BOSTON—It is instructive to have a look at the three most recent games played in the Eastern Conference. On Thursday in New York, the Heat drubbed the Knicks into submission, 87-70. Then, here on Friday at TD Garden, the Celtics needed overtime to survive the Hawks’ sausage grinder, emerging with a 90-84 win. And down in Philadelphia, the Sixers stunned the Derrick Rose-less Bulls by rallying for a 79-74 win.
Add it up: That means an average of 80.7 points per game. Combined, the six teams in this three-game Eastern Conference extravaganza shot 38.0 percent from the field. The teams turned the ball over 16.3 times per game. If the networks that beamed these games out to an unsuspecting national audience got calls from viewers complaining of head pain or nausea, well, that’s no surprise.
“It’s not beautiful,” Celtics guard Mickael Pietrus said. “I have been watching the games. It’s not beautiful. At the end of the day, we are winning games. That’s what it takes to win games, some toughness. In the playoffs, you’re not going to score big. Everybody is going to come out with their best defense, their best game plan. Be tough.”
That might be the key to getting through in the East, where the best team in the regular season, the Bulls, suffered another debilitating injury on Friday when center Joakim Noah was taken out of the loss with an ankle injury and left the arena on crutches. That's fitting with the way things have generally gone in the East, because the Celtics had their Game 3 win aided by the knee injury to Hawks star forward Josh Smith, who sat out. Atlanta was already going without center Zaza Pachulia, and, of course, All-Star big man Al Horford has been out most of the year.
And against the Knicks on Thursday, the Heat were helped along by the absence of Amare Stoudemire, who had his hand sewn up after he punched a fire extinguisher following New York’s Game 2 loss. Point guard Jeremy Lin and his balky knee were not ready either, and guard Iman Shumpert tore the ACL and meniscus in his knee in the third quarter of Game 1.
That’s before you get to Orlando, which lost star center Dwight Howard to back surgery in April and is stumbling through its first-round series with the Pacers without him.
Hey, it’s the playoffs. Heck with the aesthetics. “It wasn’t pretty,” Celtics star Paul Pierce, who shot 3-for-12 in Game 3, said. “But who said it has to be pretty? At the end of the day, we have to win four games and we’ve won two.”
Celtics guard Ray Allen said he could not recall a rash of major injuries to important players in the postseason before. Hawks guard Tracy McGrady agreed. “It’s definitely something that is a problem,” McGrady said. “It makes things harder for everybody. There are no excuses, but it is something that is all over the league right now.”
Increasingly, what we’re seeing in the Eastern Conference playoffs is more a war of attrition than basketball. The Heat were probably the favorites coming into the postseason, and with the way things have played out—the Celtics added an injury concern on Friday, with Avery Bradley hurting his shoulder—Miami’s health has only ramped up its status as the team to beat. Given the fact that the Heat are probably the team best equipped to make up for a major injury (except, maybe, to LeBron James), the Heat will likely hold that mantle even if they’re struck by the East’s injury bug.
The commissioner’s office has been staunch in saying that there has not been an increase in injuries this year, even with the condensed schedule. But it certainly feels as though there has been. Consider that, if the teams currently leading their series hold on, we would have an Eastern Conference second round of Boston vs. Philadelphia, Miami vs. Indiana. That wasn’t something that appeared to be in the cards when the season kicked off in December.
In the meantime, we’ve seen some ugly basketball. Unless you’re on the happy side of that attrition war. “At the end of the day, if you won, you will go home with that smile on your face,” Pietrus said. “That’s nice.”
5.05.2012
Jennings' agent surprised PG isn't immediate priority for Bucks
BOSTON — After a year in which he averaged 19.1 points and 5.5 assists, third-year point guard Brandon Jennings might seem to be a pretty good candidate for a contract extension in Milwaukee—he is eligible for one this offseason.
But, according to Racine Journal-Times reporter Gery Woelfel, the team is not going to be in a hurry to lock up Jennings. On his Twitter feed, Woelfel quoted Bucks general manager John Hammond saying of a
Jennings extension, “It’s not something we have to do.”
Jennings, on Twitter, retweeted the quote and added, “At least they made it clear.... I respect it!!!!”
