- Prediction: Luol Deng is going to be a star if not a superstar.
- Pat Riley says the Bulls are on the verge of greatness. Aren’t they there already? They’ve got the kind of balance in their starting five that the Pistons had 4 years ago.
- The Heat caught lightning in a bottle last year. I don’t think they’ll be doing the same with this team again. They should be in for some major reconstruction in the off-season.
- Playoff series which I mostly fast-forwarded through: Pistons/Magic, Nuggets/Spurs, Raptors/Nets, Jazz/Rockets, Cavaliers/Wizards
- I find myself feeling deeply satisfied watching Don Nelson’s Warriors thrash Mark Cuban’s whiny Mavericks.
- The Heat lost to the Bulls because they couldn’t stop their offense despite apparently good defensive effort by most of the players. So where does the blame lie? The coach, of course.
- Prediction: Shaq will win no more championships.
- The Bulls’ acquisition of Ben Wallace will likely be the key to their next championship.
- Prediction: Smush Parker’s days as a Laker are numbered.
- Leandro Barbosa has an uncanny knack for making layups regardless of the angle. He really makes a non-dunk layup beautiful.
- Make no mistake, the bottom half of the Eastern Conference bracket means little or nothing. The winner of the Detroit/Chicago series will win the East and play in the Finals.
- Boris Diaw needs to add the three point shot to his game. If he does that, he’ll be a complete offensive threat at any position. He’s got a long way to defensively, though.
- Diaw’s got great footwork in the lane but when you watch him, he’s so long that it seems like he’s moving in slow motion.
- Add Jon Barry to the list of my favorite broadcasters. I liked his game when he played, too.
- Reggie Miller, however, joins Magic Johnson in the great-players-who-suck-at-broadcasting category.
- Did Pat Riley mortgage Dwayne Wade’s future to get Shaquille O’Neal on the Heat? Wade will be in his prime in a few years and O’Neal will be gone. Lamar Odom and Caron Butler, on the other hand, will still be young players.
- If I were working for Suns management, I’d have Horace Grant call Shawn Marion to tell him the perils of moving out of the shadow of the two best and most popular players on a team. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
- Best fans in the playoffs so far? There can be no doubt – Golden State.
- Watching this Warriors team play feels like watching Don Nelson’s Warriors teams of years past: 2 or 3 stars and 6 guys you never heard of playing way above their heads. Will Don Nelson always be the underdog?
- Dirk Nowitzki as MVP of the NBA? If that happens, it will be a joke. In all likelihood, the Mavs won’t even be playing when it’s announced.
- Although coming back from being down 3-1 seems unlikely, the Mavericks/Warriors series is ripe for it to happen. The Warriors are on the edge all of the time.
- What a contrast between the demeanor of Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis in Game 2 vs. Game 4. Davis was all smiles the entire game.
- Mavericks at Warriors, Game 4 may go down as one of the most exciting playoff games ever played. The 8 seed was down for most of each quarter but then rallied to tie at the end of the quarter and then surged at precisely the right time to end the game.
- The swarming Warriors defense rattled even the unflappable Jerry Stackhouse at crucial moments of the game.
- My dream series for the Western Conference Finals: Warriors vs. Suns.
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.
Suns beat Lakers
Last night and this morning I watched the Suns cream the Lakers. Nothing beats seeing one of your favorite teams beat one of your least favorite players. Here’s a few thoughts about the Suns I had during the game:
- Kurt Thomas has turned into an excellent pick-and-roll man with Nash. He slips perfectly and has a decent mid-range jump shot for the pick and pop. Of course, nobody is better at pick-and-roll than Amare Stoudemire.
- Even if Stoudemire doesn’t come back in time for the playoffs, I think they still have a decent shot of a deep run.
- They hardly miss Joe Johnson. I wasn’t that impressed with him last year and didn’t understand all the hype. I thought Quentin Richardson and Jimmy Jackson were much more valuable for them.
- The Suns made some excellent off-season moves this year. The aforementioned Kurt Thomas gives them a defensive presence in the paint that isn’t Stoudemire, but the bigger pickup has to have been Boris Diaw. I think he only took about 5 shots, but he was really huge in the game.
- I don’t think James Jones has turned out to be the player they expected. In the games I have seen him play this season and last season (with the Pacers), he is not nearly the dead-eye shooter that a three point specialists needs to be.
- Shawn Marion is a really great role player. And I don’t mean a one dimensional three-point shooter or defensive stopper. I mean he is great in many roles: rebounding, defending multiple positions, three point shooter, finishing, etc. He is a truly uncommon talent. I wonder why they don’t use him more on the pick and roll? Perhaps small forwards are better at defending against it. Marion’s NBA ranking in some major categories:
- Scoring: ranked 19 (21.2 ppg)
- Shooting: ranked 14 (51%)
- Blocks: ranked 16 (1.89 per game)
- Steals: ranked 7 (1.87 per game)
- Rebounds: ranked 3 (12 per game)
- Double-doubles: ranked 2 (29 in the season)
Update 2/2/2006: Kevin Pelton over at 82Games did an extensive analysis of the Suns’ defense during this game.