- I’ve noticed coaches and players are looking at the instant replay on the arena big screen after controversial calls. Sadly, the broadcasters haven’t picked up on this and viewers have to wonder exactly what the crowd is upset about.
- Boris Diaw missed a bunch of layups tonight. Why the heck doesn’t he dunk it when he gets that close to the rim?
- Jason Terry is probably a ball-hog who has reluctantly embraced the game of a true point guard. He took numerous bad shots tonight including some that resulted in Phoenix fast breaks, exactly what Avery Johnson tells him not to do, I’m sure.
- Dirk Nowitzki sure can shoot that fadeaway jumper when he’s got single coverage, but I’d like to see his shooting percentage when he’s double-teamed. I don’t think he hits it nearly as much then.
- I think the reason that I enjoy watching Steve Nash play so much is the total joy that he brings to the game. Twice during the game tonight he rushed off the bench to greet the players coming off the court in a timeout – big smile on his face, high fives and words of encouragement. I love watching people who so clearly revel in their work.
- James Jones has completely disappeared from the offense, but has continued to impact the game through rebounding and defense. He even passed up on a wide open three pointer tonight, even though that is supposedly his specialty. Still, he has a long body and has been very effective on the Dallas guards.
- Avery Johnson gave up on the game with 6:40 left in the game and down by 20? Did he not realize he was playing the Suns who can give up 20 in 4 minutes?
- Kurt Thomas is back! Woo hoo!
Playoff Notes
- When the clock is running down and you need a basket, which veteran do you go to? Devin Harris and Boris Diaw! Simply awesome because it’s an indicator that everyone on both teams is ready to take the big shot, even the guys who’ve only been in the league two or three years.
- Best picture of the game: Leandro Barbosa giving Diaw a kiss on the cheek during the timeout after the winning shot.
- Suns up by 1 point with 2/10 of a second left in the game and Tim Thomas steps to the line for two free throws. Obviously, he should miss the second free throw so the clock runs out on the rebound. But how do you get a good miss (i.e. one that hits the rim)? Practice missing the first so you can miss the second correctly.
- Early on Boris Diaw successfully drove the lane several times, only to pass out to a three point shooter when he had his own wide-open shot from 2 feet away. D’Antoni must have said something to him because later he took the ball to the rack strong.
- Dallas was unusually cold from the field especially Dirk and Keith Van Horn. It was surprising seeing Van Horn miss so many threes after making so many against the Spurs the other night.
- I used to loathe Jerry Stackhouse because he was a dirty and selfish player. Evidently, he is now only a dirty player. I saw him pass up at least two open shots tonight that two years ago he would have put up without hesitation. And it was the right thing to do.
- Even though I dislike him, I really respect his game. He is the epitomy of everything you want from the first guy off the bench: instant and reliable offense without giving up anything defensively. How surprising was it to see him missing down the stretch?
- I don’t know which media outlet proclaimed that “it’s time to boo Steve Nash” but it showed a total lack of class. Michael Jordan never got booed going back to Chicago. Thankfully the Dallas fans didn’t really go for it.
- Nash had 16, 27 and 5 while Nowitzki had 2, 25 and 19. Does it matter which categories when the numbers are that big?
Playoff Notes
- The NBA definitely has to do something about the bullshit flagrant foul calls. More often than not, it appears that whether a foul is flagrant is determined solely by how much of a spill the fouled player takes.
- The Heat definitely benefitted from the extra time off, especially Shaq who was extremely energetic in the minutes he played.
- Alonzo Mourning saw limited minutes in the two previous games, but he played extensively and productively tonight. He looks like he’s close to 100% back from the calf injury in March.
- I think I heard the Detroit announcer say “Deee-troit Basketbaaaaallll” about a hundred times during the Cavs series, but I only noticed it two or three times tonight.
- The Pistons likely have the best starting five in the NBA right now. So how fair is it that they can bring Antonio McDyess off the bench? I guess about as fair as being able to bring Mourning off the bench.
- And now Lindsay Hunter can shoot threes? What the hell? Why not three years ago when he was a Laker?
