Amazing (lack of) Grace

November 20 – Los Angeles Lakers (8-1) at Phoenix Suns (8-4)

Wow.  Just wow.

I’ll pre-empt the following with an acknowledgment that Shaquille O’Neal is playing the best basketball he’s played for – quite literally – years.  He hasn’t consistently put up numbers that he’s putting up now since he left LA.
And now, he says he’d go back to LA. He’d finish his career there, if he had the chance.
Oh yeah, and now apparently it was Phil Jackson’s fault that he didn’t get along with Kobe.

The sooner that Shaq takes ownership for at least being partly to blame for the way he departed LA, the better.
It was Kobe’s fault.
It was Jerry Buss’s fault.
It is Phil Jackson’s fault.
How about it being (at least partly) Shaquille O’Neal’s fault?

Anyway – sidetracked there! But if the above doesn’t provide some motivation for the Lakers, nothing will.
LA rides into town the only team that’s unbeaten on the road thus far this season, and I don’t see any reason for it to change in Phoenix. The Suns are a good unit, but still getting used to the new coach Terry Porter – a vast move away from the 7 seconds run under Mike D’Antoni. There have been a few hiccups thus far, and as a result Phoenix are only 3-2 at home. Porter’s system seems to favour O’Neal – he’s playing the best basketball since the ’03-04 season (his last in LA).
O’Neal will have his hands full on Thursday tho’ – two aggressive 7 footers in Gasol and Bynum. And let’s not forget that there’s really no resting against LA, who are running a combination of Gasol/Bynum/Odom – with 2 of them on the floor at pretty much all times. For Phoenix to have any sort of a chance, Amare Stoudemire will have to bring his defensive ‘A’ game, and then some (Amare’s not exactly well-known for his defensive prowess).

The match-up between O’Neal and Bynum will be most interesting, as both have something to prove. Bynum, matching up on the guy who declares himself to be the best ever, and may well be. O’Neal on the young guy who replaced him at LA. LA the team he said he’d like to finish his career at.

And Phil… I place money on a wry grin on his face when the game kicks off on Thursday.
LA by 8.

From the embers, a Phoenix arises

This piece is re-produced by permission of the author Phoenix Stan over from Bright Side of the Sun. I asked him to tell With Malice what the future held for the Suns, and he wrote this piece…

This next incarnation of the Phoenix Suns promises to be a noticeable departure from the last few seasons.

Gone are the undersized speed demons and their spiritual leader preaching the mantra of “the best defense is a great offense”. Gone too are the lofty expectations of the media and fans which lead our collective eyes to focus (perhaps too much) on the prize.

The new look Suns are bigger, tougher, slower and of course quite a bit older. Its hard to say how they will fare and equally difficult to say if the window has slammed shut or perhaps is still cracked open just a bit.

One the bright side, Amare playing a full season in his natural power forward position with a full summer off to rest and prepare could easily come back and be a legit MVP contender. He knows that his defense needs to improve and he knows that he can defend any 4 in the league (Duncan plays center and don’t try and tell me otherwise).

He will be challenged and motivated and he has shown the discipline and will to improve. With a renewed (really just a new) focus on team defense and an offense that should run more through him, Amare will finally be The Man.

Nash, Hill and that Big Mouth in the middle will hopefully be called on to do much less. With a longer bench those Grey Beards can use the regular season as an extended warm up for the playoffs. None of those guys should average more then 25 mpg until March.

Backing them up will be a wide assortment of fellas chomping at the bit to prove themselves. Alando Tucker at the 2/3. DJ Strawberry at the 1/2. Barbosa (if he’s still around) can be serviceable running the point in a more structured offense. They will all be fighting for minutes behind Bell who should also be playing less then he has under D’Antoni.

Hopefully, our newly drafted left-handed, second only to Rose, defensive slashing Solvenian sensation can get some solid minutes in a back-up role this year as well. In fact, the Suns success at buying him out of his Tau Ceramica contract could be the deciding factor on Barbosa’s future in purple and orange. With this second round rookie on the roster being called the point guard of the future, the Suns are going to want to play him and that makes Barbosa and his much larger salary expendable.

