The Lakers have been one of the most dominant forces in the Western Conference for decades and the last few days tell you why. When it looks like this franchise might be on an elevator going down, they find a way to re-direct it back up again.
A few years ago the Lakers were fighting to make the playoffs and in one big swoop Pau Gasol falls in their laps. And then they come upon a major find in Trevor Ariza that leds to another title this year.
Faced with another problem having to sign Lamar Odom and Ariza this offseason, the Lakers have come up smelling like roses once again. How can you go from losing one of your key components and actually get better in the process?
Well, the Lakers just did that by signing Ron Artest. Yes, he will be a problem at times, but the Lakers arguably have the two best all-around defenders and scorers in basketball with Kobe and Artest in the lineup. Artest made one of the best free agent decisions I have seen in a while not based on salary.
I am laughing at the fact most people think Artest is on the edge. To me he looks like the smartest free agent in the pool.
I have always said if he ever made it to a team with a winning culture he would explode and become an All-Star every year. I know Lakers fans are a little down about losing Ariza and I can relate to their disappointment, but don’t think Ariza is anywhere near the talent of Artest.
I will go on board right now and say this: Trevor Ariza will struggle on the island he is going to in Houston. Role players need stars to enhance their game. Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady might not even play next year and that will force Ariza to be the player he is not.
Ariza will pay the price for thinking he was worth more than the Lakers offered him and he will suffer while Ron-Ron will make less and be extremely happy for the next three years. Ariza did not think about why he excelled. Making a decision based on dollars might not ever get him to the Finals again, which might be OK with him.
Artest should fit right into the triangle offense because he is an excellent ballhandler and passer. Kobe will be able to get more rest during the regular season because of Artest’s ability to score when the shot clock is expiring. This is something the Lakers could not get out of Odom, but Artest will bring that ability every night which is huge for the defending champs.
Also don’t forget that Phil Jackson loves the bad boy mix on his teams. He turned Dennis Rodman into a cult hero and if Artest plays as expected he too will reach that level of stardom with the Lakers.
The season is over and if you are a Magic fan, the offseason will provide sleepless nights playing the “what if” game. If you are a Laker fan, you are ecstatic and saying this is about redemption, experience and us having one of the best players in the history of the game in Kobe Bryant and the best coach ever in Phil Jackson.
The Lakers proved that, despite many opportunities given to the opposition, they are indeed the best team this year. I disagree with Stan Van Gundy on the experience factor. Van Gundy said experience meant nothing and that it’s just basketball. Experience played a huge factor in this series. Had it been a non-factor, Orlando would be headed back to Los Angeles with a 3-2 lead in the series.
Let’s play the “what if” game…
Game 2
- The Magic do not miss five out of six free throws in the third and fourth quarter when they had the lead.
- The Magic do not turn the ball over three times with a two-point lead late in the game.
- Courtney Lee makes one of his two blown layups in Game 2.
Game 4
- Hedo Turkoglu makes one of his four missed free throws in the 4th Quarter
- Dwight Howard makes one of his two free throws with 11 seconds left, giving the Magic a four-point lead.
- Jameer Nelson is not in the game in favor of Courtney Lee to defend Derek Fisher on his game-tying shot.
I look at those mistakes and say it is all about experience and that is why the Lakers in my estimation beat a more talented team.
Game 5 was the perfect example of lack of experience. A veteran team would not quit fighting because they were down 3-1 in a series like Orlando did last night.
So if I am Van Gundy, I would eat those words and preach this whole offseason about the experience of getting so far and losing against a team that lost in the same fashion the previous year and beat us the next year based on experience.
The Lakers, on the other hand, showed the experience, confidence and leadership needed to finally win their 15th title. Kobe Bryant can finally kick that elephant off his back. The one thing I love about Kobe is that he can never say he did not try hard at anything. I heard stories about how he never went out on the road as a young player and watched hours of video tape. I heard during the Olympics that he flew to Vegas around 6 am one morning and asked Blazers head coach Nate McMillan to work him out at 9 am. Nate had to stop the workout and inform Kobe they had 30 minutes to get to a meeting. It was 1:30 pm. That’s the beauty of being great and only experience teaches you that. Remember, Kobe was working out this hard after just finishing a grueling series against the Boston Celtics.
I will admit that I am not a Laker fan, but I am a Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson fan. When I look at those two individuals, I marvel about how focused, determined and smart they are. Kobe probably is the most committed and intelligent athlete ever. We sometimes get too caught up in his basketball genius, but is there a more informative and thought-provoking interviewee in sports?
He has just done something in my mind that only Hakeem Olajuwon has done and that is put a team on his back throughout the playoffs and win a championship. I have always been a Kobe fan, but now I definitely believe he will go down as one of the Top 5 players ever.
I have repeatedly said over the last five years that Phil Jackson is the best coach of all time. He handles players better than any coach I have ever seen. I get tired of pundits who say he had Jordan, Shaq and Kobe. Well, you must remember there were coaches who also had those three and did not win. The man is a brilliant coach and in my estimation his 10 NBA titles will stand forever as a record.
I can honestly say that if he were coaching the Orlando Magic, they would be celebrating today and that’s just how good he is.
I will not finish this article without giving props to Pau Gasol and Trevor Ariza. They were tremendous when needed. Gasol was physical defensively and productive on the offensive end. Ariza won the series with his 13-point outburst in the third quarter of Game 4 and his defense on Hedo Turkoglu was impressive.
So although I picked the Magic in six games, I have to admit the Lakers showed toughness, commitment and, most importantly, a desire to win despite of the roadblocks in their way.
This will go down as one of the best playoffs ever. The Bulls-Celtics series was a classic. The Rockets showed how good they could be despite not having Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming.
The Magic win in Boston Garden over the Celtics and the close games in the Cavalier series were must-see TV. I will miss the debates and tension I have experienced the last two months, but I look forward to going through it all over again in 2009-10.
One thing is for certain… The Los Angeles Lakers are NBA champions for the 15th time in franchise history and this one will be remembered as the best because Kobe Bryant proved once and for all that he can put a team on his back and reach the promise land only reserved for the greatest players ever.