- Antoine Walker started off hot from the three point line but it proved to be a negative to his game. Instead of using it as a way to get some dribble penetration later on, he settled on throwing up more ugly threes – all misses.
- How weird was it that Riley went to the Hack-a-Shaq defense late in the fourth quarter? I remember when Mike Dunleavy did the same thing as the coach of the Blazers back in 2000. His team was ahead and totally in control of the flow of the game. The parade to the free throw line only served to disrupt that flow. Eventually, the Blazers went on to lose that series in seven games. I blame Dunleavy for going to the Hack-a-Shaq.
- I was disappointed to see Udonis Haslem shoot so poorly. He’s one of those role players that turns a good team into a great team.
- The Detroit starting five all shot less than 50% from the field. Except Ben Wallace who was 3 for 3 and a non-factor on offense.
- I don’t know if “under-rated” is the right word, but Tayshaun Prince is probably the best player in the NBA who isn’t considered to be elite. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who can consistently guard him and his defense is amazing.
- Here’s the box score. Miami shot 56% and outrebounded Detroit by 10. Detroit shot 38% but it seemed much worse during the fourth quarter.
- No Detroit fan attacked a player tonight, but the series isn’t over tonight.
Playoff Notes
- Has there ever been a crowd more schizophrenic than in Miami? They booed their team throughout Game 1 and head for the exits early, but then when the Heat cut the lead to 10 with four minutes to play, they erupted. It was awe-inspiring. But booing your team in Game 1 of a playoff series? Not cool in my book.
- The TNT team didn’t mention anything about it, but it’s pretty significant that Riley went to Doleac when Shaq drew his fourth foul. One can only assume that Mourning wasn’t able to go.
- If the Nets can’t get Richard Jefferson back in the series, they are done. He and Carter provide such a great one-two scoring punch that it’s really difficult to guard both.
- Antoine Walker sucked per his usual. I booed him along with the crowd. For God’s sake, stop shooting threes, you fool, and rebound the ball!
- Walker can really turn on the jets at times, but he looks funny when he does it. His legs start pumping way faster than it seems he’s moving. I hope we get to see more of that.
- Gary Payton also needs to stop shooting the three. What is he, like 25% career from downtown?
- If I was Pat Riley, I’d give strict instructions to let Lamond Murray shoot whenever and however he likes. NBA basketball is all about picking your poison, and Murray is usually the least poisonous on the floor.
- Evidently Jason Collins is a bleeder.
- I love watching Carter shoot the three. He hits a few but you know he’s going to go on a missing streak at any time.
- There is no way that the Nets will score 38 points in a quarter against the Heat again in this series.
- Watching Steve Nash take it past three or four guys to get the hoop has got to be one of the most sublime basketball plays to watch because you now he’s not the quickest guy out there. He does it with basketball smarts, misdirection and change-of-pace. Better than a dunk, I think.
- You could say that the Suns were incredibly lucky to land Tim Thomas after the Bulls kicked him out of Chicago. You could also say that they were incredibly lucky that he has chosen to over-achieve since he arrived, rather than under-achieve as he has for his entire career prior. You could say that, but weren’t the Suns due for a little luck after seeing Stoudemire and then Kurt Thomas go down with season-ending injuries?
- Thomas is having the same kind of career breakout post-season that Brian Williams had for the Bulls during one of their championship runs. The Bulls couldn’t afford to bring him back the next year and afterwards he never approached the greatness he showed during that post-season. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing is true of Tim Thomas after this post-season.
- Chris Kaman has to be among the top ten ugliest players in the NBA.
- Speaking of ugly, Shawn Marion has the hands-down ugliest jump shot in the NBA.
- You gotta feel sorry for Shawn Marion. After getting eaten alive by Lamar Odom in the first round, it only gets worse as he attempts to guard Elton Brand. Should the Suns make it to the conference finals, who is waiting? Most likely Tim Duncan. Ouch.
Something else happened in L.A.
