The Heat Get It Right

The Heat are one step closer to having the last laugh.

I owe the Miami Heat an apology. I doubted them, called them soft, contrived, too arrogant and wished them nothing but ill will throughout the season.

 

I thought a team of three superstars and a bench of bums couldn’t make the NBA Finals. I thought that you had to build a team and add key pieces over the course of time. I thought LeBron James was too weak in the late stages of games, I thought Chris Bosh was soft, I thought they were two years away from being a contender.

 

I was wrong.

 

After last night’s 83-80 comeback win against the Chicago Bulls where the Heat closed the game on a 18-3 run and James came through in the clutch, again, all of my doubts were officially flushed down the toilet.

 

The Heat were tougher than advertised, they didn’t let the end of games in this series harm them like they did in the regular season. There was no passing to Mike Miller for game-winning shots (though when Miller did have the ball he was clutch in this game as well as game 4), there was no wondering if the big three could come up big when it mattered. They just did.

 

As much as we made fun of Chris Bosh this season from his crying in the locker room to him being routinely dominated in the low post, Bosh came up huge when it matter in this series as well as throughout the playoffs.

 

Bosh keyed their game 3 win by dominating Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson with 34 points and kept them on their toes in games 4 and 5. When Dwyane Wade and James seemed to be and hot cold throughout the series Bosh was consistent.

 

We can't make fun of Chris Bosh anymore.

Even though Wade had his ups and downs in the series and seemed cold for most of it, he came through when it mattered. In two minutes Wade almost erased the Heat’s 12 point deficit single handedly by scoring 8 points in two minutes and setting up two of James’s threes… which reminds me…

 

The biggest winner in this whole run by the Miami Heat is LeBron James. Coming into the playoffs he was considered to be a liability in the stretch run of a game due to his disappointments in Cleveland and earlier this year. LeBron has shed that moniker with his crunch time shot making throughout this series and in the Boston series and his defense on Derrick Rose.

 

James has been counted on and come through time and time again and has officially transformed into the best player in the league as well as the best closer. After Wade went off late in the fourth, James hammered home the game tying three and go ahead jumper over Luol Deng that lifted the Heat to victory. We can no longer doubt LeBron’s onions, his failed performances down the stretch versus Boston last year and Orlando in the previous year are now in the trash. He has now elevated himself to a high plateau and like it or not we have to give him respect.

 

So are they the favorites to win it all? I think so. As good as the Mavericks are (and the fact that no one on the Heat can guard Dirk Nowitzki) the Heat are peaking at the right time and have 4 of the best 5 players on the court. After the Big 3 the return of Udonis Haslem has benefitted the Heat more than any other player. He brings a toughness and energy that the Heat needed all year long and teamed with Joel Anthony their big men have a distinct advantage over Dallas’s big men.

 

With the series starting in Miami on Tuesday Miami can jump out to a quick 2-0 advantage and afford to lose two in Dallas no matter how great Dirk will be in any game. The Heat have the better team at this current moment. God that pains me to say.

 

It also pains me to say that I’m sorry to the Heat for the bashing and name calling and downplaying of their talent this year. Pat Riley knew what he was doing and it’s working to perfection with a maximum of 7 games left in their run.  We can no longer downplay them as a non-threat to the title, or say that they need more pieces, or that you can’t build a champion like this.

 

The Heat did, and within the next week or two after all is said and done they’ll be holding the Larry O’ Brien trophy laughing at us all saying they told us so.

 

They’ll get no static from me.

Chicago’s Time Is One Year Away

Derrick Rose and the Bulls will have to wait until next year.

The Chicago Bulls are not ready to compete for the NBA championship.

Despite their league leading record, having the coach of the year and the MVP, and maintaining a roster of young, talented and energetic players, the Bulls proved after last night’s 101-93 loss to the Miami Heat that they aren’t quite there yet.

Though they are ahead of schedule.

The fact that the Bulls went 62-20 this year without a consistent second scorer and with constant lapses on the defensive end lets you know how good this team can be once it finds a better two guard than Keith Bogans.

Right now this is a one-horse team with a ton of energy guys that when the game is in their they can swing a game in their favor. Taj Gibson, Omer Asik and Joakim Noah can outhustle, outwork and out play any player on the opposing bench.  The problem is that when they play a more experienced and composed squad like the Heat they get exposed.

When you watched the Bulls last night you saw just how manipulative their energy can be. Whether its Derrick Rose slamming home two jaw dropping dunks, Noah coming up with huge rebounds or Boozer lifting spirits with an emphatic put back dunk you can tell that this team can wear you out with their hustle and build up a ton of momentum.

But the reason why this team isn’t ready for primetime is their reaction to receiving a counterpunch or when they can’t muster up any energy at all. Once LeBron James rocked home a monster dunk late in the third quarter and Mike Miller ran off a string of huge shots the Bulls went into a catatonic state.

Their was no offensive mojo, Korver couldn’t knock down a jumper, Watson and Boozer couldn’t create their own shot, Noah was ineffective and Rose either forced a bad pass, took an off balanced shot or just dribbled with no end in sight.

To put it plainly they look like a mess when only Rose is the only person that can find his shot and no one is in a rhythm.

Their inexperience isn’t uncommon. The old adage in the NBA is that young teams don’t win titles, the old guys do. The Bulls haven’t played in enough games like this together to know what to do or what to expect in the moments. Give these guys another year and another piece or two and they’ll be primed for the big moment.

The Bulls are following the same blueprint as their fellow stadium tenants.

Don’t believe me? Look no further than the team that they share the United Center with during the season.

The Chicago Blackhawks were in the same boat as the Bulls two years ago heading into a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Hawks were an extremely young nucleus that was coming together before our very eyes and were setting the league on fire. Patrick Kane was lighting up the playoffs with a hat trick that buried the Canucks, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook were Norris Trophy like defense that could swing a game with their physicality… and none of it mattered once the Red Wings got on the ice with them because the Wings were too experienced and too battle tested for the novice Hawks.

