Some Thoughts
-I blame Kobe’s decision making for the Lakers game 4 loss. He was hurting, that was obvious. Yes he’s a warrior and played through it, and was pretty effective, but only when he played within his ‘injured’ limitations. He didn’t have the strength to get his usual lift on the long jumpers, which made everything fall short. What he should have done is play an ‘old man’s game’ and take his defender down to the block (where he possesses the best post game in the league-this never gets enough credit) and out-maneuver his defender. If the double team came down he could have found his teammates on the perimeter for open looks. He continuously took the long-range jumpers that ‘healthy Kobe’ consistently knocks down, forgetting he was not at full strength.
-All the talk during the year that the Eastern Conference’s big teams, the Pistons and the Celtics, were maybe the two best teams in the league, and would be favored in the Finals, was a joke. The level of play in the Eastern playoffs is still light years away from what we’re seeing from the teams in the West. In fact, I think the best 4 teams left in this tournament are all in the Western conference.
-The Spurs have really raised their play to a championship level in games 3 and 4 at home. Coach Popovich’s decision to move Bruce Bowen off of Chris Paul and onto Peja has been the key to the Spurs victories. Peja had 22pts and 25pts in games 1 and 2 respectively, and 8pts and 6pts in 3 and 4, with all-defensive 1st team member taking over defensive duties in the last two. The Spurs have decided to let Chris Paul do his thing and shut down the other guys, a strategy that has left the Hornets in a precarious position. They were just beaten handedly by the defending champs after feeling great about themselves being up 2-0. Will they cave and fold while the Spurs smell blood and go into game 5 for the kill? Or will they regroup and get back to they way they played at home in the first 2 games? Are they even capable of getting back to that level?
-The Celtics BEGGED the Cavs to win game 1 and they didn’t step up and take it. If they had, that series would be over and the 66-win Celtics would be fishing next week. As is, Boston hasn’t done anything to change my mind that they cannot be trusted, and I still would not be shocked if the Cavs took 4 in a row to win the series in 6 games.
-What’s up with LeBron? He’s shooting 22% from the floor thru the 1st 3 games, the worst such # for any player in the history of the league with a minimum of 50 shots in a playoff series. All it takes is one monster performance in a win to make everyone forget, and if he does that tonight in game 4, the series is his for the taking.
-The All-Defensive 1st and 2nd teams were announced today. The usual suspects, as always, fill out the rosters.
1st team Kobe/Bowen/KG/Duncan/Camby
2nd team Battier/Chris Paul/Dwight Howard/Tayshaun/Raja Bell
I mean, why not tell us these teams before the season starts. It’s the same guys year after year making up these rosters, and yes, they are great defensive players for the most part, but it’s their reputation as great defensive players, which gets them selected. The same thing happens in football with offensive linemen for the All-Pro team. You can count on one hand the people who are actually qualified to judge who played the best defense in the entire league throughout the season.
-We should be in for a ridiculous week of hoops. Two game 5’s and 6’s in the West with potential for game 7’s in both (which would both be on MONDAY NIGHT???? -don’t get me started) and some stuff in the East.