In the front court the Suns will obviously look to rookie Big Hair Lopez to get significant minutes behind Shaq’s big behind. Beyond that, the Suns are still rather shallow up front. They could re-sign Brian Skinner and/or Sean Marks or go out and find similar type players. I personally, think Marks never got the chance to be an off the bench front court energy player like a Roni Turiaff or Bandon Bass. He’s as talented as either of those guys so I would like to see him back. Skinner is a great shot blocker for his size and plays hard but he’s not as tough as his goatee makes him out to be and he can’t shoot the ball. Between the two, I would take Marks and replace Skinner with Lopez.

That just leaves the wing with Giricek potentially coming back and sharing time with Hill and possibly Diaw. I am a big Gordan fan and hope the Suns can find a way to get him signed. Perhaps with money saved by moving Barbosa.

Diaw remains the enigma. Perhaps more then any player, I am curious to see how his role and performance change under a new coach. We all know about his potential to play the point forward at the 3, 4 or 5 and he’s a very solid defensive player both in the post against bigger guys and on the wings as well. Name for me any other player you saw defend both Shaq (before the trade) and also Tony Parker and every Rudy Gay in between.

Used well, Diaw can easily be worth his weight in croissants…Or he could just end up as soft and flaky as one.

Where does that leave next year’s Suns? They are an underdog team in flux and can exceed expectations which will likely place them at a 4 to 6 seed. Or they could just as easily drop further behind the plethora of great Western Conference teams.

Right now, I am fairly up beat. I compare the Suns to the Cav’s with a lesser version of The Man but a much better supporting cast.

Regardless of potential, I fully expect the team to start slow. They will be incorporating a lot of new, young players into a totally new system. They may very well hover around the 500 mark for the first few months or even worse.

But this Suns team still has a lot of talent. They still have a couple of former MVP’s and a potential future one. By February they should be hitting a stride and roll into the playoffs at least good enough to compete in the first few rounds. For me, that will be good enough for the start of a new Suns era.

Sun-Blinded

No way in hell.

Ok, getting a bit ahead of myself there, perhaps a brief explanation is necessary.
The premier Phoenix Suns blog, Bright Side of the Sun is convening a vaunted ‘Star Chamber‘ to decide what should be the fate of the coach of the Phoenix Suns, Mike D’Antoni (if you have time &/or inclination, head over there and have your say!!!).
As reported all around the internet, Jack McCallum has D’Antoni done and already riding off into the setting sun… and Blogfrica is split on whether that’s a good or a bad thing.
Does D’Antoni deserve to go?

Which brings me back to my original statement:
No way in hell.

Quite frankly, I’m stunned that it’s even being considered, much less considered fait accompli. D’Antoni is simply one of the better basketball minds out there in the NBA, and for the Phoenix Suns, it is clearly going to be a case of “you-don’t-know-what-you-had-until-it’s-gone”.
Other NBA franchises are salivating at the opportunity…　the mere possibility to hold that press conference to state

“We’d like to introduce you to the man who’s going to take the [insert franchise name] to the next level. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Coach Mike D’Antoni – coach of the [insert franchise name]!”

I’m simply amazed that a guy who has as much basketball nous as Suns GM Steve Kerr is purportedly in possession of, cannot grasp what a basketball mind they have in D’Antoni. Yes, there should be personnel changes in Phoenix, but Mike D’Antoni isn’t one of them.
How highly do I regard D’Antoni?
Let me tell you: As a Lakers fan, I am of the opinion that the best coach in all of basketball currently works for the franchise I support: Phil Jackson.
Gregg Popovich is only a hair below, and Jerry Sloan too.
Beyond that, there aren’t many even in view of that plateau. But Mike D’Antoni is. Byron Scott could well be held in the same regard sometime soon.
If Phil retired, and the Lakers got D’Antoni, I would not be disappointed.

So… why is Mike D’Antoni being pushed forward to the guillotine in Phoenix?
Pure and simple, it all comes down to not being able to get past the San Antonio Spurs. Paint it however you want, but that is the crux of the argument.
2005, in the Conference FInals the Spurs beat the Suns in 5.
2006, it’s the Mavs who beat them in 6 at the same stage.
2007 and it’s the Spurs again, this time in the Conference Semi-finals – Spurs win in 6.
2008, first round of the playoffs – guess who? San Antonio. Result: Suns out in 5.

