• Jub. Jub. Jose Juan Barea was simply stunning off the bench.  The Spurs clearly expected him to play like a reserve. Pass when Parker stepped up on him, miss runners, fail to execute. Jub-Jub was having none of that. He lit up the offense, and hustled on defense. The best thing about him on Parker was that Parker would burn him, and Barea would go right back to work. That’s a big thing to do against the Spurs. They’re effective against everything, but if one thing works 8 out of 10 times, then you look stupid 2 of the 10, you should still do it. Barea risked Parker going to the rack and breaking his ankles to not give him the first step of his explosion.
• Josh Howard didn’t talk, didn’t strut, just went. to. work.
• The Spurs had the same problem over and over again against Nowitzki. Nowitzki’s release point is so high and the Spurs have no one extremely tall or extremely athletic to challenge. It’s like trying to stop an artillery cannon with a reinforced wall. They did a good job of sending more doubles at him, but by that point, Howard was in line and Barea was bringing it.
• At the beginning of the year, I was questioning the Spurs because Matt Bonner was a consistent part of their rotation. Graydon kept telling me how he was leading the league in 3 point % and how he could be a contributor.  I even turned around and admitted it after watching him hit big shots against Boston. As they say, the playoffs are a different animal. Bonner got embarassed. I felt terrible for the guy. At one point in the third, he gave Nowitzki the baseline. And you could see Popovich, his teammates, the fans, even the announcers were like “DON’T GIVE HIM THE BASELINE!” Dunk. It was just sad.
• Pop needs to pull Oberto off the bench. Go with the one that brung you.
• Popovich has never seemed like a prideful guy. So it’ll be interesting to see if he recognizes the mistake of not playing George Hill. The Mavs biggest advantage in this series is their backcourt depth. Parker’s greatness (and he wasn’t that great last night, particularly late in the game) isn’t enough to overcome Kidd, Barea, Terry, and Wright.
• Finley was the second best Spur on the floor yesterday, finishing with 19 on 7-10 shooting. If he can keep that up, that might neutralize Terry. Of course, that’s a lot of points for the old guy.
• Kurt Thomas was having a nightmare of a time. These young whippersnappers coming in here and outrebounding him and taking him to the basket at every chance.
• Losing a lead like that is not the mark of Spurs teams of old.

Join us won’t you?

