I am still not sure how the Cavs lost game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. It is coming up on 24 hours since the game ended and I caught myself thinking that the Cavs had won and they should be even better in game 2. But then I remembered the second half of that game. At the beginning of the game Anderson Varejao scored the first 6 points of the game in the paint. Oops I typed that wrong, it was Lebron that scored those right? No, Varejao, in the paint, on defensive player of the year Dwight Howard. The Cavs' movement was so effective that when Howard was on big Z he was being drawn out by the big man's ability to shoot when open, and when they switched onto Varejao Howard was watching Lebron and would get lost. Everything was perfect, Lebron was distributing and the Cavs were kiling. No one can play with them when they play like that. Take the little run in the second quarter, Joe Smith blocks Dwight Howard, quick outlet to Lebron who took off from his front porch in Akron and dunked the ball and the Q explodes. The next trip down Lebron blocks Howard, trails the play and hits a three and gave the crowd a look that would straight up scare a man out of his pants. I thought this is the defining moment every team needs to become a champion. Ya know, the moment when the last seconds are ticking off the clock in the championship clinching game and the announcers say "you could really tell this team had a chance to win the trophy when...". That is a defining moment that every team has. If you don't believe me start researching and you'll see. Then the second half happened. The ball started sticking and everyone was watching Lebron light up on offense. Unfortunately, when any team starts standing on offense and going one-on-one there defense is really what pays the price. Lebron was scoring nearly every possession in the third quarter, but the Magic were scoring EVERY possession and hitting a lot of threes. All of a sudden the game started to tighten up and so did the Cavs (minus Lebron) and the Cavs' fans.
Could Delonte West and Mo Williams miss any better shots in the second half? Mo was missing in the first half as well, but both of them going ice cold in the biggest game of the year so far is a bad bad sign. I want to set the record straight. I don't want to hear everyone saying that the Magic just let Lebron get his 49 and shut down the rest of the Cavs. That is not a true statement. Lebron was shooting lights out and was still looking for teammates and setting them up for great shots. His teammates shut themselves down. I was convinced all season that the Magic's defense would be what gave the Cavs trouble in the playoffs. That is not it at all. The Cavs were getting shots that they normally would make and just didn't in the second half. Watch the first half on TiVo again and you'll see what I mean. All of a sudden it became a stand and watch game, and the Magic will beat you in a game like that, they shoot too well and don't give up too many offensive boards. The constant moving in the first half is what opened lanes for Lebron to pass and drive into and gave them better shots at rebounding because Howard was out of position. I can't talk about this anymore, I'm going to lose it. But I do want to say this. My new favorite three plays of the entire playoffs may have come from this game. 1) Lebron's dunk from somewhere in row 3, 2) Howard's dunk that broke the shot clock, 3) Lebron's block on Howard. All three were pretty unreal plays.
The Lakers-Nuggets series is going to get chippy once again. The Lakers have been part of a chippy series the entire playoffs. I'm beginning the think it's just them. I have always been a Kobe hater. Since he's been in the league I have never liked him. The last few games have reminded me on exactly why that is. If you have kept up on my previous blogs, I hate Duke. I despise Duke even. But Shane Battier (former Duke Blue Devil) gained all the respect I can give him considering his alma-mater this year. Kobe talked trash all game, yelled at him and the announcers about how he couldn't guard him, and Battier just kept playing and smiling at Kobe. I think we can all stop the Jordan comparisons (if we couldn't stop them about 10 years ago) with Kobe. Jordan talked trash and used the slightest things to motivate him to another level. But Jordan never had to draw attention to himself beyond playing the game. Kobe yelling at the announcers to let them know Battier can't guard him doesn't need to be done if Kobe just goes out and drops 40 on him. Instead, he yells and screams and pounds his chest because he feels that he needs to do that. Jordan would score 40 on whomever was guarding him without it appearing he said a word. He didn't have to, he made sure everyone knew he was better. Also, Kobe is a cheap player. In the Rockets series he threw indiscrete elbows or knees the entire 7 games. Now watching game 1, Kobe injures his finger and bumps into Kenyon Martin putting him to the floor. All of the other times Kobe has done something cheap he made it look like it was part of the game. This is probably just the Kobe Hater talking, but watch the replay of that play and look to see if Kobe doesn't just lay into Martin a little bit. Then think about all of the other times Kobe has thrown and elbow or landed with his knee on someone's face (Battier game 1 if you don't believe me) and tell me it isn't a little suspicous. Furthermore, Kobe is always yelling at someone. He never seems to support his teammates. The talking heads on TV always talk about how he is a great teammate because he treats them to dinner. That isn't supporting teammates. Support is slapping them on the head and letting them know they'll make the next shot instead of glaring and wishing he would get the ball to shoot. Watch Jordan on ESPN classic someday. Specifically game 6 of the 1997 Finals. Jordan tells Steve Kerr to be ready to shoot the ball when he gets double teamed. He trusts his teammates, and Kerr responds with yeah I'll be ready. His teammates trust him. Kobe doesn't have that, he never has.