This year, game 1 of the series Tim Duncan hits a 3 point shot to win the game. That’s what it came down to. Give him 10 chances, and he doesn’t even hit the rim on 9. But he wins that game on the back of his 3 point shot. Give that game to the Suns, and the series might well have gone a completely opposite direction.

Last year, even more contentious. But for a hard foul on Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire & Boris Diaw don’t get suspended… and it’s a completely different result. The Suns probably take the series, and is there any doubt they would’ve easily accounted for Cleveland?

“Ladies & Gentlemen, your 2007 NBA Champion Phoenix Suns!”

The most amazing thing about the brouhaha that bubbled over post the NBA Commissioner’s decision to suspend Stoudemire/Diaw is that David Stern has basically admitted that last year he got it wrong.
With the refusal to suspend either Kendrick Perkins or Marvin Williams for exactly the same offense, it’s tantamount to an admission of “oops” for the penalties the two Suns got the year before.
And that’s completely ignoring the star-treatment that Kevin Garnett got – pushing a referee (ok, mitigating circumstances), and getting off with merely a fine?
Wow… if I were a Suns fan, I’d be livid over this.

But it beggars belief that the Suns will hold D’Antoni responsible for a) Tim Duncan hitting a 3 point shot, and b) David Stern’s error in judgment…
Yes, I know. People will point to the Shaq trade & how D’Antoni was supposedly behind it. I call BS on that. D’Antoni has always striven to play a high-octane offense, and supposedly he makes a move to get perhaps the slowest center in the game today? I mean, seriously: does any other center fit less into the Suns game scheme than Shaquille O’Neal???
Changing an entire offensive philosophy mid-season is never a good game-plan… But we’re expected to believe it was Mike D’Antoni’s idea?
And it’s worth remembering where the Suns where situated prior to the O’Neal trade: 1st in the Western Conference. Yet,

Ok… suspend belief for a bit. Work on the somewhat-negligent assumption that D’Antoni did suggest it. Both GM Steve Kerr, or owner Robert Sarver could always have said ‘no’. But neither did. Matter o’ fact, both leapt at it.
Add to Sarver’s side of the ledger that it’s entirely his fault that they have no draft picks, no youth.

So where to from here?
Firstly, that roster.
Acknowledge that despite having come oh-so-close in the past few years, this roster is fast getting older, and probably doesn’t have what it takes to compete at the elite level the top of the Western Conference demands.
So, blow it up.
Anyone not named Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw or Leandro Barbosa (worth noting they were all born in 1982) is up for trade. And yes, that includes Steve Nash. And O’Neal, tho’ it’s unlikely you are able to move him.
But the last thing the Phoenix Suns should do is bid adieu to the one guy who is probably the best coach coaching in the NBA not named Jackson or Popovich.

Hell, I acknowledge that even in light of the obvious, it’s probably going to happen.
And as a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, for this… from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

NBA Utterances With Malice

Curtains close for a couple of teams today. The Mavericks ride off into the sunset, and the Suns… umm…just… err… set?

Today’s games, and what they mean:

