-       Thats hit the front of the iron
-       He’s coughed it up
-       Offensive foul
-       Raptors have cut the deficit to just 20 now
-       Focus on the draft, gear up for next season
-       Both teams played hard
-       Calderon needs rogaine
-       Bargnani at the buzzer! It’s no good


Everything fell apart as the Wolves went on to get blasted in the 2nd overtime, getting outscored 11 to 20.

Kudos to Love, but this gem must have made him pretty sore afterwards:

"That's my man, my main guy. Definitely talking trash out there, especially after he hit the one right in my face," Ninja Turtle Westbrook said.

"He said, 'In your face.' He just kept pointing, like, 'In your face, in your face.'"

No Kevin, in your face.

I’m not the only one who felt bad for the T-Pups, after the game Beasley made sure everyone was consoled and taken care of:
Derek Fisher:  *whistles*  What can I tell you.  At first, it surprised many that the Lakers were willing to let go of Derek Fisher to the Rockets just for a decent prospect in Jordan Hill.

Considering how much he meant to the franchise in the past as a veteran leader and clutch shooter, Fisher was pretty butt-hurt for getting traded.

Ladies and Gentlemen, now I give you your 2012 Derek Fisher!

Going 2-11 from the floor, with just 5 points and 3 assists in 36 minutes, Fisher was really killing the Thunder out there.  Bricks after brick after brick.

He’s old and slower than ever, but now you can really see how much Sessions is an upgrade for the Lakers if this is what they had before.  I’m sure Fisher will have better games, but this season has been awful for him as he’s averaging career lows across the board.

Now, some people felt there were many times where he looked like the worst Laker on the floor earlier this season, but I’m thinking what he’s doing now is better for the Lakers than anything else he’s done for them since 2010.

He’s sabotaging the Thunder!

That’s gotta be it right?  I wonder if when Fisher told Houston that he wanted a buyout and was willing to sacrifice 3.4 Million dollars that Kevin McHale popped out of that mine shaft and went “Yesssssss”.

You hope Scott Brooks won’t trust Fisher with that many minutes a night on a consistent basis, but then again, it is Scott Brooks.


Queens/Furriors: Wow, this is a classic.  Calling it an “error filled” debacle to close out the game is an understatement.

From AP Recap:

On any other night, David Lee's 5-second violation in the final moments might've cost the Golden State Warriors a win. It was the kind of head-scratching turnover almost nobody can top.

Except the Sacramento Kings.

Isaiah Thomas dribbled the ball of his leg attempting a crossover against Lee on the next possession, handing the Warriors a 111-108 victory in a turnover-filled finish typical of two teams at the bottom of the Pacific Division.

Look no further than the play by play to get an idea of what happened:

Labels: Raza, Worst of the Weekend

The Miami cHeat: Over at ESPN's Heat Index, Brian Windhorst wrote: "The Bulls didn't do anything special in their 103-82 victory -- they did exactly what the scouting report said they would. They rebounded and played defense. The Heat reacted to it not like the surging favorites they had been tagged following their five-game takedown of the Boston Celtics in the previous round, but instead like the junior varsity."

With all due respect to Windhorst...saying the Bulls "didn't do anything special" makes me wonder whether he was watching the game with a potato sack on his head. Did he miss Dywane Wade isolating against Joakim Noah and getting his shot swatted? Or LeBron James isolating against Taj Gibson and getting his attempt deflected? Or Kyle Korver -- trapped in a one-on-one situation -- knocking the basketball away from Wade? Korver ended up deflecting the ball out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Heat, but come on.

The Bulls were playing inspired basketball. And it was pretty special.


Now let's talk stats. The Bulls scored 22 points off 16 forced turnovers, went 10-for-21 from downtown, and outrebounded Miami 45-33. Furthermore, Chicago's Bench Mob outscored their Heat counterparts 28-15.

Those are impressive numbers.

Even more impressive was the fact that the Bulls held James and Wade to a combined 11 points in the second half. In fact, both James (15 points, 5-for-15, -14) and Wade (18 points, 7-for-17, -22) looked pretty mortal. They each finished with only four free throw attempts and a co-game-high 4 turnovers each.

Miami advanced past the Celtics by repeatedly isolating their two superstars. None of the Boston players -- individually or as a group -- could stay between those men and the basket. That didn't work against the Chicago D. Not in Game 1 anyway. With the Bulls keeping James and Wade out of the paint, and shutting down Miami's fast break, the cHeat mustered only 34 points in the second half.

Now for the absurd numbers. Chicago had a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounds that led to an unbelievable 31-8 advantage in second chance points. The cHeat could not protect their defensive glass. Noah had 8 offensive rebounds. Carlos Boozer had 4. Gibson had 3. Heck, even C.J. Watson had 2.

The Bulls didn't shoot all that well -- 43.7 percent as a team -- but they had an insane offensive rebounding percentage of 41.3. When a team rebounds four out of every 10 missed shots, that gives them a pretty distince advantage.

Said LeBron: "You play defense hard and the shot goes up and they get an offensive rebound, kick it out for a three or get a layup or a dunk. Those are demoralizing for a defensive team."

Added Coach Spo: "It really deflated us and we lost our concentration. The offensive rebounding really affected us."

Wait, wait, wait. These are professional basketball players, right? LeBron has won two MVP awards. Wade was the Finals MVP of a championship team. The cHeat have two of the best five players on the planet and Chris Bosh had a 30-point night. But...their team got demoralized? Maybe they should have just boxed out instead.

Obviously, this is a one-game sample, and people shouldn't get too excited about Chicago's chances or too down about Miami's. Still, last night's game was like a war of attrition. The cHeat got worn down. Remember: They depend on big games from Bosh, James and Wade every night. Those guys played almost 40 MPG during the season and are logging 40 or 40+ during the postseason. They aren't getting anything from their bench. At some point, that's got to have an effect, right?

Dwyane Wade, quote machine: "I don't even remember shooting in the fourth quarter. We were throwing up some Hail Marys."

Dwyane Wade, one-on-one machine: After a five-game fun fest of breaking ankles against the Celtics, let's just say Dwyane and the Heat found it a little bit more difficult to tap dance past the Bulls.