Did Kobe Bryant purposefully tank Game 7 against the Suns to make a point? That’s what Charles Barkley said during Inside The NBA after the game. It’s not a hard argument to make, either. He only took three shots (two were three point attempts) and scored one point on a technical foul free throw. In the waning days of Shaquille O’Neal‘s final season with the Lakers, some of Kobe’s teammates alleged the very same thing. Usually the rap against Kobe is that he takes too many shots so is it really fair to criticize him for taking too few?
Certainly, his “supporting cast” was definitely not up to the challenge. Although Lamar Odom dominated Shawn Marion for most of the series, on Saturday Odom blew layups, fumbled away the ball and was essentially a non-factor in the game. Smush Parker continued his poor showing and Kwame Brown disappeared as most had expected. So it’s their fault, right? Not Kobe’s?
No, it’s entirely Kobe’s fault. Instead of drawing the double-team on post-ups and passing his teammates, he just passed to his teammates, evidently expecting them to make something happen on their own. He could have attacked the basket and created opportunities for his teammates, but he chose to remain passive for the entire second half. His passivity continued into the after-game press conference as he subtely hinted that he had done his best by playing “team basketball” and that his teammates were simply not up to snuff. Essentially, he acted like a 6-year-old who says, “Oh if that’s the way you want it, that’s exactly what I will do.” He obeys the parent’s decree to the letter but not to the spirit.
This is the same argument that Michael Jordan used to give back in the day before he was universally acknowledged as the greatest of all time. When asked why he didn’t make his teammates better like Magic Johnson, Michael said that Magic played with James Worthy, Kareem and Byron Scott. All Michael had was Horace Grant, John Paxson and Scottie Pippen. I’m waiting for the day when Kobe says, “But Michael had greats like Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen on his team.”
Kobe and the Lakers got the two best players that the Miami Heat had when they traded away Shaq. That’s a fact. The Lakers traded away Caron Butler (who, BTW, had 20 rebounds in Washington’s loss to the Cavaliers on Friday) because Kobe couldn’t find a way to play with him. Now I wouldn’t be surprised to see Odom traded away if Kobe demands it this summer. Michael and Magic were great because they really did make their teammates better players. They did so by learning what was already great about them and using it. Kobe hasn’t learned to do that yet and, at this point, I’d be willing to bet that he never will.
Here’s a selection of what other bloggers are saying:
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And here’s a few relevant news stories:
Update: Out of curiousity and because I still had the game on my Tivo, I watched the second half of Game 7 again tonight, this time focusing only on Kobe. During the third quarter he never touched the ball inside the three point line. He was involved in some pick-and-roll plays out there, but he either hoisted a three pointer (twice – see above), or he passed it back to the screener. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, he posted up about four times, but only one of those resulted in him taking it to the hoop, when it appeared he intentionally threw it off the backboard and fouled Raja Bell trying to get to the rebound. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, Kobe again became passive and spent the rest of the game outside of the three point stripe.
Another factor which I didn’t really notice the first time I watched was Raja Bell. Bell totally worked over Kobe in the second half – torching him for at least twelve points and playing excellent defense on him. Perhaps Bell got into his head, partially explaining the inexplicable.
Update II: Skip Bayless says Kobe is a “spoiled brat” and TJ Simers theorizes that something was said at halftime that pissed Kobe off. I concur with both.
Something Happening in Los Angeles
Are the Lakers coming together at precisely the right time of year? That’s what happened when Kobe won his first championship in Phil Jackson’s first year as Laker coach. Something has definitely changed with the Lakers in the last two games. Witness:
- Kobe didn’t score 40, 30 or even 20. 17 points on only 18 shots. Probably a third of those shots came in the final period which the Lakers have designated “Kobe time.”
- The Lakers are suddenly playing physical against the smaller Suns, effectively neutralizing their quickness advantage. Also, the Lakers instigated both major altercations during Game 3, but Phoenix ended up with 3 technical fouls and L.A. only 1.
- Phil Jackson has shown his playoff genius again with the small adjustments. For example, in Game 3 Laker players were obviously catching the ball after Laker made baskets and gently dropping the ball to the floor to keep the bounce low. So what? If the Suns can’t pick up the ball easily, they can’t run the fastbreak on made baskets.
