Author: lleonardbw

by David Zizmor

In the first three games of the NBA Finals the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James dominated those games and the Golden State Warriors strategy going into those games was they were going to let LeBron have the ball and not let him distribute the ball to anybody else. That wasn’t working in game three and LeBron scored 44 points for his highest post season total in his career.

LeBron just dominanted in the first three games and he scored more points than anybody ever in the first three games in the NBA Finals. He was just killing everybody and everything was working for him. Granted he was also playing 44 minutes a night he was wearing himself out in the process. He was dominating and had LeBron continued like that the Warriors would have been in a lot of trouble.

What happened in game four on Thursday night at Quick and Loans was the Warriors had a complete shift in strategy and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lied to everybody which later he admitted he lied to everyone and pulled Andrew Bogut out of the starting lineup for game four. Kerr ened up putting Andre Iguodala in.

It was a small group for the Warriors and that small group just dominated the game but what it did it gave the Warriors the mindset to get into their particular style of game instead of the Cavaliers style of being down 20 seconds until they shoot the ball offense. The Warriors by going with their small ball group their just faster and they get up and down the floor more and they get into a rhythm.

That was the game plan and they’ve done it all season long and with Bogut on the floor their able to do that as Cleveland has some answers for Bogut in preparing for the Warriors with a counter move. That counter move was to put Iguodala in the starting line and he’s done it 100 games and he gets in there and he’s a fantastic defender and he’s been amazing in this whole series even though LeBron has done so well.

When Iguodala is on him LeBron has struggled and in this game with LeBron covered by with Iguodala for most of the game LeBron had his worst game of the series he scored 20 points in game four and the Warriors got their mojo back it’s really kind of simple as that and they played the style that they liked and they were comfortable and they really got it going.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to his podcast below

by Amaury Pi Gonzalez

OAKLAND–There has never been an NBA Finals that has seen two overtimes in it’s history. By the way the ratings are huge for this Finals and we spoke about this on the show and the ratings have been very good. The Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James everyone knows LeBron and how people are discovering the Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry.

They all know that Curry is a great player but the whole world already knows who LeBron is and it’s been a great series and it’s a getting a lot of ratings worldwide. The ratings are high because of Curry’s MVP year and the excitement that the Warriors have had and also they haven’t been here since 1974-75 and 2006-07 for the Cavaliers.

This is a good story and that’s why so many who are following this series on TV have given this series a high ratings boost. This is good to see teams who don’t make it and it’s good to see the Warriors going up against a city like Cleveland and it’s good for the game. Oakland we know the problem here with unemployment and housing Cleveland is going through the same thing. Cleveland is known as the rust belt and Cleveland has lost a lot of industry and it’s good news and it’s positive news for Cleveland and for Oakland.

A’s switcher pitcher Pat Venditte all the rage: Venditte’s father taught him to throw from both sides and he’s a lefty and a righty and Muzuno has developed a six fingered glove for Venditte where he could use it on either hand. When he throws left handed the thumb is on one side and when he throws right handed the thumb is on the other side.

It’s the same glove with six fingers, this is a great story I don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference having said that the bullpen is very bad for the A’s. So Venditte could be the bandit. The A’s bullpen is not good right now but they have some starters and their top ace is Sonny Gray who started Tuesday night’s game came in 7-2 ERA 1.65.

Gray has the lowest ERA in baseball he’s a great starting pitcher and it’s tough to win without your bullpen but the A’s still have a chance their still a young team and they have time to figure it out. This is Ben Zobrist’s first year in Oakland, they haven’t jelled as a unit yet and it’s very dangerous. If the A’s are not out of the cellar in about 35 days A’s general Billy Beane will be making move if this team doesn’t improve soon.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the A’s and the Spanish TV voice for the Angels and does News and Commentary each week on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below

by Tony the Tiger Hayes

SAN FRANCISCO–If the Golden State Warriors were to win or even sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship their first since 1974-75 could that change the direction for the Warriors in getting a new arena constructed at Mission Bay? San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development seems confident that any proposal or any measure on the ballot opposing it would be defeated and the Warriors will succeed in getting the new arena.

The hot debate had been about traffic issues in the South of Market Mission Bay project and the city has brought forward an 800 page environmental impact report that consists of how traffic would work during arena events. Mission Bay Alliance who has opposed the new Warriors arena says that traffic will be a standstill before and after Warrior games and other events at the arena.

The city environmental report says they have a solution to the traffic problem. When the peak of traffic starts between 6:30PM-7:30PM on weekdays when workers mainly go home at that time in traffic and fans are going to try and get to the arena, the city plans to redirect arena traffic to go onto 16th, Third and Illinois Streets. The UCSF hospital traffic was a concern on how emergency vehicles would be able to access the roads during those peak times.