Sporting News was able to catch up with Jennings’ agent, Bill Duffy, at the Celtics-Hawks playoff game here at TD Garden. Duffy said he had heard about Hammond’s comment. “I was surprised by it,” he said. “But
I was mostly surprised because it was not something that we have sat down and talked about.”
Duffy said it was likely that those discussions would start in the coming week.
If the Bucks opt not to give Jennings a long-term deal this offseason, he would be slated to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2013. Hammond is right in that, even if the Bucks don’t sign Jennings
right away, they will maintain his rights and can match any offer other teams can make.
There is some risk to that, though, depending on how this year’s free-agent market plays out. Nets point guard Deron Williams will be a free agent, and the Nets and Mavericks are expected to make a push for
him. Suns point guard Steve Nash, too, will be a free agent. By the time this summer ends, there could be several teams—the Suns, Nets, Mavericks, Raptors, Hornets, Kings, Jazz—with cap space and a need for
a point guard.
That could make the upcoming season important for Jennings. “Welp.... This will be one of my biggest years coming up!!! Then the Summer should be interesting!!!” the Bucks point guard posted to his Twitter account.
But, according to Racine Journal-Times reporter Gery Woelfel, the team is not going to be in a hurry to lock up Jennings. On his Twitter feed, Woelfel quoted Bucks general manager John Hammond saying of a
Jennings extension, “It’s not something we have to do.”
Jennings, on Twitter, retweeted the quote and added, “At least they made it clear.... I respect it!!!!”
Sporting News was able to catch up with Jennings’ agent, Bill Duffy, at the Celtics-Hawks playoff game here at TD Garden. Duffy said he had heard about Hammond’s comment. “I was surprised by it,” he said. “But
I was mostly surprised because it was not something that we have sat down and talked about.”
Duffy said it was likely that those discussions would start in the coming week.
If the Bucks opt not to give Jennings a long-term deal this offseason, he would be slated to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2013. Hammond is right in that, even if the Bucks don’t sign Jennings
right away, they will maintain his rights and can match any offer other teams can make.
There is some risk to that, though, depending on how this year’s free-agent market plays out. Nets point guard Deron Williams will be a free agent, and the Nets and Mavericks are expected to make a push for
him. Suns point guard Steve Nash, too, will be a free agent. By the time this summer ends, there could be several teams—the Suns, Nets, Mavericks, Raptors, Hornets, Kings, Jazz—with cap space and a need for
a point guard.
That could make the upcoming season important for Jennings. “Welp.... This will be one of my biggest years coming up!!! Then the Summer should be interesting!!!” the Bucks point guard posted to his Twitter account.
Rondo leads reinforced Celtics lineup past Hawks for Game 3 win
BOSTON – Given the stack of injuries on his side of the ledger—star forward Josh Smith (knee) joined center Zaza Pachulia (foot) and Al Horford (pectoral) on the no-go list for Atlanta—coach Larry Drew said
that, coming in, his goal was to have his team keep Game 3 here at TD Garden close and hope that the Hawks could steal the win late.
They did, in fact, keep it close, trailing by a 60-58 count entering the fourth quarter. The Celtics looked ready to run away with it at the end, though, and built an 11-point lead that was holding at eight points with 4:02 to go—until an 8-0 run from Atlanta tied the game at 80-80 in the final seconds. When the Hawks were able to get a final-possession miss out of Paul Pierce to send the game into overtime, Drew had to be very happy with what his team had done.
There would be no stealing the win, though, as the Celtics were able to lean on a lineup reinforced by the return of Ray Allen (ankle injury) and Rajon Rondo (suspension) to pull out a 90-84 win in overtime. That puts the Celtics up, 2-1 in the series, with Game 4 coming on Sunday in Boston.
“You can look what our situation is from an injury standpoint,” Drew said. “The last thing I’ll do as a coach is use it as an excuse. I thought we were depleted but yet we were still in a position where we could have won the game. If I’m going to take anything positive from this certainly I’m very proud of our guys. … We’ve been a team that has had adversity throughout the season like everybody else and it says a lot about your team when they can step up in the playoffs short-handed and still put themselves in a position to win the game. We certainly had our opportunity. We just fell short.”
