I just watched the Warriors knock off the Mavs, and I really can't believe it. I mean, I saw it and everything, but it just hasn't registered. I think maybe if it was a close series it would make more sense, but the Warriors just had their way with the Mavs.
It wasn't even close. Did it look to anyone else like the Mavs weren't even trying? Pass, pass, jack bad shot, make a minimal effort to get back on defense, give up three or lay up or commit foul, go back to the other end, watch Dirk pretend to want the ball, jack bad shot, make minimal effort to get back in transition. It was just bizarre.
And I get that the Warriors aren't exactly a traditional number one seed, but cripes. They whooped their ass.
The Mavs quit, didn't they? They just stopped trying. Between the tanking this season, the Mavs quitting, the Lakers quitting in a game against the Suns...the NBA is looking at a competition problem.
And I can think of no more time than to completely over react: can the Warriors win it all? They handled the best team in the regular season with ease; it stands to reason they can beat anyone. I'll tell you what: Warriors vs. Suns in the conference finals might produce the first game ever with a combined 400 points.
People I am happy for:
B. Diddy. He played like an absolute force of nature and did it with such joy. He makes me hate living on the East Coast.
Jason Richardson. I always liked J Rich for some reason I could never put my finger on.
Don Nelson. Now he just needs to win that $6.6 million court case...
Mark Cuban. Good for you. This is why you don't act like an persecuted, arrogant know-it-all who can do no wrong: because when you get humiliated in the worst possible way on a national stage, it is that much worse. Raise your hand if you feel one iota of remorse for Cubes? Thought so.
People I am sad for:
Dirk. Man, he just had a meltdown. There is no other word for it. He is going to get hammered with criticism, and rightly so, but I just feel bad for the dude. Sucks when the light shines brightest on you and you completely shrink from the moment. He is going to have one of the longest off-season's ever.
Jerry Stackhouse. UNC alum, first and foremost. But more than anyone else he didn't play like he wanted nothing to do with the situation.
Avery Johnson. I don't know if he was really out-smarted by his mentor, but either way, that will wear on his psyche for a while, I'd think. From all accounts, no coach works harder than him. You can never cheer against the hardest worker in a business, any business.
Where do the Mavs go from here? Do you blow up a team that won more games than anyone else in the L? Or do you try to bounce back with a group that is responsible for the greatest failure in the history of the NBA post season?
Long, long off season in Dallas. I can't wait to see Mark Cuban do something he regrets (and shaving that goatee wouldn't be it).
Friday, May 04, 2007
I Saw It, But I Don't Believe It
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Second Season: Day 7
Golden St. drops the second worse beating of the playoffs on Dallas. For whatever reason, I wasn't on the Golden St. bandwagon at the start of the playoffs - I'll blame that on being very, very unfamiliar with their roster - but after watching them totally outplay and outclass the Mavericks, how can anyone - and I mean anyone; I'm including Maverick employees here - not be cheering for Golden St. to pull this thing off?
Golden St. is playing with an energy and an enthusiasm and a passion that is just very, very rare in the NBA right now. They are like the Phoenix Suns on ecstasy. They are the anti-Pistons. If you didn't know any better, you would think you were watching a college game tonight. Not to go all Bill Simmons here, but as a fan of basketball (I can't begin to tell you how condescending that is and how pissed off I get when I read it) how can you not be praying for Golden St. to send the moping, entitled Mavs on an early fishing trip?
You can X and O it all you want, go over matchups, question coaching decisions, but the fact of the matter is that Golden St. just wants it more. It is as simple as that. It doesn't even matter who they throw on the court. The Warriors are playing to prove something; Dallas is playing like they are entitled to the second round.
The Warriors are pushing the ball, making plays, knocking down drive and kick shots, playing as a team. And yea, they are making an unreal amount of shots, and a lot of their shots could be classified as "lucky," but really, they are making their own luck. I mean, when you get to the rim that often, you are going to shoot a high percentage, I don't care how many of them you double-pump and shoot over your head.
