Rasheed Wallace didn't have a lot to say afterward. Three times he walked to his locker and then walked away, only once uttering anything of substance.
"This is the end, man."
The end of what, 'Sheed?
Only time will tell.
Pistons insiders told ESPN.com it appears to be a 50-50 proposition whether Flip Saunders will return next season to coach the fourth and final year on his contract, having come up short in the conference finals for the third consecutive year after inheriting a team that was coming off consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
Saunders now holds the record for most conference finals games coached (24) without ever making it to the Finals, and all eyes will be on team president Joe Dumars in the days ahead to see whether he and/or owner Bill Davidson feel it's time for a new voice to lead the team. If Saunders is fired, expect current Pistons assistants Terry Porter (who also is a candidate for the vacancy in Phoenix) and Michael Curry to head the list of potential successors.
Asked about his job security afterward, Saunders politely declined to say anything of substance.
"That's not a good question to answer right now. Just thinking about the loss. That's something Joe and I will sit down to evaluate."
Dumars entered last offseason lamenting the fact that his team had gone down to defeat for a second straight season -- once against the Cavs, the other time against the Heat -- to an opponent that was simply hungrier for success than the Pistons. Too often, the Pistons' nonchalance and cavalier attitude had worked against them, and in the deciding final 12 minutes of the 2007-08 season, again they fell victim to an opponent that imposed its will.
All of the Pistons' starters except for Tayshaun Prince are at least 30 years old, and there's a strong possibility Dumars will break up the core of Prince, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Wallace and Antonio McDyess in an effort to rebuild around Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey, Amir Johnson and Aaron Affalo.
"He probably will, because there's no excuse on why we didn't go back to the Finals this year, and I'm pretty sure he sees that," McDyess said. "He's not blind and the fans are not blind, and I can't assume what he's going to do, but it will probably be pressed on him."
So stay tuned in the days ahead to the goings on in Motown. The Pistons may be done, but Dumars may just be getting started.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Oh what a night
Saturday is the one-year anniversary of LeBron James' spectacular Game 5 performance from the 2007 Eastern Conference finals. James scored 48 points, including 29 of the last 30 points for Cleveland, including all 18 in the overtimes, and made the game-winning layup with two seconds left in the second overtime. In all, he scored Cleveland's final 25 points as they beat Detroit 109-107 in double overtime.
• James' 48 points broke his own franchise record and he was the first player to score at least 18 points after regulation of a playoff game since Richard Jefferson, who did it in a triple-overtime game against the Pistons in 2004. Over the last 10 years, only one other player scored 20-or-more straight points for his team in a playoff game. Tracy McGrady scored 20 straight for Orlando in a 103-96 loss to Milwaukee on April 25, 2001.
• James joined Michael Jordan (48 points, nine rebounds, eight assists in a win against Hornets on April 28, 1995) as the only players in NBA history with 48 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a single playoff game.
• James' 48 points broke his own franchise record and he was the first player to score at least 18 points after regulation of a playoff game since Richard Jefferson, who did it in a triple-overtime game against the Pistons in 2004. Over the last 10 years, only one other player scored 20-or-more straight points for his team in a playoff game. Tracy McGrady scored 20 straight for Orlando in a 103-96 loss to Milwaukee on April 25, 2001.
• James joined Michael Jordan (48 points, nine rebounds, eight assists in a win against Hornets on April 28, 1995) as the only players in NBA history with 48 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a single playoff game.
Is this the end
The Pistons have now been defeated in the conference finals in each of three consecutive seasons. Only one other team in NBA history was dismissed from the playoffs in the conference (or division) finals three years in a row: the Celtics, from 1953 to 1955.
Pierce now faces old favorite team
Paul Pierce bled Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold as a kid. The Inglewood, Calif. native lived just minutes from the Lakers' old home of the Forum. The Boston Celtics? Ah man, Pierce hated the Celtics with a passion.
But that was then. And now the only thing standing between Pierce and his first NBA title is his beloved Lakers.
"It means everything to Boston fans," Pierce said. "To me, I think that's what pretty much got me started in basketball, growing up in Los Angeles, watching the Lakers and the Celtics, and it's ironic, just being a Celtic, growing up, now you're playing against the Lakers in The Finals.
"As a kid, I hated the Celtics [laughter]. I'm going back home to play against my team that I grew up watching."
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry is between the two most storied franchises in NBA history and arguably the best in all of sports (although Red Sox and Yankees fans would strongly disagree). The Celtics have 16 championships. The Lakers have 14.
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry has died down dramatically since the retirement of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s, but of all people, the kid from Inglewood breathed life back into it.
Pierce scored 12 of his team-high 27 points to lead the Celtics to an 89-81 Game 6 series-clinching victory in the Eastern Conference finals. After the game, the kid from Inglewood led the chant of, "Beat L.A., Beat L.A" with his Boston teammates. While Pierce will always be a kid from Inglewood, times have changed. He bleeds green now.
"It's a dream come true, man, just thinking about it. I think that rivalry really revolutionized the game of basketball, and now I'm a part of it."
But that was then. And now the only thing standing between Pierce and his first NBA title is his beloved Lakers.
"It means everything to Boston fans," Pierce said. "To me, I think that's what pretty much got me started in basketball, growing up in Los Angeles, watching the Lakers and the Celtics, and it's ironic, just being a Celtic, growing up, now you're playing against the Lakers in The Finals.
"As a kid, I hated the Celtics [laughter]. I'm going back home to play against my team that I grew up watching."
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry is between the two most storied franchises in NBA history and arguably the best in all of sports (although Red Sox and Yankees fans would strongly disagree). The Celtics have 16 championships. The Lakers have 14.
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry has died down dramatically since the retirement of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the early 1990s, but of all people, the kid from Inglewood breathed life back into it.
Pierce scored 12 of his team-high 27 points to lead the Celtics to an 89-81 Game 6 series-clinching victory in the Eastern Conference finals. After the game, the kid from Inglewood led the chant of, "Beat L.A., Beat L.A" with his Boston teammates. While Pierce will always be a kid from Inglewood, times have changed. He bleeds green now.
"It's a dream come true, man, just thinking about it. I think that rivalry really revolutionized the game of basketball, and now I'm a part of it."
Notes and Quotes
FRIDAY'S BEST Boston front office: The Celtics made two separate deals this summer to acquire Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The duo combined with Paul Pierce to help Boston win a league-best 66 games and earn its first trip to the NBA Finals since 1987. Guess it worked out.
FRIDAY'S WORSTRasheed Wallace, Pistons forward: Whenever you finish with more fouls (5) than points (4), it's not a good thing. He went 2-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, in a game Detroit had to have.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"This is really tough. We had it, and we didn't get over the hump."
-- Pistons guard Chauncey Billups talking about Detroit blowing a 10-point lead in the final quarter
FRIDAY'S WORSTRasheed Wallace, Pistons forward: Whenever you finish with more fouls (5) than points (4), it's not a good thing. He went 2-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range, in a game Detroit had to have.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"This is really tough. We had it, and we didn't get over the hump."
-- Pistons guard Chauncey Billups talking about Detroit blowing a 10-point lead in the final quarter
They are back Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals
An oversized black duffel bag sat on the floor alongside a cinder block wall outside the Boston Celtics locker room, and inside were stuffed dozens upon dozens of Eastern Conference champion T-shirts and hats.
Hand after hand kept reaching in and pulling out one or two of the goodies, and the players in the locker room put them on and wore them proudly.
Proudly, because the Celtics' trip to the NBA Finals was earned Friday night the way finals berths are supposed to be earned. No one handed the Celtics this game. They reached out and grabbed it -- just like they did with that bag full of apparel.
This was a game in which the Celtics trailed 70-60 early the fourth before exerting their will over the entire final 12 minutes to win going away, 89-81, setting up an NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers that will rekindle -- and maybe even be a rebirth of -- the NBA's glory days of two decades ago.
"It means everything to Boston fans," said Paul Pierce, who led Boston with 27 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. "To me, I think that's pretty much what got me started in basketball, growing up in Los Angeles, watching the Lakers and Celtics. And it's ironic, being a Celtic, now you're playing against the Lakers in the Finals. As a kid, I hated the Celtics. I'm going back home to play against my team that I grew up watching. It's a dream come true, man, just thinking about it. I think that rivalry really revolutionized the game of basketball, and now I'm a part of it."
The Finals will begin Thursday night in Boston, where the Celtics have gone 10-1 in the postseason and where Game 7 would have been held Sunday had the Pistons been able to get the job done down the stretch. Instead, they shot 6-for-18 in the final quarter with six turnovers, getting outscored 29-13 in the period.
It was a night when the Celtics could have given up mentally after a highly questionable offensive foul call (Bennett Salvatore called Pierce for a charge as he drew contact from Richard Hamilton behind the 3-point line and made the shot) and two subsequent free throws by Detroit amounted to a six-point swing that Detroit used to open a 66-58 lead.
"I didn't let it frustrate me like I probably would in the past. I probably would have lost my poise, lost my cool, got a technical. But that would have been selfish of me," Pierce said.
Instead, he refocused. And when the Celtics used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 70-70 five and a half minutes into the fourth quarter, the momentum was theirs.
Pierce gave Boston the lead for good on a three-point play with 5:25 remaining, and the Pistons' last chance ended when James Posey -- who coach Doc Rivers had used for the entire fourth quarter up to that point, benching Ray Allen -- snuck up on Tayshaun Prince in the backcourt and knocked the ball away with 1:40 left. Instead of having a chance to cut into a five-point deficit, the Celtics were able to stretch the lead to seven as Pierce knocked down two free throws.
Not even a minute later, half of the crowd at The Palace had already left their seats, the Pistons' sixth consecutive trip to the conference finals ended the same way for the fourthe time -- including the last three.
"Right now it's a good feeling," Kevin Garnett said from the interview podium, sitting alongside Pierce, as usual, but this time wearing one of those T-shirt and hat ensembles. "It's kind of surreal, probably hasn't even hit me yet because we haven't slept in about four days, going on five days now. But it does feel good."
"It's been a long process," added Pierce. "I could probably write a book on my emotions right now. But I'm just happy to be in this position, still with the Boston Celtics."
This will be the 11th time the Lakers and Celtics will have met for the championship, the first since 1987 when Pat Riley's Showtime Lakers finished off the then-defending champion Celtics in six games.
For anyone younger than 28, it'll be at least somewhat of a new experience.
For those north of 28, it'll be a mix of nostalgia and newness.
Count Garnett in the latter group.
"I'm looking forward to it, all the things I used to watch on Sundays with that big plate of food in front of me, watching the Lakers and Celtics play on Sunday, Hubie Brown and Dick Stockton doing the game. I remember that like it was yesterday -- fire going, I'm going to grab that seat right in front, Mom telling me 'Don't get too close to the TV, it'll kill your eyes.' I remember it like it was yesterday, man. I'm looking forward to this," Garnett said.
Him, and a lot of other people, too -- not least among them commissioner David Stern, who in a moment of candor earlier this season said he was hoping, deep down in his heart, for another Lakers-Celtics Finals. He's got it, the team that had the best record in the East facing the team that had the best record in the West.
"I think the right two teams are playing each other," Doc Rivers said.
Outside of Detroit and San Antonio, plenty of folks feel that same way, too.
So grab a big plate of food, don't sit too close to the TV and don't take for granted that everyone's allegiances are the same as they were 20-25 years ago. Just ask Pierce, who was wearing a Magic Johnson jersey back then but was sporting green and white on this night, a night when the Celtics earned -- really, truly earned -- the right to go for the ultimate NBA prize, just like Magic and Larry Bird did back when these players were mere pups.
Hand after hand kept reaching in and pulling out one or two of the goodies, and the players in the locker room put them on and wore them proudly.
Proudly, because the Celtics' trip to the NBA Finals was earned Friday night the way finals berths are supposed to be earned. No one handed the Celtics this game. They reached out and grabbed it -- just like they did with that bag full of apparel.
This was a game in which the Celtics trailed 70-60 early the fourth before exerting their will over the entire final 12 minutes to win going away, 89-81, setting up an NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers that will rekindle -- and maybe even be a rebirth of -- the NBA's glory days of two decades ago.
"It means everything to Boston fans," said Paul Pierce, who led Boston with 27 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. "To me, I think that's pretty much what got me started in basketball, growing up in Los Angeles, watching the Lakers and Celtics. And it's ironic, being a Celtic, now you're playing against the Lakers in the Finals. As a kid, I hated the Celtics. I'm going back home to play against my team that I grew up watching. It's a dream come true, man, just thinking about it. I think that rivalry really revolutionized the game of basketball, and now I'm a part of it."
The Finals will begin Thursday night in Boston, where the Celtics have gone 10-1 in the postseason and where Game 7 would have been held Sunday had the Pistons been able to get the job done down the stretch. Instead, they shot 6-for-18 in the final quarter with six turnovers, getting outscored 29-13 in the period.
It was a night when the Celtics could have given up mentally after a highly questionable offensive foul call (Bennett Salvatore called Pierce for a charge as he drew contact from Richard Hamilton behind the 3-point line and made the shot) and two subsequent free throws by Detroit amounted to a six-point swing that Detroit used to open a 66-58 lead.
"I didn't let it frustrate me like I probably would in the past. I probably would have lost my poise, lost my cool, got a technical. But that would have been selfish of me," Pierce said.
Instead, he refocused. And when the Celtics used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 70-70 five and a half minutes into the fourth quarter, the momentum was theirs.
Pierce gave Boston the lead for good on a three-point play with 5:25 remaining, and the Pistons' last chance ended when James Posey -- who coach Doc Rivers had used for the entire fourth quarter up to that point, benching Ray Allen -- snuck up on Tayshaun Prince in the backcourt and knocked the ball away with 1:40 left. Instead of having a chance to cut into a five-point deficit, the Celtics were able to stretch the lead to seven as Pierce knocked down two free throws.
Not even a minute later, half of the crowd at The Palace had already left their seats, the Pistons' sixth consecutive trip to the conference finals ended the same way for the fourthe time -- including the last three.
"Right now it's a good feeling," Kevin Garnett said from the interview podium, sitting alongside Pierce, as usual, but this time wearing one of those T-shirt and hat ensembles. "It's kind of surreal, probably hasn't even hit me yet because we haven't slept in about four days, going on five days now. But it does feel good."
"It's been a long process," added Pierce. "I could probably write a book on my emotions right now. But I'm just happy to be in this position, still with the Boston Celtics."
This will be the 11th time the Lakers and Celtics will have met for the championship, the first since 1987 when Pat Riley's Showtime Lakers finished off the then-defending champion Celtics in six games.
For anyone younger than 28, it'll be at least somewhat of a new experience.
For those north of 28, it'll be a mix of nostalgia and newness.
Count Garnett in the latter group.
"I'm looking forward to it, all the things I used to watch on Sundays with that big plate of food in front of me, watching the Lakers and Celtics play on Sunday, Hubie Brown and Dick Stockton doing the game. I remember that like it was yesterday -- fire going, I'm going to grab that seat right in front, Mom telling me 'Don't get too close to the TV, it'll kill your eyes.' I remember it like it was yesterday, man. I'm looking forward to this," Garnett said.
Him, and a lot of other people, too -- not least among them commissioner David Stern, who in a moment of candor earlier this season said he was hoping, deep down in his heart, for another Lakers-Celtics Finals. He's got it, the team that had the best record in the East facing the team that had the best record in the West.
"I think the right two teams are playing each other," Doc Rivers said.
Outside of Detroit and San Antonio, plenty of folks feel that same way, too.
So grab a big plate of food, don't sit too close to the TV and don't take for granted that everyone's allegiances are the same as they were 20-25 years ago. Just ask Pierce, who was wearing a Magic Johnson jersey back then but was sporting green and white on this night, a night when the Celtics earned -- really, truly earned -- the right to go for the ultimate NBA prize, just like Magic and Larry Bird did back when these players were mere pups.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Notes and Quotes
THURSDAY'S BEST Kobe Bryant, Lakers guard: Saving his best for last, the league MVP poured in 17 of his game-high 39 points (16-for-30 from the field) in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on a series-clinching rally by L.A.
THURSDAY'S WORSTSan Antonio Spurs: Sure Tony Parker scored 23 and Tim Duncan had a triple-double, but how do you explain the defending champions losing a 17-point advantage in a win-or-go home game? Also, the league announced this week that it will start cracking down on flopping. Talk about kicking a team when it's down.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"No disrespect to Kyra Sedgwick, but that damn boy Kobe Bryant is The Closer."
-- Analyst Charles Barkley using the name of TNT's popular television drama to describe Bryant's ability to make critical plays
THURSDAY'S WORSTSan Antonio Spurs: Sure Tony Parker scored 23 and Tim Duncan had a triple-double, but how do you explain the defending champions losing a 17-point advantage in a win-or-go home game? Also, the league announced this week that it will start cracking down on flopping. Talk about kicking a team when it's down.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"No disrespect to Kyra Sedgwick, but that damn boy Kobe Bryant is The Closer."
-- Analyst Charles Barkley using the name of TNT's popular television drama to describe Bryant's ability to make critical plays
No repeat again
Gregg Popovich will never expound on the Spurs' supposed inability to win it all in even years. He says he refuses to even utter the word repeat around his team.
The focus of Pop's thoughts in the immediate aftermath of San Antonio's Game 5 elimination Thursday centered on the fact that his team realized so many of its pre-series goals against the Lakers and still went out in five games.
Said Popovich: "We told our team at the beginning that we wanted to stop their transition offense, which we did. We wanted to hold them in the low 90s, which we did [for the most part]. We wanted to cut their free throws as a team and Kobe's [individually], which we did drastically.