Also, the Lakers are going to get more lenient technical foul calls on them because the NBA can't afford to have Kobe suspended for a game. In game 1, Melo and Kobe were battling for position and Melo got called for a foul. Melo said something that constituted a technical foul and was promptly given one. Later, Kobe takes about 3 or 4 trips up and down the floor screaming at the referees to give him a call. No technical until later when he slams the ball down and accidently loses control. If he keeps that ball in his hands it's probably not a T, and he wouldn't have gotten one all game. That has been bothering me all year and I am waiting for some legitimate sports writer out there to pick up on it and write about it.
Melo was something else in game 1. A lot of times when some player is dominant in high school and moves to college it takes him/her a long time to transition into the next level of play because the game is much too fast for them. You see it all the time with great players coming into the NBA as well. Well, the game has finally slowed back down for Carmelo Anthony. Not that he wasn't a great player before, he has finally found the motivation he needs to be an elite player in the league. He was killing Kobe down low in game 1 and I think that is going to have to be a key for the Nuggets throughout the series. Beat on Kobe on the defensive end so it slows him down on the offensive end. The Nuggets could steal a game in LA, they just need to remember what got them there. For instance, George Karl has become one of my favorite coaches in the NBA. However, why didn't he keep Chris Anderson in on the second to last possession and have him taking out the ball instead of Anthony Carter. When I was watching the game live I was yelling at the TV, then when he threw the ball away I had to walk outside to avoid throwing something through my TV. The NBA is all about match ups, and since Karl called the timeout he gets to look out and see who the Lakers have out there and when he saw the two bigs he should have known to keep Birdman out there because Carter wasn't going to beat Odom to the hoop anyway. Carter gave the Nuggets little or no advantage on offense and Birdman opens up the chance for offensive rebounding or a 50/50 ball that he will for sure beat anyone else to.
I'm excited for the rest of the playoffs though. Game 2 is going on as I write this in the Denver series, the Lakers are up 7. My picks after cheating and watching the first games are Cavs in six and Lakers in 5. The reason I'm still sure that the Cavs will win it is because they won't shoot that poorly again, and fatigue seemed to have set in a little bit toward the end. Lebron is probably one of the best conditioned athletes in the league and he was exhausted. They have their game lungs back but won't steal them both in Orlando. The Lakers just have too many favorable matchups in their series. The Nuggets have to either go small on Kobe or let Melo get tired on D and hope their seconds are better than the Lakers and I'm not convinced they are. We'll see though, I'm not the best at picking but that's why we love sports.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Mike Brown, floorseat sitter somewhere near the Cavs bench, maybe coach sometimes? What happened in game one. Why does Mike Brown leave Varejao in to guard Rashard Lewis on the last play? Let Delonte West, who is an extremely underrated defender, and leave Varejao to take a spot up three point shooter so that he won't get broken down on the dribble. The Cavs had the shot clock in their favor. If they give up a two and the game is tied, Lebron can plow into the lane and not worry about turning it over and going to overtime without Howard. Instead, down one they had to play smart and he still got West the best look ever. Furthermore, Z can't guard Howard. I'm sure this is obvious but Mike Brown didn't notice. What does he pay his assistants for? When the Magic go big, put in Joe Smith and let Z guard Battie and Smith can move quicker laterally and stop that hook shot. Finally, what did he do with the playbook in the second half? The Cavs looked unstoppable and all of a sudden they just completely stopped. I don't know what happened, I just feel I need to keep repeating that. You are the coach of the year Mr. Brown, ready whenever you are to earn that award. Ugh, still not talking about it though.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Early Round Two
According to Doc Rivers, Brian Scalabrine and Stephon Marbury were the Celtics two best players in game 1 of their series with the Magic. Stephon Marbury hasn't been the best player in a game for 2 or 3 years and Scalabrine just popped his player of the game cherry in game 1. The Celtics are the defending champs, and yet when the time comes to protect homecourt advantage in a series that is going to be based a lot on where the games are played, their two best players were Brian Scalabrine and Stephon Marbury. (Easily the two ugliest Celtics as well, Starbury with the tatoo on his head and Scalabrine...well there is more than one thing wrong with the red headed wonder) Rajon Rondo had seven turnovers and is getting the best looks on offense out of everyone in green and white. What I don't understand is that if a player gets paid to do nothing but play basketball year around, how in the world can that player not hit a wide open 18 footer. The Magic are collapsing the key and begging Rondo to keep firing up bricks so Dwight Howard can go ahead and grab 20 boards a game for the rest of the series. What Rondo did so well against the Bulls (who didn't have a shot blocker like Howard in the key) was attack the space they were giving him so he met the defender with a head of steam and could get to the basket easier. Even if Rondo charges the hoop and throws something up off the glass and Howard tries to block it, it will give Perkins and Davis a chance to rebound without having Howard standing flat footed against them.
