Why Miami will win the title again

The Playoffs have sure lived up to expectations. Lets take a closer look at the match ups :

Semi Final Lineup

Bulls vs Heat - While the Bulls have managed to get under the skin of James & company, with the injury problems plaguing them, they just dont have the firepower. Only a matter of game 5 for Miami to close the round and move on. Would it have made a difference if Derrick Rose had played? - Well, i definitely think so. Rose could have provided some offensive support and at least made sure that the hard earned playoff semi final berth is not being squandered.

Pacers vs Knicks - The Knicks are an offense powerhouse and not that great on defense. In fact very similar to OKC.  They have always rallied on the shooting of Carmelo and it is only natural that he will have a few bad nights. Given the intensity of the playoffs, that will cost them this round. The Pacers are gritty (like Memphis) and take the game to the paint, converting high percentage shots. Of course, Paul George is high on confidence and even if he misses, he knows he has the big guys to support him. For NYK, Chandler will not be enough to counter that.

OKC vs Memphis - This series has been very entertaining, especially given two different styles of basketball at play. OKC with finesse and shooting capabilities of Durant against the defensive big guy line up of Memphis. Gasol and Randolph are just too much to handle for the Thunder team and Ibaka will not be able to contain both. Like i mentioned above, this series is very similar to the Knicks and Pacers match up. Memphis have been very impressive, converting high percentage shots and most importantly playing defense that is hard to break. Memphis will take this series by Game 6.  Is the Westbrook injury costing Thunder a lot - probably yes, but I would have still given the edge to Memphis going to game 7.

GSW vs Spurs - GSW has surprised all of us with their aggression and the hunger to play in the big league. Curry and Thompson have been just unbelievable  managing to rattle the veteran Spurs who know how to win the ring. While the series is leveled right now, I give the edge to Spurs to win the series, simply because they know how to win the playoffs. The experience of this team, backed by the best coach in the league, the Spurs will hold an edge. They need to find an answer to Curry's insane run of 3-pointers that they just cant seem to contain. This series should end by game 6, but hats off to GSW for displaying the level of basketball of the highest standard. The future for GSW, they need defense in the front court - a center/power forward who will take care of business in the paint defensively. Bogut does have the potential to do that.

Where does that leave us with the next round :

Heat vs Pacers - This will be a closely fought series. The Pacers know how to beat the Heat. The deciding factor, will be Chris Bosh. He hasn't been playing very well so far in the series. It is simple, if Bosh comes to the party, then Heat will take the series. In either case, I think it will go down to game 7 and Heat will win.

Memphis vs Spurs - This is a match up I would love to watch. The series will go down to the game 7 again, and the deciding factor will be Tim Duncan. He is old and not at his quickest best. Having said that, he has won championships and is mentally a strong candidate. Popovich will sure have his strategy mapped out. Each shot will be contested heavily and we will see a lot of perimeter shooting from Parker and Ginobili. I think the Spurs will take the series.


NBA Finals :

Spurs vs Heat - Oh what a match up. Two teams who are mentally strong and have been there before. At this point, I think the trio of James-Wade-Bosh will trump the Duncan-Parker-Ginobili lineup. It will be a hard fought series, but I expect it to close by game 6 with the Heat winning the championship.


Standard Disclaimers apply - Injuries can make a lot of difference to the predictions as they evidently have throughout this season.

Personally, I am not a fan of Miami Heat. I would like to see the Spurs win the title for Greg Popovich and the team that he has built.

Down under

Over the last year, work has been taking me to Sydney quite often and it continues to be a unique experience working with the Aussies.

As a travel enthusiast, I attempt to stay the weekends and travel around a bit. Sharing some bits that have caught my interest.

History and demographics -

It's well known that the Aussie outback acted as a prison to accommodate the rising number of UK prisoners . It has indeed come far from the convict-land identity and evolved to be a beautiful efficient country. Some interesting facts to note :

• 80% of the island is uninhabitable; the population of the country is 22 million(huh!) and 20% of the nation lives in and around Sydney. The nation is RICH in resources. 

• Interestingly, Terra Australis was not first discovered by the British. The Dutch had made their way to the west coast in early 1700's but found the land uninhabitable and left. Little did they know, had they dug deeper, they would have found a wealth of gold reserves on the western region. History may have taken a different turn. 
• The aboriginals like most pagans have very similar elements of nature worship. Can also find the "swastika" amongst the various symbols that are part of the culture. The population has far diminished now and I believe that the northern territories have a more concentrated habitation. Of course, they are they invented the boomerang! Interestingly, the boomerang is always thrown in the direction of the sun during a hunt, as a decoy to slow down the game, and not as a weapon directly. 
• The other iconic cultural item - "didgerdidoo" was actually named by the Brits simply based on the sound that the instrument made. The instrument is a creation of  nature. Termites eat into branches making them hollow, and the aboriginals tap branches on a tree to find such stretches and then chop them off. Of course they are cleaned, painted and used as a musical instrument.
• The national symbol has the kangaroo and the emu - not only because they are native to the country, but also because neither animal can move backward. An indication of a nation that will only surge ahead.
• Flora & Fauna - The forests of Australia have some fauna from the jurassic age dating back millions of years. Some of it continues to be protected to avoid exploitation.
• Tasmanian Devil - Of the unique animals found in the region, the Tasmanian devil is also known to suffer with a type of facial cancer leading to dwindling numbers. Scientists havent figured out a cure yet and continue to research.