• HOLY FREAKING CRAP, DERRICK ROSE. NOVA.
• HOLY FREAKING CRAP, TYRUS THOMAS.
• This is what I told a Celtics fan friend who told me it was inexcusable for this team to lose to the Bulls, Garnett or no.  The Bulls are a team with incredible athletic talent who have trouble translating that to actual basketball production.But this game highlights what they’re capable of. Thomas hitting jumpers, Rose attacking the rim. Hinrich playing the lockdown defender. Noah playing Hustle Junkie. This is a team that’s problem was not living up to potential. They won’t always play as well as they did today, but they can.  And it’s pretty incredible when they do.
• When you think about it, you’ve got a top ten point guard as a rookie, a former All-Star shooting guard, a talented veteran defensive point, a pair of young athletic bigs… and um… John Salmons and Brad Miller. Who were terrible today. Now, the Celtics were missing the biggest piece of all in KG (we’ll get to him in a minute), but bear in mind this is a Bulls squad playing without Luol Deng. Good Lord.
• That said, we all know this Celtics squad as a whole is better.
• But that’s with KG.
• I’m not going to duck around it. KG not being on the bench in the second half? That was bad. I won’t classify it as unprofessional. The man’s been playing professional basketball for fourteen years. He’s earned the right to make that decision. And I won’t classify it as overdramatic. I understand how upset he gets and how intense he is. But that team needed him. I hope there wasn’t a specific reason he wasn’t on the bench. But if it was just that he was too upset, it’s a pretty big bummer. Because that team was schooled defensively inside over and over and over again. And even if he couldn’t be the one to bring man-help to the elbow when Rose got past whatever was in front of him, he could have at least been the one screaming at Perkins not to drift over to Salmons leaving Noah.  Like I said, I don’t want to get into a question of whether it was right or not. That’s for KG and Boston fans to decide. But I do think he could have helped the team more by being on the bench.
• I’ve said this about a dozen times this season, but I’ll say it again. Paul Pierce is injured and has not been healthy since the knee injury in the Finals last year.  The Celtics have been vauge about Pierce’s injury long before KG’s, and everyone assumed it was fine. For those of you that DVR’d the game, go watch the first possession for the Celtics. Pierce comes off a screen take the ball, spots up, and misses a jumper. If you watch him on the bottom of the screen, he comes up a little hobbling. He’s jogging at about 50%. Guess who’s streaking right in front of him? Joakim Noah. Pierce spends the rest of the game favoring his right knee.
• Pierce is a gamer. He’s a warrior. And he’s the _________ Truth. So that means he’s going to fight through anything he has to. But did anyone expect Pierce to miss that free throw, which was a half of a centimeter short? He almost got the roll. But it was short, lipped over, bounced off back rim and out. It was probably just a run of the mill miss, just poorly timed. But the injury makes more sense to me than “Paul Pierce missed a game winning free throw at home in the NBA Playoffs when everyone was counting on him.” Meanwhile, watching him run the rest of the time made me wince. Again, he still scored 23 points and had seven boards. I’m not saying he’s not getting the job done. I’m saying this team is relying on him to be The Man and he’s not 100% and the Celtics are in denial about that.
• At 7:30 in the 1st, Allen pump fakes, goes cross lane for the jumper. Tyrus Thomas recovers, skies, and blocks it to himself, and tips it to Noah. It’s unfathomable to me that a player of his athleticism that we’ve waited so long on could be coming into his own. It’s like Christmas. I almost renamed this blog “Tyrus Thomas Paroxysm” today after overtime.
• Watching Rajon Rondo blossom into this player has been awesome. He’s elite. I mean, he was elite before, but we’re talking top five, tied for 2nd best point guard good. Rondo doesn’t have Parker’s go-stop-go explosion (yet) but other than that, he’s like a bigger, more defensive Parker. He goes for the rim and just gets there. The Celtics would do well to turn to him more and Ray Allen less in key late-game situations.
• 4:21 1st Quarter. Joakim Noah goes left to right on Perkins and nails a left-handed hook. Turns out he’s actually been working on that one since last summer.
• Brad Miller was terrible. I will not say he is terrible.  He’s shooting 47% in Chicago since the trade. But today he was 2-11.  Every time he caught the ball on a pick and pop for a 15 footer, I would wince and the Celtics would rebound. It was atrocious. Then, when Pierce missed the 2nd free throw to take the lead at the end of regulation, with 2.1 seconds left, instead of giving the ball to Gordon, or Rose, or Salmons, or Devin Harris, or Luc Longley, or Del Harris, he heaved a one-handed shot. He did not connect. I was ready to lambast this particular effort. Then I called Rob.
• “Yeah, it was a terrible shot. But Gordon or Salmons hitting a ridiculous half-court shot at the buzzer is amazing. But BRAD MILLER hitting a full court ONE-HANDED heave to win is the greatest thing that could possibly happen and is hilarious.”  A judge later upheld this ruling.
• Celtics are going to need to turn to Mikki Moore more. I understand this sounds insane. But they desperately needed athleticism at certian points. And Perkins, Powe, and Davis have the combined athleticism of Jabba The Hut.
