...Is there any way we can make it best of 47?...

I do not want this season to end, under any circumstance. I am so in love, enamored, and otherwise blown away by this NBA Postseason, despite the fact that my C's were removed by the powerhouse Magic.

There are a few ways of looking at the Orlando Magic run:
"Ah man, if the C's had just beaten the Magic, we'd be in the Finals now!"
I don't subscribe to this one at all. I think that the biggest crime in all of this, and it's because Lebron is too good, too powerful, too agile, too much of a media machine, but the biggest crime is that people aren't embracing the Magic in all of this, and I'll get to that a bit more later. But I do not agree that if the Celtics had won one of their 2 final games and advanced, that they'd be in the finals. I look at what the C's had left, how many minutes Scalabrine was playing, how little presence they had in the paint on defense...it doesn't add up.

I've preached this before, and I'll preach it again, but the glory of a 7 game series to decide a winner is that each series is a season unto itself. Amazing patterns of substitution develop, streaks that are 2-3 games long feel like eternity. Take a guy like Joe Smith - he was virtually invisible in the Cle/Orl series, but you have no idea what he may have done against the C's. Maybe the matchups would have dictated 8-12 open jumpers for Joe Smith a game, and he'd hit 4-5 a game, and then he'd be a bench scorer.

The only way this argument can be compelling, and possibly accurate, is that I have zero faith in Mike Brown to make the right decisions. Wally Szczerbiak shouldn't have played in this series, Sasha was a better answer and Sasha is terrible. Mike Brown refused to make adjustments, and maybe the C's would have prevailed. However, Lebron is so good at completely shutting down Pierce, Ray Allen wasn't hitting open shots, and if you are left with Perkins as your main, and possibly only, scorer, you are in trouble. Don't give me "Rondo", I am boycotting talking about him this summer.

"Boy, do I feel good about losing to the Magic, given how easily they beat the Cavs...it feels better to lose to a team that makes the finals..."
This is something I partially subscribe to. See above regarding matchups, I don't think that the C's/Magic series has any bearing on potential outcomes of a C's/Cavs or Magic/Cavs series. I generally don't take any comfort in the fact that the team that beat us advances, really, who cares? Garnett is having surgery, that fact is more important to me than almost anything right now, outside of actual game play on the court in the Finals. I find it trivial to embrace the advancement of other teams as a way of justifying your own excitement for your own team.

"The Magic made it this far, but they are going to get killed by the Lakers"
Shut up. This is the murky place of prediction that everyone falls into nowadays. I like predicting, it's fun, but to do so with any conviction at this point is so embarrassing. People ask me all the time, "do you think (x,y,z)?" in Sports, and I hate answering it now. I don't know. I can tell you 4 reasons why I think X will happen, 3 reasons why I think Y will happen, and 9 reasons why I think Z will happen. I can't prescribe weights to any of those thoughts, they all exist together. Embrace the games, watch them, love them. Lets see who wins, and then we'll have something else to put in our memory banks when we say, "remember how awesome the '09 Postseason was?"

"The Orlando Magic are incredible."
Here it is - this one right here is where my head is at, completely. First of all, it is no secret that I thought the Cavs were going to win it all. I saw a chemistry on this team all year, a team that lost 2 games at home, (really, one...) and a team leader who I cannot gush over any more. If you were to be reasonable about all of this, you would have agreed with me that the Cavs were the team to beat. Its just logic.

This Orlando team had it's first amazing postseason moment when it was faced with a suspended Dwight Howard for Game 6 of the first round against Philadelphia. Going back to Philly, they were staring down a 3-3 series tie in the first round, something that C's fans know how much tension can build around that. The first amazing moment was their victory without Dwight, in a playoff game, against a team with very athletic big men. They actually won handily, and put themselves in great shape to face the C's.

