Lakers select (Fil-Am) Jordan Clarkson with 46th pick in 2014 NBA Draft

The Wizards' lone pick in the draft turned into the Lakers' with a trade. Los Angeles took point guard Jordan Clarkson from Missouri. The Los Angeles Lakers have traded with the Washington Wizards for the 46th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and they used it to select Jordan Clarkson, a point guard out of Missouri. The Wizards reportedly sold the pick to the Lakers despite not having another pick in this draft. Clarkson should be able to help the Lakers, who are light on depth and took a forward, Julius Randle, in the lottery. Clarkson, 22, is one of the older players in the draft after three seasons in Columbia. He averaged 17.1 points and 3.4 assists per game for the Wildcats. His strengths are his athleticism and size, and he fits a type that Mitch Kupchak certainly has liked in the past. Steve Nash's future is unclear and Jordan Farmar is a free agent. Clarkson will be expected to play in the Las Vegas Summer League in July, and the Lakers faithful will hope to see a spark.



6'5" point guard Fil-am Jordan Clarkson

Isaiah Austin's NBA dreams end with Marfan syndrome diagnosis

A little info. about Marfan Syndrome.
 
Marfan syndrome (also called Marfan's syndrome) is a genetic disorder caused by the misfolding of the protein fibrillin-1. Fibrillin-1 is coded by the gene FBN1.[1][2] People with Marfan tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers. It is named after Antoine Marfan,[3] the French pediatrician who first described the condition in 1896.[4][5] The gene linked to the disease was first identified by Hal Dietz[6][7] and Francesco Ramirez in 1991.[8] From Wikipedia.

Isaiah Austin has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, ending his predraft process and the potential for an NBA career, Baylor announced on Sunday.

"This is devastating news, but Isaiah has the best support system anyone could ask for, and he knows that all of Baylor Nation is behind him,"Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "His health is the most important thing, and while it's extremely sad that he won't be able to play in the NBA, our hope is that he'll return to Baylor to complete his degree and serve as a coach in our program."

                                                            (c) Image by: RantSports

Marfan syndrome is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a connective tissue problems throughout the body. The Baylor website lists an enlarged aorta as one result of Marfan syndrome, a problem that can be life-threatening. Austin, who suffered a detached retina that left him partially blind, has played with a prosthetic right eye during the course of his basketball career. He revealed this fact during his sophomore season. Even through that adversity, Austin averaged 12.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 73 games over two years. Austin made the decision to forgo the remainder of his college career in April, five days before the early-entry deadline. Austin considered the jump to the NBA as a freshman, but was not capable of going through the predraft process because of a torn labrum. The news of this final career-ending health issue comes with fewer than five days to spare before the 2014 NBA Draft, no doubt a day Austin had looked forward to as a top high school prospect and stand out college player.

The best NBA Finals interview with Guillermo

Via: Jimmy Kimmel Live

"Before game one last week, the media converged on San Antonio to interview the Heat and Spurs players at an event called "Media Day". Our parking lot security guard Guillermo was there to ask some questions of his own."

Disclaimer: I don't own this video.
Source: Youtube

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So San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat fans be Like (y)

Trending Picture on how to steal the Championship

NBA Finals 2014 - Game 4 Score: 107 - 86

MIAMI – Didn’t see it coming. None of us did. Not like this. Not from the San Antonio Spurs or the Miami Heat. Not like this. In the span of eight quarters the Spurs took the Finals and flipped it upside down and inside out, pushing their lead to 3-1 after Thursday night’s 107-86 thrashing of the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. The best road team in the NBA this season showed themselves to be every bit of the juggernaut away from home that their record indicates they should be. All that’s left is the close out. It could come as early as Sunday night in San Antonio, provided the Spurs keep this up. Someone’s making history in this series, one way or another. But I promise, no one saw this coming. No one!

San Antonio Spurs win over Miami Heat - NBA Finals Game 3

To say that the San Antonio Spurs didn’t do anything incorrectly in the first half of the team’s Game 3 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday would be getting it wrong. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan missed a couple of shots, Manu Ginobili banked in a three-pointer that he should have swished, but beyond that this was truly a first 24 minutes for the ages. What was once a 25-point lead didn’t sustain, nothing really could against the two-time defending champs, but the Spurs still managed to hang on for what eventually became a 111-92 win over Miami. The Spurs have regained the home court advantage that it lost after a Game 2 defeat to the Heat in San Antonio. And along the way, the impressed a nationally televised crowd with what may have been the most exciting 19-point win in NBA Finals history.