Do the Mavericks have any desire to stop penetration? Any? Baron Davis has borrowed Allen Iverson's crossover, circa 1998, and is getting to the rim at will. At will. No one can check the dude. Jason Richardson got the the rim whenever he wanted. Hell, I could name their entire roster. They lived in the paint.
And every time they did it, the Mavs just stood around, shooting each other dirty looks, bitching to the refs, talking under their breaths. I may have missed it, but did anyone in green look like a leader this evening? Maybe D Wade was right; maybe the Mavs don't have a leader. Every time they gave up a lay up - and this was fairly often - they just looked at each other, like, "Hey, shouldn't you be doing something about this?" No one showed even the tiniest bit of resolve.
The fact that they were losing didn't make me cheer against the Mavericks. The fact that they wouldn't wipe that entitled, pissy look off their collective face all night did. Combine that with the most joyful - yes, I said joyful - basketball I can recall seeing, and it is a no brainer: I believe.
If you want to X and O it a little bit...maybe Avery was onto something when he tried to go small ball with them. Usually when a team tries to play small ball, you go big, pound it inside, shoot two-foot shots over your shorter opponents and kill them on the glass at both ends. The team going small ball then has to rely on the three pointer and scoring in transition to make up for the difference. Height usually wins out in this instance, because, hey, it is easier to shoot layups than threes. This isn't the case in this series for a few reasons:
1. Dallas' big guys are not skilled enough to make Golden St. pay for guarding them with smaller players. Seriously, Diop & Dampier average like 4 points a game, combined. You'd think Dirk - hey, he's pretty tall, too - would just freakin' camp on the block and kill whoever the hell is guarding him, but that hasn't been the case. To be fair, GS has done a good job doubling him near the basket, but Dallas is still doing a pitiful job making the Warriors pay the price for going small around the bucket - partly because they are not skilled enough offensively to, partly because well, I don't know why.
2. Diop and Dampier - and basically their entire team - can't keep the Warrior guards - or anybody from Oakland, really - out of the paint. It looks like lay up lines. If I was more ambitious, I would look up the points in the paint, but please believe, believe it please, it wasn't even close. I remember seeing a graphic at one point and thinking, "Hey, if Golden St. was only allowed to shoot in the paint, it would still be a good game."
If Dallas had one guy - one guy - who could score from the block, this series would be wildly different. But as of right now, they don't. If Dallas is going to win this series, it is up to Dirk to get his ass on the block, say screw these double-teams, and just kill the Warriors in the paint. If he does that, Dallas will escape. If he doesn't, well...I think we need to recount those MVP ballots.
For all intents and purposes, Chicago sends Miami fishing. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, and something is telling me that Del Boca Vista (do you realize they give significant minutes to 5 guys who have been in the L for at least a decade? And their PG has been here for 8? Half their team could retire next week and I wouldn't bat an eye lash) doesn't have the energy to be the first.
I know Shaq has been complaining about the refs, and I know he is the hardest player ever to officiate in the history of the illustrious National Basketball Association, but my God, man...you gotta do better than this. Shaq should be killing the Bulls. They are guarding him with Ben Wallace who gives up like half a foot and almost 100 pounds. Yea, he's tough, but c'mon. The Bulls are basically just letting Shaq play one-on-one in the post. They come every so often with a half-hearted double team, or they'll maybe have a guard take a swipe or two once he puts it on the floor, but for the most part, he is free to score.
Usually, a 23-13 game is sufficient, but not when your playoff life is on the line, the other team doesn't even have a center and they are refusing to seriously double team you. Shaq from a few years ago would get 40 against this type of defense. The sad part is, Chicago doesn't have to double-team him because he doesn't make them pay anymore.
