Come on Miami, rolling around on the floor and crying after you won a 2nd round series. Really? LeBron said it was so emotional because they finally got over the hump by beating Boston. If beating Boston while Rondo, Garnett, West, and both O’Neals were injured is getting over the hump that’s fine, but do it with a little class. Chicago stomped Atlanta and just calmly walked off the court. Act like you’ve been there before.If the rumors are true that LA could have gotten Carmelo for Bynum then the Lakers messed up big time. Bynum had 2 really good playoff games total, misses about 20 games a season and is now suspended for the first 5 games of next season. I’m so sick of the ‘he’s got potential’ argument.
How many of these potential guys have actually worked out? They are either good or they are not good. I can’t remember a guy suddenly becoming really good after 5+ years in the league of mediocrity.
The 2005 all-star team, ehem, the Dallas Mavericks are looking like favorites to come out of the west after the majority of people picked them to lose in the first round. If you told me Peja would be a large part of their success I would have called you a liar or an idiot or both, but he’s swung more than one playoff game in Dallas’ favor so far. Oh, and Dirk is unstoppable. Always has been, I don’t know why he gets as much crap from basketball fans as he does. There have been what, 4 players ever to average 25 and 10 for their career in the playoffs?
It was a great run for the Grizzlies but it finally came to an end in a game 7 that was never really close. I kept waiting for the Grizz to go on a run, but their shots didn’t start falling until the game was already decided. Be proud Grizz fans, you went a hell of a lot farther than anyone thought you would. And if you can resign Marc Gasol you will have your top 8 in tact for at least 2 more years, plus Gay will be back next season.
The Thunder finally put the Grizzlies away. Harden and Collison were huge in game 7. They are going to have to continue to contribute in the conference finals if this is going to be a series. Ibaka seems to have a knee problem so expect to see a lot more Collison in the conference finals. Also, Westbrook and Durant looked like they were getting along just fine in game 7, something which a lot of people thought was going to be a problem. This is bad news for Dallas.
3 comments
Khendra says:
May 16, 2011
Well-said re: Dirk. I’ve razzed him before, too, but the fact is, he performs very well in the playoffs overall. He may not be a buzzer-beater waiting to happen in the post-season, but how many players are?
I loved the OKC game yesterday. While I think Memphis was better defensively in some ways without Gay, they really could have used him in game seven when the bigs were halted by the stellar defense of Collison, Mohammed, Perkins, and Ibaka (in order of efficacy). They just had trouble scoring, plain and simple. Great series for them, though; fans have a lot to look forward to next year barring injuries or ego issues.
Westbrook may have not shot a high percentage, but game seven was actually his best game in the series in terms of decision-making. Not only did he accumulate more assists than shot attempts, he did a lot of driving and dishing in general and kept the offense moving, aided by some great picks set by Collison, Perkins, etc. When he plays that way, when Durant plays like he normally does, when Harden steps up as a solid third option, and when the interior plays defense the way they did yesterday, OKC is a nightmare for the opposition.
Khendra says:
May 16, 2011
Oh, one other thing – I agree Bynum probably won’t amount to stardom, but there is at least one player who became a star after several years of mediocrity: Steve Nash. Actually, he wasn’t even mediocre until about his third year; I remember his rookie season, and he had no clue how to harness his energy. He had to learn a lot from Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd, which he did – but right out of the gate, he wasn’t a good decision-maker at all, believe it or not.
GG says:
May 16, 2011
Bynam is the second best offensive center in basketball. If the offense ran through him, he’d average a 20/10 easily. Now, he’d only do it for 55 games, and that’s the problem.
As for the Heat, you got pure emotion out of LeBron after finally getting passed the one team that haunted him. He didn’t show up the Celts, gave them mad respect in all of his postgame speeches, and had a tremendous game 5 clincher. Now, we’re going to nitpick him for taking 15 seconds to be happy? This dude absolutely can’t win.
Dirk doesn’t get credit because he’s a pansy, hasn’t won a title, and has terrible taste in chicks. He’s also one of the 7 or 8 best ballers we’ve seen in the last 10 or so years. He needs this series like no one’s business.
I’m pumped for these conference finals, even without the Lakers and Celts on the marquee. It’s going to be an awesome ride.