The Orlando Magic finally arrived in Los Angeles Sunday night and although they accounted for themselves much better than in Game 1. They still are headed back to Orlando searching for answers and down 0-2 in the series. They say the playoffs don’t start until someone wins on the others floor. Well, if the Magic do not find a way to recover the shooting magic among their guards, the Lakers will end these Finals rather quickly.
Game 1 was all about defense and Kobe catching fire in the third quarter. The Magic could not stay in the game because they shot a dismal 23 of 77 from the floor. Kobe Bryant had 16 field goals all by himself.
Game 2 was much better, but the Lakers’ ability to close down the stretch with flawless play and active defense is what secured the victory.
KEYS
Interior defense
The Lakers are one the best teams at rotating out of double-teams and in the first two games they have caused Dwight Howard to turn the ball over nine times. Usually, when the center turns it over it leads to fast-break points and the Lakers have capitalized consistently. Although Andrew Bynum has been a non-factor, their defense inside has been great.
Leaving Rafer Alston and Courtney Lee alone
I knew coming into the series that this would happen and it always does. Great teams will roll the dice on a mediocre shooter and take their medicine and double-team a great player like Dwight Howard. That’s what Cleveland did in the Conference finals, but those two burned them all series long and Mike Brown was criticized for doing the obvious. Rafer Alston is a career 39 percent shooter from the field and the Lakers will leave him alone all series even if he hits five in a row. They cannot afford to leave anyone else and after two games Alston and Lee are a combined 7 of 30 from the field and 0 of 9 from behind the arc.
Crunch time
The Lakers just got it done Game 2. They took care of the basketball and made their free throws. That is always a way to find success down the stretch in games. Defensively they forced untimely turnovers when the Magic had the lead and the ball. The experience of losing to Boston last year has the Lakers playing at a frenetic confident pace, which has secured two victories and a controlling lead in the series.
Ariza the unsung hero
Trevor Ariza did not allow Hedo Turkoglu to walk the ball up the floor when Stan Van Gundy was forced to play him at point guard. He pressured him constantly and wore him down and that’s why we saw CourtneyLee and JJ Redick handling the ball too much late in Game 2. That shot taken by Lee with about 9 seconds to go is normally for Turkoglu, but he was tired and Lee was forced to take a shot.
Orlando melts down
The plane ride home could not have been pleasant with Orlando knowing they had Game 2 locked up. They missed five straight free throws during a stretch in the third quarter and early fourth that could have had them ahead by six points. They also threw the ball away three times when they had a two-point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. Lewis and Redick, probably their two best shooters, missed wide open three-point shots when the Magic where already ahead by one point. Finally, Lee missed two layups at the end of regulation that could have given the Magic the lead and won the game.
MVP Odom
Although Kobe has been his normal self, Lamar Odom has been the most important player on the floor after two games. He made some huge shots in the fourth quarter of Game 2. His length and smarts have stabilized the Lakers’ bench. He has done what Mickael Pietrus did in the Cleveland series and that is virtually dominating the production from the bench. He has scored 27 of the Lakers’ 43 bench points and has grabbed 22 rebounds.
WHO NEEDS TO STEP UP?
Los Angeles LakersAndrew Bynum has got to give the Lakers something on the road. Kobe, Pau Gasol and Odom have scored 139 of the Lakers’ 202 points. If this trend continues with Bynum, L.A. could find this series tied up after four games. It is one thing to win with virtually only three players at home, but doing it on the road offers a different scenario and I expect the Orlando role players to shoot the ball much better in Game 3.
The Lakers’ bench has not offered much, but until now they have not had to. The test will be in Orlando and Phil Jackson will need some production from someone other than Odom.
Orlando Magic
The guards have been just plain bad. Where is the swagger that we saw in the Cleveland series? Alston, Lee, Pietrus, Reddick and Jameer Nelson have all been bad (20-59) and what’s sad is that they will have to continue to shoot the ball. Pietrus is the obvious choice, but history is starting to catch up with him and his shot seems to have taken a nose dive at the sight of Kobe. I am not in the locker room, but I have been in 17 others during my NBA career and I see fear in the eyes of Lee and Pietrus when they face Kobe. They need to call Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell to get advice on how to guard and not back down to the Black Mamba.
Dwight Howard had a great Game 2, but he must do two things for the Magic to have a chance in this series.
1. Stop thinking he can make a two-dribble move in the post against the scrappy Lakers’ help defense.
2. Stop turning the ball over making passes out to the perimeter. Those are precious possessions and because of the double team most of his passes should find a player with an open shot.
GAME 3 STRATEGY
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers will continue to double Howard and leave Alston and Lee alone. They lost sight of Rashard Lewis and he almost beat them by himself.
They will also focus extra on getting Bynum involved early offensively, because they need a fourth player to score double-figures against Orlando on their home floor.
I would watch for Kobe to be ultra-aggressive at the slightest thought of his team being satisfied with getting the first two games at home. He knows that the Lakers will need to offset the tremendous emotional frenzy at the beginning of Game 3.
Orlando Magic
If the guards do not make shots early in Game 3, look for Van Gundy to have a quick trigger finger, put in JJ Redick and move Turkoglu to point guard. This lineup forces the Lakers to rotate off of a shooter, which is not what they want. If Orlando starts draining three-point shots, this will allow Howard to maneuver more inside. That would pay huge dividends for the Magic.
Attack the rim. They had numerous lanes to the basket because of the Lakers being stretched defensively, but they looked to pass instead of shoot. Look for a much more aggressive team in Game 3.
Anthony Johnson might get the call at some point in Game 3 if Nelson does not produce with his backup minutes.
PREDICTION FOR GAME 3
The Lakers will say that they will stay focused, but it does not matter. This is the biggest game of the year for the Magic and I expect them to be energized by their home crowd. Although they lost Game 2, I saw some confidence emerge from their locker room. I expect the role players to step up because, quite frankly, they can’t fall any further than they already have. I also expect Howard to have his best scoring game.
Orlando will win Game 3 and keep the series alive.