Dwyane Wade, poster boy: Taj Gibson fed Pookie a Spalding Burger with an extra side of "YEEEEAAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!"


Dwyane Wade, quote machine: "That was a good one. First time I got dunked on all year. I'll take my 90-to-1 blocks to dunked on ratio. It was a very athletic play. I knew I didn't have a chance."

Joakim Noah, quote machine: "It was unbelievable. The one on Wade was crazy and the one at the end of the game was crazy, too. I've been calling him 'Light Feet' for a long time. That's his nickname around here...he's got a few nicknames, but 'Light Feet' is one of them."

Taj Gibson, quote machine: Believe it or not, Gibson's posterization of Wade was only his second favorite dunk of the night. This was the first:


"That just shows that no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is left in the game, you never stop playing. You want to keep playing til the clock runs out and that's Thibs' motto: Play 48 minutes. And tonight we wanted to go out there and show that we can play 48 minutes of tough basketball."

Erik Spoelstra, unintentionally dirty quote machine: "We took it on the chin."

The Memphis Grizzlies: I'm only giving the Care Bears an entry because they lost. They kept their composure and fought to the end, but they couldn't contain Kevin Durant down the stretch. They don't have anything to be ashamed of. To be honest, I knew after they dropped the triple OT game they were going to lose the series...that they couldn't win another one in Oklahoma City.

I'm pretty interested to see what happens with this team next season. Assumina Rudy Game returns from injury and can be successfully re-integrated, and also assuming they re-sign Marc Gasol, the Griz -- behind Zach Randolph -- could become a power.

No. Really. It could happen.

With that, I leave you with Z-Bo's theme song.


Chris' Playoff Lacktion Report:

Grizzlies-Thunder: Ishmael Smith sailed into the sunset on an eight-bit sea after a 15-second Mario, while Daequan Cook baked a celebratory cake comprised of FOUR bricks from...uh...Bricktown and a turnover in 10:54 for a +5!!!

El (Oh El) Heat-Bulls: Ahhh...South Beach repped itself well today, judging from Udonis Haslem's +1 suck differential in 4:12 via brick, Eddie House's +2 in 2:14 via brick and turnover, and Juwan Howard's 2.2 trillion (2:14).

Labels: Miami Heat, Taj Gibson, Worst of the Weekend

Editor's note: The top pic was created by The Big Nowitzki and sent to me by Shayan Mannan of Sports Haze. Evil Ted will be writing about the Celtics game.

The Los Angeles Lakers: You know what? In hindsight, the most shocking part about what just happened to the Lakers is how not shocking it should have been. L.A.'s season was a mishmash of up-and-down play. At times, they looked unstoppable. Other times, they looked helpless and lost. But their fans never quite lost that air of cocky arrogance and the non-fans never felt totally comfortable predicting the collapse that seemed inevitable. The Lakers had, after all, turned it on before.

But not this time.

The talent was there. No question about it. But something vital was missing and we may never know exactly what it was. Chemistry? That seems impossible given that the core group of back-to-back championship teams remained intact. Motivation? That doesn't feel quite right. The Lakers wanted to win.

I guess maybe it was desire. I can't presume to know what was going on inside their hearts, but this Lakers team felt different than the squads who won the last two league titles. Two seasons ago, they played pissed off after the way the Celtics had manhandled them in the 2008 NBA Finals. Last year, they played with a chip on their shoulder, because they still seemed to feel they had something to prove.

I never felt that this season. They played well in stretches but never inspired. At least, that's what it looked like from the outside. I think Kobe sensed it. I think that's why, after the Lakers lost to the Heat in Miami, he pulled that crazy "I'm going to shoot around until they kick me out of the arena" stunt. Kobe's a control freak. That's a large part of what's made him great. He could see the Lakers weren't competing the way they needed to if they wanted to defend their title. So Kobe controlled what he could control: His own maniacal effort.

Only that never inspired his teammates. No amount of ribbing in practice or public, no black swan / white swan comparisons, nothing lit a fire under the other Lakers. Basically, they lost the eye of the tiger.

Man, did they lose it.

I've always been a card carrying Lakers Hater. I wanted them to lose. I didn't want them to match the Celtics championship total. I didn't want Kobe to get his sixth ring or Phil Jackson to close out his career with a fourth three-peat. I wanted the Lakers to fail.

But like this? Swept. Demolished in Game 4. Meeting defeat in shame -- with cheap shots and elbows -- rather than facing it with dignity.

Look, I hate the Lakers, but I also respected them. They were champions. But, when the walls came tumbling down, they stopped acting like champions. They gave up in Game 4. They quit. They abandoned all the principles that won them back-to-back titles and started acting like a bunch of common thugs. For example:


And, not long after, this happened:


This fall from grace was about as graceless as it gets. It got to the point where Pau Gasol had to address Internet rumors about his personal life, while Jackson was forced to explain why he was smacking Pau in the chest during timeouts and had to resort to bitching about the officials. Kobe wondered out loud whether he was sick in the head for thinking his team could still win the series. Turns out, his teammates were just sick in the heart.

I mean, Andrew Bynum's post-ejection tearing off of his jersey while being escorted by the locker room by Ron Artest -- who himself had been suspended for Game 3 because he pulled a cheap shot on the same guy Bynum whacked -- was the lowest of the low moments of this series.

Championships are won. They aren't handed out because you're the best team on paper. The Lakers learned that lesson in 2008 and went on to win two titles in a row. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe Men in Black showed up and gave them a group mind wipe. "What you experienced wasn't back-to-back championships. It was swamp gas."

Bad form, Lakers. Bad form.

But you know what? A low moment for the Lakers was a high point for the Mavericks. Faily or unfairly, they have spent the past several seasons fighting a quiet war against accusations of being soft and mentally fragile. Well, they blew all those accusations to smithereens during this series. Sweet redemption after years of bitter torment. It kind of reminds me of when Phoenix swept the Spurs in the second round last year. Of course, we know how that turned out. Hopefully, the Mavs will have a better fate.

Possibly the strangest facepalm ever...
...but this is more like it.
Ron Artest, Dunk Master: Oh. My.