• When Tim Thomas nailed a leaner, I knew. You could just tell. The fates had conspired.
• Stephon Marbury was scoreless and -4 in 10 minutes today.
• Of course, Brad Miller was +9, so…
• I cannot stress enough how well Ben Gordon played today. He didn’t shoot well. But we’ve seen Gordon try and shoot his way out of so many slumps. He took 17 shots through overtime, but he also worked within the flow of the offense. And when he did star taking those suicide jumpers in overtime, he was hot, so you can’t blame the guy. That’s what’s great about shooting. As long as you hit, no one cares about your shot selection (cough, LeBron, cough).
• There’s a certain righteousness to Vinny Del Negro looking like a genius today versus Doc Rivers after Doc embarassed Phil Jackson in the Finals last year.  As the game wore on, you saw Doc Rivers come back to reality. He can’t manage a rotation, can’t find the matchups, and is reliant upon a pretty simple principle: “Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are better than their opponent.” When you remove that from the equation, Rivers, just forces that equation over and over again. No adjustment to let Rondo try and score, even though Rondo’s jumper was en fuego, and Ray Allen might as well have been Captain America frozen in an iceberg.
• Oh, but not that Vinny didn’t try to defeat himself. What? John Salmons is jacking threes with 17 seconds on the shot clock? Keep him in there. What? Brad Miller has killed four straight possessions? Let it ride! Woohoo!
• Thomas’ confidence in this game was lights out. He trusted his 15 footer, which is not worth trusting, and when he nailed it, nodded every time like “Of course I hit that. I’m Tyrus Thomas.” I wonder if he dances in traffic and when he gets to the other side, “Of course I wasn’t run over by a Mack Truck. I’m Tyrus Thomas.”
• The collision with 3:40 to go in the second is a great example for me to show my kids if I have them one day. Glen Davis takes Hinrich out of the play like a whale flopping on a beach. He turns his head to see if Hinrich keeps possession, then after it goes out of bounds, grabs his head as if he’s hurt. Meanwhile, Hinrich gets up-ended by the orca, and immediately gets to his feet to bo back to work. Then the Boston crowd objects to the call.
• I empathize with Barry commentating today. He knows Rose and Rondo aren’t great jump shooters. He’s prepared notes on how they’re not great jump shooters. Then they knock the lights out. And it’s frustrating because you know the numbers. And yet that’s not the story. It’s like when the Lakers shoot 60% and I say “they can’t shoot 60% all season.” And they don’t. But they do in all the games that matter. And then I look like a fool. That’s a lot like life, Timmy.
• At 2:12 in the second, Perkins covers the screen and roll on Rose, and does absolutely nothing to communicate that someone might want to cover Joakim Noah. Meanwhile, Glen Davis is worried about John Salmons hitting a baseline 14 foot J that even if he did catch to shoot, Davis would be unable to defend anyway.
• At 1:14 in the second, Ray Allen misses a wide open dunk. And again, you could just tell.
• Brad Miller has weak-side-itis. Versus Tyrus Thomas, who lives to block his man, Brad Miller is shopping for that weak side block. Which means that when Rondo bunny hops to the lane and dishes underneath to Davis, you can actually watch the air blow up his back from his man skyrocketing behind him to dunk.
• Derrick Rose looks pissed off. Right now. Twenty minutes ago. In four days. He has a mask of disgust plastered to his face.
• I’m less averse to cliches than I was a year ago. I really am. I understand where they come from, and simple messages get through to plyaers who often don’t have great mental clarity. But there’s a point where “We’re the Champs” is not enough. You’re a basketball team first. And if you don’t do the things that a good basketball team does, your ability to shine that ring and call it yours is not going to be enough. There is always someone younger, hungrier, and more brazen than you. Being a champions is more than just talking about it. It’s playing like it.
• At 8:56 3rd quarter,Rondo blows past Rose on a curl screen, cradles the ball, fakes the pass, fakes the shot, and delivers a look-off to Perkins. It was neither the first time Rondo would school Rose in this game nor the last time Rondo would make the right pass.
• One of the impressive things about Rose was that he consistently hit shots with someone in his face, in his grill, all over him. He just made the rough shots. Rivers never allowed Rondo that situation. Credit Del Negro for letting his star shine.
• The 3rd Quarter stretch for Rose was amazing. See the TrueHoop article for more. But let’s put it this way. I got two people in the bar to start watching the NBA because of Derrick Rose in that period.
• The Bulls are best with Rose, Gordon, and Hinrich on the floor. Unfortunately, that lineup represents the lollipop guild.
• If you’re into hyper-simplification: The Bulls challenged every shot, the Celtics did not. Nine blocks for the Bulls to seven for the Celtics. Plus two more that should have been that were called fouls.
• With 4:20 in the 3rd, the Celtics had numbers. Insted of attacking, they backed off and Pierce missed a three. This team last year would have stuck a dagger in their heart.
• Boston is still the better team because of their experience and knowledge. But they need to be aware that the Bulls effort will not decrease. They tasted blood.Specifically, Derrick Rose tasted blood. And he liked it.
• No pressure for tomorrow, Michael Beasley.