In what was a grinding game, getting Rondo back proved to be a big boost. Rondo racked up a triple-double, scoring 17 points with 12 assists and 14 rebounds on the night. He did shoot 7-for-22 on the night, with six turnovers, but in a game in which the Celtics shot just 40.5 percent (the Hawks shot 37.8 percent), those kinds of numbers were not a surprise. The Celtics were led by Paul Pierce, who had 21 points on 3-for-12 shooting, but was 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.
“I felt good about all the shots that I took, I took a lot,” Rondo said. “My teammates told me to stay aggressive. I missed a lot of easy layups, but the jump shots I usually try to take at the mid-range game. I accomplished them, I took them, but I missed them. There’s going to be nights like tonight where I miss a lot of shots, but I try to continue to fight through, continue to grind.”
It was star guard Joe Johnson who kept the shorthanded Hawks alive throughout. Johnson scored 29 points, but missed a key 3-pointer with 23.8 seconds to go that pretty much sealed Atlanta’s fate. Guard Jeff
Teague (23 points, six assists) sliced up the Celtics defense for much of the night, and elder statesman Tracy McGrady (12 points, nine rebounds) was able to pitch in, too.
From the beginning, there was no overstating the ugliness of the game. In the first quarter, the two teams shot a combined 30.4 percent from the floor and committed nine turnovers, which was in keeping with the overall tenor of the series. Boston shot 40.7 percent from the field and scored an average of 80.5 points in the first two games, just a little better than the 37.7 percent shooting from the Hawks. Atlanta was scoring 81.5 points per game in the first two. The Celtics held a 40-38 lead at halftime, with the sides shooting a combined 37.0 percent with 17 turnovers.
The Hawks are hopeful that Smith can play on Sunday. Coming as close as they did on Friday, they still feel they can emerge from Boston with a split and a tied series.
“We feel like our chances are just as good as theirs in the series,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we have three key bigs who are unable to play right now. So that is a minor setback but neither here nor there we still had a great chance to come out and win this game tonight. And it’s always a tale of two halves, it seems as if they’ve beat us in the fourth quarter in the past couple games.”
that, coming in, his goal was to have his team keep Game 3 here at TD Garden close and hope that the Hawks could steal the win late.
They did, in fact, keep it close, trailing by a 60-58 count entering the fourth quarter. The Celtics looked ready to run away with it at the end, though, and built an 11-point lead that was holding at eight points with 4:02 to go—until an 8-0 run from Atlanta tied the game at 80-80 in the final seconds. When the Hawks were able to get a final-possession miss out of Paul Pierce to send the game into overtime, Drew had to be very happy with what his team had done.
There would be no stealing the win, though, as the Celtics were able to lean on a lineup reinforced by the return of Ray Allen (ankle injury) and Rajon Rondo (suspension) to pull out a 90-84 win in overtime. That puts the Celtics up, 2-1 in the series, with Game 4 coming on Sunday in Boston.
“You can look what our situation is from an injury standpoint,” Drew said. “The last thing I’ll do as a coach is use it as an excuse. I thought we were depleted but yet we were still in a position where we could have won the game. If I’m going to take anything positive from this certainly I’m very proud of our guys. … We’ve been a team that has had adversity throughout the season like everybody else and it says a lot about your team when they can step up in the playoffs short-handed and still put themselves in a position to win the game. We certainly had our opportunity. We just fell short.”
In what was a grinding game, getting Rondo back proved to be a big boost. Rondo racked up a triple-double, scoring 17 points with 12 assists and 14 rebounds on the night. He did shoot 7-for-22 on the night, with six turnovers, but in a game in which the Celtics shot just 40.5 percent (the Hawks shot 37.8 percent), those kinds of numbers were not a surprise. The Celtics were led by Paul Pierce, who had 21 points on 3-for-12 shooting, but was 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.
“I felt good about all the shots that I took, I took a lot,” Rondo said. “My teammates told me to stay aggressive. I missed a lot of easy layups, but the jump shots I usually try to take at the mid-range game. I accomplished them, I took them, but I missed them. There’s going to be nights like tonight where I miss a lot of shots, but I try to continue to fight through, continue to grind.”
