San Antonio Spurs Vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Upon further review the Sonics, I'm sorry the Thunder, are pretty darn good! This series had all of the makings of a 7 game tilt from the start and I am not going to think otherwise despite a gritty game 5 victory for Durant and his crew! As stated in this blogosphere many times, Greg Poppovich is the best coach in the NBA and I don't believe he should be underestimated going in to tonight's big game 6 on the road in OKC. The most important aspect thus far of this series has been each teams ability to control and dominate the rebounding inside. Ibaka and Perkins have been absolutely incredible from games 3 through 5. Ibaka is young and growing as a player with fantastic potential still yet to develop, while Perkins is a rugged, in your face personality that has found some nice offensive touch the past few games. I don't believe Perkins can continue his offensive support, and Ibaka is bound to start missing some of the 12 to 15 foot jumpers he has been draining automatically these past 3 games. With that being said Pop will find a way to get the Spurs bigs not named Duncan more involved in the game and not necessarily with offensive touches. The Spurs thrived in the first 2 games on succinct ball movement, and screen rolls from the top of the key with Parker and Duncan. Games 3 through 5 they seemed completely disjointed as the Thunder switched Sefalosha onto Parker which has been the game changer thus far. I think coming into Game 6 the Spurs feel a sense of urgency, but there big 3 are 4 time champions for a reason and I expect solid execution and a much more deliberate attempt to speed up the pace. So far it is a testament to the young Thunder and their ability to move on from game to game without any remorse from poor play. James Harden is becoming a superstar before our eyes, and almost has to have the ball at the end of games in his hands for the Thunder to be successful. On the other side don't count out Manu and his veteran savvy as well as his ability to take over offensively for the Spurs. Final thought: Spurs win Game 6 in a tight fashion and then close out at home with a double digit win!
Boston Celtics Vs. Miami Heat
Well this series is actually going exactly as I thought it would go. I promised myself I would not take this opportunity to kick the Heat while they are down based on last night's utter home collapse that pushed them to the brink of elimination. That being said, what we are seeing before our eyes will carry some historic ramifications to the way in which organizations build teams in the future of the NBA. It should be common knowledge that in the NBA there are 5 great coaches roaming the sidelines. In no particular order there is Poppovich (Spurs), Rivers (Celtics), Carlisle (Mavericks), Karl (Nuggets), and Adelman (Timberwolves). After those 5 there are about 20 good coaches, and 5 average to poor coaches. See here is the crux of the super teams such as the Heat. When you build teams as the Heat have done with the Super 3, you have to have a coach that commands respect without saying a word. You have to have a coach that gets buy in without having to ask for it. You have to have a coach that is willing to look your best player in the eye in front of the team and say I need more than what you are giving me! I mean no disrespect to Erik Spoelstra, he is one of the 20 good coaches the NBA has. He may be even a notch above many of those good coaches. The real problem is he has not been through playoff battles and won in the trenches as the Heat offered him his first coaching gig. He is young, a tireless worker, and has a great understanding of the mental makeup of his team. And because he understands so well, it is extremely difficult to watch him in his post game interviews trying to deflect any blame onto his big 3! Now some of the Heat's issues in games 3 through 5 were of coaching decisions, but by and large the Super 3 have not collectively utilized their abilities and physical gifts to their advantage. And maybe I am in the minority here, but as I have said in my blogs many times, I don't think Lebron James has the mental makeup to completely dominate and take over when the stakes are at their highest peak. Game 5 in South Beach should have seen the Heat roll over to the Celtics with Lebron and Wade pushing the pace and attacking defensively all night. Instead after the Heat pushed the lead to 13 in the first half, Doc Rivers called a timeout and implored his guys to stay with it and get multiple stops on defense to allow their offense to get rolling. He told his team they were playing exactly the way they needed to play on both ends of the court, but the shots were just not falling. That was the understatement of the first half. Boston shot just barely 30% from the field in the first half. And sure enough after the Doc timeout the Celtics came roaring back with some gritty defense and just enough offense to get them within 2 points by the half. The Celtics were never nervous, scared, or weary of the moment, they just continued to plug away.