Sure, it’s only the first game of the series, but it twas quite the game.  Unfortunately, this guy only saw the first half.  Then I listened to the third quarter in the car.  Then my Dad texted me score updates while I was at a wedding.   Needless to say, it was a good wedding.

But I do read blogs!!

Actually, I am going to start this preview with a few predictions that I thnk might LITERALLY happen at some point during this series.

1. Iverson leaves in the 3rd quarter of Game 3 to hit up a sick run by one of his entourage on the craps table downtown. I mean, really, Mookie cant miss.

2. Sheed comes out from halftime of a game (not sure which one yet) decked out in Cavs gear and explains to Joey Crawford that he was traded during the intermission. Cavs win, so Sheed just stays on their team until Stern tells him to go back to Detroit. Sheed pouts.

3. A cameraman gets footage of David Stern, after a monster dunk by Lebron to put the Cavs up 24, mouthing to the guy next to him “I knew what I was doing all along.”

4. Daniel Gibson will have 1 game where he hits 6 threes. He will only hit 2 more the rest of the series.

5. Lebron doesn’t get a triple double, but in 3 of their 4 wins (SPOILER ALERT!) he comes within 2 rebound/assists of getting one. He is just warming up for the rest of the playoffs.

6. Joe Smith will be seen praying on the end of the bench at least once, thanking someone upstairs for finally delivering him from evil.

7. Joe Dumars releases a statement after game 4, saying simply, “I gotta get me one of those.” No one will be quite sure to what exactly he is referring.

8. CAVS IN 5

Photo H/T: Ball Don’t Lie

I want to believe that the Magic are one of the best teams in the league.  Dwight Howard just has that effect on people.  He makes me feel like I am young again, home again, fun again.  But Orlando couldn’t have limped into the postseason in a less convincing matter, dropping some strange games to some awful teams.  Why would one of the league’s elite teams, with an all-world player at the sport’s most important position, struggle against the bottom feeders?  Probably because they’re decidedly mortal.  But of course, this is the first round, and that’s something we won’t have to worry about until later.

That’s because while the Magic are mortal, the Sixers are best described as limited.  Elton Brand was supposed to revolutionize the offense, and provide Philly with something to go to in the half-court.  That didn’t quite pan out, and now here we are: essentially the same Sixers team as last year is playing another clearly superior opponent.  The Magic won’t be stalled by the Sixers simply because the young dogs have learned no new tricks.  Andre Iguodala is still doing too much, either by design of the scheme or his ego.  Does he have what it takes to be a working class hero?  Simply, no.  Iggy isn’t good enough to be that type of player, and his very style of play isn’t quite the type to offensively dominate for a series.  Not against an average defense, and certainly not against the Magic’s…magical defense.  Sorry.

Orlando has some injury problems, and that’s not even saying the half of it.  But it’s not enough.  Dwight Howard would need a spear sticking out of his leg for the Magic to fall.  That’s how little faith I have in a poorly executed offense to overcome a masterful defense.  Playing for the Mag has turned Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis into not just competent, but successful defenders.  Rafer is rarely appreciated for his work on that end, and Courtney Lee is a defensive stud among young players.  Whip that all up with a healthy scoop of Dwight, and you’re presented with the shackles and chains that will bind the Sixers for the next week or so.  There’s a key, somewhere out there, but I’m pretty sure Marcin Gortat swallowed it and has no intention of surrendering.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Sixers have in ‘em, but I’m not expecting all that much.  And, oddly enough, even a few wins over the recovering Magic won’t mean much in my mind.  I don’t know what I need to see from Philly in order to be impressed, but I’ll know it when I see it.  It may or may not involve Andre Miller dunking and Andre Iguodala solving the energy crisis.

The Magic still need to show a lot of growth before they’re ready for the Finals.  Whether or not they can make it through LeBron James is kind of a big deal.  And while this series won’t answer all questions for the Magic’s summer dreams, it should give a pretty decent indicator of where their heads are, and how much better this team is than Orlando squads past.

Magic in 6.

The Magic and the Sixers tip off Sunday at 5:30 EST on TNT.

It’s not that the Jazz can’t win games against the Lakers.

Okay, who’re we kidding; it’s exactly that.  The Lakers outclass the Jazz in almost ev-er-y sin-gle way, and though Utah may have been considered a “tough out” as recently as a month ago, things change.  And boy did they.