Technically it is my fault that Ray Allen got outscored by J.J. Redick. I talked Allen up big time in my previous post, and I have been known to rag on former Duke players; especially Redick. Those two things combined let Redick outscore Allen and suddenly have his own statline put on the screen about how he has scored 27 points in the previous 2 games. The reason I am looking forward to game 2 is because I think we will see a completely different Celtic team out there than in game 1. Allen won't be missing shots, Rondo won't be turning the ball over, and Pierce will come back from the dead. Actually the last one isn't true, there has to be a rule that if you have played in 8 playoff games and people are still wondering when you are going to put an entire game together, I'd say fatigue has set in. Think about it, Pierce has been playing with the Celtics on his back since KG went down in March. He willed them to the 2nd spot in the east, and (with the help of Allen) willed them past the Bulls; the guy is exhausted. (His beard is even tired and refused to grow in thicker than a 12 year old boy's) This isn't like when he used to put the terrible Celtics of the past on his back and lead them to 20 win seasons, this is the playoffs and he is wearing down. He is in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu. Paul Pierce, in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu and losing. He is too tired to match up with the Turkish sensation! If the Celtics survive, which I feel they will despite looking like garbage in the first game (the Magic don't have the killer instinct); how will Pierce match up with Lebron who looks like he will have another easy series where he gets to the hoop whenever he likes?
The Rockets somehow lulled the Lakers and their fans asleep to sneak game 1 away from LA. Rick Adelman got second this season in the Coach of the Year balloting. After game 1 I want to take the award away from Mike Brown and give it to Adelman. His game plan worked to perfection to shut down the Lakers. It doesn't hurt the Lakers couldn't make anything from the outside, but I was shocked at how effectively Shane Battier and Ron Artest worked together to keep Kobe quiet. Granted he had his 32 points, but he also took 31 shots. That's the vintage Kobe that Phil Jackson does not like to see out there. When the Lakers are at their best Kobe is taking between 18-24 shots and making about 50% of them. Then he can use his teammates to open himself up for easy baskets where he doesn't have to get beaten up to score. The Rockets went ahead and let any other Laker and their mother go ahead and try to beat them and forced Kobe to take bad shots and make tough plays. Their only hope is to wear down the Black Mamba and try to get him to go 2006 Kobe on them and just try to make Sportscenter every night despite his teammates standing around watching and the Lakers losing. I don't see the Rockets pulling out a win in this series, but if the Lakers continue to shoot like that they might surprise me. For as big of a game as Trevor Ariza talks, the Rockets sure weren't worried about him taking some big shots down the stretch wide open. In fact, they were almost asking him to do it. For the Lakers to win this series, they are going to have to wake up and realize they are in the NBA playoffs and the teams in the Western Conference aren't just parade bystanders on their way to their match up with the Cavs. I'm a lot more excited about this series than I was before it started. The Rockets need to keep being perfect and the Lakers need to keep being not and I could be eating my words from my previous blog.
Denver is still looking great. I'm almost getting to the point where I am enjoying watching them play. (I said almost) I like how George Karl just leans on the scorer's table nearly the entire game popping hard candy and cough drops like Brett Favre and his pain killers. He just lets his team play and tries to stay out of their way as much as possible. Even when J.R. Smith shoots an ill-advised 28 footer he just shakes his head and chuckles to himself. With a team that is as talented as Denver, that is what a coach needs to do. In the Western Conference defense isn't preached like it is with the Eastern powerhouses of Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando. The key is just getting up and down the floor and scoring a lot of points; and Karl is the perfect coach for a team that is built to do just that.
I have to give Carmelo Anthony some credit too. At the beginning of the fourth quarter in game 2 of the Dallas-Denver series it was a tied game and I said outloud that Melo disappoints me because he doesn't take over the 4th quarter of games like D-Wade, Kobe, and Lebron. Then Melo comes out and scores 15 4th quarter points, and had a couple of assists that were key to the Nuggets' huge run to bust the game open. When Anthony decides he is going to be the best player on the court there are few that can stop him. I hope he is maturing and getting more hungry as the playoffs go on and we will continue to see the production out of him.
