Monday 4/30
Utah v Houston (Rockets up 3-2) – Houston made just enough plays down the stretch to eek out a four point victory in Game 5. The key for the Rockets was that Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming finally got some help from their friends. Shane Battier (15 points), Rafer Alston (14) and Juwan Howard (12) all stepped up and delivered. While it seemed that the Jazz role players forgot to pack their confidence for the road trip.
I expect more of the same as this series shifts back to Salt Lake Thursday. I mean, there’s not much to analyze here anymore. If you’ve been watching this one at all, you know Game 6 will be a hard fought affair decided by which team’s role players perform better. I look for Utah to ride their home crowd to victory and force a Game 7 on Saturday.
Denver v San Antonio (Spurs up 3-1) – Once again the Nuggets proved not to have what it takes down the stretch by getting outscored 29-16 in the 4th quarter. The key sequence was at the start of the 4th when SA coach Gregg Popovich went with a small lineup of Jacque Vaughn, Manu Ginobili, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto. Denver flat out could not match up as the Spurs went from down six to up one in 1:38. From there it was close the rest of the way until Robert Horry put the final nail in the coffin with a three from the right corner with :30 seconds to play.
As many of you know, I love to rip Allen Iverson for being a low percentage gunner that takes bad shots and turns the ball over too much. Well he’s done nothing to change my mind in this series by hoisting 23 shots a game (to get his 23.3 ppg) while shooting 39.1% from the field, 25% from three with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.75 (5.3 apg & 3 topg). Even with that typical display from AI, the Nugs have had their chances. Carmelo Anthony has had his best post season ever, shooting 50% overall and from three while averaging 28.3 points & 9 rebounds. Nene Hilario has quietly done a superb job defending Tim Duncan one-on-one as well. What’s really killed Denver (besides AI) has been the disappearance of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, leaving coach George Karl with just one reliable sub off the pine (Eduardo Najera). The Nugs outlook for next season is not going to be as bleak as I originally thought, but it’s also not going to be as great as some are predicting. They’ll be a solid playoff team, that can maybe win a round, but when push comes to shove I just don’t see the Melo-AI partnership working out.
I expect more of the same as this series shifts back to Salt Lake Thursday. I mean, there’s not much to analyze here anymore. If you’ve been watching this one at all, you know Game 6 will be a hard fought affair decided by which team’s role players perform better. I look for Utah to ride their home crowd to victory and force a Game 7 on Saturday.
Denver v San Antonio (Spurs up 3-1) – Once again the Nuggets proved not to have what it takes down the stretch by getting outscored 29-16 in the 4th quarter. The key sequence was at the start of the 4th when SA coach Gregg Popovich went with a small lineup of Jacque Vaughn, Manu Ginobili, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto. Denver flat out could not match up as the Spurs went from down six to up one in 1:38. From there it was close the rest of the way until Robert Horry put the final nail in the coffin with a three from the right corner with :30 seconds to play.
As many of you know, I love to rip Allen Iverson for being a low percentage gunner that takes bad shots and turns the ball over too much. Well he’s done nothing to change my mind in this series by hoisting 23 shots a game (to get his 23.3 ppg) while shooting 39.1% from the field, 25% from three with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.75 (5.3 apg & 3 topg). Even with that typical display from AI, the Nugs have had their chances. Carmelo Anthony has had his best post season ever, shooting 50% overall and from three while averaging 28.3 points & 9 rebounds. Nene Hilario has quietly done a superb job defending Tim Duncan one-on-one as well. What’s really killed Denver (besides AI) has been the disappearance of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, leaving coach George Karl with just one reliable sub off the pine (Eduardo Najera). The Nugs outlook for next season is not going to be as bleak as I originally thought, but it’s also not going to be as great as some are predicting. They’ll be a solid playoff team, that can maybe win a round, but when push comes to shove I just don’t see the Melo-AI partnership working out.
posted by D$ at 7:49 AM
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