It was star guard Joe Johnson who kept the shorthanded Hawks alive throughout. Johnson scored 29 points, but missed a key 3-pointer with 23.8 seconds to go that pretty much sealed Atlanta’s fate. Guard Jeff
Teague (23 points, six assists) sliced up the Celtics defense for much of the night, and elder statesman Tracy McGrady (12 points, nine rebounds) was able to pitch in, too.
From the beginning, there was no overstating the ugliness of the game. In the first quarter, the two teams shot a combined 30.4 percent from the floor and committed nine turnovers, which was in keeping with the overall tenor of the series. Boston shot 40.7 percent from the field and scored an average of 80.5 points in the first two games, just a little better than the 37.7 percent shooting from the Hawks. Atlanta was scoring 81.5 points per game in the first two. The Celtics held a 40-38 lead at halftime, with the sides shooting a combined 37.0 percent with 17 turnovers.
The Hawks are hopeful that Smith can play on Sunday. Coming as close as they did on Friday, they still feel they can emerge from Boston with a split and a tied series.
“We feel like our chances are just as good as theirs in the series,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we have three key bigs who are unable to play right now. So that is a minor setback but neither here nor there we still had a great chance to come out and win this game tonight. And it’s always a tale of two halves, it seems as if they’ve beat us in the fourth quarter in the past couple games.”
5.03.2012
Magic get glimpse of life without Dwight, and it's not pretty
ORLANDO—Dwight Howard irritated a lot of people this season. So it’s a little painful to admit it that underneath the waffling and doublespeak, the guy had a point.
The Magic really are nothing without him.
Indiana beat the Orlando 97-74 Wednesday night, and you could almost hear the ghost of Dwight hovering above the Amway Center floor whispering, “I told you so.”
Not that Howard or his ghost would be so petty. Then again, whoever thought the NBA’s happiest superstar would be turn into the league’s premiere drama king?
Most of Howard’s free-agent twisting and turning was based on his contention that the Magic needed to surround him with better talent. It would have been asking a lot for that talent to shove that gripe back in Howard’s face.
But couldn’t the leftovers at least not lose by 23 points on their home floor?
Give Orlando credit for winning Game 1 in Indianapolis, though it’s apparent that was far more a case of the Pacers losing it. Orlando’s strategy was to get Indiana so overconfident its players would leave midway through the fourth quarter.
“We all we got!” the Magic kept saying.
They scored the final 11 points to steal the win. All that did was get the Pacers’ attention. Now they lead the series 2-1, though it might as well be 200-1.
“We were awful," coach Stan Van Gundy said afterwards. "Everybody was awful. There are team wins and team losses. This was a team loss.”
Orlando’s season is over, though you could say it really ended April 20 when Howard underwent surgery for a herniated disc. Or you could say it never really got going due to all the uncertainty Howard spawned.
Like a lot of Magic fans, he was missing Wednesday night. Howard is rehabbing in Los Angeles, where the surgery was performed. That at least spares Otis Smith the angst of watching his meal ticket standing around helplessly.
Instead, Smith spent Wednesday night in his usual chair. It’s a riser located in a walkway. It’s sort of out of the way, though not nearly far enough away to please Magic fans.
They looked on the court and saw Smith’s handiwork. Guys like Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, who are five years past their prime. Ryan Anderson was a nice find, but he’s turned back into Ryan Anderson now that teams don’t have to worry about Howard.
Big Baby Davis has his moments, though they still interrupted by fits of immaturity. Jameer Nelson is about as average a point guard as you’ll ever want to cheer for.
When asked what the problems are, Anderson chose to focus on the next game.
“It’s a little bit of everything. There is no one answer. The great thing about it is we have another game.”
All the individual parts don’t add up to a greater whole, especially when their minds are farther away than Howard’s body. As much as Stan Van Gundy likes not having to deal with the Dwight Drama anymore, it must kill him to watch what’s going on.
The Heat could lose Dwyane Wade or LeBron James and still be title contenders. The Lakers would be dangerous without Kobe Bryant. The Bulls are still respectable without Derrick Rose. If Kevin Durant went down, the Thunder would always have Russell Westbrook.