The city has planned for hospital traffic to use Owens, Minnesota, Fourth and Seventh Streets for access to UCSF during concerts and basketball games at the arena. The city plans to use 21 officers to decipher traffic arena traffic from hospital traffic and that they would have signs posted to say “Hospital Only” for traffic leaving the Mariposa Street exit.

Mission Bay Alliance argues that trying to fit an 18,000 seat arena project consisting of two towers for condos with traffic involved in a two and half square mile area which would also include AT&T Park events on occasion would be reminiscent of what 49ers traffic was like coming in and out of Candlestick Park. Matter of fact with two facilities going it could be worse. The Alliance says that even with the new arena alone it would be impossible gridlock using those streets to redirect hospital traffic and Warriors basketball traffic and maneuvering traffic in general during peak hours.

Arena opponents simply put said it won’t work in a cramped neighborhood with that type of layout: “essentially what the city and the Warriors are trying to do is jam an elephant into a VW. It’s neither comfortable for the elephant nor advantageous for the V.W.” said Sam Singer who is a spokesman for one of the four law firms hired in order to stop the new arena by Mission Bay Alliance.

The City is proposing investing $40 million in transit including four new T line street cars. It is important to note that on San Francisco Giants game days the T line runs only one car as opposed to the N Judah which now runs two cars together on game day and the single car T line feels like that elephant in a VW when riding during Giant game days.

The City also is proposing a crossover track that would allow light rail to pass each other the cost for development for the rail crossover would run into $6.6 million a year to operate. The city is also planning to use traffic enforcement officers from the Municipal Transit Authority to run traffic beside the 21 control officers. Will the cross over idea work? Will using huge amounts of traffic control officers work for Warriors games and Hospital traffic? “There is no way to place an 18,000 seat arena that is going to have an event every other day day across the street from a major hospital and not have it significantly impact the ability of patients to reach that hospital as well as physicians and nurses to get to work” said Singer.

With four legal firms gearing up to fight the Warriors new arena plan and using an experienced CEQA attorney whose practice is environmental law Susan Brandt-Hawley. Hawley successfully fought, argued and worked for the opposition of the 8 Washington Street ballot initiative a proposition that opposed the waterfront condominium in the city’s 2013 election. Later the Warriors wanted to build their new arena at Piers 30-32 but realized that opponents and the waterfront neighborhood was prepared to put an initiative on the ballot and polls showed voters would vote down a Warriors Pier 30-32 arena. Hence the move to Mission Bay and the purchase of the land owned by Salesforce.

As confident this time as the Warriors are about constructing the new arena at Mission Bay, Mission Bay Alliance has now become more than just a wild card but an adversarial opponent of the project prepared with four law firms with CEQA experienced lawyers, traffic engineers who can demonstrate how traffic will be backed up for hours trying to get into an arena event and even some missing the beginning of the event because of parking and being out in traffic.

Tony the Tiger Hayes is a talk show host for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The Cleveland Cavaliers entering Sunday’s game are still absorbing the tough blow of losing Kyrie Irving for the rest of the series, they have LeBron James but when you get to this part of the season and your in the NBA Finals it’s tough to do it with just one guy. LeBron is one of the rare players in the history of the NBA to pull out a victory in the NBA Finals all by himself.

It’s near impossible to do that four more times in a best of seven series to ask LeBron to do all the scoring, provide all of the defense and offense. The thing about Irving is he’s an All-Star. The Cavs have Kevin Love but he’s been out for several games and it depends on what the offense is doing and when he’s in there with LeBron that’s a much more dynamic offense.

Irving is a point guard he has a great handle and he has tremendous ball control and it takes someone to get the ball to LeBron with a better position to do a little bit better. Irving is not a pure point guard he’s kind of a hybrid between than your typical point Nevertheless your talking about one of he premier players in the NBA Irving is almost 23 years old.

Irving’s tremendous three point shooter he’s probably the best three point shooter so losing him definitely hurts them and in that category. He’s a threat to drive, he’s quick playmaker and he’s a very exciting player. In watching the first game of the series you saw when Kyrie was in there Cleveland became a much more difficult offensive team.

The Warriors had a struggle with that on the other hand for the most part the Cavs had to force feed the ball to LeBron and he scored on isolation plays. The Warriors defense was able to survive even with Irving in there. Nevertheless without Irving that’s difficult and the Cavs right now have a very thin bench. When you take away one of their main scoring threats it becomes incredibly difficult for that offense.

LeBron can drop 40 all he wants (he dropped 44 on Thursday night) if he doesn’t have anyone else helping him it’s going to be really tough in Cleveland and it’s unfortunate for the Cavs that they lost a player as talented as Irving especially at this stage of the season. Cleveland has had more than it’s share of bad luck over the years and in every sport and frankly without having Kyrie around its a huge blow.

David Zizmor does commentary each week on the NBA Finals for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the podcast below