As for Dallas, I am a little concerned because Dirk is trying to do everything on his own. Maybe the series will get more interesting once the series gets back to Dallas, but if Denver keeps playing like this they can't be touched. The Mavs have tried going big and Nene and Martin are too quick for their bigs. They try going small and Birdman Anderson tears them up on the inside. What I have noticed is that the Nuggets just want it more right now. Take Birdman for instance, he isn't the most talented player on the floor by any stretch of the imagination and yet he makes his living making plays off of just outhustling the Mavs. I think that Mark Cuban needs to go have another talk with his team and threaten to give them away again. It worked the first time and it won't take much of a spark to get the crown behind them in Dallas and get them back into this series.
Finally, the Cavs-Hawks series is going to be everything we hoped. The 27 point blowout in the first game was the first time I have ever told someone that a 99-72 game wasn't as close as the score indicated. It looked like the Hawks had no answer for Lebron and Company. The only disappointing thing about Lebron's 34 point night was his lack of assists. I am the ultimate advocate for thinking that America is going to keep raising the bar for Lebron until he can't meet it anymore. I feel it is unfair to the choosen one, but I even felt myself raising the bar in game 1 a bit. Lebron was dominating the game by getting to the hoop and shutting down everyone on the defensive end (he had 4 steals). But I caught myself saying, that he wasn't going to get a triple-double unless he passes more. What level has Lebron reached if fans are now expecting a triple-double every time he steps foot on the floor? I think fans need to enjoy what Lebron has been doing and I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple-double before this series is over. I want to see more out of Joe Johnson this series, but he's not getting any looks at the hoop with Cleveland's swarming double teams flying at him everytime he touches the ball. The only thing I am sure of after the first few games of round 2 is that the Cavs will still most likely sweep the Hawks, the rest of the series are up in the air a little more.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: Rick Ankiel. The St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder smashed head first into the wall after making a running/diving catch against the Phillies on May 4. If you haven't seen it, Youtube it. The fact that he ran down the ball at all was an amazing feat. Then he caught it and lost his balance and barrelled into the base of the wall at full speed. He didn't even get the chance to get his hands up. Baseball is one of the few sports where you only play half the time, but get more chances to put your body on the line for your team. That is exactly what Ankiel did. He escaped without any broken bones or any serious injury. He should consider himself lucky, and the Cards should consider themselves lucky to have that caliber of player and person on their team.
Technically it is my fault that Ray Allen got outscored by J.J. Redick. I talked Allen up big time in my previous post, and I have been known to rag on former Duke players; especially Redick. Those two things combined let Redick outscore Allen and suddenly have his own statline put on the screen about how he has scored 27 points in the previous 2 games. The reason I am looking forward to game 2 is because I think we will see a completely different Celtic team out there than in game 1. Allen won't be missing shots, Rondo won't be turning the ball over, and Pierce will come back from the dead. Actually the last one isn't true, there has to be a rule that if you have played in 8 playoff games and people are still wondering when you are going to put an entire game together, I'd say fatigue has set in. Think about it, Pierce has been playing with the Celtics on his back since KG went down in March. He willed them to the 2nd spot in the east, and (with the help of Allen) willed them past the Bulls; the guy is exhausted. (His beard is even tired and refused to grow in thicker than a 12 year old boy's) This isn't like when he used to put the terrible Celtics of the past on his back and lead them to 20 win seasons, this is the playoffs and he is wearing down. He is in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu. Paul Pierce, in a physical battle with Hedo Turkoglu and losing. He is too tired to match up with the Turkish sensation! If the Celtics survive, which I feel they will despite looking like garbage in the first game (the Magic don't have the killer instinct); how will Pierce match up with Lebron who looks like he will have another easy series where he gets to the hoop whenever he likes?
The Rockets somehow lulled the Lakers and their fans asleep to sneak game 1 away from LA. Rick Adelman got second this season in the Coach of the Year balloting. After game 1 I want to take the award away from Mike Brown and give it to Adelman. His game plan worked to perfection to shut down the Lakers. It doesn't hurt the Lakers couldn't make anything from the outside, but I was shocked at how effectively Shane Battier and Ron Artest worked together to keep Kobe quiet. Granted he had his 32 points, but he also took 31 shots. That's the vintage Kobe that Phil Jackson does not like to see out there. When the Lakers are at their best Kobe is taking between 18-24 shots and making about 50% of them. Then he can use his teammates to open himself up for easy baskets where he doesn't have to get beaten up to score. The Rockets went ahead and let any other Laker and their mother go ahead and try to beat them and forced Kobe to take bad shots and make tough plays. Their only hope is to wear down the Black Mamba and try to get him to go 2006 Kobe on them and just try to make Sportscenter every night despite his teammates standing around watching and the Lakers losing. I don't see the Rockets pulling out a win in this series, but if the Lakers continue to shoot like that they might surprise me. For as big of a game as Trevor Ariza talks, the Rockets sure weren't worried about him taking some big shots down the stretch wide open. In fact, they were almost asking him to do it. For the Lakers to win this series, they are going to have to wake up and realize they are in the NBA playoffs and the teams in the Western Conference aren't just parade bystanders on their way to their match up with the Cavs. I'm a lot more excited about this series than I was before it started. The Rockets need to keep being perfect and the Lakers need to keep being not and I could be eating my words from my previous blog.