I have finally gotten over my disappointment in the Cavaliers lost to Orlando. It took a few days, but it is time for me to eat a little crow. Yes, I picked the Cavaliers to win it all this year. I can’t believe I did not see through the fog. Why did I believe the Cavaliers would finally win a championship? Well, they did win 66 games and they only lost two games at home?. I really got pulled in when they swept Detroit and Atlanta. On second thought, I had every conceivable right to believe in my prediction.
That is until Orlando came along and smacked them upside the head. I was so enamored with the King James locomotive that I ignored what the Magic was doing to get rid of a stubborn Philadelphia team and then go into Boston Garden and defeat the Celtics in a Game 7.
The Magic put on a devastating show with ball movement and stellar shooting. Their ability to make big shots from long range and feed Dwight Howard, the most dominant interior performer during these playoffs, has me wondering if this journey can continue against the deep Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers, unlike Cleveland, struggled at times in the early rounds and I surmise that is why they are still around. I for one believe adversity in the early rounds bring focus and desperation, which when you are as talented as the Lakers becomes a good thing.
The Rockets and the Nuggets were definitely capable of beating the Lakers, but injuries to Yao Ming and mental meltdowns by Denver allowed the Lakers to seize the opportunity like a shark.
Now we are here. This is what we have waited for, well halfway at least… But let me tell you something you might already know: This will be a great series and I am sure most of the fans who watched the Magic win the East might tend to agree that the right team will face the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals.
The Lakers and the Magic are extremely versatile and can summon some good players off the bench, but five things must happen for either team to win this series.
KEYS FOR THE LAKERS
Keep Dwight Howard in foul trouble
The Lakers understand that Howard will challenge any foray to the basket. They have the master at that in Kobe Bryant. Watch Bryant, Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza go at the body of Howard early in games to force the officials to make a call.
Defend Howard in single coverage with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol
If the Lakers pull this off and Howard does not go for 30 and get every player in a Lakers jersey in foul trouble, L.A. will win this series in quick fashion. The Magic either need the Lakers to double to free up shooters or Howard has huge games to offset the lack of consistent three-point opportunities.
Have great offensive efficiency and wear down the Magic’s defense
The Lakers spread the ball around and so the Magic are hoping the Lakers force-feed Kobe so they can load up defensively. If the Lakers stay away from just relying on Kobe and use their great ball cuts and screens within the triangle offense, it will be difficult for Orlando to defend consistently.
Hope Kobe will seize the opportunity he missed last year
How many more times can Kobe get to the Finals and not get that elusive championship without Shaquille O’Neal? He will be focused and relentless and if the Magic fail to control him, especially in the fourth quarter, just forget about it.
Dominate the sidelines with Phil Jackson
Stan Van Gundy was huge with his coaching decisions during the Cavaliers series. Recognizing Ben Wallace was guarding Rashard Lewis was huge in Game 4 and basically won the series, but he better come with everything in this series against Jackson and that veteran coaching staff. Jackson is just as hungry as Kobe. This could be his 10th championship and it will if Van Gundy falls prey to his mental messages during this series.
KEYS FOR THE MAGIC
Force the Lakers to double-team Howard
This will be the big question all series long. Can Dwight Howard dominate consistently if the Lakers elect to stay at home on the Magic shooters? If the Lakers are forced to double they will be in serious trouble if the Magic shoot the ball like they did in the Cavalier series.
Keep Andrew Bynum on the bench
Rashard Lewis will be the key because Pau Gasol has no choice but to guard him. This will be the focal point early in most games running Gasol off screens and involving him in pick-and-pop plays. If he can’t guard Lewis, then he will be forced to defend Howard and keep Bynum on the bench, thus unleashing a possible double-team and freeing up the Magic three-point shooters.
Mickael Pietrus and Courtney Lee defend Kobe and still are offensively productive
This is what Van Gundy is praying for. He knows they will exert great effort on defense, but he also needs them to score consistently to have a chance to win this series. If both players can stay within 15 total points of Kobe combined, this series will become very interesting.
Jameer Nelson adds to a confident backcourt
This is a long shot, but we can’t ignore it. Nelson had tremendous success against the Lakers this season so although tired and not in game shape, he will be extremely confident and just him dressing and sitting on the bench could be a huge psychological boost for the Magic.
Maintain confidence they have had in the last few rounds
The Magic are soaring and have a swagger that is rightly deserved. Confidence can carry a team in games where they don’t play particularly well. The Magic are that team. They have beaten the defending champion and the team with the best record.
PREDICTION:
My prediction is Orlando in six. I have gone against them in every round. I will not do it again. I believe they are playing the best basketball of the two teams and if Dwight Howard continues to dominate and stay out of foul trouble, I don’t see the Lakers having enough to withstand his dominance in the paint.
As Gary Payton would say, the Cavaliers are flowing. They are in a world by themselves right now. Life is good and waking up in the morning is sunny even when it is raining. Athletes live for this feeling, they crave for it and the LeBron-led Cavs are living the dream at the moment. They have eight straight playoff wins by double figures, leading to first and second round sweeps – which have put the them in elite company among great teams like the Lakers, Celtics and Sixers of past seasons.
But the question remains… Can they continue to dominate and win their first NBA championship? I think they have all the major ingredients, but I will put my support, beliefs and emotions aside for the sake of my article… And probably bring out the emotions of Cavalier fans.
I can make the statement that no team has performed with the machine-like structure of the Cavaliers in putting away Detroit and Atlanta, but I can also say Detroit had a down year and was in total disarray coming into the postseason. I can add that the Atlanta Hawks were a banged up team, especially after Game 2 when Joe Johnson suffered a severe ankle sprain.
I then can check myself and say they dominated both teams and put them away quickly like a great team would under those circumstances, so you can’t fault them for who they play and the breaks they have gotten. Why? Because they earned it with the best record in the league and a 39-2 record at home.
You see, that’s what great sports fans do… They second guess and try to justify why an individual or team is so good.
What we should do is not try to find reasons to say a team is overrated, but research and figure out why a team has played so well.
So I will just come out and say it. And then tell you why I feel this way.