Kobe Byrant, quote machine: From Basketbawful reader Charles Y:


Experts: More fail from stephanie g:


The Chicago Bulls: The Bullies won Game 3 thanks to an all-out attack by Derrick Rose: 44 points (a career-high), 16-for-27 from the field, 4-for-7 from downtown, 8-for-9 at the line, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal and a block. And as ESPN Stats and Information noted: "One of the more impressive aspects of Rose's performance was that he was scoring from everywhere. He scored 12 points in the paint, 12 from three-point range, and 12 from mid-range, adding eight points at the free throw line."

Rose was undeniably awesome in nearly every sense of the word. But the Bulls also dominated the glass, pulling down 18 offensive rebounds, and got great production out of their bench. And blowing out the Hawks in Atlanta just felt right.

But the performance was not repeated in Game 4. So...what happened?

For starters, Chicago's interior defense was poor. The Hawks went 22-for-34 (64.8 percent) at the rim and outscored the Bulls 56-40 in the paint. Horford was 6-for-6 at the rim. Joe Johnson was 3-for-3. Jason Collins was 2-for-2. Crawford 1-for-1. Teague was 4-for-6. Smith was 6-for-11.

Teams don't earn many wins by giving up that many good looks around the basket.

They also got shot down by Johnson (24 points, 9-for-14, 3-for-5 on threes) and picked apart by Smith (23 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists). Smith didn’t shoot well (8-for-22), but he got to the line (7-for-9) and created extra offense though his passing and work on the offensive glass (5 offensive boards).

Overall, Chicago's defense simply wasn't that good. Atlanta finished with an Offensive Efficiency of 108.7. That’s too high for a team that relies on defense to win. Speaking of which...let's talk about their offense.

Rose finished with game highs in points (34), assists (10), free throw attempts (11) and shot attempts (32). It's that last stat that worries me. Especially considering the rest of the starting unit combined for two fewer shots than Rose took.

It's tempting to think the shot distribution wouldn't have been a big of a deal if Derrick had converted more than 12 of his attempts. But it was a big deal. And not because Rose's shot selection was terrible. After all, 22 of his 32 attempts came inside 10 feet. But he went only 6-for-14 at the rim and 2-for-8 from 3-9 feet.

To be completely honest, I thought there was a significant amount of uncalled contact on several of Rose's drives. Which isn't all that surprising, considering Hawks coach Larry Drew talked publically about his team getting more physical with Rose after Game 3. That's what happened. The Hawks forced Rose into several misses and got away with bumping him off a handful of shots that might have otherwise gone in or resulted in free throw attempts.

Said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau: "He kept driving the ball. I'm anxious to see the replays. From my perspective, I thought he was getting fouled. Maybe he wasn't going hard enough."

But here's the thing: Even if Rose hit more shots and earned more trips to the lines, and even if the Bulls had pulled this one out, I would still have a problem with the offense. Or, at least, what it devolved into.

Here's what the Bulls offense looked like in the fourth quarter:

Carlos Boozer missed layup; Rose made 10-footer; Rose made 14-footer + 1 free throw; Rose made layup; Rose missed layup (blocked by Teague); offensive rebound; Rose missed 14-footer; offensive rebound; Rose missed 8-footer; Rose missed layup; Kyle Korver made 17-footer (Rose assists); C.J. Watson turnover; Taj Gibson 2-for-2 at the line; shot clock violation; Rose turnover; Luol Deng missed three-pointer; offensive rebound; Rose made 7-footer and the foul; Rose misses free throw; Rose made layup; Rose missed layup; Rose missed 6-footer; Rose turnover; Salvatore’s blown call; Korver missed three-pointer; Deng made layup (Rose assists); Korver turnover; Rose made layup.

In summary: The Bulls' fourth quarter offense consisted of only 2 assists (both by Rose), 4 free throw attempts, 5 turnovers and 17 field goal attempts...12 by Rose.

Said Thibodeau: "You know, when he's making the plays and he's scoring, everyone's saying how great he is. So tonight, he was aggressive. I didn't have any problem with the way he played. ... It's a make or miss league. If they go down, we're talking about the great plays and how unselfish he is."

Countered Kyle Korver: "I think when Derrick gets it going, he should shoot every time. But when it's not there, we got to work it as a team. We got to do a better job of getting open so he can see us, and he probably needs to do a better job sometimes of finding us, but it's a team thing. You can't out it on one person. Obviously, when he has it going, he is the best basketball player in the world, and we want him to take every shot that he feels like he's going to make."

Korver's right. The offense cannot become "Rose dribbles and drives while everybody else stands around watching." That's what happened in the fourth quarter of last night’s game, and it’s no wonder the Bulls scored only 19 points over those final 12 minutes. Look, Derrick has become a tremendous closer, one of the best in the game. But no matter how good he is, Most Valuable Player or not, the Bulls still need to execute an actual offense down the stretch.

That didn't happen last night. And it was costly. More so even than Bennet Salvatore's "inadvertent whistle" (see below). Much more so because officiating is out of a team's control. The way an offense runs is.

Take Boozer’s night. Carlos finally broke out of his offensive slump -- 18 points, 7-for-10 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line -- but attempted one shot in the fourth quarter. The first one, as it turned out, and he never shot again. That's ridiculous. Boozer is supposed to be the team's second offensive option. If the team isn’t going to go to him when he’s hot, when are they going to go to him? This is just a for instance. Deng is the team's third option and he took only two shots in the fourth.

Good offense requires ball movement and total involvement from all five guys on the floor. I'm perfectly okay with Rose taking 30+ shots as long as they come within the flow of the offense. When there’s no flow to the offense...that's when the problems crop up.

Everybody is at fault. Thibs is at fault for not running more plays that get players other than Rose good looks. Rose's teammates are at fault for not being more aggressive, getting open, and calling for the ball. And Rose is at fault for not generating more offense for the other guys wearing red jerseys.

It'll be interesting to see if they get it cleaned up in Game 5.

Officiating: With 2:27 left in the fourth quarter and the Bulls trailing 90-84, Derrick Rose made a nice ball fake, got Jamal Crawford into the air, and then drew obvious contact on a three-point attempt. Official Bennett Salvatore blew the whistle...

