As I mentioned last week, I will now be talking about the Blackhawks playoff push.
The Blackhawks first game of the series against the Nashville Predators started as bad as they could've imagined. The predators scored 3 of their first 12 shots, forcing the coach to pull Corey Crawford the starting goalie. Scott Darling, an NHL journey man, came off the bench to make his postseason debut. Sharp, Toews, and Hjalmarsson each scored a goal in the 2nd to bring the game to a tie. A scoreless 3rd brought the game to two overtimes which was ended when Duncan Keith put one in the back of the net for the sudden death win. By that time, back up goalie Darling had faced 42 shots and blocked every one.
Even after Darling's performance, the Blackhawk's coach decided to start Crawford. The game was close, 3-2, until the 3rd period when Crawford let 3 goals in only 3 minutes apart. The final score ended up being an ugly 6-2. Crawford's struggles come as a surprise as the Blackhawk's were second in the season for goals allowed at 2.3. Should be interesting to see how the rest of the series plays out and how coach deals with the goalie situation.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Scanlon Sports Week of April 11th
Heat
Unfortunately, Wednesday night the Heat's season came to an end. Although we finished outside of the top 8 in the East, I still enjoyed watching them and there are some great positive points to think about.
First, the rise of Hassan Whiteside. The 7 foot, 265 pound center had a break through season. I expect him to earn comeback player of the year. After being drafted in the 2nd round in the 2010 draft, the player only played 19 games through his first two seasons, and wasn't picked up by anyone in 2013. Luckily, Pat Riley saw something in the young center and decided to sign him to a one year contract. Hassan quickly shined in the Summer League and thats when Pat Riley knew he had made a great decision. He ended the season averaging a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. Look forward to see what Whiteside brings with the years ahead.
Second, was the signing of Goran Dragic. The 28 year old point guard seemed to mesh well with the incomplete and injured heat squad. Him and Dwyane Wade were fun to watch together as most games would include a nice looking alley oop pass.
Looking forward, I can't wait to see them back next year with a healthy Chris Bosh and rest of the squad.
For the rest of my blogs, I will be writing about the Chicago Blackhawks playoff push.
Unfortunately, Wednesday night the Heat's season came to an end. Although we finished outside of the top 8 in the East, I still enjoyed watching them and there are some great positive points to think about.
First, the rise of Hassan Whiteside. The 7 foot, 265 pound center had a break through season. I expect him to earn comeback player of the year. After being drafted in the 2nd round in the 2010 draft, the player only played 19 games through his first two seasons, and wasn't picked up by anyone in 2013. Luckily, Pat Riley saw something in the young center and decided to sign him to a one year contract. Hassan quickly shined in the Summer League and thats when Pat Riley knew he had made a great decision. He ended the season averaging a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. Look forward to see what Whiteside brings with the years ahead.
Second, was the signing of Goran Dragic. The 28 year old point guard seemed to mesh well with the incomplete and injured heat squad. Him and Dwyane Wade were fun to watch together as most games would include a nice looking alley oop pass.
Looking forward, I can't wait to see them back next year with a healthy Chris Bosh and rest of the squad.
For the rest of my blogs, I will be writing about the Chicago Blackhawks playoff push.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Scanlon Sports week of 3/30
Heat:
The Heat and Dwyane Wade have been playing just good enough to keep in the playoff race. They've gone .500 in their last four games but Dwyane Wade is the only reason they had a chance in those games. During the month of March Dwyane wade has averaged 25.2 PPG (1st in East), 4 games of 32+ points (1st in East), 8 games of 25+ (T-1st in East). He has also been able to throw a few game winners in there.
On Tuesday the Heat had a tough loss against the Bucks when a game winner from Khris Middleton dropped the Heat 89-88. It was an unfortunate loss after Wade's efficient shooting that gave him 21 points. It's always hard for a team to lose a low scoring close game. However, the Heat bounced back when they had a pivotal matchup against the Celtics. The Celtics, Heat, and Brooklyn have all been shuffling for the 7th and 8th spot in the East. With the Heat missing three players, Goran Dragic took over and came through for the Heat ending the game with 22 points and seven assists. The Heat's new point guard seems to be fitting in just fine. The Heat's most recent game against the Piston's was action packed. Dwyane Wade finished with 40 points and 4 assists. 19 of those points came in the fourth. This win, as well as the Celtic's struggles, as put the Heat in 7th place, a game and a half in front of the 8th place Celtics. Should be interesting to see what they do against the red hot Spurs tonight, and how they fair the rest of the season.
http://www.nba.com/games/20150329/DETMIA/gameinfo.html?ls=eref:google:1b:post
The Heat and Dwyane Wade have been playing just good enough to keep in the playoff race. They've gone .500 in their last four games but Dwyane Wade is the only reason they had a chance in those games. During the month of March Dwyane wade has averaged 25.2 PPG (1st in East), 4 games of 32+ points (1st in East), 8 games of 25+ (T-1st in East). He has also been able to throw a few game winners in there.