My take: The Cavaliers are indeed the best team in the playoffs and will win their first title. Here’s why…
They have the best all-around player in the game in Lebron James. I wrote an article a few years ago talking about his inability to shoot the ball from the perimeter and that it would keep him from becoming quite possibly the greatest player ever. Well, he answered that argument because he has become a very good shooter with endless range, thus making him virtually un guardable anywhere on the court. Also, he has become the game’s best leader. Do you see how his teammates jump up and down with excitement every time he shows them something special. That tells me they genuinely adore him and that is huge in professional sports.
Danny Ferry has surrounded him with catch-and-shoot players. I wrote an open letter article to Ferry also a few years ago telling him to stop trying to put clones like Larry Hughes around LeBron and go get him some shooters. Well, he has so many good shooters now (like Mo Williams, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak) that Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson, two mainstays from the Finals run a few years ago, struggle to get prime time minutes.
They are extremely physical, which allows head coach Mike Brown to play two ways if he wants. He can go small and speed up the game or he can go big with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Joe Smith or Ben Wallace. This allows Brown to be prepared for a small Celtic team or a big Orlando frontline in the conference finals, and then adjusting to the size of a Laker big frontline or the ultra-physical Denver Nuggets.
Versatility is the key and that is why the Cavaliers have proven all year that they are the team to beat. Boston Celtic fans might ask, if Kevin Garnett was still in the lineup would I be making this statement? I would say yes without hesitation. Why? I think the Celtics are out of gas and I felt this way before Garnett got injured.
The Lakers have beaten the Cavaliers twice this season and should have the mental edge, but I believe that is fool’s gold. If you remember, the Cavaliers beat San Antonio twice a few years ago and got swept in the Finals against them. The Cavaliers have the bodies to fight Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol and the Cavaliers I believe have a better advantage in the role-player department, especially off the bench.
In my opinion, the Denver Nuggets present the toughest challenge to the Cavaliers because they are the most physical team left in the playoffs and they can score. The challenge for them is… Can they emotionally stabilize themselves in a series against the Lakers? I say they will not and that will cost them a perfect opportunity to pull a major upset.
Let’s hail to the King. He has made us pause on how good it was back when Magic, Bird and Michael made us stand up and cheer, but we can’t anoint him yet because he has not accomplished the ultimate prize like those three did.
The Rockets entrance into the second round of the playoffs will probably end the Tracy McGrady era in Houston. The Rockets could never get out of the first round with McGrady and now with him sidelined for the season, they are headed to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. I am a huge McGrady fan and personally feel he is one of the top 20 players in the NBA when healthy, but the problem for the Rockets is that he has not accomplished what they just achieved against a very good Portland team.
McGrady put up great numbers in last year’s playoff series against Utah (27ppg, 8.2 rpg and almost 7 apg), but they still lost and in Houston they want wins. This year’s version without McGrady produced all-around contributions and created more weapons to solidify a first-round win. It probably will force the Rockets to shop their star next year.
There are four areas the Rockets improved in without McGrady.
Better cohesion
McGrady dominated on the court, but off the court as well. Although the Rockets have Yao Ming, McGrady still had the spotlight on him 24/7 and I felt because of it, he tried to do too much – thus diminishing the skills of his teammates and especially Yao Ming. The Rockets now seem to co-exist with one another. They seem to relish in the sight of not having to expect one player to produce huge numbers for them to win big games, which becomes a devastating weapon to have moving into the second round against the mighty Lakers.
Better defense
Ron Artest has been one of the best defenders in the league for a reason. He does not need help to guard his man. This alone takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the team, knowing that Artest is self sufficient. This allows Rick Adelman to gamble and double other players like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum and he will be doing it with more aggressive/physical players like Shane Battier and Luis Scola. What does this have to do with McGrady? Well, because of Artest’s ability to defend and score, Adelman can keep the diminutive Aaron Brooks on the floor and surround him with players that are very good defenders and can score in double figures as well.
Better ball movement
This might be the most important reason why McGrady might not return. The Rockets seem more fluid on offense now that McGrady is on the sidelines. The ball moves and does not stick, which used to force teammates to stop and stare instead of moving. Adelman would rather have the ball stick in Yao Ming’s hands on the post than McGrady’s on the perimeter. He would rather have a high-percentage missed field goal in the post with Ming (54 percent shooting) than a well-guarded perimeter shot by McGrady (41 percent last year and 38 percent this season).
Better offensive structure
Balanced scoring has allowed the Rockets to concentrate more on defense and not depend on one player to score in order to win. This in itself will cause the Lakers problems in the second round. Who would have thought Scola would be the Rockets’ top scorer in the first round at 17 ppg. The best part is the Rockets had six players scoring in double figures against Portland and Ron Artest was taking only 15 shots per game compared with the 24 shots per game McGrady took last year in the first-round loss to Utah. The beauty of this is that there are three players taking more shots than Yao Ming. But it’s all based on the fact that Yao Ming was the big worry defensively for Portland… And will be also for the Lakers, which will allow Scola, Brooks, Von Wafer and Shane Battier to become threats.
This article was not written to diminish the McGrady era in Houston or blaming him for the Rockets’ faults in past years. He was giving them what they expected and it did not work in Houston like it is in Cleveland with LeBron James. The greatest players in history have been humbled for dominating the ball and critics have pointed the finger at them. Michael Jordan was called selfish and a ballhog until Phil Jackson convinced him the triangle offense was better suited to win a championship.
Rudy Tomjanovich convinced Hakeem Olajuwon to trust his teammates and pass it out of double teams instead of turning it over trying to beat it. When his teammates started knocking down three-point shots with regularity, it gave him more one-on-one matchups in the post and earned the Rockets back-to-back championships.
Shaquille O’Neal allowed Kobe Bryant to take on a bigger role, especially in crunch time, during the Lakers’ three straight championships.
The problem for McGrady is that all the good things have happened for the Rockets without him on the floor and he never got the chance to be the one who made the adjustment. Now the question is… Do the Rockets want to see if he understands the adjustment he would have to make next year and do they want to deal with it?