...then said it was inadvertent and ruled a jump ball. Josh Smith won the tip, Jeff Teague gained possession, and Atlanta’s possession ended with a dunk by Al Horford that increased Atlanta's lead to eight points.

That’s a big swing. It was also a bit mistake.

And Salvatore admitted as much.

Said Salvatore: "An inadvertent whistle is when a referee blows his whistle and didn’t mean to. That's exactly what happened. I blew my whistle and didn't mean to, I didn't think it was a foul. Having watched the replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake."

He blew his whistle. But he didn’t think it was a foul. Okay.

Salvatore continued: "I blew my whistle. I was positive it was not a foul. I blew my whistle by accident. Which is an inadvertent whistle. That's why I disallowed it ... Having watched replay. It was a foul. I made a mistake. I was wrong."

Said Rose: "It's basketball. Hopefully next time they call it."

Added Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau: "At that time of the game, I've never seen that. But look, Bennett's a good official. He said he made a mistake. He's human. So that's what he did. He's a good official. He got him in the air, he came down on him. I thought it was a foul. But you know, sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t.

You don't have to be a math major to realize how costly Salvatore’s mistake was for the Bulls. Assuming Rose hit all three of the free throws he should have gotten, the Bulls would have been down only three points with two and a half minutes remaining. Instead, after it was all said and done, they were down eight with two minutes to go.

And, watching the game, you could tell the sequence demoralized them.

If that call had been made correctly, the Bulls could have won this game. But it's not why they lost the game. They lost because they played poorly.

The Oklahoma City Thunder: If the Thunder could have scored 11 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3, they would have won and reclaimed homecourt advantage.

Instead, OKC got outscored 23-10 in the fourth and ended up losing in overtime.

The Grizzlies are brutal savages. They're a scary team, man. Never thought I'd say it, but it's true. But still...the idea that a team with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook got held to 10 fourth quarter points after beginning the period with a 13-point lead is stunning.

Said Mike Conley: "I think once we looked up at the clock and saw how many points we were down, a little bit of desperation hit. We were like, 'Man, we cannot lose this game.' And guys amped up their game, made some changes here and there, and we were able to just be scrappy and play our game, and fortunately we got the win."

Countered Durant: "This is a tough loss. I'm trying to stay positive, but it was tough. This was tough. We were up 13 going into the fourth, had a good roll going. It was tough."

Added Thunder coach Scott Brooks: "We stopped doing [what they did for the first three quarters]. The last seven or eight minutes, we just stopped doing it, and we gave into their play. I give them credit. They really stepped up and got into us and made us take tough shots."

No kidding. From ESPN Stats and Information: "The end-of-game dynamic between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant reared its ugly head again on Saturday. Entering Game 3, Durant had been tremendous in the final 5 minutes of regulation and OT, shooting over 50 percent from the floor compared to just 26 percent for Westbrook. Both struggled down the stretch on Saturday, combining to go 0-10 with the lone points coming on a pair of Russell Westbrook free throws."

As a team, the Thunder shot 36 percent, with Durant (10-for-24) and Westbrook (7-for-22) shitting bricks. Westbrook has 12 assists...but he also committed 5 of his 7 turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime before fouling out of the game.

Bonk.

By the way, according to ESPN Stats and Information, that 10 points is tied for the fourth-lowest fourth-quarter playoff point total since 2005. I'm just sayin'.

Panathinaikos basketball fans: Nobody should get shot by an AK-47 over basketball. But it happened.

Chris' Playoff Lacktion Report:

Bulls-Hawks: Omer acquired a board in 14:12, but buried it in three fouls for a 3:1 Voskuhl. Rasual Butler had 121 seconds of prime rib pricing for a 2 trillion.

Meanwhile, Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia countered a free throw and board in 9:03 with a turnover and four fouls for a 5:2 Voskuhl, and both Jason Collins (in 1:45 via two fouls) and Josh Powell (in 4:07 via brick and turnover) got +2 suck differentials, with Collins getting a 2:0 Voskuhl and Powell earning a Madsen-level 1:0 ratio.

Lakers-Mavs: Joe Smith unmightily fouled in 3:23 for a +1 and a 1:0 Madsen-level Voskuhl, while Corey Brewer matched that suck differential for Dallas in 68 seconds via brick from the Stemmons Freeway.

Thunder-Grizzlies: Daequan Cook fried up three bricks from the Sterick Building, along with two fouls, to earn a +5 in 8:15!

El (Oh El) Heat-Celtics: Von Wafer plugged in his Super Nintendo for a mere four seconds, earning a celebratory Super Mario!!!!

Bulls-Hawks: Damien Wilkins bricked once in 58 seconds for a +1 and a Mario! And as commenter Batmanu notes...

Should we make mention in the Lacktion Report that Damien Wilkins' missed FGA was on a blown dunk at the end of the first half?

Yes, we will make mention of it. :D

Labels: 2011 NBA Playoffs, Andrew Bynum WTF, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Worst of the Weekend

The San Antonio Spurs: I already covered the death of the Spurs here and here. That 61-win season was a fantastic last gasp for the Duncan era. But Zach Randolph slammed the window shut.

R.I.P.

Tim Duncan, non-quote machine: Basketbawful reader Zach B. sent in this non-quote which, as he put it, works on so many levels: "Duncan left the court five days after turning 35 for what might have been the last time, not that he said anything to his teammates."

The Oklahoma City Thunder: Before Oklahoma City opened the second round with a Game 1 loss at home to the Grizzlies, Thundermania had been building to a fever pitch. It's actually been building ever since they acquired Kendrick Perkins from the Celtics. After all, Perk was supposed to be the elusive "final piece" that would push the Thunder past the Lakers and into the NBA Finals.

Right?

Only, last time I checked, Oklahoma City is going to have to make it to the Western Conference Finals before they get a shot at L.A. And that might not happen.

Zach Randolph may see to that.

I never thought I'd type those words outside of some sort of hostage situation. Nor did I ever think I'd be cutting and pasting anything like the following quote into a Basketbawful post. It's from Kevin Durant. About Randolph.

"You can't stop him. You've got to make them shoot tough shots like he's been doing, but if he's making them, he's tough to stop. He's an animal."

