This is a classic battle of experience versus youth.
Dallas is one of the most seasoned teams in the NBA and Oklahoma City one of the youngest. Boston, Los Angeles and San Antonio have all been eliminated, leaving Dallas to carry the torch for the older generation against a league of up-and-coming teams.
Vincent Thomas is sad to see the last generation pass, and his feelings touch people who loved watching the guys play in their day.
I guess you could say that I'm more used to it.
I watched in the same pain and sadness the last days of Muhammad Ali, Reggie Jackson, Lawrence Taylor, Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Walter Payton, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, Terry Bradshaw and many others.
Charles Barkley said it best, "Father Time is undefeated."
Dallas has older players who you would expect to make fewer mistakes than Oklahoma City. Due to their relative experience, they are generally smarter than Oklahoma City and know how to play winning basketball better.
Oklahoma City is much younger and much more athletic than Dallas. And due to their relative youth, they should be able to play with more energy for longer periods of time.
Rick Carlisle and Scott Brooks are both very good coaches, and the talent is pretty much equal. Both teams have outstanding players and contributors everywhere you look.
They haven't met since January, so you can throw the regular-season matchups (Dallas won 2-1) out the window because of the roster changes Oklahoma City has made since then.
No team has an edge in this series which I can see.
The NBA has evolved over the past several years and made such a quantum leap in the volume of talented players that the difference between teams is very minor and almost non-existent, and that becomes more apparent when you look at the final four teams.
This is yet another series which is unpredictable and way too close to call.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Showing posts with label 2011 Playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2011 Playoffs. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Eastern Conference Finals Preview
NBA officials and television executives are probably still drunk after all of the champagne they popped when the Atlanta Hawks didn't advance to the conference finals.
MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago's media market going against the star power of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for David Stern and the NBA was no doubt an orgasm-producing outcome.
And either of those teams advancing to the championship will be great business for all parties involved, not only for this season but for future seasons as well.
Many think Miami will roll over Chicago. But don't be fooled by what we just saw in the last round.
Atlanta has as much talent as almost any team in the NBA and is a good coach away from being a legitimate contender. And Miami benefited significantly from injuries to Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal and Rajon Rondo.
After seeing how the series played out, I would take a fully-healthy Boston team over a fully-healthy Miami team in a seven-game series.
Unfortunately for Boston, it didn't work out that way.
There is nothing to be gained from looking at Chicago's 3-0 sweep of Miami during the regular season.
LeBron James didn't play in the first game. Mike Bibby (not on the team yet) didn't play in the second. Joel Anthony didn't play in the third.
You could go back and forth with these playoff (or regular season) matchups for five hours and end up more confused than when you first started.
I wouldn't dare pick a winner in this or any other series.
The only thing I can say for sure is that it will be great television.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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MVP Derrick Rose and Chicago's media market going against the star power of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade for David Stern and the NBA was no doubt an orgasm-producing outcome.
And either of those teams advancing to the championship will be great business for all parties involved, not only for this season but for future seasons as well.
Many think Miami will roll over Chicago. But don't be fooled by what we just saw in the last round.
Atlanta has as much talent as almost any team in the NBA and is a good coach away from being a legitimate contender. And Miami benefited significantly from injuries to Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal and Rajon Rondo.
After seeing how the series played out, I would take a fully-healthy Boston team over a fully-healthy Miami team in a seven-game series.
Unfortunately for Boston, it didn't work out that way.
There is nothing to be gained from looking at Chicago's 3-0 sweep of Miami during the regular season.
LeBron James didn't play in the first game. Mike Bibby (not on the team yet) didn't play in the second. Joel Anthony didn't play in the third.
You could go back and forth with these playoff (or regular season) matchups for five hours and end up more confused than when you first started.
I wouldn't dare pick a winner in this or any other series.
The only thing I can say for sure is that it will be great television.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Saturday, April 30, 2011
Second Round Preview
I hope you're not coming here for any predictions.
The first round of the playoffs told you all you needed to know about why I refuse to make any.
The games are simply unpredictable.
Bless anyone who tries to make a living betting on these games!
They are stressful enough with nothing at stake.
Every first-round series was incredible, as far as the quality of play, and this round looks to be even better.
Each series is full of intrigue, and it is impossible to pick a winner or pick the series which will be the most competitive or the most entertaining.
But we'll have the answer to every question in two weeks.
BOSTON AND MIAMI
More and more, Erik Spoelstra is proving that he is not a championship coach.
He did a much better job driving the Chevy he had last year than the Cadillac he has now.
This series may tell us all we need to know about him.
If Miami goes down in six games, it might be time for Pat Riley to start searching his coaching database to bring in a winner.
Rajon Rondo finally revealed what was obvious when watching him play at the end of the season, that he wasn't 100 percent.
He was better against New York in the first round but still didn't look all the way back yet.
Hopefully, another week off did the trick.
Boston is the favorite in the East until they are eliminated from the playoffs.
DALLAS AND LOS ANGELES
This series is another real treat.
Dirk Nowitzki versus Kobe Bryant, two of the greatest players of their era, for the first time ever in the playoffs.
And don't forget about Rick Carlisle against Phil Jackson.
Carlisle has been on the doorstep for several years now but has never broken through.
This is another opportunity.
I remember watching the last time Dallas and Los Angeles met in the playoffs in 1988.
Anything close to that battle would be unbelievable.
ATLANTA AND CHICAGO
The injury to Kirk Hinrich is the perfect example of why you develop your bench by giving them consistent playing time during the season, an area Larry Drew failed miserably in this season.
