Derrick Rose's injury: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo1UlzDeY-o
Iman Shumpert's injury: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r37ZTjmkKw
Kevin Durant's game winner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJcMR7GrNsg
Bynum's playoff record 10 blocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6LCY9QGKIM
The Clippers' comeback win: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uina3h8L5ps
And then this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FESy1QwGh4Y
Through the 17 games played in the past five days, here are the five main stories so far:
1. ACL/knee injuries. We're combining players for this one. Derrick Rose, as everyone knows by now, tore his ACL in Game 1 against Philadelphia with 1 minute left in the game. After everything that's been said and different views expressed, the one thing that sticks out to me is that Rose had no reason to be on the court when he hurt his knee, and I have no idea what Thibodeau was thinking. The Bulls were up 99-87 with 1:20 left in the game. You'd think that with Rose having injury problems all season, Thibodeau wouldn't play Rose more than he needed to. Not only is Rose out for the rest of the playoffs, but he could miss the first 2-3 months of next season! Of everything that's happened so far, this is the most important and most crucial blow to a playoff team thus far. Rose, despite missing several games, was still the leader of these Bulls. They've shown that they can play without him but can they do it in the playoffs? Chicago's title chances went from legitimate to long-shot with Rose's injury. Could they win the ECF against their likely opponent the Miami Heat? No way. With Chicago minus their best player, Miami's road to the Finals just got easier.
The second player to tear his ACL was Iman Shumpert, only two hours after Rose's injury! While losing Shumpert isn't as crucial to New York as losing Rose was the the Bulls, Shumpert was one of their best defenders and Knicks fans expected him to slow down Dwayne Wade in this round 1 series. With Shumpert out, JR Smith and Laundry Fields are looking at extended minutes at the 2 guard for the rest of the playoffs. Neither of them are known for their defensive presence, so Wade's numbers could be very impressive for however long this series lasts. Losing any important player during the playoffs is hard. Teammates have to adjust immediately during important games and make up for the lost production. We saw how missing Rose hurt the Bulls Tuesday night when Philadelphia outscored them 36-14 in the 3rd quarter and lost 109-92. I still believe the Bulls can win their series against the Sixers, but don't be surprised if it goes at least 6 games and they lose in the second round.
On Tuesday night, during Game two of Atlanta-Boston, Josh Smith sprained his knee and left the game with Boston eventually winning 87-80. Considering Smith's impressive play during the first two games ( 22 points, 18 rebounds Sunday and 16 points, 12 rebounds Tuesday before injuring his knee), losing him hurts the Hawks a lot. Smith is out for Game 3 and appears doubtful for Game 4, with the rest of the series still in question. Even if he does return, a knee injury is going to take away a good amount of his athleticism and jumping for the rest of the series, so if he returns don't be surprised if his effectiveness disappoints. All that said, Kevin Garnett's job just got easier. An already thin front line for the Hawks will mean Ivan Johnson will likely start at Power Forward and play very extended minutes with no real backup other than possibly Vladimir Radmanovic or Marvin Williams. Collins will be backed up by Erik Dampier, who hasn't played so far in the playoffs and has played a total of 10 minutes since March 23 with Collins, Horford, and Pachulia all getting minutes before him. A backup combo of Vlad/Williams and Dampier shouldn't be too threatening to Boston, and Smith's injury, even if it doesn't keep him out for the whole series, could give Boston another win or two and carry them into the second round. If at all possible, Smith will be back for Game 4 and, even when hampered by a sprain, is probably more effective than Radmanovic.
2. Wild victories. We were treated to two great Game 1 finishes in OKC-Dallas and Clippers-Grizzlies. Both games showed a lot more about the matchups and mindset of the teams involved than you might think. Lets look at OKC-Dallas first: Obviously, this game is highlighted by Durant's game-winner (link at the top) from the foul line over some excellent defense from Shawn Marion... but hey, its Kevin Durant! Other than Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Dirk, Carmelo, and Durant I can't think of anyone else who I would be reasonably confident handing a game-winning shot to and expecting it to go in. Especially in a playoff game. In this game, three things stand out to me (I know... we're going to lists within my lists. Hang in there):
1. The Durant-Westbrook cooperation. Through two games, Durant and Westbrook are averaging 25.5 and 28 points respectively. They average 22 shots apiece, with Westbrook shooting 52% and Durant shooting only 34%. That poor shooting percentage, in my opinion, is the only reason Westbrook should be shooting just as much as Durant. Although, to be fair to Westbrook, I like that he's raised his shooting so far in the bigger games. If he can keep this play up during the playoffs and Durant's shooting returns to normal, they're gonna go far. Durant shot 10-27 in Game 1 and 5-17 in Game 2 but saved himself by going 14-16 from the line. He's 3-12 from beyond the arc between the two games and he turned it over 7 times in Game 2. Durant is getting his points one way or another, but Shawn Marion has done an excellent job defending him and making him miss shots (except when he needed to the most). I'm not particularly concerned so far about Durant's play. He'll snap out of it in Game 3 or 4, but I'm interested to see if he's willing to not force shots if Westbrook has it going. If Westbrook can keep this hot streak going, would Durant be willing to take somewhat of a backseat, shoot when he needs to, hit the boards, get to the line, and facilitate the game? If he is willing/able to, then I think that says a lot about him and proves his desire to be a team player. Eventually, Durant is going revert back to his good shooting and when he does I hope Westbrook will be able to accept it.
