Tuesday Wrap-Up

Atlanta 82 at Magic 88: Series Tied 1-1

Well it may not have been the offensive help he was hoping for,  but at least Superman got some defensive help from the rest of the Magic. Dwight himself put up another disgusting stat line, getting 33 points and 19 rebounds off of 9-12 shooting. If that doesn’t look like enough shots, you are right. Dwight hit 15 of 19 free throws as well. You read that right. As for that defensive help I was talking about, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, shooters extraordinaire, combined for 42 points, but it took them 32 shots to do it.

New York 93 at Boston 96: Bos Leads Series 2-0

Billups was in a suit, and Stoudemire was absent the entire second half with back spasms. Sounds like an easy night for Mean Green right? Wrong. Carmelo Anthony made the Celtics work for their win, posting his own monster stat line of 42 points and 17 rebounds, setting a new career high for rebounds in the postseason. The problem was that Rajon Rondo decided to abuse poor Toney “The Toaster” Douglas for an efficient 30 himself, along with seven assists, and found several easy paths to the lane. Worth watching the injuries on this one.

Portland 89 at Dallas 102: Dal Leads Series 2-0

In my game of the night, Portland forgot to bring a shotgun.

Mavs Go Up 2-0: Peja Hungers, Kidd Makes Shuffleboard Date

                                                      Peja's NBA Photo.

                                                      Kidd. Beasting.

             I started taking notes during my viewing of this game, and in the interest of going less stat-heavy with my posts (and hopefully more entertainment heavy), I will be sharing some of those with you, my faithful readers. Or reader.

            For the first quarter, Portland actually looked good as a team. They played very active defense, forcing a couple of turnovers from Dallas, and just generally being pesky, deflecting passes out of bounds and getting the Mavs out of rhythm. Offense ran smoothly, getting several nice points on plays where they would throw the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge in the post, with his back to the basket, and then everyone clears out, leaving LA one-on-one. I sincerely hope that you don’t need me to tell you how this ended.  After being a non-factor, Gerald “Crash” Wallace looked much more ready for this game, and came out strong, crashing around (pun so intended) drawing fouls and such, even hitting a three.

            I noted that with around three minutes to play, the Mavs seemed to wake up. The ball moved around. Shots started to fall. Defense seemed to tighten. Peja Stojakovic, thought to be dead for many years, came on to my TV screen. Then he hit a 3. I wrote “Zombie Peja?” in my notebook. Put a pen in there. We’ll come back to that.

            The second quarter started with the game 24-22 Blazers. The Blazers got there offense at this point off of Nicolas Batum, who looked great, driving, shooting jumpers, catching full court passes and dishing to Aldridge for an ally. Somewhere in-between this, Peja hits another shot. I begin to wonder if I’m hallucinating.

            Then the momentum shifts. With 5:20 left in the quarter, Tyson Chandler steals the ball, and finds JET Terry on the break for a dunk to tie the game. The telecasters make an annoying number of “flaps down jokes.” About a minute and twenty seconds later, Jason Kidd, whom the Blazers have been having nightmares about since game one, shoots some kind of weird underhanded shot as he’s being fouled, and in some kind of strange test of my mental state, the ball goes in. Kidd tries his very hardest to look like he meant to do that, and fails miserably. Then the Cromagnon Man (Dirk, kids, try to keep up) gets an and-one. Portland refuses to let this stop them, and we get a wonderful Miller-LA ally, and get to see Aldridge murder in the post some more before half-time. Blazers manage to retain the lead.

            And much to my chagrin, they do not show more pictures of Chuck with his shirt off during the break, so Kenny doesn’t get to make a “flaps down” joke about his physique.

            The second half begins, and Blazers’ fans, I’m sorry, but Jason Kidd tires of your team’s insubordination. The Mavs take the lead by scoring on six straight possessions, the first four of which go Kidd 3, Kidd 2, Kidd lay-up, Kidd 2. The Mavs take the lead, and never look back. Jason Terry scores on the most impossibly high tear drop that you will ever see. I get to write “More Zombie?” in my notebook as Peja scores on two straight possessions. The Blazers continue to use a great post game to keep them in it, but they end the quarter on a turnover, and those with widescreen TV’s probably saw the mop guys clearing away the last of Portland’s confidence off the court.

