Break Even Point - NBA Playoffs - Round 1

The big question in this playoffs
is: Can the Lakers 3-peat?

"Where Amazing Happens." The slogan of the NBA for the last few seasons has become a somewhat sports-culture tagline. This past season we've seen the league go through several climatic events that have shaped this year's playoff scenario.

"Where Big-3s Happen" - with the formations of Big 3s in Miami and New York to go along with Boston, Los Angeles and San Antonio. "Where Last-Run-At-A-Title-Because-We're-Old Happens" - with the aging Spurs, Celtics and Mavs having a small window of opportunity to contend for a title because their go-to guys are nearing the end of their playing career. "Where Pending-Lockouts Happen" - with the expiration of the CBA and no resolution in sight. "Where Nothing Happens" - because of the lockout and the lost of the 2011-12 season and playoffs.

With the future of the NBA in limbo, more NBA fans are dedicating more time to watching this year's playoffs. With the pool of talent as good as its ever been, it's become very difficult to predict who will come out of the east and west.

The team at the Break Even Point will dissect each series and give our predictions on who will be contending for the Larry O'Brien trophy this spring.

Check it out here! As always, feel free to comment and share!

Break Even Point - NHL Playoffs - Round 1

The best 3 months of the NHL calendar is upon us. The team at the Break Even Point break down all the round 1 match-ups and give an early prediction on who makes it to the finals.

There are many story lines that will make the first round worth watching.

Can Vancouver finally beat the Blackhawks?

Will retribution be at the forefront in the Bruins/Canadiens series?

Will the defensive-minded Capitals finally make a long playoff run?

Check out the NHL Playoffs - Round 1 podcast.  There's an interesting musical intro, courtesy of ASam and YouTube.

As always, feel free to comment and share!

2010/11 Edmonton Oilers - Season Review

Oilers GM Steve Tambellini wins the NHL Draft
Lottery. Points to the loser,  Avalanche GM Greg Sherman

Another season has ended for the Edmonton Oilers and what were the results?

30th place finish. Good enough for dead last.

Year 1 of the "Rebuild" is complete and needless to say there were a lot of ups and downs to the season. But does the 30th place finish mean improvement or regression? 

The team at the Break Even Point break down and look back on the Oilers season and evaluate how the youth movement performed, the impact of the veteran players, what GM Steve Tambellini should do with the 1st overall pick and what we expect for next season.

Check out the Oilers Season Review podcast. 

Turn up your volume. Comment. Share.

2010/11 NHL Awards

I think the 2010/11 NHL awards are harder to predict than in years past. And it's all because of one player: Sidney Crosby. Before going down with a season-ending concussion, Crosby was on a torrid pace with 66 points in only 41 games including a 25 game point streak. If he had finish the season, they would be engraving his name onto the Rocket Richard, Art Ross and Hart trophies. What a shame. 

Hart Trophy: Corey Perry

There is no way the hockey gods would let a Sedin take league MVP in back-to-back years especially with Perry's performance down the stretch. In his final 19 games, Perry registered 30 points and locked up the Rocket Richard trophy with his first 50 goal campaign. In addition, he carried the Anaheim Ducks to a playoff spot when it seemed like a long shot. The Ducks were on the outside looking in about a month ago and now have home-ice advantage for the first round. Some may give the MVP to Daniel Sedin with his league-leading 104 points on the President's Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks. But CP10 gets me vote.

Honourable Mentions: Daniel Sedin, Tim Thomas

Norris Trophy: Nicklas Lidstrom

If there is one thing that defines the 2010/11 season it's that it was the year of the 40. Lidstrom has put together another solid season and finished second in league scoring among defencemen with 62 points. He still quarterbacked the Red Wing's powerplay with perfection, finishing with 39 pp points and making it the 5th best powerplay in the NHL. He still logged well over 20 minutes of ice time per game (23:28) and played every important situation possible in a game. And he did this all at the tender age of 40. 