2. Dallas' play. I think its a great sign for the Mavericks that it took a game-winning shot from Durant for the Thunder to win. Dallas played very well, and their main players stepped up to make it a close game. Dirk had 25 points on 8-18 shooting and 9-10 from the line. Marion, as usual raised his game for the playoffs to finish with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jason Terry provided typical sharpshooting for 20 points and 5 assists. Marion and Terry combined to go 7-10 from downtown. OKC, interestingly enough, had only 5 players score with 3 scoring 20+ points. Game 2 was also close, with the Thunder winning 102-99. Dirk stepped up even bigger in Game 2 to score 31, and Marion stayed solid. It seems like Dirk, Marion, and Terry will be the Mavericks' main offensive threats with Carter, Kidd and West providing supporting roles and rounding out the box scores.
3. Durant's clutch ability. Durant's shot proved that despite having a bad game, he can hit it when it matters most. That's a very important ability for a superstar and clutch player to have. This was Durant's second game-winner against the Mavericks this season, and the two teams seem to be very close to equal. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Durant always seems to be just enough for the Thunder to steal games from them. And that's how it should be. Durant being able to help his team rise in close games is great, and matters a lot. When the ball was inbounded on OKC's last possession in game 1, Durant was the only one to touch the ball. And he proved that he deserves that right. Even as he dribbled around the top of the key trying to get past Marion, I knew he was going to get a shot off in time and he was going to make something happen. And that's the most important thing.
Clippers-Grizzlies was an entirely different story. If you didn't watch the video clip at the top of this page, please go back and do so. The Clippers were down by 27 with 14 minutes left, and down 24 with 8 minutes left at a score of 95-71. The Grizzlies didn't make a field goal for 9 minutes. NINE FREAKING MINUTES. That's incredible. The Grizzlies had no excuse to lose this game. It was simply horrible. At least they learned a lesson. The Clippers' comeback culminated in 3 consecutive corner 3s by Nick Young over a 60 second span. On all three plays, Paul drove to the rim, collapsed the defense, and got the ball to Young in the corner. Down 96-84 with two and a half minutes left, Young and two Griffin free throws cut that to a 1 point difference by the 90 second mark. Once again, here are 3 things that stand out to me:
1. Memphis' talent. Now while this may not seem too important with the fact that the Clippers ended up winning the game, the fact is that the Grizzlies were able to open up a 27 point lead. Even though they blew it, that still says something. The Grizzlies from last year are not gone. As many flaws as this Clippers team might have, they're still a great team that finished with the 5th seed in a very competitive Western Conference. Opening a 27 point lead on them said something. Don't forget this.
2. Laziness/overconfidence. That's really the only way I can think of to describe how Memphis managed to fall apart. They went ice cold at the worst possible time, got tight on defense, kept making mistakes, and couldn't recover. At least Memphis learned this lesson in their first playoff game instead of in a later round. Never. Slack. Off. If you slack in the playoffs, you don't win. Period. You earn every game you win. Enough said. This won't happen again to the Griz. Trust me.
3. Chris Paul. Once again, Chris Paul showed his playoff ability. His box score wasn't too impressive. 14 points on 5-12 shooting with 11 assists. More importantly though, he made things happen. There were several plays in the 4th where Paul had the ball while running down the court, and instead of trying to force a layup over bigger guys, he drew the defense as close to the basket as he could, and dished the ball to an open guy on the outside. And really, what can you do about that? If you guard Paul one-on-one, he'll beat you. If you double-team him, he makes you pay. When Chris Paul is on that extra gear, you can't beat him. 6 of his assists came in the 4th quarter, and he only took one shot in the last 12 minutes (a missed layup). Chris Paul won a game for the Clippers without scoring a single point. That's simply incredible. If any other current point guard had been running the Clippers' they wouldn't have been able to make that comeback.