            If the fourth quarter was a play, sadness would be the main character, and the Trailblazers would receive rave reviews in their portrayal of him. People just watch as Frodo Barea charges through the lane unharmed. Peja hits a three. I write “MORE ZOMBIE?!?” in my notebook. Portland gets silly fouls at critical moments. Dirk heats up. I write in DDD- Dirk Doin’ Dirk. Peja hits ANOTHER 3. I write “Peja ate my brain.”

            And it was obvious that he had eaten Portland’s as well.

            Key Moment:

            With 9:43 to go in the 4^th, and the score 78-73 Mavs, Andre Miller inbounds to Marcus Camby in the corner in front of the Mavs bench. Camby knocks down a huge 3 to pull within 2. Dallas misses their next shot. With the opportunity to tie, Andre Miller decides it is a prime time to elbow JJ Barea in the face. This could have given Portland the momentum to make a late run and possibly win, but its okay Andre. Anytime life gives you a chance to elbow JJ Barea in the face, you gotta do it.

            What it Means for Portland:

            It means they need to brainwash Nic Batum into never trying to guard Dirk. Dirk killed him all night. Behind 0-2, the series will now head back to Portland and a very tough arena for visiting teams to play. While Dallas did have a very strong road record, with the crowd behind them, maybe the Blazers can find the mental strength to play four solid quarters and win three straight. If that happens, watch out.

            What it Means for Dallas:

            They get to walk into the series with 2-0 with the beliefs that A) Kidd ain’t dead yet, and B) some collection of their deep-as-Cuban’s-pockets bench players will help Dirk get the job done. I remember picking against the team, and while they could still lose in theory, I also remember writing that I was probably stupid for doing it. Got to love bet-hedging. 

Thanks to blogtown.portlandmercury.com and DocFunk's Hilarious Tumblr for the pics.

Monday Wrap-Up

Philadelphia 73 at Miami 94

As one NFL coach legendarily ranted, “they are who we thought they were.” While Dwayne Wade had to wear goggles to ward off migraines, Lebron and Chris both had his back, and like was predicted to start the series, Miami looked like they had very little trouble blowing an extremely overmatched Philadelphia squad off the court. With Miami posting one of the best road records in the NBA this year, its possible that my pick of Miami in 5 might be giving Philly too much credit.

Indiana 90 at Chicago 96

While Chicago did pull out the win again, and the supporting cast did look better, I still feel like there is blood in the water.

Bulls Beat Pacers To Go Up 2-0: Chicago Needs to Turnover A New Leaf

            The Chicago Bulls won a hard fought game by only six points tonight, and while they did pull out the win to take a 2-0 lead in the series, in the process they have revealed that maybe they aren’t the postseason juggernaut most of us thought they were. Conversely, the Indiana Pacers showed the world that though might have the worst record of any team in this years playoffs, they are perhaps only a year or two of growth, or one or two offseason moves from having a contender of their own out in the corn fields.

            22 year-old expected MVP Derrick Rose finished with the Bryant-esque stat line of 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals. He was as awesome to watch as he was last game, aggressively driving the lane and making the circus layups he has become known for. His new found tool, the jump-shot, was absent for the first half and his misses (along with a couple early turnovers from Carlos Boozer) are a large reason that Bulls were playing from behind until halftime. But as the jumper started falling in the third, and the Bulls started moving the ball better and getting open looks, Chicago was able to tip the scales just barely in their favor to win the game in the second half.

            D-Rose was not without help like he was last game, however. Carlos Boozer actually decided that stupid fouls were stupid. This revelation meant that he actually got to stay on the court tonight, logging a staggering 42 minutes rather than his pathetic Game 1 showing of only 26 minutes. The increased time translated into increased production (ain’t it funny how that works?), and The Booze finished with a nice little double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds. Third option Luol Deng chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds of his own, Noah contributed 10 rebounds despite limited time dues his own foul woes, and Kyle Korver threw another signature dagger.

            So why was this game so close? The Bulls turned over the ball 22 times. I’ll let that sink in. That’s amazing. I’m not even mad. To give credit where credit is due, the Pacers did steal the ball 13 times, and showed flashed of a brilliant defense in the works. Other times though, the Bulls left you scratching their heads. Carlos Boozer called for the ball then quit looking for it, looking puzzled as it sailed past him. Kurt Thomas passed the ball to the nice gentleman at the scorer’s table.