After their 5 game debacle the Blackhawks came back last year to run through Nashville, Vancouver and San Jose to make the Stanley Cup Finals and roll to a title.

The Hawks learned from their mistakes, added Marian Hossa for goal-scoring help and knew how to handle the big moments late in the game one year later. The Bulls are in the same boat.

They have to lose to the Heat to get to where they want to be. They have to endure an offseason of what ifs and could’ve been’s in order to seize the NBA title. In other words you have to lose it before you can win it.

Their 62 wins and regular season dominance wasn’t an aberration by any stretch of the imagination. Think of it as a preview of things to come. The Bulls have the talent, but not all of the pieces in place.

They need one more year of seasoning and this Eastern Conference Final heartbreak to fuel their future title runs. They need a consistent shooter and another guard that can find his own shot and take pressure off of Derrick Rose to do it all. They need to learn how to keep their composure in the big moments. Right now they don’t know how.

They will learn though. By this time next year you should be seeing Chicago back in the Eastern Finals ready to make a run for the NBA title and coming up big in big moments.

If you question my prediction then look no further than the Stanley Cup banner of the Blackhawks last year. Jonathan Toews and company did it, Derrick Rose and company will too.

A Sad Night In OKC

This about sums up OKC's collapse.

As far as collapses go, last night in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was pretty heavy.

I know about the 1992 Houston Oilers, the 2004 New York Giants and last year’s Boston Bruins. Those meltdowns were elongated and gradually moving over time.

The Buffalo Bills come back began almost immediately in the second half against Houston. The San Francisco 49ers had 20 minutes of clock left to come back. The Philadelphia Flyers gathered themselves in about a whole week.

The Dallas Mavericks decimated the Oklahoma City Thunder and left them for dead in less than 5 minutes.

How in the world did this happen? Kevin Durant had just hit a three-pointer to put the Thunder up by 15 points with 5:04 remaining. The Mavericks were outrebounded 48-22 at the time; yes you read that right, that is a differential of 26 in rebounds during a playoff game. The Mavs were shooting a ton of threes and not making many of them. Their offense was flat, the crowd was intense, the game was so far out of reach to the eye that my buddy Mike decided to hit the hay and get ready for work and left immediately after that Durant three.

Then somehow Dallas pulled themselves out of the grave… correction, Dirk Nowitzki pulled them out of the grave.

After watching Dallas look absolutely abysmal for 3 plus quarters, Nowitzki piled the gang on his back and carried them over the final 5.

His shot making was spectacular, no matter what Nick Collison did (and by the way, Nick Collison played tremendous defense on him) Dirk just kept hitting shots.

His baseline, off-balanced, one-legged prayer was the stuff of highlight reels, his head fake and patented one-legged fade away brought Dallas to within 4, he kept making play after play to bring Dallas closer to a tie and all Oklahoma City could do was watch.

The Thunder went from a well-oiled machine to an anemic one. Shots that were once falling couldn’t find the net. Durant panicked and chucked shots, Thabo Sefolosha couldn’t connect, Collison couldn’t get a rebound and Russell Westbrook raised more questions about his shaky decision making with a couple of ill-timed turnovers and shots of his own.

It also didn’t help that Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd and the rest of the Mavs defense buckled down and made life hell for everyone of the Thunder players on the offensive end of the floor.

Dirk worked his magic again.

Once Dirk Nowitzki hit those two free throws near the end of regulation to tie the score you could see the dejection and anguish on the faces of almost every one in the arena that wore Thunder garb, including the players.

The young guns who were free slinging and playing out of there minds for the first two rounds all of a sudden looked like a bunch of lost souls. They were scared, timid and searching for answers, Dallas on the other hand looked rejuvenated and hungry.

They came into the overtime period with the same ferocity that carried them throughout the end of regulation. Marion and Kidd were like blankets that Durant couldn’t shake. Their defense was one hell of a back-story to Dirk’s heroics.

(The funny thing about all of this is Jason Kidd’s transformation. 3 years ago before he came to Dallas; Kidd was a mediocre defender that couldn’t hit a jumper. Then last night you saw Kidd doing his best Bruce Bowen on Durant and Westbrook coming up with gigantic defensive plays and hitting the eventual game-winning three. As much as you have to praise Dirk you have to recognize Kidd’s brilliance in reinventing what kind of player he is and raising his game to the next level with a championship so close at hand.)

Throughout all of this the Thunder still had a chance to win this game after Serge Ibaka knocked down an 18-footer. But once Dirk found Kidd for the go ahead three to make it 108-105 you knew that it was over.

A few Durant misses later the meltdown was complete. Dallas had won a game where it was outrebounded by 22, allowed 18 more points in the paint and was down by what seemed like an insurmountable margin with 5 minutes left.

Kevin Durant missed his last 5 shots; the Thunder finished with 25 turnovers and will probably bow out with a game 5 loss at Dallas to drive a stake through their already torn hearts.

The good news is that they can take solace in their defeat by looking at what the Bruins have accomplished. After their epic meltdown last year Boston finds itself a game away from the Stanley Cup finals.

The Thunder can replicate what the Bruins did in part because of a declining Western Conference that they would seem to have an edge in being the favorite next year.

But it won’t take away the sting of this defeat. OKC’s failure to close out game 4 will go down in history with some of the most gut wrenching defeats that we have ever seen.

And we will be seeing it over and over again for a while.

The Russell Westbrook Saga Takes A Turn

Russell Westbrooks dramatic postseason took a weird turn last night.

Russell Westbrook sat down on the bench with less than a minute left to go in the third quarter replaced by Eric Maynor.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were down by three points and had blown a six point lead earlier in the period. Westbrook was frustrated with a botched play call and vented his frustration on the bench.

Seconds later James Harden hit a three and was fouled by Jason Terry.

He hit the free throw to put the Thunder up by one and they never trailed again.

During this time Westbrook never left the bench.

Russell Westbrook has been the NBA playoffs best drama not named the Miami Heat. His overzealousness and self-indulgence in wanting to be the man have tainted the amazing run that the Thunder have had thus far.