3. Andrew Bynum's block party. In Game 1 of Lakers-Nuggets, Andrew Bynum tied a playoff record with 10 blocks in the game, and finished with a triple double despite only taking seven shots in the game (Note: When Jordan Hill gets more shot attempts than Andrew Bynum, you know your offense can improve). Behind Bynum's effort, the Lakers won 103-88 and also went on the win Game 2 104-100. Kobe Bryant scored 31 in Game 1, but he won't be able to win games on his own and he knows it. Holding the NBA's top scoring team to 88 points was the most important part of how the Lakers won Game 1, and they couldn't have done it without their star center, who has become an increasingly important part of the Lakers' offense AND defense. Bynum is the Lakers' first all-star center in nearly a decade (Shaq in 2003). This season, now that he's finally healthy, seems to have been his coming-out party. Look for Bynum to be a top 3 center for the next several years if his legs cooperate. If Andrew Bynum can get momentum in these playoffs, his legacy as an all-time elite center could get a jump-start as soon as right now. Before Game 1, Bynum hadn't recorded more than 5 blocks a game this season and his previous record was seven (in 2008). There's not too much to be said about this highlight really, other than the fact that it happened. Getting 10 blocks is an impressive feat, especially in the playoffs, but not unheard of. It didn't carry as much importance as an injury or a game-winning shot, but look for Bynum's confidence to trend upward in the playoffs. After being drafted in 2005 and playing through six seasons of fighting for minutes and struggling to stay healthy, its nice to see Bynum finally putting up impressive stats.
4. Amar'e Stoudamire's hand injury. This incident didn't happen on the court, but in the Knicks' locker room after Game 2's loss to Miami on Monday night. Reporters said that Amar'e, in a fit of frustration, punched through a glass frame containing a fire extinguisher. He slammed his fist into a glass frame and sliced his hand open. Even 48 hours after it happened, I'm not sure what to say. This was a cross between stupidity of the highest order, and apparently some extreme frustration where he obviously couldn't think clearly enough to realize "if my 7 foot 260 pound frame slams my fist into glass, that glass is going to shatter and sharp pieces of said glass are going to slice up my hand and leave me unable to play against a team that's a million times better than us and will embarrass me every time I walk out onto the court." ... or something like that. A couple minutes after hearing about what happened, I joked that Amar'e must be really desperate to not play the rest of this series if he was willing to cut his hand apart to keep himself out of the game. Amar'e has been ruled out for Game 3, most likely Game 4, and if a miracle happens and the Knicks win one, he may be back for Game 5. Who knows. It seems highly unlikely that the series will go beyond four games though, so we probably won't see Amar'e in action until October... but hey, thanks for playing Amar'e! Don't slam the door on your hand on the way out!
5. Superteams. Sure, we're only 5 days into the playoffs, but from what I've seen there are two teams that stand head and shoulders above everyone else, and they aren't surprises: the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. Lets take a closer look at how both teams have played so far.
1. San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs won their first game 106-91 and won Game 2 114-83. From those scores alone we can see that the Jazz have been little to no trouble for the Spurs. In fact, while watching the first half of Game 2, the Spurs looked so good and so far beyond this Jazz team that it seemed completely unfair. Like the Spurs were allowing the Jazz to stay within 30 points. San Antonio ended the first half on a 22-2 run that included the Jazz not making a field goal for seven straight minutes. Nobody on the Jazz scored more than 10 points, and Millsap and Jefferson were totally shut down (a combined 9-26). The Spurs had seven players finish in double figures, shot 57%, and led for all 48 minutes. It looks like these Spurs have found that extra level they reserve for the playoffs yet again. This team is the epitomy of unselfishness. They pass the ball more often than any other team in the NBA, mainly because they are all great passers. This is a team that can always find the open man on a double team, and always find the mismatch on defense. They have several great 3-point shooters who you can never leave open. One thing I've noticed, and is one of the biggest reasons this team is so good, is that they can rotate the ball, set screens, attack the rim, and play the post very well. Parker is a master at attacking the rim and finding the right guy to dish the ball to. If you don't collapse the defense on Parker, then he scores. When he passes the ball out, it either results in a 3, or the ball gets swung around the perimeter until the defense is totally beat. If you don't double team Duncan in the post, he scores on you. If you do double team him, someone else scores. I've come to the conclusion that playing on the Spurs has made every player on this team better than their individual talent. None of these guys are all-star caliber except Parker and Duncan, yet they all excel when playing together. These guys don't care about their stats. They could all get more points if they wanted to because they all have an ability to score. That's why they're so great. If one or two of their guys can't hit their shots, no problem, someone else steps up for a bigger game. If Parker can't score, he gets the ball to the others. If the others can't score, Parker can get his buckets. I believe this entire team is built around Tim Duncan. Maybe Tony Parker plays better now and gets more credit, but Duncan anchors everything. I love this team. I love them and hope they win this year. I'm excited to see how this Spurs team plays against better talent, and can't wait to see them destroy their likely second round opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, who shocked them in the first round last year. As good as the Spurs look though, their path to a championship likely runs through the Grizzlies, Thunder, and Heat, three of the NBA's best teams. Do I think they can do it? Yes, I believe so.