The 2nd round was a huge eye opener. This team isn't soft, as I thought they were all season. The Golden State Warriors for the past 8 years have been soft. The Suns, you can argue, have been soft from time to time. I was mistaking a fast paced, 3 pt. shooting team for a soft one, and I was incorrect. Their team was built for the playoffs. This roster of large, athletic, quick, and fantastic shooting SF's and PF's, combined with the amazing intensity, skill, and domination of Dwight Howard, was built to win 16 playoff games as much as it was built to win 65 Regular Season games.

Dwight blew my mind last night. In the biggest game of his career, he dominated. We saw in the Celtics series how ineffective he could be on offense. I have a lot of respect for Zydrunas Ilgauskus, he may be one of the only Cavs I'd want on my team, even at his age (wow, did Mike Brown really not use him well...)...but Dwight punished him all night. 40 points, 14 rebounds. In a game 6 they HAD to win. Can you believe that?

The Media, the Press, the Fans, we all need to look at the Magic for what they are. They are a team, at the start of the playoffs who had no business of winning 3 series, to be honest. They had to beat the 1 and 2 seeds in the conference, and they did it. They had to exorcise demons of being unable to close out games, which they did. They developed a weapon, an offensive system, unlike any other, in the 3 point shot.

But they also found a remarkable chemistry during this playoff. Jameer Nelson impresses me so much (remember how they get Jameer back next year?) He is the one, after the C's game 4 in which Dwight moaned about touches, who reached out to Dwight and told him to get his act together. Jameer's presence on the sideline sorta speaks to the team, I think. I fully believe they all just wanna win, and it starts with Van Gundy. Seriously, that may sound silly, but I don't think the Lakers "just" want to win. Jackson wants to pass Auerbach...Kobe wants so desperately his own trophy...Gasol really just wants women, its so obvious...who the hell knows what Vujacic and Bynum want, because they can't seem to make sense of themselves...

Van Gundy is a beacon in this league, he is awesome. He is doing it his way. He is developing a system, a personal style, a "screw you" attitude that isn't offensive to us, maybe offensive to his players, but you cannot argue with his coaching at this point. He loves the way his team plays, he loves coaching, he loves his guys. He loves them.

At this point, if you're watching, and you don't have a stake in either team, root for the Magic, really. Orlando is doing what we all want to do: Overachieving. They are taking their skills, which are already an 8, working hard on them to make them a 9, and ramping up to turn them into a 10 - and they are going to need to be a 10 to beat the Lakers.

I'll leave you with one prediction...Dwight Howard is on the sidelines with Patrick Ewing. In the 1982 NCAA title game v. North Carolina, John Thompson told Ewing to make a statement, he didn't say more than that. Ewing goaltended the first FIVE shots for Georgetown....now you can say it was dumb, thats 10 free points, people argue all were going in anyway, but I think that its possible that Ewing, coaching Dwight, is going to remind him a statement needs to be made. Gasol cannot start Game 1 of the Finals with 3 low post moves for scores, Dwight, via the foul or the Goaltend, needs to send a message that the key is his, whether it is in the Staples Center, or at Amway. Its the only way they will win.

One other thing, I hate Anderson Varejao. I really hate him. I don't hate an athlete at this point like I hate him. I am so close to saying horrible personal things about him. He is the worst kind of person. He is one of those players that broadcasters love to say, "If he was on your team, you'd love him..." That statement, if I hear it one more time...

Do you realize that's a horrible way to think? It's the worst thing about pro sports. I hated, couldn't stand, and otherwise detested the stupid stuff Garnett was doing with his fingers, his palm, his mouth, his body language, during the playoffs this year. He looked like a jackass, and the moment they lost, it made me feel a bit vindicated, towards him, that he had to sit down and realize, "wow, we lost. I feel stupid." Hopefully he thought that.

But that's what's wrong with blind fellowship of a team. Lets really inspect the "If he was on your team, you'd love him," line. Okay, first, He made 5 million this year, and is going to make over 6 million next year. That is for a guy who has no self control on the defensive end - he has been given a free pass by officials, he reaches in every single time on big men in the post.