Denver is still looking great. I'm almost getting to the point where I am enjoying watching them play. (I said almost) I like how George Karl just leans on the scorer's table nearly the entire game popping hard candy and cough drops like Brett Favre and his pain killers. He just lets his team play and tries to stay out of their way as much as possible. Even when J.R. Smith shoots an ill-advised 28 footer he just shakes his head and chuckles to himself. With a team that is as talented as Denver, that is what a coach needs to do. In the Western Conference defense isn't preached like it is with the Eastern powerhouses of Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando. The key is just getting up and down the floor and scoring a lot of points; and Karl is the perfect coach for a team that is built to do just that.
I have to give Carmelo Anthony some credit too. At the beginning of the fourth quarter in game 2 of the Dallas-Denver series it was a tied game and I said outloud that Melo disappoints me because he doesn't take over the 4th quarter of games like D-Wade, Kobe, and Lebron. Then Melo comes out and scores 15 4th quarter points, and had a couple of assists that were key to the Nuggets' huge run to bust the game open. When Anthony decides he is going to be the best player on the court there are few that can stop him. I hope he is maturing and getting more hungry as the playoffs go on and we will continue to see the production out of him.
As for Dallas, I am a little concerned because Dirk is trying to do everything on his own. Maybe the series will get more interesting once the series gets back to Dallas, but if Denver keeps playing like this they can't be touched. The Mavs have tried going big and Nene and Martin are too quick for their bigs. They try going small and Birdman Anderson tears them up on the inside. What I have noticed is that the Nuggets just want it more right now. Take Birdman for instance, he isn't the most talented player on the floor by any stretch of the imagination and yet he makes his living making plays off of just outhustling the Mavs. I think that Mark Cuban needs to go have another talk with his team and threaten to give them away again. It worked the first time and it won't take much of a spark to get the crown behind them in Dallas and get them back into this series.
Finally, the Cavs-Hawks series is going to be everything we hoped. The 27 point blowout in the first game was the first time I have ever told someone that a 99-72 game wasn't as close as the score indicated. It looked like the Hawks had no answer for Lebron and Company. The only disappointing thing about Lebron's 34 point night was his lack of assists. I am the ultimate advocate for thinking that America is going to keep raising the bar for Lebron until he can't meet it anymore. I feel it is unfair to the choosen one, but I even felt myself raising the bar in game 1 a bit. Lebron was dominating the game by getting to the hoop and shutting down everyone on the defensive end (he had 4 steals). But I caught myself saying, that he wasn't going to get a triple-double unless he passes more. What level has Lebron reached if fans are now expecting a triple-double every time he steps foot on the floor? I think fans need to enjoy what Lebron has been doing and I wouldn't be surprised to see a triple-double before this series is over. I want to see more out of Joe Johnson this series, but he's not getting any looks at the hoop with Cleveland's swarming double teams flying at him everytime he touches the ball. The only thing I am sure of after the first few games of round 2 is that the Cavs will still most likely sweep the Hawks, the rest of the series are up in the air a little more.
SHOUT OUT OF THE DAY: Rick Ankiel. The St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder smashed head first into the wall after making a running/diving catch against the Phillies on May 4. If you haven't seen it, Youtube it. The fact that he ran down the ball at all was an amazing feat. Then he caught it and lost his balance and barrelled into the base of the wall at full speed. He didn't even get the chance to get his hands up. Baseball is one of the few sports where you only play half the time, but get more chances to put your body on the line for your team. That is exactly what Ankiel did. He escaped without any broken bones or any serious injury. He should consider himself lucky, and the Cards should consider themselves lucky to have that caliber of player and person on their team.