Solid franchises can survive the loss of one player. The Magic lost Howard, and they’ve turned into the Washington Generals.
They are all they’ve got. And as Howard pointed out, that’s not nearly enough.
The Magic really are nothing without him.
Indiana beat the Orlando 97-74 Wednesday night, and you could almost hear the ghost of Dwight hovering above the Amway Center floor whispering, “I told you so.”
Not that Howard or his ghost would be so petty. Then again, whoever thought the NBA’s happiest superstar would be turn into the league’s premiere drama king?
Most of Howard’s free-agent twisting and turning was based on his contention that the Magic needed to surround him with better talent. It would have been asking a lot for that talent to shove that gripe back in Howard’s face.
But couldn’t the leftovers at least not lose by 23 points on their home floor?
Give Orlando credit for winning Game 1 in Indianapolis, though it’s apparent that was far more a case of the Pacers losing it. Orlando’s strategy was to get Indiana so overconfident its players would leave midway through the fourth quarter.
“We all we got!” the Magic kept saying.
They scored the final 11 points to steal the win. All that did was get the Pacers’ attention. Now they lead the series 2-1, though it might as well be 200-1.
“We were awful," coach Stan Van Gundy said afterwards. "Everybody was awful. There are team wins and team losses. This was a team loss.”
Orlando’s season is over, though you could say it really ended April 20 when Howard underwent surgery for a herniated disc. Or you could say it never really got going due to all the uncertainty Howard spawned.
Like a lot of Magic fans, he was missing Wednesday night. Howard is rehabbing in Los Angeles, where the surgery was performed. That at least spares Otis Smith the angst of watching his meal ticket standing around helplessly.
Instead, Smith spent Wednesday night in his usual chair. It’s a riser located in a walkway. It’s sort of out of the way, though not nearly far enough away to please Magic fans.
They looked on the court and saw Smith’s handiwork. Guys like Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, who are five years past their prime. Ryan Anderson was a nice find, but he’s turned back into Ryan Anderson now that teams don’t have to worry about Howard.
Big Baby Davis has his moments, though they still interrupted by fits of immaturity. Jameer Nelson is about as average a point guard as you’ll ever want to cheer for.
When asked what the problems are, Anderson chose to focus on the next game.
“It’s a little bit of everything. There is no one answer. The great thing about it is we have another game.”
All the individual parts don’t add up to a greater whole, especially when their minds are farther away than Howard’s body. As much as Stan Van Gundy likes not having to deal with the Dwight Drama anymore, it must kill him to watch what’s going on.
The Heat could lose Dwyane Wade or LeBron James and still be title contenders. The Lakers would be dangerous without Kobe Bryant. The Bulls are still respectable without Derrick Rose. If Kevin Durant went down, the Thunder would always have Russell Westbrook.
Solid franchises can survive the loss of one player. The Magic lost Howard, and they’ve turned into the Washington Generals.
They are all they’ve got. And as Howard pointed out, that’s not nearly enough.
Carlisle’s complaints of Thunder’s 'dirty' play raises red flags in Dallas
Paul Silas, who spent 16 years in the NBA as an undersized, no-nonsense power forward, reflected recently on the state of the league and some teams’ penchant to complain about the harsh treatment referees seem to allow. “You know what NBA stood for when I played?,” said Silas, most recently head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. “No Babies Allowed. There wasn’t any whining in those days. ”
Of course, at this time of year, whining is lifted to an art form. While no one is suggesting the game should return to the old days of bench-clearing brawls, career-threatening haymakers or Jeff Van Gundy clutching Alonzo Mourning’s leg, we have already seen enough postseason complaints to make one stop and ask, “Wait, didn’t Phil Jackson retire?”
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl complained about Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum not being whistled for defensive three seconds. Atlanta Hawks center Ivan Johnson called the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett “dirty.” And that fits what we’ve heard for much of the year, when star players like the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose, the L.A. Clippers’ Blake Griffin and the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard complained about the hard contact referees were allowing. Of Karl’s complaints, Lakers coach Mike Brown said, “Coach Karl is just doing his job,” indicating that playoff whining—the goal being to alert referees to your cause—is an accepted practice among coaches.