On Tuesday the Heat had a tough loss against the Bucks when a game winner from Khris Middleton dropped the Heat 89-88. It was an unfortunate loss after Wade's efficient shooting that gave him 21 points. It's always hard for a team to lose a low scoring close game. However, the Heat bounced back when they had a pivotal matchup against the Celtics. The Celtics, Heat, and Brooklyn have all been shuffling for the 7th and 8th spot in the East. With the Heat missing three players, Goran Dragic took over and came through for the Heat ending the game with 22 points and seven assists. The Heat's new point guard seems to be fitting in just fine. The Heat's most recent game against the Piston's was action packed. Dwyane Wade finished with 40 points and 4 assists. 19 of those points came in the fourth. This win, as well as the Celtic's struggles, as put the Heat in 7th place, a game and a half in front of the 8th place Celtics. Should be interesting to see what they do against the red hot Spurs tonight, and how they fair the rest of the season.
http://www.nba.com/games/20150329/DETMIA/gameinfo.html?ls=eref:google:1b:post
Monday, March 16, 2015
Scanlon Sports week of 3/16
Heat:
The Heat ended the week one game out of the playoff picture. Here's how it went down
The Heat started the week of on Monday at home against the Boston Celtics. This is not the rivalry it once was when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo were once on the squad. I think some of the most entertaining Heat games I've seen have been when they play the Celtics. The Heat were outscored in every quarter except for the second and they fell 100-90. While Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley played well in the contest, the Heat players were very discouraged with Whiteside's action that costed him to be thrown out of the game. I had mentioned Whiteside's acitons in my last blog, and this time it was no better. Whiteside two hand shoved Olynyk in the back and left him screeching across the floor. This forced him to be kicked out of the game and may have costed the Heat the game. We can not afford to not have Whiteside in, and Dwyane Wade didn't appreciate it. After the game Wade said, "He's going to have to learn. He's going to have to learn the hard way. Hopefully he changes his mentality quick."
On Wednesday the Heat took on the Nets and fans were treated to watching some vintage heat. Wade had a great game outing in 28 points and 9 assists, one short of a double-double. Andersen started in place of Whiteside after he was handed a 1 game suspension. He finished the game with an impressive 18 points and a season high 14 rebounds. It seemed that Wade and Andersen were feeding off each other, as they were both feeding each other for alley oops. Hopefully Whiteside can come back strong and control his emotions. He has such great talent and it would be disappointing to see it go to waste because of his anger. Should be fun to watch the Heat play the Cavs in Miami on Monday.
The Heat ended the week one game out of the playoff picture. Here's how it went down
The Heat started the week of on Monday at home against the Boston Celtics. This is not the rivalry it once was when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo were once on the squad. I think some of the most entertaining Heat games I've seen have been when they play the Celtics. The Heat were outscored in every quarter except for the second and they fell 100-90. While Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley played well in the contest, the Heat players were very discouraged with Whiteside's action that costed him to be thrown out of the game. I had mentioned Whiteside's acitons in my last blog, and this time it was no better. Whiteside two hand shoved Olynyk in the back and left him screeching across the floor. This forced him to be kicked out of the game and may have costed the Heat the game. We can not afford to not have Whiteside in, and Dwyane Wade didn't appreciate it. After the game Wade said, "He's going to have to learn. He's going to have to learn the hard way. Hopefully he changes his mentality quick."
On Wednesday the Heat took on the Nets and fans were treated to watching some vintage heat. Wade had a great game outing in 28 points and 9 assists, one short of a double-double. Andersen started in place of Whiteside after he was handed a 1 game suspension. He finished the game with an impressive 18 points and a season high 14 rebounds. It seemed that Wade and Andersen were feeding off each other, as they were both feeding each other for alley oops. Hopefully Whiteside can come back strong and control his emotions. He has such great talent and it would be disappointing to see it go to waste because of his anger. Should be fun to watch the Heat play the Cavs in Miami on Monday.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Week of March 1
Heat: Since my last blog post, many things have happened with the Heat. On saturday they play the Atlanta Hawks and lost a close 93-91 game. It was discouraging considering the Hawks gave 4 players rest, but the Heat are still adjusting to playing without their leading scorer, Chris Bosh. Dwyane wade summed it up, "We still don't all know each other, but we're out there fighting for this thing." He summed it up well in that quote as the Heat came out blazing in their game against the Phoenix Suns on Monday. This wasn't just another game as Heat new comer Goran Dragic was playing against his old team in the Suns. This game was littered with technicals, ejections, and hard fouls as the Suns still seamed to be a little hurt after Dragic's leave. Hassan Whiteside finished the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds before being ejected for tackling a Suns player to the ground who apparently struck Whiteside on the face. It's great to see intensity from a young player like Whiteside but its unfortunate that he wasn't able to play with his team in the 4th quarter. Hopefully next time he can control his emotions and continue to dominate other centers around the league. In the end the heat prevailed 115-98. Here's a link where you can watch the entertaining game highlights: http://www.nba.com/games/20150302/PHXMIA/gameinfo.html?ls=eref:google:1b:post
Friday, February 20, 2015
Week of 2/15
Heat
Last week I predicted that the Heat would have a quiet, and uneventful trade deadline. I was completely wrong. The Heat shook up the whole NBA when they traded away Norris Cole, and then received Goran Dragic. They lost two first round picks for the 28 year old point guard but they fill a huge hole in the Heat's starting roster. Pat Riley has continued to show that he doesn't see the value of drafts, and he'd rather build a veteran player. It's going to be interesting to see how the Miami Heat group play with an established PG.