            But although the Bulls played a haphazard game, the Pacers couldn’t take advantage to score a W. Some of this was due to some bad luck. It should be noted that starting point guard Darren Collison left the game about 2 minutes before the half with a sprained ankle, and towards the end of the telecast, the team was listing him as day to day. His replacement AJ Price performed admirably in his absence, scoring 13 points while going 2-4 from downtown, but he also turned the ball over 5 times. If Collison is unable to go for the remainder of the series, Price will have to keep a handle on the ball to give his team a chance.

            The Pacers effort was excellent, scoring their points on crisp ball movement (22 assists on 32 made FG’s) in a valiant effort to thwart the league’s best defense. While Price and Danny Granger (19 pts) were the only two people to score in double digits, everyone else on the team save for Brandon Rush scored 5 or more, and this is one of the only ways to frustrate the Bull’s D, which relies on strong help defense. The one area where Indiana was lacking, however, was on the glass, getting out rebounding 24-37 and allowing an unacceptable 20 offensive rebounds.

            This series has now gone 2-2 on producing awesome games, and with the series going to Indiana for Game 3, it will be interesting to see if the Pacers can finally find a way to close the deal on the East’s best regular season team. With precisely no one figuring Frank Vogel’s crew had the slightest chance to even win one game, you have to wonder if they will be able to solve the Bull’s riddle with an electric Indiana crowd behind them at Conseco Fieldhouse.

            Key Moment:

            After Kyle Korver hit his second dagger three in as many playoff games with roughly 1:05 to go, Indiana came back down the court looking to answer. Roy Hibbert ended up being called on an offensive foul that was, well, questionable. I didn’t think anything Hibbert did warranted a foul, and neither did the telecasting team. Now the difference between good teams and great teams is that great teams don’t get in positions for refs to decide games, but this call, combined with Korver’s shot, took the remaining air out the Pacer’s sails.

            What it Means for the Bulls:

            The Bulls should feel worse than any team ever to win two straight playoff games. First Rose gets little help when winning Game 1 nearly on his own, and tonight, contributes 6 turnovers to his team’s ridiculous total of 22. Now the Bulls can probably still sneak by the Pacers in five or six games, tops, but rest assured, if you give Miami or Boston 22 turnovers or allow them to load up on Rose, they can and will beat you.

            What it Means for the Pacers:

            It has got to feel awful to give away two completely winnable games when everyone had written you off before the series started. Any chance of Indiana making a go of this relies very heavily on them looking at this as “we just nearly beat the best team in the conference twice” as opposed to “no matter what we do Rose will murder us in the fourth, and now we are down 2-0.” Whatever happens, people should be scared of this team next season.

Lebron's Decision, and the Decisions of Others

            Its just business.

            This is a sentiment echoed endlessly all over the NBA and NFL every year as players are traded, cut, and leave in free agency. And it is business, to be sure. The only way to win is to build the best roster of players that you can. The only way to keep winning is to trade and negotiate players with skill to keep your team relevant as long as possible, and to squeeze as much production as you can out of your million dollar payroll. The life of a general manager in professional sports is one of endless analysis, endless pushing to get better and stay better, and cold, calculating decisions. If you let emotion dictate how you run your team, you can rest assured; you won’t be running it very long.

            But to say it is just business is a bit of a half-truth. Anyone who has ever had to change jobs and leave town or been transferred to another branch can tell you, far more than your professional life is affected. Everything, where you eat, where you sleep, whom you hang out with changes. It is almost always difficult.

            Earlier this season, right before the trade deadline, Boston GM Danny Ainge worked out a deal with Oklahoma’s Sam Presti that sent life-long Celtic Kendrick Perkins in a southern direction. The business thinking behind this was mostly solid. The Celtic’s cap space was tapped. Perk’s contract was running out, and the team was scared they would lose him in free agency for nothing. This way, it wasn’t a total loss.

            The reality was something quite different. If you catch the episode of “The Association” where the trade goes down, I recommend you have a box of Kleenex ready. I almost needed some, and I’m not even a Celtics fan.

            Perkins had played his entire career in Boston at this point. He had won one title, been to two Finals. His home, his life, was in Boston. The Celtics, point guard Rajon Rondo in particular, were some of his best friends in the world. Kendrick said himself he looked at them like brothers, not teammates. Doc Rivers said that his and Perk’s relationship was much closer to that of father-son than coach-player. You could tell by Rondo’s play after the trade that something was definitely bothering him. On the show mentioned above, you see Perkins, a giant man known for scowling people out of the paint, cry over the news.