Honourable Mentions: Shea Weber, Keith Yandle

Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas

Two seasons ago, Thomas has a coming-out party and dominated the competition on his way to his first Vezina Trophy at the age of 34. His follow-up season was more forgettable than memorable. He battled injuries, mediocre play and eventually lost his starting gig to Tuuka Rask. This season, at 36 years old, Thomas has regained his form, and the starting gig, to put on one of the best statistical seasons in recent memory. His 2.00 GAA and .938 SV% are tops in both categories. He finished with a 35-11-9 record along with 9 shutouts (second to Henrik Lundqvist's 11). He finished 9th with 35 wins compared to Carey Price's 38 wins. But here's the catch: Thomas appeared in only 57 games in comparison to Price's 72. Thomas gets his second Vezina. 

Honourable Mentions: Roberto Luongo, Pekka Rinne

Selke Trophy: Ryan Kesler

When your team finishes in the top spot, that usually means your team has committed to two-way hockey. If there is anything we learned from D3 The Mighty Ducks it's that defense wins championships. Kesler has been the two-way force all season for the Canucks. He finished with 74 points and a plus-24 for the season. He had a 57. 4 face-off percentage and won 859 face-offs, good enough for second behind Jonathan Toews' 937. He helped the Canucks finish with the 3rd best PK unit in the NHL this season. His effective two-way game this season would have made Coach Orion proud. 

Honourable Mentions: Jordan Staal, Manny Maholtra

Jack Adams Trohpy: Dan Bylsma

Any time you lose you two best players for a majority of the season and manage to put up a 106 point season is pretty remarkable. But when those two players are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, that's just plain good coaching. Bylsma not only salvaged what seemed to be a lost season but almost managed to coach his team to a division title and first-place seeding the Eastern Conference. 

Honourable Mentions: Alain Vigneault, Barry Trotz

Lady Byng Trophy: Martin St. Louis

The guy is essentially on the ice all the time and racks up the points like he does with Air Miles. But somehow St. Louis only managed to accumulate 12 penalty minutes all season. To put that into perspective, Steve MacIntyre got 17 minutes in penalties last Friday in 44 seconds of ice time. My pick for the Jackie Chan "Mr. Nice Guy" Award goes to Marty. 

Honourable Mentions: Teemu Selanne, Loui Eriksson

Northern Advice

As a true Oilers fan, I hate the Calgary Flames. It's like how Yankee fans hate the Red Soxs and Lakers fans hating anything to do with the Celtics. You grew knowing that they're the enemy and their pain and suffering is your joy and bliss. It's pretty straight forward.

Here is the hockey scene in southern Alberta. After a dismal start to the season, all signs pointed to an overhaul in Calgary with bodies being shipped out and entering a rebuild mode. Longtime GM Darryl Sutter was let go and rumors circulated about the possible departure of team captain, and greatest thing since Lanny MacDonald's mustache, Jarome Iginla. Then, something happened. The Flames started winning. A lot. The Flames were in the playoff picture and seemed virtually unstoppable and the plans of blowing up the team was put on the back-burner. The Flames brass decided they were "all-in" and postponed clearing salary and collecting draft picks to build a sustainable team for the future. 

Fast-forward to March, the Flames are in the playoff picture that is looking bleak. Currently in 10th place and having less games to play than the teams in front of them, the Flames' playoff chance are almost as slim as their cap space. The final nail in the coffin could be delivered tonight in the Battle of Alberta. Regardless of the outcome, the fate of the 2010-11 Flames is evident. 

The current state of the Flames' organization is well documented. Little to no wiggle-room in the salary cap. A cupboard of potential prospects that is running on empty. And past dealings have lead to little high-end picks in an already diluted draft class. The question is: What's next?

In my humble, non-I-Wish-Nothing-But-Years-Of-Suffering-For-Calgary opinion, the Flames need to look at their neighbors up north and perhaps adopt their game plan. A few years ago, the Oilers were in the same position as the Flames: maxed-out their salary cap, trying to contend for the playoffs with a inferior on-ice product, and was barely treading water in the competitive NHL. The Oilers were sinking. 