It is pretty obvious that the mindset of these two teams are direct opposites. The Cavaliers are hungry and willing to please while the Pistons seem like a group ready for a vacation. I continue to laugh at people who think the NBA season starts in April. The reason the Cavaliers are good is because of the consistency they have developed during the year and the reason Detroit is playing poorly is because they treated the season like a training camp. I continue to remind people about how special Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Hakeem Olajawon, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan are. They never lost the hunger to win multiple championships. This Piston team has proven to us that they are a content group and the Cavaliers should sweep them if they don’t let down their guard.
The Pistons are paying a serious price for losing the leadership of Chauncey Billups. Combine that with the mistake of not drafting Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh in 2003 and Joe Dumars now has to blow up this team next year. I love Antonio McDyess, but the move he made by forcing Denver to buy out his contract to go back to Detroit will go down as one of the worst personal decisions he will ever make in his life.
I continue to marvel at LeBron James. He is on par with Kobe Bryant as the smartest basketball player in the NBA. We are watching a combination of skill and power that this game has never seen. The 38-8-7 night he had in Game 1 was a message to the rest of the playoff teams that King James is on a mission.
Chicago vs. Boston
I thought Chicago made a mistake when they took Derrick Rose over Michael Beasley. I understood the marketing aspect of it all, but I still thought Beasley was the right choice. Well, I was dead wrong. Rose has proven to me all year that he was the right pick and after the 36 points and 11 assists he put on Boston in Game 1, I would tend to think the Celtics are believers as well. Doc Rivers made a remark last year when people were applauding what a great coaching job he did in the Celtics championship run… He said, “I ran the same stuff the year before and got blasted for doing a poor coaching job.”
You do not have success in this league without great players. Kevin Garnett is a great player and most importantly is the emotional leader of the Celtics. Without Garnett, the Celtics are a 5th or 6th seed. So it is no surprise the Bulls were able to beat them and it was no surprise that Rose shredded their tough defense. I love Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, but they will need some tremendous defensive help from Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and the rest of the guys to make up for the loss of Garnett.
The Bulls are young and hungry and as I mentioned above in reference to the Pistons, it is hard to win back-to-back championships. I still think the Celtics have enough to win this series, but they will not if Rose continues to attack the rim and create opportunities for his teammates. This has quickly become the best series to keep an eye on.
(I wonder if Stephon Marbury realizes Derrick Rose is a mirror image of what people thought he would become with his combination of scoring, defense and the leadership he has portrayed this season).
Orlando vs. Philadelphia
I missed this game and I was extremely surprised when I saw the final score, but Philly has made a consistent effort to change people’s opinions come playoff time. Last year they had Detroit on the brink of elimination before they ran out of nerves and gas.
Orlando will now find out how difficult they are to beat. This was the worst matchup for the Magic because Philly is better at what Orlando likes to do. The edge Orlando has is Dwight Howard, but if he does not have monster games the Magic are in serious trouble.
The keys to this series are Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. They cannot continue to shoot poorly and most importantly they have to get back in transition to keep Andre Miller out of the paint. Miller is the most underrated point guard in the NBA and he is a potential triple-double every game he plays.
The Magic better use the length of Lewis and Turkoglu to get more interior shots to slow the pace or the Sixers or they will suffer. Also, would someone please tell Rafer Alston that he is a point guard and not a shooter? He took 15 shots and made 5 and he shoots 38 percent for the year. Stan Van Gundy also needs to calm down or he will prove Shaq’s assessment of being a nervous coach down the stretch to be correct. A good team like the Magic should not be blowing 14-point leads in the fourth quarter. I am reminded that most great coaches will say, give me a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. The pressure is on them to solidify the win.
I think Orlando will win the series, but it will go 6 or 7, which will kill their chances to stay fresh enough to deal with Cleveland in the conference finals.
Atlanta vs. Miami
The Miami Heat are arriving in Atlanta on Wednesday, I assume, because they sent their junior varsity team on Sunday and the Atlanta Hawks spanked them and cruised to one of the easiest playoff victories I have seen in a while. Josh Smith had his own personal dunk contest going on throughout the game.
The Atlanta Hawks are a dangerous team and the scare they put into the Celtics last year is giving them the confidence to excel in this year’s playoffs. This Hawks’ version is much better defensively and extremely unselfish. Mike Woodson has done one of the best coaching jobs this year and it showed in his defensive plan against Dwyane Wade in Game 1. Wade was 8 for 21 in a devastating display of offense and defense from the Hawks.
The Heat played like a young team and left Wade alone on an island. That cannot continue to happen or this series will be over in a hurry. This victory is bittersweet for the Hawks because the challenge for Mike Woodson will be to get his team to believe that Game 1 was a mirage and the real Heat team will show up on Wednesday.
I do not expect the Heat to shoot 36 percent again and struggle from behind the three-point line (4-23), but if they do they will need to grab more than the five offensive rebounds they had in Game 1.
LA Lakers vs. Utah
The Utah Jazz will be swept out of the first round quickly if they continue to shoot 39 percent while giving up 55 percent to the powerful Lakers. Logic tells me that this trend will not continue to happen especially if Mehmet Okur gets back in the lineup for Game 2. The Lakers toyed with the Jazz in Game 1. The Jazz hung around and probably could have made it a game if they did not blow the many opportunities the Lakers gave them around the basket.
The Lakers’ length is obviously a major problem for the Jazz, so in that instance they will need to get better outside shooting from Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and CJ Miles.
The Laker bench had 33 points to offset the 37 the Jazz bench produced. Utah has no chance to win one game if that trend continues because the Lakers starters will have a stranglehold on that scoring advantage all series long.
Trevor Ariza was huge with his 21 points on 8 for 10 shooting. The Lakers are looking to close this series out fast, but they better be very cautious about any letdown in Game 2 because Utah is the most difficult place to play, especially come playoff time. L.A does not need that kind of stress in their run for another championship.
