those who can deliver the smoothest drops, smash drops or drives but an adversary to those susceptible to ill-angled shots that hardly get to cross the opponent’s side of the court.

Netting is as important as powerful smashes and drives in completing a game strategy as it sets up the position for the kill by tempting the opponent to lift the shuttlecock. It also breaks up the opponent’s position and prevents them from getting offensive.



For instance, a long-range drop that falls right at the side corner of the net can sometimes be as lethal as powerful smash that smacks right in the center of the court. Most especially when the opponent least expects it.

Ideally, net plays should bring the shuttlecock as close to the net as possible, forcing the opponent to move closer to the net and create a space somewhere in the court for a chance to kill. Once the shuttlecock crosses the net, it should be kept as low as possible - or otherwise simply encourage an attack from the other side. The shot tries to avoid giveaway shots.



Whether executing long-range drops or smash drops from the back or doing counter-drops in front, it is encourage targeting the sides of the net. By dropping the shuttlecock at the side, the opponent nearest to the net is forced to move towards one end of the court, breaking up the offensive front-back position at the center.

There are two ways to execute the drop shots: either to push or to slice.

To push the shot is to hit the shuttlecock in the same way as one would throw a dart. Or when one is set to smash except that instead of one powerful blow where you shift body weight, you control the intensity of the blow so that the shuttlecock only lands near the net. Use the wrist to tap the shuttlecock - lightly – and guide its descent towards the net. To slice the shot is to use quick wrist movements to chop off the shuttlecock towards a smooth fall. The push shot provides a downward momentum.

External Links

- All England Team

- BTV (smashmaster)

Kobe and Lakers Draw First Blood

Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers drew first blood against the Denver Nuggets in their Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Western Conference Finals at Staples Center, LA, 106-104. He took over the game in the last 30 seconds with six successive free throws to finished with a game high 40 points.

It was a see-saw battle in the fourth quarter between the teams with the Nuggets leading most of the way. The Lakers kept their poised in the end game with Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol and Travis Ariza making some heads-up plays in the homestrecth.

Pau Gasol had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who were trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter. Gasol’s two free throws tied the game for the last time at 99 before Bryant started his closing streak at the line, offsetting a 3-pointer by Chauncey Billups and a free throw by J.R. Smith.

Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points and Billups added 18 for the Nuggets, who had played since last Wednesday after demolishing Dallas Mavericks in five games.

Game 2 is set on Thursday at Staples Center. The Nuggets have lost 11 successive playoff games to the Lakers, including a first-round sweep last season.

Bryant, who was 9 for 9 from the line in the fourth quarter, made two for a 101-99 lead with 30 seconds left. Trevor Ariza stole the inbounds pass near midcourt and the Lakers were able to run the clock down to 10 seconds when Bryant made two more free throws.

Billups hit a booming 3-pointer to get the Nuggets to 103-102 with 5 seconds left, but then Anthony fouled Bryant, who made his final two foul shots.

Smith made one free throw with 3.2 seconds left and intentionally missed the second one as. Bryant grabbed the game’s last rebound.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets - 2009 NBA Western Finals Preview

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets will square off in the 2009 NBA Western Conference Finals best of seven games starting on Tuesday at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The Lakers demolished the pesky Houston Rockets in a Game 7 win, 89-70, on Sunday. It will be Kobe vs Anthony in the Western Conference Finals.

The Lakers will face the Nuggets starting Tuesday in a best of seven conference finals. It will be a battle between last year’s NBA Finals runner-up and a bunch of underrated NBA superstars out on a mission to the NBA Finals. A preview of Lakers vs Nuggets is based on the data gathered between the two NBA teams in the current season.

The Overachieving Denver Nuggets (54-28)

Denver Nuggets has overachieved its performance for the current NBA season with a 54-28 record and astounding postseason wins over New Orleans Hornets (4-1) and Dallas Mavericks (4-1).

The trifecta of Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, and J.R. Smith combined for a total of 65.4 team points in 10 postseason games against New Orleans and Dallas. The Nuggets has a postseason field goal average of .503 against opponents .438 FG%. The team has a 3-point accuracy of .429 average.

Denver is very active on the defensive end with a team average of 9.50 steals per outing and 5.20 blocks per game. Chris Andersen has 1.89 blocks per game in 21.2 minutes of playing time. However, in the rebounding department, the Nuggets can only pluck 39.4 caroms per outing.