It is really bizarre that the two games I watched tonight featured teams winning playoff games with no semblance of a low post threat. Neither team has one, and both are in the driver's seat in their respective series. Same thing applies here, though, that applies with the Warriors - Miami doesn't make Chicago pay for going small, not enough to make them change their approach, anyways. And Chicago, as a team, just wants this series more.
Pat Reilly made a good point before the game. Basically, he said that once you become the champ, you think you dominated the entire season before. You don't remember that you doubted yourself, that there were times you didn't think you could win it, that teams got the better of you, how fortunate you were in certain instances. I thought that was a genuine, thoughtful peak into the mind of a champion, and an aging one at that. I guess that Reilly guy is pretty smart after all.
So, this series is over. The only question is how many games? If I were Chicago, I'd do everything in my power to make this a sweep. Detroit is going to close out Orlando in 4, and you don't want them getting any advantage in the rest department. Skiles will have them playing harder than ever, I am guessing - he is crazy intense: ESPN showed a close up of him staring straight ahead and I had to look away; I lost a staring contest to Scott Skiles that he didn't even know he was in - but Del Boca Vista has too much pride to go down in 4, I think.
Don't they?
And some other things:
I liked the wildly unpreicatbale, out of control Jason Williams better. Can he still do all that stuff, you think?
I can't believe Chicago "wasted" Antione Walker's performance. That ain't happening again.
Ben Gordon likes to shoot. But if I was that flippin' good at anything, I'd do it that often, too.
Vince Carter makes people in Toronto hate him ever more, if that is possible. Didn't watch it, but a few thoughts, anyways: that was one slick pass from J. Kidd. And did you see his stat line? If I told you someone had a 16, 16 and 19, you wouldn't even know what those numbers represented. What a dominant performance. Guess the knee is fine.
Vince Carter...well, if that 37 point outburst proves anything, it that he can be mentally shaken. Toronto has to steal Game 4, Vince will crumble in Game 5, and then they just have to come up with either 6 or 7. Sounds like a plan.
But seriously: 16, 16 and 19. Damn.
Quick programming note: Vote either here or in the upper left hand corner for which game should get the nod for tonight's live blog:
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Second Season, Day 5
I'll be honest with you: I wasn't paying the closest attention to the playoffs tonight. The game I really wanted to see was relegated to NBATV and as a result I forgot to turn on the Nugs game right away. Then I made the decision to watch LOST instead of the first half of Dallas/Golden St. And hey, that's a decision I can live with. So the Day 5 recap will be a little light with the hard hitting analysis you have come to expect. Frankly, I'm stunned I am doing this two days in a row, so at least it's something.
A quick programming note: I'd like to live blog each team at least once before they get bounced from the Second Season. That depends heavily on NBATV and my will power, both wildly inconsistent entities. As best I can tell, Thursday's games are Pistons/Magic, Rockets/Jazz and Suns/Lakers. Rockets/Jazz gets bounced to no man's land, so tomorrow's choices are Pistons/Magic or Suns/Lakers.
Tell ya what: we'll leave it up to a vote. Odds are, this vote ends 1-0, but still. So whatever game you want live-blogged tomorrow, vote right below, and that's the game you get. Just remember: if you screw me and vote for the Pistons, you're gonna have to read about it. Its kinda like cheating on a test: in the long run, you are only cheating yourself.
Cavs go up 2-0 on the Wizards. Good, Cavs, good. You still get the feeling that Cleveland really doesn't care yet, though. They had a 15 point lead at one point, but the Wizards were still in it with under a minute to go. I guess they are taking care of business, but it's isn't very convincing, is it? If The Light Switches (they genuinely believe they can turn it on whenever they so choose, I think) win the next two games and wrap things up in Washington, no matter how close, I'll feel a little better - a little - but a blow out would ease my mind a little bit.
LeBron has played solidly in the first two games, but hasn't dominated. On the bright side, Larry Hughes owned Game 1 and Drew Gooden and Drew Gooden's Hair Patch on the Back of His Head owned Game 2. If Z drops 30 in Game 3 I can live with this trend; if not, LeBron needs to dominate a game.