Last night it took a turn that I felt should’ve happened earlier in the playoffs yet the timing couldn’t have been better.

Think about how much of a genius Scott Brooks looks like right now. He sat Westbrook at a point in the game where the Thunder were struggling offensively and needed a boost. In came Maynor in addition to sticking with reserves Harden and Nick Collison while starters Westbrook, Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka sat on the bench. Brooks stayed with all of them for the entire period and the move paid off.

Not only did Maynor do a great job of running the offense but Harden was a beast as well knocking huge shots and finishing with 23 points and Collison did what no other Thunder could do in game 1, stop Dirk Nowitzki.

Collision forced Dirk into a few turnovers and never gave him a clean look at the basket. His feistiness and aggressiveness led to good looks for the Thunder on the offensive end and eventually led to a ten point advantage and a 6 point win.

Eric Maynor did a great job in place of Westbrook last night.

But the main story is Westbrook.

There are two sides to this story: one is that this benching should finally prove to Westbrook where he is on the alpha dog totem pole in OKC.

His internal struggle with trying to be the man over Kevin Durant has made for some good TV and lots of talk for everyone watching. We all know that Durant is the real man in charge but the message needed to be relayed to Westbrook. This was that message.

While Brooks would say that he kept his bench players in for the whole quarter because of how well they played, he can’t just overlook the fact that at some point he had to humble Westbrook. Yesterday he did that in a backhanded sort of way.

Westbrook coming out in the third quarter wasn’t a benching; it was his normal rest time. He normally checks back in at the 7 or 8 minute mark to lead the offense down the stretch. However, with the team playing so well he decided to keep Maynor in the game and leave Westbrook there to sit and wait… and wait… and wait… until the clock struck zero and he was high-fiving teammates after the win. The Thunder won while Westbrook sat and learned. Two birds, one stone.

The other way to view this is that maybe Brooks was right in his words when he said that Westbrook sat only because the bench was playing so well and not due to his poor play in key stages in the playoffs.

Last night wasn’t a mark against Westbrook; rather it was a bonus for the depth of the Thunder. For so many reserves to play in such a key stretch and stand tall is something that could last well past this series and into the finals. Now Durant and Westbrook for that matter have about a good 6 or 7 complementary guys that can step up in any situation and do what’s asked of them. Miami, Chicago or Dallas do not have that same luxury.

Throughout this whole drama Westbrook hasn’t let it get to him. Of course he was frustrated on the bench when his name wasn’t called, I mean wouldn’t you be too after being named all-NBA second team? Instead of letting his ego get the best of him he cheered for his teammates, was the first guys to hand out dap during timeouts and didn’t let reporters get to him with questions after the game.

He said that he was “good” and didn’t care as long as they won the game. A great bit of humbleness from a player who to most was letting his ego get in the way.

Now the question is what happens to Westbrook now?

Will Brooks yank him again if he goes against the game plan? Will he sulk and get upset if his number isn’t called? Will he chick up more terrible looking shots like he has done throughout the playoffs? Or will he play the type of basketball that makes him a top 3 point guard in the NBA?

Just know that every move that Westbrook makes will be looked at even closer than ever before, and if he can’t handle it then we know Coach Brooks will have no problem going to Eric Maynor again. It’s worked once before, Westbrook saw it firsthand.

A Classic Night For Dirk Nowitzki

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, a.k.a. The Dirk Show.

2: Dirk Nowitzki knocks down a jumper off of a Jason Kidd feed.

4: Nowitzki drives into the lane to draw a contact foul on Kendrick Perkins. He drains both free throws

6: after Russell Westbrook misses a jumper (one of many in a horrid night for the brash young point guard) Kidd pushes the ball and Dirk drives into the lane untouched for another deuce.

8: Dirk pulls up over Serge Ibaka for an easy deuce

10: after Kevin Durant drains a three, Dirk abuses Ibaka (it happened a lot last night) and buries a 17 footer.

Thus far 4-4 10 points 2-2 from the free throw line. He sits at the 6-minute mark of the first before re-entering at the 1:13 mark.

12: Peja Stojakavic finds a cutting Dirk who rolls it in.

14: Dirk lures Ibaka with one of his many pump fakes and draws a shooting foul. Hits both free throws.

16: Nowitzki shakes Ibaka a drains a 18 footer. (And yes he’s still perfect if you were wondering.

19: in the midst of a crippling 13-0 run late in the second quarter, Dirk drives the lane bounces off of Ibaka drawing the foul and one.

(Side note: 5 years ago when Dirk went off for 51 against Phoenix he turned Boris Diaw into a crash test dummy. I immediately thought of this while watch the 6-10 super athletic Ibaka just get mauled by the bigger, stronger and more cunning Nowitzki. What I really remember was how me and my buddies made the joke that Boris Diaw in French meant Dirk Nowitzki’s B****. Insert Ibaka’s name and Swahili for the same effect.)

OKC got tired of seeing this last night.

21: Dirk drains a 12-footer, sorry Ibaka was on the bench.

First half: 21 points, no shots missed. Three’s, two’s, one’s, nothing.

As the second half began Scott Brooks decides to give other guys a crack at guarding Dirk like Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden… what do you think happened?

23: Dirk draws a foul on… guess who? Hits both.

24: Dirk gets a freebie from an illegal defense.

26: Dirk draws two consecutive fouls on Kevin Durant, one was suspect, but the even better question is why is Durant covering Dirk in the first place?

28: Sefolosha falls for the head fake Dirk hits two.

29: another illegal defense, dirk connects.

31: Dirk in the low block, over Sefolosha, no chance.

33: Dirk in the low block, over Sefolosha, no chance.

(At this point it’s becoming clear that not a single living being is going to stop, contain, slow down or… anything Dirk. If you face him up he’ll drive by you or shoot over you. If he has his back to the basket then he’ll pound you down. The Thunder had no answer for Dirk at all.