Nicknames 

The Harbour bridge is also called "Coat Hanger" - simply because when it was built during the Great Depession era, it was meant to drive some positive economic activity but in reality the depression continued.

The Anzac bridge across the Darling Harbour is called "Madonna's Bra" (http://www.sydneyrocks.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/anzac_bridge_5.jpg)

Finally , the party culture - the Aussies love their watering holes and there are some really nice bars around the George Street area. But nothing beats the view at the Opera House bar. One just cant get enough of the place.

To close this piece, I must comment on the local way of greeting - "How ya going" !

I really dont know how this term came to be used. Maybe it was a combination of "How are you " and "Where are you  going" or "How are you goin wherever you're goin" - I dont know. Of course I'm kidding. I sure have heard Russel Peters pick on this.

Cheers!

 

Connecting with the dork..

It is all the mind. Who we are, what we are capable of and what we end up as - destiny is a function of your thoughts and personality.

Have been catching up with Sidin Vadukut's books lately. Been very impressed with his play of fiction woven into real life innuendoes. One common trait throughout the book, is the protagonist's character - always full of confidence, always worrying about simple things (Raveena Tandon's video), looking at the humorous side of situations, etc.  It may be obvious that some of it is a reflection of the author's real attitude in life.

What I draw from reading the books - take it easy in life . There will always be pressure and stress, each person has his/her own limits before blowing out, but don't forget to think about Anoushka Sharma during those times(assuming you're a guy...donno what works for girls).

Cheers!

Lil Wayne - Mirror Feat. Bruno Mars - sounds so Indian!!

"Fire away Fire away"

It's been on the loop for a very long time and I am still not over this track. Guetta has just proved to be this musician beyond the stereotypical DJ who just changes the beats for an existing song.

All his original tracks have been such massive hits, the man's got some serious music talent  bringing out some great collaborations. For example

1) When was the last time you 'actually' listened to the lyrics of a song produced by a DJ
2) When was the last time, a song produced by a DJ not called a "remix" or " abcd beat mix"
3) When was the last time, you actually looked forward to a new track from a DJ

Greek company

We have been reading millions of articles on the plight of Greece and how they brought it on themselves (including the Michael Lewis stories).

On a flight recently, I happened to sit next to a senior Greek lady, who was returning from her trip to Athens. She had gone to visit her ailing mother and does not actually live there. We got talking about how life has been disrupted due to the current crisis.  She mentioned how
1)Everyone has moved their money out of the banks and are storing cash at home
2)The crime rates (incl robberies) have risen dramatically because of the above reason, as well as, for the fact that unemployment is high
3)Certain essential medicines are not available anymore and importing them is harder, because a doctor needs to prescribe them specifically
4)Airlines are gradually closing down service to Athens, making it harder for people to travel in from overseas
5)The elections are a mess, because each party is believed to be backed by a lobby from a country with interests in Greece
6)And of course, the hatred for the Germans! - the Greeks do believe that the western european super powers have an interest in controlling Greece for the resources and have hence contributed to creating the current economic situation.

It was interesting to hear first hand, the change in life for an average Greek citizen. For an average citizen, it must be very hard to come to terms with impending hardships.

Never say Never

That's what they call the documentary covering Justin Beiber's story. Quite impressive, the kid has had a fairytale journey and he seems to be handling it well so far. It is well known that he was a youtube phenomenon and Usher helped create the star out of this kid.

How and why did this happen? Was it a good business move by the production company. I think so!

Amongst musicians you have bands and artists catering to pretty much every segment. The youth segment (both high teens and young adults),  working class segment, the family segment, middle aged and the old age segment*. If i can pin an artist or a band to each of these segments(for example), it would probably be 1)Miley Cyrus/Nicki Minaj 2) Black eyed peas/Eminem/Usher 3)Country music bands/artists 4)Beach boys 5)Classical artists,  in that respective order.

What probably was missing, was a young teen sensation. The last kid who was famous in this category was Aaron Carter (younger brother of Nick Carter - the backstreet boy) who had a few hits. I dont remember if there was anyone else after that. There was a clear market gap and it only made sense to look out for a talent that could address this and the money would just follow. Beiber literally has no competition in the segment he caters to. Great place to be in!

While Beiber is on his way to young adulthood, transforming as an artist towards newer music, I think the production companies are scouting right now to find a replacement in this category.



*Just a rough segmentation by demographics