"If we really thought we would be able to do all that, I would think the series would be a win for us. So the fact that we didn't come through offensively is a disappointment, but part of that is a credit to the Lakers."
The Spurs' offensive shortcomings were capsulated by the huge leads they blew on the road to bookend the series. In Game 1, San Antonio let a 20-point lead slip in the final quarter and a half. In Game 5, San Antonio seized an early 17-point lead and gradually faded again, even though its much-maligned bench outscored L.A.'s by 31-23.
A nightmare run for the hobbled Manu Ginobili ended with the NBA's newly minted Sixth Man Award winner failing to score in double figures for the fourth time in five games. Ginobili finally conceded afterward that his arthritic ankle never improved after San Antonio's seven-game struggle in the second round with New Orleans, admitting that his Game 3 breakout was due more to the fact that he sank five 3-pointers in the first half than any restoration of his mobility and explosion.
Tim Duncan, meanwhile, exited the season with a triple-double -- 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists -- that proved thoroughly unfulfilling. The Spurs' simply didn't have enough shot-makers to discourage L.A.'s successful defensive swarms on their big man, which hounded Duncan into 7-for-19 shooting that TD made worse by missing five of his 10 free throws.
It remains to be seen if Game 5 was the finale in Spurs colors for Michael Finley (13 points), Kurt Thomas (11 points and seven boards in his longest stint of the series) and/or Brent Barry (11 points). There seems to be little doubt that seven-ringed playoff legend Robert Horry has played his last game for the Spurs, since he didn't get a single second of playing time in this one.
Duncan nonetheless came away from the defeat insisting that he did "love what we had this year" roster-wise. This was the first time in San Antonio's four repeat bids in the Duncan Era that it made it out of the second round and extended the season into the conference finals.
The problem? Unhappy endings against the Lakers are getting repetitive for the Spurs, who have now been eliminated by L.A. four times since Duncan's first championship in 1999: 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2008.
San Antonio's successes in the rivalry were in 1999 (sweeping a second-round series to close out the old Great Western Forum) and in 2003 (halting the Lakers' run of three successive championships in another second-round matchup).
"I have never mentioned [repeat] one time," Popovich said Thursday during his pre-game media address. "Maybe that's my problem, I don't know. Maybe I should have a big sign that says [repeat] every year.
"We've always thought that, you know, if we won a championship, that's great. If it so happened we won a championship in a year where we had won one previously, then it would be called a repeat. But other than that it doesn't mean much to me."
Said Duncan: "We haven't repeat for whatever reason. Luckily enough we have won four times and had the opportunity to repeat. Obviously we'll have to add some pieces to our team and [make] a couple tweaks here and there."
The focus of Pop's thoughts in the immediate aftermath of San Antonio's Game 5 elimination Thursday centered on the fact that his team realized so many of its pre-series goals against the Lakers and still went out in five games.
Said Popovich: "We told our team at the beginning that we wanted to stop their transition offense, which we did. We wanted to hold them in the low 90s, which we did [for the most part]. We wanted to cut their free throws as a team and Kobe's [individually], which we did drastically.
"If we really thought we would be able to do all that, I would think the series would be a win for us. So the fact that we didn't come through offensively is a disappointment, but part of that is a credit to the Lakers."
The Spurs' offensive shortcomings were capsulated by the huge leads they blew on the road to bookend the series. In Game 1, San Antonio let a 20-point lead slip in the final quarter and a half. In Game 5, San Antonio seized an early 17-point lead and gradually faded again, even though its much-maligned bench outscored L.A.'s by 31-23.
A nightmare run for the hobbled Manu Ginobili ended with the NBA's newly minted Sixth Man Award winner failing to score in double figures for the fourth time in five games. Ginobili finally conceded afterward that his arthritic ankle never improved after San Antonio's seven-game struggle in the second round with New Orleans, admitting that his Game 3 breakout was due more to the fact that he sank five 3-pointers in the first half than any restoration of his mobility and explosion.
Tim Duncan, meanwhile, exited the season with a triple-double -- 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists -- that proved thoroughly unfulfilling. The Spurs' simply didn't have enough shot-makers to discourage L.A.'s successful defensive swarms on their big man, which hounded Duncan into 7-for-19 shooting that TD made worse by missing five of his 10 free throws.
It remains to be seen if Game 5 was the finale in Spurs colors for Michael Finley (13 points), Kurt Thomas (11 points and seven boards in his longest stint of the series) and/or Brent Barry (11 points). There seems to be little doubt that seven-ringed playoff legend Robert Horry has played his last game for the Spurs, since he didn't get a single second of playing time in this one.
Duncan nonetheless came away from the defeat insisting that he did "love what we had this year" roster-wise. This was the first time in San Antonio's four repeat bids in the Duncan Era that it made it out of the second round and extended the season into the conference finals.
The problem? Unhappy endings against the Lakers are getting repetitive for the Spurs, who have now been eliminated by L.A. four times since Duncan's first championship in 1999: 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2008.
San Antonio's successes in the rivalry were in 1999 (sweeping a second-round series to close out the old Great Western Forum) and in 2003 (halting the Lakers' run of three successive championships in another second-round matchup).
"I have never mentioned [repeat] one time," Popovich said Thursday during his pre-game media address. "Maybe that's my problem, I don't know. Maybe I should have a big sign that says [repeat] every year.
"We've always thought that, you know, if we won a championship, that's great. If it so happened we won a championship in a year where we had won one previously, then it would be called a repeat. But other than that it doesn't mean much to me."
Said Duncan: "We haven't repeat for whatever reason. Luckily enough we have won four times and had the opportunity to repeat. Obviously we'll have to add some pieces to our team and [make] a couple tweaks here and there."
Apology won't help Spurs
As you might imagine, the Spurs weren't exactly elated to hear that one day later, the NBA acknowledged a two-shot foul should have been called when Derek Fisher landed on Brent Barry with just over two seconds remaining in Game 4, when the Lakers led 93-91.
"Oh, thank you, that's a great help," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich deadpanned Thursday evening, before Game 5. "I'll send some flowers to the NBA."
The news prompted Barry to throw out a "Back to the Future" reference.
"That's awesome," Barry said, "Because Doc Brown is waiting for me outside, and we're going to get in the DeLorean and fire up the flux capacitor and we're going to go back and shoot a couple of free throws
"Oh, thank you, that's a great help," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich deadpanned Thursday evening, before Game 5. "I'll send some flowers to the NBA."
The news prompted Barry to throw out a "Back to the Future" reference.
"That's awesome," Barry said, "Because Doc Brown is waiting for me outside, and we're going to get in the DeLorean and fire up the flux capacitor and we're going to go back and shoot a couple of free throws
Kupchak deserves credit for building team
After a game in which officiating was finally a non-issue, there was one bit of ammunition for those who believe the Lakers have been handed a free ticket to the NBA Finals. In the middle of the celebration was former Lakers executive Jerry West, most recently of the Memphis Grizzlies. The cynical NBA fan -- and doesn't that apply to most of them -- believe West worked behind the scenes to orchestrate the trade between his two former teams that brought Pau Gasol to the Lakers in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol and draft picks.
Trade might not be the right word.
"A donation, or something like that," Kobe Bryant suggested.
Actually, West was on hand as part of the new NBA tradition of having a legendary former player award the conference championship trophy (Last year, for example, Bill Russell gave the trophy to the Cleveland Cavaliers). But he wanted to make sure the attention went to his replacement in L.A., the often beleaguered Mitch Kupchak. Kupchak might have lost out to Danny Ainge for the Executive of the Year Award ... but how about the NBA bring back the Comeback Player of the Year and give it to him?
A year ago, Bryant referred to the front office as "a mess" and seethed about the direction Kupchak had taken the team. Fans called local talk radio and referred to the GM as Mitch Cupcake.
And now, with a roster built mostly of the same players Kupchak had drafted and signed, the Lakers took out the defending champions. Did it in a way that came from the Spurs model, actually: surrounding one superstar with a bunch of late-first and second-round draft picks. The likes of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf.
West was choking up with emotion as he handed over the trophy. Bryant reached up and patted him on the chest as Derek Fisher grabbed Kupchak's shoulders from behind and rocked him back and forth. The crowd cheered. And later, even Bryant had to give his praise: "He's done a great job."
Trade might not be the right word.
"A donation, or something like that," Kobe Bryant suggested.
Actually, West was on hand as part of the new NBA tradition of having a legendary former player award the conference championship trophy (Last year, for example, Bill Russell gave the trophy to the Cleveland Cavaliers). But he wanted to make sure the attention went to his replacement in L.A., the often beleaguered Mitch Kupchak. Kupchak might have lost out to Danny Ainge for the Executive of the Year Award ... but how about the NBA bring back the Comeback Player of the Year and give it to him?
A year ago, Bryant referred to the front office as "a mess" and seethed about the direction Kupchak had taken the team. Fans called local talk radio and referred to the GM as Mitch Cupcake.
And now, with a roster built mostly of the same players Kupchak had drafted and signed, the Lakers took out the defending champions. Did it in a way that came from the Spurs model, actually: surrounding one superstar with a bunch of late-first and second-round draft picks. The likes of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Ronny Turiaf.
West was choking up with emotion as he handed over the trophy. Bryant reached up and patted him on the chest as Derek Fisher grabbed Kupchak's shoulders from behind and rocked him back and forth. The crowd cheered. And later, even Bryant had to give his praise: "He's done a great job."
What's next for Spurs
For the first time since 1998, neither Tim Duncan nor Shaquille O'Neal will be seen on the NBA Finals stage.
For the fourth time since 1999, San Antonio has tried and failed to follow up a championship with a championship repeat.
Yet you're assuming a lot, and unwisely so, if you're thinking that Thursday's Game 5 elimination in Los Angeles was the last we'll see of the Spurs as a Western Conference force.
While it's undeniably true that the Lakers should be even better next season with a healthy Andrew Bynum -- and that New Orleans, Utah and Portland have everyone out West worried -- San Antonio is certainly best positioned of the recently fallen giants (Spurs, Suns and Mavericks) to maintain its position among the elite in the face of this ongoing revolution.
For one simple reason.
As Spurs owner Peter Holt said earlier in this series: "Our core is not changing. I believe that we can [reload again] and we don't want our core guys to go anywhere."
Core headliners Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich are both under contract through the 2011-12 season. Tony Parker is signed through 2010-11 and Manu Ginobili is locked up through 2009-10.
There's no question that the Spurs need an infusion of youth and athleticism more than ever. Duncan could clearly use some springier legs up there with him on the front line to help at both ends. A wing threat that can score would help even more to take some pressure off Ginobili, who had his best season ever at 30 ... but whose battered body doesn't seem to recover between games as fast as it used to.
Even Parker, babe of the group at 26, joked recently that "you can throw me in there" with the other old guys after so many years of long playoff runs and summertime duty with the French national team.
Yet it's also fair to say -- even acknowledging the Spurs' history of finding the right pieces to replenish around Duncan after playoff disappointments -- that this might be San Antonio's biggest reloading challenge.
The increasing depth in the West is one factor. Another is the fear that Duncan and Ginobili might have peaked, which makes fortifying the Spurs' supporting cast even more crucial. The series really drove home the reality that relying on their star trio is no longer enough to get out of the West.
It's too soon to know how the Spurs will address their scoring shortcomings on the wing, which has been an area of concern dating to the near-acquisition of J.R. Smith at the 2006 trading deadline. Yet there's hope within the organization that frontcourt help can actually come from within. Even after the financially motivated sell off of Luis Scola to Houston last summer, San Antonio still holds the draft rights to three quality big men in their 20s.
Brazil's Tiago Splitter said this week that he's committed to staying in Spain next season with perennial Euroleague power Tau Ceramica, but the Spurs are quietly optimistic that they'll be able to lure Splitter to the States for the 2009-10 season. In the meantime, D-League sensation Ian Mahinmi will get the first chance in October to earn significant minutes next to Duncan after an intense apprenticeship this season shuttling back and forth between San Antonio and the Austin Toros.
Another less-discussed asset, either to strengthen the current frontcourt rotation or perhaps help the Spurs fill a need elsewhere via trade, is Lithuania's Robertas Javtokas, who was drafted by San Antonio with the 56th overall pick in 2001 and just had his breakout season in Europe with Dynamo Moscow.
Popovich, not surprisingly, gave few hints when asked about the tweaks in store.
Pop said: "So when you lose, you've got to make changes, right? If we [won it all], we wouldn't have to do a damn thing ... I think that's too superficial of an analysis of any team at the end of the season. Every team makes some kind of changes. So we'll look at our team and see what we need to do. We've made some changes every year, whether we won or we lost."
For the fourth time since 1999, San Antonio has tried and failed to follow up a championship with a championship repeat.
Yet you're assuming a lot, and unwisely so, if you're thinking that Thursday's Game 5 elimination in Los Angeles was the last we'll see of the Spurs as a Western Conference force.
While it's undeniably true that the Lakers should be even better next season with a healthy Andrew Bynum -- and that New Orleans, Utah and Portland have everyone out West worried -- San Antonio is certainly best positioned of the recently fallen giants (Spurs, Suns and Mavericks) to maintain its position among the elite in the face of this ongoing revolution.
For one simple reason.
As Spurs owner Peter Holt said earlier in this series: "Our core is not changing. I believe that we can [reload again] and we don't want our core guys to go anywhere."
Core headliners Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich are both under contract through the 2011-12 season. Tony Parker is signed through 2010-11 and Manu Ginobili is locked up through 2009-10.
There's no question that the Spurs need an infusion of youth and athleticism more than ever. Duncan could clearly use some springier legs up there with him on the front line to help at both ends. A wing threat that can score would help even more to take some pressure off Ginobili, who had his best season ever at 30 ... but whose battered body doesn't seem to recover between games as fast as it used to.
Even Parker, babe of the group at 26, joked recently that "you can throw me in there" with the other old guys after so many years of long playoff runs and summertime duty with the French national team.
Yet it's also fair to say -- even acknowledging the Spurs' history of finding the right pieces to replenish around Duncan after playoff disappointments -- that this might be San Antonio's biggest reloading challenge.
The increasing depth in the West is one factor. Another is the fear that Duncan and Ginobili might have peaked, which makes fortifying the Spurs' supporting cast even more crucial. The series really drove home the reality that relying on their star trio is no longer enough to get out of the West.
It's too soon to know how the Spurs will address their scoring shortcomings on the wing, which has been an area of concern dating to the near-acquisition of J.R. Smith at the 2006 trading deadline. Yet there's hope within the organization that frontcourt help can actually come from within. Even after the financially motivated sell off of Luis Scola to Houston last summer, San Antonio still holds the draft rights to three quality big men in their 20s.
Brazil's Tiago Splitter said this week that he's committed to staying in Spain next season with perennial Euroleague power Tau Ceramica, but the Spurs are quietly optimistic that they'll be able to lure Splitter to the States for the 2009-10 season. In the meantime, D-League sensation Ian Mahinmi will get the first chance in October to earn significant minutes next to Duncan after an intense apprenticeship this season shuttling back and forth between San Antonio and the Austin Toros.
Another less-discussed asset, either to strengthen the current frontcourt rotation or perhaps help the Spurs fill a need elsewhere via trade, is Lithuania's Robertas Javtokas, who was drafted by San Antonio with the 56th overall pick in 2001 and just had his breakout season in Europe with Dynamo Moscow.
Popovich, not surprisingly, gave few hints when asked about the tweaks in store.
Pop said: "So when you lose, you've got to make changes, right? If we [won it all], we wouldn't have to do a damn thing ... I think that's too superficial of an analysis of any team at the end of the season. Every team makes some kind of changes. So we'll look at our team and see what we need to do. We've made some changes every year, whether we won or we lost."
Lakers comeback from 17, move on
In the end, youth trumped experience ... and Kobe Bryant conquered all.
That's the Western Conference finals broken down to the essential compounds. The Lakers had two of the three most important elements in their favor against the San Antonio Spurs.
For all of his wondrous abilities, Bryant by his lonesome isn't enough. He knows that now. In Game 5 and throughout this series it was the younger, deeper Lakers who prevailed, who had the energy to overcome big deficits at home and put the ultimate closer in position to finish things off.
It had the effect of making Bryant look young again, pasting the same giddy smile he had on his face when he made his first trip to the NBA Finals eight years ago. After the power struggles with Shaquille O'Neal, failing to advance past the first playoff round in his first three years as the main man, his trade demands from a year ago and what Coach Phil Jackson described as a "bewildering two weeks or so in the preseason, where things were tenuous, at best, as an organization", Bryant seemed refreshed.
"That has to be a very special feeling for him to be back here and get to the finals and have exactly what he had hoped to happen happen," Jackson said.
His team, his way, in the only team colors he's ever worn.
Bryant and Jackson know better than to get overly excited by this step. Bryant even left his Western Conference champions cap behind on the interview podium, while younger players proudly wore theirs. The delirious crowd at Staples Center was treated to a blending of Laker success past and present on the court following the 100-92 victory, as Jerry West presented the gathered team with the trophy for the Western Conference winners.
Bryant was giddy standing next to the man who pulled the trade to get him to the Lakers.
"I remember like it was yesterday, Bryant said. "I was 17, in his Lexus, riding around, scared to talk because I'm sitting next to Mr. Clutch."
Eventually, Bryant felt comfortable enough to have lengthy conversation, he asked him about playing in crunch time.
"He said something to me that was really interesting," Bryant said. "He said when the game is on the line, he feels like the shots are actually easier to make. It was just interesting to hear him say that and try to understand how he views those clutch situations and how I can learn from that and try to be that way."