Coincidentally neither did Dallas for Durant. Loss in Dirk’s classic performance was Durant who was carrying the Thunder while Westbrook couldn’t hit Cowboys Stadium and Perkins couldn’t stay on the floor. Watch Durant and Nowitzki go at it offensively was like watching a clinic. Both knew their spacing, both knew when to drive and when to shoot and neither could be stopped. If game one was any indication of how this series is going to go then it’s going to be a good one.)

34: Dirk hits a tech.

36: Sefolosha goes for the fake, again, Dirk hits both.

38: Sefolosha can’t handle Dirk’s size and is called for clutching and grabbing. Dirk hits both.

(At this rate Scott Brooks needed a hug.)

Dirk misses his first shot of the game, and Jesus wept.

After three: 38 points. Perfect from the line and half of the Thunder wondering how in the hell they are going to stop him.

40: James Harden falls for the head fake, Dirk hits both. At this point the Thunder should’ve just stopped jumping.

You wanna try stopping me? Bring It!

We interrupt this Dirk Nowitzki report to bring you breaking news… Jose Juan Barea is pretty much the nastiest player in this series not named Dirk Nowitzki.

When he entered the game the whole dynamic changed. It wasn’t just about trying to stop Dirk, now you had to worry about a 6 foot locomotive that moved in fifth for practically his entire time on the court.

I couldn’t tell you how many times that Barea drove past Thunder defenders for an easy layup. He killed Eric Maynor, entered the lane at will and killed Nate Robinson’s ankles on his last layup.  It’s like someone fills his tank with nitrous oxide and says let er’ rip before he enters the game.

No wonder Andrew Bynum tried to break his ribs.

After Durant and Ibaka bring the Thunder within 5, the ball just so happened to find its way into Dirk’s hands again.

42: Ibaka falls for the head fake. Dirk hits two. I’m really tired of writing that.

44: after Westbrook hits a layup, Dirk answers with a 16- footer over Ibaka.

46: after Durant nails a three, Dirk answers with an 18 footer over Ibaka. (Serge Ibaka in Swahili means what again?)

48: with the Thunder clinging to what hope they have left, Westbrook fouls Nowitzki and he hits both.

To summarize: 48 points, 12-15 from the field, 24-24 from the line breaking Paul Pierce’s playoff record of 21-21, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks, and possession of Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka’s soul.

Not a bad night wouldn’t you say?

The Lake Show Is Over

Kobe and the Lakers will need more than a flip of the switch to come back in this series.

I knew the L.A. Lakers were dead after their epic collapse in game 1 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Lakers for years have made flipping the switch an art form. They lull through the regular season, have games where everyone questions their mindset and then once mid-March hits things get back to normal.

It happened again this year as the Lakers sleepwalked from November to February in a stretch that included terrible losses to the Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers. Once the second half of the season hit, the Lakers turned it on and began to resemble the title contender that we all knew they were.

They won 17 of 18 and had an outside shot at being the number one seed in the Western Conference as the San Antonio Spurs began to show the chinks in their armor. They positioned themselves perfectly at the 2 slot with a first round matchup against the New Orleans Hornets. Even though at times they looked sluggish you saw the reasons why they were going to win the NBA title.

Andrew Bynum was a beast beneath the rim, Lamar Odom was all over the floor and Kobe Bryant was, well, Kobe Bryant. Their size and experience pummeled the Hornets and with the Spurs falling to the Grizzlies I expected them to roll through the rest of the West without consequence. Especially against a Dallas team the about 80% of the country had losing to Portland.

And then game 1 happened.

Up 16 in the second half the Lakers looked as if they were in control. Then Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs rolled back thanks to a combination of defense on their part and horrendous execution on the Lakers part. Well that and Dirk went HAM.

His 11 in the 4^th quarter combined with the overall sense of urgency that he and the rest of the Mavs played with shock the Lakers and they couldn’t recover. Pau Gasol was a statue, Ron Artest chucked up a few bad shots and Kobe couldn’t close. In a complete role reversal it was the Mavs showing that they had the guts to hold on to a late lead while the Lakers fell into oblivion.

After that 96-94 loss, the Lakers chances at another title faded.

Pau and company have been manhandeled by a intensely focused Dirk Nowitzki.

Game 2 came around and the Lakers looked like mush. There was no energy, no sense of urgency and even worse execution on offense and defense. J.J. Barea, yes J.J. Barea looked like a Puerto Rican John Stockton as he carved up the Lakers point guards in the fourth quarter and made the Lakers look a total embarrassment. He toyed with them so much that Artest received a one game suspension for trying to clothesline him at the end of the game.

Afterwards Bynum talked of chemistry issues, the Artest incident brought back concerns of his anger issues, and everyone from analysts to my barber highlighted the poor point guard play. The Lakers were heading to Dallas down 2-0 and having to deal with a more focused than ever Dirk Nowitzki.

(By the way, if the Lakers needed an influence as a means to give them a boost, they should’ve looked at Dirk. Dirk knows that he’s close to the end of his time in the league. He’s still playing at a high level at age 33 but that won’t last much longer. Combine that with Jason Kidd on his last legs, Tyson Chandler’s impending free agency and the Mavs close to the end of their amazing run and Dirk is hungrier than ever.

Three years ago Dirk was still a little timid in late game situations, he was still looking for help, now he’s saying screw it, this might be my last shot and I’ve got to take advantage of this while I can. If the Lakers played with a third of his sense of urgency then this still might be a series.)

Game 3 was the Lakers last stand. They knew that their task at hand was against all odds, but they came out with energy and had a spark. You saw Bynum prove once again how important he was to the Lakers, you saw Lamar Odom provide a spark in the starting five for the suspended Artest, hell you saw Phil Jackson smack Gasol twice in the chest and get in his grill telling him to man up… yet when it all boiled down to it, the Lakers inconsistencies, and Dirk’s will, killed them in the end.

Up 7 with a little over five minutes to go, Dirk and company went on a 18-6 including Dirk knocking one home from close range that gave the Mavs the lead for good and pretty much ended this series.

In short, once again Kobe and the Lakers couldn’t close. Weird to think that a two-time defending champion shouldn’t take care of a team that was thought to be the weakest of the top 3 seeds once the playoffs began.