Nuggets late game rally falls just short; series heads to Denver tied 1-1. Man, Denver almost had it. Maybe if they would have made one of the 13 lay ups the blew in the first half, it would have been a different game, but who knows. I don't think Denver could ask for much more than a win and a nail-biter in San Antonio. Their confidence should be brimming heading back to Denver.
If I was Denver, the match up I would be the most scared of is Steve Blake guarding Tony Parker. Parker lived in the paint last night; there was nothing Blake could do to stop him. I don't know how they remedy that short of switching defenders because no strategy is going to stop it - Blake just can't keep Mr. Longoria out of the paint. Hopefully Tony forgets he can do this or has a crappy night shooting.
How much of a beast is Nene? Two to three times a game he dunks balls that I am stunned he dunks - and he just hammers them through the rim. Dudes are just ducking to get out of the way. Iverson found him a couple of times and I was expecting a little floater - "he's just a tad too far away to dunk this" - and then he nearly pops the ball as he positively destroys the rim.
Along those same lines, Old Man Bob Horry has dunk-tipped two or three balls with surprising power and grace. I didn't even know he ventured inside the three point line anymore. Impressive.
If they can get two - and that's a tall order, but not completely unrealistic - then this series is over. A split pretty much wraps it up for San Antonio. This will end up being the best series of the first round because...
Dallas has figured out Golden St. Well, that was fun while it lasted, but this series is over. Oakland should be sufficiently fired up for its first playoff game in 47 years, but Dallas is just too good. Seems to me like two things happened:
1) Avery decided that the strategy that won him the most games in the league would probably work against the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
2) Dallas took it personal. They looked particularly fired up, especially Jason Terry. Dirk is their best player, but I would guess that JET is their emotional leader. He'll sleep in a Golden St. uni all week and have them ready to take care of business in the next three games.
You know what this means, though? At least three more games of Don Nelson's "we don't have a chance in hell of winning" comments where everyone knows he's lying and it is actually starting to become disrespectful to the Mavs. If I played for the Mavs, that would piss me off more than anything, because the implication is, Yea, I'm saying we can't win, but everyone here knows I'm lying. I'm secretly outsmarting the best team in the NBA. Just watch the shit I'm gonna come up with next...
Hopefully we only have to hear that bullshit for three more games.
You know what was shocking, though? Stephen Jackson got tossed. Frankly, I was stunned. Didn't see it coming. And when he wouldn't leave the court? Totally out of character.
How 'bout Reggie Miller defending him? Deep down, Stephen Jackson is a good guy...he is just a little tempermental, like I was. Really, Reggie? I don't recall you charging into the stands during a game, or firing off five "warning shots" (I was more excited that "warning shots" was introduced into my vocabulary than "making it rain." I love that term.) outside a club, or your team taking on two terrible, terrible contracts just to get rid of you. You are the face of the problem player for the NBA?
I'm sure Reggie has talked with him and knows him a little bit, but I think he may be getting hoodwinked. He has it backwards, I think: on the surface, Stephen is a good guy; deep down, he's certifiably insane. That track record speaks for itself.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Dirk and Steve, BFFL
Right now, the clear front-runners for NBA MVP are Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. You could make the case for Kobe carrying an underwhelming Lakers team (seriously, what is Smush Parker doing out there?) or Chris Bosh's valiant effort to make basketball relevant north of the border, but it really boils down to Nash and Dirk.
My question is this: if Nash had decided to re-up with the Mavs instead of bolting to PHX, would this still be the case? Would the duo be like Leinart and Bush at USC, a pair of teammates running 1-2 for the most coveted individual award in the sport? Would the Mavs be undefeated right now?
Or did Steve Nash just cost the world more glossy-eyed bar pictures?
Did Dirk need to be in a situation where he was clearly the man? Was his maturity and development a forgone conclusion, or did shouldering the weight of the franchise year after year force him into becoming the player he is today?