Durant also believes Z-Bo is "the best power forward in the league."

Replied Z-Bo: "I've got to agree with that. Thanks, KD. I appreciate that."

I am still on planet Earth, right? Third rock from the sun?

Randolph continued: "I've felt like I don't get a lot of respect I deserve. It's nothing personal or nothing. I just try to come out and be the same player, consistent during the regular season and during playoffs. I just try to be this way all the time, play my way all the time, and not be up and down. The good players be consistent and stay consistent, not just playoffs but during the regular season, also."

Added Thunder coach Scott Brooks: "The one thing that I admire in his game is he's relentless. He's always playing the game. You just know that the loves the game. We have to do a better job of controlling him and making him miss some shots.
It's not going to be easy, and we know that going into it, and we knew that going into this game. He scores, and he scores in bunches, and we have to do a better job with that."

I'm not on Earth anymore. I can't be.

I may be way off here, but it may be time for NBA teams to wake up and smell the reality. The Lakers won the last two league championships not because of how awesome Kobe Bryant is. They won because they have two quality big men to throw at people. And, frankly, that's why they're going to beat the Mavericks in that second round series. Thanks to David Stern's "touch me not" legislation, perimeter players have dominated the league the last half dozen years or so. To the point that GMs haven't been assembling dominant frontcourts like the old days.

Except for the Lakers, that is. They have back-to-back titles to show for it. Now the Grizzlies have one, too. And they have become a nightmare for their opponents.

Make no mistake. It's not just Zach, though. Randolph was awesome -- 34 points, 12-for-22, 1-for-1 from downtown [!!], 9-for-9 from the line, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists -- but the presence of Marc Gasol (20 points, 9-for-11, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal) means that Oklahoma City's defense can't key in on Z-Bo. Not with another kickass big roaming the paint.

Memphis won the rebounding battle, hauled in 17 offensive boards and scored 52 points in the paint.

That said...let's not count the Thunder out just yet. This could be an aberration game. After all, according to ESPN Stats and Information, Gasol and Randolph went 11-for-15 on shots from 10 feet and beyond. That's a conversion rate of 73+ percent. Against the Spurs, they went 20-for-50 (40 percent) from 10+ feet.

What's more, Memphis surrendered a mere 8 points on only 8 turnovers, while scoring 23 points off the 18 turnovers committed by Oklahoma City.

The hot outside shooting by the Grizzlies' big men and disproportionate turnover margin won't happen every night. Of course, the one night it did happen may turn out to be enough. We'll see.

Kendrick Perkins: The Thunder traded him to dominate the paint and shut down opposing big men, right? Amiright?

Russell Westbrook: Westbrook's line looks great -- 29 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists -- as long as you don't include the 9-for-23 shooting, 7 turnovers and 5 personal fouls. When one player barely wins the turnover battle against the entire other team, you know somebody's got the butterfingers.

The Boston Celtics: Dwyane Wade was super hot -- 38 points on 14-for-21 shooting plus 8-for-9 from the line -- and his production was most definitely not the norm. According to ESPN Stats and Information:

Wade shot 6-for-11 from 15 feet or farther in Game 1; his six field goals from that range were two more than he made in his previous four games against Boston.

During the regular season, Wade had the lowest field goal percentage of the 69 players who attempted at least 15 field goals from at least 15 feet against the Celtics.

You know what? That's fine. Superstars catch fire. It happens. I can forgive that. Especially when LeBron James and Chris Bosh are held to 11-for-29 from the field.

What I cannot forgive is Boston's defense on James Jones. JJ exploded off Miami's bench to score 25 points on 5-for-7 from downtown and 10-for-10 from the line. Yes, that's right. In a game featuring Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen...James freakin' Jones had a game-high in FTA.

I'm so not on planet Earth. Where the fuck am I?

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Jones set the cHeat franchise record for points off the bench in a playoff game. What's more, he went 4-for-5 on threes in the second quarter, tying Miami's postseason record for three-pointers in a single quarter. Oh, and get this: He launched all seven of his FGA without taking a dribble. And he was unguarded on six of his seven attempts. And all five of his makes. Nice rotations, Celtics.

Said Ray Allen: "There's so many things we need to do to get better. I think everybody in that locker room knows that, just from a small conversation we just had."

Jeez, no shit, Ray.

Bottom line is this: Boston can't afford to get beaten by Miami's roleplayers. That's what happened. In the first half, cHeat coach Erik Spoelstra benched LeBron and Wade at the same time, which is ultra-rare. Jones ended up leading a 9-0 run. And Jones ended up outscoring the Celtics bench 25-23. Man oh man, I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Still, cHeat fans shouldn't feel too confident. The Celtics played like ass -- Boston's bigs were 13-for-32 in the paint and got seven shots blocked, Rajon Rondo played only eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, and Paul Pierce got ejected (see below) -- and still cut a 19-point lead down to 90-82 with 4:22 left. And it was Rondo's careless passing (four TOs in six possessions down the stretch) that killed any hope of a comeback.

But the comeback was a distinct possibility.

I say that the Celtics will play much better in Game 2. Of course, it may not matter, because they may be without the services of...

Paul Pierce: Yes, Pierce's ejection has caused some angst around these parts, no doubt about it. Here's my take.

With 7:58 remaining, James Jones committed a flagrant foul on Pierce. Wasn't called a flagrant, which happens sometimes, so you just have to live with it. Only Pierce couldn't or wouldn't live with it, going face to face with Jones and then head-something-ing him. Was it a headbutt? A headbump? A facerub? I'm not sure what to call it. I do know that Zaza Pachulia was recently suspended one playoff game for what the league felt was a headbutt on Jason Richardson.

You can't do that, Paul. You're the team captain. You can't get a technical when you're team is trying to make a comeback -- your free throws cut the lead to 10 and there was plenty of time remaining -- and you can't do something that could risk suspension in a playoff series versus a real championship contender. I understand your frustration. I would've been pissed, too. But you've won a championship, Paul. Been the Finals MVP, even. You know better than that. You do.