            In the sense of fairness, I should point out that Ken was not exactly traded to some crazy basketball version of Siberian jail, or worse, the Timberwolves. The Oklahoma City Thunder is a team on the rise. If I were a betting man, I would put a paycheck on them representing the Western Conference in the Finals in the next three years. Maybe even this year. But if you think that Perkins would rather be in Oklahoma and not Massachusetts, you are just plain wrong.

            Rewind a few months.

            A little known player by the name of Lebron James had just announced he would be taking his talents to South Beach during a one-hour special on ESPN. By the reaction, you’d have thought that he had announced that he obtained his otherworldly skills by making a deal with the devil, and that they were only sustainable by eating a puppy every full moon.

            Now I’ll be honest. The way he handled breaking the news…well lets just say that could have been handled better. He failed to inform the Cavaliers that he was leaving until hours before he went on camera. The Decision itself was the first show of its kind, and I would highly doubt it will be imitated anytime soon. The entire thing, giant charity donation or no, came across as overly dramatic, ego-fueled, and honestly just plain tacky.

            It’s the hatred he received, and still receives, that leaves me scratching my head. I can sort of understand Cleveland’s ire, what with James being the homegrown hero, the Chosen One destined to lead the city to its first professional sports title since far before I was born.

            But from the rest of the world? I mean, come on, the guy took a contract well below his market value to become part of a core of players that could legitimately have a shot at winning multiple titles. Every player in the NBA says that winning is their main concern, but when contract time comes around, nearly all of them sing a different tune. You can trot out the whole collusion angle, but after reports of Chris Paul toasting to joining Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire in New York to form their own Big Three surfaced, and no one called him a rule-breaking ring-chaser.

            What it comes down to is this: Lebron exercised his free agent rights to put himself in the best position he could to win a title. After several years of playing in Cleveland, the best number two scoring options they could deliver were Larry Hughes and Mo Williams. Maybe Shaq should also be in there. These people as the second option do not a contender make. Many of the front office maneuvers were questionable to say the least. So he left.

            I submit to you a hypothetical situation. Maybe Lebron has a couple of season ending injuries during his time in Cleveland. Maybe he doesn’t become the best basketball player in the league. Maybe the Cavs miss the playoffs two years in a row despite him playing his heart out. Do you really think then-GM Danny Ferry doesn’t consider trading Lebron at any point to put his team in a better position, especially if he thinks that The King will leave when his contract expires?

            Kendrick Perkins knows the answer to that question.

            At the end of the day, I don’t believe Lebron James is not some basketball villain. I don’t believe he is an underhanded cheater who is ruining the integrity of the game.  I believe he is a good guy who made a decision to switch jobs, so he could try to get more fulfillment out of his career. Maybe you believe differently, and that is completely fine. You can hate Lebron for The Decision as much as you want.

            But it is foolish, not to mention hypocritical, to hate him for making his own decision.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Memphis 101 at San Antonio 98

Oh, the drama. The Grizz took full advantage of the Spurs lack of Manu, and looked great in doing it. Knowing the Spurs have a lack of size outside of Timmy D, they gave the ball to their two man wrecking crew of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, who bullied their way to a combined 49 points and 20 rebounds. The Spurs balanced attack and great defense by the backcourt kept them in this one, and Tony Parker’s attacking the rim starting earlier could have resulted in a win. But a late three from Shane Battier was the dagger.

New Orleans 109 at Los Angeles 100

Chris Paul put up an eye popping 33 points, 14 assists,  7 rebounds, and 4 steals on his way to slicing and dicing the Lakers’ defense, and reminding everyone that he is still the league’s top point guard. Kobe Bryant got his, netting 34 points on 50% shooting, and being the main focus of L.A.’s second half rally. To win game 2, the Lakers will definitely need to get more production out of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who only netted 8 pts and 6 rebs, and were outplayed by Carl Landry and Aaron Gray. Emeka Okafor was in foul trouble for basically all game.

Denver 103 at Oklahoma City 107

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for over 70 points, and they looked great. However, they were pretty much the only ones on the team that did. With only Eric Maynor (12) as the only other member of the Thunder scoring in double figures, OKC will have to balance their attack out a little more in order to hang with a fast, scrappy, scary Denver team that with no clear stars, just lets everyone kick at you a little bit. As predicted, this game was a blast to watch.

