Closing time…

Can anyone win on the road?

Utah will host the Lakers, and Cleveland Boston. Honestly? I have no idea. Sooner or later one of these teams will win a road game, it might be tomorrow… or it might not.

It’s unlikely to be Boston. Boston have struggled famously during these playoffs, and they are yet to win a playoff game in somebody else’s house. The Cavs are likely to hold serve in Cleveland, and the Celtics just have to hope their mojo holds in Boston, and LeBron doesn’t go off like Vesuvius.

LA? Well… maybe. More likely than the Celtics but who knows? It all comes down to 3 things: 1. How bad is Kobe’s back? 2. Will the other Lakers step up? 3. Will the refs call fouls *fouls* in Utah? If LA can get 2 outta 3 happening, then they can win in Utah. They’ve gone close twice (a lot closer than any other away team not named Detroit)… maybe three time’s is the charm.

Last word: Rob Horry. For a guy I’ve liked & long thought was a class act, his hit on David West leans me towards believing that the Steve Nash thing was no accident.

Yeah, I know, not as bad, and not actually even a foul - but have a look at him lean into David West’s lower back. This, on a guy you know has a history of back issues. Of course both were intentional, and if it means Robert Horry & the Spurs get to the Conference finals I guess it won’t bother him overly. Just leaves a bad taste in the mouth, huh…

NRL 2008 ~ Round 10

This is supposed to be a preview but the first games start in about 20 minutes and I still haven’t had dinner.

SO I am cutting this real short.

Eels vs Roosters - Roosters are missing some forwards due to State of Origin so I’m Tipping the Eels

Titans vs Bulldogs - I’m going Titans at home and with Scott Prince playing to prove his snubbing from the State of Origin was a farce.

Sharks vs Broncos - Broncos are missing plenty due to Origin as well but the Sharks are missing their two best in Gallen and Bird. Broncos in a tight one.

Dragons vs Storm - Storm are most heavily effected by Origin but Dragons are without their star centres. Storm for mine.

Sea Eagles vs Cowboys - Sea Eagles have one origin rep and the Cowboys are without too many (Origin and injury). Sea Eagles to run riot.

Panthers vs Warriors - Panthers are improving and the Warriors travel poorly. Panthers to slug out a win.

Knights vs Tigers - Knights have Marshall and Farah returning this week. Newcastle are down on personnel as well. Tigers comfortably.

Raiders vs Rabbitohs - Raiders at home should be too strong for the Bunnies who are still at the bottom of the table. Raiders by 10(?).

No time for pictures Don. Help me out. (done - D)

No Road Warriors

Sooner or later, someone’s going to lose a home game… surely there’s a team (besides Detroit) that can win on the road.
For my money, I like LA in game 6 at Utah… and San Antonio in game 7 in New Orleans. Boston goes the distance.

Why?
A very good question. Nothing we’ve seen between San Antonio & New Orleans would indicate any reversal of fortune. And LA/Utah’s been very even.

With regards to the Spurs, I’m not sure I have anything beyond a gut-feeling… I could offer sound reasoning: they have won when they’ve needed to, and the Spurs are simply The Spurs, and historically have been able to win big games. Or that Gregg Popovich is one of only 2 or 3 truly great coaches in the NBA today… but any offered thought process would be to deny the truth: that it’s a visceral reaction.
And it’s not any more difficult than that - nothing can explain the massive turn-arounds thus far this series - home advantage does not equate to a 50 point differential from one court to another.

The Lakers are a different story.
I’m not sure why there’s the huge song-&-dance over Utah’s win in both games 3 and 4. Both were LA’s for the taking, and I’d even go so far as to say that (like game 5 for the Jazz) the Lakers lost them, rather than the Jazz won them.
Yes, the physicality that the Jazz bring to the court is a huge reason why they’ve been so successful over the years… but it’s also one of the main reasons that they won’t win a championship until they develop a little more finesse.
Kobe’s back was good enough to guide the Lakers to a victory in game 5, and the opportunity to get a little more rest prior to the Western Conference Finals will certainly help. In both game 3 & 4, Lakers not named Bryant were far more passive than I’ve seen them at any point this season. Game 5 saw those same Lakers win the game. Game 6 will be the same, and the main reason why the Lakers win their first on the road this series.
Or maybe it’s just bias.

Cleveland are excused - there is an obvious gap between them & Boston - when Boston’s at home.

Boston… talk about an enigma. At least with the Spurs/Hornets they were close in performance/results all year. Nothing can explain the difficulties that the Celtics are experiencing in opponent’s houses. Quite simply, it’s in their heads. But unless they figure it out, it’s a huge flaw in that team.