Thursday you saw the finished product, the game's new sensei, the first choice in the league you'd want with the ball in the fourth quarter.
Just as they did in the first game, the Lakers erased a large deficit (17 points this time) and won the nitty-gritty battle. When it mattered most, with only two points separating the teams and just over 3 ½ minutes to play, Bryant went on a tear, scoring eight of the game's next 11 points, in just about every way possible: jump shots, a layup and a free throw. He tacked on two more padding free throws in the final 15 seconds to bring him to 39 points for the game.
It was such a killer performance that when Bryant passed by Tony Parker in the hallway afterward he almost felt the need to apologize to the Spurs point guard.
"That demon came out," Bryant said. "What do you want me to do?"
"He was unbelievable again," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "When his team couldn't score, he just took over."
It wouldn't have mattered if the young players had not developed enough to give Jackson a range of options -- and this was even before the Pau Gasol trade. After the Lakers did not cave to Bryant's trade demands, this was the most significant development of the Laker season. It's what allowed them to think in championship terms in the first place.
After a lackluster first quarter of only 15 points on 29 percent shooting, Jackson stuck with his season-long pattern of sending out the second unit to start the second quarter. After dropping behind by 17 points, the crew of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf and starter Lamar Odom got the deficit down to 11, and the Lakers fnished the quarter with a flurry to trail by only six at halftime. Jackson credited that stretch with saving the game.
"The building was dead tonight, they were on a roll, they had all the momentum," Farmar said. "That's our job, to come in and turn it around."
"We've developed a confidence about us, especially as a unit," Walton said. "We were down early on. In the first quarter, we kind of looked at each other and said, 'When we go in, we've got to pick this energy up.'"
The Spurs had an energy deficit, one they never did overcome after spending a night on an airplane following their Game 7 victory in New Orleans.
"As I look back, it was a tough beginning of the series for us," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. "Considering the seven games, a quick turn around, losing that game in Game 1. I think that took a bit of a mental toll. It was a tough beginning. We just faced a better team."
Give the Spurs credit for not griping about the non-call in Game 4 that was so egregious the league office admitted it was bad. (If anything, they had a right to still be harping on a Game 1 critical rebound that went out of bounds off Tim Duncan when it appeared Duncan had been fouled.)
Popovich, in a way, seemed relieved that it was over. He and the Spurs have had four chances to defend their championship during his run, and never have worn the crown well.
"We don't have to practice tomorrow, do we?" he said as he walked off the interview podium. "We can sleep late, drink wine. No practice, no shootaround."
Bryant, meanwhile, was off to catch a showing of "Sex & The City" at a movie theater that was being held open for him.
That's the Western Conference finals broken down to the essential compounds. The Lakers had two of the three most important elements in their favor against the San Antonio Spurs.
For all of his wondrous abilities, Bryant by his lonesome isn't enough. He knows that now. In Game 5 and throughout this series it was the younger, deeper Lakers who prevailed, who had the energy to overcome big deficits at home and put the ultimate closer in position to finish things off.
It had the effect of making Bryant look young again, pasting the same giddy smile he had on his face when he made his first trip to the NBA Finals eight years ago. After the power struggles with Shaquille O'Neal, failing to advance past the first playoff round in his first three years as the main man, his trade demands from a year ago and what Coach Phil Jackson described as a "bewildering two weeks or so in the preseason, where things were tenuous, at best, as an organization", Bryant seemed refreshed.
"That has to be a very special feeling for him to be back here and get to the finals and have exactly what he had hoped to happen happen," Jackson said.
His team, his way, in the only team colors he's ever worn.
Bryant and Jackson know better than to get overly excited by this step. Bryant even left his Western Conference champions cap behind on the interview podium, while younger players proudly wore theirs. The delirious crowd at Staples Center was treated to a blending of Laker success past and present on the court following the 100-92 victory, as Jerry West presented the gathered team with the trophy for the Western Conference winners.
Bryant was giddy standing next to the man who pulled the trade to get him to the Lakers.
"I remember like it was yesterday, Bryant said. "I was 17, in his Lexus, riding around, scared to talk because I'm sitting next to Mr. Clutch."
Eventually, Bryant felt comfortable enough to have lengthy conversation, he asked him about playing in crunch time.
"He said something to me that was really interesting," Bryant said. "He said when the game is on the line, he feels like the shots are actually easier to make. It was just interesting to hear him say that and try to understand how he views those clutch situations and how I can learn from that and try to be that way."
Thursday you saw the finished product, the game's new sensei, the first choice in the league you'd want with the ball in the fourth quarter.
Just as they did in the first game, the Lakers erased a large deficit (17 points this time) and won the nitty-gritty battle. When it mattered most, with only two points separating the teams and just over 3 ½ minutes to play, Bryant went on a tear, scoring eight of the game's next 11 points, in just about every way possible: jump shots, a layup and a free throw. He tacked on two more padding free throws in the final 15 seconds to bring him to 39 points for the game.
It was such a killer performance that when Bryant passed by Tony Parker in the hallway afterward he almost felt the need to apologize to the Spurs point guard.
"That demon came out," Bryant said. "What do you want me to do?"
"He was unbelievable again," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "When his team couldn't score, he just took over."
It wouldn't have mattered if the young players had not developed enough to give Jackson a range of options -- and this was even before the Pau Gasol trade. After the Lakers did not cave to Bryant's trade demands, this was the most significant development of the Laker season. It's what allowed them to think in championship terms in the first place.
After a lackluster first quarter of only 15 points on 29 percent shooting, Jackson stuck with his season-long pattern of sending out the second unit to start the second quarter. After dropping behind by 17 points, the crew of Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf and starter Lamar Odom got the deficit down to 11, and the Lakers fnished the quarter with a flurry to trail by only six at halftime. Jackson credited that stretch with saving the game.
"The building was dead tonight, they were on a roll, they had all the momentum," Farmar said. "That's our job, to come in and turn it around."
"We've developed a confidence about us, especially as a unit," Walton said. "We were down early on. In the first quarter, we kind of looked at each other and said, 'When we go in, we've got to pick this energy up.'"
The Spurs had an energy deficit, one they never did overcome after spending a night on an airplane following their Game 7 victory in New Orleans.
"As I look back, it was a tough beginning of the series for us," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. "Considering the seven games, a quick turn around, losing that game in Game 1. I think that took a bit of a mental toll. It was a tough beginning. We just faced a better team."
Give the Spurs credit for not griping about the non-call in Game 4 that was so egregious the league office admitted it was bad. (If anything, they had a right to still be harping on a Game 1 critical rebound that went out of bounds off Tim Duncan when it appeared Duncan had been fouled.)
Popovich, in a way, seemed relieved that it was over. He and the Spurs have had four chances to defend their championship during his run, and never have worn the crown well.
"We don't have to practice tomorrow, do we?" he said as he walked off the interview podium. "We can sleep late, drink wine. No practice, no shootaround."
Bryant, meanwhile, was off to catch a showing of "Sex & The City" at a movie theater that was being held open for him.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
No Conspiracy theory
When it comes to the NBA, I don't believe in conspiracy theories. If the league was rigging things, the Knicks would not have gone winless in the draft lottery since 1985, and Yao Ming, LeBron James or Derrick Rose would be calling Madison Square Garden home.
So there's not a fiber in my being that believes there was an ulterior motive at work when the referees held their whistles when Derek Fisher landed on -- and clearly fouled -- Brent Barry on the final play of the Lakers' 93-91 Game 4 victory over San Antonio.
I don't believe it was payback from official Joey Crawford, whose bad blood with the Spurs is well-documented. In fact, I'm willing to bet that Crawford and the other two officials feel terrible about the way this game ended.
All that being said, you can't blow that call. I really think it was just an honest mistake, but it's a mistake that can't happen.
First of all, it can't happen because it's terribly unfair, and the NBA championship was on the line. The defending champion Spurs are now done. I've long been one to say you can never count them out, but they're down 3-1 to a superior team (in my opinion), so I'm counting them out.
But if Barry, an 82 percent career foul shooter, gets two free throws (he wasn't in the act of shooting) 2 nights ago, the Spurs may have sent the game into overtime. With the momentum and the home crowd on their side, they would have had a great shot at winning in the extra session.
Secondly, it can't happen because of the current climate. While I'm not a conspiracy theorist, there are plenty of people out there who are. With the Tim Donaghy scandal being renewed because of recent comments by his lawyer about relationships between coaches, players and officials affecting the outcome of games, those types of mistakes can't occur -- especially with Crawford on the floor. I understand the NBA's stance that history doesn't affect how it chooses certain officials for certain games, but maybe it should. The fact that Crawford, who challenged Tim Duncan to a fight during a game last season, sat there and watched Barry get fouled only adds fuel to the theorists' fire.
To the Spurs' credit, they didn't cry about the non-call. You better believe Phil Jackson would've whined about it. Heck, he was whining to TNT's Craig Sager about the officiating after the first quarter.
Plus, the Spurs may have felt like they played poorly and blew the game themselves.
I believe the Spurs didn't complain because they didn't want to add to the notion that anything untoward was at work. They realize that it only hurts them if the NBA's reputation gets soiled.
Let me address the explanations we've heard concerning the non-call:
• Barry should have jumped into Fisher to sell the foul.
What?! He should've flopped? So if he had flopped, he would have gotten the call? How bogus is that. A foul is a foul is a foul. You don't have to sell a foul; you just get fouled.
• Barry's not a superstar, so he can't expect to get that call.
What?! I don't care if it was Jacque Vaughn, he got fouled!
• The officials shouldn't decide the game with their whistles.
But they did. They decided the game by not using their whistles. This wasn't incidental contact. This wasn't a call that could have gone either way. This wasn't small, slight contact. This was a foul, a clear, blatant foul.
No, there was no conspiracy at work. Just bad officiating.
So there's not a fiber in my being that believes there was an ulterior motive at work when the referees held their whistles when Derek Fisher landed on -- and clearly fouled -- Brent Barry on the final play of the Lakers' 93-91 Game 4 victory over San Antonio.
I don't believe it was payback from official Joey Crawford, whose bad blood with the Spurs is well-documented. In fact, I'm willing to bet that Crawford and the other two officials feel terrible about the way this game ended.
All that being said, you can't blow that call. I really think it was just an honest mistake, but it's a mistake that can't happen.
First of all, it can't happen because it's terribly unfair, and the NBA championship was on the line. The defending champion Spurs are now done. I've long been one to say you can never count them out, but they're down 3-1 to a superior team (in my opinion), so I'm counting them out.
But if Barry, an 82 percent career foul shooter, gets two free throws (he wasn't in the act of shooting) 2 nights ago, the Spurs may have sent the game into overtime. With the momentum and the home crowd on their side, they would have had a great shot at winning in the extra session.
Secondly, it can't happen because of the current climate. While I'm not a conspiracy theorist, there are plenty of people out there who are. With the Tim Donaghy scandal being renewed because of recent comments by his lawyer about relationships between coaches, players and officials affecting the outcome of games, those types of mistakes can't occur -- especially with Crawford on the floor. I understand the NBA's stance that history doesn't affect how it chooses certain officials for certain games, but maybe it should. The fact that Crawford, who challenged Tim Duncan to a fight during a game last season, sat there and watched Barry get fouled only adds fuel to the theorists' fire.
To the Spurs' credit, they didn't cry about the non-call. You better believe Phil Jackson would've whined about it. Heck, he was whining to TNT's Craig Sager about the officiating after the first quarter.
Plus, the Spurs may have felt like they played poorly and blew the game themselves.
I believe the Spurs didn't complain because they didn't want to add to the notion that anything untoward was at work. They realize that it only hurts them if the NBA's reputation gets soiled.
Let me address the explanations we've heard concerning the non-call:
• Barry should have jumped into Fisher to sell the foul.
What?! He should've flopped? So if he had flopped, he would have gotten the call? How bogus is that. A foul is a foul is a foul. You don't have to sell a foul; you just get fouled.
• Barry's not a superstar, so he can't expect to get that call.
What?! I don't care if it was Jacque Vaughn, he got fouled!
• The officials shouldn't decide the game with their whistles.
But they did. They decided the game by not using their whistles. This wasn't incidental contact. This wasn't a call that could have gone either way. This wasn't small, slight contact. This was a foul, a clear, blatant foul.
No, there was no conspiracy at work. Just bad officiating.
Notes and Quotes
WEDNESDAY'S BEST Rajon Rondo, Celtics guard: The Celtics had plenty of players handling the scoring responsibilities Wednesday night so the floor leader decided to contribute in other ways, tallying 13 assists, six rebounds and four steals while playing 46 of 48 possible minutes.
WEDNESDAY'S WORSTAntonio McDyess, Pistons center: What a difference a game can make. On Monday he played a starring role, scoring 21 to go with 16 rebounds in a Detroit win. In Game 5 he was held to four points and five boards before fouling out.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I know our big three veteran guys. I know this opportunity doesn't come much. I knew if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was there I'd want him to go all out for me, too."
-- Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, who is 23 talking about his career night
WEDNESDAY'S WORSTAntonio McDyess, Pistons center: What a difference a game can make. On Monday he played a starring role, scoring 21 to go with 16 rebounds in a Detroit win. In Game 5 he was held to four points and five boards before fouling out.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I know our big three veteran guys. I know this opportunity doesn't come much. I knew if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was there I'd want him to go all out for me, too."
-- Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, who is 23 talking about his career night
Rasheed struggling
The answer had nothing to do with the question.
After the Pistons dropped Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Boston Celtics, 106-102, Rasheed Wallace was asked whether Boston could ride some momentum back to The Palace of Auburn Hills for a win-or-stay-home Game 6.
Wallace didn't answer the question. Instead, he embarked on an unprovoked verbal assault on the officiating crew of Eddie Rush, Mike Callahan and Ken Mauer.
"All that bull (bleep) calls they had out there, with Mike (Callahan) and Kenny (Mauer) -- you've all seen that (bleep)," Wallace spewed afterwards. A lot of them phantom calls, cats are flopping and falling all over the floor and they're calling that (bleep). That (bleep) ain't basketball out there. It's all (bleeping) entertainment. You all should know that (bleep). It's all that (bleeping) entertainment."
Perhaps Wallace was peeved about being a technical foul away from facing a one-game suspension.
Or maybe Wallace was just ticked off about how the game was called down the stretch, when the Celtics attempted 25 free throws in the second half.
Boston was 29-for-38 from the charity stripe in Game 5, and made 11-of-14 in the fourth quarter of a one-possession game.
Either way, Wallace's comment is sure to result in a league fine.
One thing Wallace didn't talk about was the sixth technical foul of this postseason that he was assessed with 5:18 left in the game. One more tech and Wallace will have to sit a game, whether it be Game 7 of the conference finals or some time during the NBA Finals should the Pistons advance.
The volatile Wallace got the tech for chirping to an official about what he thought was a bogus foul called on teammate Lindsey Hunter.
Prior to that, Wallace had played like his old self. All six of Wallace's baskets came from behind the arc, where he is a career 34.1 percent shooter. Prior to Game 5, Wallace had made just 3-for-27 from 3-point range in the last eight playoff games.
Asked what he attributed to him getting his stroke back, Wallace deadpanned, "I don't know what it was." But whatever it was, the Pistons will surely need it again -- in some capacity -- if they are to force a decisive Game 7.
After the Pistons dropped Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Boston Celtics, 106-102, Rasheed Wallace was asked whether Boston could ride some momentum back to The Palace of Auburn Hills for a win-or-stay-home Game 6.
Wallace didn't answer the question. Instead, he embarked on an unprovoked verbal assault on the officiating crew of Eddie Rush, Mike Callahan and Ken Mauer.
"All that bull (bleep) calls they had out there, with Mike (Callahan) and Kenny (Mauer) -- you've all seen that (bleep)," Wallace spewed afterwards. A lot of them phantom calls, cats are flopping and falling all over the floor and they're calling that (bleep). That (bleep) ain't basketball out there. It's all (bleeping) entertainment. You all should know that (bleep). It's all that (bleeping) entertainment."
Perhaps Wallace was peeved about being a technical foul away from facing a one-game suspension.
Or maybe Wallace was just ticked off about how the game was called down the stretch, when the Celtics attempted 25 free throws in the second half.
Boston was 29-for-38 from the charity stripe in Game 5, and made 11-of-14 in the fourth quarter of a one-possession game.
Either way, Wallace's comment is sure to result in a league fine.
One thing Wallace didn't talk about was the sixth technical foul of this postseason that he was assessed with 5:18 left in the game. One more tech and Wallace will have to sit a game, whether it be Game 7 of the conference finals or some time during the NBA Finals should the Pistons advance.
The volatile Wallace got the tech for chirping to an official about what he thought was a bogus foul called on teammate Lindsey Hunter.
Prior to that, Wallace had played like his old self. All six of Wallace's baskets came from behind the arc, where he is a career 34.1 percent shooter. Prior to Game 5, Wallace had made just 3-for-27 from 3-point range in the last eight playoff games.
Asked what he attributed to him getting his stroke back, Wallace deadpanned, "I don't know what it was." But whatever it was, the Pistons will surely need it again -- in some capacity -- if they are to force a decisive Game 7.
Welcome back Ray, Nice to meet you Mr. Perkins
Before Game 5 of the East finals, the thought of Boston Celtics starters Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins sitting side-by-side victoriously on a postgame podium would be like an odd dream. But after the Celtics' 106-102 win over the Detroit Pistons at TD Banknorth Garden on Wednesday night, the mix of old and new getting a piece of the spotlight seemed like poetic justice.
Allen's lingering shooting slump has seemed to have finally come to an end as he scored 29 points and nailed five 3-pointers. Perkins surprisingly played like an All-Star center by earning a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 blocks.