To Kobe Bryant this series isn’t over. He still thinks the Lakers have a shot. Kobe, you don’t.

This team sleepwalked for way too long and thought that it could turn it on like it always does. That was not the case for this year.

The Lakers will lose this series, watch Phil Jackson retire and watch a new champion become crowned. It was not the way any of us envisioned it playing out, but after game 1 of this series you had a feeling that maybe something like this was at hand.

And We’ve Only Just Begun

Alex Burrows series winner was one of the great moments from the first round of the NBA and NHL playoffs.

The first round of the playoffs are never interesting. There are your 1 versus 8 matchups that are usually over in a week, a slightly more interesting 2 vs. 7, a deceptively tough 3 vs. 6 matchup and the 4 vs. 5 is always the most evenly matched series but can swing either way.

All of the series normally run too long and in the past I’ve complained about how the playoffs need to be shortened. After the last two weeks, I’ve changed my mind at least for one year.

The NHL and NBA playoffs first round action was so compelling that it was hard to keep up with every series even though I tried my hardest. If Alex Semin wasn’t scoring in overtime to save the Capitals in game 1 versus the Rangers it was Derrick Rose carrying a sloth-like Bulls team to a come from behind victory against Indiana. If Chris Paul didn’t have a throwback game 1 against the Lakers, then Teemu Selanne looked a 24 year old instead of a 40 year old versus Nashville.

There were so many ridiculous occurrences that it made my head spin. Here I am at Eddie George’s trying to watch the Yankees-Orioles game and Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday are knocking down huge threes to keep the 76ers alive versus Miami, and as soon as I turn my head Daniel Briere and Ville Leino are forcing a game 7 versus Buffalo after scoring late goals to keep the Flyers alive.

It’s like the NHL and NBA are trying to one up each other… I like it.

Think about each series for a minute. Let’s subtract the Red Wings-Coyotes series and the Orlando-Atlanta series because Detroit dominated the Coyotes and no one cares about either Orlando or Atlanta.

After this first round exit, Dwight Howard's future in Orlando is now in question.

(Actually I lied. There is an interesting dynamic from the Orlando series; Dwight Howard won’t be playing for the Magic much longer. I can’t envision him staying with a team with no backup big man; a roster of shook players and no real consistent shooters around him. This series loss was almost the last draw for Dwight because when he played well he lost and when he played terrible the magic won, which I can’t understand at all. Dwight is probably sick of being in Orlando and hearing Stan Van Gundy in ear every two seconds and being ripped by everyone for not exceeding his talent level. Picture Dwight in L.A. or New York or maybe even Boston in a year or two. Yikes.)

Starting in both Eastern Conference matchups, The Bulls-Indiana series should’ve been a washout. Instead Darren Collison and company put heavy pressure on the Bulls for 4 of the 5 games and could’ve easily won the series as they lost it.

Why didn’t they? Derrick Rose.

To hell with PER rating and things like that, Rose was the best player on the floor at all times and packed the Bulls on his back leading them to victory in the first three games of the series. His acrobatics and constant driving to the hole was amazing. He was undaunted, vicious and would not lose. If you had doubts on the MVP then you didn’t after this series.

Miami versus Philly was mostly a wash except for game 4 when Philly had one last gasp and the Wells Fargo Arena went nuts thanks to Williams and Holiday’s heroics… and LeBron’s inability to close again.

LeBron James could’ve easily beaten the 76ers with a drive to the rim late in the game, but he stopped short, threw up a bad shot and Philly escaped. Thanks for the new material LeBron. We’ll be watching you closely throughout the playoffs again. And I have a feeling that you might be screwing up again.

The Celtics-Knicks series should’ve gone 7 games, if: Amar’e Stoudemire got the ball in the last 5 minutes of game 1, Carmelo Anthony got any help in game 2, and if the Knicks had any reliable players besides those two at all.

Truth be told the Celtics were only impressive in game 3 when they crushed the Knicks at The Garden. However, in the other 3 games they looked terrible. Sure the Big 4 lead them to victory by taking turns in handling the majority of the scoring, but they cant come out cold like they did in games 1 & 2 and they cant give up a huge lead like they did in game 4. If they do then Miami will eat them for lunch, unless LeBron has the ball late.

Derrick Rose's acrobatics put the Bulls in the second round of the playoffs.

In the NHL the Caps-Rangers series could’ve went both ways. The Rangers could’ve won games 1 & 4 if not for a late goal by Alex Ovechkin in a hard-fought game 1 and if they didn’t choke away game 4.

The Caps fans had to be thinking “here we go again” as the third period of game 4 started and they were down 3-0. Another Washington collapse after they had an early 2-0 series lead had to be in the back of their minds . Then Alex Semin and Marcus Johansson led a charge that sent the game into overtime where Jason Chimera effectively ended the series with a fluke goal that gave them a 4-3 win.

Instead of concerns of another early exit, the caps pulled it together and won the series in 5.

The Sabres and Flyers series was fun and head scratching at the same time. The Sabres chased a Flyers goalie in 3 of the games in the series, had a 3-1 lead in game 6 at home and had the series in their hand… and lost.

Philly’s goaltending has been bad since Bernie Parent retires it seems, but in this series it was a cluster****. If not for Daniel Briere’s timely offense and Ryan Miller’s ineffectiveness in net for Buffalo then the Flyers would’ve been toast. Instead they move on and Buffalo has another postseason horror story.

Speaking of fans saying “Oh no not again” how do you think Boston Bruins fans felt after losing the first two games of their series at home after the playoff collapse to the Flyers last year?

Boston showed incredible resilience by taking the next two games in Montreal before winning a pair of overtime games at home, including a raucous game 7, to win the series.

It was a classic rivalry that seesawed between both sides and was a thrill to watch (even though the Spurs were clinging to their lives versus Memphis. More on that later.)

Finally Tampa Bay continued its revival of a season by coming back from 3-1 down to Pittsburgh to win in 7 games.

First off this wasn’t a collapse. The fact that Pittsburgh was almost in the second round without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin is a shock to me. What else was a shock was how dominant Tampa looked in games 5,6 & 7.