The minute he changes teams, or Lebron does, those will be fouls. I know, it's stupid, but its true. His hair really is what makes people like him, his hair and his insane loss of body control. Offensively, he is not more skilled than Big Baby or Leon Powe. Defensively, you could argue that the Green's 2 backup big men are better as well.

If we were to spend upwards of 6 million on him, I'd be furious. So, one thing I can say with conviction, aside from how much I hate how he cheats, is financially I do not want Varejao on my team.

People put Artest into this category, which is insane. If you are watching basketball, and you don't want him on your team already, then you are crazy. I don't want him on my team despite all his insanity, I want him on my team for that insanity. He is already overscrutinized by refs, he is already a target...Varejao is a guy that is given every free pass - and his skills are poor. Artest has remarkable skill, and is already under a microscope.

Either love a guy or hate a guy for his game, don't change the rules when they put on your uniform.

...thoughts on Orlando v. Cleveland...

I am not going to claim to break any new ground here, and to be honest I watched parts of all the games this weekend, but not the entirety of any game. I was "witness" to Lebron's 3 pointer live, as I watched the entire 4th quarter of game 2 completely riveted...

Game 3 I was playing a game and didn't see it all, but I saw enough, and the fact that lebron missed so many FT's and that Dwight hit so many is such a huge key. I also believe wholeheartedly that Lebron's cast, who was helping him in games 1-8 in these playoffs is now hurting him, which is disappointing.

There is a big focus for me right now on Delonte West, and what he can bring to the team. Mo is bringing an offensive game and real threat, and even if he has an off shooting night, someone needs to cover him at all times. But there is going to be a point where Delonte loses all confidence in himself, and I think, I'm not sure, but I think we'll see a completely crumbled Delonte in game 4.

That is purely a speculative opinion, based in nothing more than a feeling, but I don't trust him, and the pressure is on him now. Lebron is performing, and overperforming, and I am not entirely convinced he can't think back to the Detroit series in the spring of '07, and find that kind of dominance.

Lebron has been leaning on his guys, but his guys aren't prepared to lean back at this point. Lebron took over against a very talented Detroit team in '07, and was beyond remarkable, I can't even begin to describe his dominance, but he had it all, and he has since tried to become more of the team guy, and his guys responded, but its over in game 4, I think.

The bottom line, everyone is already writing off Cleveland, and this notion that NBA or Basketball experts have to be in the business of predicting the future really is getting to me. All sports experts, actually, feel they have to predict the future to be successful in their particular field, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Writing off Cleveland, in hopes Orlando wins and you can say you were right, is really immature - the mature thing to do as a reporter, or as an expert, is to mix your predictions with a healthy dose of "why's" and "how's"...

We all like to predict, it's fun, but writing off Cleveland is very very dumb, the Cavs are clearly capable of winning 3 in a row, nevermind 3 out of the next 4, 2 of which would be at home. Who is going to win this series? I don't know. Who do I think is going to win? Cleveland. Who should win at this point, Orlando. Good, was that exercise fun for anyone? no.

...Home Court Advantage...

I am so tired of the expression "steal home court advantage," it is
stupid and it loses it's meaning when you hear them say it 4 times a
series each time the road team wins.

Home court advantage is a static fact, it is not a dynamic thing. You
either enter the series with it or you don't....you can't say after 2
games that team a "lost" the advantage, because they didn't...they may
have mishandled the advantange, but it isn't lost.

Amen

Sent from my iPhone

...Game 2, Los Angeles v. Denver...

Vujacic...what good is he doing on the court? He missed a wide open shot to end the first, he misses and misses and misses and misses, and he cannot play defense. So, therefore, the answer must be that his sole purpose is to annoy 98% of the country. Shannon Brown needs to play all of his minutes, and then some.


The Nuggets are not playing a real defense through the first half of this game. They are weird. I don't get it, because Billups will not stand for this. I wonder if something happened like a fire alarm was pulled during pregame practice - its certainly how Karl is reacting. But mostly, I think that it looks like if Bynum shows any promise of an offensive game, the Nuggets are willing to just allow him to do so. They can't be shocked by his flashes of "okay"-ness, they have to handle it and squash it, fast. Wow, the Lakers are a strong team.