3. Andrew Bynum's block party. In Game 1 of Lakers-Nuggets, Andrew Bynum tied a playoff record with 10 blocks in the game, and finished with a triple double despite only taking seven shots in the game (Note: When Jordan Hill gets more shot attempts than Andrew Bynum, you know your offense can improve). Behind Bynum's effort, the Lakers won 103-88 and also went on the win Game 2 104-100. Kobe Bryant scored 31 in Game 1, but he won't be able to win games on his own and he knows it. Holding the NBA's top scoring team to 88 points was the most important part of how the Lakers won Game 1, and they couldn't have done it without their star center, who has become an increasingly important part of the Lakers' offense AND defense. Bynum is the Lakers' first all-star center in nearly a decade (Shaq in 2003). This season, now that he's finally healthy, seems to have been his coming-out party. Look for Bynum to be a top 3 center for the next several years if his legs cooperate. If Andrew Bynum can get momentum in these playoffs, his legacy as an all-time elite center could get a jump-start as soon as right now. Before Game 1, Bynum hadn't recorded more than 5 blocks a game this season and his previous record was seven (in 2008). There's not too much to be said about this highlight really, other than the fact that it happened. Getting 10 blocks is an impressive feat, especially in the playoffs, but not unheard of. It didn't carry as much importance as an injury or a game-winning shot, but look for Bynum's confidence to trend upward in the playoffs. After being drafted in 2005 and playing through six seasons of fighting for minutes and struggling to stay healthy, its nice to see Bynum finally putting up impressive stats.
4. Amar'e Stoudamire's hand injury. This incident didn't happen on the court, but in the Knicks' locker room after Game 2's loss to Miami on Monday night. Reporters said that Amar'e, in a fit of frustration, punched through a glass frame containing a fire extinguisher. He slammed his fist into a glass frame and sliced his hand open. Even 48 hours after it happened, I'm not sure what to say. This was a cross between stupidity of the highest order, and apparently some extreme frustration where he obviously couldn't think clearly enough to realize "if my 7 foot 260 pound frame slams my fist into glass, that glass is going to shatter and sharp pieces of said glass are going to slice up my hand and leave me unable to play against a team that's a million times better than us and will embarrass me every time I walk out onto the court." ... or something like that. A couple minutes after hearing about what happened, I joked that Amar'e must be really desperate to not play the rest of this series if he was willing to cut his hand apart to keep himself out of the game. Amar'e has been ruled out for Game 3, most likely Game 4, and if a miracle happens and the Knicks win one, he may be back for Game 5. Who knows. It seems highly unlikely that the series will go beyond four games though, so we probably won't see Amar'e in action until October... but hey, thanks for playing Amar'e! Don't slam the door on your hand on the way out!
5. Superteams. Sure, we're only 5 days into the playoffs, but from what I've seen there are two teams that stand head and shoulders above everyone else, and they aren't surprises: the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. Lets take a closer look at how both teams have played so far.