Nathan Horton and the B's finally got rid of the Habs.

They were a different team from the first 4 games. They were flying around without a care and just took it to the Penguins. Steven Stamkos and company looked like a Stanley Cup contender than a team in the middle of a grand rebuilding plan that took a huge leap this year. There 1-0 game 7 victory was even more impressive because of their defensive play that they hadn’t had all year.  Are they for real? Maybe, but it’ll be fun to watch it play out.

(Ok, halftime. I told you these playoffs were nuts. And we’re not even into the West yet. Ready and break.)

Now the Western Conference where arguably the best series in each sport took place.

The Thunder vs. Nuggets was interesting for one reason and one reason only, the possible alpha-dog fight between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

Let’s be clear about this… THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER ARE KEVIN DURANT’S TEAM PERIOD!

Yet in game 4 Westbrook took it upon himself to take every big shot when the game got down to the wire and he also made every big mistake. It was like watching a train wreck. Westbrook chucking up bad shot after bad shot while Durant just stood there calling for the ball and not getting it.

In the end the Thunder lost and Westbrook took 30 shots to Durant’s 18. Scott Brooks probably wanted to ether Westbrook on the spot.

Sad part is that it was in the process of happening again in game 5. Westbrook was making more bad plays late in the game and was putting the Thunder behind the eight ball again. Then Durant said enough.

With the Thunder down 9 with 4 minutes left, Durant hadn’t yet scored in the quarter. Once he got the ball that changed. In an instant the lead for Denver went from 9 to 7 to 5 to 3 to 1 and then OKC was up. Durant had a Jordan blackout moment. No one could stop him at all. He drove to the lane, hit from three, from 18 feet, hit floaters, right-handed and left-handed. He was unstoppable and led the Thunder to victory.

I run OKC... got it?

Hopefully Westbrook learned his lesson but I don’t know. This is going interesting to watch over the next few weeks.

Dallas had a message for everyone that picked Portland in their series, kick rocks, barefoot.

Despite Brandon Roy’s heroics in two wild games in Portland, Dirk Nowitzki guided Dallas to Victory in a series that no one had them picked to win. At this point in his tenure in Dallas the Mavs are more than ever Dirk Nowitzki and a bunch of parts. His 28 a game and 33 in the clincher paced the Mavs and his cool demeanor weathered any storm that Portland gathered up for Dallas and led them to an impressive series win.

The Lakers-Hornets series was a throwback series. We saw glimpses of the greatness of Chris Paul’s past with his 33/17 performance, we saw how Andrew Bynum can alter the play of any game when he’s healthy, and we saw Kobe go HAM with a dunk over Emeka Okafor that brought us back to when Kobe had all of his hops 5 years ago.

It also showed that the team to beat is still the L.A. Lakers. Despite the problems of game 1 the Lakers dominated 4 of the next 5 with their size and defense even without a dominant offensive output from Kobe or anyone. The West is still theirs especially now that…

…San Antonio is gone thanks to the 8^th seeded Memphis Grizzlies. How great was this series as a fan?

Memphis didn’t even have Rudy Gay, arguably their best player, and still mashed on San Antonio like they were ants. Zach Randolph has gone from an NBA outcast to the leader of a team of young lions that are making lots of noise and looking for respect.

The Grizzlies were animals in this series. Tony Allen brought some of that Boston toughness out, Mike Conley looked like an all world point guard and Marc Gasol looked like the Gasol that plays in L.A. only a lot tougher.

Zach Randolph and The Grizzlies are having a good time in these playoffs

They pounded the smaller and older Spurs and except for an aberration of game 5 where Gary Neal hit a game tying 3 with no time left, the Grizzlies were the better team all series long.

As great as the Grizzlies and their crowd were, you have to wonder about the future of the Spurs.

This has to be the end of a great run form one the leagues best franchises of the last 12 years. Tim Duncan is getting older, Manu Ginobli is breaking down and the Spurs have no real front line depth to battle with any team in the Western Conference. This might have been the last of the Spurs dynasty and if so then the shift of power in the Western Conference has already begun to shift.

As we shift to the NHL and the Nashville and Anaheim series there were three things about this series I hated. 1. I was thinking that these two would meet in the West Finals because no one team could stop the Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf line, 2. Because no one was going to score on Pekka Rinne and 3. Because they were the two hottest teams going into the playoffs.

And of course I loved the series, well, except Bobby Ryan trying cut someone’s foot in half with his skate.

It was a seesaw battle that showed the each team’s strength at its best form, and that every game was intriguing.

The MVP’s of the series were Jordin Tootoo for the Preds who was a monster by setting up the game-winning goals in games 5 & 6 and by just being a pest and getting under Anaheim’s skin all series long, and Teemu Selanne who scored 6 goals and kept Anaheim in each game if the series… and he’s 40.

(Side note: people think I’m crazy for picking Nashville to go to the Stanley Cup Finals but why not? They have arguably the best goaltender in the playoffs in Rinne, the best defense lead by Shea Weber, and even though they don’t score a lot of goals they score them when they need to. I’ve seen weirder things happen, but a hockey team from Nashville in the Stanley Cup Finals? It could happen.)

The Predators in the Finals... why not?

If you want another reason as to why I still will never pick the San Jose Sharks to win a Stanley Cup then look at their series versus the L.A. Kings:

Game 1: back and forth battle between two very good teams ending with Joe Pavelski winning the game for the Sharks in OT.

Game 2: L.A. embarrasses them 4-0. Unacceptable.

Game 3: L.A. jumps out to another 4-0 lead, Antti Niemi gets pulled, L.A. has the win in the bag and somehow San Jose ties it at 5 at the end of the second period and win 6-5 in OT. Gutsy but still, how do give up 8 straight goals in the playoffs?

Game 4: they dominate the Kings and roll 6-3. Impressive.

Game 5: Kings jump out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on the road and win 3-1. Terrible.

Game 6: The Sharks overcome a raucous crowd and another OT to win in L.A. and clinch the series.