• Dallas failed. With the 99-94 loss to New Orleans, it’s as simple as that. To be bumped out in the first round, when earlier this season you trade the guy who’s probably your best young player – in an effort to get better now… well, it’s failure.
  As I said in ‘Failed Experiments’, I expect big changes in Dallas. Because at the end of the day, this roster, this coach just cannot get the job done.
  And they’re not going to be any younger next year.
• Phoenix – more of the same, losing 92-87. Trade to get the Big Fella, then drop out in the first round of the playoffs.
  Worth noting that at the time Phoenix made the trade, they were situated at the top of the Western Conference. Since that point, they dropped to 6th in the standings, which placed them squarely against the reason they made the trade in the first place: Tim Duncan & the San Antonio Spurs.
  This roster is about the same in regards to youth as Dallas, but they have one big exception to that: Amare Stoudemire. Amare’s a piece to build around that the Mavs just don’t possess. He’s only 26 this year, and post moving to the power forward slot, he was a monster.
  Add to that Leandro Barbosa & Boris Diaw – and the Suns possess 3 players all born in 1982 who make the basis of a damn good team. The rest should be considered as ‘commodities’ that could possibly get in pieces to rebuild this roster. And that includes Steve Nash.
• Detroit showed some TCB today… and business was a home game against the 76ers. And they took care of bidness to the tune of a 98-81 beat-down.
  The Pistons starting 5 were all in good form, and really took control of the game – but Philadelphia coach Mo’ Cheeks assured the Palace in Auburn Hills hecklers that “I’ll be back.”
  This Detroit team is enigmatic to extremes… they might go to Philadelphia and lose mightily… or they might win by 20+. Hard to say. Hoping the former.
• Houston stave off disaster and beat thrash Utah, 95-69. Now, they have to do what has been one of basketball’s Herculean tasks this season – but conversely something they did but a few days ago – and go into the House of Jazz and win. Tall order… but the Jazz have to be scratching their heads at the moment.
  And we all know what the Rockets can do once they start rolling (22). Hell, just for the heck of it I hope the Rockets get it done (note: cheering for the 76ers/Hawks too!)…
• San Antonio will play New Orleans in the next round… and egads, is that a series that will be well worth watching. Does either side have a clear advantage?
  Paul has the basketball nous to play Parker well, and Parker has the speed to stay in front of CP3. That match-up should be a beaut.
  It might all come down to how well Tyson Chandler can defend Timmy.

Tomorrow’s games:

1. Washington in Cleveland – put up or shut up time for the Wiz. I think LeBron has them shut up by mid-way through the third.
2. Atlanta in Boston – Wow… the Boston players don’t seem too worried given this series returns to Boston, but Doc Rivers is. I think the players should be too – the Hawks look like a team with ‘belief’. Something I cannot ‘believe’ is that the NBA Commissioner chose not to act on a variety of offenses during the last game.
   – Kevin Garnett pushes a ref and gets nothing…
   – Kendrick Perkins steps onto the court and escapes penalty…
   – Same with Marvin Williams…
   If I were the Phoenix Suns – post last season’s suspension of Amare Stoudemire/Boris Diaw – I’d be pretty upset about that [grumbles about double standards].

Failed Experiments?

First round of the playoffs are done, and given their first round exit Dallas has to be wondering what they have to do to get back to being a top-flight unit. Whilst Phoenix managed to be competitive against the Spurs, it was evident that they cannot beat San Antonio in a close game.
With both series over, and although the Mavs managed to beat New Orleans in game 3, and Phoenix the Spurs in game 4… the pendulum has swung away from these franchises. Both are old, and don’t look like having what it takes – as they stand – to be competitive in the now ultra-competitive West. Surprising that they’ve reached this point – given the mid-season trades that both franchises made, supposedly to address key concerns on each roster.

Time’s fast approaching when the question will be asked: were these trades mistakes?

Hard to credit much in the losses to Shaq. O’Neal’s numbers have been relatively ok, if not amazing. Shaq brought a little over 15 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game on average.
Additionally, although Tim Duncan’s first game was great, in games 2 and 3 – Duncan wasn’t the reason the Spurs won. Shaq has of late been playing better basketball than he has for quite some time.
Yes, in game 1 it was Shaq who didn’t rotate out to take Tim Duncan’s 3 point shot away – but that’s a shot you give Timmy time & time again, and he doesn’t even take it, let alone hit it.
And yes: Duncan had his way with the Suns bigs in game 1 – most notably Shaq, whose 11 points/5 rebounds did read very poorly. Still, didn’t the Suns bring O’Neal to Phoenix to be better than Tim Duncan? Aren’t they paying more than they got in return?

However – I don’t really see Phoenix doing much better with Marion in the line-up. One of the big stories about Shaq’s presence has been the liberating of Amare Stoudemire… and but for Stoudemire – the Suns don’t even compete against San Antonio. 33 points in game 1, and the same in game 2. The fact that he can play at power forward has a helluva lot to do with that, and of all the big men on the market, Shaq was probably the guy that was ‘most available’ to do what the Suns wanted. Slot Marion back into the unit, and Amare back at center, and I don’t think Phoenix get as close.