New York 85 at Boston 87

This game, however, was not so fun to watch, other than the thrilling conclusion.  Check out more details here.

Boston over New York 87-85: Heinously Ugly Basketball

            It was by no means pretty, but the Boston Celtics pulled it out today with an 87-85 victory over the New York Knicks in the Garden. Mean Green needed every bit of their veteran experience to get out of this one with the W, with the Knicks taking control early with a twelve point lead and playing some uncharacteristically tough defense in their losing effort.

            Everyone has been waiting to see how these new-look Knicks would do in the playoffs, and the with one game as an indicator, it seems like they are definitely  good enough to be a little scary. Amare Stoudemire  was a revelation, finishing as the games high-point man with 28 efficient points ( while on route to a double-double, also contributing 11 rebounds and two blocks. Trade deadline imports Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups did not fare nearly as well scoring only 25 points combined and shooting a ghastly 8-29.

            The Celtics trailed, and seemed content to do so, for the majority of the game. People stood around watching Rondo dribble for twenty seconds, and Rondo being Rondo, the Knicks were more than willing to give him the space to shoot.  He finished with 10 points, on 5-14, but as is also the case with Rondo, his real contribution came with his 9 rebounds and 9 assists.

            Kevin Garnett finished with a 15-13 double-double, and he and Paul Pierce (18 pts) both looked like some extra time at shoot-around would have worked wonders. I especially noticed KG missing a number of wide open jumpers that are normally one of his specialties in this offense.

            However, the last of Boston’s Big 3 and the NBA’s reigning three-point leader had an excellent game, netting himself 24 points and 6 rebounds. And though Allen did win the game for the Celtics with his excellent shooting from beyond the arc, nailing the game winning three-pointer for approximately the three millionth time in his career, what impressed me more than anything was his driving to the rim. Ray Allen converted 3 of 5 attempts at the basket, getting an and-one foul attempt on his way to doing so. Without Ray Allen, the Celtics lose this game by at least ten.

            Another huge part of the Celtic rally was…wait for it…. Jermaine O’Neal. Yes, you read that right. Jermaine O’Neal. As in Zombie Jermaine O’Neal. He totally ate the brains of the Knicks tonight,  and it’s a good thing too. With Shaquille O’Neal sidelined with a foot injury, and Glen Davis chipping in only 2 points and shooting 1-8 on the night, the Celtics frontcourt was sorely lacking. Jermaine’s better-than-advertised defense (4 blocks) and super-efficient scoring (6-6 for 12 points) along with his three offensive rebounds (4 total) were instrumental in keeping the Celtics in this game. With help from Ray Allen, Jermaine O’Neal woke a snoozing Boston offense back up in the third and got them playing something resembling  quality basketball again.

            With Game 2 looming, it will definitely be interesting to see what veteran coaches Doc Rivers and Mike D’antoni draw up to try to win this game. This game definitely taught us that if you don’t come ready to play, these new-look Knicks can put you on the ropes. Mean Green better be ready the next time they take the court at the garden.

            Key Moment:

            With about 7:45 left to play in third, Jermaine O’Neal gets a block on the defensive end, then nets a pretty two points on an assisted jumper in the paint. After this, everyone wearing a green jersey seems a little more alert and focused, and the off-ball movement and airtight tight defense this team is known for starts to show its face again. Basketball being a sport heavily based on momentum, inspired play by Jermaine during this stretch got the C’s locked in and ready to win again.

            What it Means for Boston:

            Boston got away with one tonight, and they know it. I would expect to see them come out swinging in Game 2, and try to put it away early. If there was any thought in the C’s mind that they could play any less than 100% and still beat this Knicks team handily, they definitely know better now. Many people, including myself, are giving the Celtics zero chance to make a title run this year, and with the loss of Perkins, they are going to have to play as hard as they can every night to prove us wrong.

            What it Means for New York:

            New York did not play well offensively at all tonight, other than Stoudemire, and still was one Ray Allen dagger away from stealing their first playoff game in a hostile environment. How did they do that? Defense. I know, I know, its just one game, and its not like the Celt’s offense was some well-oiled machine, but still. If Melo takes fewer bad shots, and Chauncey hits his open looks, and the Knicks play defense, then they can compete with any team in the league. A lot of ifs there, but make no mistake, if this team play up to its potential, they are very dangerous.