This one’s going to be a bloodbath.

I don’t think there’s any dispute that L.A. is the better team here.  Even the Jazziest of Jazzers would have to concede that point.  The only point of contention would be just how long it would take for the Lakers to win, and in just how dominant of a fashion they do so.  I’m here to clear any doubt.  The Lakers will be flossing their teeth with what remains of the Jazz by the time this series is through.  There will be no poetry.  There will be no beauty.  Just domination by the hands of a triangle, and a lifeless corpse paralyzed by the bite of a mamba.

It’s tragic for Deron Williams, who I fully expect to be spectacular.  But it’s a team sport, they say, and however he might flex his point guard muscles against the likes of Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, and Trevor Ariza, Carlos Boozer, Memo Okur, and the rest of the Utah cast simply don’t have the talent level, the defensive dedication, or the level of execution to take down a juggernaut like the Lakers.

Let’s get one thing straight: it takes a perfect storm to beat the Lakers this year.  Your team needs to be playing some damn good basketball, the Lakers need to fall off a bit, and the match-ups need to be favorable.  Utah can count just one match-up in their favor, and doesn’t have any kind of momentum going into the playoffs after stumbling down to the 8th seed.  At full strength, with a world of confidence, we might talk about this as if it were a series.  But considering just how bad the Jazz have been (explain away their shortcomings at your own peril) to finish the season, I can’t grant them much of a chance, if any.  You need a Jazz explosion and a Lakers implosion to generate some genuine competition here, and I just don’t see it.

You see that Hardwood Paroxysm banner at the top, and you might assume that this is just another post to get Jazz fans’ blood pumping.  That I’m trying to get your goat, and all that.  Well, also consider this blog’s extensive history of Laker-hate, and what it must mean if I’m willing to sing their praises for a paragraph or two.  Bynum isn’t as destined for greatness as people think, but that doesn’t make the Lakers anything less than a juggernaut.  They have Kobe.  They have Pau.  They have PJax.  And now they have Bynum.  Damn right, they’re better than yours.

Lakers in 5.

The Lakers and the Jazz tip off on Sunday at 3:00 EST on ABC.

I feel pretty ridiculous fleshing out every potential detail of the Mavs-Spurs series.  In fact, we should all feel pretty silly for trying to predict the outcome of this thing.  You can weigh advantages and disadvantages all day and all night, but this is the one series in the first round that ain’t over ’til it’s over, meaning the Mavs are decimated en route to a roster shake up, or the Spurs are dead, buried, and staked.  I simply refuse to believe that either team is finished until the final bell tolls, tolls again, and maybe even a third time.  These teams are just that evenly matched, and this series is really going to be that close.

So, Spurs in six, Mavs in six, Spurs in seven, Mavs in seven…what’s really the difference?  I’m expecting several overtimers and almost every game being decided by ten points tops.  The ball has to bounce one way or the other, but no man, woman, or blogger can rightfully say who will be left standing.

This is a series that, regardless of team affiliation, should be judged strictly on entertainment value.  Even if you find Duncan or Dirk boring on an individual basis, it’s hard to doom a slugfest between these two teams to the same fate.  So what if the offenses are meticulous?  So what if each team’s superstar analyzes each possession with the precision of BallerBot 3000?  There’s something organic in the mechanical and the robotic, even if each is more a visage of the past than the future.  Plus, robots can be completely exciting, awesome, and demanding of your attention.  This ain’t Rosie, folks.  These are Sentinels, T-1000s, Bicentennial Men, HALs, and those bots from Chopping Mall all rolled into one.  Stare into the face of Duncan and you stare into the face of annihilation; dare to challenge Dirk’s calculated primacy and risk death by numbers.  Two of the best at their respective craft, doing their thing, relatively undisturbed by the opposition.  It’s a beaut.

But it’s also ignoring Tony Parker, and nobody puts Tony in the corner.  He’s become infinitely more hateable than Duncan, and his role within the offense is at an all-time high.  To cringe at every blow-by, teardrop, and floater is to feed into exactly what many of us already know: Tony Parker is the real deal, and an elite NBA scorer.  Maybe he still relies on Duncan’s draw and shooters to space the floor, but I can count on one hand the number of players who can stop this guy, and that’s saying quite a bit.