Monday, May 4, 2009
One Round Down
I had to wait to post another blog until after the first round of the NBA playoffs finally finished. With Atlanta's blowout win over Miami, we finally get to move to round two and I couldn't be more happy. Don't get me wrong, the first round had some amazing series. Take the Celtics-Bulls series. We were one fight short of it being the most exciting series ever, and it was in the first round. If after Noah dunked all over Pierce's face in game six, he would have paraded in front of the Celtic's bench, Kendrick Perkins and the hobbled Kevin Garnett would have broken him in two that would have pushed it to the greatest sports even ever. What was better about Noah's dunk, was the look on Doc Rivers' face after it happened. His superstar just got dunked on in a critical juncture of a close out game, picked up his sixth foul, and ensured his overaged team was going to have to play in a vicious game 7 that would ensure they would be too exhausted to repeat this year. He figured all of this out about the same time and could do nothing but put his hands on his knees and look like he was going to cry. I loved it. The NBA, where grown men always look like they are going to burst into tears happens.
Speaking of crying, has this year's playoffs had more "verbal flopping" than anytime in the league's history. A verbal flop is when a player goes to the hoop (Paul Pierce) and just screams as loud as he can as he throws the ball at the hoop. The scream, if loud enough, sometimes draws a foul call because it takes the ref by surprise. The aforementioned Pierce has been the most noticeable verbal flopper so far. He hasn't taken a shot without screaming yet this year. Another player who has gotten pretty bad during playoff time is Chauncey Billups. Normally, Chauncey just goes to the hoop, takes his shot and falls to the floor. But now the playoffs have come around and his flopping A-game is out. Watch closely in round two and you will notice just how bad this has become. David Stern needs to do something about it, or else make it so the fans watching on TV can't hear it. That may help the NBA gain a better fan base.
In other news, Lebron averaged 32, 11, and 7 in his first round domination over the Pistons. Look at those numbers again, I'll wait. No one took notice of this because the Cavs swept the Pistons so easily. The Bulls-Celtics series took over everyone's attention, and one of the most historic playoff performances ever went under the radar. Has America just finally gotten used to Lebron throwing up such video game like numbers that we forget that what he is doing is historic? Not very often in sports does this complacency set in. I think it happens with Tiger sometimes, and I'm sure we all got used to Jordan tearing up the NBA; but this is something we should be enjoying.
Speaking of the Cavs, Joe Johnson and the upstart Atlanta Hawks are going to be rolling into town to try and steal a game from the nearly unbeatable at home Cavs. I love to watch Joe Johnson play, and if anyone out there does not know who Joe Johnson is, take in this series. Basically run out of Phoenix, Johnson signed with the Hawks who had won 13 games the previous year. THIRTEEN! Since then, he's become a three time all-star; been invited to join the Jordan team; and led the Hawks to a 47 win season this year. Don't get me wrong, he's been surrounded with much better players since he moved to Atlanta, and it isn't like he is single-handedly pushing them to the playoffs like Dwayne Wade, but Johnson is a quiet superstar who comes up huge in the biggest moments for his team and no one even notices. In the series with the Heat, Johnson was in a huge slump for the first six games. In game seven he hit a three to open the game up to a seven point game early in the second quarter. The next trip down he fired a thirty footer in Wade's grill, and splashed it. (He was also fouled on the shot by Wade which made it that much more impressive but the announcers failed to mention that) He just got up, and walked down the court looking for his man to guard. Two plays later he hit another out-of-this-zipcode three and forced the Heat to call timeout. Now I love the NBA, but at this moment most superstars would be playing up to the crowd, or pounding their chest, or hip bumping the excited 12th man. Johnson wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked quietly to the bench while his teammates mauled him. That is what makes Joe Johnson such a special player, he's happy to be there and doesn't need to show up anyone else becaues he lets his play speak for him. If you don't believe me; watch this series which has Joe's teammates Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, Lebron, and pretty much the whole Cavs team celebrating after every made basket. There is nothing wrong with having fun and doing everything the Cavs and Lebron do with celebrations, in fact it makes the game more fun to watch for fans, but the humbleness and quietness of Johnson's superstardom is special.
I'm curious about the second round of the playoffs because nothing that surprising has happened yet. The Cavs and Lakers caked walked their respective series, and the other teams that were supposed to win did. Before everyone jumps out of their seats about the Bulls-Celtics series remember that the Celtics won; it was a great series but the team that was supposed to win did. I think this round when Boston beats the Magic in five or six games we'll see just how good that Bulls team really was. Watch out for them next year. If they can resign Kirk Heinrich and maybe trade Ben Gordon who at times seemed to force up shots like he was your created player on a video game; the Bulls could be dangerous. I've gotten into arguments about this because Gordon hit so many big shots in clutch moments this series. But he was also the only one allowed to take them. Him grabbing himself and parading down the floor just shows he's not ready to be thrust into the spotlight of being a clutch player. Watch Ray Allen when he hits a big shot, he gets a look on his face that lets everyone in the arena know he knew it was going in then runs the the sideline to tell everyone that he knew it was going in. Ray Allen is a clutch player because he knows how to celebrate after hitting those big shots. Ben Gordon grabbing his crotch and hopping around like he took an unfortunate shot in a dodgeball game makes me wonder if he is really as irreplaceable as people think. Could John Salmon's have hit those shots if he would've dribbled around determined to fire away? I don't know, we all don't. But because of his play in the playoffs people are going to want Ben Gordon, and the Bulls should use that to their advantage. Derrick Rose is going to be the guy to take those big shots next year; so get what you can for Gordon and build the team around Rose.