Less than a minute later, Pierce was setting a pick on Wade, who lowered his shoulder and tried to blast right through Pierce's pick. Yeah, Pookie could have (and probably should have) been called for a foul on the play, but the nearest official didn't have a clear view and, frankly, probably wouldn't have made the flagran call Doc Rivers wanted anyway. Not in Miami. That's the reality of playing on the road in the playoffs, Paul. You're not new to these games. You know better. Or you should. Instead you said something inflammatory with referee Ed Malloy standing, what, five feet away?

Crew chief Danny Crawford said: "And in the rulebook, that is a verbal taunt. And it just so happened to be Pierce's second technical foul."

For the record, Crawford also said: "He approached Jones and got right in his face. There wasn't a head-butt, but he got right into his face after a hard foul."

Crawford's statement might save Pierce from a suspension, if only because Stern hates to contradict his officials. But, as much as I understand why Pierce was upset, I have to agree with ESPNBoston's Jackie MacMullan: "It was an appalling development for the team captain and supposed leader, who, instead of helping Boston scratch back from a deficit that was as high as 19 points, lost his composure and was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the locker room in disgrace."

Labels: Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Paul Pierce, San Antonio Spurs, Worst of the Weekend, Zach Randolph

The New York Knicks: All the talking heads said Knicks-Celtics could be the most intriguing series of the first round. The Knicks were surging! The Celtics were slumping! The situation was ripe for an upset. And after Games 1 and 2 were decided by Boston's clutch plays (or, conversely, New York's clutch fails), those same talking heads were saying the Knicks "should have won" one or both of those games.

If only 'Melo had shot better in Game 1.

If only Amar''''''e hadn't been gimpy in Game 2.

If only Mike 'Antoni had coached a little better.

So on and so forth.

Then the Celtics came out and just bitch-slapped the Knicks in Game 3 in New York. Paul Pierce dropped 38. Ray Allen scored 32. While those two guys were combining to shoot 14-for-19 from beyond the arc -- no that's not a typo -- Rajon Rondo was setting a new Celtics playoff record by dishing out 20 assists. Rondo also had 15 points and 11 rebounds, joining Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James as the only players in NBA history to record six career playoff triple doubles.

Dear Knicks defense: The Celtics thank you.

Anyway, New York fell behind by as many as 23 and lost 113-96, earning boos from the crowd as MSG.

Said 'Melo: "It's tough knowing that Amare's not 100 percent, Chauncey's not 100 percent and we're just trying to find our way on the fly right now. That's a tough situation but I think that would be making excuses if I sit here and say that they beat us because we're not at full strength. We've still got guys that have to go out there and play and that is going out there and playing, so I don't want to use that as an excuse."

Of course not. We all know 'Melo doesn't make excuses.

Meanwhile, Stoudemire scored only 7 points on 2-for-8 shooting, and he looked like he'd rather be pretty much anywhere other than on the court. Said STAT: “I was very ginger, didn't really want to draw any contact."

Didn't really want to draw any contact...the story of his career.

Anyway, Game 4 was more of the same. the Celtics went ahead by as many as 23, the Knicks tried to make a fourth quarter rally, and the combination of Boston's defense (the Knicks couldn't get a good shot if their lives depended on it) and New York's defenselessness (the Celtics literally got whatever shots they wanted) defined the final five minutes. The Final score: Boston 101, Knicks 89.

Said 'Melo: "Tonight was one of those games that we have to leave it all out on the court. Wasn't no need to take anything home with us, and we did that. So I'm pretty sure that we gained a lot of respect from a lot of people right now, but this is the first step of something great."

Reality check: New York finished with 89 points on 34.1 percent shooting and got outrebounded 53-42 at home in an elimination game. The only thing they left on the court was feces. Which the Celtics kindly swept away.

And so, despite being considered the most vulnerable team heading into this year's playoffs, the Celtics are now the first team to advance to the second round.

Some final numbers: Allen shot 57.4 percent from the field and an incredible 65.4 percent from beyond the arc (17-for-26) in this series. Pierce went 10-for-20 on threes. Jermaine "The Drain" O'Neal shot 61.1 percent (11-for-18). Oh, and I almost forgot, Ray-Ray had an Offensive Rating of 144.

Again, Knicks defense, the Celtics thank you.

Mike D'Antoni, sour grapes machine: Sometime during the gap between watching Rondo deal out 20 dimes (and compile a triple-double) and then helping the Celtics finish of a sweep of the Knicks with 21 points and 12 assists, Mike said: "I'd like to see him play on Minnesota and see how he does."

The Chicago Bulls: I'm not going to sugarcoat this: The Bulls played like complete and total ass against the Pacers in Game 4. Actually, they played like ass in Games 1 through 3, too, but Game 4 was their assiest performance of the playoffs: 37.8 percent shooting, 3-for-20 on threes, 21 points given up off 14 turnovers, 18 second-chance points surrendered off Indy's 15 offensive rebounds, no fast break points and a deficit as large as 18 points.

And yet...the Bulls trailed by 16 points with under three minutes to go but got to within a point with 15 seconds left. Danny Granger knocked down two free throws off a forced foul, giving Chicago a chance to tie it with a three-pointer.

Enter a play straight out of Vinny Del Negro's playbook: The ball was inbounded to Joakim Noah, who held it for nearly 10 seconds before finally initiating some panicked passing, at the end of which the ball ended up in the hands of Carlos Boozer. For three.

Perspective time from ESPN Stats and Information: "In his 617 career NBA games, combining both regular season and playoffs, Boozer is now 1-10 in his career on 3-pointers. Boozer's only made 3-pointer in his career came on December 30, 2003 as a member of the Cavs... against the Pacers."

In other words, "Boozer for three!" is not the shot the Bulls wanted.

Said Noah: "I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol. They played it well, they denied the dribble handoff. Really, it was a mental mistake. When you're in that position, you've got to call timeout, so we learn from it."

The failed comeback and Indy's crunch time choke job aside, the Pacers played harder and wanted this game more than the Bulls. They hustled more and came up with all the 50-50 loose balls. The Bulls never matched their intensity until the final few minutes. That's too little too late.

Said Granger: "The mentality is play it like it's the last game you ever play in your life. We played like that tonight."