For a very long time, I was against the Suns acquiring O’Neal – truth be told I’m not still sure that it represents the best thing that the Suns could do as far as personnel acquisition goes. O’Neal represents a fairly hefty chunk of change, and the Suns are hardly notorious for what they get in the draft.
This doesn’t work – and it’s going to take some fairly shrewd negotiating on the part of the front office to get the Suns to a position where they’re going to be competitive. Nash is 34 this year. O’Neal and Hill 36… Bell is 32. Only Amare Stoudemire of their key positions is what one would term ‘youthful’.
Trading Marion – who might have attracted quite a bit of attention as trade-bait – blew away a piece that could’ve been used to get younger, to put pieces around Amare – but find someone to take O’Neal? Forget that. Will not happen, especially now Isiah’s had the boot. O’Neal’s not going to get better, the best thing that Phoenix could hope for is that he stays plateaued. But of recent years, that’s something Shaq hasn’t done too well. Stuck with in excess of $20 million a year going to the big Shaq-tus, for 2 more years post this one. That’s one helluva millstone. Nothing, absolutely nothing we’ve seen in this post season would indicate that he’s worth anywhere near the money he’s getting.

…

Jason Kidd averaged 6.3 assists with 7.3 points throughout the series against New Orleans. His direct opposite, Chris Paul, averaged 11.3 assists with 24.8 points. Quite a gap there.
One could argue that it’s unfair to compare Kidd to Paul, but that’s currently where the benchmark is set, and the reason that Dallas traded to get J-Kidd. The Mavs hierarchy felt they needed to upgrade at the point, and dealt Devin Harris to the Nets to get Kidd. And markedly, Kidd’s been singularly unimpressive since joining the Mavericks.
At the time, many felt that this wasn’t an altogether wise move – the amount that they had to give up to get Kidd was just way too much. Not only Devin Harris, but DeSagana Diop and 2 draft picks – all of which will have a marked impact on what Dallas can do in the future, and it clearly had an impact on how the Mavs played this series.
Harris represented a much better defensive option on Paul, at least Harris has the pace to be able to keep up with the Hornets phenom. And Harris certainly couldn’t be worse than Kidd’s been on the offensive end… it’d be hard to imagine that Harris would be less creative than Kidd’s been too.

As with O’Neal’s contract in Phoenix, Kidd’s become the elephant in the room… no-one wants to talk about it, but everyone knows it’s there. That’s a large slab of cash going out of the Dallas coffers into his pockets, for very little in return.

…

As it now stands, Phoenix bowed out in 5 to what’s fast becoming their kryptonite, the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas had no answer for Chris Paul & his band of merry men. Bad news is, it’s only going to be worse next year. The young, talented squads in New Orleans, Utah and LA are already playing at a level perhaps beyond Phoenix or Dallas, and then you have to add Portland to the mix, who looked very good at times during the regular season and will add one of the better young big men to come out of college in recent years – Greg Oden. Include the Spurs, who whilst fitting into the ‘aged’ range, still seem to have what it takes. Denver have the youth, but lack direction.

What can these two traditional powerhouse (at least, of recent times) franchises do, once it becomes obvious that the squads as they are aren’t going to get a championship?
Phoenix at least have Amare. He’s young, and a very good base to build upon.  Add Boris Diaw & Leandro Barbosa to Stoudemire (all born in 1982), and that’s the basis of a strong roster.
Could be a few lean years (or less), but the Suns can make a relatively quick transition… if they pull the trigger on some difficult situations, and manage to find something to do with O’Neal.
Make no mistake tho’ – some hard decisions are there for what to do with their tradeable pieces… dare I say it – Steve Nash?
It would be a mistake for Phoenix to depart from Mike D’Antoni, as if they do, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to replace him with anyone better. D’Antoni is one of the very few truly elite coaches in this league.

Far worse a situation for Dallas, who traded their best young player (I rate Harris ahead of Howard) for a shot now.

