Of course those previous two sentences would be describing the Chicago Blackhawk’s run to the Stanley Cup and not in anyway the NBA Finals or the NBA Playoffs for that matter. Through four games we have been treated to really mediocre basketball, with terrible officiating and offensive performances that take us back to the peach basket days. Well at least we have the Celtics vs. the Lakers rivalry, right? And now onto to some random thoughts about the NBA Finals through four games:
- First things first the officiating has been awful thus far and probably won’t get any better. The NBA has always had problems with its officials, but I can’t remember where it’s been this bad for a four game stretch. And it is not just complaints from one team it has been both teams that have legitimate complaints about the officials. I think the problem lies in that for the most part you have guys in their mid 40’s and some in their 50’s trying to keep up with some of the greatest athletes in the world and their just not able to keep pace or put themselves in the correct position to make good calls. Replay has helped out the officials at times during these Finals, but not very much as far as the games have been called. I could spend the rest of this post talking about the atrociousness of the refs, so let’s move on.
- The rest of this series in large part will depend on the health of Andruw Bynum. When Bynum has been able to play big minutes and contribute in the finals or the playoffs in general the Lakers have been unstoppable. Bynum was huge in game 3, playing 40+ minutes and pounding the glass. It’s not a secret that whoever has won the rebounding edge so far has won the game (Lakers in games 1&3 and Celtics in games 2&4). So, if Bynum is unable to go and judging by the knee brace he came out in last night that even made Robocop look mobile compared to him it might be tough for the Lakers on the glass and the rest of the series. Checking into the game DJ Mbenga…. I am pretty sure that’s a situation all Lakers fans would love to avoid.
- This series has been really low scoring, which I guess is not surprising considering these teams play pretty good defense. However, the offense for both teams has been downright brutal. The Lakers have probably shot about 35 off-balanced 3’s with 2 to go on the shot clock. And the Celtics for their part have pretty much botched every fast break they have had save for a few 1 on none situations. Plus, I think it’s a safe assumption to make that Ron Artest might be the worst offensive player in the entire NBA. I would not even guard Artest and just invite him to shoot jump shots, which I don’t think he has hit one since the Thunder series. The Lakers have been become to stagnant on offense either relying on Kobe or Gasol or even Derek Fisher in game 3 to takeover. If this is the triangle they are running then Tex Winter is rolling over in disgust from his hospital bed. On the other hand the Celtics have been getting good looks, but just can’t buy a basket. Ray Allen went from looking like Jesus Shuttlesworth in game 2 to Jesus the taco cart salesman in games 3 and 4. It also gets pretty scary for Boston on the offensive end when you have Rondo, Tony Allen, Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace on the floor at the same time. There is three guys (Rondo, Allen and Perkins), who you really don’t want shooting an open jump shot and another guy (Rasheed Wallace), who you don’t want firing 25 foot jump shots every chance he gets. I can see that Doc Rivers wisely pretty much avoid such combinations in game 4. I think it’s safe to say that if you liked those Knicks teams of the 90’s then this Finals series is for you and to think we have not seen Spike Lee courtside yet...
- For all the accolades given to Phil Jackson over the years, there should be no shortages of criticisms given to Jackson for his coaching thus far. Jackson has practically killed the Lakers so far as in he has literally had most of his players playing 40+ minutes and by the end of the game it has showed. I have never seen Kobe Bryant in his career as passive as he has been during the 4th quarters of this series and I think that is due to fatigue. Kobe along with Gasol and Fisher have looked gassed at the end of games. I mean Kobe was 0-3 last night through 9 minutes in the 4th quarter and I blame Phil for that. Phil usually has rested Kobe at the end of the 3rd into the first few minutes of the 4th, but this series in particular he has failed to do that in the last three games. I mean if you can’t trust your bench against Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, Big Baby, Rasheed Wallace and Ray Allen then you don’t deserve to win the championship. Another thing is I thought the Lakers found a nice spark and ball movement with Luke Walton in game 3 and yet Walton played 0 minutes in game 4. I personally don’t like Phil Jackson, but I think he’s a great coach, although some of the decisions he has made during the Finals and throughout the Playoffs have left me scratching my head.
- This series is just begging to be taken over by Rajon Rondo and so far he has not been up to the challenge. Rando has been given a lot of rope with Kobe guarding him and the two games (2 & 4) he has decided to make him pay the C’s have won. I know Rondo is not a great jump shooter, but he has to be able to find his mid-range game and keep beating Kobe to the basket. However, when Rando has been able to get to the basket the Lakers if possible have made sure to foul him considering he is shooting 40% from the free throw line. Obviously, that may have something to do with Rondo’s aggressiveness or lack thereof, but he needs to be a playmaker for the C’s to win the title. And would it hurt to hit a few free throws?
- Unfortunately, for Paul Pierce and Lamar Odom’s productivity the series is going back to LA. I think after 4 games that my pick of Lakers in 7 is in jeopardy (My wager of Celtics in 6 is still in play, so that’s what really counts). I think the Celtics have been the better team so far and if they win game 5 will warp up this series in game 6. Although, for that to happen they will have to withstand an upcoming legendary performance by Kobe in game 5. I think with the extra rest between game 4 and 5 that Bryant will come out firing and look at this game as a close out game. The only question is will anybody else on the Lakers play Robin to his Batman. Derek Fisher already bolstered his low income housing version of Robert Horry in game 3, but will he be able to pull himself up to a middle-class working version of Horry by series’ end? The C’s need Paul Pierce to show up and have a big game. Pierce showed some signs of life in game 4 and the C’s need more of that aggressiveness in game 5. I mean Pierce even resorted successfully to posting up Artest to get on track and I think we should see more of that especially if Garnett or Ray Allen cannot hit open shots. I mentioned Lamar Odom earlier in this paragraph and it should be noted that he has been great since this series has shifted to Boston, but the rest of the Lakers bench may have well just stayed in LA save for Bill Walton’s son, who played good in game 3. I guess that would be the counter argument to leaving Kobe and company in the game, but sooner or later you need to find a spark from your bench and if they don’t get much of a run that won’t happen. By the way I think Shannon Brown has a streak of like 10 going for the worst of the night on ESPN’s daily dime page. Congrats, Shannon at least you’re excelling at something in these playoffs. Boston’s bench has been solid and pretty much won the C’s game 4 with their spark in the 3rd quarter all the way to the 4 minute mark in the 4th. Boston has had the obvious bench edge, but will these guys continue to excel back in LA, especially knocking down shots.
- For all the complaints and the lackluster nature of this series we do have an NBA Finals series tied at 2 games apiece with two of the most storied franchises in the game. I really hope we get some legendary games the rest of the way, so that I will have some interesting to watch and write about. I plan on doing a running diary for game 5 and probably have short recaps and previews before all the remaining games. Until next time…
"Jesus the taco cart salesman" may be in the running for line of the year.
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