Surprising Playoffs
As the marathon that is the NBA Playoffs enters its second Saturday today, a few things are becoming clear which seem to indicate times are changing.
The Chicago Bulls have matured much quicker than I thought; and, I definitely underestimated them when I picked the Miami Heat to defeat them 4 games to 3 in the first round of their series. The Bulls lead the Heat 3 games to 0; and, Miami has looked old and slow during each of the three games thus far. Pride may be a powerful motivator; but, pride may not be enough to keep the Bulls from sweeping the Heat out of the playoffs Sunday afternoon.
My next underestimation was placed on the Golden State Warriors. I didn't believe the sometimes very simple truism of a team simply having someone's number. The Warriors lead the Dallas Mavericks 2 games to 1 thanks to the 109 to 91 blitz of the Mavericks Friday night. I know the playoffs are not the regular season; but, it sure seems the Warriors and head coach Don Nelson are in the heads of the Mavericks players and head coach Avery Johnson.
I'm curious to see if the Mavs will "man up" and respond with a victory in game 4.
I'm not surprised the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs are tied 1 - 1; and, I'm not surprised in the other playoff series (Houston leading Utah, 2-1; Detroit leading Orlando, 3-0; Phoenix leading the Lakers 2-1, the Cavs lead the Wizards, 2-0, and New Jersey leading the Raptors, 2-1). However, I have been surprised and disappointed in the woeful performances by the Rockets and the Jazz during the first three games of their series.
In two of the three games, the winning team has not scored more than 84 points! Houston defeated Utah 84 to 75 in game 1 while the Jazz defeated the Rockets 81 to 67 in game 3. Good defense is one thing; but, this series has featured more bad offense than I care to see. This series has been like watching an Eastern Conference series (at its worst) for goodness sakes!
I scored the same number of points as the Rockets bench players did in game 3; and, I didn't play in the game! Houston's bench reserves scored zero points! It takes some kind of work to be so inept in a ball game.
Thus far, though they haven't been very efficient, the Rockets Big Two of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady have done their part and combined for between 50 and 60 points per game in the series. Unfortunately, the role players have not played consistently well or well at all. Forward Chuck Hayes went from 12 points and 12 rebounds in game 2 to zero points and seven rebounds in game 3. Luther Head and Juwan Howard have struggled mightily.
On the other side, Utah's Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko haven't set the world on fire with their offensive production either. Kirilenko is a mere shell of the player he was just last season. He's outside shot is a bad joke; and, he's picked up more fouls (10) in this series than he's scored points (4). Okur, apparently, has convinced himself defending Yao Ming is the reason his jump shooting is struggling. Memo is using so much strength pushing Yao Ming away from the basket his legs are gone when Utah has the ball offense. At least that's what he believes. How about this Mr. Okur -- stop shooting 20-foot shots and beyond and go down to the low post. Maybe you can score a few more points if you were closer to the basket. Shooting 17.1% from the field is ridiculous.
Saturday's NBA Playoffs tip-off at 2 pm (Central Time) as Detroit tries to become the first team to advance to the second round with a series-clinching win over the Orlando Magic. Three more games follow that one.
Let's start dribbling...
The Chicago Bulls have matured much quicker than I thought; and, I definitely underestimated them when I picked the Miami Heat to defeat them 4 games to 3 in the first round of their series. The Bulls lead the Heat 3 games to 0; and, Miami has looked old and slow during each of the three games thus far. Pride may be a powerful motivator; but, pride may not be enough to keep the Bulls from sweeping the Heat out of the playoffs Sunday afternoon.
My next underestimation was placed on the Golden State Warriors. I didn't believe the sometimes very simple truism of a team simply having someone's number. The Warriors lead the Dallas Mavericks 2 games to 1 thanks to the 109 to 91 blitz of the Mavericks Friday night. I know the playoffs are not the regular season; but, it sure seems the Warriors and head coach Don Nelson are in the heads of the Mavericks players and head coach Avery Johnson.
I'm curious to see if the Mavs will "man up" and respond with a victory in game 4.
I'm not surprised the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs are tied 1 - 1; and, I'm not surprised in the other playoff series (Houston leading Utah, 2-1; Detroit leading Orlando, 3-0; Phoenix leading the Lakers 2-1, the Cavs lead the Wizards, 2-0, and New Jersey leading the Raptors, 2-1). However, I have been surprised and disappointed in the woeful performances by the Rockets and the Jazz during the first three games of their series.
In two of the three games, the winning team has not scored more than 84 points! Houston defeated Utah 84 to 75 in game 1 while the Jazz defeated the Rockets 81 to 67 in game 3. Good defense is one thing; but, this series has featured more bad offense than I care to see. This series has been like watching an Eastern Conference series (at its worst) for goodness sakes!
I scored the same number of points as the Rockets bench players did in game 3; and, I didn't play in the game! Houston's bench reserves scored zero points! It takes some kind of work to be so inept in a ball game.
Thus far, though they haven't been very efficient, the Rockets Big Two of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady have done their part and combined for between 50 and 60 points per game in the series. Unfortunately, the role players have not played consistently well or well at all. Forward Chuck Hayes went from 12 points and 12 rebounds in game 2 to zero points and seven rebounds in game 3. Luther Head and Juwan Howard have struggled mightily.
On the other side, Utah's Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko haven't set the world on fire with their offensive production either. Kirilenko is a mere shell of the player he was just last season. He's outside shot is a bad joke; and, he's picked up more fouls (10) in this series than he's scored points (4). Okur, apparently, has convinced himself defending Yao Ming is the reason his jump shooting is struggling. Memo is using so much strength pushing Yao Ming away from the basket his legs are gone when Utah has the ball offense. At least that's what he believes. How about this Mr. Okur -- stop shooting 20-foot shots and beyond and go down to the low post. Maybe you can score a few more points if you were closer to the basket. Shooting 17.1% from the field is ridiculous.
Saturday's NBA Playoffs tip-off at 2 pm (Central Time) as Detroit tries to become the first team to advance to the second round with a series-clinching win over the Orlando Magic. Three more games follow that one.
Let's start dribbling...
posted by Kris Gardner @ 11:19 AM
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