Coach George Karl was able to make use of his 12 man roster to provide quality minutes on the hardcourt. Melo, Billups, K-Mart, and Nene were able to log in more than 30 minutes of playing time, together with different teammates filling up supporting roles for the team. This gives the team a different dimension because of the involvement of its bench. On the offensive end, both Billups and Melo were very consistent in their production and leadership on the team while teammates support them with quality minutes. Denver is very tenacious in team defense with Nene, K-Mart, Melo, and its backcourt of Billups and Smith providing the spark for the team.

Denver Nuggets thrive on team defense and offensive sets designed for everyone on the floor. Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Nene were able to develop the maturity they lack in last year's NBA season. The midseason trade of Chauncey Billups with Allen Iverson brought wonders for the team. He was able to bring stability, maturity, and championship experience they need for a run to the NBA Finals.

The Mercurial Los Angeles Lakers (65-17)

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to hurdle over the hump against the Houston Rockets in a postseason series of drama and hardcourt basketball. The undermanned, undersized Rockets were able to stretched the Lakers to a gruelling Game 7 in their semifinal match.

The Lakers showed a lot of character, poise, and heart in its 89-70 win. Kobe displayed a lot of class complemented with lots of efforts from his teammates especially Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.

They were able to dominate the game by controlling the boards on both ends of the court. The Lakers defensive presence was a major factor in this win. The Lakers' guards were able to contain the Rocket's Brooks from dictating the tempo of the game. Kobe created some plays for his teammates as he was well guarded by both Artest and Battier. (If you happen to read my previous blog, I mentioned that if the Lakers are able to control the boards then chances are they will win the game.)

The Lakers have shooting averages on the field at .469 with 3 point accuracy of .389. However, they are very active at the boards with 42.7 caroms per outing. Pau Gasol is very active on both ends of the court grabbing 3.5 (OFF) and 7.3 (DEF) rebounds for the Lakers. Kobe is still the top scorer of the team at 27.4 points per games. He also has averages of 2.17 steals per game and 4.5 assists per outing.

This NBA Western Conference Finals will go down on who will execute their play consistently and impose their defensive presence until Game 7. It will not be Kobe vs Anthony but an attrition of basketball wizardry between these two teams.

Lakers vs Rockets Game 7 Live!

A few hours from now, one of the most exciting NBA post season game will happen between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets in a do-or die Game 7 match. Unstoppable offense vs impenetrable defense. Kobe vs Artest. Gasol vs Yao Ming. Veterans vs Youth. There are a lot of plots to this thrilling Game 7 of the Western semifinal between two of the most exciting teams in the NBA.

Can Kobe be stopped with different phalanx of defenders thrown against him? Will the Lakers’ backcourt generals of Fisher and Farmar immobilize the speedy and rising sophomore star of Houston Rocket’s Aaron Brooks? Or can the Lakers bench hold its ground against the rising stars of the Rockets?

My own personal assessment of this game is that whoever will play a good defensive game will win Game 7. If the Rockets can hold its ground against Kobe, and neutralize the Lakers bench into mere spectators, then the Yao Ming-led Rockets will go to the Western conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. The Rockets will have to play an honest- to-goodness defense against Phil Jackson’s boys. The Rockets will also have to perfectly set its offensive plays to involve all of its players with Rick Adelman’s run-and-gun system to win this game. Yao Ming is a doubtful starter for this game with a micro fracture on his foot. Houston’s shooters must be able to hit their marks to open up some plays for their big men like Luis Scola and Carl Landry in the absence of Yao.

In order for the Lakers to win this game, Kobe should involve his other teammates in the scoring production department. The ball should be distributed among other Lakers to confuse the defense of Houston. Another area that the Lakers should give emphasis is the rebounding department. If Lamar Odom, Gasol and Bynum can control both boards, then it will be a walk in the park for Jackson and his purple-and-gold Lakers. Defense will also be a major factor for the Lakers to win. Their backcourt generals (Fisher and Farmar) should slow down Brooks in orchestrating plays for the Rockets. The speedy Brooks is the soul of this Rockets team.

It will be a war of attrition between offense and defense in Game 7 of the NBA’s western conference semifinal between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets.

Watch the game live!