Do you like the referee's two minute review?

During this year's playoffs, the NBA referee committee has publicly reviewed the last two minutes of each game to see whether or not missed calls were made. After doing that, they have publicly announced which were deemed as "missed calls or not". While it does seem as an attempt to show fans that they are trying to correct their mistakes, some people have mixed reactions towards it. Some feel that it's not very smart of the NBA because these announced mistakes do not change the outcome of the day. Some however, feel that it is important for them to admit to their mistakes. How do you feel about it?

Live by the three....die by the three? How the Golden State Warriors single-handedly changing basketball.

This past saturday, Golden State defeated the Houston Rockets by 35 points in a series that has the Warriors shooting their way to the NBA Finals.  This year, the Golden State Warriors finished 67-15, including  a 39-2  record at home. What separates the Warriors from the rest of their teams is their talent, depth, and philosophy. Let's take a closer look at the main attribute just named: philosophy.

Growing up playing basketball, every player has heard the phrase "you live by the three, you die by the three" at some particular point in their careers. For the most part, this phrase has stood true.  When someone's way of contributing to a team is mainly by shooting three's,  it's widely considered as both a blessing and a curse. If a player shoots and makes a lot of threes, they are very valuable because they score they possess the ability to score alot of points in fewer possessions. Who wouldn't want to score the most possible points every time you shoot the basketball!? However, if a player shoots a lot of threes and misses  majority of their attempts, they become defective to their teams. Each missed three becomes a missed chance to possibly score at least 2 points instead of 0. These missed attempts can add up throughout the duration of a game.

 

Stephen Curry 

 Golden State's style of play is based off pushing the ball up the floor quickly, and getting an open three point shot. Majority of these "open shots" are threes. Typically, teams only go so far depending on that because when players have games in which they don't play well, those threes turn into a bunch of 0 point possessions. Well, Golden State is defying that rule.  Even on off nights, they manage to knock down just enough threes to win a game. Golden State (led by the Splash Brothers , Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson)  are so good at making threes that a bad game for them can equate to an average game for most teams.


Opponents  have a hard time defending the Warriors because they differ from most teams. Usually, players that tend to drive to the basket can get roughed up and fouled hard by an opponent when attacking. This tactic used by opponents can cause players to re-consider driving to the basket. Can't really do that all the way out by the three point line. Another tactic would be to double team the star player. The problem with that is that Golden State has so many  others that can shoot the three and put up points that they would easily score points off of that tactic. So what can you really do?

As of now, no team has been able to really stop Golden State. Until the perfect counterattack is created to stop this kind of style, it's hard to imagine anyone stopping it.

Sports & Technology: ANC Sports

In each and every major professional arena/stadium across the country, what is one thing that you see? Think about it for a minute, and you just may come up with:  huge LCD screen. Well, this gigantic screen is also known as a  signage. In the sports world, there is one major company that is responsible for the majority of these screens, and they are called: ANC Sports.

ANC Sports is a company that installs  signage solutions for "teams, leagues, and venues". In addition to providing installation, ANC provides service and operation, as well as creating the content for organizations.   Using their own patented software, ANC Sports signage can be seen in over 200 sports complexes. These signages are present in the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL.  There are two main types of signages that ANC uses that cater to particular sports: the courtside signage and the field level signage.

Courtside Signage & Field-Level Signage
The "courtside signage" is in over 66% of the NBA.  These organizations have three options in which they can choose from: LED, DLP, and Rotational. Here is a chart that displays some of the major features that come with the three:

LED	DLP	Rotational
Real-time Stats	Customizable Padding	Ability to move all modules
Unlimited Crowd Prompts	Seamless Connection from table to table	Holds 18-20 advertisements
New Sponsor Inventory	50-inch display to 16:9 ratio	1 second rotation speed per banner
Portable Modules	Full HD Resolution	Custom built scores table
Waterproof/durable Modules	Electronic Image Alignment	Programmable schedules for automatic operation
	Automatic Color and Brightness Balancing	Low Production Cost

The Field Level Signages are using LED and Rotational , which is especially good for baseball and soccer. These are two sports in which rotation is heavily needed in order for the players and audience to all have the ability to see information simultaneously.

ANC Sports is the leader in the sports and technology industry when pertaining to display screens. Making an estimated 60 million dollars per year, (via Sports Business Journal) , ANC Sports is truly a company that impacts the technological world of sports.