Now that Dallas are out – Cuban would have to be close to showing Avery his walking papers, and the two certainly have butted heads this season.
And even despite stating the contrary, the owner of the Mavs must be wondering if Dirk is as good as advertised. Dirk himself is probably wondering if he can win a ring at Dallas too.
Maybe the only answer is to blow the team up, and start again.
As they are now, at times this squad looks old and confused – if Dirk’s not on his game.

Both teams are going to look different soon, probably starting next season.

Interesting times…

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

NBA Blah Blah Blah With Malice

Pretty hard to work out patterns in the playoff series thus far. I get why teams up 2-0 or 3-0 lose a game, especially away… but pretty hard to foresee Detroit falling into a 1-2 hole before today’s game.

Anyway, on today’s games:

• Detroit leveled the series 2-2 against the 76ers, winning in Philly 93-84… and perhaps putting the 76ers on notice. Thing is, even if they do get past Philly (and that’s no certainty – although there does appear to be a momentum change)… the next round is set to be a ripper, against what’s looking like being the Orlando Magic lead by the Dwightmare. Now that will be interesting… if the Magic’s shooters can step it up a bit, the Pistons are looking beatable (should they get past the 76ers!)…
• Phoenix finally, finally win one. The 105-86 scoreline won’t help them too much tho’, as they head to San Antonio to play the Spurs down 3-1. I think they’re done. And that is going to mean some people have some serious accounting to do.
• Like-wise in Washington. It’s one thing to talk trash, but what the Wiz have done goes to an entirely new level. Thing I don’t get is why you give guys like LeBron or Kobe ammunition to play well… like they need excuses. DeShawn Stevenson: Are you insane? LeBron James ‘over-rated’? So the Cavs moved to 3-1 in the series as it heads back to Cleveland… seems all but over.
• Dallas is on the verge of extinction too. A 97-84 loss today puts them one game (next one’s in New Orleans) from starting their holidays. And I get the feeling that Cuban’s axe is getting sharpened, right about now.

In tomorrow’s games:

1. Toronto at Orlando – The Raptors head to Orlando, down 3-1. Curtains, you’d think.
2. Boston at Atlanta – Atlanta, having took game 3, will be facing a fired-up Boston (who would’ve had strips torn off ’em by KG)…
3. LA Lakers at Denver – the Nuggs don’t look anywhere like a team that wants to win… but I think game 4’s a lot closer than any have been thus far. Still… I think we can get the brooms out.

NBA Babblings With Malice

Certainly getting interesting now, with Dallas taking a game off New Orleans and Detroit falling well short against Philadelphia. Have to wonder if this is it for the Pistons, even if they do manage to get past the 76ers, do they have what it takes to get past the might of the Boston Celtics?
Chris Paul – wasn’t his usual amazing self – but I have to comment on recent discussions hitting everywhere – blogs/radio/forums – on “who would you take out of Chris Paul, Dwight Howard or LeBron James?”
Those that answer ‘Chris Paul’ need to check the amount of prescription medication they’re taking. Yes, he’s good, very, very good… but please – taking him over perhaps the best center playing at the moment, and the Air Apparent?

• San Antonio went into Phoenix, and have now pushed the Suns to the brink of elimination with a 115-99 victory.
  Tony Parker unloaded on Phoenix with a 41 point/12 assist game, and took the Spurs to a 3-0 series lead. On their own court, for the first time this series, the Suns didn’t look in it at all. San Antonio – and in particular Parker – ran rampant over the sluggish Suns.
  One low point: Popovich got the Spurs playing ‘hack-a-Shaq’ at various times, and it’s a blight on the game. Still, Suns look done, and are facing the broom.
• Dallas fought back, and took one off the New Orleans Hornets, 97-87. Even in an off-night, Chris Paul hit a double/double (16 points/10 assists).
  But that we look at that as a poor performance by his standards shows just what a very special player the young guard is. Jason Terry did a very good job of guarding CP3, and Dirk Nowitzki and Terry did very well scoring too.
  Still, down 2-1… Dallas will have to play some very special basketball to pull this thing off.
• Are Detroit done?
  Philadelphia thrashed them 95-75 in the first game on the 76ers’ home court.
  Andre Miller & Samuel Dalembert were excellent for the 76ers, who looked great against the Pistons.
  Roles were reversed: ’twas the Pistons who looked confused and out of sorts, and Philadelphia who had all the answers all night long. No-one counted them as a chance of being competitive this series, and yet here they are, 2-1 up with 2 more games at home.
  I still see the Pistons getting this done, but at what cost? There’s certainly a very big gap in the way they’re playing, and the dominance we’re seeing from Boston.