1. San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs won their first game 106-91 and won Game 2 114-83. From those scores alone we can see that the Jazz have been little to no trouble for the Spurs. In fact, while watching the first half of Game 2, the Spurs looked so good and so far beyond this Jazz team that it seemed completely unfair. Like the Spurs were allowing the Jazz to stay within 30 points. San Antonio ended the first half on a 22-2 run that included the Jazz not making a field goal for seven straight minutes. Nobody on the Jazz scored more than 10 points, and Millsap and Jefferson were totally shut down (a combined 9-26). The Spurs had seven players finish in double figures, shot 57%, and led for all 48 minutes. It looks like these Spurs have found that extra level they reserve for the playoffs yet again. This team is the epitomy of unselfishness. They pass the ball more often than any other team in the NBA, mainly because they are all great passers. This is a team that can always find the open man on a double team, and always find the mismatch on defense. They have several great 3-point shooters who you can never leave open. One thing I've noticed, and is one of the biggest reasons this team is so good, is that they can rotate the ball, set screens, attack the rim, and play the post very well. Parker is a master at attacking the rim and finding the right guy to dish the ball to. If you don't collapse the defense on Parker, then he scores. When he passes the ball out, it either results in a 3, or the ball gets swung around the perimeter until the defense is totally beat. If you don't double team Duncan in the post, he scores on you. If you do double team him, someone else scores. I've come to the conclusion that playing on the Spurs has made every player on this team better than their individual talent. None of these guys are all-star caliber except Parker and Duncan, yet they all excel when playing together. These guys don't care about their stats. They could all get more points if they wanted to because they all have an ability to score. That's why they're so great. If one or two of their guys can't hit their shots, no problem, someone else steps up for a bigger game. If Parker can't score, he gets the ball to the others. If the others can't score, Parker can get his buckets. I believe this entire team is built around Tim Duncan. Maybe Tony Parker plays better now and gets more credit, but Duncan anchors everything. I love this team. I love them and hope they win this year. I'm excited to see how this Spurs team plays against better talent, and can't wait to see them destroy their likely second round opponent, the Memphis Grizzlies, who shocked them in the first round last year. As good as the Spurs look though, their path to a championship likely runs through the Grizzlies, Thunder, and Heat, three of the NBA's best teams. Do I think they can do it? Yes, I believe so.
2. Miami Heat. This year's Heat enter the playoffs with the highest expectations and the most pressure. They responded by winning their first three games by 10+ points each, caused Amar'e enough frustration to, as discussed earlier, punch through a glass wall, and got great games from their main players. Lebron is averaging 28 PPG and, more importantly, took a 2-point Heat leading entering the 4th quarter of Game 3, and took over by scoring 8 straight points to start the quarter and scoring 17 of his 32 points in the last quarter. Wade is averaging 22 points while shooting a ridiculous 60%, which makes Lebron's 55% seems less interesting (What's that? Bosh is shooting 53%? That's it?!? What a disappointment... sorry, that was a joke. Is my humor getting across alright? No? I really need to finish this column...). Their one big weakness, however, is their center problem. They've started Haslem all three games along with Bosh and are giving Shane Battier big minutes (36 in Game 3). I haven't watched any of the Heat-Knicks series (shame on me!) but I'm assuming that means Lebron is playing power forward for part of the time, which we know he can do. A center combo of Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony doesn't exactly scream "NBA champions" and I'm not sure how they'd manage against Chicago in this respect. Is it possible Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Asik, and Deng could even out this series more than we think? Unfortunately, I don't know if the Bulls will make it far enough to find out. If the Lakers somehow made it to the finals, I don't know how Miami could contain Gasol and Bynum. The two teams I believe could beat Miami in this year's playoffs are the Spurs and the Lakers, and those aren't for certain. Anyway, it seems like the Heat have picked up their game and finally seem truly focused on winning games. The Heat shouldn't have lost half the games they did in the regular season, and I think Wade and James, being two of the best in the league, didn't walk onto the court every night saying "Alright, here we go. Lets kick some butt!" instead, it was probably often something like "Do I have to do this again? I just played 40 minutes last night. This game isn't even important. I know I can beat the Raptors. Why am I even on the court?" but not anymore. Lebron wants a ring, and these are the games he needs to win. These are the games that matter. Right now, I have Miami and San Antonio as my favorites to make the Finals. Don't ask me who's going to win because I don't know. I do know, however, that it will be a heck of a series.
Only 5 days into the playoffs, and I already got 4,000 words out of it! I love it. If we can take on thing away from this first week and this column though, its that anything can change at any minute both on and off the court. Injuries are more dangerous now than ever. Even a role player like Shumpert getting hurt can change a team's fate. Every game is important, and every comeback gives a team another chance. We've seen multiple 30+ point dominations from the best teams in the playoffs, we've seen soul-wrenching and team-crushing injuries, we've seen stupidity overcome losers (Sorry Amar'e, but its true), and we've seen some memorable 4th quarters. Lets hope the games only get better. And my columns get shorter. Thanks for reading.
Only 5 days into the playoffs, and I already got 4,000 words out of it! I love it. If we can take on thing away from this first week and this column though, its that anything can change at any minute both on and off the court. Injuries are more dangerous now than ever. Even a role player like Shumpert getting hurt can change a team's fate. Every game is important, and every comeback gives a team another chance. We've seen multiple 30+ point dominations from the best teams in the playoffs, we've seen soul-wrenching and team-crushing injuries, we've seen stupidity overcome losers (Sorry Amar'e, but its true), and we've seen some memorable 4th quarters. Lets hope the games only get better. And my columns get shorter. Thanks for reading.
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