"I had confidence in Ray from the beginning," Celtics guard Rajon Rondo said. "He struggled at times, but he is Ray Allen for a reason. He has been consistent throughout his career, and you knew a game like this was going to be coming ...
"Perk played well. He had a 20 rebound game against them early in the season. So Perk was out there playing with high confidence."
Allen averaged 17.4 points during the regular season and was nearly the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game. But the future Hall of Fame sharp-shooter shockingly lost his renowned shooting touch once the playoffs began. Other than in a 25-point performance in Game 2 against Detroit, he was far from his normal self from the perimeter. Skeptics wondered if Allen would ever be Jesus Shuttlesworth-like again. But during Game 5, he showed he still got game making 9-of-15 shots and 5-of-6 3-point attempts.
"For me every game is a new journey, it's a new adventure for me," Allen said. "At any point, at any previous game going to the next game, I go on the floor before my game and get my shots up. Every day I'm working on trying to think about where I had the last shot I missed and getting my legs right and being explosive and just thinking about it and having an opportunity to get better. So those are my moments, and those are the moments that I enjoy."
The Celtics have the "big three" in Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Boston has one of the most talented young point guards in the league in Rajon Rondo. And then there is the Ringo Starr of the Celtics' starting five in Perkins.
The 6-foot-10, 264-pounder has quietly played well against the Pistons by averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds in Games 3 and 4 in Detroit and he grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds against the Pistons during the regular season on March 5. Perkins played the biggest game of his pro career in Game 5 by earning 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
"I was just coming in and thought I was going to provide energy for the team," Perkins said. "I said I was going to be aggressive offensively. I just said I was going to play with a lot of energy. I knew our 'big three' veteran guys, I know this opportunity doesn't come much, and I knew if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was right there I'd want him to go all out for me, too. My thing is I'm going to leave it out there on the court, for myself, for my teammates and for everybody."
The biggest spotlight on the Celtics' starters during the playoffs has been on Allen. The dimmest has been on Perkins. But together Wednesday night, Allen made you forget about his shooting woes while Perkins introduced himself to a lot of basketball fans who had no idea who he was previously.
Allen's lingering shooting slump has seemed to have finally come to an end as he scored 29 points and nailed five 3-pointers. Perkins surprisingly played like an All-Star center by earning a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds as well as 3 blocks.
"I had confidence in Ray from the beginning," Celtics guard Rajon Rondo said. "He struggled at times, but he is Ray Allen for a reason. He has been consistent throughout his career, and you knew a game like this was going to be coming ...
"Perk played well. He had a 20 rebound game against them early in the season. So Perk was out there playing with high confidence."
Allen averaged 17.4 points during the regular season and was nearly the MVP of the NBA All-Star Game. But the future Hall of Fame sharp-shooter shockingly lost his renowned shooting touch once the playoffs began. Other than in a 25-point performance in Game 2 against Detroit, he was far from his normal self from the perimeter. Skeptics wondered if Allen would ever be Jesus Shuttlesworth-like again. But during Game 5, he showed he still got game making 9-of-15 shots and 5-of-6 3-point attempts.
"For me every game is a new journey, it's a new adventure for me," Allen said. "At any point, at any previous game going to the next game, I go on the floor before my game and get my shots up. Every day I'm working on trying to think about where I had the last shot I missed and getting my legs right and being explosive and just thinking about it and having an opportunity to get better. So those are my moments, and those are the moments that I enjoy."
The Celtics have the "big three" in Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Boston has one of the most talented young point guards in the league in Rajon Rondo. And then there is the Ringo Starr of the Celtics' starting five in Perkins.
The 6-foot-10, 264-pounder has quietly played well against the Pistons by averaging 11 points and 8 rebounds in Games 3 and 4 in Detroit and he grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds against the Pistons during the regular season on March 5. Perkins played the biggest game of his pro career in Game 5 by earning 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
"I was just coming in and thought I was going to provide energy for the team," Perkins said. "I said I was going to be aggressive offensively. I just said I was going to play with a lot of energy. I knew our 'big three' veteran guys, I know this opportunity doesn't come much, and I knew if I was up in age, up in my 30s, and a young fellow was right there I'd want him to go all out for me, too. My thing is I'm going to leave it out there on the court, for myself, for my teammates and for everybody."
The biggest spotlight on the Celtics' starters during the playoffs has been on Allen. The dimmest has been on Perkins. But together Wednesday night, Allen made you forget about his shooting woes while Perkins introduced himself to a lot of basketball fans who had no idea who he was previously.
Celtics get unexpected help
We're not going to rain on the Celtics' parade, and it sure looked like a parade, by the way, as the fans in green and white streamed out of the arena, into North Station and onto Causeway Street, celebrating as though they had just won a championship.
But ask yourself this, Celtics' fans: Was this victory, a victory in which the home team held on despite giving up a 15-point fourth quarter lead, a victory in which they took a late technical foul and went away from everything that had been working offensively for three quarters -- was that the performance of a championship-caliber team?
Before we let someone else answer that question -- someone who was actually on the court playing in the game, not merely watching it -- we'll first give credit where it's due for Boston's nail-biter of a 106-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
We'll start with Kevin Garnett, who knocked down two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to clinch the win, and finished with a team-high 33 points. We'll next turn to Ray Allen, who quieted his critics (but didn't silence them) with a 29-point performance that included five 3-pointers and another two huge free throws with 6.3 seconds left that kept the Celtics ahead by three.
Props to Doc Rivers, too, for having his team foul the Pistons twice in the final 15 seconds rather than let Detroit attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. If you ever want to get a lively debate among coaches going, ask them what the correct strategy is in that situation. Those who say you should foul are just as adamant as those who say you should not, but in this case, Rivers' strategy worked.
And then there was Kendrick Perkins, whose 18 points and 16 rebounds carried the Celtics through the first three quarters when they built their lead as high as 17 -- although he did not score or grab a rebound in 6:50 of playing time in the final quarter, and it was his technical foul with 2:38 left that helped fuel a 6-1 run that cut the Pistons' deficit from eight to three. (Memo to Perkins: Championship-caliber players never get fourth-quarter technicals.)
And there was Rajon Rondo, too, whose 13 assists and four steals more than offset his 3-for-14 shooting.
But in spite of all those good things, the fact remains that the Celtics almost let this one get away in the face of a relentless never-say-die effort from the team whose main players already own championship rings.
Did the Pistons look rattled when they were climbing back in the fourth, outscoring Boston 31-22?
Did the Pistons, who are 5-0 following losses this postseason, sound scared afterward after forcing the Celtics into as many fourth-quarter turnovers (five) as they had field goals?
Do the Pistons like their chances if they find themselves in similar circumstances back here on Sunday, assuming they can get there by winning Game 6 at home Friday night?
No, no and yes.
And a big part of the reason why is the reason we hit on at the top of this column: The team that played like a legitimate championship contender over the bulk of the fourth quarter was too often the team in red, white and blue instead of the guys in green and white.
Even Pierce felt that way.
"Man, that was the longest fourth quarter out of all the games we played in. I was a little disappointed in the way we played the fourth. It's something we'll have to go back and look at, because if we get ourselves in this position again in Detroit, we've got to be able to close out the game a little better than we did tonight," Pierce said. "Thinking about having the lead in the fourth quarter, we have to continue to be aggressive. I thought we were a little passive when they put on the trap, but you've got to understand that's the playoffs, and it's not going to be easy.
"I thought we just kind of let time pass away hoping that we were going to win. We've got to put forth better effort and better execution in the fourth," Pierce said.
The Pistons took no moral victories from making it a close one down the stretch, and they've now got two potentially massive problems to worry about.
First, Rasheed Wallace picked up his sixth technical foul of the postseason, meaning he'll draw a one-game suspension for his next one. If it happens in Game 6 and Detroit forces a Game 7, he'll be forced to watch the deciding game from the team hotel.
Also, Richard Hamilton appeared to be in agony as he left the court with 8.2 seconds left clutching his right elbow, which the Pistons said was strained and possibly hyperextended. If he can't go Friday, his team-leading 22.2 points have to somehow be replaced.
"We don't like being in this position, but we've fought hard and we'll definitely be ready Friday," Chauncey Billups said.
Added coach Flip Saunders: "I told out guys after the game I was proud of them. We're not going away."
So we're not yet at the point where either of these teams is playing at a championship-caliber level, although one of them -- the Celtics -- is just one victory away from representing the East in the NBA Finals, where the pressure will be so high it'll make Wednesday night's parade-inspiring victory seem like a walk in the park by comparison.
The real parade in Boston, if it comes, will have to be earned with the type of fourth-quarter execution and precision that the Celtics were still lacking Wednesday.
And if that parade happens, no one will rain on it.
First, however, the Celtics have to get there. And judging from the final 12 minutes of Game 5, they aren't yet worthy. They're close, but they're not quite championship-caliber -- at least not yet.
But ask yourself this, Celtics' fans: Was this victory, a victory in which the home team held on despite giving up a 15-point fourth quarter lead, a victory in which they took a late technical foul and went away from everything that had been working offensively for three quarters -- was that the performance of a championship-caliber team?
Before we let someone else answer that question -- someone who was actually on the court playing in the game, not merely watching it -- we'll first give credit where it's due for Boston's nail-biter of a 106-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
We'll start with Kevin Garnett, who knocked down two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to clinch the win, and finished with a team-high 33 points. We'll next turn to Ray Allen, who quieted his critics (but didn't silence them) with a 29-point performance that included five 3-pointers and another two huge free throws with 6.3 seconds left that kept the Celtics ahead by three.
Props to Doc Rivers, too, for having his team foul the Pistons twice in the final 15 seconds rather than let Detroit attempt a game-tying 3-pointer. If you ever want to get a lively debate among coaches going, ask them what the correct strategy is in that situation. Those who say you should foul are just as adamant as those who say you should not, but in this case, Rivers' strategy worked.
And then there was Kendrick Perkins, whose 18 points and 16 rebounds carried the Celtics through the first three quarters when they built their lead as high as 17 -- although he did not score or grab a rebound in 6:50 of playing time in the final quarter, and it was his technical foul with 2:38 left that helped fuel a 6-1 run that cut the Pistons' deficit from eight to three. (Memo to Perkins: Championship-caliber players never get fourth-quarter technicals.)
And there was Rajon Rondo, too, whose 13 assists and four steals more than offset his 3-for-14 shooting.
But in spite of all those good things, the fact remains that the Celtics almost let this one get away in the face of a relentless never-say-die effort from the team whose main players already own championship rings.
Did the Pistons look rattled when they were climbing back in the fourth, outscoring Boston 31-22?
Did the Pistons, who are 5-0 following losses this postseason, sound scared afterward after forcing the Celtics into as many fourth-quarter turnovers (five) as they had field goals?
Do the Pistons like their chances if they find themselves in similar circumstances back here on Sunday, assuming they can get there by winning Game 6 at home Friday night?
No, no and yes.
And a big part of the reason why is the reason we hit on at the top of this column: The team that played like a legitimate championship contender over the bulk of the fourth quarter was too often the team in red, white and blue instead of the guys in green and white.
Even Pierce felt that way.
"Man, that was the longest fourth quarter out of all the games we played in. I was a little disappointed in the way we played the fourth. It's something we'll have to go back and look at, because if we get ourselves in this position again in Detroit, we've got to be able to close out the game a little better than we did tonight," Pierce said. "Thinking about having the lead in the fourth quarter, we have to continue to be aggressive. I thought we were a little passive when they put on the trap, but you've got to understand that's the playoffs, and it's not going to be easy.
"I thought we just kind of let time pass away hoping that we were going to win. We've got to put forth better effort and better execution in the fourth," Pierce said.
The Pistons took no moral victories from making it a close one down the stretch, and they've now got two potentially massive problems to worry about.
First, Rasheed Wallace picked up his sixth technical foul of the postseason, meaning he'll draw a one-game suspension for his next one. If it happens in Game 6 and Detroit forces a Game 7, he'll be forced to watch the deciding game from the team hotel.
Also, Richard Hamilton appeared to be in agony as he left the court with 8.2 seconds left clutching his right elbow, which the Pistons said was strained and possibly hyperextended. If he can't go Friday, his team-leading 22.2 points have to somehow be replaced.
"We don't like being in this position, but we've fought hard and we'll definitely be ready Friday," Chauncey Billups said.
Added coach Flip Saunders: "I told out guys after the game I was proud of them. We're not going away."
So we're not yet at the point where either of these teams is playing at a championship-caliber level, although one of them -- the Celtics -- is just one victory away from representing the East in the NBA Finals, where the pressure will be so high it'll make Wednesday night's parade-inspiring victory seem like a walk in the park by comparison.
The real parade in Boston, if it comes, will have to be earned with the type of fourth-quarter execution and precision that the Celtics were still lacking Wednesday.
And if that parade happens, no one will rain on it.
First, however, the Celtics have to get there. And judging from the final 12 minutes of Game 5, they aren't yet worthy. They're close, but they're not quite championship-caliber -- at least not yet.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Notes and Quotes
TUESDAY'S BEST Tim Duncan, Spurs forward: According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Big Fundamental, who led San Antonio in points (29), rebounds (17), steals (3), and blocks (3), is just the third player in the last 30 years (Larry Bird in 1981 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994) to accomplish that feat at this stage of the playoffs.
TUESDAY'S WORSTRobert Horry, Spurs forward: What is going on with the player formerly known as Big Shot Rob? He is passing up open looks and when he does pull the trigger the results haven't been good. He is 0-for-9 from the floor and has scored a grand total of two points in the series.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"That's not going to get called in the Western Conference finals. Maybe in the regular season. But that call shouldn't be called in the Western Conference finals."
-- Spurs guard Brent Barry who was bumped by Derek Fisher on his last-second 3-point attempt
TUESDAY'S WORSTRobert Horry, Spurs forward: What is going on with the player formerly known as Big Shot Rob? He is passing up open looks and when he does pull the trigger the results haven't been good. He is 0-for-9 from the floor and has scored a grand total of two points in the series.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"That's not going to get called in the Western Conference finals. Maybe in the regular season. But that call shouldn't be called in the Western Conference finals."
-- Spurs guard Brent Barry who was bumped by Derek Fisher on his last-second 3-point attempt
Notes and Quotes
TUESDAY'S BEST Tim Duncan, Spurs forward: According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Big Fundamental, who led San Antonio in points (29), rebounds (17), steals (3), and blocks (3), is just the third player in the last 30 years (Larry Bird in 1981 and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994) to accomplish that feat at this stage of the playoffs.
TUESDAY'S WORSTRobert Horry, Spurs forward: What is going on with the player formerly known as Big Shot Rob? He is passing up open looks and when he does pull the trigger the results haven't been good. He is 0-for-9 from the floor and has scored a grand total of two points in the series.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"That's not going to get called in the Western Conference finals. Maybe in the regular season. But that call shouldn't be called in the Western Conference finals."
-- Spurs guard Brent Barry who was bumped by Derek Fisher on his last-second 3-point attempt
TUESDAY'S WORSTRobert Horry, Spurs forward: What is going on with the player formerly known as Big Shot Rob? He is passing up open looks and when he does pull the trigger the results haven't been good. He is 0-for-9 from the floor and has scored a grand total of two points in the series.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"That's not going to get called in the Western Conference finals. Maybe in the regular season. But that call shouldn't be called in the Western Conference finals."
-- Spurs guard Brent Barry who was bumped by Derek Fisher on his last-second 3-point attempt
Stop the Conspiracy Theories
The only two Spurs games worked this postseason by referee Joey Crawford before Tuesday night were road games for San Antonio. The Spurs won Game 3 in Phoenix in the first round and lost Game 5 in New Orleans in Round 2, with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Crawford barking at each other heatedly in the Hornets' 101-79 triumph.
As anyone down here could remind you, Crawford was suspended for the entire 2007 playoffs after ejecting Tim Duncan -- essentially for laughing at the official from the Spurs' bench -- in a late-season nationally televised game at Dallas.
But Crawford was a lock to get at least one game in this series, with the league down to a pool of its 20 top officials in the conference finals. Popovich, meanwhile, insisted before tipoff that the supposed Crawford Factor would have "absolutely no effect whatsoever" ... to no avail.
None of that was going to stop local fans from whipping themselves into a conspiracy-fearing tizzy all day once word spread that Crawford would be working Game 4 alongside Joe Forte and Mark Wunderlich, with so many folks out there convinced that the league would do anything to deliver a Lakers-Celtics matchup in the NBA Finals.
The biggest flaw in such thinking? The Spurs might represent the best counter that the NBA has to shoot down conspiracy theorists, given that San Antonio has overcome its small-market status and supposed "boring" label to win four championships since 1999 and draft lotteries in 1987 (David Robinson) and 1997 (Tim Duncan).
NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said Tuesday through a league spokesman: "Assignments are based on an official's ability and not whether a team likes or dislikes an official."
Brent Barry's 23 points in Game 4 represent a new playoff best, topping his 22 points in a first-round game against Sacramento in 2006.
"It would have been nice [in a victory]," Barry said, "but nobody cares about that now."
The Spurs' primary concern is Manu Ginobili, who quickly restored doubts about his arthritic left ankle by scoring just four points until the game's final minute, when he threw in a big 3-pointer during the hosts' unlikely comeback from 93-86 with 56.5 seconds left.
Although he was widely proclaimed to be healed by his 30-point outburst in Game 3, Ginobili knew better, realizing that much of his success came from his five 3-pointers in the first half as opposed to rediscovered explosion.
"I don't feel like my last step is as strong as probably a couple months ago," Ginobili had said Sunday, "but it's not a big issue."