Yesterday it came out that Chris Bosh has blood clots in his lungs and he's going to have to miss the rest of the season. This was a huge buzz kill to Heat nation after everyone was pumped up about the Dragic trade. Hopefully initial reports were wrong and he'll be able to come back before the end of the season and help the Heat with their playoff push.
Blackhawks
The Blackhawk's continued their streak of games going into overtime or shootouts. This is not good for players to be getting this much ice time when they are expected to make a playoff push this summer. On Sunday they beat the Penguins in a shootout win after an amazing deke from Patrick Kane: video link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeUiyfxdQ8
They weren't as lucky in Thursdays shootout against the Red Wings. They went into overtime tied at 2 and weren't able to put away Datsyuk and the Wings. They need to start closing these games out before the end of regulation and if they can't do that they need to work on their overtime play. Should be interesting to see what they do against the weaker Avalanche tonight.
Last week I predicted that the Heat would have a quiet, and uneventful trade deadline. I was completely wrong. The Heat shook up the whole NBA when they traded away Norris Cole, and then received Goran Dragic. They lost two first round picks for the 28 year old point guard but they fill a huge hole in the Heat's starting roster. Pat Riley has continued to show that he doesn't see the value of drafts, and he'd rather build a veteran player. It's going to be interesting to see how the Miami Heat group play with an established PG.
Yesterday it came out that Chris Bosh has blood clots in his lungs and he's going to have to miss the rest of the season. This was a huge buzz kill to Heat nation after everyone was pumped up about the Dragic trade. Hopefully initial reports were wrong and he'll be able to come back before the end of the season and help the Heat with their playoff push.
Blackhawks
The Blackhawk's continued their streak of games going into overtime or shootouts. This is not good for players to be getting this much ice time when they are expected to make a playoff push this summer. On Sunday they beat the Penguins in a shootout win after an amazing deke from Patrick Kane: video link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySeUiyfxdQ8
They weren't as lucky in Thursdays shootout against the Red Wings. They went into overtime tied at 2 and weren't able to put away Datsyuk and the Wings. They need to start closing these games out before the end of regulation and if they can't do that they need to work on their overtime play. Should be interesting to see what they do against the weaker Avalanche tonight.
Friday, February 13, 2015
2/13
Heat
The Heat only had two games this week due to the All Star break this weekend. They went 1-1 after beating the Knicks 109-95 and then losing to Lebron James and the Cavs 113-93. The Heat-Cavs game was televised on ESPN so I was able to watch it Wednesday night. The Heat played without Dwyane Wade but it was no excuse for their horrible play. The Cavs came out right away and ran all over the Heat. They still have their 8th spot in the east but they're going to have to step it up if they expect to make the playoffs.
Blackhawks
Blackhawks had a horrible week after a decent showing last week. On Monday they lost to the lesser Cayotes in shootouts. Than on Wednesday they lost to Canucks in overtime. These two extra-time games are not good for the already banged up Blackhawks. They hope to redeem themselves against the Devils at home tonight. We'll see if the United Center can lead them to a win.
The Heat only had two games this week due to the All Star break this weekend. They went 1-1 after beating the Knicks 109-95 and then losing to Lebron James and the Cavs 113-93. The Heat-Cavs game was televised on ESPN so I was able to watch it Wednesday night. The Heat played without Dwyane Wade but it was no excuse for their horrible play. The Cavs came out right away and ran all over the Heat. They still have their 8th spot in the east but they're going to have to step it up if they expect to make the playoffs.
Blackhawks
Blackhawks had a horrible week after a decent showing last week. On Monday they lost to the lesser Cayotes in shootouts. Than on Wednesday they lost to Canucks in overtime. These two extra-time games are not good for the already banged up Blackhawks. They hope to redeem themselves against the Devils at home tonight. We'll see if the United Center can lead them to a win.
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