New Orleans vs. Denver
This was a beat down of surprising proportions, but not unexpected if both Chauncey Billups and JR Smith shoot the ball like they did in Game 1. I think the Nuggets would have beaten anyone shooting the ball like that. Billups sent a serious message to Chris Paul and the Hornets by draining 8 three-point shots and scoring 36 points. Smith did not shoot it well. He was 0-7 from behind the arc, but he made some acrobatic jumpers in the third quarter to put the Hornets out of their misery and think about Game 2.
The Nuggets are a volatile team and usually come playoff time those teams eventually lose, but Denver plays emotional/physical defense and the Hornets seemed to back down from it in Game 1. Don’t expect it to happen again. I picked the Hornets to win this series and I still see it happening, especially if they can keep Carmelo Anthony under wraps, which is not easy. Also Billups will continue to play well, but not to the tune of 8 for 9 three-pointers and 36 points. And that means others will have to step up for the Nuggets to win the second game.
The Hornets’ goal is to win one game away because they know the Nuggets have struggled on the road this year and the emotion they rely on can backfire when things are not going well for them.
David West has to become a more physical presence in protecting Chris Paul from the over excessive contact from Kenyon Martin and Dahntay Jones. I am sure the best officials will be working the rest of this series because it’s about to become a fist-fight.
San Antonio vs. Dallas
The benches will be the difference in this series and the Mavericks have a big advantage as it showed in Game 1. The Mavericks led by Jose Juan Barea, Brandon Bass and likely Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry outscored the Spurs bench 39 to 14.
The Spurs are a beaten-down bunch and the patchwork job that Gregg Popovich has done over the last few years has finally taken a toll. Without Manu Ginobili, I can’t imagine the Spurs beating the Mavericks trying to rely on just Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
The Mavericks have too many weapons and most importantly they are playing excellent basketball. We have to admire how good Duncan and Parker are. If you told me that 36-year-old Michael Finley, Matt Bonner and Roger Mason would be starting alongside them in a playoff series, I would have said they needed to explore what vacation destination they would be headed to after Round 1.
If Popovich finds a way to win this series, he will definitely become a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He already is the best smoke-and-mirrors coach I have ever seen, but if Josh Howard can stay healthy with that gimpy ankle the Spurs will need much more than that to survive a first-round ouster.
The player of the game was Erick Dampier. His 10 points and 11 rebounds were big, but his ability to keep Tim Duncan off the free throw line was huge. Duncan had only 1 attempt in 37 minutes.
Portland vs. Houston
Aaron Brooks is the real deal. People wonder why the Rockets gave Rafer Alston away. Now you know why. Brooks has replaced the offensive production of Tracy McGrady but in a more efficient way. The Blazers have no answer for Brooks and that might be the difference in this series before it’s over. He was 10 of 17 with 7 assists and 2 turnovers and I thought jumpstarted a Rocket team that all of sudden is looking like the one team that will make it extremely difficult for the Lakers before it is over.
I can’t ignore the perfect game Yao Ming sent the Blazers way in just 24 minutes of action. He did not miss a shot. 9-9 from the field and 6-6 from the line for 24 points.
The physical presence of the Rockets and the youthfulness of the Blazers jumped off the screen in Game 1 and it will be interesting to see how the Blazers react from the beating they received.
LaMarcus Aldridge will have to show up. He was a nervous puppy Saturday and I don’t expect him to be that way in Game 2, but will it be enough?
The Blazers win with energy, but the Rockets create a major problem with their half-court offense. Don’t be surprised if Nate McMillan gives seldom-used rookie Jerryd Bayless a look to try and put some pressure on Aaron Brooks on the offensive end if he gets it going again in Game 2.
I still give the Rockets the edge in this series based on experience.
We are winding down the NBA season and one thing seems certain… The Cavaliers, Lakers, Celtics, Magic and Spurs top the charts. There are some wild cards like Houston, Denver, New Orleans, Utah, Portland and Atlanta that might compete and throw a scare during the playoffs at one of the top seeds, but chances are it will not happen because these teams have a combined record of 100-115 on the road and in the playoffs that inability to get a victory will spell doom for them.
The Cavaliers are my team of choice going into the playoffs and it is not all about probable MVP LeBron James. It is about the Cavaliers support group. They have the best support group surrounding a superstar of any team in the league and that is why the Cleveland Cavaliers might indeed win their first NBA championship this season.
Every one of the five top teams has a nucleus of three All-Star caliber players. Cleveland has LeBron, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mo Williams. Lakers: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Celtics: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Magic: Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Spurs: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – but that will not be enough to win it all.
The Cavaliers are the better team after we recognize the nucleus of each team. They rise above the other four when it comes to three-point shooting and versatile big men that anchor their stingy defense. Looks like a championship team to me.
Boston won last year with versatility and the Cavaliers have that same blueprint this year. They have been dominant with a 34-1 home record and 59-13 overall.
Cleveland brings a plethora of big defenders plus great three-point shooting to balance the dominance of James. That will allow them to protect him against constant double-teams and also allow them to grab second and third opportunities on the glass. These ingredients combined with their great defense (91.2 ppg allowed) and taking care of the ball (only 13 turnovers a game) are huge if you want to move on to the Finals.
Yes, the Lakers can boast of having some big bodies and a low-post game the Cavaliers lack, but that is only if Andrew Bynum can return from injury, which does not look good at the moment.
The Cavaliers are loaded with Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Anderson Varejao and JJ Hickson and all can cause damage in a variety of ways, which gives head coach Mike Brown many options.
The Celtics can brag about Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Glen Davis and new addition Mikki Moore, but I give the Cavaliers the edge and mainly because of Garnett’s health.
I also believe the Cavaliers have the best collection of three-point shooters. Mo Williams, Delonte West, Sasha Pavlovic, Booby Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak are all money from beyond the arc.
The Lakers can get hot with Fisher, but Sasha Vujacic and the rest of the Laker bench have been inconsistent behind the arc.
The team that should really worry everyone is San Antonio because they will enter the playoffs well rested, but I believe they don’t have enough fire power off the bench to beat the Lakers, Celtics or Cleveland.
The Cavaliers also realize that the Celtics and Magic will face one another before meeting up with them so it would be huge if they could utilize that great home record (34-1) and put away their likely opponents (Chicago or Detroit) in the first round before they deal with probably a tough Atlanta team in the conference semifinals.