The results of Games 1, 2 and 4 -- in which Ginobili has totaled just 24 points -- suggest otherwise.
Popovich also said before the game that he has indeed signed a contract extension that will keep him coaching the Spurs through the 2011-12 season, which is the same year Duncan's contract expires. The signature merely formalized a handshake agreement Popovich already had with Spurs owner Peter Holt.
As anyone down here could remind you, Crawford was suspended for the entire 2007 playoffs after ejecting Tim Duncan -- essentially for laughing at the official from the Spurs' bench -- in a late-season nationally televised game at Dallas.
But Crawford was a lock to get at least one game in this series, with the league down to a pool of its 20 top officials in the conference finals. Popovich, meanwhile, insisted before tipoff that the supposed Crawford Factor would have "absolutely no effect whatsoever" ... to no avail.
None of that was going to stop local fans from whipping themselves into a conspiracy-fearing tizzy all day once word spread that Crawford would be working Game 4 alongside Joe Forte and Mark Wunderlich, with so many folks out there convinced that the league would do anything to deliver a Lakers-Celtics matchup in the NBA Finals.
The biggest flaw in such thinking? The Spurs might represent the best counter that the NBA has to shoot down conspiracy theorists, given that San Antonio has overcome its small-market status and supposed "boring" label to win four championships since 1999 and draft lotteries in 1987 (David Robinson) and 1997 (Tim Duncan).
NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said Tuesday through a league spokesman: "Assignments are based on an official's ability and not whether a team likes or dislikes an official."
Brent Barry's 23 points in Game 4 represent a new playoff best, topping his 22 points in a first-round game against Sacramento in 2006.
"It would have been nice [in a victory]," Barry said, "but nobody cares about that now."
The Spurs' primary concern is Manu Ginobili, who quickly restored doubts about his arthritic left ankle by scoring just four points until the game's final minute, when he threw in a big 3-pointer during the hosts' unlikely comeback from 93-86 with 56.5 seconds left.
Although he was widely proclaimed to be healed by his 30-point outburst in Game 3, Ginobili knew better, realizing that much of his success came from his five 3-pointers in the first half as opposed to rediscovered explosion.
"I don't feel like my last step is as strong as probably a couple months ago," Ginobili had said Sunday, "but it's not a big issue."
The results of Games 1, 2 and 4 -- in which Ginobili has totaled just 24 points -- suggest otherwise.
Popovich also said before the game that he has indeed signed a contract extension that will keep him coaching the Spurs through the 2011-12 season, which is the same year Duncan's contract expires. The signature merely formalized a handshake agreement Popovich already had with Spurs owner Peter Holt.
Playing Like Dogs Works For the Lakers
To hear Phil Jackson describe his team before Game 4, you'd think the Lakers were in desperate need of Cesar Millan.
In a long response to a question about his young team, Jackson likened it to raising dogs, comparing backup point guard Jordan Farmar to a poodle and describing perpetually injured reserve center Chris Mihm as a Saint Bernard. Kobe Bryant, of course, is "top dog." (If you're wondering where Jackson learned his dog training skills, he made a cameo appearance when girlfriend Jeanie Buss called in the Dog Whisperer to straighten out her pooch.)
I've always thought of Odom as a big puppy. He makes a lot of mistakes but has such a pity-inducing face that it's hard to stay mad at him. Odom needed some time in the crate after Game 3, when he missed nine of 11 shots. He wasn't much better in the first half of Game 4, missing all four attempts.
But in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs kept pushing and pushing, it was Odom who kept coming up with answers. The Spurs refused to let Bryant beat them sliding defenders at Kobe to supplement Bruce Bowen's outstanding coverage. Someone else was going to have to beat San Antonio, and Odom didn't let his previous woes keep him from applying for the job.
"I just stayed tough, told myself it's a long game," Odom said. "At the four-minute mark I saw them collapsing on Kobe and I knew it was my time to make a play."
Actually it was with four and a half minutes left that Odom made his best play, making a rare drive to the right before extending his long left arm for a scoop shot as he drew a foul on Fabricio Oberto. The three-point play gave the Lakers a seven-point lead that grew to nine when Bryant stole a ball for a breakaway dunk. But the Lakers gave most of it back before surviving by two points. Odom had half of his 16 points and two of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter.
"It's going to have to take other guys, whether it's defense, offense, loose balls or something for us to get the 'W,'" Odom said.
This time the guy was Odom. Call him the Labrador retriever.
In a long response to a question about his young team, Jackson likened it to raising dogs, comparing backup point guard Jordan Farmar to a poodle and describing perpetually injured reserve center Chris Mihm as a Saint Bernard. Kobe Bryant, of course, is "top dog." (If you're wondering where Jackson learned his dog training skills, he made a cameo appearance when girlfriend Jeanie Buss called in the Dog Whisperer to straighten out her pooch.)
I've always thought of Odom as a big puppy. He makes a lot of mistakes but has such a pity-inducing face that it's hard to stay mad at him. Odom needed some time in the crate after Game 3, when he missed nine of 11 shots. He wasn't much better in the first half of Game 4, missing all four attempts.
But in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs kept pushing and pushing, it was Odom who kept coming up with answers. The Spurs refused to let Bryant beat them sliding defenders at Kobe to supplement Bruce Bowen's outstanding coverage. Someone else was going to have to beat San Antonio, and Odom didn't let his previous woes keep him from applying for the job.
"I just stayed tough, told myself it's a long game," Odom said. "At the four-minute mark I saw them collapsing on Kobe and I knew it was my time to make a play."
Actually it was with four and a half minutes left that Odom made his best play, making a rare drive to the right before extending his long left arm for a scoop shot as he drew a foul on Fabricio Oberto. The three-point play gave the Lakers a seven-point lead that grew to nine when Bryant stole a ball for a breakaway dunk. But the Lakers gave most of it back before surviving by two points. Odom had half of his 16 points and two of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter.
"It's going to have to take other guys, whether it's defense, offense, loose balls or something for us to get the 'W,'" Odom said.
This time the guy was Odom. Call him the Labrador retriever.
Spurs don't blame loss on refs
They can certainly complain about that final, fateful play.
They had pretty reasonable justification to moan about the whistle that wasn't blown.
But you know what?
The San Antonio Spurs passed.
The Spurs resisted Tuesday night when presented with yet another chance to fume about the presence of the referee they dread seeing more than any other, presumably because they know the truth.
Which is to say that they've had way too many opportunities in these Western Conference finals to bray about one non-call from Joey Crawford, no matter how crucial the timing.
Brent Barry definitely did appear to be fouled on the dribble by Derek Fisher just before the Game 4 buzzer sounded, which seemingly should have sent him to the line for two free throws to force overtime. When the call didn't come, Barry's hopeless heave at the horn sealed a 93-91 defeat to the Los Angeles that edged San Antonio to the brink of elimination ... and another failure to win back-to-back championships.
Yet it's instructive to note that Barry -- who had the playoff game of his life ruined by the final score -- was the Spurs' loudest non-complainer.
Bones knows.
"That play," Barry said, "was not where the game was lost."
You could make a strong case that the Spurs shouldn't even have been in the position to tie or win this Game 4 on their final possession. Television replays indicate that Fisher's shot with 6.9 seconds to go grazed the rim before bouncing out of bounds off of Robert Horry's leg, meaning that the Lakers should have had a new shot clock instead of asking Kobe Bryant to hurry a fadeaway jumper after the ensuing timeout. A new shot clock would have forced San Antonio to foul Bryant as opposed to getting the ball back off Bryant's miss to draw up a potential game-winning play.
You can then make an even stronger case that the Spurs needn't waste time looking for scapegoats, even after a loss that shoved them into a huge hole, when the Lakers have been consistently charitable in this series, furnishing San Antonio with various openings to be the team with a 3-1 lead.
It's the Spurs who couldn't hold that 20-point lead in Game 1 when they had an immediate opening to unnerve their younger challengers. It's the Spurs who wiped out L.A.'s early 14-point lead in Game 4 but squandered countless opportunities to land a haymaker and snatch the lead, even when the Lakers kept inviting them back ... all the way through to Bryant's brain lock in the final minute and a rushed layup when he should have been dribbling seconds off the clock.
Crawford? Except for that last one, Tuesday's whistles mostly favored the Spurs, who shot 26 free throws to the Lakers' 19 ... and who happily watched Bryant go the line zero times. If anyone was unnerved by Crawford's first San Antonio appearance of the playoffs, it was actually Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was so enraged by the early fouls called on Fisher and Lamar Odom that he complained about the refereeing during his in-game TNT interview between the first and second quarters.
They had pretty reasonable justification to moan about the whistle that wasn't blown.
But you know what?
The San Antonio Spurs passed.
The Spurs resisted Tuesday night when presented with yet another chance to fume about the presence of the referee they dread seeing more than any other, presumably because they know the truth.
Which is to say that they've had way too many opportunities in these Western Conference finals to bray about one non-call from Joey Crawford, no matter how crucial the timing.
Brent Barry definitely did appear to be fouled on the dribble by Derek Fisher just before the Game 4 buzzer sounded, which seemingly should have sent him to the line for two free throws to force overtime. When the call didn't come, Barry's hopeless heave at the horn sealed a 93-91 defeat to the Los Angeles that edged San Antonio to the brink of elimination ... and another failure to win back-to-back championships.
Yet it's instructive to note that Barry -- who had the playoff game of his life ruined by the final score -- was the Spurs' loudest non-complainer.
Bones knows.
"That play," Barry said, "was not where the game was lost."
You could make a strong case that the Spurs shouldn't even have been in the position to tie or win this Game 4 on their final possession. Television replays indicate that Fisher's shot with 6.9 seconds to go grazed the rim before bouncing out of bounds off of Robert Horry's leg, meaning that the Lakers should have had a new shot clock instead of asking Kobe Bryant to hurry a fadeaway jumper after the ensuing timeout. A new shot clock would have forced San Antonio to foul Bryant as opposed to getting the ball back off Bryant's miss to draw up a potential game-winning play.
You can then make an even stronger case that the Spurs needn't waste time looking for scapegoats, even after a loss that shoved them into a huge hole, when the Lakers have been consistently charitable in this series, furnishing San Antonio with various openings to be the team with a 3-1 lead.
It's the Spurs who couldn't hold that 20-point lead in Game 1 when they had an immediate opening to unnerve their younger challengers. It's the Spurs who wiped out L.A.'s early 14-point lead in Game 4 but squandered countless opportunities to land a haymaker and snatch the lead, even when the Lakers kept inviting them back ... all the way through to Bryant's brain lock in the final minute and a rushed layup when he should have been dribbling seconds off the clock.
Crawford? Except for that last one, Tuesday's whistles mostly favored the Spurs, who shot 26 free throws to the Lakers' 19 ... and who happily watched Bryant go the line zero times. If anyone was unnerved by Crawford's first San Antonio appearance of the playoffs, it was actually Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was so enraged by the early fouls called on Fisher and Lamar Odom that he complained about the refereeing during his in-game TNT interview between the first and second quarters.
Lakers prevail
Game 4 of the Western Conference finals was another step forward for the Lakers, reaping the benefits of hard work, luck and, as the blogworld would most certainly tell you, the NBA's conspiracy to get the league's glamour teams to the Finals.
Leave David Stern out of this. This was really about second chances, those the Lakers earned from their aggressiveness, and maybe one or two that came their way through cosmic balance.
The Lakers beat the Spurs to 13 offensive rebounds and cashed in for 26 second-chance points (20 in the first half). Lamar Odom made up for a game and a half of miscues to score eight points in the fourth quarter -- or two more than Captain Clutch himself, Kobe Bryant.
They survived their own mental errors. First a rushed shot by Bryant in the final minute, when the Lakers had a four-point lead and would have been better served by draining the clock. And then, with the Lakers up by two on the final play of the game, the one that's going to get the conspiracy theorists pounding away at their keyboards, Derek Fisher made the mistake of leaving his feet on a pump fake by San Antonio's Brent Barry, landing on him for what should have been a foul and a pair of bonus free throws for the Spurs' best shooter from the line.
"Yeah, he bumped him," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "You know, games go like that."
As a result, they're up 3-1, with a chance to close out the series Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Lakers thought they were on the wrong side of the call when the officials ruled that Fisher's jump shot didn't hit the rim before going out of bounds off San Antonio's Robert Horry with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game and only two seconds remaining on the shot clock. Replays showed that it glanced off the rim.
"I'm positive Fish's shot hit the rim," Jackson said. "That ball should have been ours with a new 24-second clock."
That would have forced the Spurs to foul the Lakers in order to get the ball back, giving them a chance at two free throws that could have iced the game. Instead, Bryant had to rush a jumper off the inbounds pass, and the Spurs had 2.1 seconds to set up the fateful final play that didn't result in free throws.
Actually, the Lakers would like to bring up the issue of not shooting free throws themselves. They're wondering how Bryant, who was as active as ever, couldn't get to the line once.
"It's pretty impossible to take 29 shots and not get fouled," Jackson said. "Tonight was one of those exceptions, I guess."
Most of the 29 were jump shots and two were breakaway dunks, but you would think a guy with the ball in his hands that much would get to the line at least once, even if a ref accidentally exhaled with a whistle in his mouth. The last time Bryant didn't attempt a free throw in a playoff game was Game 5 of the 2004 conference semifinals -- known here and in L.A. as the "0.4 Game." The Spurs actually filed a protest with the league on that one, saying that Fisher could not have had enough time to catch the ball and fling it into the basket in that span.
This time Gregg Popovich and Co. dutifully accepted the ruling on the floor, and the unwritten rule that the officials don't decide the end of games. Perhaps they remembered how they benefited from the same thought process when Bob Delaney didn't blow the whistle when Bruce Bowen grabbed LeBron James at the end of Game 3 in the NBA Finals last year.
Champions tend to get calls like that. The thing is, the Lakers are getting them before they've ascended the throne. The already got away with a Pau Gasol push-off against Mehmet Okur in Game 5 of the Utah series, and now the Fisher non-foul.
Some call it the breaks. The Lakers consider themselves enrolled in the school of hard knocks.
"To look at the stat sheet and see that they never led in the game, I think that says a lot about the focus that we came out with and the commitment to playing defense," Fisher said. "We've said it this entire postseason: we're going to learn how to be champions as we're doing it. There's no script to it, there's no specific way that we have to win games. We just have to do it. And that's what we've been doing."
They're learning. For one thing, it's better to be on the Michael Jordan side of history. Barry can take a number and have a seat next to Bryon Russell, waiting for a call that will never come.
Leave David Stern out of this. This was really about second chances, those the Lakers earned from their aggressiveness, and maybe one or two that came their way through cosmic balance.
The Lakers beat the Spurs to 13 offensive rebounds and cashed in for 26 second-chance points (20 in the first half). Lamar Odom made up for a game and a half of miscues to score eight points in the fourth quarter -- or two more than Captain Clutch himself, Kobe Bryant.
They survived their own mental errors. First a rushed shot by Bryant in the final minute, when the Lakers had a four-point lead and would have been better served by draining the clock. And then, with the Lakers up by two on the final play of the game, the one that's going to get the conspiracy theorists pounding away at their keyboards, Derek Fisher made the mistake of leaving his feet on a pump fake by San Antonio's Brent Barry, landing on him for what should have been a foul and a pair of bonus free throws for the Spurs' best shooter from the line.
"Yeah, he bumped him," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "You know, games go like that."
As a result, they're up 3-1, with a chance to close out the series Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Lakers thought they were on the wrong side of the call when the officials ruled that Fisher's jump shot didn't hit the rim before going out of bounds off San Antonio's Robert Horry with 5.6 seconds remaining in the game and only two seconds remaining on the shot clock. Replays showed that it glanced off the rim.
"I'm positive Fish's shot hit the rim," Jackson said. "That ball should have been ours with a new 24-second clock."
That would have forced the Spurs to foul the Lakers in order to get the ball back, giving them a chance at two free throws that could have iced the game. Instead, Bryant had to rush a jumper off the inbounds pass, and the Spurs had 2.1 seconds to set up the fateful final play that didn't result in free throws.
Actually, the Lakers would like to bring up the issue of not shooting free throws themselves. They're wondering how Bryant, who was as active as ever, couldn't get to the line once.
"It's pretty impossible to take 29 shots and not get fouled," Jackson said. "Tonight was one of those exceptions, I guess."
Most of the 29 were jump shots and two were breakaway dunks, but you would think a guy with the ball in his hands that much would get to the line at least once, even if a ref accidentally exhaled with a whistle in his mouth. The last time Bryant didn't attempt a free throw in a playoff game was Game 5 of the 2004 conference semifinals -- known here and in L.A. as the "0.4 Game." The Spurs actually filed a protest with the league on that one, saying that Fisher could not have had enough time to catch the ball and fling it into the basket in that span.
This time Gregg Popovich and Co. dutifully accepted the ruling on the floor, and the unwritten rule that the officials don't decide the end of games. Perhaps they remembered how they benefited from the same thought process when Bob Delaney didn't blow the whistle when Bruce Bowen grabbed LeBron James at the end of Game 3 in the NBA Finals last year.
Champions tend to get calls like that. The thing is, the Lakers are getting them before they've ascended the throne. The already got away with a Pau Gasol push-off against Mehmet Okur in Game 5 of the Utah series, and now the Fisher non-foul.
Some call it the breaks. The Lakers consider themselves enrolled in the school of hard knocks.
"To look at the stat sheet and see that they never led in the game, I think that says a lot about the focus that we came out with and the commitment to playing defense," Fisher said. "We've said it this entire postseason: we're going to learn how to be champions as we're doing it. There's no script to it, there's no specific way that we have to win games. We just have to do it. And that's what we've been doing."