Frank Vogel, quote machine: "I'm still upset that it's 1-3. We should be up in the series."

The Dallas Mavericks: Jason Kidd's hot shooting and Dirk Nowitzki's fourth quarter heroics in Games 1 and 2 made me feel like I had been sucked into some kind of dark alternate reality. Seriously, I had to do some quick Google Fu to make sure that, like, the Nazis didn't win World War 2 or something.

Well, Game 4 confirmed that I am still in the reality of my birth. Dallas led by as many as 23 points in the third quarter and went into the final 12 minutes with an 18-point lead. Game over? Ha! You saw the 2006 NBA Finals, right?

The Frail Blazers outscored the Mavericks 35-15 in the fourth quarter. Brandon Roy -- who scored 18 of those points -- redeemed himself for last week's jack-assery by hitting the go-ahead shot with 39.2 seconds left.

Said Roy: "I've been in some pretty good zones before, but nothing like tonight."

Added Gerald Wallace: "When people ask me what did I do in the fourth quarter, I'll tell them I stood in the corner and watched The Brandon Roy Show."

According to the AP recap, Portland became the third NBA team in the shot-clock era to win a playoff game when trailing by 18 points or more heading into the fourth quarter. Furthermore, according to ESPN Stats and Information, "The Blazers trailed by 18 after the 3rd quarter, and came back to win. The 18-point deficit is tied for the 2nd largest comeback (in terms of points trailed after 3 quarters) in playoff history." That they did it against the Mavs is, well, not at all surprising. I mean, if any team in these playoffs was going to have a near-historical choke, wouldn't you assume it was going to be the Mavericks?

Said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle: "Did we let up? I think we let up, yeah. There isn't any question."

Added Nowitzki: "You can always, after the fact, talk about what you could have done or should have done. You can go a million ways about it, and afterward you're a lot smarter, but that doesn't help anybody right now."

Brandon Roy, quote machine: "It still just doesn't feel real yet. It was just an unbelievable game and comeback. With everything I've been through this season, they just all came into that moment there on the court when guys were grabbing and cheering me on. It was real special."

The San Antonio Spurs: You know, earlier this season, I (somewhat jokingly) suggested that the 2010-11 Spurs had transformed themselves into the 2007-08 Suns: Potent offense, quasi-adequate defense, vulnerable to hard-nosed physical teams. Like, you know, the Grizzlies. Yes, the Grizzlies. I know. Mind blown.

When Zach Randolph clinched Game 3 with a three-pointer -- shades of Tim Duncan's now infamous (to Suns fans) trey from the '08 playoffs -- San Antonio's metamorphosis into Phoenix Lite is officially complete.


The Spurs might not make it past the Grizzlies. Holy shit.

Said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich: "One would probably think that you'd like Zach to shoot the 3 rather than continue to lay it in against you, so it was a heck of a shot and part of the playoffs is about making shots."

Added Shane Battier: "I think there was a collective holding of the breath at the Forum when that shot was in the air, and it went through. It was one of those moments where it's like: 'No, no, no, no, no, yes. Yes.'"

Duncan, who was defending Randolph, said he didn't think Z-Bo would take that shot. I guess Timmy doesn't read Basketbawful. If he did, he'd have known better.

Said TD: "I leaned back and tried to make sure that there wasn't a quick big-to-big roll, but he hit a 3 from that range. It was a great shot."

Added Randolph: "It was 5 seconds on the shot clock. I had a little space to see it, so I just shot the shot. It went in, but that's the shot I work on and I practice every day shooting so it felt good when it left my hand."

Stat check: Zach went 8-for-43 on threes during the regular season.

Despite it all, the Spurs had a chance to tie the game up in the closing seconds, but Memphis threw a wet blanket on a brain-farting Manu Ginobili, who failed to shoot, pass or call a timeout. That's right: With the game -- and possibly the series -- on the line, San Antonio's Mr. Clutch let the clock expire without even getting a shot off.

Said Manu: "I thought we had a little more time. But no, there wasn't enough time. But now it's easier ... I wish we had called a timeout or done something different."

Now you know how the Suns felt all those years, Manu.

The Denver Nuggets: The dream is coming to an end. I won't rub it in to Nuggets fans that I predicted it. Not because I don't like this team -- I actually do -- but reality was going to punch them in the face eventually. Turns out "eventually" was Game 3.

Losing Games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City was understandable. But if the Nuggets were going to make a stand in this series, it was going to have to start in Game 3. Only Denver shot 37.2 percent and went 6-for-23 from downtown. Still, despite it all, J.R. Smith had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer...

...but didn't. He may or may not have been fouled by James Harden. But that doesn't matter since no call was made. And now the Nuggets are staring down an 0-3 deficit.

Said Smith: "I thought it would have had a better chance of going in if I didn't get fouled. I guess they didn't call it because he's planted or whatever. If somebody hits your arm like that, I think you still have to call the foul."

Countered Harden: "J.R. had just hit two 3s in a row, we went small to switch everything. As soon as he caught the ball I tried to not give him any space where he could get an open shot."

Final shots aside, the Nuggets should look a little deeper at their own failings. Like letting Serge Ibaka tie his career-high with 22 points and set a new career-best by grabbing 16 rebounds. Ibaka also blocked 4 shots.

Even more damning was Denver's 15 missed foul shots. In a three-point loss.

That's not a one-game aberration, either. The Nuggets are shooting only 69 percent (79-for-115) for the series.

Said Denver coach George Karl: "The free throw line I think is a little nightmarish right now."

Added Smith: "Nobody wants to lose, let alone be embarrassed. That's what they're doing to us right now, they're embarrassing us. They're up 3-0. We're in a real tough position. We have to fight back."

Good luck with that, J.R.

The Miami cHeat: Thanks to a tip-in by Dwyane Wade, the cHeat went up 82-76 with 1:35 left. That lead should have been insurmountable, right? With Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, you'd think Miami would be able to close out the game, wouldn't you?

Only the Sixers went on a 10-0 run in that final minute and a half to win 86-82.

Said cHeat coach Erik Spoelstra: "We've proven all year long that we were able to close those types of games out. We were not able to tonight."