You call them gutsy I call them soft. Until the Sharks consistently beat teams in the manner that they should I will not take them seriously as a Cup contender. Period.

But none of these series NHL or NBA matched the Vancouver Canucks-Chicago Blackhawks. Vancouver was the leagues best team in the regular season with the leagues top offense and was a favorite to win the Stanley Cup. However in the last two postseason’s the Blackhawks owned them in the playoffs.

This was Vancouver’s main nemesis, the number one roadblock to the Cup even though it was a first round matchup. The Canucks had to slay this dragon to reach its destination and through three games it looked like it was easy as 1,2,3.

Then game 4 happened, 7-2 Blackhawks. Ok no problem. They don’t want to lose at home, sort of a last gasp effort no biggie. Then game 5 happened, 5-0 Hawks… in Vancouver. Uh-oh.

Panic spread, Alain Vineault sat Roberto Luongo for game 6 in Chicago, which was the biggest knee jerk reaction I had ever seen a coach make to two bad losses. I mean the guy won you 38 games during the season, why pull him just because of two games?

Game 6 was played on pins and needled by the Canucks. Sure they led 2-1 and 3-2 but they looked tense all game long. It seemed like the pressure to close out was getting to them. Then when Cory Schneider injured his groin during Michael Frolik’s game-tying penalty shot things got real tense. Luongo came in and did a decent job in relief… until overtime when he allowed Ben Smith to grab a rebound off of a Marian Hossa shot to send the series to a game 7.

Put Vancouver on a suicide watch at that point.

Vancouver-Chicago might’ve been the greatest game 7 in the early stage of the playoffs ever. It was fast paced throughout with Luongo (hey! He’s starting again) and Blackhawks rookie Corey Crawford standing on their head throughout the game. The series looked like it was in the bag for Vancouver as Duncan Keith hooked Alex Burrows for a power play that was surely then end of Chicago’s season. Until Hossa had another shot at Luongo that just missed, but it came right to Jonathan Toews who had a Canuck on his back while he was falling down, and he still put it past Luongo to tie the game.

I still dont believe in San Jose, no matter how mentally tough Joe Thornton and company seem.

Rogers Arena was ghostly quiet. I mean like someone died quiet.

Another overtime, more anxiety and the possibility for more heartbreak. When Burrows took a penalty for holding Keith you could see the Canucks fans beside themselves. Could it really end like this? Could we really lose to this team again and in this manner? Burrows himself must’ve been losing his mind in the penalty box. When that penalty ended you could hear a collective sigh of relief from the 20,000 in attendance.

Two minutes later you could hear joy from those same fans. When Chicago’s Chris Campoli tried to clear the puck form his zone, Burrows pounced on it, moved in and fired a rocket past Crawford that gave Vancouver a 2-1 win and sent Rogers Arena into a frenzy.

The Canucks mobbed Burrows and it looked like they won the Stanley Cup. The demons were gone, the suicide watch was over, Vancouver had finally beaten Chicago.

What a series, what a first round. Can it get any better than this? Can Dallas-L.A., Miami-Boston, Boston-Philadelphia and Detroit-San Jose match the craziness of what we saw in the last two weeks of April?

Hopefully so. As great as round one was, I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the best that these playoffs have to offer just yet.

The Spurs Backs Are Against The Wall

Tim Duncan and the Spurs are still searching for answers.

Manu Ginobili’s elbow didn’t lose them 6 straight in March. Their lack of size didn’t win them 61 games in the regular season. Lackluster bench production didn’t hinder them in a 30 point win versus Miami two months ago.

So for the San Antonio Spurs there are no excuses for the team that was supposedly the best in the league up until the last two months of the regular season and now the postseason.  Not Antonio McDyess’s health, not Manu’s health, nothing.

Sure the Memphis Grizzlies might be a tough matchup due to their up-tempo play and never say die attitude. But here are two reasons why that shouldn’t matter.

1. The San Antonio Spurs are former 4-time NBA Champs. They’ve been in tough situations before and the experience of Tim Duncan, Ginobili, Tony Parker and Gregg Poppovich should be more than enough to handle the young Grizzlies and their rookie head coach.

The Spurs played in and won a tough seven game series against the Detroit Pistons for title number three. They’ve overcome Kobe Bryant’s Lakers when they were seeking their fourth straight title. They engaged in battles with the Phoenix Suns and came out on top of every war. So how can they not take care of playoff rookies Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Sam Young? Even with Tony Allen and Shane Battier’s battle tested playoff resumes they’re not the Spurs.

2. The Spurs do realize that Rudy Gay, Memphis’s best player, isn’t playing right?

Z-Bo and the Grizzlies have been taking it to the Spurs.

Gay is missing the rest of the regular season and the playoffs with a dislocated shoulder that will take 6 months to heal. Even with Battier’s defensive presence taking his place the Spurs should be able to take advantage of his absence and focus more of Zach Randolph and others defensively.

Instead the Spurs have been collapsing defensively. They allowed Memphis to shoot 55% in a game one loss, Zach Randolph is averaging 20+ a game in the series, Mike Conley has been outplaying Parker, the Spurs have been turning the ball over more than Memphis, and late in games the Grizzlies have been looking like the former champions while the Spurs have been wilting under the light.

Now on the eve of Monday’s must win game 4, the Spurs are still trying to awake from a coma that the Lakers suffered in game 1 versus  New Orleans but have overcome, and that Dallas is currently struggling with versus Portland.

It has to start on the defensive end. Parker and George Hill have to contain Mike Conley, and the bigs of San Antonio have to overpower the bigs of Memphis. The Spurs have been out rebounding the Grizzlies but Randolph and Marc Gasol have been beating up on Duncan, McDyess and Dejuan Blair and San Antonio’s small interior. McDyess and Blair off the bench have to assert themselves and control the paint on both ends of the floor to give the Spurs a chance to even up the series.

Also, Richard Jefferson has to come out of hiding.