In no city, though, do playoff complaints raise a bigger red flag than in Dallas, where for many years the team toiled under the stigma of softness, especially under offensive-minded coach Don Nelson, in the days when the Mavs had no center (or, worse, Erick Dampier). Last season, it looked like the Mavs had shed that label, showing an impressive fortitude in powering through the Western Conference, then toppling the favored Miami Heat in the Finals by winning the last three games of the series after falling behind, 2-1. But in the offseason, they lost three of the guys most responsible for upping their toughness quotient—guard DeShawn Stevenson, assistant coach Dwane Casey and, especially, center Tyson Chandler.
And so the words of coach Rick Carlisle in the wake of Dallas’ Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder have to be taken with some concern. Carlisle was not absolving his team—he made clear that, in two tight losses to the Thunder, his guys “did not make enough plays”—but he also said, “I love hard-played, clean, competitive playoff series, and you throw the ball up and may the best team win. But the dirty bull---‘s gotta stop. We don’t want anybody getting hurt out there either way.”
That seems a bit excessive. Both games in the Mavs-Thunder series have been close, and certainly tension has built, Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki has been roughed up, and he has taken particular exception the physicality of Thunder center and strongman Kendrick Perkins. The two scuffled early in Game 2 when Perkins shoved Nowitzki in the back. Both were given technical fouls. But the Perkins shove followed Nowitzki being knocked in the face by Serge Ibaka and then giving Ibaka a push in the back as the two ran up court
Of course, at this time of year, whining is lifted to an art form. While no one is suggesting the game should return to the old days of bench-clearing brawls, career-threatening haymakers or Jeff Van Gundy clutching Alonzo Mourning’s leg, we have already seen enough postseason complaints to make one stop and ask, “Wait, didn’t Phil Jackson retire?”
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl complained about Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum not being whistled for defensive three seconds. Atlanta Hawks center Ivan Johnson called the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett “dirty.” And that fits what we’ve heard for much of the year, when star players like the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose, the L.A. Clippers’ Blake Griffin and the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard complained about the hard contact referees were allowing. Of Karl’s complaints, Lakers coach Mike Brown said, “Coach Karl is just doing his job,” indicating that playoff whining—the goal being to alert referees to your cause—is an accepted practice among coaches.
In no city, though, do playoff complaints raise a bigger red flag than in Dallas, where for many years the team toiled under the stigma of softness, especially under offensive-minded coach Don Nelson, in the days when the Mavs had no center (or, worse, Erick Dampier). Last season, it looked like the Mavs had shed that label, showing an impressive fortitude in powering through the Western Conference, then toppling the favored Miami Heat in the Finals by winning the last three games of the series after falling behind, 2-1. But in the offseason, they lost three of the guys most responsible for upping their toughness quotient—guard DeShawn Stevenson, assistant coach Dwane Casey and, especially, center Tyson Chandler.
And so the words of coach Rick Carlisle in the wake of Dallas’ Game 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder have to be taken with some concern. Carlisle was not absolving his team—he made clear that, in two tight losses to the Thunder, his guys “did not make enough plays”—but he also said, “I love hard-played, clean, competitive playoff series, and you throw the ball up and may the best team win. But the dirty bull---‘s gotta stop. We don’t want anybody getting hurt out there either way.”
That seems a bit excessive. Both games in the Mavs-Thunder series have been close, and certainly tension has built, Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki has been roughed up, and he has taken particular exception the physicality of Thunder center and strongman Kendrick Perkins. The two scuffled early in Game 2 when Perkins shoved Nowitzki in the back. Both were given technical fouls. But the Perkins shove followed Nowitzki being knocked in the face by Serge Ibaka and then giving Ibaka a push in the back as the two ran up court
Pray for a Celtics-Lakers final while you can still get it
Paul Pierce didn’t plan to Tebow on Tuesday night. He just followed his instincts.
If you want the best NBA Finals, your instincts should mimic Pierce’s. Drop to one knee and pray for Boston-LA.
—Paul Pierce says half-court Tebow was ‘just came to me’
It had almost no prayer of happening when the playoffs began. After Tuesday night, we can at least Tebow without being called idiots.
