NBA Playoffs 2007: Round 1

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Ugh, no Bulls tonight. Come on. Why should it take seven days to play three games? You should be able to get four in. Are they that worried about making sure nobody in America is denied the opportunity to watch the Pistons lollygag their way through another first round game? Horrible.

[Ripper 0]

Yeah, Dallas still wasn't very convincing. I don't think they'll drop both games at Golden State as I'm sure they have some confidence back, but they still aren't playing that great. Again, I'm puzzled as to why they don't better utilize Dirk on the inside and make them pay for the double/triple teams. Dirk seems to be a more than capable feeder when he has somebody to dish to, why nobody is spotting up or cutting to the basket is a mystery to me.

 

 

Because he isn't a more than capable scorer with his back to the basket. his strength is his slashing which makes bigs have to give him room, and that deadly jumpshot makes you pay for giving him that room. Simply put, Dirks back to the basket game is nothing to double.

 

What I don't understand is why the Warriors don't post up Jason Richardson on Devin Harris. There is NO way he can guard him. or post up terry more with Baron making some definitive moves instead of that step back fade away last night.

 

 

In the Spurs Nuggest series, I think the Spurs should get worried and get worried quickly. At some point in the 4th quarter, a light bulb went off in the Nuggets and they realized that Steve Blake runs one of the most beautiful pick and rolls in the NBA and he and Nene were picking the Spurs apart. That then allowed Melo and AI to get some moreopen shots. If they utilize that game plan in the next game, it could be a pretty bad loss for the spurs.

 

In the Rockets Utah series, Tracy Mcgrady is being Tracy Mcgrady only this time with people coming to play with him. One thing I do notice though is that he takes the screen and rolls with Yao WAY too wide, allowed the defense to knock him off the play. If they ran that tighter, it would be unstoppable.

 

I will watch the Suns Lakers because you can almost bet on Kobe going for 60 tonight because he really feels he can't count on his teammates even though the real problem right now is their defense.

 

I personally could care less about the Orlando/Detoirt series, although don't be suprised if the magic pull this one out tonight.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

"Because he isn't a more than capable scorer with his back to the basket. his strength is his slashing which makes bigs have to give him room, and that deadly jumpshot makes you pay for giving him that room."

 

Not when he's being guarded by smaller players. Dirk is doubled frequently when he's posting against the smaller man for obvious reasons, it's just he ends up having to throw the ball away to somebody that isn't in position to do anything or he has to take a bad shot until four flaying arms. I also don't see the effective pick and roll they used so well last year, where Dirk could easily shoot over the smaller man from midrange.

[Ripper 0]

"Because he isn't a more than capable scorer with his back to the basket. his strength is his slashing which makes bigs have to give him room, and that deadly jumpshot makes you pay for giving him that room."

 

Not when he's being guarded by smaller players. Dirk is doubled frequently when he's posting against the smaller man for obvious reasons, it's just he ends up having to throw the ball away to somebody that isn't in position to do anything or he has to take a bad shot until four flaying arms. I also don't see the effective pick and roll they used so well last year, where Dirk could easily shoot over the smaller man from midrange.

 

 

Yeah, but Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington and Matt Barnes all have freakishly wide wingspand enabling them to play alot bigger than they are. Its not like he is going against Bruce Bowen out there who is only effective preventing a player from getting the ball, but not so much when he actually gets it.

 

Golden State plays "small" like alot of teams. Their small guys are not really that small. like the Hawks play a small lineup where the smallest guy is 6'8"

 

You can try and shoot over Barnes and Jackson like they are smalls but really, they aren't making them tough shots. Plus they are quick enough to stop Dirk from slashing leaving his post up game, which just isn't that strong, expecially against the longer players the Warriors are using.

 

Plus Dirk sets shitty screens so the Warriors guards have just been stepping through it and not switching.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

"Yeah, but Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington and Matt Barnes all have freakishly wide wingspand enabling them to play alot bigger than they are."