In tomorrow’s games:

1. LA Lakers at Denver Nuggets – Can the Lakers go into Enver’s house & beat ’em?  Depends… on how much D the Lakers can summon.  I think they get it done.
2. Orlando in Toronto – Orlando have to take this one.  Last thing they want is the series leveled, and the Raptors believing.
3. Boston in Atlanta – Forgeddabowdit.
4. Utah in Houston – after game 3, this series got intriguing.

NBA Grumblings With Malice

Well… so much for those huge trades mid-season for the Suns & Mavs… not working out so well at the mo’, huh (currently penning a piece on that)? And the Raptors nearly pulled one out of the hat, but it was not to be…

In greater detail…

• Dwight Howard… damn man. Giving 29/20 on the back of a 25/22… Guy is really, really tearing up the Rap-pack. It’s tough, because this game, Toronto really played some nice basketball. Chris Bosh offered up 29 points with 10 rebounds… Jason Kapono had 20 points, Calderon had 18 and Delfino put in 16, but they absolutely could not stop the Dwightmare. Said it before, “…it is Howard who has got Orlando to this point. And Howard who will take the Magic further.” – enormous effort.
• Phoenix just cannot beat San Antonio in the close ones (102-96)… and that’s gotta be more gutting than getting spanked. You get hammered down, you just acknowledge that you didn’t bring it, and move on to the next game. Losing two games the way the Suns did – in both, but unable to close out – have to play heavily on the team. I know that the Suns are talking a good game, and if they can take the next one in a handy fashion, then maybe they’re still in it… but the odds are against them.
• Dallas are in a far, far worse position. Nothing they throw at New Orleans seems to work, and they seem way, way out of their depth. Yes, if they can take the next two they’re still in it, but at least in the Suns/Spurs series, the Suns at least seem like they’re in the same league. Dallas don’t even look like they deserve to be on the same court at the moment… really hoping that they make this a better series… Kidd vs Paul? No contest, Kidd’s had 11 points/9 assists & 7 points/8 assists versus 35/10 & 32/17. Ugh.
• Down, but not out. Howard Schultz, former owner of the Sonics has filed suit to try and keep the Seattle team actually in Seattle. Listening to Commish David Stern on the Mike Tirico show earlier this week, he’s not of a mind that it’s a case of ‘if’, but rather a case of ‘when’… Good luck Sonics…

Tomorrow’s games:

1. Philadelphia at Detroit – more magic from the 76ers? I think the Pistons get it done… but at what cost?
   
2. Atlanta at Boston – kinda feel for the Hawks…
3. Enver at LA – someone, someone play some defense.

NBA Prattle With Malice…

Last one down. Positions to be grabbed, and statements to be made. So what happened, and what was ‘said’.

Detroit run into the playoffs with a win over Cleveland by 10 points (84-74). But big deal. Was the benches that ran. Just goes to show how important the games are this time of the year in the East. Orlando thrashed the Wiz, the 76ers got beaten by the Bobcats, Boston hammered the Nets and the playoff-bound Hawks got trounced by Miami – all in other games that did not matter.

Off West, were the games mattered and teams tried. Given how close the West has been all season, even games with no impact were of import. Teams tried to assert themselves heading into the season’s climax.

