Miami 97, Minnesota 84

As all of us talk about players Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and even Kevin Durant, we all forget about a guy that is winning by himself, Dwyane Wade.

Wade follows his 43 point performance with a 39 point one to lead the Heat against the Timberwolves. This is the eighth straight victory for Miami, which just like the weather, are red hot. Honestly, there was a point about 3 weeks ago where I didn’t think they were going to make the playoffs, but Wade would not let his team go quietly in the night. He has more than accepted to carry the monkey on his… eff that, a huge mammoth gorilla on his back to bring his team to not only the playoffs but a fifth seed. With Boston slacking and Atlanta surging, the Heat have a legitimate shot to get to the second round.

Now as we get into MVP talk and all of the Buzz is surrounding LeBron James, and deservedly so, there is no questioning that, but with Flash playing like he has in the past month, should Wade be in the forefront to win this award?

Absolutely, and here is my point encasing the situation, LeBron would NOT be able to carry this team to the record they have now. And to put the point even further, Wade would undoubtedly win a championship with the Cavs team.

I rest my case.

Milwaukee 107, Phoenix 98

You can look at this game in two perspectives for the Bucks: a big win against a West powerhouse, or a huge and crippling loss of their big man, Andrew Bogut.

The Bucks continue their winning ways behind Brandon Jennings’ (my ROY) 23 points and a balanced scoring attack from the rest of the team. The Bucks had 7 players in double figures. However, it wasn’t all hokey dorey for the deers, Andrew Bogut dislocates his elbow in the middle of the second quarter on a nasty fall. Now, if you watch the replay, it looks like Amare Stoudemire gave him a light push in the back to force Bogut out of control. I believe it was more of the momentum from the pass and dunk. Regardless, it was frightening to watch and my prayers go out to him and Bucks fans.

His season is over, and so are the Bucks. They are going to get swept in the first round. Bogut is both the anchor of the defense and offense. Scott Skiles runs everything through him and around him. Skiles can make adjustments, but the team is not the same without him. He is too vital and it’s terrible that this had to happen. Everyone was getting on the bandwagon and it was fun to be apart of. Everybody on staff was cheering for their success, and Basher, this is a similar to team to the Thunder. A team surrounded by excellent draft picks and adding key pieces to the puzzle.

Oklahoma City 121, Dallas 116

Well, it’s official, the Thunder are in the playoffs, and I predicted it from the beginning. And, when I say from the beginning, I mean when they were still the Sonics. Basher and I had a conversation when both Kevin Durant and Jeff Green were drafted and I quote myself, “ They will be in the playoffs in three or four years.” Basher agreed with me, he would have been dumb to do otherwise, but it is set. The Thunder are in the playoffs.

They had to go through a Western powerhouse in the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk the Jirk was himself dropping 30 points and leading a ferocious comeback in the 4th quarter to almost overtake a victory from the visiting Thunder. The Mavs were down 9 heading in the final quarter and needed a spark. The 2007 MVP responded brilliantly. Dallas came within four until Eric Maynor hit a dagger three with 28 ticks left to seal the playoff fate for the Zombie-Sonics.

I am filled with jubilation and excitement about this team heading into the playoffs. They are going to make some noise and surprise a lot of people. Hell, most of the NBAtoday.net staff said they wouldn’t win more than 35 games (ahem, Shooter and G). Now, they are here and you can’t sleep on them anymore. People, they have the same record as the Boston Celtics. No, that is not a typo.

Let’s put this into perspective.

Let the Kevin Durant era commence.

This is The Ref signaling I’m out until next time and remember: We miss calls, you miss lay ups.