Leads don't exist in Playoff Basketball. You are never in the lead. The term has to be changed to something else. Your odds of winning may be slightly increased, but all a "lead" means in NBA playoff basketball at this point is that more things have fallen your way than the other team - that goes without saying. However, I think teams that are in the lead are actually under the impression, in this year's playoffs specifically, that they are inherently more effective in this particular game.

That cannot be further than the truth. Every team is so fantastic at this point, that just because you have a 5-8 basket advantage over your opponent, that doesn't mean you have the luxury of assuming anything.

Nene is doing a fantastic job tonight against Pau Gasol. Plain and simple, the Lakers are better when Gasol is in the key, scoring. He isn't doing that tonight. Kobe has been the Lakers most effective low post player tonight, and that's not a good thing for LA. And I want to say bad things about Dahntay Jones, but its almost like tonight that Coach K's minute exposure to Jones may have made an effect, because he is one of Van Gundy's "pitbulls", I think. He should be on the Rockets, he'd be a better fit there. He also played in the D-League, and I respect guys who do that.


Kobe Bryant is getting away with anything he wants tonight, and that's mildly frustrating, but completely expected. He is manhandling Dahntay - you could see some of it in the little "Kobe is frustrated" montage, which I think they have to show us once a game. I find it interesting that Jordan's frustration with his teammates actions resulted in the taming of Dennis Rodman to the tune of 3 championships, while Kobe's frustration results in an ongoing feud with Shaq, a provocation of his head coach to say horrible things about him in book form, and, as mentioned, a :30 montage in every nationally televised game about how Kobe's teammates are letting him down.

It should be noted, however, in the interest of fairness, the entire 3rd quarter has been dedicated to making sure Carmelo gets to the line at every possible opportunity. Kobe is just outrageous when a foul is called on him, I can't figure it out. He is beneficiary of so many horrible calls, and he must know when he wasn't fouled and when he was, yet he expects 100% accuracy when things don't go his way. A few months ago on the Stern Show, Dr. Drew gave the crew a Narcissism test, in which Robin Quivers scored a 34, which is over twice the average for most Americans. There is something about listening to her that you can clearly hear how narcissistic is, how everything, literally everything, has some kind of relation to her. This is exactly, precisely, how Kobe acts. Entitlement and narcissism are siblings and Kobe seems to have a fantastic family with both.

In general I don't like to blame refs for much of anything, when it all comes down to it, they blow a lot of calls, but the Nuggets, Lakers, Cavs and Magic are the 4 best teams in the league, and they are the 4 teams left. It's a long series, and I don't think a blown call here and there effects too much - Dallas v. Denver was a big missed call, but at the same time, I have my doubts that it was as bad as people make it seem...

But anyway, the biggest complaint I have about NBA refs, and all refs in all sports who do this, is the overacting. They do all this crazy dancing crap when people commit fouls, and to me it looks like they are showing up players.

FINAL SCORE: Nuggets 106, Lakers 103
I love how the jump ball was a controversial moment in the game. "A clear missed call," Mark Jackson and Van Gundy said...wait a second. Is someone here implying that there is any rhyme or reason to a jump ball, at any point in the season. Its a complete free for all, starting with the second the ref throws the ball up in the air, which, on TV, is always clearly off to one side or another. Deal with it, LA.

Gasol being pushed out of the key at all times in this game was the key, in my mind. If you watch a replay or have the chance to see this again, he didn't move for the first 18 seconds of the shot clock b/c he knew he couldn't outwork Kenyon or Nene. That guy needs to find a way to become a "big man". ESPN announcers were marveling at Pau's ability to play huge minutes, but the dude doesn't bang up against a big except when he is attacking the hoop, he doesn't set big screens, he doesn't fight his way to great post positions. He isn't a real Center, he is a Euro-center.