The Heat are the Heat, so the champs were able to poke away at San Antonio’s initial early advantage and bring the deficit down to just seven points in the third quarter. More impressively, the Heat didn’t seem to tire themselves out terribly while mounting that comeback, as coach Erik Spoelstra masterfully worked his rotation in order to secure needed rest for starters, while tweaking the team’s offensive sets after begging anyone – anyone! – to stay in front of the Spurs on the other end. Miami can’t blame tired legs for falling short after that comeback, only a Spurs team that executed brilliantly for three quarters, keeping Miami at arm’s length. Kawhi Leonard was the obvious star, roaring out to double-digit points in the first quarter and finishing with 29 points (a season high), but he was just part of the package. A startling package. This offense, especially in that first half, was borderline unstoppable. Danny Green, out of nowhere, turned into both a transition and broken play finisher as he drove to the basket, finishing with 15 points and five steals, only taking two three-pointers (and making one). Boris Diaw, pushed into the starting lineup in place of a frustrated Tiago Splitter prior to the game, once again finished with his team’s best plus/minus raw number (+20) despite pedestrian stats (nine points, five rebounds), while Tim Duncan (14 points on seven shots) took what the defense gave him throughout. That “gave” part will no doubt worm away at Spoelstra’s stomach lining in the hours between this contest and Thursday’s Game 4, but though there were bouts of poor defense on Miami’s end in that ridiculous first half, on many of these Spurs scores there truly was precious little that the Heat defense could do. And it wasn’t as if the Heat offense – which scored 50 first half points and finished with excellent shooting numbers (51 percent from the field, 47 percent from long range) – was letting Miami down. No, it was San Antonio and its fabulous ball movement that was defining how the game would be played. Faced with that impressive Heat comeback and the Heat’s own ease at scoring throughout the first three quarters of the contest, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did his own brilliant work with the San Antonio rotations. He even went away from Parker and Duncan with the game still on the line in the fourth quarter, sitting both for a short stretch, and his placement of reserve guard Patty Mills alongside Parker in a small Spurs unit during the second half helped take away some of the small ball advantages (on either end) that the Heat enjoyed at times during their attempts to stay close. Toss in some resurgent late game work from Leonard, on either end, and a point to get to the free throw line in what could have been a too-tired fourth quarter, and the Spurs just had the edge. Miami has its lamentable issues. San Antonio clearly made Chris Bosh (just nine points on 4-4 shooting) a defensive focus, and Miami badly needs to counter that as the series moves along, and find him the ball either behind the arc or in triple-threat positions. Mario Chalmers was a non-factor once again, and what could have been another masterful scoring night from LeBron James was scuttled by his seven turnovers – though he did contribute 22 points, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds, he wasn’t a game-changer down the stretch of what could have been a series-altering comeback win. The Heat may not be proud of the outcome, but by and large they played well, and the execution that failed them will be more than obvious as it sits down to watch the game tape on Wednesday. It was their opponents that took this game. It was the Spurs that ran things. It was the Spurs that sharpened their defensive attack in the fourth quarter, and it was the Spurs that turned in one of the more stunning displays of offensive basketball in the first half. It was the Spurs that were ready to think on their feet, following a loss, and it was the Spurs that once again turned the momentum of this series on its heels. Until coach Spoelstra and the rest of his defending champs get their own chance, that is, in Game 4. This is going to be a series, regardless of the eventual victor, without a decided checkmate. These teams are too damn good for that, even in 19-point wins.

Heat vs. Spurs: Game 2 : NBA Finals 2014

LeBron James was the target of criticism after a Game 1 NBA Finals loss, but he responded like he always has: on the court. James had 35 points and 10 rebounds, leading the Miami Heat to a thrilling 98-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs at a cooled-down AT&T Center on Sunday night. Chris Bosh chipped in 18 points, including a decisive three-pointer in the final minute, as the Heat tied the series at one game apiece.