To counter, the Mavs offer Jason Terry, Josh Howard, and Jason Kidd.  The three are everything that gives the Spurs’ defense fits, and they do it without the obvious domination of a Chris Paul.  Terry will run whoever is guarding him ragged, beating them up with Dampier screens and constant curls.  Josh Howard will surprise a lot of people with a playoff comeback, in which he isn’t so much X-factor as he is a force of nature.  Kidd will aim to prove what’s been ignored for a large part of the season: this guy is an elite point guard that can still have a huge impact on the offense.  He still sets things in motion in the half-court and on the break, and though he’s closer to the AARP than Devin Harris is, you shouldn’t neglect his impact on a game and his series based on his inability to drop 30.

This is a series that transcends predictions.  It’s just buckets of fun, and possibly the last hurrah for the recognizable forms of the only two teams to win 50 games every year this decade.  So please, fasten your safety belts, put up your tray tables, and lock your seats in the upright position – it’s about to go down, y’all.

The Mavs and Spurs tip off tonight at 8:00 EST on ESPN.

What’s up, Doc. I just came over here to tell you to watch out for that falling anvil coming straight for you head. Oops, too late. KERSPLAT!

Yep. I said it. Every post I’ve written, you’ve all called me stupid. Wrong. A moron (OK, I agree with that one). Smug. Hateful. Hell-bent on bringing down a career.

Well, dear readers, let me tell you this. Since Stephon Marbury has been in Boston they have had no chance of regaining the #1 seed in the East, Ray Allen punched a guy in the nerds, Mikki Moore has become a necessary part of the rotation, Rajon Rondo now cries himself to sleep at night and The Sports Guy has spent no less that 489,000 words convincing himself that Marbury could be “the greatest late season acquisition of all time. Ainge does it again!”

Oh, and those couple of things happened this week. KG IS OUT FOR THE PLAYOFFS AND DANNY AINGE HAD A GOD-BLESSING HEART ATTACK! Truth, as they say, is always stranger than fiction. Stephon Marbury is now a Boston Celtic and the most durable, intense superstar of his generation is now languishing in Versace for the rest of the season (as Lebron feasts on the Boston D and uses an aging Paul Pierce as a tootpick) and Danny Ainge’s heart erupted.

I don’t think I can repeat this enough. The last two men who have believed Stephon Marbury could possibly be a good addition to their basketball teams and made deals to bring him there have nearly died! Isiah through depression and a suspected overdose. Ainge through a near heart explosion. These are not independent occurences. That’s like saying people just happened to wind up dead any time Son of Sam was walking nearby. It’s exactly the same as pretending Natalee Holloway is just hanging out on a beach in Barbados. It’s akin to Matt saying “Well, I trust Corn on this one. He has wonderful restraint and good taste.” (See previous sentence)

If you do not think the “Marbury Curse” is real now, then I have some credit default swaps I’d like to sell you. They’re worth billions, I swear!

Over at TrueHoop, it’s a tradition to have Henry’s hand-picked sect of stats experts go against the heads at ESPN and his mother.

We are here to crash that party.

HP is hosting the TrueHoop Network Smackdown, and we invited a few other select friends from ye old blogosphere to come say hi.

Say hi, bloggers.

Simple rules. Five points for getting the right pick. Two points for the number of games. Click on the images to see them in their full glory.

A handy legend:

Cleveland Brown: Cleveland

Bulls: Del Negro

Celtics: Classic Rock Band Boston

Magic: Mickey from Fantasia

Hawks: Acclaimed Bruce Willis 90s hit character, Hudson Hawk

Heat: Miami Vice

Lakers: Hollywood

Utah: Flying Pigs

N’Orleans: Beignets from Cafe Du Monde

Denver: Colfax avenue. Where the ladies of the evening come to play.

San Antonio: Zombies. Of course.

Dallas: THE HOFF

Houston: Elton John’s Rocket Man

Portland: A hippie bug for those hippie hippies.

One correction: Just slide Vinny’s head over to the left one column. I was so boggled by someone actually picking the Bulls, even before the KG disaster, I slotted trey’s pick in the wrong column. The pick is Bulls in seven.

GAME ON.