Romantic fools, maybe. You can even call us old farts for wanting to see Lakers-Celtics instead of Miami-Oklahoma City.
The Heat-Thunder is the trendy Finals pick, and it certainly has appeal. It just doesn’t have as much appeal as Boston and Los Angeles.
For one thing, if LeBron James wins a title, we’d have nothing left to make fun of him with. But the main reason we can wait for a Heat-Thunder Finals is we’re likely to get five of them in the next six years.
After this year, we’re not likely to see Boston-LA in Jack Nicholson’s lifetime. It’s an upset we’re even seeing them now considering the past few months.
The only thing more fragile than Kobe Bryant’s body was Pau Gasol’s head. Andrew Bynum was great when he wasn’t getting benched for jacking up 3-pointers. Metta World Peace needs no further comment.
Boston’s Big Three were declared a national historic landmark years ago. Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett somehow are still standing, though Allen has trouble doing that.
He’s been out with a bad ankle. Rajon Rondo was suspended for bumping a ref in Game 1 against Atlanta. All that meant the Hawks should have had a 2-0 lead after Tuesday night’s game.
Along came Pierce, who had 36 points and 14 rebounds in 44 trying minutes. Late in the fourth quarter of the 87-80 win, he went Tebow at midcourt.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Pierce said. “It was instinctive. Just like when I’m going to shoot a three or a jumper. It was instincts.”
A couple of hours later at the Staples Center, Bryant’s scoring instincts produced 38 points and a 104-100 win over Denver. Since Kobe arrived in 1997, the Lakers have never lost a series they led 2-0.
Bynum and Gasol are playing great, and World Peace will return in the next round. The Thunder and Spurs still lurk in the West, while the East has been decimated down to Miami.
So when it comes to an LA-Boston Finals, your head still asks why? Your heart says why not?
It would be like the Grateful Dead getting back together for a final concert. If you didn’t like the Grateful Dead, substitute Beatles or Led Zeppelin or Elvis and TCB Band.
Oklahoma City vs. Miami would be Taylor Swift vs. Lady Gaga. Kevin Durant wasn’t even alive when the first “Beat LA!” cheer rose in Boston Garden.
The NBA Finals came of age when Magic threw down his baby sky hook and Kevin McHale threw down Kurt Rambis. To players like Durant, Russell and Chamberlain might as well be Lewis and Clark.
I realize none of the aforementioned gentlemen would be playing in this year’s Finals. But it’d be nice to see the two greatest franchises in NBA history clash one more time.
Boston and LA have won 33 titles. The current tally:
Celtics 17, Lakers 16.
A Heat-Thunder series would have great players. A Lakers-Celtics series would have great history and great players we may not see again.
“Too old for this,” Pierce tweeted after Tuesday’s game. “I need a bed right now!!”
Suck it up, Paul. After this season, the Celtics and Lakers will go into hibernation. So follow your instincts, NBA fans.
Just one more time, wouldn’t you like to see Nicholson’s sideline smirk and hear “Beat LA!”
“Beat Oklahoma City!” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
If you want the best NBA Finals, your instincts should mimic Pierce’s. Drop to one knee and pray for Boston-LA.
—Paul Pierce says half-court Tebow was ‘just came to me’
It had almost no prayer of happening when the playoffs began. After Tuesday night, we can at least Tebow without being called idiots.
Romantic fools, maybe. You can even call us old farts for wanting to see Lakers-Celtics instead of Miami-Oklahoma City.
The Heat-Thunder is the trendy Finals pick, and it certainly has appeal. It just doesn’t have as much appeal as Boston and Los Angeles.
For one thing, if LeBron James wins a title, we’d have nothing left to make fun of him with. But the main reason we can wait for a Heat-Thunder Finals is we’re likely to get five of them in the next six years.
After this year, we’re not likely to see Boston-LA in Jack Nicholson’s lifetime. It’s an upset we’re even seeing them now considering the past few months.
The only thing more fragile than Kobe Bryant’s body was Pau Gasol’s head. Andrew Bynum was great when he wasn’t getting benched for jacking up 3-pointers. Metta World Peace needs no further comment.