But before the Oilers drowned, they decided to hit the reset button. Oil Country is in full-throttle rebuild mode with a nucleus of young talent that brings hope for the future. House cleaning started last offseason with the departure of several veterans and the keys to the car have been handed over to the likes of Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi. Along with the on-ice personnel, the Oilers are armed with draft picks, lots of cap space, and promising prospects in hopes of returning to the "glory days." Throw in the possibility of a new arena and excitement about what the future brings is contagious. Yes, the Oilers will miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. But instead of trying to find "quick-fixes", spend money freely, and build on a flawed model, the Oilers are developing a system and culture that has a shot at success in the long run. Instead of sinking beneath the waters, the Oilers are floating. And this has given its fans one thing: optimism. This is the hockey scene in northern Alberta.

So my question to all Calgary Flames fans is this: Do you want to sink or swim?

Break Even Point - Post Trade Deadline Edition

Final moves have been made. Dead weight has been shipped out. And the race for first (or last) place is in full throttle.

The team at the Break Even Point breaks down the aftermath of the NHL and NBA Trade Deadline. Who are the winners and losers? And who do we project to be lifting hardware in June? Check out our latest podcasts!

NHL Post Trade Deadline

NBA Post Trade Deadline

Family Reunion - The Return of LeBron

Akron's most famous son returns home.

Needless to say, the LeBron James-Cleveland family reunion tonight will not be anything of the ordinary. There will not be any family portraits taken. No reminiscing of old times. And definitely no handshakes, hugs or kisses.

Nearly five months after LeBron made his decision to leave his hometown Cavaliers for the warm beaches of Miami, he will be walking down the halls of the Quicken Loans Arena for the first time as the enemy. For the first time perhaps in his career, he will face an entire crowd that will spitting venom at him for an entire 48 minutes.

Since "The Decision", the Cavaliers and the Heat franchises have gone through radical changes and repositioned themselves in the NBA landscape. Miami has struggled out of the gate and currently sits on an 11-8 record. James along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have taken longer to gel than expected and have struggled to beat teams with .500 records or better. Several preseason concerns are coming to fruition. The depth of the Heat is in serious question as, outside the Big 3, production is minimal from the bench. Significant injuries have put more pressure on the Big 3 to produce especially with the injury to Mike Miller (has yet to make his season debut) and the loss of Udonis Haslem (reportedly, done for the season). And big question marks surrounding the point guard position and the front court has been exposed by elite teams.

Off the court, the Heat has had to face their share of criticism and internal issues. With no true PG on the roster, LBJ has been forced to play point-forward and run the offense Magic Johnson-style. Reports say he prefers not to be the distributor and has clashed with coach Erik Spoelstra which climaxed with the media-constructed BumpGate. A player-only meeting was held after a dismal performance against the Dallas Mavericks in which the details of the meeting were kept internally. And campaigns for the firing of Spoelstra are in full-swing with Pat Riley coming down from the front office.

The Cavaliers, as expected, are struggling but the lack of quality teams in the East have them in playoff contention even with a 7-10 record. The Cavs have not done a complete overhaul of the team and is content on competing with the pieces they have. Veterans like Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison and Anthony Parker are taking the leadership role and help guide the young core of JJ Hickson and Daniel Gibson. The spirit of the Cavs fanbase remains high despite the latest blow to their sports-culture. Their attendance is ranked second in the league and does not need their fans to "Fan Up" to make sure they're in their seats on time.

When LeBron decided to leave back in July, he was on a pursuit for championships and believe the grass was greener in D-Wade's backyard. The Heat's struggles are well documented but it's still too early to declare the experiment a complete disaster. The final evaluation of LeBron's decision cannot be made on the premise of a handful of games or even one season. He is in for the long-haul, for now.

What is definitive is LeBron's perceived image by his hometown. He is the home-grown talent that made the Cavs relevant again. The player who brought the crowd to their feet every night. The marketing-gem who lured in big-name companies to the city and plaster his face on billboards.

But on this night, he will be perceived as the most recent blemish in Cleveland's sports history. The player who never lived up to the promise of delivering the city a championship. The man who ripped the heart out of his hometown on national TV.

When LeBron performs his pregame ritual of tossing the powder in the air, the Cleveland crowd won't be mesmerized by what his athletic greatness may bring tonight. They will see through the cloud of white powder and see an ex-relative.

This will not be a family reunion for LeBron James. It's judgement day.