11/05/24
May 22, 2007
Pistons 1: - Cavaliers 0
Spurs 1 - Jazz 0
THE NBA PLAYOFF THREAD or . . .
WEREN'T WE CELEBRATING UNSELFISH PLAY FROM 2004 UP UNTIL NOW? or . . .
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE "DOWNTOWN" FREDDIE BROWN?
posted by lilnemo to basketball at 04:38 PM - 17 comments
Interesting how common scenarios from the regular season played out in both of these series. What with Lebron again having to trust his supporting cast, and San Antonio/Utah not being as lopsided as it would appear (they split their season series). I don't know that the Cavs are going to be able to hang in this series. that may have been their best chance at stealing home court. James will have better shooting nights, as will Marshall. But Detroit is going to coast if Sheed keeps putting up decent numbers while Hamilton is allowed to score with impunity. Thats not even taking into account Billups's uncharacteristic turnovers, or Prince's bad shooting (though he had a great "floor game"). Its gonna be a long flight back to Cleveland. The Spurs/Jazz tilt was actually quite competitive, well, once the 2nd half started it was. The Jazz are going to have to come out for game 2 like gangbusters. Williams will continue to have his way, and Boozer will find a way to score (putbacks, off backpicks). But Okur needs to shake off his 3-15 night and make the Spurs big men pay. And Boozer needs to implement the "Suns rule" and either shoot or pass, the Jazz can ill afford for him to turn the ball over another 5 times. As for the Spurs. Tony Parker shot the ball pretty well, but he damn near took the Spurs out all by himself. 4 turnovers in the 1st half?! Lucky for you Spurs fans Pop was smart enough to take him off the ball and let Ginobli run the offense. The Jazz need to find someone who can keep Ginobli/Barry off the ball so that Williams can continue to frustrate Parker.
posted by lilnemo at 06:41 PM on May 22, 2007
These threads are like cancer.
posted by Drood at 12:29 AM on May 23, 2007
The local news, with the acception of Rizzo and Tellich, and a lot of the fans were pretty hard on LeBron for not taking that final shot. They did the same last series also, they like to bitch when he passes the ball off. I think he did the right thing, had that 3 fell they would all be singing his praises today.
posted by jojomfd1 at 02:28 AM on May 23, 2007
I thought there really wasn't anything wrong with that play by Lebron. Open look (way open) instead of a 1 on 2 low against Prince and 'Sheed? By a guy who's made his living hitting threes? That's a good basketball play. Didn't work out, but hard to suggest that was the reason for the loss. I'd look more to the fact that Lebron deferred too much for the 47.8 minutes of ball previous. He did not shoot enough, or get to the foul line at all. There's where the game went wrong for the Cavs I feel. I just can't see Utah beating the Spurs. I can't see anyone beating the Spurs. Game 2 wasn't even a contest.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:11 AM on May 23, 2007
The Pstons are going to have some problems with the Cavs. If they can keep Lebron from scoring over ten points, but still only win by three. Then they are in trouble. I think the Cavs can beat Detroit at the Palace as long as Lebron can come back and drop 25-30 points or more. Cavs win series 4-2 because you can't shut down Lebron James every game and he is deadly when he's on fire. I don't think the Pistons can handle them at Cleveland.
posted by TelamarketersBeware at 09:07 AM on May 23, 2007
The only reason the Cavs were close in that game is because they had 10+ offensive rebounds. That probably won't happen again. Cleveland is overmatched and Detroit has a good gameplan to stop LeBron. Open look (way open) instead of a 1 on 2 low against Prince and 'Sheed? By a guy who's made his living hitting threes? Except when he passed it, he only had 1 guy guarding him (which he had already blew by at the top of the key). Just face it, LeBron doesn't have the killer instinct yet. He showed he didn't have it against the Nets, when he continually had bad 4th quarters, including a TON of missed free-throws. He's young and unsure of himself when the game is on the line. It will all come in time though. It's the type of thing you learn from losing in the playoffs. I just can't see Utah beating the Spurs. I can't see anyone beating the Spurs. Game 2 wasn't even a contest. I'll second that...
posted by yay-yo at 09:30 AM on May 23, 2007
Just face it, LeBron doesn't have the killer instinct yet. Well, most of the signs seem to point that way. Of course, he's still staggeringly young. I thought I saw 'Sheed moving over to cover Prince after the move to the basket. The rotation is what appeared to allow Marshall all the time in the world to hit that shot. Of course, if Marshall hits, the headlines read "James just like Magic, dishes his way to Cavs victory."