 

But it's not like they are going to swat down his short fadeway or pull up, that can't be stopped. The point is that Dirk is drawing the double when he makes his move on the inside, it's just there is nowhere to go with it most of the time. I'm not applying Dirk is going to get Shaq rushed when he touches in the post but there is something there to exploit.

 

 

"Plus Dirk sets shitty screens so the Warriors guards have just been stepping through it and not switching."

 

Eh....he's generally effective at getting Terry open at the very least. Though I haven't really seen it attempted much in this series, hell more screens from anybody would be a good idea especially when you have so many slashers.

[alfdogg 0]

HEY GUYS, DON'T FORGET MIAMI LOST THE FIRST TWO GAMES AGAINST DALLAS LAST YEAR, AS WELL!

[alfdogg 0]

27.9 seconds left, and it's an 18 point game. Detroit better leave their starters in, BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW.

[Rendclaw 0]

God only knows that people up here were panicking that the Pistons were going to drop Game 3 because of past history.

 

Fat fucking chance of that, and thats a good thing. Now its time to choke the Magic out and rest up.

[Just John 0]

I guess TNT not airing the Rockets game tonight was a good thing for my mental health. They're suspect to atrocious shooting every now and again, but 67 points for a game is inexcusable. No way they shoot that poorly again in Game 4. I'm predicting the Rockets win that one close, with T-Mac taking over.

 

Looks like the Magic will be the first team gone from the playoffs this year. They don't deserve a pity game with as bad as they've played. Even the Wiz are putting up more of a fight.

[Guest Vitamin X]

NOW the Lakers are playing some defense and they're doing like I said they should- slow down Nash's ability to distribute the ball by trapping him. What's dangerous is that Amare is making a shitload of jumpshots, but L.A. is really putting some effort in that we haven't seen since the first half of Game 1. I love it.

[Brett Favre 0]

I'm surprised.

[iggymcfly 0]

Really fun game between LA and Phoenix thus far. Both teams are playing tremendous basketball on the offensive end, getting great ball movement and draining their shots. Kwame Brown, Kobe, and Amare Stoudemire are all just playing amazing right now.

[iggymcfly 0]

God I love watching Kobe play. As a pure scorer, there are times I think he's actually better than Jordan. He gets in that zone, and you just don't believe he's ever going to miss a shot.

[Guest]

That's all the Lakers have to do. Play hard and everything else will come out of it.

 

If they play hard on Sunday, they'll win again. And then we'll have a series on our hands.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

I know Nash prides himself in being a distributor, but he needed to take the shots down the stretch for the Suns

[alfdogg 0]

Kobe being allowed to shoot more FTs than the entire Suns team didn't hurt, either.

[Guest]

There were a lot more fouls than the ones that the refs called, and that's going both ways. The officiating was horrendous, and I rarely complain about the refs.

[iggymcfly 0]

Kobe being allowed to shoot more FTs than the entire Suns team didn't hurt, either.

 

Don't try to act like the refereeing was the difference. Kobe was going to the basket constantly while the Suns were sitting back and taking jumpers. And the few times Phoenix did get to the basket successfully, the Lakers mostly just let them dunk it uncontested. I didn't see any bias in the officiating whatsoever.

[Just John 0]

Big difference in the game was Kwame Brown showing up. It helps when the Suns have to actually watch someone besides Kobe. They never adjusted and the Lakers won as a result. The Suns will have to come up with a way to do better in the paint next game.

[alfdogg 0]

I didn't either. The officiating was terrible on both sides, but in the end one team shot 28 FTs and one team shot 12. A little consistency is all we're looking for here. Barbosa and Stoudemire both got clobbered inside on several occasions, and shot a total of four free throws. The Suns could have played better in the second half, obviously, but to say they were just "sitting back and taking jumpers" is just plain bias.

 

I'm still not too excited about the Lakers' chances, though. Kobe was brilliant tonight, but let's see Kwame Brown score 19 points again, ever.

[Guest]

The only consistency that someone will ever find in the NBA's officiating is that it's consistently shitty.