Why is this happening? Why are teams - good teams - struggling to win on the road?
The answer is that every team still in the competition is flawed. Every team has a hang-up that an opponent can at least attempt to exploit.
Who will win it all? The team that best exploits their opponent’s flaws whilst covering their own. Obvious?
Perhaps.
But only once has any team’s managed to do it for an away game thus far in the Conference semi-finals.
Whether anyone can remains to be seen.

NBA: Pressure cooker for Spurs

Egads…
Just a quick word prior to the Spurs/Cavs game. Spurs head back to San Antonio down 2-3, and having been thrashed soundly in game 5, a game that many, many experts had them down as winning.

“The Spurs have the momentum…”

“The Spurs have New Orleans worked out…”

“The Spurs are the Champions…”

Well, none of that mattered at all to the only people that mattered in game 5: the New Orleans Hornets. And now they have the chance to close-out the reigning NBA Champions. Sheesh. I said the Spurs would win in 7, and it’s still a chance… but damn, those Hornets look impressive. The Spurs had better bring it - not just think “Ok, we’re at home, this’ll go to game 7.” They have to have to bring their ‘A’ game & be focused on this game 6.

You can check out live-blogging of the game either at Fanhouse or at Khandor’s.

Some really, really good points raised on Ball Don’t Lie’s Behind the box score (by Kelly Dwyer) - despite what seemed a sub-par game from Kobe, he scored 26 points on 10 shots… and had his team-mates more than involved to the point of it not mattering that he didn’t take a shot from the field in the 4th.
Until the Jazz cease to be so foul-happy, they will never win a NBA championship.

Bizarre Japan: Yuh-huh…

Yes, I live here.

Human Tetris II. Nuts.

Holding serve…

Amazing.
Never before have I witnessed such an advantage to be had of holding homecourt.
The last 8 games in these playoffs have been won by the home team. You have to go back to May 10th where Detroit beat Orlando on the Magic’s home turf. Of the playoffs thus far, 49 home games won, 15 on the road won.
And the Conference semi-finals have been even more lopsided. The Detroit Pistons - currently sitting back and relaxing - are the only team who’ve won a single game on the road during the Conference semi-finals.

After a very tight first half, Boston yet again looked dominant-in-white during a third quarter where they out-scored Cleveland 29-17.
For the first half, it was looking like LeBron was going to have that breakout game everyone’s been expecting, but it was not to be as he chilled during the second half.
I’m not sure what arguments the “LeBron-is-the-best-player-in-the-NBA” crowd are going to put forward, but the facts speak for themselves: Boston have had answers for James throughout this series - thus far. It’s actually been the rest of the Cavs that have kept them involved (at least during home games).
Still wouldn’t surprise me if he erupts for a big one - Celtics-fans had better hope it’s not during game 7… would anyone place anything on Boston being able to win game 6 in Cleveland? Highly doubtful.

From my perspective, it seemed that LA & Utah were competing to see who could throw the game away more completely. Fortunately for us Laker-fans, Utah prevailed in that battle. Both teams missed easy layups, and both teams had too many turnovers. Despite my prediction during the game over at Fanhouse’s live-blogging of the game that Kobe Bryant would go ‘off’ somewhere inside 9 minutes in the last quarter, Kobe didn’t shoot the ball once (tho he did get a few from the charity stripe). Maybe Kobe felt ‘off’ was quite literally meant.
Oh well.
Lamar Odom was huge, providing some damn good dunks at damn appropriate times… Phabulous Phil should definitely pull Sasha Vujacic off the hardwood when he’s laying so much masonry out there… but another home game won.
Not sure about anyone else, but the Lakers/Jazz series has been quite tight - it wouldn’t surprise me to see LA win in Utah… at least, that’s what my crossed fingers are hoping for.

In tomorrow’s game:

1. New Orleans at San Antonio - First of some very, very high pressure game 6s. Is the end nigh? Or do we follow suit and San Antonio holds serve? Given the ease with which the Hornets handled the pressure of game that was *supposed* to be on them in game 5, it will be interesting to see how the Spurs respond.

Boston vs Cleveland & Lakers/Jazz: Liveblogging options

If you are like me, and cannot get to a TV - here are two options to get a feel on the game:

1. Fanhouse are liveblogging it at Celtics-Cavs Game 5 Live Blog
2. Fanhouse’s liveblog of Lakers/Jazz
3. Khandor’s talking it over on: Live Blogging Event: Cleveland @ Boston, Game 5

Smooth

Perhaps the best adjective I can give to the way Detroit have played throughout the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Every other ‘contender’ has struggled mightily at times.
The Lakers couldn’t close out the Jazz, even when the opportunity was there. The Spurs looked absolutely lost in game 5, and down 2-3 face elimination. And Boston’s road woes have everyone believing that if you can get one in the Garden, you not only can but will beat the Celtics in a best of 7 series.
The Pistons? Calm, poised, steady.