My predictions for the second round are like this. I'm taking the Lakers to beat the Rockets because Kobe hates Ron Artest more than most people (and that's saying something). The Rockets will win one game in Houston before Kobe goes off in game 5 because Artest will say something to make him mad. Denver is going to beat Dallas, but I think it goes seven. Although I'm disappointed in this because I think Dallas is better built to wear out the Lakers for the Cavs, Denver is on a different level than they have ever been on as a team. However, they are still kind of inconsistant and they will tinker around for awhile before finishing them off. On the Eastern side I don't see the Hawks beating the Cavs, but the Atlanta crowd is great for the Hawks and anything can happen with as much athleticism as the Hawks have. Lebron is still Lebron and they Cavs are well rested. Five if Joe Johnson has a thirty-plus game. Four if not. The Boston-Orlando series isn't going to be near as entertaining as we could hope. Both teams are beat up and fatigued. It'll be a sloppy series, but I think Boston pulls it out in no more than six. Although Dwight Howard gives Boston some trouble down low because the Celtics don't have a big man that can play with him, no one can guard Rondo and Ray Allen will have a clutch 30-plus game to finish the Magic off.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Vinny Del Negro. The coach of the Bulls blew the chance to let his young team thwart the defending champs on a number of occasions during the great first round series. Although he won one of the games (because he was lucky enough to have it go to overtime) he ran out of timeouts in both of the first two games. How that happens in the NBA playoffs twice baffles me. If the Bulls could have kept one of their 20 second timeouts in the first game they could have used it to advance the ball after the made shot and draw up a play from the sideline. Instead they were forced into a desperation heave. Then in game 5 when Brad Miller was assaulted by Rondo, Del Negro should have insisted that the refs come look at Miller's bleeding face before judging Rondo's foul wasn't intentional. If that didn't work; Del Negro has to take the ball out of Miller's hands and take the chance that the player Doc Rivers chooses to shoot the free throws makes the big shots. It was obvious Miller was going to miss the free throws, the fans could actually see the stars around his head. I mean, he couldn't even miss the second one intentionally right. Bulls fans, thank Del Negro for the loss. He gets my shout out.
Speaking of crying, has this year's playoffs had more "verbal flopping" than anytime in the league's history. A verbal flop is when a player goes to the hoop (Paul Pierce) and just screams as loud as he can as he throws the ball at the hoop. The scream, if loud enough, sometimes draws a foul call because it takes the ref by surprise. The aforementioned Pierce has been the most noticeable verbal flopper so far. He hasn't taken a shot without screaming yet this year. Another player who has gotten pretty bad during playoff time is Chauncey Billups. Normally, Chauncey just goes to the hoop, takes his shot and falls to the floor. But now the playoffs have come around and his flopping A-game is out. Watch closely in round two and you will notice just how bad this has become. David Stern needs to do something about it, or else make it so the fans watching on TV can't hear it. That may help the NBA gain a better fan base.
In other news, Lebron averaged 32, 11, and 7 in his first round domination over the Pistons. Look at those numbers again, I'll wait. No one took notice of this because the Cavs swept the Pistons so easily. The Bulls-Celtics series took over everyone's attention, and one of the most historic playoff performances ever went under the radar. Has America just finally gotten used to Lebron throwing up such video game like numbers that we forget that what he is doing is historic? Not very often in sports does this complacency set in. I think it happens with Tiger sometimes, and I'm sure we all got used to Jordan tearing up the NBA; but this is something we should be enjoying.