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:03 AM on May 23, 2007
Does anyone remember John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Jud Buschler (sp?), Toni Kukoc, etc? These are some of the people his greatness Michael Jordan dished to during crucial last second plays, some including the conference finals. The difference? Paxson and co. made it, so Jordan's reputation as a clutch player remains intact, while Lebron's "killer instinct" is being called into question. I think that we are readin a little too much into Lebron's decisions to dish to open teammates. Even the (arguably) greatest player in the history of the game dished to reliable oustide shooters when they were open in the clutch, so maybe it is a good decision and shows that maybe it isn't that Lebron doesn't have a killer instinct, but that he doesn't have Paxson or to use a current name, Robert Horry on his team.
posted by brainofdtrain at 11:23 AM on May 23, 2007
Actually, it was Horace Grant that made the pass to John Paxson but that's neither here nor there. You got a point.
posted by BornIcon at 11:39 AM on May 23, 2007
The difference? Paxson and co. made it, so Jordan's reputation as a clutch player remains intact, while Lebron's "killer instinct" is being called into question. I can guarantee that Jordan had more than 10 points in the game. And he didn't pass on a wide open lay-up either. but that he doesn't have Paxson or to use a current name, Robert Horry on his team. LeBron's teammates are the only reason they even had a chance in that game. The questions about his killer instinct are not just based on one game. It also happened MULTIPLE times against the Nets. He seems to have taken a step back from his performance in last years playoffs. He wasn't afraid to take the last shot, but know he seems to be. I love LeBron's game, he is one of the best 3 players in the league, no doubt. He just needs to have the courage (there you go LBB) to either make or miss the shot and deal with the consequences.
posted by yay-yo at 02:15 PM on May 23, 2007
From: MJ To: LeBron re: Last-second shots.
posted by googly at 02:44 PM on May 23, 2007
For all the grilling of LeBron, let's not forget that MJ didn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs his first three years in the league, and didn't make it to the NBA finals until his seventh year in the league. No matter how impressive LeBron is, the learning curve is different for everybody, and he's still just a 22-year-old, with lots of room to learn and grow. I'm guessing he'll turn out okay, given time.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:18 PM on May 23, 2007
While LeBron didn't score many points, if I'm correct he was one rebound away from a triple-double. Obviously it didn't win the game for them, but those assists and rebounds definitely had a big impact. Yes the Pistons only won by three points with LeBron scoring only ten points. But that doesn't mean James is going to come out and drop 20-30 and the Pistons are screwed because they have a hard enough time against a Cavs team that isn't getting much from James. Chauncey Billups is not going to have only 13 points and seven turnovers every night. Prince is not going to shoot 1-11 from the field. The Pistons are too good of a team to put forth that lousy of an effort repeatedly, especially against the Cavilers. The Cavs may have talent, but not enough to get by the Pistons. This series will be done in five.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:11 PM on May 23, 2007
Do the Pistons really have to make it so close?
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:05 AM on May 25, 2007
What happened to LeBron at half-time? He left his game in the locker-room. The Cavs can't win unless LeBron decides that he's going to be the best player on the court. This series it's been Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons main problem has been Prince. He has only made 1 shot in the first two games. His defense on LeBron has been amazing, but he needs to find a way to chip in on the offensive end. Right now we are seeing just how good the Cavs supporting cast is. I do have to give the Cavs some credit for their defense. They have been shutting down the Pistons as well. Two games with neither team breaking 80? What is up with that? Assuming the Spurs continue to dominate Utah, they will WALK through the Finals.
posted by yay-yo at 11:27 AM on May 25, 2007
Thanks googly, that's my point in a nutshell.
posted by brainofdtrain at 01:44 PM on May 28, 2007
Although Detroit won they had their hands full with the Cavs. I wonder how much longer they can keep LeBron in check. They need to win again in Detroit because I think the road will be difficult.