- During Game 2, it also became evident that the Lakers had been practicing jamming Nash’s passing lanes on dribble penetration. The passes that used to make him look like a genius now make him look like a chump.
- Kwame Brown, previously known as Jordan’s Bane, has become a player. 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 5-8 from the field. Sure it’s easy to get numbers like that against Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion, but he’s doing it. Did he ever perform like that for Washington?
- Even better than Brown’s improvement has been Lamar Odom’s. Odom was “the man” on Miami’s playoff team 2 years ago but he has virtually disappeared since donning a Laker uniform. Why? Mix a new system in with having to play with Mr. 35-Per-Game and I think you can figure it out. Now, there’s a good chance that Odom can play Scottie Pippen to Kobe’s Michael Jordan.
- Another talent that Phil Jackson brings to the table is his unerring ability to get the most out of his role players. Brian Cook had 9 points and 7 rebounds (6 offensive) in 11 minutes. 11 minutes. He was a factor in the game during every second that he played.
- More importantly, he seems to have finally convinced Kobe Bryant (just like he did 16 years ago with MJ) that no player can win without his teammates. If it’s true, the Lakers could go much further than beating the beat-up Suns.
On the other hand, it’s hard to find any good news for the Suns:
- Tim Thomas went down hard after a knee-on-knee collision with Marion during Game 3. Sucks to be a Suns big man—Amare Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant and now Tim Thomas. It’s like a curse.
- Why aren’t the Suns running pick-and-roll more? Tim Thomas and Shawn Marion both seem like excellent candidates for that strategy with Nash or Diaw.
- They seem to be relying too much on Nash’s penetration, which has often resulted in a blocked shot or turnover.
- While Nash has continued to dish out the assists at his regular pace, his scoring is way down. Not only have they taken away most of his points of penetration, they have managed to reduce his 3-point production, too.
- Leandro Barbosa, James Jones and Eddie House have virtually disappeared in the last 2 games. The Suns can’t win without them.
- Boris Diaw has been amazing this year but has nearly sucked in this series. He has to use his quickness to find a way to make the Laker big men pay.
Wizards at Cavaliers
- What happened to Lebron James tonight was pretty unbelievable. Not only was he missing jump shots left and right, he was missing layups and even dunks. After showing that he was the real deal in Game 1 with a triple double, he turned in a 28% shooting night, had 2 assists, 10 turnovers and made some really bad decisions down the stretch. Of course, he’ll probably have a monster game in Game 3.
- Neither on of these teams is good enough to go very far in the playoffs. There were turnovers and bad plays throughout the game. The winner of the series gets to play Detroit who will undoubtedly take apart either of these teams.
- I can’t think of a basketball commentator that I dislike more than Jeff Van Gundy. He doesn’t provide any meaningful insight and tonight he was horribly biased for the Wizards. Unfortunately, he was teamed with Doc Rivers, who shares many of his coaching philosophies. When they both started talking about how much the fans loved to see a good hard foul, I just wanted them to stop. I’d really rather see basketball played. Coaches don’t really understand at all what fans want and they should just STFU on the subject.
Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Thoughts I had during the game:
- Dwayne Wade is the fastest half-court player in the NBA. Some players have great fast break speed, but Wade has great baseline and in-the-paint speed. He takes tremendously long strides when he wants to blow by someone and seems to just tilt from one side to the other as he weaves his way to the basket. I really love his game.
- During the Laker’s first championship run, the thing that really surprised me about Shaq was what great, soft hands he has. He gathers in nearly every rebound or pass that is near him and it’s nearly impossible to dislodge the ball once he has two hands on it.
- I used to really dislike Alonzo Mourning, both as a Hornet and later when Riley traded to get him on the Heat. He always seemed to whine about foul calls more than anybody else. I also never accepted him as a true center – he’s not even a 7-footer. However, since his return to the Heat, the guy has been the definion of a sports “warrior.” He does what he’s asked to do and never complains about his minutes. He even waived off the postgame interview after his fourth quarter heroics.
