4/5: "Playoff Hoops" and Baseball

Greetings all... going a little short this morning, but stay tuned for a post mid-morning... and by the way, IT'S OPENING DAY!

• Miami and Oklahoma City battled last night in the NBA to rave reviews. The Heat won 98-93, but the story was the level of play throughout (consistently deemed "playoff"-level) and Lebron James playing out of his mind. 34 points, 10 boards, 7 assists, 4 steals for 'Bron and the most impressive thing was that the Heat were +20 with him on the court (next highest was +9) in 42 minutes and -12 without him in the other 6 minutes. Best player alive. Anyway, Durant and Westbrook had 30 and 28 respectively but Durant had 9 turnovers, and Westbrook shot just 9 of 26, so I think if you're OKC, you're not entirely worried by this performance as neither guy played particularly well and you were in the game (on the road) until the end.
  
• The Battle of LA also took place last night and was very, very entertaining. Andrew Bynum proved to be pretty much unguardable for the majority of this one, finishing with 36 points on 13 of 20 shooting. I absolutely can't stand Bynum, for his mannerisms more than anything, but when he has it going, there isn't a question that he's a dominant post scorer. Lost in shadow of Bynum (somehow) was Kobe's 13 of 19 for 31 points including a giant baseline dagger that pretty much ended the game late. I thought the Clips played pretty well, getting 6 guys in double-figures, but not even Chris Paul's 16 assists could overcome LA with Bynum going like that. One note for LAC, Blake Griffin had, not one, but two ridiculous dunks on Pau Gasol. Youtube that, kids.
• Baseball started again in earnest last night as the Cards spoiled the opening of Miami's new stadium with a 4-1 win. Kyle Lohse had a no-hitter through 6 innings, and really befuddled the Marlins all night (7.1 IP, 2 hits). Josh Johnson allowed 10 hits and 3 runs for Miami but did manage to escape the night healthy (we think) and that's all they wanted.
• Jared Sullinger declares for the draft. There's no issue with this as he'll likely be a lottery pick still, but can we agree that "stock"-wise, he should've left 12 months ago?
  
• The Masters is underway as we speak... don't forget this...

What to watch for..

• MLB - Braves @ Mets - SportSouth 1:05 - Hanson vs. Santana - Opening day!! Tommy Hanson gets the ball for Atlanta, and this is a battle of injury-stricken pitchers with tremendous upside. Could be in for a gem if they both have it going.
• MLB - Red Sox @ Tigers - ESPN2 1:05 - Lester vs. Verlander - I won't tell you that this game isn't better than Braves/Mets. Tremendous pitching matchup and two likely playoff teams.
• The Masters - Opening Round - ESPN 3:00 - This is when you take advantage of the streaming coverage on masters.org or the iphone app, but at any rate, TV starts at 3:00 and I can hear the piano.
• MLB - Marlins @ Reds - ESPN2 4:00 - Buerhle vs. Cueto - Yes, the Marlins played at home last night against St. Louis and they're playing a day game in Cincy today. I don't get it.
• NBA - Knicks @ Magic - TNT 7:00 - I hope Dwight Howard plays for anyone that watches this game.
• NBA - Celtics @ Bulls - TNT 9:30 - Boston's defensive metrics have them playing out of their MINDS lately on that end of the court, and that will likely continue if Rose is unable to go here.
  

Stay tuned... and enjoy...