A year ago our cat Nietzsche died soon after we returned from our vacation in the Midwest. One thing I realized after it happened is that although many people may have met or known Nietzsche, the only people who really, really knew him were those of us who lived with him: Tina, Thomas, Graham and I. Consequently, we all shared in the private pain of his loss – a pain that nobody else outside of our family can appreciate in the exact same way that we do. Nonetheless, as a final act of farewell, I thought I would share some of my memories of Nietzsche’s life.
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.
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