NBA Saturday Preview:

First Game) Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
Game 3 will be very important , but in this case, more important for the Wizards. Finding out that John Wall has 6 fractures in his hand is a huge blow to the Wizards. Wall was averaging over 12 assist per game in the 2015 playoffs.  Having the series tied at 1-1, it will be imparative that the Wizards come out with a win today. If they fail to do so, they will face the potential of going down 3-1 with a loss in Game 4. The goal for the Wizards should be to extend the series as long as they can in order to give Wall time to potentially come back. If he is unable to, their best strategy would be to  win their home games and steal at least one more game in Atlanta.


Second Game) Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis took care of business against the Warriors in Game 2, winning in Oracle Arena. This win came with the return of Mike Conley , which will help during the rest of the series. If the Grizzlies want to have a good chance of winning the series, they too must focus on winning at home. The Warriors haven't lost many games at home, so don't expect the Warriors to lose two times in a row at home.

NBA Playoffs Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls

Game 3: Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls 

This will obviously be an important game for both the Cavaliers and the Bulls, but winning this game will be more important for the Bulls for a number of reasons.

Joakim Noah

1) They have home court advantage for the next two games.
The Bulls put themselves in a good position by winning at least one game in Cleveland. They will be hosting these next two games, which gives any team a boost. This season, the Bulls went  27-14 at home. Home court is a huge factor, especially in the playoffs.

2) If they lose, they will have to win another game in Cleveland in order to win the series.
As of right now, the series is even at 1-1. If Cleveland wins either game 3 or 4, the series will be 2-2. Since this is a best-of-7 series, Cleveland would have 2 of the last 3 games at home (if necessary).

3) Cleveland win gain even more momentum if they defeat the Bulls two days in a row. 
In game 2, the Cavaliers jumped on the Bulls early and never looked back, winning by a solid 15 points. If they win Game 3, the Bulls will be in danger of losing momentum in the series. After beating a team three times in a row, confidence only gets higher. This could be lethal for the Bulls.

Prediction:
If the game stays super close in the 4th, look for the Cavaliers to get Game 3.

NBA Predictions: Most Improved Player

This year, there have been a number of players that have improved their game significantly: Draymond Green, Hassan Whiteside, and Klay Thompson.  With that being said, no one has made a bigger improvement than the Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler.

Butler jumped from averaging 13ppg to 20ppg in a span of just one year. He was already a good slasher and a great defender, but he has now learned to create shots for himself using his improved dribbling skills. Butler practically carried the team through the first half of the season. If Derrick Rose can stay healthy, you have to wonder if the Bulls can make a serious run in the playoffs.

Step Up Players: Boris Diaw

As we really get into the series, a number of positive things have happened to the Spurs. For one, Ginobli has played much better than he did last season in the NBA Finals. Second, their bench is playing very well overall. The Spurs bench has outscored the Heat's bench by close to 20 points in the last 2 contest.  In order for the Spurs to win the series, one player that will have to step up more is Boris Diaw. Here are a few reasons why:

TONY PARKER

While Tony Parker shredded the Heat last year, the Heat made an adjustment in order to attempt to slow him down this year. Throughout the series, the person that has been guarding Parker is LeBron James. This matchup causes Tony Parker to work harder for his points because LeBron is a 6'9 giant that  has the agility and length to keep up with Parker. When LeBron is not in the game, either Dwayne Wade or Norris Cole is covering him.  While Parker cannot be stopped, this has caused him to not be as effective. The Spurs must make an adjustment to keep him active and involved throughout the whole game. 

TALL TASK

While Parker finds a way to score most points, someone must pick up the slack. The Spurs cannot expect So far in this series, Boris Diaw has had to deal with alot in his allotted time. He has had to cover LeBron, then turn around and try to make plays for the Spurs on offense. With that being said, there are times in the game in which the Spurs have scoring droughts.  When you take a look at the Spurs bench, beside Ginobli, there's no CONSISTENT scorer. Yes , there are many scorers off the bench, but they are not consistent. When you take a closer look at the lost post bench players, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner are not going to score alot of points (unless Bonner takes many open 3's). During the periods of the game that Duncan isn't playing, the Spurs need Diaw to produce some points. 

STEP UP TIME

While Diaw has made an imprint on the first two games with his rebounding, defense, and assist, the Spurs need him to score. Boris Diaw, it's your time to step up!