Same with Nash: would he be the two-time defending Most Valuable Player right now? Or did he stumble into the perfect storm in Phoenix? Does he only have those two trophies on the mantle piece because he plays with the perfect cast of characters for his skill set and a system designed to magnify his strengths and diminish his weaknesses?
The answer is different for both, I think.
Dirk would have gotten to this point, I am pretty sure, regardless of who he played with or where he played. He is just a supreme talent; it was only a matter of time before he figured out the best way to combine his height and shooting touch. And he has started to take over games, and serieses (How the hell do you say 'more than one series'? What is the plural for series? My head is about to explode. There is no way 'serieses' is correct, but it will have to do for now): he was a one-man wrecking crew against San Antonio in the playoffs; not only did his improbable three-point play save the series (clutch), but he continually got the the free throw line (smart) and killed people on the glass (tough).
Would he be the same player with Nash still around? Well...I mean, how can having Steve Nash on your team hurt you, really? Dirk would still be able to take games over down the stretch - the Suns don't rely exclusively on Nash with the game on the line; more than a few Suns have hit big buckets late in games. What would happen is this: he'd still be one of the most frightening matchups in the L, but we'd underestimate his importance because he was playing with Nash. So maybe Nash did have to go for him to be as fully appreciated as he is now, but one thing is for certain: he is one stylish German.
Steve, on the other hand...I just don't think there is any way he reaches this level of prominence in Texas. Whether he makes the system or the system makes him is irrelevant. The point is that the PHX style of play and Steve Nash are perfect for each other. They really are. That system would not work as well anywhere else in the league, and Steve Nash would not be this good anywhere else in the league.
If he had stayed in Dallas, he would still be a tremendous point guard, an All-Star, someone always among the league lead in assists and who always made their teammates better. But he definitely would not have two MVP awards, and probably not one.
Remember, when he first left, everyone felt the Suns overpaid for him. He was old, his back was a question mark and even Mark Cuban wouldn't shell out the amount of dough Phoenix would. But Phoenix has rejuvenated him.
First of all, Nash couldn't have hand-picked better guys to play with. He has two absolutely phenomenal finishers in Amare and Shawn Marion, and Marion doubles as maybe the most versatile player in the league. He has shooters to stretch the floor, widening lines to drive into and making it harder for teams to help because they risk giving up wide open threes. He has a tough defender in the back court to guard the opposing teams best scorer. He has ridiculous options on the pick-and-roll even down to who he runs it with.
And the system in which he plays doesn't emphasize defense. Well, it does, but in a roundabout way: D'Antoni hung a sign in the locker room that says - and I may be paraphrasing here - "The best defensive team at the end of the night is the one with the most points." You won't be hearing that taught at too many basketball camps, but it really is hard to argue with. The Suns do play D, but they will never, ever be known for it, and that helps Nash out immensely.
If he had stayed in Dallas and played under Avery Johnson, this wouldn't be the case. Mr. Fire and Brimstone spouted the importance of defense since the moment he took over (and probably before that). During last season's playoff run, the Mavs almost always had someone on the floor who was there solely for defense: either Diop or Dampier in the middle and/or...oh, what the hell was that guards name - someone help me out here. Anything they get offensively was gravy. In PHX, all four players around Nash can score, and score in a variety of ways. In Dallas, his options would have been limited; in PHX, they are endless.
One thing is for certain: he is one stylish Canadian.
If Nash had stayed, I don't think either of them wins an MVP. They would cancel each other out; we'd hear that Nash is making Dirk look good and that Dirk can bail Nash out.
But now they are on separate teams and are probably going to meet in the Western Conference Finals, with the winner taking home their first championship. Good for one of them. I just hope that after one wins, the other takes him out to some random bar, gets bombed off Molsen and Becks and then the pictures of their revelry finds their way in to this here Interweb.