• In one of the most important games, Dallas looked to claim the 7th seed (and, as Dirk came right out and said, avoid the Lakers) and their opponent New Orleans sought to re-claim the form that saw them hold the Western crown for much of the season… until some very poor form hit them at the end, resulting in 2 losses in 3 games.
  Could the Hornets close out the season with a win?
  Nuh-uh.
  Dallas well & truly had their number – both Kidd & Terry taking up the gauntlet & beating New Orleans 111-98. Now they have a much-preferred match-up against… the New Orleans Hornets.
  Everyone’s stating that the preferred opponents in the West are Houston & New Orleans.
  The Hornets have to face down the Mavericks and put an end to this talk… but I smell an upset brewing.
  Or was it the garlic chicken?
• San Antonio flew in the face of critics and thrashed Utah. Many had said that of late the Spurs looked fragile, but not at home against the Jazz (who have been a notoriously bad away team). 109-80 is no small margin at the best of times, and heading into a playoff series against a team that really, really wants to beat them in the Suns, this victory says the Spurs are ready. Phoenix beat up on the Trail Blazers, and you know what? I think the Suns get their revenge…The Jazz have floundered all season on the road – this was no different. They face the Rockets first up, in a match-up that clearly favours the Jazz.
• Denver beat Memphis by 9 (120-111), and it looks like the Denver Nuggets are just going to sit on their hands regarding ‘Melo’s indiscretions. But their next opponent – West-winning LA – won’t be so easy. Even if Allen Iverson’s relishing the chance.
  

  “This is what it’s about. If you’re scared, get a dog.”

  Succinctly put.
  But talk comes cheap. LA’s actions speak louder, they win this one.

NBA Idiocy With Malice…

Ye gods… how stupid IS Carmelo Anthony? Here he is, a multi-millionaire, with the future of a franchise tied to him, and he gets drunk – then gets behind the wheel of a car, and was appropriately arrested for DUI.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Anthony has faced questions about his ability to lead a franchise before, and he’s always made the right noises – perhaps mouthing platitudes – about trying to do the right thing. This time however, it wasn’t just taking a cowardly swing at another player. This time he put the lives of people at risk – thank whatever god is relevant to you that nothing happened beyond ‘Melo’s arrest.
The head-honchos at Denver have to be shaking their heads at this. It’s not like he was simply heading home after dinner post-game either. This happened at 4am on a Sunday night, in the middle of the race for the final playoff spot.
It’s a head-scratcher for sure.
One wonders what penalty – if any – the Nuggets braintrust will impose. On one hand, if they penalise him games, it will impact their post-season. But the other option is that no penalty, or a penalty that doesn’t affect him greatly just reinforces the behavior that he has exhibited.
I’ll be interested to see what action, if any, they take.

Anyway…

• The Golden State Warriors couldn’t hold out the Phoenix Suns (122-116), and thus their season is over… well, they have another game – but that’s it. No more outside chance of the playoffs.
• Houston’s loss to Utah (105-96) drops the Rockets down to 5th place, and vaults the Spurs up to 3rd – given the Spurs didn’t do a New Orleans and lose to Sacramento. If this positioning holds for another game, this means that Houston will face the Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. Honestly? I don’t think it matters WHO the Rockets face, Kobe Lite T-Mac isn’t breaking his first-round jinx this year…
• The thing that’s important about this tho’ is that the Spurs will now (again, assuming the positions remain the same) face the Phoenix Suns. And that, will be interesting. The Suns reconfigured themselves mid-season with this match-up in mind (tho’ I’m betting that they did it with the belief that they’d be facing the Spurs a lil’ further into the playoffs)… Shaq v Timmy. I’m looking forward to it, and would bet that there’ll be suspensions in this series. No love lost there…
• The next two days have some fantastic match-ups… well… ok, not fantastic match-ups per se, but games that have real meaning. Amazing on the last two days of a season. Lakers host Sacramento – Lakers win, they take #1. New Orleans host the Clippers – if they don’t win they could drop from top 2, and if they win & LA loses, they’re #1… IF they can beat Dallas the next day. Speaking of ‘next day’, Utah at San Antonio is a huge game, as is Portland at Phoenix.

Sorry it’s mainly Western Conference… Some East:

• Despite the bravado coming out of Cleveland, does anyone else get the feeling that they’re not ready? Nothing overly impressive recently out of the Cavs…
• Washington actually look dangerous at the moment. I’d hate to face them first round – oh wait, that’s what the Cavs have to do.
• Nice win Chicago, throwing down a mere 151 on the Bucks (who scored 135). Made me feel like I was in the early 80s again.
• And a nice win to Boston who beat the Knicks 99-93. Why is a 6 point victory a ‘nice win’ you ask? Because Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen all had a night off.

Only two days left, and lots of games – looking forward to ’em all!