Really, Erik? According to ESPN Stats and Information:

With 3.8 seconds remaining, LeBron James had an opportunity to tie the game, but ended up being blocked by Elton Brand. This continued a trend in which James and Wade struggle in the closing seconds of a close game.

Just a reminder... Including LeBron's missed shot today, the Heat are now 1-19 from the field in the final 10 seconds when trailing by 3 or fewer (or tied) ... LeBron now 1-8 on the season... The Heat were by far the worst in these situations during the regular season.

The cHeat are going to close out this series in Game 5. I'm sure of it. But this game provided a reminder that they are not yet invincible.

Bonus stats: Miami shot 38.5 percent from the field and went 5-for-23 on threes. Philly's bench outscored the cHeat's reserves 36-16. Miami starters Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mike Bibby combined for one point on 0-for-9 shooting.

Final thought: The cHeat should put the ball in Wade's hands in these situations.

LeBron James, quote machine, Part 1: "Intimidation factor? We're not trying to intimidate anybody."

LeBron James, quote machine, part 2: "We're not going to hang our heads all the way to the ground about it."

The Orlando Magic: Game 3 was all like this...


...and all like this...


With Zaza and J-Rich sitting out Game 4, the Magicians shot 39.2 percent from the field and got outrebounded 44-42. Back to the shooting, Orlando went 2-for-23 from downtown. According to ESPN Stats and Information: "At 8.7 percent, it was the worst 3-point performance in a playoff game with at least 20 attempts in the last 20 years." Even worse than when the Kings went 2-for-20 against the Lakers back in 2002. Sorry. Had to work the Kings in here somewhere.

Said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy: "They're playing good defense. I'm not taking anything away from them. But we're getting good enough looks. I don't know what to tell you about the shooting. I really don't."

Whatever the reason -- like, I dunno, Orlando's shooters aren't all that? -- the Magic are now down 3-1 in this series and on playoff life support. Yes, they had a chance to win both Games 3 and 4, but no, they did not.

The Hawks now have three chances to close things out.

Dwight Howard, trash talk machine: From the AP recap:

Howard, an Atlanta native, bantered with the crowd in his hometown, even coming over to the press table to exchange barbs with a couple of trash-talking fans in the third quarter.

"You're the biggest whiner in the league," one of them said.

"You wanna come out here and play me?" Howard responded. "I'm averaging 33 points a game. Just keep drinking your beer."

But the home fans had the last laugh.

Dwight had 29 points and 17 rebounds in Game 4. But you know how I said the Magic had a chance to win the game down the stretch? They weren't running any plays for Howard in the final minutes. Gilbert Arenas and Jameer Nelson were getting the clutch shots. I'm just sayin'.

The Los Angeles Lakers: For the upteenth time this season, the Lakers had a dominating performance in their 100-86 win in Game 3 that made everybody think: "Okay. They're finally back on track. Back in control." And for the upteenth time they followed up a dominating performance with one that was stunningly weak in Game 4.

Kobe Bryant sprained his ankle, but he was shooting poorly before that, finishing with 17 points on 5-for-18 from the field. But Kobe's shooting aside, the Lakers were simply outworked. As Karc pointed out: "Chris Paul had the same number of rebounds as Bynum and Gasol combined (13). And the Hornets were +16 in 2nd chance points. Pretty much says it all."

If that says it all, then Chris Paul's amazing triple-double (27 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds) should be a major footnote. Holy crap. Where was this CP3 all season?

From Elias Sports Bureau: "The last player with at least 25 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in the playoffs was Oscar Robertson on March 29, 1964 against Philadelphia. He had 32 points, 18 assists, and 10 rebounds in that game. Entering Sunday, Oscar Robertson was the only player in NBA history to do this in the postseason. He did it twice."

Please joine me in saying: "Wow."

Said Bryant: "He's going to have games like this. I mean, the majority of the game, he's just a phenomenal player."

Added Trevor Ariza: "He's maybe 6 feet and he had 13 rebounds. He played unbelievable. He's made our team go all year. He's carried us when we were down."

Speaking of Ariza, he had quite the little revenge game against his old team: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and great D on Kobe. According to ESPN Stats and Information: "Trevor Ariza has been the man tasked with guarding Kobe Bryant and the results seem to show him doing a much better job than the Hornets' other alternatives. In the 4th quarters of this series, Bryant is averaging just 0.59 points per play on 3-11 shooting. He has been nearly three times more effective when guarded by others, scoring 1.5 points per play on 3-7 FG."

And, just like that, the series is knotted at two games each.

Said Phil Jackson: "Well, it's a series now. We punked out there on the court tonight."

Chris' weekend lacktion ledger:

Celtics-Knicks: Nenad Krstic crushed a rebound in 7:50 with two turnovers and a foul for a 3:1 Voskuhl.

Lakers-Hornets: Joe Smith headed one brick in 46 seconds for a +1 and a Mario.

Mavs-Frail Blazers: Chris Johnson can now help Paul Allen with his investments after a 2.2 trillion (2:13).

Thunder-Nuggets: Kendrick Perkins spent 19:14 as Oklahoma City's starting big man, getting two boards and a field goal...only to foul four times and lose the rock twice for a 6:4 Voskuhl.

El (Oh El) Heat-Sixers: Juwan Howard (at 2.1 trillion/126 seconds) and Eddie House (at 2.8 trillion/169 seconds) have come up big in the mission to provide Miami with more cap space, while Zydrunas Ilgauskas spent 10:22 as starting big man negating a free throw and board with three fouls for a 3:2 Voskuhl!

Celtics-Knicks: Jared Jeffries jacked over a block in 5:59 with a brick, rejection, turnover, and foul, earning a 2:0 Voskuhl.

Magic-Hawks: Josh Powell provided a field goal and board in 10:54, only to foul thricely and lose the rock once for a 4:3 Voskuhl. Also garnering a Voskuhl ratio was Hilton Armstrong, checking in after 7:49 of unpacking two steals with three fouls for a 3:0 final number.

Lakers-Hornets: Jason Smith buzzed into the ledger tonight after he fouled twice and bricked once in 3:42 for a +3 that doubled as a 2:0 Voskuhl!

Labels: 2011 NBA Playoffs, Worst of the Weekend