- I can’t think of a better center tandem to have on a team than Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O’Neal. Even at this late stage of their careers, both are able to put in a great 15-25 minutes per game. I expect that if they stay together that they will be able to buoy each other’s careers tremendously over the years.
- Speaking of great tandems, Jason Williams and Gary Payton both seem to have adjusted to the Heat game. I didn’t see either of them shooting shots that were out of the flow of the offense. You definitely could not say that earlier in the season.
- I’m especially happy that Payton has worked out. I was really disappointed in his showing for the Lakers two years ago, but perhaps I was expecting too much from the old guy. He’s definitely playing fewer minutes now and is a long way from being the star he was in Seattle. I’m continually surprised at how few players that were great when they were young are able to mold themselves into great role players late in their careers. Ron Harper is an excellent example of that. Magic Johnson is not.
- I hear Antoine Walker is also getting better as the season progresses, but I have seen no evidence of that yet. He still shoots more three pointers than he should, he still mishandles rebounds and he still blows layups. He needs to sacrifice a little of his alleged finesse game and add a little power. At least Riley hasn’t replaced Haslon with Walker. That would be a travesty.
- I really doubted that the Heat would be able to mesh given all the changes that they made during the off-season, but it really seems like they are getting there. Posey was very sharp and even Shandon Anderson made a contribution in the game.
- When I first saw Wade playing in the playoffs 3 years ago, he reminded me very much of Michael Jordan – mostly because he’s a high flyer and clearly imposes his will on the game. Since then I’ve seen a certain grittiness that even MJ never displayed. He may soon replace Allen Iverson as the toughest player in the league. If he can add a credible three point shot to his game, he could be better than Mike.
- Check that – he would also need a good low-post game, too. No two or three has ever had the game that Michael had on the block. In fact, does anybody that’s not a center or a four have a low-post game these days?
Update: Shaq was not happy about sitting on the bench in the 4th quarter
Superbowl
I’ll admit up front that I was rooting for the Steelers to win, so it should come as no surprise that I didn’t really think bad officiating helped the Steelers win Superbowl XL. However, here’s my take on the various controversies:
- The call for offensive pass interference was probably good but should have been reviewed. I think many people who are outraged are not regularly viewing football fans. It does not take much of a push to gain an unfair advantage in that situation. The fact that the offensive player was caught with his arm fully extended led to the call.
- The Roethlisberger touchdown call was correct. I watched the replay on my Tivo several times last night. What is deceptive is that when he makes the dive, he is holding the football high – up near his shoulder – but when he ends up on the ground, the football is near his waist. If you watch the replay carefully, you can see the two white stripes of the football, still held near his shoulder, when his head breaks the plane of the end zone. It’s clear to see that the tip of the football breaks the plane, also.
- Many are claiming that these two calls were a 14-point swing for the Steelers. That’s deceptive at best. The offensive pass interference call resulted in the Seahawks having to settle for a field goal, so that’s only 4 points. The controversial touchdown call occurred on 3rd down. If it had not been ruled a touchdown, the Steelers would have either gone for it with an inch to go, or more likely kicked a field goal. Again, only 4 points. The so-called 14-point swing was really only an 8-point swing.
- The Stones got bleeped during halftime and I missed it. I gave started fast-forwarding 1 minute into “Start Me Up” and only stopped occasionally to see if they sucked any less. They did not.
- Was nobody at the network paying attention to the setlist? Doesn’t everybody know that “Start Me Up” ends with “You make a dead man cum”?
- Finally, I feel sorry for Jerome Bettis. He was capable of a much better game, but the running game was just not there. They even gave him two chances to score a touchdown from the 3 yard line prior to Roethlisberger’s controversial dive. Hate to see him go out with a wimper.
NBA Writers vs. NBA Fans
Jack McCallum writes in his column for Sports Illustrated that NBA fans make questionable choices when choosing the starters for the NBA’s All-Star Game. This has long been an argument from sportswriters, the so-called “experts” of the game. I think the first so-called controversy over fan-balloting that I remember was when A.C. Green was chosen over Karl Malone to start for the West in 1990. Malone was outraged and so were the writers. Even though Green was a valuable role player for the Lakers in their trip to the NBA Finals the previous, he was certainly no Karl Malone. “Nobody could argue that,” I thought at the time.