Speaking of the Cavs, Joe Johnson and the upstart Atlanta Hawks are going to be rolling into town to try and steal a game from the nearly unbeatable at home Cavs. I love to watch Joe Johnson play, and if anyone out there does not know who Joe Johnson is, take in this series. Basically run out of Phoenix, Johnson signed with the Hawks who had won 13 games the previous year. THIRTEEN! Since then, he's become a three time all-star; been invited to join the Jordan team; and led the Hawks to a 47 win season this year. Don't get me wrong, he's been surrounded with much better players since he moved to Atlanta, and it isn't like he is single-handedly pushing them to the playoffs like Dwayne Wade, but Johnson is a quiet superstar who comes up huge in the biggest moments for his team and no one even notices. In the series with the Heat, Johnson was in a huge slump for the first six games. In game seven he hit a three to open the game up to a seven point game early in the second quarter. The next trip down he fired a thirty footer in Wade's grill, and splashed it. (He was also fouled on the shot by Wade which made it that much more impressive but the announcers failed to mention that) He just got up, and walked down the court looking for his man to guard. Two plays later he hit another out-of-this-zipcode three and forced the Heat to call timeout. Now I love the NBA, but at this moment most superstars would be playing up to the crowd, or pounding their chest, or hip bumping the excited 12th man. Johnson wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked quietly to the bench while his teammates mauled him. That is what makes Joe Johnson such a special player, he's happy to be there and doesn't need to show up anyone else becaues he lets his play speak for him. If you don't believe me; watch this series which has Joe's teammates Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, Lebron, and pretty much the whole Cavs team celebrating after every made basket. There is nothing wrong with having fun and doing everything the Cavs and Lebron do with celebrations, in fact it makes the game more fun to watch for fans, but the humbleness and quietness of Johnson's superstardom is special.
I'm curious about the second round of the playoffs because nothing that surprising has happened yet. The Cavs and Lakers caked walked their respective series, and the other teams that were supposed to win did. Before everyone jumps out of their seats about the Bulls-Celtics series remember that the Celtics won; it was a great series but the team that was supposed to win did. I think this round when Boston beats the Magic in five or six games we'll see just how good that Bulls team really was. Watch out for them next year. If they can resign Kirk Heinrich and maybe trade Ben Gordon who at times seemed to force up shots like he was your created player on a video game; the Bulls could be dangerous. I've gotten into arguments about this because Gordon hit so many big shots in clutch moments this series. But he was also the only one allowed to take them. Him grabbing himself and parading down the floor just shows he's not ready to be thrust into the spotlight of being a clutch player. Watch Ray Allen when he hits a big shot, he gets a look on his face that lets everyone in the arena know he knew it was going in then runs the the sideline to tell everyone that he knew it was going in. Ray Allen is a clutch player because he knows how to celebrate after hitting those big shots. Ben Gordon grabbing his crotch and hopping around like he took an unfortunate shot in a dodgeball game makes me wonder if he is really as irreplaceable as people think. Could John Salmon's have hit those shots if he would've dribbled around determined to fire away? I don't know, we all don't. But because of his play in the playoffs people are going to want Ben Gordon, and the Bulls should use that to their advantage. Derrick Rose is going to be the guy to take those big shots next year; so get what you can for Gordon and build the team around Rose.
My predictions for the second round are like this. I'm taking the Lakers to beat the Rockets because Kobe hates Ron Artest more than most people (and that's saying something). The Rockets will win one game in Houston before Kobe goes off in game 5 because Artest will say something to make him mad. Denver is going to beat Dallas, but I think it goes seven. Although I'm disappointed in this because I think Dallas is better built to wear out the Lakers for the Cavs, Denver is on a different level than they have ever been on as a team. However, they are still kind of inconsistant and they will tinker around for awhile before finishing them off. On the Eastern side I don't see the Hawks beating the Cavs, but the Atlanta crowd is great for the Hawks and anything can happen with as much athleticism as the Hawks have. Lebron is still Lebron and they Cavs are well rested. Five if Joe Johnson has a thirty-plus game. Four if not. The Boston-Orlando series isn't going to be near as entertaining as we could hope. Both teams are beat up and fatigued. It'll be a sloppy series, but I think Boston pulls it out in no more than six. Although Dwight Howard gives Boston some trouble down low because the Celtics don't have a big man that can play with him, no one can guard Rondo and Ray Allen will have a clutch 30-plus game to finish the Magic off.
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Vinny Del Negro. The coach of the Bulls blew the chance to let his young team thwart the defending champs on a number of occasions during the great first round series. Although he won one of the games (because he was lucky enough to have it go to overtime) he ran out of timeouts in both of the first two games. How that happens in the NBA playoffs twice baffles me. If the Bulls could have kept one of their 20 second timeouts in the first game they could have used it to advance the ball after the made shot and draw up a play from the sideline. Instead they were forced into a desperation heave. Then in game 5 when Brad Miller was assaulted by Rondo, Del Negro should have insisted that the refs come look at Miller's bleeding face before judging Rondo's foul wasn't intentional. If that didn't work; Del Negro has to take the ball out of Miller's hands and take the chance that the player Doc Rivers chooses to shoot the free throws makes the big shots. It was obvious Miller was going to miss the free throws, the fans could actually see the stars around his head. I mean, he couldn't even miss the second one intentionally right. Bulls fans, thank Del Negro for the loss. He gets my shout out.
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