Let’s suppose for a minute that Boston gets by Cleveland… would you bet on them to beat Detroit? I have no trouble envisaging the Pistons stealing one from Boston in Boston. Forget about the Boston Celtic’s superior regular season record, it’s Detroit who have been playing like impending champions this past week.

Orlando bow out losing to Detroit 1-3, but other than Jameer Nelson’s idiotic guarantees there’s been no shame in the way they’ve played.

Game 5 between New Orleans and San Antonio amazed me. There’s a lot of pressure on the home team in game 5, despite having the advantage. You’re expected to hold serve, but if you don’t, elimination stares. Byron Scott was asked about this expectation, and he stated that he felt his charges where actually too young to realise it. The congregated press laughed, but Scott was serious: he felt that his team would be loose for game 5… and how right he was. After a very tight first half, with the Spurs just ahead at the break - New Orleans came out and blew San Antonio out of the water, scoring 28 points whilst holding the Spurs to 11. A blow-out ensued, with the fourth seeing them scoring 29 to 21 - Hornets winning game 5 101-79. Chris Paul was damn effective - 22/14… but it was David West that San Antonio had no answer for. 38 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Sheesh.
I still don’t see the Spurs as being out of it… but damn, that was impressive!

In tomorrow’s games:

1. Cleveland at Boston - Thus far, the Celtics have held LeBron to far, far below par performances. What happens if he goes off? Boston will be hoping it’s not in game 5, because it’s well documented how they play on the road. The odds would not favour them going to Cleveland and winning game 6. This is perhaps the most important game thus far in this series for the Celtics.
2. Utah in LA - LA just missed twice in beating the Jazz in Salt Lake City. In both game 3 & 4, they had chances. So winning in LA shouldn’t be a problem… except how is Kobe’s back? Supposedly, it’s ‘back spasms’ - which should be ok for the game. This Laker-fan is holding his breath…

LeBron James: Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

Ouch. Simply ouch.

Clearly, we see LeBron say to the woman in the striped shirt,

“Sit your ass down!”

That woman is Gloria James, LeBron’s mother.
Don’t get me wrong, LeBron James is a class act… but that was a classless act. Especially so close to Mother’s Day.

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What the hell’s happened to Boston?

In lieu of doing my ‘NBA [insert something] With Malice’ bit, you’re getting this.

Cleveland 88 - Boston 77
Ok, tell me. What’s going on with the Celtics? Seems that every time they pull on the green, they fold faster than me playing poker. It’s gotten almost that bad.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if San Antonio won game 5 in New Orleans. Nor would I be surprised if the Lakers got beaten at home by the Jazz, or the Lakers beat the Jazz in game 6 in Utah. Orlando coming back and beating Detroit in game 5 would raise an eyebrow… and I’d expect to see the Spurs win at home, but who knows with New Orleans.
But Boston?
Anyone here expect them to win game 6 in Cleveland? I don’t.
Not after the woes they’ve had on the road thus far in the playoffs. And this, from the best road-team in the NBA (31-10 on the road during the regular season). Now, they cannot buy a win on the road - against the Hawks they lost in Atlanta 93-102, 92-97, 100-103. Against the Cavs they’ve lost in Cleveland 84-108 & 77-88.

As of today, the Boston Celtics are the only team still in the playoffs that have failed to win a game on the road. That’s got to be more than rather alarming for Doc Rivers & co. Basically, it’s getting to the stage that opponents are expecting to win when they are at home. See the C’s in the green uniform & you pretty much know that you’ve got a win.

And at this stage? It has to be in the minds of the Celtics players. You don’t lose 3 away games to a 37-45 team, then 2 games to Cleveland post holding LeBron James to the worst consecutive games in his career and not have it play on your consciousness.

Problematic?
Not necessarily so, as we are all aware, Boston were the best team in the regular series and as such hold homecourt throughout the playoffs into the finals - they can simply win home games and walk away with the hardware.
But… in a series versus Boston, opponents have to be figuring that all they have to do is steal one at the Garden, and it’s theirs for the taking. Pretty sure that’s what Mike Brown is drumming into his charges… and post Detroit beating Orlando tomorrow - Flip Saunders will be pointing to (should the script go to plan and Boston do actually get by the LeBrons Cavs).

I guess we should be thankful for it. For it certainly has livened up the playoffs from the Eastern perspective - Boston’s season-long dominance hasn’t carried over, and there are cracks showing.

Tomorrow’s games:

1. Orlando in Detroit - Despite Jameer Nelson’s foolish statements, Orlando are done. The Pistons can sense the blood in the water. Done.
2. San Antonio in New Orleans - Would anyone be overly surprised if the Spurs took this one? Not me. It will be either this one or game 7… but the Spurs will win in New Orleans.

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