They're learning. For one thing, it's better to be on the Michael Jordan side of history. Barry can take a number and have a seat next to Bryon Russell, waiting for a call that will never come.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Manu the man, lost posts form friday,thursday and more
Tim Duncan is underrated and Tim Duncan is overrated.
We don't give his career the full respect it deserves, yet sometimes we make the mistake of believing that, in 2008, the San Antonio Spurs are still about him. As Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals demonstrated, Manu Ginobili matters more than Duncan now. Ginobili returned to form, hitting for five 3-pointers and 30 points, and the Spurs got back into the win column with a 103-84 victory.
Duncan had 22 points, 21 rebounds and five assists, showing he's still the steady drumbeat. But now he's more a background percussionist like Ringo Starr than a showcase drummer like Sheila E. It was telling that when Ginobili was clearly off his game in Los Angeles, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he needed more from Tony Parker, not Duncan, even though Parker outscored Duncan 13-12 in Game 2.
Duncan's 30 points and 18 rebounds couldn't keep the Spurs from blowing a 20-point lead in Game 1. The Spurs didn't need any more than 16 points from him to beat the Hornets on the road in Game 7. They don't live and die with him anymore.
Other players still show deference to Duncan, as when Bruce Bowen said, "If we didn't have him out there, Tony and Manu and I wouldn't get what we get", but it was telling that the Spurs felt the need to mix up their offense and avoid predictably giving Duncan the ball every time downcourt in Game 3. Almost as telling as what Duncan himself said about Ginobili.
"He's the guy that we need to put the ball in the hole," Duncan said. "He needs to give us points that aren't easy. You can get up in situations where your offense stalls out or situations where you just can't put the ball in the hole. He is the kind of guy that we need to make plays for us."
Ginobili came through like a T1 connection Sunday, especially during a minute-long stretch in the second quarter when he scored nine points on a pair of 3-pointers and a layup-and-one.
Parker led the Spurs in scoring last season, the first time since 1998 Duncan wasn't atop that category. This year it was Ginobili, averaging 19.5 points per game.
"I had a great season this year scoring, so if you score so many points during the season then the team expects you to keep it up," Ginobili said.
He did it against the Hornets last series, leading the Spurs with a scoring average of 21.3 points, but he looked limited in the first two games against the Lakers, hobbling along with a bad ankle and trying to shoot with a torn fingernail that Kobe Bryant described as "nasty-looking" and "disgusting."
Ginobili said there weren't any physical changes this night, just the danger of being down 2-0 in the series, the loud hometown fans and the fact his first couple of shots went down.
The answer reveals why Ginobili doesn't rank higher in NBA lore. The greatest thrive in road playoff games. They can be judged just as easily by the still-high quality of their bad nights as much as their big nights. In these playoffs alone Ginobili has had shooting nights of 2 for 11, 5 for 15 and 5 for 13. In last year's playoffs he had pedestrian numbers of 16.7 points and 3.7 assists per game on 40 percent shooting during the Spurs' championship run.
Where does Duncan rank? How about second to Shaquille O'Neal among active playoff scorers --- and 31 points away from moving past Wilt Chamberlain into 12th place among the all-time playoff scorers. And he'll get there in about 10 fewer games than Big Wilt played.
People talk about the Spurs as four-time champions. Wrong. Tim Duncan is a four-time champion. Every other player from the 1999 team is gone. Only two other players are still in the league (Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose).
Even among the greatest of the greats, not many can say they won championships with an entirely different supporting cast. Ask Bill Russell which rings he prefers to wear from his extensive collection and he'll tell you the first and the 11th, because he's the only player who has both of them. Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper every step of the way. Michael Jordan always had Scottie Pippen.
Here's the list of players who have won multiple Finals MVPs since they gave out the first one in 1969: Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Larry Bird, Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, O'Neal and Duncan.
Only Duncan and Abdul-Jabbar won the award with completely different support casts.
Looking at all of the names on that list makes you realize we sell Duncan short when we refer to him as the best power forward of all time. He really should be in the conversation of best big man -- period -- part of the argument along with Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem and Shaq.
The one thing you can't call him, though, is The Man for the 2007 Spurs. That title belongs to Ginobili. In that case, make it El Hombre.
We don't give his career the full respect it deserves, yet sometimes we make the mistake of believing that, in 2008, the San Antonio Spurs are still about him. As Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals demonstrated, Manu Ginobili matters more than Duncan now. Ginobili returned to form, hitting for five 3-pointers and 30 points, and the Spurs got back into the win column with a 103-84 victory.
Duncan had 22 points, 21 rebounds and five assists, showing he's still the steady drumbeat. But now he's more a background percussionist like Ringo Starr than a showcase drummer like Sheila E. It was telling that when Ginobili was clearly off his game in Los Angeles, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he needed more from Tony Parker, not Duncan, even though Parker outscored Duncan 13-12 in Game 2.
Duncan's 30 points and 18 rebounds couldn't keep the Spurs from blowing a 20-point lead in Game 1. The Spurs didn't need any more than 16 points from him to beat the Hornets on the road in Game 7. They don't live and die with him anymore.
Other players still show deference to Duncan, as when Bruce Bowen said, "If we didn't have him out there, Tony and Manu and I wouldn't get what we get", but it was telling that the Spurs felt the need to mix up their offense and avoid predictably giving Duncan the ball every time downcourt in Game 3. Almost as telling as what Duncan himself said about Ginobili.
"He's the guy that we need to put the ball in the hole," Duncan said. "He needs to give us points that aren't easy. You can get up in situations where your offense stalls out or situations where you just can't put the ball in the hole. He is the kind of guy that we need to make plays for us."
Ginobili came through like a T1 connection Sunday, especially during a minute-long stretch in the second quarter when he scored nine points on a pair of 3-pointers and a layup-and-one.
Parker led the Spurs in scoring last season, the first time since 1998 Duncan wasn't atop that category. This year it was Ginobili, averaging 19.5 points per game.
"I had a great season this year scoring, so if you score so many points during the season then the team expects you to keep it up," Ginobili said.
He did it against the Hornets last series, leading the Spurs with a scoring average of 21.3 points, but he looked limited in the first two games against the Lakers, hobbling along with a bad ankle and trying to shoot with a torn fingernail that Kobe Bryant described as "nasty-looking" and "disgusting."
Ginobili said there weren't any physical changes this night, just the danger of being down 2-0 in the series, the loud hometown fans and the fact his first couple of shots went down.
The answer reveals why Ginobili doesn't rank higher in NBA lore. The greatest thrive in road playoff games. They can be judged just as easily by the still-high quality of their bad nights as much as their big nights. In these playoffs alone Ginobili has had shooting nights of 2 for 11, 5 for 15 and 5 for 13. In last year's playoffs he had pedestrian numbers of 16.7 points and 3.7 assists per game on 40 percent shooting during the Spurs' championship run.
Where does Duncan rank? How about second to Shaquille O'Neal among active playoff scorers --- and 31 points away from moving past Wilt Chamberlain into 12th place among the all-time playoff scorers. And he'll get there in about 10 fewer games than Big Wilt played.
People talk about the Spurs as four-time champions. Wrong. Tim Duncan is a four-time champion. Every other player from the 1999 team is gone. Only two other players are still in the league (Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose).
Even among the greatest of the greats, not many can say they won championships with an entirely different supporting cast. Ask Bill Russell which rings he prefers to wear from his extensive collection and he'll tell you the first and the 11th, because he's the only player who has both of them. Magic Johnson had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper every step of the way. Michael Jordan always had Scottie Pippen.
Here's the list of players who have won multiple Finals MVPs since they gave out the first one in 1969: Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Larry Bird, Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, O'Neal and Duncan.
Only Duncan and Abdul-Jabbar won the award with completely different support casts.
Looking at all of the names on that list makes you realize we sell Duncan short when we refer to him as the best power forward of all time. He really should be in the conversation of best big man -- period -- part of the argument along with Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem and Shaq.
The one thing you can't call him, though, is The Man for the 2007 Spurs. That title belongs to Ginobili. In that case, make it El Hombre.
Mr. Big Shot lives up to his name
They don't call him Mr. Big Shot for nothing, although you'd be excused for wondering how he ever even got that nickname if all you were judging him on was his body of work over the first three games of this series and the first three quarters of Game 4.
In fact, Chauncey Billups was such a borderline liability through the first 36 minutes of Game 4, he began the fourth quarter on the bench and stayed there past the midpoint of the period. At that point, it seemed dicey whether he'd even get back into the game.
PLAYOFF UPDATE
WEST FINALSL.A. Lakers 2, San Antonio 1Game 4: Tue., 9 ET, at SAS EAST FINALSBoston 2, Detroit 2Game 5: Wed., 8:30 ET, at BOS
The full playoff schedule
But Billups finally peeled his warm-ups off and checked back in with 4:50 remaining, and his 3-pointer with 2:55 left ended up being the biggest shot of the game, extending a seven-point lead to 10 and giving the Pistons the breathing room that had been eluding them all night as they defeated the Boston Celtics 94-75 Monday night to even the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.
The final score, with its 19-point margin, was not indicative of how close this game was for the first 46 minutes. The Pistons never trailed, but they also couldn't find a way to put away a Celtics team that stayed within striking distance by going to the free-throw line 39 times and making 32 of them.
Boston shot a shade below 32 percent from the field, went 1-for-9 on 3-pointers and didn't get any sustained offense from its big three as Paul Pierce shot 3-for-14, Kevin Garnett was 6-for-16 and Ray Allen was 2-for-8 and missed two big free throws with 2:04 remaining when Boston had a chance to cut its deficit to eight.
"Well, we do bounce back," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, whose team improved to 5-0 following losses this postseason. "No one likes it, but it's the way the personality of our team is, and what we've got to do now is go out and win two games in a row. Usually whoever wins two in a row takes control of a series, and neither us nor Boston has been able to win two, so hopefully we'll go in there Wednesday and do what we need to do."
Partly because of foul trouble, partly because of the way some of his starters were playing, Saunders went with an unusual lineup through the middle four minutes of the fourth quarter, using Rodney Stuckey, Lindsey Hunter and Richard Hamilton in a three-guard alignment along with Antonio McDyess (who was huge with 21 points and 16 rebounds) and Jason Maxiell (also huge with 14 points on 6-for-6 shooing and a terrific block of a dunk attempt by Garnett).
Billups remained on the bench for so long, you started to wonder not when, but whether, Saunders would put him back in. He had missed nine of 11 shots, and the crowd actually was groaning as his misses piled up.
"We were up 10, and we were going to let those guys stay out there and play with their energy unless they got it down to six, which they did. Otherwise, if they could keep it at eight or 10, we were going to let them play it through," Saunders said.
But when Pierce followed his own miss and cut the deficit to 78-73, Saunders brought back Billups along with Rasheed Wallace (who had gone to the bench with his fifth foul 1:43 into the fourth quarter) and Tayshaun Prince.
An offensive foul on Hamilton gave Boston a chance to get closer, but Pierce rushed a 16-footer that missed. Garnett blocked Prince's hook shot to give the Celtics another shot, but Rajon Rondo couldn't convert a runner inside. Wallace made two from the line with 3:23 left to restore a seven-point lead, and Allen committed a turnover with an ill-advised forced pass to Garnett.
That's when Billups came down and knocked down the biggest shot of the night, the ball looking good from the moment it left his hand before swishing straight through to make it 85-75 with 2:55 remaining.
"For me, I was looking to get back in there and make plays for the team," Billups said. "Me, my confidence is always high. It's not about me making shots. I was disappointed after last game because I didn't step up and lead when the team needed me. Today I did that, still didn't hit shots, but the game was different and my presence was felt out there."
So the series is now guaranteed to be back here on Friday night, when one of the teams will be playing to keep its postseason alive. Each team has now proven it can win on the other's home court, and both have shown that whichever team comes out of the gate with the most aggression -- and is able to sustain it -- is going to be the victor.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the Pistons' aggression was most noticeable through their use of the no-layup rule, which helped send the Celtics to the line so many times and stretched the time of game to nearly three hours. Billups' 3-pointer took the life out of them in this one, but in reality the Celtics knew they really had no business being in this one as long as they were. Aside from James Posey, no one on the Boston roster played even reasonably well.
If that's the case again Wednesday night in Boston, the Celtics aren't going to be able to defeat an opponent whose experience and confidence is light years ahead of theirs.
That experience and that confidence was what allowed Billups to pull the trigger on that 3-pointer when probably 95 percent of the people in the arena would have preferred he let someone else shoot.
But the ball dropped through, and Mr. Big Shot -- despite his sore hamstring and his sorry shooting percentage (35 percent) in this series -- had lived up to his nickname.
In fact, Chauncey Billups was such a borderline liability through the first 36 minutes of Game 4, he began the fourth quarter on the bench and stayed there past the midpoint of the period. At that point, it seemed dicey whether he'd even get back into the game.
PLAYOFF UPDATE
WEST FINALSL.A. Lakers 2, San Antonio 1Game 4: Tue., 9 ET, at SAS EAST FINALSBoston 2, Detroit 2Game 5: Wed., 8:30 ET, at BOS
The full playoff schedule
But Billups finally peeled his warm-ups off and checked back in with 4:50 remaining, and his 3-pointer with 2:55 left ended up being the biggest shot of the game, extending a seven-point lead to 10 and giving the Pistons the breathing room that had been eluding them all night as they defeated the Boston Celtics 94-75 Monday night to even the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.
The final score, with its 19-point margin, was not indicative of how close this game was for the first 46 minutes. The Pistons never trailed, but they also couldn't find a way to put away a Celtics team that stayed within striking distance by going to the free-throw line 39 times and making 32 of them.
Boston shot a shade below 32 percent from the field, went 1-for-9 on 3-pointers and didn't get any sustained offense from its big three as Paul Pierce shot 3-for-14, Kevin Garnett was 6-for-16 and Ray Allen was 2-for-8 and missed two big free throws with 2:04 remaining when Boston had a chance to cut its deficit to eight.
"Well, we do bounce back," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, whose team improved to 5-0 following losses this postseason. "No one likes it, but it's the way the personality of our team is, and what we've got to do now is go out and win two games in a row. Usually whoever wins two in a row takes control of a series, and neither us nor Boston has been able to win two, so hopefully we'll go in there Wednesday and do what we need to do."
Partly because of foul trouble, partly because of the way some of his starters were playing, Saunders went with an unusual lineup through the middle four minutes of the fourth quarter, using Rodney Stuckey, Lindsey Hunter and Richard Hamilton in a three-guard alignment along with Antonio McDyess (who was huge with 21 points and 16 rebounds) and Jason Maxiell (also huge with 14 points on 6-for-6 shooing and a terrific block of a dunk attempt by Garnett).
Billups remained on the bench for so long, you started to wonder not when, but whether, Saunders would put him back in. He had missed nine of 11 shots, and the crowd actually was groaning as his misses piled up.
"We were up 10, and we were going to let those guys stay out there and play with their energy unless they got it down to six, which they did. Otherwise, if they could keep it at eight or 10, we were going to let them play it through," Saunders said.
But when Pierce followed his own miss and cut the deficit to 78-73, Saunders brought back Billups along with Rasheed Wallace (who had gone to the bench with his fifth foul 1:43 into the fourth quarter) and Tayshaun Prince.
An offensive foul on Hamilton gave Boston a chance to get closer, but Pierce rushed a 16-footer that missed. Garnett blocked Prince's hook shot to give the Celtics another shot, but Rajon Rondo couldn't convert a runner inside. Wallace made two from the line with 3:23 left to restore a seven-point lead, and Allen committed a turnover with an ill-advised forced pass to Garnett.
That's when Billups came down and knocked down the biggest shot of the night, the ball looking good from the moment it left his hand before swishing straight through to make it 85-75 with 2:55 remaining.
"For me, I was looking to get back in there and make plays for the team," Billups said. "Me, my confidence is always high. It's not about me making shots. I was disappointed after last game because I didn't step up and lead when the team needed me. Today I did that, still didn't hit shots, but the game was different and my presence was felt out there."
So the series is now guaranteed to be back here on Friday night, when one of the teams will be playing to keep its postseason alive. Each team has now proven it can win on the other's home court, and both have shown that whichever team comes out of the gate with the most aggression -- and is able to sustain it -- is going to be the victor.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said the Pistons' aggression was most noticeable through their use of the no-layup rule, which helped send the Celtics to the line so many times and stretched the time of game to nearly three hours. Billups' 3-pointer took the life out of them in this one, but in reality the Celtics knew they really had no business being in this one as long as they were. Aside from James Posey, no one on the Boston roster played even reasonably well.
If that's the case again Wednesday night in Boston, the Celtics aren't going to be able to defeat an opponent whose experience and confidence is light years ahead of theirs.
That experience and that confidence was what allowed Billups to pull the trigger on that 3-pointer when probably 95 percent of the people in the arena would have preferred he let someone else shoot.
But the ball dropped through, and Mr. Big Shot -- despite his sore hamstring and his sorry shooting percentage (35 percent) in this series -- had lived up to his nickname.
Some numbers to weigh for game 5
Some facts to weigh heading into Spurs-Lakers Game 4 on Tuesday (9 ET) ...
• San Antonio has won 13 straight and 16 of its last 17 playoff games at home. The Spurs have won 15 of their last 21 playoff games overall.
• The Lakers have lost 8 of their last 11 postseason road games.
• When winning both Games 1 and 2 of a best-of-seven series, the Lakers are 36-1 all-time in any round.
• Overall, as the Conference No. 1 seed, the Lakers are 155-72 all-time in the playoffs. The Lakers are 44-47 in Game 4 of a best-of-seven series all-time in any round.
