Playoff Around The Rim: May 12
ESPN.com
Tonight's games: Heat at Knicks/Lakers at Suns
Wow, these playoffs are pretty darn exciting. Of the four series going on right now, we're betting three of them are done before Stuart Scott yells boo-yeah on the Sunday night SportsCenter. How much fun is that? Where's the drama? Where's the intensity? And next week, we'll be saying where are the games?
The conference finals on each side cannot begin until Saturday, May 20 in the West (at the earliest), and the next day in the East. So when the Pacers shrug off those oh-so pesky Sixers on Saturday, the Blazers finish off the non-dynasty that was in Utah on Sunday, and the Lakers set the Suns later that day (they also need to win tonight), that leaves us with the Knicks and Heat. And the way the Heat played in Game 2, how long will that series last? Well, since the Knicks lost Game 1, it's going to last at least until mid-week, which is a lot more than the others.
So with three series barely watchable, and we apologize to Suns fans who think they still have a chance, let's talk New York-Miami. If you want to talk unwatchable, go to clips of Game 2. It was ugly. But doesn't it seem like most Knicks games are like that? Sure, they win a lot of them, so who are we to judge, but when you play a good defensive style and slow it down whenever possible, you're going to get what many will call "bad" basketball. It's really not that bad. They're trying to play this way. It doesn't help when nobody can make a shot.
What makes a game look worse than it really is are missed free throws, 2-for-14 shooting games (a few occurred in Game 2) and restless, foul-plagued play.
"There are no other two teams in the league like we are," P.J. Brown said. "You're not going to see basketball played the way it's played with anybody else except these two teams."
This is both good and bad. This is the only basketball you're likely to see between next Monday and the weekend.
Other thoughts
The Pistons aren't that bad. They did make the playoffs. How much better would they look right now if they had Gawen Deangelo Wells lighting it up for them. Better known as Bonzi, he is seldom remembered as the No. 11 pick in the 1998 draft by the Pistons and dealt to Portland for its first pick this past draft.
Think the Pistons are watching now? Wells had a great Game 2 for Portland, then was even better in Game 3, scoring 19 points in only 15 minutes and making Bryon Russell wish Michael Jordan was still his responsibility. Wells has game and while it's early to discuss this, don't think that Steve Smith can't be moved this offseason to make room.
Let's hand it to the Pacers. We won't admit that we picked the Sixers to win the series, but another sweep is very surprising. Finally we will give the Pacers all the credit in the world for that win in Philadelphia. The Sixers got off to a good start, then were up a bunch early in the fourth before Reggie Miller kicked his game going.
The end result was the Pacers went on the big run and won the game kind of easily. Iverson threw the ball away and the fans threw a fit. Sad, very sad, but especially for the players, because they really thought they could win the series. How much motivation is there to win Game 4 in Philly on Saturday? No team has ever come back from a deficit like that, and few teams even make it interesting.
"We came a long way ... We beat Charlotte, wanted to play Indiana, wanted to see where we
were," Tyrone Hill said. "This shows we've got a long way to go. This can be a good summer or a long summer. It
can be a good summer if we get this first win, if we take Indiana to seven games, whatever. I'm
not going to put my head down."
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VIEW FROM THE ROAD
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By Mike Monroe
PHOENIX -- I think the Suns can win one game here in Phoenix. In fact, I expect that the Lakers will win tonight and maybe lose Sunday, sort of a last-stand thing for the Suns. The Lakers tend to lose interest. I don't see it as the same as losing in Sacramento, though. The Lakers really dominated that Game 2 against the Suns. I know it doesn't look like it, but they did. It was Shaq's game, they kind of goofed around there late in the third and early-fourth and let Phoenix back in the game.
If Phoenix wins tonight, they are dangerous on Sunday, too. But overall they're not beating the Lakers.
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VIEW FROM THE FANS
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At the beginning of the year they were predicted to finish in the bottom half of the division. Then they win the Eastern Conference. At the beginning of the playoffs they were predicted to get beat by the 76ers, that is not going to happen. When will the Pacers start to get some respect? This is the same team that outplayed the Bulls (according to Scottie Pippen and every impartial eye) two years ago, only to lose in a heartbreaking Game 7. When this team plays to their ability they are one of the elite teams in the league. Western teams better realize that the title is won after the finals, the NBA Finals, not Western conference.
Skip Oliver
Evansville, Ind.
Where was I on Feb. 29? (Thursday's Around The Rim). I was at the Rose Garden watching that Lakers-Blazers game. It was a nailbiter that could've gone either way, and it was a game the Blazers played without Brian Grant. Grant was the Blazers' best player last year. He is back now and healthier than he's been all year, which explains to a significant degree why the Blazers are better now than they've been all year. He is also the very definition of warrior, and his impact on the coming war vs. L.A. will be huge.
Paul B
Portland, Ore.
Regarding the 76ers and the Toni Kukoc situation. It is really tough for a guy to come into an offense where the ball rarely leaves the hands of Allen Iverson. Someone on the 76ers staff has got to sit down with Iverson, mirroring what the Bulls did with Michael, and let him know that the only way he will win a championship is to make the players around him better. There were too many instances where Iverson had an open cutter going down the lane, which he either missed or was late on, and threw up a bad shot. If you watch the offense everyone on the 76ers sits and waits for Iverson to make his move. Kukoc is stuck sitting in the corner, behind the three-point arc.
Marc Steven
Chicago, Ill.
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HEROES AND GOATS (two of each)
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Bonzi Wells
He seems to score whenever he plays, so you wonder how the Blazers will get him more time next season. Tough matchup for teams that have to watch Smith, Pippen and the other swingmen. |
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Arvydas Sabonis
Remember, he's not your Vidas, he's Arvydas. Apparently the Jazz have absolutely no answer for him. We think Shaq will have an answer for him, but it's a good matchup. Sabonis had 22 and 8 (10-of-13 FG). |
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John Stockton
Sure, he had 12 assists, but he also made only 2-of-8 shots and had a few turnovers. Howard Eisley's foul problems meant Stockton had to play more. |
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Greg Ostertag
Again, you barely notice that he's playing. In 19 minutes he had no defensive rebounds, and Sabonis went wild. At least Polynice scored and rebounded a bit. |
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