The Lakers are privately hoping the Dallas Mavericks garner the 8th spot over the Suns because that will allow them to avoid an emotional and physical confrontation with Shaquille O’Neal and then face Houston or Portland before probably facing San Antonio. Without a healthy Bynum, Pau Gasol will be exhausted having been pounded by Shaq, Yao Ming or Greg Oden before dealing with Tim Duncan.
The road is set and the Cavaliers have put themselves in a great confident position winning 11 in a row and having the best overall record with only one lost at home. That alone should establish them as the favorites.
There is no doubt in my mind who reins as the best team at the moment and now the question will be… Can King James win his first title and start the climb to greatest player ever?
Ask me who I think is the best pure basketball player on Earth when it comes to smarts, overall ability, mental toughness, fundamental skills and clutch play and I will say Kobe Bryant. Ask me who I think is the most physically dominant basketball player with similar traits and I will say LeBron James.
But if you ask me who I think will win the MVP award if voting is in favor of the player that has the weakest supporting cast and yet still has his team in the playoffs and competing at a high level… Then I will tell you it’s Dwyane Wade.
I have been one of Wade’s most vocal critics, but his dedication this year in getting his body in great physical shape to play 82 games has paid dividends that we all knew he had.
Wade listened to someone this past offseason – or maybe he just watched the ultimate workout machine, Kobe Bryant, over the past few summers while playing for the Redeem Team. He reported to the Olympics in great shape and it showed with his ability to play great on both ends of the court and stand out more than anyone else on that gold medal team.
Wade was the best player this past summer and he is trying extremely hard to convince a great number of writers to change their thinking about who should be MVP this season. What he has done this season – 29.9 points a game, and even better after the All-Star break – sends a signal to anyone who thought it’s a two-man show between LeBron and Kobe for the award.
The run Wade has been is Jordan-like for sure. He is not only putting up insane numbers. He is also flirting with triple doubles every night and winning games with Hollywood endings. He has truly become an un stoppable force with his ability to get to the rim at will to set up his improved shooting range out to the three-point line.
Kobe and LeBron have taken notice because their numbers have risen in this stretch as well.
Wade is on such a rapid pace with a mediocre team that I can’t help but say he has become a serious contender to Kobe and LeBron. If voting goes to the standards of how to view a MVP, Wade should walk away with the award beating this year’s most dominant player – LeBron James.
That has happened before. Charles Barkley and Karl Malone won the award during the Michael Jordan era. Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki have been MVPs this decade – basically dominated by Kobe, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan.
So we must assume the MVP does not usually go to the best player in the league. The best example would be Steve Nash, who admitted during his back-to-back MVP run that it was absurd to think he was better than Kobe, LeBron, Duncan or Shaq. But he was doing something no one expected and that was taking a 28-win Phoenix Suns team and help turn it into the most exciting team in the league by winning 62 games.
Wade is not doing that. He has the Heat only six games over .500 (36-30) and in fifth place in a weak Eastern Conference, but if you look at the Heat’s roster without him they would be lucky to win 12 games.
That reason alone will increase Wade’s chances of leapfrogging over Kobe and LeBron.
The easiest comparison of the three might lie in if the voters agree with my thought that the Lakers and Cavaliers would still be potentially play-off bound teams minus Kobe and LeBron and where would the Heat be without Wade.
The Lakers have Pau Gasol,Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher, which would be a legit fifth or sixth seed in the Western Conference. The Cavaliers have Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a trio of solid veterans that could have them competing for a sixth, seventh or eight seed in the East. Miami? It would be lottery-bound squad with an aging Jermaine O’Neal surrounded by a nucleus of young players still trying to figure the league out.
That sceanario should really get Kobe’s and LeBron’s supporters scrambling because if Wade continues with this rapid pace and somehow overtakes Atlanta for the fourth seed, then Wade will have a chance to win his first MVP award and that will be the biggest steal he has had all year long.
The Suns are back to Seven Seconds or Less and after a 4-2 record since replacing Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry, it seems to be working because they lit up the scoreboard for 642 points and an average of 128 points per game prior to the Lakers loss Thursday night. Looks like this collection of players got accustomed to playing only one way, especially with Steve Nash running the show.
The thought of scoring 140 points in three games in a row after the change in coaches and philosophy had a lot of basketball enthusiasts shaking their heads in disbelief, but this is who the Suns are and they have welcomed the change with an exuberance that has Phoenix fans feeling hopeful about the playoffs despite losing Amare Stoudemire to an eye injury for eight weeks.
I, for one, thought going into this season and coming off of another playoff loss to the Spurs that the Suns style needed a tweak in order to finally overcome San Antonio – similar to what the Isiah Thomas-led Pistons had to do in order to beat the Larry Bird-led Celtics or the Michael Jordan-led Bulls.
I viewed the combination of Shaquille O’Neal and Amare running the two-man game with Nash on equal basis with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. I viewed the ability to post up Shaq and spread the floor with shooters as a way of getting high-percentage shots and maintaining a balanced floor, thus improving the transition back to defense and allowing Nash to stay fresh.
Porter was not wrong for trying to change the culture of this team. He just underestimated how tough it would be to communicate the change. I remember when Phil Jackson hired Tex Winter and told Jordan that he wanted to install the triangle offense. It took him a number of games to finally convince Jordan and Scottie Pippen that this system could work and, most importantly, win championships. That’s why I say he is the best coach ever… Because he had to convince arguably the best player ever to change and trust his teammates.
Unlike Jackson, though, Porter took over a winning team and attempted the change – which was and proved to be much more difficult.
Immediate success was the key to keeping the communication lines open and it seemed as if Porter was on the right track with regards to that. The Suns got off to a 8-3 start and although players were skeptical, the wins were piling up. People took notice especially when the Suns opened the season with a road victory at San Antonio. But six losses in their next nine games and five in double figures left them at 11-9. Then doubt and emotion started to cover the locker room.
