Sunday 4/29
Lakers v Phoenix (Suns up 3-1) – Los Angeles and Kobe Bryant put up a valiant effort but they just don’t have the fire power to hang with Phoenix in the end. One win was nice to save face for my boys, but I’m not sure I’m happy with their season. I know they had injuries but this club doesn’t get along and Phil Jackson did not do enough to improve their defense. The Lakers are capped out and in need of a facelift…not a great combination. GM Mitch Kupchak has some work do so he doesn’t end up wasting the next four years of Kobe’s prime.
As for the Suns, I haven’t been overly impressed with them yet. I mean LA is 5-11 in their last 16 games and hasn’t resembled anything close to a decent squad in months. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire look great but I still have questions about what Phoenix can do in a half-court dominated game.
New Jersey v Toronto (Nets up 3-1) – I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed in the Raptors. I was willing to give them a pass for Game 3, but when they gave the same type of effort in Game 4, now I have a problem. Toronto was outscored 63-34 in the 1st quarters combined in NJ. That’s flat out not being ready to play, and totally inexcusable at this time of the year. You need look no further then the Raps best player to place further blame. Chris Bosh shot 8-22 (36.4%) and scored 24 points in the swamplands as opposed to the 47 points on 17-36 (47.2%) he put up in T-Dot. Chris, great players in this league perform on the road in the playoffs. It’s just that simple.
The Nets post season experience has been huge, as Jason Kidd and company have shown they can switch it into a higher gear defensively when they need to. For the record: Vince Carter was 24-38 (63.2%) from the field, 7-12 (58.3%) from three with 64 points at home. On the road VC was 13-43 (30.2%), 2-10 (20%) with 35 points. What I said about Bosh goes double for Carter.
I think back to the day I typed about NJ-Toronto & Miami-Chicago and wonder if I would have made the right decisions if I’d had more than 9 hours of sleep combined in the previous two days. I just wasn’t thinking clearly that night and writing about these two series was a major struggle. C’est la vie I guess.
Golden State v Dallas (Warriors up 3-1) – “WOW!” Is all I can really say about this one. My disappointment at missing those two series I just mentioned is tempered by the fact that this one is looking like a loss too. While 7-1 looks better than 5-3, neither is undefeated, so the streak would have been over regardless.
I don’t know what to say about this one other than the Mavericks have been thoroughly out played thus far. It’s amazing that GS seems to want it more and that the Warriors are able to make more big plays when they matter most. Dirk Nowitzki is taking a lot of heat, and rightfully so, but his numbers are practically identical to his regular season averages. He’s averaged 20 points thus far in the playoffs compared to 24.6 ppg in the regular season. His assists (3.4 to 2.3 apg), overall shooting (50.2% to 40.9%) free throw shooting (90.4% to 77.4%) and 3-point shooting (20% to 41.6%) are also down. But his rebounding (8.9 to 11.5 rpg), blocks (.8 to 1.8 bpg) and steals (.67 to 2.5 spg) are up. I suppose it’s fair to rip into Nowitzki, but when you look at the numbers further, Josh Howard (18.9 to 21.3 ppg) and Jason Terry (16.7 to 19.5 ppg) have actually made up for Dirk’s scoring dip.
I think coaching has been the determining factor in this series, although Baron Davis averaging 30 points and 58.2% shooting in GS’s three wins has helped quite a bit also. The Warriors’ Don Nelson has coached circles around Dallas’ Avery Johnson. I don’t know if it’s a mentor versus pupil thing or what, but Nellie has consistently been a step ahead in outfoxing Avery at every turn. Can the Mavs win three in a row? Sure, but at this point it seems highly unlikely. Winning Game 5 in Dallas and putting the pressure on GS to close out at home in Game 6 is all the Mavs can hope for at the moment.
As for the Suns, I haven’t been overly impressed with them yet. I mean LA is 5-11 in their last 16 games and hasn’t resembled anything close to a decent squad in months. Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire look great but I still have questions about what Phoenix can do in a half-court dominated game.
New Jersey v Toronto (Nets up 3-1) – I’ve got to say I’m a little disappointed in the Raptors. I was willing to give them a pass for Game 3, but when they gave the same type of effort in Game 4, now I have a problem. Toronto was outscored 63-34 in the 1st quarters combined in NJ. That’s flat out not being ready to play, and totally inexcusable at this time of the year. You need look no further then the Raps best player to place further blame. Chris Bosh shot 8-22 (36.4%) and scored 24 points in the swamplands as opposed to the 47 points on 17-36 (47.2%) he put up in T-Dot. Chris, great players in this league perform on the road in the playoffs. It’s just that simple.
The Nets post season experience has been huge, as Jason Kidd and company have shown they can switch it into a higher gear defensively when they need to. For the record: Vince Carter was 24-38 (63.2%) from the field, 7-12 (58.3%) from three with 64 points at home. On the road VC was 13-43 (30.2%), 2-10 (20%) with 35 points. What I said about Bosh goes double for Carter.
I think back to the day I typed about NJ-Toronto & Miami-Chicago and wonder if I would have made the right decisions if I’d had more than 9 hours of sleep combined in the previous two days. I just wasn’t thinking clearly that night and writing about these two series was a major struggle. C’est la vie I guess.
Golden State v Dallas (Warriors up 3-1) – “WOW!” Is all I can really say about this one. My disappointment at missing those two series I just mentioned is tempered by the fact that this one is looking like a loss too. While 7-1 looks better than 5-3, neither is undefeated, so the streak would have been over regardless.
I don’t know what to say about this one other than the Mavericks have been thoroughly out played thus far. It’s amazing that GS seems to want it more and that the Warriors are able to make more big plays when they matter most. Dirk Nowitzki is taking a lot of heat, and rightfully so, but his numbers are practically identical to his regular season averages. He’s averaged 20 points thus far in the playoffs compared to 24.6 ppg in the regular season. His assists (3.4 to 2.3 apg), overall shooting (50.2% to 40.9%) free throw shooting (90.4% to 77.4%) and 3-point shooting (20% to 41.6%) are also down. But his rebounding (8.9 to 11.5 rpg), blocks (.8 to 1.8 bpg) and steals (.67 to 2.5 spg) are up. I suppose it’s fair to rip into Nowitzki, but when you look at the numbers further, Josh Howard (18.9 to 21.3 ppg) and Jason Terry (16.7 to 19.5 ppg) have actually made up for Dirk’s scoring dip.
I think coaching has been the determining factor in this series, although Baron Davis averaging 30 points and 58.2% shooting in GS’s three wins has helped quite a bit also. The Warriors’ Don Nelson has coached circles around Dallas’ Avery Johnson. I don’t know if it’s a mentor versus pupil thing or what, but Nellie has consistently been a step ahead in outfoxing Avery at every turn. Can the Mavs win three in a row? Sure, but at this point it seems highly unlikely. Winning Game 5 in Dallas and putting the pressure on GS to close out at home in Game 6 is all the Mavs can hope for at the moment.
posted by D$ at 6:34 AM
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