• San Antonio has won 13 straight and 16 of its last 17 playoff games at home. The Spurs have won 15 of their last 21 playoff games overall.
• The Lakers have lost 8 of their last 11 postseason road games.
• When winning both Games 1 and 2 of a best-of-seven series, the Lakers are 36-1 all-time in any round.
• Overall, as the Conference No. 1 seed, the Lakers are 155-72 all-time in the playoffs. The Lakers are 44-47 in Game 4 of a best-of-seven series all-time in any round.
McDyess wants ring
Antonio McDyess had a hard time getting to his car on Monday night.
A throng of well-wishers lined the Palace concourse walls as McDyess made his way from the postgame news conference to the players' parking lot after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, dishing high-fives, back slaps and hugs to the Pistons' veteran forward.
McDyess handled just about everything else with ease on Monday, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 94-75 win over the Boston Celtics with his 21-point, 16-rebound effort.
McDyess, the Pistons' fifth option, made his first four shots from the field in Game 4, scoring eight of the Pistons' first 14 points en route to an 11-point first quarter.
After one of his jumpers in the first, McDyess showed a rare display of emotion, spinning around and pumping his fist toward the frenzied home crowd.
"I've never seen him with the emotion he has," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "…It's like he's got a new personality. He's definitely hungry, I know that. He has just been huge for us and basically carrying us."
McDyess has played with a fire in his belly ever since joining the Pistons in the summer of 2004. He missed out on winning a championship by a season, and remains the only Piston starter without a ring.
McDyess might take losses harder than anyone else.
This is a man who sat on the bench for nearly 10 minutes after the Pistons lost Game 5 of a East semifinals series against Cleveland in 2006 before driving home in his uniform; a man who paced the streets of his neighborhood after he was ejected in the first quarter of Game 5 against the Cavs in last year's conference finals; a man who played in Game 4 this year against Philadelphia after breaking his nose just two days earlier.
On Sunday, the day after the Pistons lost Game 3 to the Celtics, McDyess and teammates Chauncey Billups and Juan Dixon hung around the team's practice facility and spoke positively about not letting another opportunity slip through their hands.
A championship is what McDyess wants to define his career, and he realizes this might be his best -- and final -- opportunity at that.
"Well, because I'm me, I'm almost to the end of the road," McDyess said. "You only have so many opportunities, and like I said, they're limited, especially for me. I'm at the end of my career, and I just feel like leaving everything out on the floor. There won't be no excuses. So I just tried to do that this year. Last year I was disappointed, definitely, the way we lost last year. This year I don't want to have no excuse if we lose. I know we left everything out on the floor."
A throng of well-wishers lined the Palace concourse walls as McDyess made his way from the postgame news conference to the players' parking lot after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, dishing high-fives, back slaps and hugs to the Pistons' veteran forward.
McDyess handled just about everything else with ease on Monday, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 94-75 win over the Boston Celtics with his 21-point, 16-rebound effort.
McDyess, the Pistons' fifth option, made his first four shots from the field in Game 4, scoring eight of the Pistons' first 14 points en route to an 11-point first quarter.
After one of his jumpers in the first, McDyess showed a rare display of emotion, spinning around and pumping his fist toward the frenzied home crowd.
"I've never seen him with the emotion he has," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "…It's like he's got a new personality. He's definitely hungry, I know that. He has just been huge for us and basically carrying us."
McDyess has played with a fire in his belly ever since joining the Pistons in the summer of 2004. He missed out on winning a championship by a season, and remains the only Piston starter without a ring.
McDyess might take losses harder than anyone else.
This is a man who sat on the bench for nearly 10 minutes after the Pistons lost Game 5 of a East semifinals series against Cleveland in 2006 before driving home in his uniform; a man who paced the streets of his neighborhood after he was ejected in the first quarter of Game 5 against the Cavs in last year's conference finals; a man who played in Game 4 this year against Philadelphia after breaking his nose just two days earlier.
On Sunday, the day after the Pistons lost Game 3 to the Celtics, McDyess and teammates Chauncey Billups and Juan Dixon hung around the team's practice facility and spoke positively about not letting another opportunity slip through their hands.
A championship is what McDyess wants to define his career, and he realizes this might be his best -- and final -- opportunity at that.
"Well, because I'm me, I'm almost to the end of the road," McDyess said. "You only have so many opportunities, and like I said, they're limited, especially for me. I'm at the end of my career, and I just feel like leaving everything out on the floor. There won't be no excuses. So I just tried to do that this year. Last year I was disappointed, definitely, the way we lost last year. This year I don't want to have no excuse if we lose. I know we left everything out on the floor."
Struggles come in threes
With all due respect to Kendrick Perkins, you know it's not going to be a good night for the Boston Celtics when he is their biggest offensive threat.
The Celtics' success has been heavily credited to their NBA All-Star trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. But the big three was minimized during Boston's 94-75 loss to the Detroit Pistons during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills as they were surprisingly limited to 41 points and 5 assists.
"They didn't play great," Celtics coach Doc Rivers simply said.
Garnett, Pierce and Allen also entered Game 4 averaging a combined 53 points during 17 playoff contests. The Celtics' big three, however, were limited to a combined 11-of-38 shooting from the field.
"It's always disappointing," said Allen, about the Celtics' three stars. "I think we pride ourselves on making our teammates better and allowing them to make us better. There's a point where you just have to make the simple play. … Just too frequently throughout the game we put ourselves in situations where I think we had some good shots, but I think we could have got better shots."
The biggest surprise of the night was Garnett's struggling offensive performance. The 11-time NBA All-Star previously torched the league's best defense during the regular season by averaging a team-best 24 points in this series entering Game 4. The all-NBA first-team selection also averaged 24 points in three regular-season games against Detroit, too. But in Game 4, Garnett missed 10-of-16 shots and nailed all four free throw attempts to score 16 points in 38 minutes.
"Kevin had shots that he normally makes and didn't make them," Rivers said. "I just thought he didn't have shots when we wanted to get him the ball."
The Celtics were down to five points on five occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn't find away to get over that hump.
Boston needed one of its All-Stars to make big plays to get the victory in a winnable game, but no one stepped up. If only Perkins (10 points on 4-of-6 shooting) didn't foul out with 3:23 left in a crucial playoff game that Garnett, Pierce and Allen surely won't forget if they come shy of making the NBA Finals.
The Celtics' success has been heavily credited to their NBA All-Star trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. But the big three was minimized during Boston's 94-75 loss to the Detroit Pistons during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills as they were surprisingly limited to 41 points and 5 assists.
"They didn't play great," Celtics coach Doc Rivers simply said.
Garnett, Pierce and Allen also entered Game 4 averaging a combined 53 points during 17 playoff contests. The Celtics' big three, however, were limited to a combined 11-of-38 shooting from the field.
"It's always disappointing," said Allen, about the Celtics' three stars. "I think we pride ourselves on making our teammates better and allowing them to make us better. There's a point where you just have to make the simple play. … Just too frequently throughout the game we put ourselves in situations where I think we had some good shots, but I think we could have got better shots."
The biggest surprise of the night was Garnett's struggling offensive performance. The 11-time NBA All-Star previously torched the league's best defense during the regular season by averaging a team-best 24 points in this series entering Game 4. The all-NBA first-team selection also averaged 24 points in three regular-season games against Detroit, too. But in Game 4, Garnett missed 10-of-16 shots and nailed all four free throw attempts to score 16 points in 38 minutes.
"Kevin had shots that he normally makes and didn't make them," Rivers said. "I just thought he didn't have shots when we wanted to get him the ball."
The Celtics were down to five points on five occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn't find away to get over that hump.
Boston needed one of its All-Stars to make big plays to get the victory in a winnable game, but no one stepped up. If only Perkins (10 points on 4-of-6 shooting) didn't foul out with 3:23 left in a crucial playoff game that Garnett, Pierce and Allen surely won't forget if they come shy of making the NBA Finals.
Notes and Quotes
MONDAY'S BEST Antonio McDyess, Pistons forward: Goes for 21 points and 16 rebounds (both playoff bests for Dyess) in the Pistons' Game 4 win over the Celtics.
MONDAY'S WORSTRay Allen, Celtics guard: While his shooting goes south (2-for-8, misses all three 3s), Ol' Shuttlesworth doesn't do much to halt his UConn understudy Rip Hamilton from dropping 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"He's really comfortable right now. We have to get him out of his comfort zone."
-- Celtics coach Doc Rivers on Detroit's Antonio McDyess
MONDAY'S WORSTRay Allen, Celtics guard: While his shooting goes south (2-for-8, misses all three 3s), Ol' Shuttlesworth doesn't do much to halt his UConn understudy Rip Hamilton from dropping 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"He's really comfortable right now. We have to get him out of his comfort zone."
-- Celtics coach Doc Rivers on Detroit's Antonio McDyess
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Duncan school's Gasol
On the first day the Lakers really needed Andrew Bynum he was on the other side of the country, recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his knee earlier Wednesday.
Bynum is eligible for a contract extension this summer, and after the Lakers have rolled on without him he might want to send them a DVD of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, to remind them of what they're missing.
Things were a lot different from the last time the Lakers played the Spurs. In the final regular-season meeting Pau Gasol convinced Phil Jackson to give him an extended run at guarding Tim Duncan solo. You wouldn't ask Gasol to be the bouncer at your nightclub, but his long arms can serve as a deterrent -- or maybe just a distraction -- to Duncan. At least they did on that day, when Duncan shot 6-for-19.
It didn't work out that way for the Lakers on Wednesday. The Lakers stuck to their old policy of waiting until the fourth quarter to double-team Duncan, and he had his way with Gasol and his teammates for most of the night, finishing with 30 points on 12-for-25 shooting, and 18 rebounds.
"He was consistent during the game and he was able to feel a little too comfortable, I think," Gasol said. "Hopefully next time I will give him a little more trouble, make him put the ball on the floor a little more. Don't let him take that easy jumper."
It will all depend on Gasol, because Bynum won't be back in a Laker jersey until training camp.
Bynum is eligible for a contract extension this summer, and after the Lakers have rolled on without him he might want to send them a DVD of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, to remind them of what they're missing.
Things were a lot different from the last time the Lakers played the Spurs. In the final regular-season meeting Pau Gasol convinced Phil Jackson to give him an extended run at guarding Tim Duncan solo. You wouldn't ask Gasol to be the bouncer at your nightclub, but his long arms can serve as a deterrent -- or maybe just a distraction -- to Duncan. At least they did on that day, when Duncan shot 6-for-19.
It didn't work out that way for the Lakers on Wednesday. The Lakers stuck to their old policy of waiting until the fourth quarter to double-team Duncan, and he had his way with Gasol and his teammates for most of the night, finishing with 30 points on 12-for-25 shooting, and 18 rebounds.
"He was consistent during the game and he was able to feel a little too comfortable, I think," Gasol said. "Hopefully next time I will give him a little more trouble, make him put the ball on the floor a little more. Don't let him take that easy jumper."
It will all depend on Gasol, because Bynum won't be back in a Laker jersey until training camp.
Lakers don't give up
The Spurs led by 20 points with 5:54 left in the third quarter, but the Lakers ended the period on a 20-7 run to get back into the game. With the win, the Lakers now have the second largest second-half comeback in a playoff game dating back to the 1998 postseason.
Los Angeles stuns San Antonio
Year and Team
Opponent
Deficit
Won by
2002 Celtics
Nets
26
4
2008 Lakers
Spurs
20
4
2007 Pistons
Bulls
19
7
Los Angeles stuns San Antonio
Year and Team
Opponent
Deficit
Won by
2002 Celtics
Nets
26
4
2008 Lakers
Spurs
20
4
2007 Pistons
Bulls
19
7
Spurs won't play blame game
The Spurs typically refused to blame their fall-from-ahead Game 1 loss on the faulty plane that forced them to spend several hours after their Game 7 victory Monday in New Orleans on the runway waiting for the repairs that could get them here.
Manu Ginobili, furthermore, refused to blame his 3-for-13 shooting struggles in Game 1 on the fingernail on his shooting hand that was apparently torn off Wednesday night ... or the ankle injury that's been bothering him for a while.
"I have a couple issues, but nothing that bad that can justify the way I played today," Ginobili said.
"The hand is all right. It's just a nail. My ankle is bothering me, [but] I don't want to talk about that. That's not the reason I played so bad."
The Spurs can only hope. The schedule for this series certainly won't provide many opportunities to heal up, as Lakers coach Phil Jackson noted beforehand.
"Where we are playing every other day," Jackson said, "I think [L.A.'s lengthy rest after eliminating Utah] is going to work to our advantage, because we'll have a little reserve to work from."
This much we know for certain: San Antonio will no longer use the charter company that it's been flying all season. Champion Air was already scheduled to cease its operations at month's end, but the Spurs have begun making alternate arrangements for their trip home Friday night after Game 2.
"So we stayed on the plane -- big deal," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, clearly growing weary of discussing a subject that he initially referred to as "the plane debacle."
San Antonio's players and staffers were forced to try to sleep on the team plane because there was no hotel in New Orleans that could accommodate them at such a late hour. But as Spurs guard Brent Barry said, "We weren't roughing it by any stretch."
Another subject Popovich has quickly grown weary of addressing is his initial reaction to the Lakers' Feb. 1 acquisition of Pau Gasol from Memphis, when he suggested that a league committee should be formed to prevent such lopsided deals.
"It was a joke," Popovich said during his pre-game media session Wednesday. "You've got to have a life. I made a joke about it. I wasn't upset about it. I just made a joke."
Tim Duncan then went out and routinely abused Gasol's one-on-one coverage before L.A. eventually mixed in some intermittent double-teams which helped hold San Antonio to just 13 points -- and no assists -- in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers' comeback from 20 points down to take the series opener prompted guard Derek Fisher -- still known as Mr. Point Four in the Alamo City for the shot he threw in at the buzzer to beat the Spurs in Game 5 of the teams' second-round matchup in 2004 -- to offer this disarming reminder: "There is no script to an NBA basketball game."
Manu Ginobili, furthermore, refused to blame his 3-for-13 shooting struggles in Game 1 on the fingernail on his shooting hand that was apparently torn off Wednesday night ... or the ankle injury that's been bothering him for a while.
"I have a couple issues, but nothing that bad that can justify the way I played today," Ginobili said.
"The hand is all right. It's just a nail. My ankle is bothering me, [but] I don't want to talk about that. That's not the reason I played so bad."
The Spurs can only hope. The schedule for this series certainly won't provide many opportunities to heal up, as Lakers coach Phil Jackson noted beforehand.
"Where we are playing every other day," Jackson said, "I think [L.A.'s lengthy rest after eliminating Utah] is going to work to our advantage, because we'll have a little reserve to work from."
This much we know for certain: San Antonio will no longer use the charter company that it's been flying all season. Champion Air was already scheduled to cease its operations at month's end, but the Spurs have begun making alternate arrangements for their trip home Friday night after Game 2.
"So we stayed on the plane -- big deal," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, clearly growing weary of discussing a subject that he initially referred to as "the plane debacle."
San Antonio's players and staffers were forced to try to sleep on the team plane because there was no hotel in New Orleans that could accommodate them at such a late hour. But as Spurs guard Brent Barry said, "We weren't roughing it by any stretch."
Another subject Popovich has quickly grown weary of addressing is his initial reaction to the Lakers' Feb. 1 acquisition of Pau Gasol from Memphis, when he suggested that a league committee should be formed to prevent such lopsided deals.
"It was a joke," Popovich said during his pre-game media session Wednesday. "You've got to have a life. I made a joke about it. I wasn't upset about it. I just made a joke."
Tim Duncan then went out and routinely abused Gasol's one-on-one coverage before L.A. eventually mixed in some intermittent double-teams which helped hold San Antonio to just 13 points -- and no assists -- in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers' comeback from 20 points down to take the series opener prompted guard Derek Fisher -- still known as Mr. Point Four in the Alamo City for the shot he threw in at the buzzer to beat the Spurs in Game 5 of the teams' second-round matchup in 2004 -- to offer this disarming reminder: "There is no script to an NBA basketball game."
Rare postseason pain for Spurs always comes from Lakers
The "plane debacle," as Gregg Popovich calls it, must now be followed by the plain truth.
This is the first time this week that Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs know real misery.
How miserable?
For the first time in these playoffs, San Antonio has an inkling how Phoenix felt after the very first game of these playoffs.
There was no singular dagger plunged in late Wednesday by Kobe Bryant or anyone else in gold and purple that can compare to the triple hit by Tim Duncan in Round 1 to emotionally slay the Suns.
This, rather, was a form of gradual torture inflicted by Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers' increasingly sticky defense, making the travel trouble that San Antonio had just getting to the Western Conference finals seem almost pleasurable by comparison ... and instantly leading you to wonder about the Spurs' capacity to rebound.
Folding NBA-sized limbs into airplane seats -- even cushy airplane seats -- and spending the night on the grounded team jet is a full-fledged traumatic episode in this pampered universe. Yet none of that comes anywhere close to the sort of discomfort San Antonio found when it finally made it to the Staples Center, where the Spurs crashed from 20 points up with more than half of the third quarter gone to a crushing 89-85 defeat in Game 1.
"Hurts like hell," Popovich admitted.
That's the same guy known for aggressively downplaying his team's grandest successes and revealing little to nothing between grunts when the Spurs lose. On this night, though, not even Pop would try to soften the blow absorbed by his defending champs, who had responded to the disorienting journey that followed their Game 7 triumph Monday in New Orleans with almost 30 minutes of near-flawless basketball.
Which only wound up making the ending considerably more painful.