His 4 point, 5 rebound laugher last game can’t be replicated. His game has to step up past the 11 point, 5 rebound a game clip that it’s currently at and he has to take his game to another level to alleviate the pressure from Parker, Ginobili and Duncan offensively.

The Spurs have had their backs to the wall before, but this might be a different task than the ones asked of them before.

Tomorrow night they enter a hostile and loud environment at the FedEx Forum and face a young and hungry team desperate to make themselves known and that will be taking it to the Spurs for 48 full minutes.

But these are the San Antonio Spurs. They’ve played these types of games and know what it takes to come out on top. If these are the Spurs I know then tomorrow night they’ll be leaving Memphis tied at 2. It doesn’t matter who is injured, who is struggling or that they’re too small inside. For the Spurs there are no excuses.

The Rangers And Knicks Are Killing Themselves

Henrik Lundquist cant believe how these playoffs have played out so far for the Rangers

Jared Jeffries’s turnover, Marian Gaborik’s tip away, Ray Allen’s three, Alex Semin’s Goal, two blown halftime leads, two blown leads late in the third period… the last week in New York playoff sports have been a nightmare (and don’t get me started on the Yankees pitching woes either.).

This has been about as depressing as it gets. Watching the Rangers and Knicks blow leads to two teams that they’re not better than, but had outplayed in the majority of the games that they played.

The Rangers should be up 3-1, the Knicks should be up 2-0, and the reasons that they’re not are maddening.

First the Rangers ills have been not being able to close out an opponent (much like how they weren’t able to close out a playoff spot in the regular season). In game 1 against the Capitals they led 1-0 late in the third thanks to great goaltending by Henrik Lundquist and the defensive work of Marc Stall and company. Then in an instant Alex Ovechkin ties the game thanks to a fluke tip in where Derek Stepan, Staal, and Lundquist all couldn’t get a stick on the puck even though it was there in front of them.

The overtime goal was even worse as Staal seemed to nonchalantly make a clearing pass out of the zone that ended up on Jason Arnott’s stick, then Semin’s, then the back of the net. Defeat from the jaws of victory.

Then came last night. Not even 24 hours after the Los Angeles Kings blew a 4-0 lead in two periods, the Rangers upped them by doing it in ten minutes. After two periods of Rangers domination where the Rangers and the crowd was bullying the Capitals (last time Bruce Boudreau ever comments about crowd noise), the crowd stood in shock as Semin knocked in a loose puck that Lundquist lost track of, then after Marcus Johansson scored on a tip-in to make it 3-2 he scored on a lucky bounce off of a Karl Alzner slap shot to make it 3 all.

The worst of all came in double OT as Jason Chimera had his shot blocked and it looked like Lundquist was going to cover it up for a faceoff in his zone. For some reason Gaborik decided to knock the puck away from Lundquist right as he reached for it and it landed right on Chimera’s stick and the comeback was complete.

Carmelo and the Knicks are on the brink thanks to lackluster play from his teammates.

Three fluke goals, three to one deficit, the Rangers have redefined the stomach punch loss.

(Side note: Marian Gaborik has been a disaster the second half of this year. That boneheaded play combined with his lackluster offensive production has me and other Rangers fans doubting where his head is right now. If he can’t score goals and is causing some to go in then why is he on the ice? Last night the Rangers went 0-7 on the power play and are 1-234 in the series. Actual stat. That is Gaborik’s bread and butter and he’s not delivering. If this keeps up then next year he’ll be with Wade Redden in Connecticut.)

If that wasn’t enough, it came after the New York Knicks snatched defeat from victory in two straight games.

The Knicks had outplayed the Celtics and were in prime position to win both games even with Carmelo Anthony playing poorly in game one and without Amar’e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups in game 2.

In game 1 the Knicks led by 12 at the half and Stoudemire was destroying Kevin Garnett and company on the inside. Then somehow in the last 5 minutes of the game he doesn’t get one touch. Yeah Melo went 1-11 in the second half but the fact that Amar’e doesn’t get the ball that late in the game when he had dominated throughout was horrible.

The shot selection by Melo, Toney Douglas and others was typical Mike D’Antoni offense. If Amar’e gets the ball the Knicks win by 10, since he didn’t, and D’Antoni didn’t stress that in the huddle, the Knicks lost.

Game 2 may have been the nail in the coffin though. After losing Amar’e to back spasms Anthony took all of New York on his back with his 42 point, 17 rebound, 6 assist performance where he was the only Knick to shoot anywhere near 50% as Bill Walker shot 0-11 and Douglas went 5-16 (two things on Douglas real quick. 1. There is no way that Douglas should ever be allowed to take 16 shots in a playoff game, EVER. 2. Douglas ‘s poor shot selection at times is the reason that the Knicks need to actively look for a point guard this offseason. He’s not capable of carrying a second unit and keeping the Knicks in front or in the game.).

Marian Gaborik hasnt been helping the Rangers much this postseason.

With 12 seconds left Melo got an inbounds past where he was immediately double-teamed and Melo through a strike to a cutting Jeffries who had a good look at the rim… if he would’ve turned in the right direction and not directly into Kevin Garnett. Melo got criticized for passing the ball in that situation but that was his best option. He couldn’t hoist a bad three over two defenders and his pass to Jeffries was on point. The real issue was that Jeffries made a bad play on the ball (really Jared Jeffries? No.) and couldn’t finish.

The Knicks main issue is there lack of reliable role players. Walker, Douglas and Jeffries aren’t able to play big in these situations and that, combined with the lack of big men, are the reason that they’re down 2-0.

With the Knicks heading home in a rut down in a series they enter the a depressed Madison Square Garden after the Rangers put themselves on the brink with a terrible game 4 loss.

After this weekend both teams will be done. Both the Rangers and Knicks are a year away from being serious contenders and it couldn’t be more apparent.

The Rangers need to learn how to close, the Knicks need the players to close. The Rangers need to get better offensively, the Knicks need to get better defensively. Both teams’ big time players need to play big, and both teams need to learn how to protect leads.

It’s been a frustrating week for New York fans in the Garden watching these two teams fall apart fortunately it’ll all be over sooner than later.