Four years later the fans voted BJ Armstrong to start for the East team in the 1994 All-Star Game and the same rumblings rolled around the NBA. But this time I took notice and offense. This time they were insulting my favorite player. Why didn’t they think BJ deserved to be in the All-Star Game? There are two answers to that question: Mookie Blaylock and Mark Price.
Price played for the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time and was arguably their best player. He was a pass-first point guard who was also an excellent three point shooter. During the Bulls’ domination of the NBA in the early 90s, the Cavaliers were the Bulls’ under-rated rival in the East. While the Pistons-Bulls and Knicks-Bulls rivalries got all the headlines, the Bulls battled the Cavs in nearly every one of their playoff runs.
Blaylock was the gutsy point guard for the Atlanta Hawks who inspired Pearl Jam to name their first album after his jersey number. I remember seeing him play in an important game where he was 0-13 from three point range. With his team down by 2, he drained a three pointer as time ran out on the game. That’s gutsy.
Armstrong, of course, was the starting point guard for the World Champion Chicago Bulls. He took over the starting duties from John Paxon in the 1992-1993 season and excelled. That year, he led the league in three point shooting percentage and helped his team to win a third championship. In the process, he successfully defended some of the best point guards in the NBA including the Suns’ Kevin Johnson in the NBA Finals. Along the way he also faced a couple of point guards named Blaylock and Price, whose teams were both swept by the Bulls. Although Armstrong was certainly not the star of the team, he was instrumental when they came back from a double-digit second half deficit against the Knicks in the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Down two games to none, Armstrong’s rally catapulted the Bulls to three more wins and into the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Suns four games to two.
The season after the Bulls’ third championship was their first without Michael Jordan. Despite all the dire predictions, the remaining Bulls all played better than they ever had. They turned in a 50 win season and only lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals on a questionable foul call. Nearly every player’s statistics improved because of the vacuum left by Jordan and BJ Armstrong was no exception. Sure his accomplishments were dwarfed by Scottie Pippen’s, who led his team in nearly every major statistical category that year, but he still looked well on his way to becoming one of the top three contributors on the team.
Still, Blaylock and Price both had superior 1993-1994 statistics to Armstrong. Why would anyone vote to see BJ start instead of the other two? Because he had more television exposure. The fans had seen him play about 20 playoff games the year before and the Bulls were playing network games nearly every weekend. Unlike the writers, who get to see all of the players play in person for free, the poor fan might go to one or two games a year but watches all the TV games he can. Fans also vote for players they like to watch play. Fans do not, by and large, vote for statistics.
So, quite simply and reasonably enough, the fans voted for BJ Armstrong because they liked to watch him play and they wanted to see him play in the All-Star Game. They liked watching him play more than any other Eastern Conference point guard they had seen play that year. And that’s what the writers and the so-called “experts” don’t understand. They live in a different world than the fan and they can’t understand the fan perspective.
So even though Jack McCallum makes a good argument, it’s only valid if you are lucky enough to see all the players play. McCallum reveals alot when he writes, “The criterion is simple: Who, in the 2005-06 season, has played the best.” That’s not the criterion at all. That’s the criterion for the reserves, which are voted in by the coaches. The fan criterion for starters is even simpler than what McCallum suggests: Who do we want to see play in the 2005-06 All-Star Game?
And, even though McCallum and his ilk don’t like it, we want to see Yao Ming play. We don’t want to see any of the Pistons play because they’re just not that exciting to watch individually. We want Dwyane Wade, not Chauncey Billups. We want Shaq, not Chris Bosh (who?). See the pattern? It’s about the excitement and the glamour. There’s nothing at stake here besides rewarding the fans for being fans. That’s something that Jack McCallum will probably never understand.
In fact, if McCallum were “in charge” of the 1992 All-Star Game, Magic Johnson’s fabulous All-Star farewell would have never happened. That was the year that Magic announced that he had HIV and retired from the NBA, but the fans voted him in anyway. The result? One of the most memorable All-Star Games of all-time.