I injured my left hand slicing a bagel and so I am writing this post with only one hand…
Here are some random thoughts I had from the weekend.
1. Rajon Rondo is tough, but that’s not the reason why the Celtics won game 3
I’ll be the first to admit that it was pretty incredible that Rondo came back after that brutal fall that I thought for sure would have put him out of the series, but by that point the Celtics were already pulling away from the Heat. The play of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett is the reason the C’s dominated game 3. Pierce and Garnett played like superstars, which was missing in games 1 and 2.
Here are some random thoughts I had from the weekend.
1. Rajon Rondo is tough, but that’s not the reason why the Celtics won game 3
I’ll be the first to admit that it was pretty incredible that Rondo came back after that brutal fall that I thought for sure would have put him out of the series, but by that point the Celtics were already pulling away from the Heat. The play of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett is the reason the C’s dominated game 3. Pierce and Garnett played like superstars, which was missing in games 1 and 2.
It also helps that Chris Bosh openly admitted that he was nervous playing on the road at Boston. Proving once again that Chris Bosh is an overrated softie, who should never be called a superstar. I also found it funny that Rondo scored more points with one arm than when he was healthy. It will be interesting to see tonight if these Boston guys will be able to pull out another big performance like game 3 with only 48 hours between games and not what seemed the three weeks between games 2 and 3.
2. Is 32 shots too many by a point guard?
It seems like this debate has been happening a lot these playoffs and flared up again last night after Derrick Rose’s game 4 performance. Look, I think there are a number of different ways to look at this, but I tend to fall in the line of its great if he is making shots, but when you shoot in the 30% range you are going to get critiqued. I would like to see Rose get more people involved, but you can argue with the shots he was taking considering most of them were lay-ups or in the lane.
2. Is 32 shots too many by a point guard?
It seems like this debate has been happening a lot these playoffs and flared up again last night after Derrick Rose’s game 4 performance. Look, I think there are a number of different ways to look at this, but I tend to fall in the line of its great if he is making shots, but when you shoot in the 30% range you are going to get critiqued. I would like to see Rose get more people involved, but you can argue with the shots he was taking considering most of them were lay-ups or in the lane.
There is no question the Bulls offense collapsed in 4th quarter as detailed here by Royce Young, of CBS Sports, but I think there defense killed them as well. Thibs needs to go back to the drawing board and start running those PNR’s back on the wing rather than up top where Rose has a chance to get trapped and have Noah set the screens because he at least he can make a pass from the top of the key. Plus, it was a little disheartening to see Carlos Boozer play a solid game, but get no 4th quarter touches. I have roundly criticized Boozer throughout the playoffs, but if he gets it going during the game then you can’t just go away from him cold turkey.
3. Josh Smith has to be one of the most exciting/frustrating player’s in the league
Josh Smith has a ton of talent and a lot of it was on display last night in Atlanta, but still let’s not forget about Smith’s glaring deficiencies that still seem to be rearing their ugly head. Smith still settles way too much for his jumper rather than attack the rim much to the groan of the Atlanta faithful. I mean Smith managed to have a worse shooting night than Derrick Rose, which is saying something. As a Bulls fan I would love to see Smith continue to settle for his jump shot, but I am scared if decides to start attacking the rim like he did in spurts during game 4.
4. The Lakers showed their true colors going out like a bunch of punks...
After game 1 I had a feeling that the Mavs maybe were the better team in this series, but never did I expect them to sweep the Lakers. Gone is the soft play and “DeerHunter” beard of Pau Gasol, who was a no show on the offensive end and light up like a Christmas tree by Dirk on the defensive end. I think time has finally caught up to Derek Fisher and Ron Artest, who looked a step slow all playoffs. Kobe did not seem like Kobe at any point during the playoffs quite often settling for jumpers rather than attacking the rim save for game 2 of the Hornets series. And what can you say about that debacle yesterday in Dallas… The end of the Lakers dynasty has to be the most classless ending of a run since the ’91 Pistons walked off the court after being swept out by the Bulls. Good riddance, Lakers.
5. Walking in Memphis…
I love watching the Grizz play. The way they scrapped and clawed to come back in game 3 and then dominate OKC down the stretch was impressive. Zach Randolph might be the MVP of the playoffs at this point and the Grizz are getting contributions from Sam Young all the way down to Grevais Vazquez. I am not going to count OKC out of this series by any means, but they are having some serious issues with their 4th quarter offense. They have no movement, continue to run the same PNP play with Westbrook and Durant and have inexplicable been sitting James Harden during key offensive possessions in favor Thabo, who is a non-threat on offense. Sebastian Pruiti over at NBA Playbook provides some nice visual evidence of what I am saying. Until the Thunder figure this out and make adjustments they will be in trouble against the Grizz.
Enjoy the games. Till next time…
Goodbye, Phil Jackson3. Josh Smith has to be one of the most exciting/frustrating player’s in the league
Josh Smith has a ton of talent and a lot of it was on display last night in Atlanta, but still let’s not forget about Smith’s glaring deficiencies that still seem to be rearing their ugly head. Smith still settles way too much for his jumper rather than attack the rim much to the groan of the Atlanta faithful. I mean Smith managed to have a worse shooting night than Derrick Rose, which is saying something. As a Bulls fan I would love to see Smith continue to settle for his jump shot, but I am scared if decides to start attacking the rim like he did in spurts during game 4.
4. The Lakers showed their true colors going out like a bunch of punks...
After game 1 I had a feeling that the Mavs maybe were the better team in this series, but never did I expect them to sweep the Lakers. Gone is the soft play and “DeerHunter” beard of Pau Gasol, who was a no show on the offensive end and light up like a Christmas tree by Dirk on the defensive end. I think time has finally caught up to Derek Fisher and Ron Artest, who looked a step slow all playoffs. Kobe did not seem like Kobe at any point during the playoffs quite often settling for jumpers rather than attacking the rim save for game 2 of the Hornets series. And what can you say about that debacle yesterday in Dallas… The end of the Lakers dynasty has to be the most classless ending of a run since the ’91 Pistons walked off the court after being swept out by the Bulls. Good riddance, Lakers.
5. Walking in Memphis…
I love watching the Grizz play. The way they scrapped and clawed to come back in game 3 and then dominate OKC down the stretch was impressive. Zach Randolph might be the MVP of the playoffs at this point and the Grizz are getting contributions from Sam Young all the way down to Grevais Vazquez. I am not going to count OKC out of this series by any means, but they are having some serious issues with their 4th quarter offense. They have no movement, continue to run the same PNP play with Westbrook and Durant and have inexplicable been sitting James Harden during key offensive possessions in favor Thabo, who is a non-threat on offense. Sebastian Pruiti over at NBA Playbook provides some nice visual evidence of what I am saying. Until the Thunder figure this out and make adjustments they will be in trouble against the Grizz.
Enjoy the games. Till next time…
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