Look familiar? No, this isn’t the same pic as last post, but I did the exact same thing in game 2. It was the end of the 1st quarter so I drove to the left of the basket and hit a buzzer beater. I’m good at hitting buzzer beaters that don’t matter.

My offense was on fire in game two. I scored 40 points on 75% shooting (2-2 from distance)  with 1 rebound and 4 assists I had to score well, it turned out, for two reasons. For one, my team went cold on me. Dwight had 21 points, but Vince shot 3-8 (0-1 from deep) and Rashard Lewis shot only 4-13 (2-9 from deep). Ok, so that’s one reason. What was the other?

We had absolutely no defense. I couldn’t stop my charges, and no one else was playing much ‘D’ either. I gave up something like 30 points among the three point guards I faced (Mike Bibby, Kyle Lowery and some kid named Teague) and the assists they dealt out. We needed every point I scored.

I don’t have a particular story to go with this picture; I just like it. Anyway, we’re up 2-0 in our series.

- Rick Daniel

We just added two new questions to the site. Please take the time to answer them for me. I appreciate the input. Our previous poll showed that the Diary style of posts is the most popular so that is what we will stick with. Thank you to everyone who voted!

Also, we’ve updated the menu on the blog to link to each player’s posts, as well as – for Rick Daniel – his different seasons. I hope this, along with the removal of the bulky Categories widget makes navigation easier and more fun for all.

What’s the big deal about the playoffs anyway? We just overwhelmed the Atlanta Hawks in our post season opener, 99-77.  At one point in the 2nd, we had a 24 point lead before losing most of it to end the half up only 9. In the third, though, the Hawks threw in the towel. We built up a 30+ point lead at one point! How did we do it? Well, for one thing, I was only a small part of it. I scored 25 points with 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. I also had the only three-point miss we had, going 2-3 from deep. Vince Carter went 1-1 from distance, Matt Barnes shot 2-2 and Rashard Lewis went 3-3 from long range. It was a three-point barrage. I shot almost 80% from the field, too, hitting two buzzer beaters.

This is the one I hit to end the first. Little did I know it was a harbinger of things to come. I also came into the game with 3.2 seconds left in the third. We had possession so I darted to the three point line from half court and shot a three that rattled around but ultimately fell. There’s no way in blue blazes we can keep this up.

In other news, here are the awards from the season.

• MVP: LeBron James (CLE) – 29.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.1 apg
• Rookie of the Year: Charlie Webber (MIL) – 9 ppg, 9.95 rpg, 1.5 apg
• 6th Man of the Year: Tyreke Evens (SAC) – 11.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.5 apg
• Most Improved Player: Darrell Arthur (MEM) – 5.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
• Defensive Player of the Year: LeBron James (CLE) – 1.9 spg, 1.5 bpg
• Coach of the Year: Paul Westphal (SAC) – 53-29, Won Conference

So I didn’t win Most Improved. I didn’t think I would; I started my surge a little late in the year. Compare my stats to the winner, Darrell Arthur.

• Arthur:  5.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
• Daniel : 17.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 4.9 apg

You could make an argument for me, but that’s over. I’ll take an NBA championship over a personal award. C’mon team, that’s only one game! We’ve got more work to do.

^{(As a side note, this is our 100th NBA post. It doesn’t mean anything, but it’s interesting trivia.)}

- Rick Daniel

Quick note: Now that the 2010/11 season is over, Rick Daniel’s stat sheet has been updated. You can view it HERE. It’s also available in the menu at the top of the page, under NBA Player Cards, and then Stat Sheets.

We wrapped up the last two games on our schedule today. In our first game we walloped the Bulls by 19 points at their place. Yay! I had a good game, and so did Vince Carter. This is important; more on why later.

I scored 34 points with six assists on 65% shooting (1-3 from deep). Vince scored 30 with four boards and two assists on 71% shooting (4-6 from deep). The sad point is that this has become an anomaly.

You’re looking at two of the coldest shooters on the planet. No, not Mo Williams and Delonte West; me and Vince. We got crushed by the Cavs in our last regular season game. We only lost by 10 but that’s because they played their bench most of the 4th quarter against our starters and we chopped into their 29 point lead that they had. Once we got it down into single digits, the starters for Cleveland came back in, and that was the end of that.

LeBron did well (ed: again, as a real-life Cavs fan, this sucked for me to watch). He scored 26 points with 10 boards and six assists. Damn Cleveland.

Thanks to driving to the basket and a ton of fast-break dunks, I scored well, with 23 points, eight assists, and four steals on 41% shooting (2-3 from distance). I also only had one turnover.

I also hit a personal milestone. 500 career assists! On the other hand, Vince had one of his many recent cold shooting games. He scored 8 points on 21% shooting (3-14), including 2-7 from three-point land. We can’t afford him to be cold now! The playoffs have started!

Yes, it’s time for the playoffs. I believe we play the Hawks at home. I’ll check back in once that gets underway.

- Rick Daniel

I just had two mediocre games and one horrible one. Game one was a win against Detroit. I scored 24 points with 3 rebounds, 5 assists and three steals on 50% shooting. The next game was also OK, and came with some great pics.

We beat the Raptors at home the next day. Here I scored 27 points with 7 assists and 2 steals on 63% shooting.

Move it, Bosh, if you don’t want to be on Dunking on the Stars! Needless to say, he didn’t move fast enough. Overall it wasn’t a bad game, and I netted the Jordan Player of the Game award for my work. Here’s one more picture:

I don’t have allot to add to this pic other then that I made that layup. Yes!