From a lead of 65-45 with 5:54 to go in the third quarter -- with Duncan outscoring Bryant by a tidy count of 20-4 at that point -- San Antonio uncharacteristically couldn't finish. The Spurs couldn't hold a lead that realistically should have been big enough to withstand L.A.'s inevitable run and the Spurs' equally expected fourth-quarter fatigue, all of which adds up to the larger failure to capitalize on Bryant's way-too-passive start.
Popovich saw it as Bryant "doing a trust-his-teammates thing" in a first half in which No. 24 scored just two points and took only three shots. You could only assume that Kobe was trying to get every other Laker into the series as quickly as possible. But Bryant actually angered his own coach with the unselfishness, prompting Phil Jackson to tell TNT's Craig Sager during Jackson's mandatory in-game interview that "Kobe went on vacation ... to the Bermuda Triangle instead of the sideline triangle."
Which, again, only saddled San Antonio with more regret.
This is the first time this week that Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs know real misery.
How miserable?
For the first time in these playoffs, San Antonio has an inkling how Phoenix felt after the very first game of these playoffs.
There was no singular dagger plunged in late Wednesday by Kobe Bryant or anyone else in gold and purple that can compare to the triple hit by Tim Duncan in Round 1 to emotionally slay the Suns.
This, rather, was a form of gradual torture inflicted by Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers' increasingly sticky defense, making the travel trouble that San Antonio had just getting to the Western Conference finals seem almost pleasurable by comparison ... and instantly leading you to wonder about the Spurs' capacity to rebound.
Folding NBA-sized limbs into airplane seats -- even cushy airplane seats -- and spending the night on the grounded team jet is a full-fledged traumatic episode in this pampered universe. Yet none of that comes anywhere close to the sort of discomfort San Antonio found when it finally made it to the Staples Center, where the Spurs crashed from 20 points up with more than half of the third quarter gone to a crushing 89-85 defeat in Game 1.
"Hurts like hell," Popovich admitted.
That's the same guy known for aggressively downplaying his team's grandest successes and revealing little to nothing between grunts when the Spurs lose. On this night, though, not even Pop would try to soften the blow absorbed by his defending champs, who had responded to the disorienting journey that followed their Game 7 triumph Monday in New Orleans with almost 30 minutes of near-flawless basketball.
Which only wound up making the ending considerably more painful.
From a lead of 65-45 with 5:54 to go in the third quarter -- with Duncan outscoring Bryant by a tidy count of 20-4 at that point -- San Antonio uncharacteristically couldn't finish. The Spurs couldn't hold a lead that realistically should have been big enough to withstand L.A.'s inevitable run and the Spurs' equally expected fourth-quarter fatigue, all of which adds up to the larger failure to capitalize on Bryant's way-too-passive start.
Popovich saw it as Bryant "doing a trust-his-teammates thing" in a first half in which No. 24 scored just two points and took only three shots. You could only assume that Kobe was trying to get every other Laker into the series as quickly as possible. But Bryant actually angered his own coach with the unselfishness, prompting Phil Jackson to tell TNT's Craig Sager during Jackson's mandatory in-game interview that "Kobe went on vacation ... to the Bermuda Triangle instead of the sideline triangle."
Which, again, only saddled San Antonio with more regret.
Notes and Quotes
WEDNESDAY'S BEST Kobe Bryant, Lakers guard: It was another typical night at the office for KB24 -- team highs in points (27) and assists (9) and the game-winning bucket with 23.9 seconds left to play.
WEDNESDAY'S WORSTManu Ginobili, Spurs guard: Maybe the super sub would feel more comfortable coming off the bench instead of starting like he did in Game 1. He went just 3-for-13 from the field for 10 points and tied for the team high in turnovers with four.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I thought Kobe went on vacation. I thought he went to Bermuda or somewhere. Maybe he went to the Bermuda Triangle instead of the sideline triangle. But we got him back this quarter."
-- Lakers coach Phil Jackson (speaking on TNT after the third quarter) on Kobe Bryant, who scored just two points in the first half but still finished with 27.
WEDNESDAY'S WORSTManu Ginobili, Spurs guard: Maybe the super sub would feel more comfortable coming off the bench instead of starting like he did in Game 1. He went just 3-for-13 from the field for 10 points and tied for the team high in turnovers with four.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I thought Kobe went on vacation. I thought he went to Bermuda or somewhere. Maybe he went to the Bermuda Triangle instead of the sideline triangle. But we got him back this quarter."
-- Lakers coach Phil Jackson (speaking on TNT after the third quarter) on Kobe Bryant, who scored just two points in the first half but still finished with 27.
As Usual Kobe Stars In Hollywood Drama
Maybe Kobe Bryant just wanted to offer the Spurs a fair chance, like giving the outside lanes the staggered start on a 400-meter race.
The Spurs spent Monday night stuck on a grounded airplane after eliminating the Hornets in Game 7, and Wednesday night Bryant spent all but the final 89 seconds of the first half stuck on zero points.
He took five shots and scored four points through the first 2 ½ quarters and the Lakers, the highest-scoring team in the playoffs, had only 45 points.
There you go, Spurs. A 20-point lead. Sorry you had to sleep on a 727, but maybe that'll make it up to you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to score 23 points in the next 17 ½ minutes and we're going to come back and win Game 1 of the Western Conference finals 89-85.
Bryant made it look and sound just that easy, a matter of him doing what he wanted, when he chose to.
"Just had to pick up the game and get something going," he said afterward, casually. "That was my thinking.
"I knew I could make a push and once I made that push, it felt like it energized us a little bit, get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance. I just tried to read the flow of the game and tried to manage the game. I can get off at any time. In the second half I did that."
The game played out in a manner that fit the pre-game scenario. The still-in-a-rhythm Spurs came out sharper at the start. The Lakers, coming off four days of rest, had more energy at the end. It's just the extreme nature of the swings that seemed so unusual.
Bryant's devotion to teamwork reached the point that it was detrimental to the Lakers. Phil Jackson joked in an in-game interview that he "thought Kobe went on vacation", and he said afterward that, "He was doing some things good, but it had gotten us out of the rhythm during the course of the first half."
Bryant did have five assists at halftime, but it wasn't doing the Lakers much good. The Lakers might benefit from him sharing the ball, but the STAPLES Center crowd craves Bryant scoring explosions. You're much more likely to hear cries of "Come on, Kobe!" than Go Lakers" or "Defense!"
Bryant insisted he was "Just managing the game."
"Defensively is where we slipped. I've had games or halves when I've done that and we had a 15-point lead."
Sounding a little sensitive to how he'll be criticized equally for shooting too much or too little, he said if the Lakers hadn't played better defense to accompany his late scoring burst, "Everybody would be talking about I shot us out of the game. Defense is where it gets down."
The main thing the Lakers can take from this game is their defensive stops down the stretch. Something they had yet to prove they could do regularly in the playoffs.
The Lakers don't want to get in a habit of falling behind by 20, especially when the series goes to San Antonio. But there are a few things that aren't likely to repeat too often in this series, noticeably a 1-for-9 shooting night by Fisher (who was shooting 51 percent in the playoffs) and single digits across the board for Lamar Odom (he was averaging a double-double). So they're in great shape for the rest of this series.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich didn't see anything out of the ordinary for the first two quarters.
"Kobe was doing the trust-his-teammates thing in the first half," Popovich said. "He was checking it all out to see where his territory was going to be. And the second half he went to work."
The interesting thing was that Bryant didn't try to erase the entire 20-point lead on his own.
He kept going to his teammates, including three times when he went up for a jumper but wound up zipping the ball to Pau Gasol at the rim for layups and tap-ins.
And right after Odom missed a fast-break layup that could have tied the score, Bryant came down and gave him another chance. He threw the ball to Odom on the right block, then held out his left hand to keep his teammates in their places and let Odom go one-on-one. Odom backed down Michael Finley and made an awkward, twisting shot that bounced in."
So the Lakers experimented, stumbled, believed and prevailed. It wound up being the Lakers' largest playoff comeback since Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against Sacramento. You know, the one that ended like this. The one edge San Antonio had coming in was experience, but the Lakers just gained some.
"We are growing into the team we need to be," Fisher said.
Sorry, Spurs. Can't say you didn't have your chance.
The Spurs spent Monday night stuck on a grounded airplane after eliminating the Hornets in Game 7, and Wednesday night Bryant spent all but the final 89 seconds of the first half stuck on zero points.
He took five shots and scored four points through the first 2 ½ quarters and the Lakers, the highest-scoring team in the playoffs, had only 45 points.
There you go, Spurs. A 20-point lead. Sorry you had to sleep on a 727, but maybe that'll make it up to you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to score 23 points in the next 17 ½ minutes and we're going to come back and win Game 1 of the Western Conference finals 89-85.
Bryant made it look and sound just that easy, a matter of him doing what he wanted, when he chose to.
"Just had to pick up the game and get something going," he said afterward, casually. "That was my thinking.
"I knew I could make a push and once I made that push, it felt like it energized us a little bit, get the game back under control, get it under 10 where we knew we could be in striking distance. I just tried to read the flow of the game and tried to manage the game. I can get off at any time. In the second half I did that."
The game played out in a manner that fit the pre-game scenario. The still-in-a-rhythm Spurs came out sharper at the start. The Lakers, coming off four days of rest, had more energy at the end. It's just the extreme nature of the swings that seemed so unusual.
Bryant's devotion to teamwork reached the point that it was detrimental to the Lakers. Phil Jackson joked in an in-game interview that he "thought Kobe went on vacation", and he said afterward that, "He was doing some things good, but it had gotten us out of the rhythm during the course of the first half."
Bryant did have five assists at halftime, but it wasn't doing the Lakers much good. The Lakers might benefit from him sharing the ball, but the STAPLES Center crowd craves Bryant scoring explosions. You're much more likely to hear cries of "Come on, Kobe!" than Go Lakers" or "Defense!"
Bryant insisted he was "Just managing the game."
"Defensively is where we slipped. I've had games or halves when I've done that and we had a 15-point lead."
Sounding a little sensitive to how he'll be criticized equally for shooting too much or too little, he said if the Lakers hadn't played better defense to accompany his late scoring burst, "Everybody would be talking about I shot us out of the game. Defense is where it gets down."
The main thing the Lakers can take from this game is their defensive stops down the stretch. Something they had yet to prove they could do regularly in the playoffs.
The Lakers don't want to get in a habit of falling behind by 20, especially when the series goes to San Antonio. But there are a few things that aren't likely to repeat too often in this series, noticeably a 1-for-9 shooting night by Fisher (who was shooting 51 percent in the playoffs) and single digits across the board for Lamar Odom (he was averaging a double-double). So they're in great shape for the rest of this series.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich didn't see anything out of the ordinary for the first two quarters.
"Kobe was doing the trust-his-teammates thing in the first half," Popovich said. "He was checking it all out to see where his territory was going to be. And the second half he went to work."
The interesting thing was that Bryant didn't try to erase the entire 20-point lead on his own.
He kept going to his teammates, including three times when he went up for a jumper but wound up zipping the ball to Pau Gasol at the rim for layups and tap-ins.
And right after Odom missed a fast-break layup that could have tied the score, Bryant came down and gave him another chance. He threw the ball to Odom on the right block, then held out his left hand to keep his teammates in their places and let Odom go one-on-one. Odom backed down Michael Finley and made an awkward, twisting shot that bounced in."
So the Lakers experimented, stumbled, believed and prevailed. It wound up being the Lakers' largest playoff comeback since Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against Sacramento. You know, the one that ended like this. The one edge San Antonio had coming in was experience, but the Lakers just gained some.
"We are growing into the team we need to be," Fisher said.
Sorry, Spurs. Can't say you didn't have your chance.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Notes and Quotes
TUESDAY'S BEST Kevin Garnett, Celtics forward: There were six All-Stars on the floor for Game 1, but none of them performed on the same level as KG, who put up 26 points, 9 rebounds and four assists.
TUESDAY'S WORSTRasheed Wallace, Pistons forward: He missed all three of his attempts from deep, knocked in just 3-of-12 overall and finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Going head-to-head with Garnett, that isn't going to get it done.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I believe in him. I play him. I'm going to keep playing him. I told him before the game, 'Stop worrying about them. Make them worry about you, too. You're a hell of a basketball player.'"
-- Celtics coach Doc Rivers on his advice to point guard Rajon Rondo.
TUESDAY'S WORSTRasheed Wallace, Pistons forward: He missed all three of his attempts from deep, knocked in just 3-of-12 overall and finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Going head-to-head with Garnett, that isn't going to get it done.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT"I believe in him. I play him. I'm going to keep playing him. I told him before the game, 'Stop worrying about them. Make them worry about you, too. You're a hell of a basketball player.'"
-- Celtics coach Doc Rivers on his advice to point guard Rajon Rondo.
Pistons need to go inside
One game into the conference finals, Detroit has a lot to be worried about. There's the quiet night from Chauncey Billups and whether the lingering effects of his hamstring injury had anything to do with it. There's the elbow Richard Hamilton aimed at Kevin Garnett's head, which may result in discipline once Stu Jackson gets a look at the tape.
And there's the little fact that they couldn't get anywhere near the basket.
Partly, this is because of how they play. Detroit has been a jump-shooting team all year, as players like Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess tend to shoot the mid-range J rather than go hard to the rim.
But tonight they took to extremes, especially in the first quarter. As you can tell by ESPN.com's handy-dandy shot chart feature, in the opening stanza Detroit attempted one shot in the paint.
One.
And even that shot came with an asterisk. It wasn't a sweet drive and dish or a transition layup, but a tip-dunk by McDyess of -- what else -- a missed Piston jumper. Take away that second-chance bucket and not one Detroit play produced a shot in the paint all quarter.
Two other attempts were at least from the general vicinity of the painted area. One other was a low-block attempt by Rasheed Wallace, and one was a short left-side try by Billups.
The rest of the shots -- all 16 of them -- were jumpers. Hamilton and Prince tried eight between them, none of which were in hailing distance of the paint, while McDyess launched five. And all but two of the Pistons' tries were 2-point Js -- the lowest percentage shot in basketball. It's no wonder the Pistons only made seven field goals and left the quarter down five.
While subsequent quarters weren't quite this jumper-happy, the overall result makes for pretty depressing reading. Only 16 of Detroit's 66 shot attempts came from within 10 feet of the basket. Eleven others were 3-pointers, leaving the vast majority -- 39 -- as 2-point Js. It's not a coincidence that they only scored 79 points.
The disparity was more glaring because of how many shots Boston got close to the rim. The Celtics took 29 of their 69 shots in the paint, whereas only 31 were 2-point Js. Even those jumpers tended to be closer in than Detroit's tries, as the shot chart shows. Overall, Boston had the edge in points in the paint by a 42-18 margin; Paul Pierce and Garnett alone matched Detroit's team total.
Because of differences in the two teams' playing styles, we can expect Boston to have an edge in points in the paint nearly every game; that part is no surprise. From Detroit's end, the idea is that the Pistons will make up for it with superior shooting and fewer turnovers.
If it's a 10 or 15-point differential, they can do it. But 24? Forget it.
In Game 2, Detroit has to get something at the hoop in order to have a chance. It's great that they have so many talented mid-range shooters who can bail them out at the end of the shot clock, but a steady diet of those shots isn't going to move the scoreboard much. If things are to turn out different on Thursday, they'll need to sprinkle in a few more layups with those Js.
And there's the little fact that they couldn't get anywhere near the basket.
Partly, this is because of how they play. Detroit has been a jump-shooting team all year, as players like Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess tend to shoot the mid-range J rather than go hard to the rim.
But tonight they took to extremes, especially in the first quarter. As you can tell by ESPN.com's handy-dandy shot chart feature, in the opening stanza Detroit attempted one shot in the paint.
One.
And even that shot came with an asterisk. It wasn't a sweet drive and dish or a transition layup, but a tip-dunk by McDyess of -- what else -- a missed Piston jumper. Take away that second-chance bucket and not one Detroit play produced a shot in the paint all quarter.
Two other attempts were at least from the general vicinity of the painted area. One other was a low-block attempt by Rasheed Wallace, and one was a short left-side try by Billups.
The rest of the shots -- all 16 of them -- were jumpers. Hamilton and Prince tried eight between them, none of which were in hailing distance of the paint, while McDyess launched five. And all but two of the Pistons' tries were 2-point Js -- the lowest percentage shot in basketball. It's no wonder the Pistons only made seven field goals and left the quarter down five.
While subsequent quarters weren't quite this jumper-happy, the overall result makes for pretty depressing reading. Only 16 of Detroit's 66 shot attempts came from within 10 feet of the basket. Eleven others were 3-pointers, leaving the vast majority -- 39 -- as 2-point Js. It's not a coincidence that they only scored 79 points.
The disparity was more glaring because of how many shots Boston got close to the rim. The Celtics took 29 of their 69 shots in the paint, whereas only 31 were 2-point Js. Even those jumpers tended to be closer in than Detroit's tries, as the shot chart shows. Overall, Boston had the edge in points in the paint by a 42-18 margin; Paul Pierce and Garnett alone matched Detroit's team total.
Because of differences in the two teams' playing styles, we can expect Boston to have an edge in points in the paint nearly every game; that part is no surprise. From Detroit's end, the idea is that the Pistons will make up for it with superior shooting and fewer turnovers.
If it's a 10 or 15-point differential, they can do it. But 24? Forget it.
In Game 2, Detroit has to get something at the hoop in order to have a chance. It's great that they have so many talented mid-range shooters who can bail them out at the end of the shot clock, but a steady diet of those shots isn't going to move the scoreboard much. If things are to turn out different on Thursday, they'll need to sprinkle in a few more layups with those Js.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)