(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The more perfect a thing is, the more susceptible to good and bad treatment it is.
-Dante Alighieri
And it ain’t in Lake Loch Ness
(Via @NBA_Photos)
(Via telegraph.co.uk)
Follow Ryan on Twitter @rpravato because, well, he did find Nessie.
There is having the hot hand, and then there is what Dirk Nowitzki had on Tuesday night. Dirk scored 48 points to lead the Mavericks to a 121-112 victory over the Thunder in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
What made Dirk’s 48 points so amazing, was that he did it on only 15 shots (missing only 3), while setting an NBA playoff record for most made free throw’s without a miss (24-24). That is 3.2 points per FGA…and Dirk didn’t take one three pointer all night. While Dirk had the hottest hand ever, it was Dallas’ bench that really made the difference. Jason Terry (24) and JJ Barea (career playoff high 21) combined to score 45 while the Thunder bench was only able to muster 22 between the six of them.
Now you would think with the way Dirk shot and the Dallas bench played, that the Mavericks ran the Thunder out of the building, but with less than 2 minutes to go, the Thunder were down by only 6 behind Kevin Durant’s most forgotten 40 point game ever. Dallas actually got up by 16 points in the 4th but behind Durant, the Thunder just would not go away.
Russell Westbrook added 20 points but he shot a putrid 3-15 from the field, with several of those misses in the paint. Dallas’ 2-3 zone really gave Westbrook problems because every time he was able to dribble penetrate, he was met by one or two big bodies every time waiting to alter his shot.
As Kevin Durant just said in the post game press conference: ”I could bet my whole house that Russell Westbrook won’t go 3-15 again. You can quote me on that.” Quote you we will Kevin and I personally agree with you. Westbrook was terrible and Oklahoma City still had a very good shot to win.
The silver lining for Thunder fans is that there is no way that Dirk can pitch 3 more perfect games while JJ Barea scores a playoff career high. Adding all that up, the fact that the Thunder only lost by 9 and were in it until the final minute, is really encouraging going forward.
Game 2 in Dallas is on Thursday on ESPN and we can only hope that it is as great as game 1 was.
Nick is a contributor to Stacheketball and full time lover of all things roundball related. Follow him on Twitter because you know you want to @Jubanator14
This might have been the single greatest day of playoff basketball I’ve seen in my lifetime. We had the Zombie Spurs, the Broingtons and the Miami Breakfast Club all make an appearance last night.
Philadelphia 76ers 91 – Miami Heat 97
Andre Iguodala finally has a good game and the Sixers lose. It was a close game throughout but the difference came when Spoelstra took a T for his guys with the score was knotted up at 60. From that point on, Miami went on a 7-0 run that gave them control of the game.
The Sixers definitely overachieved this season and they should be proud of that. They should also know that they can do the same thing again next year. And if they don’t start out 1-13, they might actually have a shot at home court in the first round.
As for the Heat, both LeBron and Dwyane had near triple-doubles in last nights close-out win and Bosh went for 22 and 11 but the questions still loom. Specifically, about how they will match-up with the Boston Celtics in the next round.
Memphis Grizzlies 103 – San Antonio Spurs 110 (OT)
What an amazing game this was. Memphis was oh-so close to closing the door on the Spurs. Not just their season but perhaps on their dynasty. But the Spurs just wouldn’t die. Someone on twitter called them the Zombie Spurs and I found that very fitting. Down 3 Manu hit what looked to be a miracle corner three with just 2 seconds left in the game that resulted from a chaotic broken play. The video review showed that his foot was on the line and it was a two. Spurs fouled Zach Randolph on the inbounds and Z-Bo hit both of his Z-Throws. With just 1.7 ticks left in the Spurs season, they drew up a play for 26-year old rookie, Gary Neal. Naturally.
Having gone 0-1 in the game and had scored just 4 points, you’d think Popovich would have gone with a different option but he trusts the rookie, immensely. Neal rose up over the double team and buried the three, resurrecting the half-dead Spurs and forever dubbing them the Zombie Spurs because they just won’t die. Spurs went on to OT and put the game away for good. Now down just 3-2 in the series, you have to wonder if the Grizzlies are shook. Then again, I doubt anything in the world can shake Z-Bo and Tony Allen. Those two are too hood for the hood.