This is where it gets interesting. 4th quarter time and Lebron starts off by hitting a big 3 at the top of the key to put the Heat up by 2 points with just under 9 minutes to go in the game. He would shoot only 2 more times the rest of the game with 1 of those shots being blocked by Garnett and the other a layup with 9 seconds remaining. Wade put in 14 points in the 4th quarter and did his best to try and keep the Heat in the game. The rest of the Heat players did nothing save a 3 pointer by Chalmers that gave them a brief 1 point lead. On the other side you had multiple guys hit big shots and make big plays for the Celtics. Off of an incredible athletic block by Wade on Bass, Rajon Rondo made in my opinion the play of the year with a controlled rebound and simultaneous pass to a wide open Pietrus in the corner for a huge momentum swinging shot. Then it was KG with a corner 18 footer off of a nice pass by Pierce. Rondo got to the basket and missed, but with no Heat player grabbing the rebound the shortest guy on the court grabbed his own miss and put it back in. Then the Pierce dagger 3 right in front of James with 52 seconds left and deflating the entire arena including James himself. Here's the thing, I am by no means an NBA level defender, but I know basketball and I know NBA players. At that specific moment as great as Pierce is and as many big shots he has made, you have to know he is shooting a long 3. I mean that is the DNA of Pierce which is to completely rip your heart out and leave you with no chance of coming back. Pierce knew one on one at that point he could not get by James, which left him with only rocking back and forth until the clock wound down and launching what he knew would be a tightly contested 3. So why didn't James know that? Why did James take a step back basically inviting Pierce to shoot the 3? This is the mental make up I am speaking of when it comes to James. At that point in the game you cannot give a great player that kind of shot.
After the great shot we had KG, and Ray Allen both hitting clutch free throws to cap off an inspiring Celtic win and a disappointing Heat loss that left Lebron wondering exactly what happened when he decided to take his talents to South Beach?
I hate to say this as a die hard Laker fan, but I have enjoyed watching the Celtics play true team basketball in the Eastern Conference Finals. I have enjoyed watching past their prime superstars who have collectively done whatever Coach has asked of them to win at all costs. I have learned alot about Doc Rivers as a person and as a Coach in how he has handled all of this journey with great humility and a strong sense of pride in the team he leads. After all shouldn't this be how we all live our working lives? Wouldn't you love to work for a person like a Doc Rivers in your job! Someone to is compassionate, yet demanding. Someone who will tell you he loves you, but at the same time tell you your not doing good enough. Someone who implores you to believe in the team around you as he believes in you. Someone who at the end of the day makes no excuses and continues to trust in his team and in his own abilities.
My daughter has been watching these playoffs with me this year with much more interest than in years past. She has been asking me all kinds of questions during the games which have brought secret smiles to my face. The other night during the Celtics/Heat game 4, she asked me something very interesting. She said:" Dad how come that guy looks sad". That guy was Lebron James and it was the 4th quarter of the game in which the Heat ultimately lost in overtime. My daughter is 8 now and the that is the telling part of her question. At 8 she can see Lebron just doesn't look comfortable in the spotlight. For all his talent and ability he struggles to grind it out when it matters most. Hopefully he figures it out as he is still relatively young and eventually can jump that hurdle, but unfortunately I don't see it happening with his current team and its roster.
So I guess that means I will have picked the Celtics correctly while missing the Lakers it will be the Spurs. And if not I still have lots of fun writing about who I think will get there and ultimately win the abbreviated Lock out shortened season! Again I live to hear your comments and hope you enjoyed reading about my ramblings. Shoot me a comment on whether you agree, disagree or completely thing I am crazy! Final thought of the day is what is with all of these players wearing glasses without lenses? Is it a cool look, or just downright ridiculous? Let me know!
Don't trade Pau please Mr. Buss!