 

I've still yet to see Mike D'Antoni make one in-game adjustment in his coaching career. And that's being completely serious.

[alfdogg 0]

So, can someone tell me why the Suns signed Marcus Banks and Jalen Rose, again? When was the last time either of them played any real minutes?

[iggymcfly 0]

I didn't either. The officiating was terrible on both sides, but in the end one team shot 28 FTs and one team shot 12. A little consistency is all we're looking for here. Barbosa and Stoudemire both got clobbered inside on several occasions, and shot a total of four free throws. The Suns could have played better in the second half, obviously, but to say they were just "sitting back and taking jumpers" is just plain bias.

 

I'm still not too excited about the Lakers' chances, though. Kobe was brilliant tonight, but let's see Kwame Brown score 19 points again, ever.

 

According to the shot chart on ESPN.com, only 7 of Amare Stoudemire's 17 shots came from in the paint and for Barbosa, that number drops to 4 of 18. Kobe meanwhile, attempted 16 of his 26 shots from inside the painted area. That's a huge difference and it's only natural for it to lead to a FT disparity. Also, I saw Amare dunk the ball several times uncontested while Kobe was almost always facing at least two defenders by the time he got to the basket.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I guess TNT not airing the Rockets game tonight was a good thing for my mental health. They're suspect to atrocious shooting every now and again, but 67 points for a game is inexcusable. No way they shoot that poorly again in Game 4. I'm predicting the Rockets win that one close, with T-Mac taking over.

Damn, only four guys scored... on the whole fucking team?! In the whole fucking game?!

 

I've been watching basketball for over twenty-five years, and I've never even fucking heard of anything like that before.

[justsoyouknow 0]

God I love watching Kobe play. As a pure scorer, there are times I think he's actually better than Jordan. He gets in that zone, and you just don't believe he's ever going to miss a shot.

 

 

It helped that every time he got within five feet of the basket there was a foul called. Seriously, every time he shot the ball, I went, "And Kobe goes to the line!" and two seconds later, there he was. It was pure horseshit. This was the Suns' game, and the officiating turned it over to the Lakers.

[Guest Vitamin X]

alf is missing the part where, in Game 1 of the series, the Suns shot 24 free throws and the Lakers shot 11. It was the same kind of game as tonight, visiting team goes up huge, home team brings it close and finally overcomes in the fourth quarter by a relatively small amount.

 

So yes, the officiating is consistently shitty.

[iggymcfly 0]

Jesus, what's with all the ref complaining in this thread. I honestly did not see one questionable call send Kobe to the line tonight. They called a couple charges on him when they were merited and most of the defensive foul calls, he was actually slapped on the arm or at least given solid body contact. 13 free throw attempts is pretty typical for a star player trying to do most of the scoring himself. The reason the Lakers got the win tonight wasn't the free throws, it was that Kobe was 15-26 from the field and that the Suns were badly outrebounded on both ends of the floor.

[Ripper 0]

I don't see that much complaining about officiating in this thread. And like I said, Suns in 5, although it is great that the Lakers actually won a game and didn't get flat out embarassed in the series.

 

Sure, Barbosa and Stoudimire did get kaboshed when they went to the hole, and Marion got murdered, but Lamar Odem was being smacked around everytime he went in and no calls there either.

 

Barbosa and Nash had their off games, and so did Marion.

 

And I am not sure why D'antoni won't play Rose or Banks. Banks is a monster defensively and I suggest playing him on Kobe when Bell is not available. And Rose would be a step up over James Jones, who is a better rebounder but is so bad at all the other aspects of the game, he can't outweigh what Rose would bring to the table.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

There's far too much attention going to the Lakers, here.

 

So, they got their game where the officials favored them, Kobe shot a bunch of FT's, and one of their young scrubs had a lucky good game. 2 more games, they'll be eliminated by the superior team, and all is well.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Lakers might win another, maybe, but it won't go past 6. If Kwame had played this way in all 3 games so far, I might be open to a different result, but consistency is the difference between the top teams, and everybody else, and the lakers are firmly in "everybody else" category.