Denver Nuggets 97 – Oklahoma City Thunder 100
Kevin Durant was Kid Delicious last night. Dropping a cool 41 points and helping his team close out the series in 5 games. But before we get into this, I want to tell you that Kevin Durant’s back court/front court call by the refs was the correct call. If you don’t know what I am talking about, let me explain. Durant caught the ball running towards the mid-court line. When he caught the ball, his foot was on the line, which is perfectly legal. His next step and dribble put his other foot on the line and the ref immediately called a back court violation. However, the ref on the baseline came running in and all three refs huddled and overturned the call. A lot of people were upset over this call and thought that Oklahoma was bailed out by the refs. In reality, this was the correct call and here is why:
The rules state that a player isn’t technically in the front court until both his feet and the ball are completely past the mid-court line. Durant never got both feet across that line since both of his steps were on the line, therefore it was the correct call to overturn the original back court violation. What ensued after the play was overturned was a complete breakdown by the Nuggets. Durant got free, caught the ball, took a few dribbles and pulled up inside the arc to nail a 19 foot jumper to give the Thunder a 100-97 lead.
When Durant is in the zone there is nothing like it in the world. A 22-year old, 6’11″ silky smooth shooter that can get almost any shot he wants. Last night he did just that. According to NBA Analyst, Kevin Pelton, the Thunder scored 18 points on their last 8 possessions which is a ridiculous 225.0 Offensive Rating. Durant had 14 of those points and an assist in that span. And it wasn’t just a one sided effort by the NBA’s scoring champ. He came up with a few key stops including blocking a J.R. Smith 3-pointer, that could have potentially tied the game with under 10 seconds to go.Speaking of blocks, Serge Ibaka had 9 of them, all of which were crucial to their victory.
The only thing souring this victory was Russell Westbrook going Starbury. Again. Shooting an ugly 3 of 15 for 14 points and just 4 assists is bad news from your team’s point guard. To do that while ignoring your team’s best player who just happens to be the NBA’s leading scorer I tragic news. At some point coach Brooks is going to have to speak to Westbrook about his new found fame and his propensity to chuck the rock. Russell’s only been a point guard for 3 years now, before that he was always designated a 2-guard. His primary job on the court has always been to get buckets so I understand this is just part of the growing pains but you don’t want to see those pains develop into an incurable illness down the road. Maybe next season, OKC should explore running West at the 2 and Eric Maynor at the 1. Either way, this was a fun series despite spanning just 5 short games.
Tonight’s Games:
Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks – 7:30 PM EST on NBAtv: I’m pretty sure this entire series has been on NBAtv. As if Stern wants Howard to not only lose the series but also suffer from terrible national exposure just so he opts out and Joins either the Knicks or the Lakers. Okay, that’s enough conspiracy talk. The Hawks should wrap this series up at home tonight. If it happens, the post-game interviews of Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard are going to be epic.
Los Angeles Lakers @ New Orleans Hornets – 8:00 PM EST on TNT: Kobe’s ankle is the determining factor of this game. If he’s stiff from the travel and the downtime, it’s going to be a long night. Ariza has already outscore Kobe in a couple of games and he has the same confidence he displayed in the Lakers’ 2009 championship march. If the Lakers don’t go to their bigs, we could be headed back to LA for a game 7. With that said, I think LA closes out tonight. They finally woke up in Game 5 and it looks like they are now in playoff form.
Dallas Maverick @ Portland Trailblazers – 10:30 PM EST on TNT: Portland might be all out of juice. Then again, Dallas might not be focused. They do that sometimes, especially in the playoffs. Their lack of focus already cost them Game 4 in which they blew a 20+ point lead. I origanilly picked Dallas in 7 and I’m going to stick with it. Portland wins a close one tonight.
Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.
Last night was, in a way, disappointing. Maybe I’m a bit spoiled from the incredible action the playoffs has given us already? As Sebastian Pruiti pointed out to me on twitter, last night was the first time in 9 straight days that we didn’t experience wire-to-wire excitement, and that’s something we should all be willing to live with. He’s right, it could be August already and we’d have to suffer through 2 hours of MLB highlights.
I’ll leave our supposed national past time alone for now and get on with business; most of the games turned into blowouts late but there was some substance there. My favorite result of last night’s action was everyone tweeting vintage Kobe dunks. That dude used to merk everyone.
Atlanta Hawks 86 – Orlando Magic 101
I mentioned yesterday that Orlando’s shooters will eventually get hot and it happened in this game. Atlanta just had to hope it would come on a night where their own shooters also caught a flame. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and the result was a 15-point loss that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates. The highlight of this game was J.J. Reddick’s hilarious post-game interview on the podium, which happened to be the first of his playoff career. Outside of that, this game was insufferable.
Atlanta still leads the series 3-2 and Game 6 is a home game at Phillip’s. For their sake, I hope this game was just them packing it in and trying to close out at home because if it wasn’t, things could get interesting.