I did not think it was a huge negative because I was comparing it to the track record of San Antonio and always marveled at how they got off to slow starts and picked up steam as the season went along. Once the playoffs started, they were in full gear and rested. There is plenty of sense in that thinking because I remember Larry Brown once telling me that he needed his teams and players to struggle at times so he could regain their focus to continue to teach and keep them on the track for the goal of winning a championship.
Because they can be off the track, but still moving forward and think everything is still OK when in hindsight a crash was about to happen. I felt the Suns were learning a lesson and would continue to listen and adhere to this new philosophy from Terry Porter and get back on track. Winning 11 out of the next 14 games proved my theory correct.
The Suns were a respectable 22-13 and it seemed Jason Richardson, who came over in the trade for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, was finding his rhythm within the offense. With a favorable schedule, the Suns were apparently headed towards another 55-win season.
But a loss to Minnesota at home set them on a track where they lost to another five teams playing less than .500 basketball. That cost Porter his job and put the Suns in the position they are in today – fighting for their playoff lives.
The question remains… What is the best fit for this basketball team? Because, yes, they have won four out of six games with Gentry and are averaging 124 points. But the four wins were against sub-.500 teams and both losses were against the best two teams in basketball – the Lakers and Celtics.
Gentry can argue the fact he did not have Amare for either game and Nash was out with a sprained ankle in the Lakers defeat. Based on how this team picked up where it left off last year in reference to the running game, it is pretty obvious they are more comfortable with Seven Seconds or Less and the stats pretty much support their argument.
There are two statistical areas I felt the Suns were deficient in and it seemed to be costing them games: turnovers (16) and allowing opponents to garner more offensive rebounds (-3).
Those numbers, combined with their inability to force turnovers (12) or secure second chance attempts on the glass, left them with close to -7 possessions a game. So if we look at the +1 point differential the Suns have been hovering around all year, we see why weak teams have found a way to grab victories from them.
The last six games those numbers changed in the Suns favor. They have turned the ball over 13 less times than the opposition and they have scored 35 more points off turnovers. They are a +1 in offensive rebounds, which is a huge turnaround from the -3 they had entering those games. So if six contests tell us anything it is that the Suns are more productive all-around when they run. Yes, they will give up more points, but that has always been the beauty of this system – to fool teams into thinking they can score at will, but in the same instance allowing the Suns to rack up 133 points per game in the four wins.
The running game helps the Suns avoid the two-man game teams punish them with when they were a walk-it-up-the-court team, especially the middle pick-and-roll. The list is long… Parker-Duncan, Chris Paul-David West, Deron Williams-Carlos Boozer, Jason Terry-Dirk Nowitzki, Rajon Rondo-Paul Pierce, etcetera… They have all feasted this season on the Suns’ inability to defend it with regularity. The pace of the game baits teams into taking quicker shots and forgetting about what is their bread-and-butter play to get great shots against Phoenix.
The more the Suns can keep the great teams from running pick-and-rolls, the better their chances are of winning against them and that is why this group needs to run despite having arguably the most dominant big man in NBA history in Shaq.
The hope now is Nash will be back soon from a sprained ankle and Phoenix continues to make a run at the final playoff spots, but it will not be easy because the Suns embark on what I think is the most difficult stretch of games any team in the NBA will face this season.
These next two weeks will decide if the Suns have enough to get back in the thick of the race and secure a playoff spot. After playing Toronto tonight, they will play seven straight games beginning with another date with the Los Angeles Lakers at home on March 1 and by March 12. 11 days later they will have faced Orlando, Miami, Houston and San Antonio on the road and come back home to face Dallas and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If the Suns can weather the storm and at least win three or four of the seven games, then they have a chance to make the playoffs. They seemed to have solved beating up the poor teams and they will get a chance to do just that after this stretch. They will have 17 games left and 10 will be against teams with poor records and six of those games will be at home.
It will be extremely difficult to accomplish this with Amare Stoudemire out the rest of the season, but if they find a way to get to the postseason they will automatically become the most dangerous team to face if Amare returns for the playoffs. How would you like to be the Lakers or Spurs having to deal with Shaq, Amare and Nash for seven games in the first round. Welcome to the Western Conference!
The Lakers have been one of the most dominant forces in the Western Conference for decades and the last few days tell you why. When it looks like this franchise might be on an elevator going down, they find a way to re-direct it back up again.
The season is over and if you are a Magic fan, the offseason will provide sleepless nights playing the “what if” game. If you are a Laker fan, you are ecstatic and saying this is about redemption, experience and us having one of the best players in the history of the game in Kobe Bryant and the best coach ever in Phil Jackson.
The Orlando Magic finally arrived in Los Angeles Sunday night and although they accounted for themselves much better than in Game 1. They still are headed back to Orlando searching for answers and down 0-2 in the series. They say the playoffs don’t start until someone wins on the others floor. Well, if the Magic do not find a way to recover the shooting magic among their guards, the Lakers will end these Finals rather quickly.
As Gary Payton would say, the Cavaliers are flowing. They are in a world by themselves right now. Life is good and waking up in the morning is sunny even when it is raining. Athletes live for this feeling, they crave for it and the LeBron-led Cavs are living the dream at the moment. They have eight straight playoff wins by double figures, leading to first and second round sweeps 
The Rockets entrance into the second round of the playoffs will probably end the Tracy McGrady era in Houston. The Rockets could never get out of the first round with McGrady and now with him sidelined for the season, they are headed to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. I am a huge McGrady fan and personally feel he is one of the top 20 players in the NBA when healthy, but the problem for the Rockets is that he has not accomplished what they just achieved against a very good Portland team.
Cleveland vs. Detroit
Ask me who I think is the best pure basketball player on Earth when it comes to smarts, overall ability, mental toughness, fundamental skills and clutch play and I will say Kobe Bryant. Ask me who I think is the most physically dominant basketball player with similar traits and I will say LeBron James.
The Suns are back to Seven Seconds or Less and after a 4-2 record since replacing Terry Porter with Alvin Gentry, it seems to be working because they lit up the scoreboard for 642 points and an average of 128 points per game prior to the Lakers loss Thursday night. Looks like this collection of players got accustomed to playing only one way, especially with Steve Nash running the show.