Lineol Messi/Kevin Durant

When thinking about how Lionel Messi and Kevin Durant compare, they have a number of things in common: both know how to score, both are young, and have been in the spotlight for quite some time now. Both of these superstars have made a name for themselves by doing something simple: scoring points.

GETTING BUCKETS
Both Messi and Durant are two of a kind in their own league.

 At 21 , Kevin Durant became the youngest scoring champion in NBA history. To this day (at age 25) Durant already has won 4 scoring titles (2010, 2011, 2012,2014), including this year's award in which he averaged a career high 32 points per game. The scary thing about all this is that since Durant is still young, he has not hit his prime years as of yet. With Kevin Durant's style of play , you have to think he if stays relatively healthy that he will last at least until he is 34(Ray Allen is a prime example.) Durant is 3 titles away from tying Wilt Chamberlin, and 6 away from tying title record holder Michael Jordan. As a scorer, Kevin Durant has the entire package. With a wingspan of 7'4 , he has no problem shooting over anyone. Kevin's ability to dribble the ball so well at his height allows him to move around people that are slower or larger than him. If anyone is smaller than him, forget it. He will simply shoot over them each and every time they defend him.

Lionel Messi is one of the smoothest forwards that I have ever seen. This man is lethal when the ball is at his feet. At age 26, he has already broke Barcelona's record on his 371st goal. Messi has the Guiness record for the most goals in one year: 91. Yeah, 91! Messi also has the record for most consecutive games to score at 1 goal: 21 games. Messi tied the record for most goals in a World Cup 4.  Messi is also the first footballer ever to score consecutively against all teams in a professional league. All of the accolades aren't even club records: they're world records. If you don't know Messi  by now, you will never know him. Here's a short video displaying some of his games and goals:

EARLY STARDOM
When Lionel was at the tender age of 10, he was diagnosed as having a growth hormone deficiency. As aid, Lionel would have to pay approximately $900 each month in medical bills alone! Never the less, it never stopped him from playing the game he loved. After being sited by a Barcelona coach, Messi was offered a chance to play on the little league version of the team as long as he moves to Spain. Working his way up through the Barcelona system, Messi's first game with the professional team came at age 17. Messi entered the La Liga as the youngest player ever to play in the league.  At this stage in his career, we see why.

Kevin has always been a highly touted basketball player. In his childhood days, Kevin played  AAU (Athletic Amateur League) ball with Ty Lawson and Michael Beasley. Prior to his senior season, Kevin committed to the University of Texas. Once there , Kevin tore it up. Averaging 25 points per game and 11 rebounds, it's no wonder why he won player of the year. While many were saying that Greg Oden was the better number 1 pick, I always thought that Kevin was more proven and showed more promise within his one year at Texas. Noone knows how good Oden would have been if it weren't for his injuries , but Kevin was well worth the 2nd pick.

As we see here, Kevin Durant and Lionel Messi have alot in common.. These two players are like none other. They will both go down as one of , if not the greatest scorers in sports history.

Should psychie be added in sports video games?

Watching this year's playoffs, I came to a realization that as good as video games are, they do not show player's emotion. There are players in the past that did perform (Ron Artest, Dennis Rodman) alot off of emotion. Tempers can flare, people can be happy, and simply feel down and not play well. While emotion is something that can't be simulated to perfection in any way, video games may want to add some type of performance rate on just a few players.

The perfect and relevant example in this year's playoffs is Indiana Pacers Center Roy Hibbert. When focused, Roy Hibbert is a double-double machine. When not mentally in the game, Hibbert can finish a game with 2 points and 1 rebound.



While writing this, I thought about one simply question: "How would this be implemented into a game?" This would have to be answered by using programming. Let's say after playing in three quarters, Roy Hibbert only has 1 rebound. With programming, an if/else statement can be made that requires Hibbert to have a certain amount of points and 1 rebound by the 4th quarter. If he doesn't meet that requirement by then, his shooting and rebounding skills should dramatically decrease. While the fourth quarter is the most important quarter in a game, if Hibbert is not producing by then, don't look for him to do much more.

This addition for a game wouldn't have to be in every aspect of a video game. For example, if you are playing with your friends or playing in franchise/dynasty mode, this doesn't have to take place since the gamer is manually controlling the player. However, if you are playing in career/myPlayer mode then I believe that this will increase the game.

Wanna discuss this article? Tweet me @SportsWatcherss and let me know what you think.