Indiana Pacers 89 – Chicago Bulls 116
Real quick on the Pacers; this game was ugly but it wasn’t indicative of how your season went. Interim head coach Frank Vogel went 20-18 during his tenure and absolutely needs to be hired as the head coach for next year. He showed us a lot of value whether it was in guiding this team with leadership or drawing up situational plays. This team still needs one more key piece but their cogs are all legit. Granger can be a great #2, Collison is a good point and Paul George might be an All-Star in the making. Keep your heads up, Pacer fans, and make sure you keep your team in town, too!
This was a close out game and that’s exactly what Chicago did. I’ll save you the Rose rhetoric and point you at my key players: Noah, Deng & Gibson. Those three men are as important to this team as is MVP favorite, Derrick Rose. The way they lock down the wing and the middle of the court allows Chicago to get crucial stops which lead to those magnificent Derrick Rose finishes at the other end of the court. Most of these Bulls have elevated their games in the post season and that’s scary for opponents considering this team lead the NBA in wins. What’s scary for the Bulls is that Carlos Boozer has disappeared. If anyone has seen him, please notify the proper authorities.
Overall, these Bulls are lovable. They play hard and they play the right way, every single night. It’s displayed in Deng’s demeanor, it’s voiced in Rose’s humble interviews and it’s strung up in Noah’s smile. When Joakim went into the stands after the game to hug his grandfather it made you realize that these guys are the real deal. They love what they do and they are proud of the work they have accomplished. And they aren’t done yet.
New Orleans Hornets 90 – Los Angeles Lakers 106
I just want to point out that the Lakers wore black socks and black shoes at home today. If you aren’t entirely familiar with NBA on-court fashion, home teams typically wear white shoes and socks to coordinate with their lighter colored home uniforms. But the Lakers wanted to send a message to themselves as well as the Hornets and it worked. The NBA should make everyone wear black on black attire, it just looks meaner.
Chris Paul started out the game with 8 assists in the first quarter but finished the game with 12 and the Hornets got blown out by the end of it. A few things contributed to this. First of all, the Lakers played their first complete game of the series. And when I say complete, I mean that even Derek Fisher scored 13 points. The Lakers five starters and Lamar Odom all scored in double digits. And when the better roster is playing better basketball, you just have to sit there and take their punches, not much New Orleans can do to counter that. One thing that I can fault the Hornets with is sitting Chris Paul for two extended stretches that probably cost them a chance to win this game. First one came in the second quarter as N.O. let a 9-point lead slip as Paul rested. The second came in the 4th where L.A. blew the game wide open as CP3 got his usual rest. Chris ended up playing 41 minutes in the game but it’s how and when those 41 minutes came that hurt the team.
One thing that should be worry some for LA should be Kobe’s ankle. I know he had two throwback throw downs, including decapitating Emeka Okafor (twice!), but he wasn’t he usual self. I’m guessing he had a healthy Cortisone shot before the game and that relieved enough pain for him to actually participate, but his defense and play-making wasn’t there. He finished the game with 19 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers and got outscored by Trevor Ariza (22 points) on the other end. Hopefully, this is nothing serious as Lakers haven’t put away this series just yet, leading 3-2 and headed back to the Big Easy.
Tonight’s Games:
Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat – 7:00 PM EST on TNT: If the Heat, who lead the series 3-1, can’t close this out tonight, I’m going to have to seriously discount them as a contender going forward.
Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 PM EST NBAtv: This game is going to be too good to be stashed away on NBAtv. Memphis might shock the world tonight and close this series out. On the road. Against the Spurs. A 61-win Spurs. Can you fathom all of that? Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol could actually beat the 4-time NBA Champion Spurs in 5 games in the opening round of the playoffs. It could happen tonight!
Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 10:30 PM EST on TNT: I honestly don’t think this game will be close. The Thunder messed around last game and still nearly pulled off the win. Game 5, at home with a chance to clinch the series and advance, you have to bet on Durant.
Links of the Day:
NBAPlaybook.com – This play sums up the Spurs’ woes this series.
HoopSpeak.com – Let’s take a look at the New Orleans Pick’n'Roll sets.
SB Nation’s Bay Area Blog – The latest news on the Anaheim/Sacramento/Rochester Kings/Royals
DailyThunder.com - Royce explains Russ.
That’s it for today and as always, don’t forget to join the party on twitter tonight!
Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.