I hit a massive wall against Miami. I shot under 50%, including a shocking 4-11 from deep. We needed me to score, and I shot well enough to keep us in the game but ultimately bad enough to cost us the win. I kept us in the game up to the last minute when I missed a go-ahead jumper from the free-throw line with 10 seconds to go. We fouled them to stop the clock and they only hit 1-2 from the stripe. We had a chance!

We had almost 4 seconds left so I caught the ball and ran hard to the basket. I laid it up in time but it rolled off the rim. Dammit!  I ended the game with 29 points, 4 boards, 4 dimes, 2 steals, a block and 4 turnovers. Yup, I cost us this game, big time. Cut down the turnovers and shoot a little better and we get the win against the best team in the East. Instead, we lose and show that we have a ways to go to be an elite team.

My biggest gripe is that this was the first time the announcers ever pointed me out as a “Key to the Game” at the start of the first quarter. I must have wanted to live up to that a little  too badly.

Of course, D-Wade was all but unstoppable, so that factors in, too. I guess this game and the one we played against the Cavs recently  shows that we aren’t as good as we think we are. We’ve been abusing under-achievers like Detroit, Toronto and Washington lately so that’s not exactly a real test. The amazing thing is that I’ve never seen as many tipped shots and passes as I did here. No pass or shot was uncontested on either side.

Now that’s playoff basketball. Only two games to go before the postseason!

- Rick Daniel

Warning: a prefect storm brewed up in the Washington, D.C. area tonight. Ingredient 1: a wave of frustration after my lackluster performance against the Pistons. Ingredient 2: a surge of confidence knowing we were facing the lowly Wizards. Ingredient 3: Absolutely zero fronting on behalf of the Wizards themselves. The result? I went off.

I had 17 points after the first quarter, and 25 points, eight assists after the first half. Two minutes into the third quarter, I had my elusive double-double. I wrapped up the game with 43 points, 11 assists and four steals on 75% shooting, including 3-4 from deep. I simply could not miss. Allot of my points came from the field, between mid-range and the three point line. I may never have a game like this again, so I made sure to enjoy it.

Defensively I was as solid as I’ve ever been. Gilbert Arenas scored one basket on me all game, a desperation heave of a three. He ended the game 1-12 with two turnovers.

It wasn’t a really flashy game by me, but I was so hot no one could touch me. Here’s hoping I can remain a fraction as fired up as the season wraps up! We’ve got six games left and we end the year against those dastardly Cavs. Go Magic!

- Rick Daniel

I just had a pretty off game against the Detroit. I scored 25 points (with 3 treys) and had 5 assists  but I was outplayed by Rodney Stuckey all game. We won in the end, though, thanks to a monster performance by Dwight Howard.

Of course, even in an off game I can get a poster for Dunking on the Stars. Today’s guest is Mr. Rip Hamilton! He looks so happy to be here, too.

Om another subject: I’ve done so well that I’m in the running for an award!

I think this speaks for itself. I likely won’t win, but it’s an honor to be considered.

Lastly, we’ve officially locked up a playoff  spot. Now, it’s just up to deciding the seeding.

- Rick Daniel

We played the Cavs the other day, and this picture alone should tell you how things turned out. Yup, we lost finally and I have to take my share of the blame. I had 28 points in the first three quarters, but only four in the crucial fourth. My stat line read 32-1-8, which isn’t bad but it wasn’t enough.

As usual Mo Williams was a pain in the ass. He only scored 12 points but was a chore to score on. My recently reliable jump shot seems to have gone on vacation, too. LeBron led the Cavs with 23 points (ed: as a real-life Cavs fan, this was depressing as hell to play).

I did get a couple dunks in, though. Here’s one of them. Clear the runway!

… if only we’d won… *sigh*

- Rick Daniel

This picture of Vince Carter pretty much sums up our last month of games. Everybody’s confidence is sky-high right now because the whole team is clicking at the right time. Here’s a summary my last three games.

We played Philadelphia first, and I had 27 points, four assists and four steals. I also hit 3-4 on threes. This would be my last good shooting game recently.

Against the Pacers I scored 25 points, had 9 assists (again with the near double-double!) two steals and a block. I hit another three but I shot well under 50% in the game.

The Lakers came to town yesterday and gave us a serious scare. By halftime we were down 21 points. I wanted so bad to get switched to shooting guard so I could defend Kobe Bryant, not because I really wanted to go head-to-head with Bryant, but because Vince Carter just couldn’t stop him. To my surprise, the Lakers moved Kobe to the PG slot, so they purposely matched him up on me.  I matched Kobe nearly shot for shot, and depending on your perspective, I may have gotten the better of him. He scored 29 points, had 1 board, two assists and a steal while I had 28 points, 1 board, four assists, 3 steals and a block. I also had this shot;

The latest episode of Dunking on the Stars has Kobe on my latest poster. The best news is that – despite that 21 point halftime deficit – we won the game by four. This was in due no small part to my shutdown job on the Mamba. At one point I got up to him on a fast break and swatted his shot. Yes!

The big picture has us on a 10-game win streak, bringing our record to 43-31. We’re two games behind the Nets and only a half game ahead of the Hawks for the 4th seed. That’s right – we now qualify for first-round home court advantage. We only have 8 games left so this is the time to be peaking, and we are. Go Magic!

- Rick Daniel