Boston’s Big Three were declared a national historic landmark years ago. Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett somehow are still standing, though Allen has trouble doing that.
He’s been out with a bad ankle. Rajon Rondo was suspended for bumping a ref in Game 1 against Atlanta. All that meant the Hawks should have had a 2-0 lead after Tuesday night’s game.
Along came Pierce, who had 36 points and 14 rebounds in 44 trying minutes. Late in the fourth quarter of the 87-80 win, he went Tebow at midcourt.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Pierce said. “It was instinctive. Just like when I’m going to shoot a three or a jumper. It was instincts.”
A couple of hours later at the Staples Center, Bryant’s scoring instincts produced 38 points and a 104-100 win over Denver. Since Kobe arrived in 1997, the Lakers have never lost a series they led 2-0.
Bynum and Gasol are playing great, and World Peace will return in the next round. The Thunder and Spurs still lurk in the West, while the East has been decimated down to Miami.
So when it comes to an LA-Boston Finals, your head still asks why? Your heart says why not?
It would be like the Grateful Dead getting back together for a final concert. If you didn’t like the Grateful Dead, substitute Beatles or Led Zeppelin or Elvis and TCB Band.
Oklahoma City vs. Miami would be Taylor Swift vs. Lady Gaga. Kevin Durant wasn’t even alive when the first “Beat LA!” cheer rose in Boston Garden.
The NBA Finals came of age when Magic threw down his baby sky hook and Kevin McHale threw down Kurt Rambis. To players like Durant, Russell and Chamberlain might as well be Lewis and Clark.
I realize none of the aforementioned gentlemen would be playing in this year’s Finals. But it’d be nice to see the two greatest franchises in NBA history clash one more time.
Boston and LA have won 33 titles. The current tally:
Celtics 17, Lakers 16.
A Heat-Thunder series would have great players. A Lakers-Celtics series would have great history and great players we may not see again.
“Too old for this,” Pierce tweeted after Tuesday’s game. “I need a bed right now!!”
Suck it up, Paul. After this season, the Celtics and Lakers will go into hibernation. So follow your instincts, NBA fans.
Just one more time, wouldn’t you like to see Nicholson’s sideline smirk and hear “Beat LA!”
“Beat Oklahoma City!” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Amare Stoudemire: 'Great chance' he can play in Game 4
Amare Stoudemire says there's a "great chance" he can play in Game 4 of the New York Knicks' series against the Miami Heat on Sunday despite cutting his left hand on a fire extinguisher case and having surgery on Tuesday.
Stoudemire will not play in Thursday's Game 3 and is considered “doubtful” for Game 4, but Stoudemire says he's "not totally sure yet" if he’s out for Sunday. The prevailing expectation was that he would not be able to play for the remainder of the series, which the Heat lead, 2-0.
"I just persevere through a lot of injuries and work hard to recover from injuries," Stoudemire said, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, a person who witnessed Stoudemire punching the glass enclosure at American Airlines Arena on Monday offered a gruesome account of the incident, telling ESPN, "Half of his hand was just hanging off. It was really bad,” the source said. “Blood was just squirting out. That's why they had the paramedics come in, because they thought he might have punctured an artery because of how much blood was coming out. ... "
"He didn't haul off and punch the glass; he hit it out of frustration," the witness added. "He kind of slapped it, but with a closed fist. He said he thought it was plastic instead of glass."
Stoudemire will not play in Thursday's Game 3 and is considered “doubtful” for Game 4, but Stoudemire says he's "not totally sure yet" if he’s out for Sunday. The prevailing expectation was that he would not be able to play for the remainder of the series, which the Heat lead, 2-0.
"I just persevere through a lot of injuries and work hard to recover from injuries," Stoudemire said, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, a person who witnessed Stoudemire punching the glass enclosure at American Airlines Arena on Monday offered a gruesome account of the incident, telling ESPN, "Half of his hand was just hanging off. It was really bad,” the source said. “Blood was just squirting out. That's why they had the paramedics come in, because they thought he might have punctured an artery because of how much blood was coming out. ... "
"He didn't haul off and punch the glass; he hit it out of frustration," the witness added. "He kind of slapped it, but with a closed fist. He said he thought it was plastic instead of glass."
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