San Antonio Spurs 86 – Memphis Grizzlies 104
Lionel Hollins tanking at the end of the season so the Grizzlies can drop down to the 8th seed and play a 61-win team now looks borderline genius. Memphis beat San Antonio to take a 3-1 series lead. Only person I know that called the Memphis upset was Zach Lowe on The Basketball Jones’ Overdose and he probably can’t believe how things have transpired either. Last night’s game saw the 4-time champion Spurs team get out-classed by Darrell Arthur and Tony Allen. The best part about this series is watching Marc Gasol adding zeros to his inevitable off-season payday. Marc has the confidence of a 2-time world champion as if his name was Pau. Swag him the f*** out.
Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes Of Hell tweeted during the game, “Just got a text from a friend. The Spurs window as contenders might run lockout-to-lockout, and that’s it. ” It’s remarkable that this is how things could end. Then again, would anyone be shocked if the Spurs came back and won this series? Game 5 is on Wednesday in San Antonio.
Portland Trailblazers 82 – Dallas Mavericks 93
At this point I don’t know what to think of Brandon Roy. He went just 2 for 7 in nearly 30 minutes of action last night but I can’t just throw him under the bus, none of the Blazers decided to show up last night. LaMarcus went for 12 and 9 and Wes Matthews had 8 points in 36 minutes. If it weren’t for Wallace and Miller, this game would have turned uglier, sooner. No one really checked Dirk all night and no one could keep Tyson Chandler off the glass, specifically the offensive rebounds. Tyson grabbed 20 boards including 13 offensive rebounds, a team record. Those second chance points killed Portland, who had held Dallas to just 41% shooting for the night. Dallas now has a 3-2 series advantage and I think they close it out in Portland on Thursday.
Oklahoma City Thunder 101 – Denver Nuggets 104
I didn’t see this game but I got home just in time to see the post-game interviews and read all the tweets. Russell Westbrook was a trending topic in my timeline. The tweets were hilarious but the context wasn’t and that was deserved. I check the box score and I see that the Thunder point guard put up 30 shots and missed 18 of them including a few crucial baskets at the end of the game. Yesterday I said that this game would be indicative of exactly what the Thunder are capable of. If they close out this game strong and sweep the Nuggets, we should all be very scared. I’m scared, but not for other teams, I’m scared for Oklahoma. What transpired is what I’ve always been afraid of for this team, selfish, inefficient play. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come and Westbrook will soon realize that Durant is the closer, not him. Oklahoma has a chance to close the series out at home on Wednesday.
Tonight’s Games:
Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic – 7:30 PM EST on NBAtv: Atlanta leads this series 3-1. This means the Hawks have three chances to win one game, starting with tonight. Which most likely means that Atlanta won’t win tonight because they are Atlanta. Orlando wins this one if their 3-point shooters actually make some 3-point shots. The strange part of this series is that Atlanta’s shooters haven’t been shooting well, either. Orlando might get unlucky and find their stroke on the same night Atlanta does.
Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls – 8:00 PM EST on TNT: The Pacers did some good things in games 3 & 4. They went to a trap defense and saw some results. Good enough results that they limited Derrick Rose — even before he sprained his ankle — and forced a Game 5. Although Chicago leads this series 3-1 and many thought this would be a sweep or at worst 5-games, Indiana has been right there. This could easily be a 2-2 series or even a 3-1 series in favor of Indy. That last bit might be a stretch but don’t forget the Pacer held a significant 4th quarter lead in every single game. If this team figures out how to actually close a game out — they almost blew a double digit lead in game 4 as well — they might steal at least one more game in these playoffs. Still, even with Rose’s bum ankle, I see Chicago closing it out tonight.
New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 PM EST on TNT: I’m not sure what to expect anymore. I never thought one man could beat the 2-time defending world champs, let alone do it twice in four games. The thing that gets me is that Chris Paul has been stellar, but it hasn’t been inconceivable. It’s not like he had to score 60 points for the hornets to win. He simply had to have a great Chris-Paulian type game of 20+/15+/5+. That might sound out of this world, but Chris nearly averaged that a few seasons ago, so asking for him to do it two more times in the three games left in this series is not that far fetched. Especially with Kobe playing on a sprained ankle which he refuses to get an MRI on, there might be no one on this Lakers roster than can defend Chris Paul. Lakers are going to have to simply outsize New Orleans, something which they are inexplicably having trouble doing.
Links Of The Day:
The No-Look Pass: Check out Rey-Rey’s daily recaps of playoff action!
The Basketball Jones: Holly MacKenzie with two pieces just as good as the performances that inspired them: Chris Paul & Brandon Roy
Negative Dunkalectics: The joys of gambling on the NBA.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: Chris Paul is red-hot, via StatsCube.
Join me on twitter tonight for a ridiculously good time.
Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.