As I said before, I'm down with the Jeff Teague Movement.
But I'd feel a lot better about him had Drew played him consistently during the season and in the first round against Orlando.
And there's no guarantee Drew will play him against Chicago.
I would take Atlanta's talent over Chicago's talent every day of the week, but Drew hasn't used that talent right all season long.
So there's no reason to think he'll get it right now.
At the same time, Atlanta is a smart team seasoned with valuable playoff experience; and Drew deserves credit for that.
Chicago's half-court offense was a mess against Indiana, meaning Derrick Rose had to walk on water to win the series.
More miracles will be required unless Chicago's supporting cast steps up.
MEMPHIS AND OKLAHOMA CITY
The Memphis-Oklahoma City games were some of the most entertaining, hardest-fought games of the regular season.
Kevin Durant versus Tony Allen was worth the price of admission alone.
This series is literally a blank slate. There's almost nothing to go by.
Kendrick Perkins didn't play in the one game they played after the trade deadline, so it's hard to tell what will happen without seeing Memphis go against Oklahoma City's full rotation.
One thing for sure is that this is a bad matchup for Russell Westbrook.
He is a high-turnover point guard going against a turnover-forcing defense, a formula for disaster.
But Mike Conley could come out and have more costly turnovers than Westbrook.
That's just how unpredictable the games are, and they have always been that way.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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The first round of the playoffs told you all you needed to know about why I refuse to make any.
The games are simply unpredictable.
Bless anyone who tries to make a living betting on these games!
They are stressful enough with nothing at stake.
Every first-round series was incredible, as far as the quality of play, and this round looks to be even better.
Each series is full of intrigue, and it is impossible to pick a winner or pick the series which will be the most competitive or the most entertaining.
But we'll have the answer to every question in two weeks.
BOSTON AND MIAMI
More and more, Erik Spoelstra is proving that he is not a championship coach.
He did a much better job driving the Chevy he had last year than the Cadillac he has now.
This series may tell us all we need to know about him.
If Miami goes down in six games, it might be time for Pat Riley to start searching his coaching database to bring in a winner.
Rajon Rondo finally revealed what was obvious when watching him play at the end of the season, that he wasn't 100 percent.
He was better against New York in the first round but still didn't look all the way back yet.
Hopefully, another week off did the trick.
Boston is the favorite in the East until they are eliminated from the playoffs.
DALLAS AND LOS ANGELES
This series is another real treat.
Dirk Nowitzki versus Kobe Bryant, two of the greatest players of their era, for the first time ever in the playoffs.
And don't forget about Rick Carlisle against Phil Jackson.
Carlisle has been on the doorstep for several years now but has never broken through.
This is another opportunity.
I remember watching the last time Dallas and Los Angeles met in the playoffs in 1988.
Anything close to that battle would be unbelievable.
ATLANTA AND CHICAGO
The injury to Kirk Hinrich is the perfect example of why you develop your bench by giving them consistent playing time during the season, an area Larry Drew failed miserably in this season.
As I said before, I'm down with the Jeff Teague Movement.
But I'd feel a lot better about him had Drew played him consistently during the season and in the first round against Orlando.
And there's no guarantee Drew will play him against Chicago.
I would take Atlanta's talent over Chicago's talent every day of the week, but Drew hasn't used that talent right all season long.
So there's no reason to think he'll get it right now.
At the same time, Atlanta is a smart team seasoned with valuable playoff experience; and Drew deserves credit for that.
Chicago's half-court offense was a mess against Indiana, meaning Derrick Rose had to walk on water to win the series.
More miracles will be required unless Chicago's supporting cast steps up.
MEMPHIS AND OKLAHOMA CITY
The Memphis-Oklahoma City games were some of the most entertaining, hardest-fought games of the regular season.
Kevin Durant versus Tony Allen was worth the price of admission alone.
This series is literally a blank slate. There's almost nothing to go by.
Kendrick Perkins didn't play in the one game they played after the trade deadline, so it's hard to tell what will happen without seeing Memphis go against Oklahoma City's full rotation.
One thing for sure is that this is a bad matchup for Russell Westbrook.
He is a high-turnover point guard going against a turnover-forcing defense, a formula for disaster.
But Mike Conley could come out and have more costly turnovers than Westbrook.
That's just how unpredictable the games are, and they have always been that way.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Playoff Primer
Everything which happened during the regular season was nothing more than a setup to get us to this moment.
Now the fun begins. And there are a few things to point out, for starters.
The injuries to Arron Afflalo and Timofey Mozgov are really going to hurt Denver.
Denver's depth and low-post defense will be severely impacted in any games those two miss.
The worst coaches who made the playoffs are Larry Drew, Mike D'Antoni and Stan Van Gundy, with Frank Vogel coming dangerously close to joining that group.
The Atlanta and Orlando series will come down to which coach screws up his team less than the other.
Good luck with trying to figure that one out.
Is it now safe to say that New Orleans should have never traded Marcus Thornton, Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic?
And now that we've seen Thornton in Sacramento, Bayless in Toronto and Stojakovic in Dallas is it easier to understand how New Orleans got off to an 11-1 start?
And why they have struggled since?
Miami played its best game of the season against Boston this past Sunday.
They moved the ball like a championship team.
Finally, Boston better hope whatever is wrong with Rajon Rondo gets fixed before the playoffs start; or they might not make it out of the first round.
New York has the team in place to be very dangerous right now.
Ronny Turiaf, Shelden Williams and, to a lesser extent, Jared Jeffries give New York all the center they need.
They may not provide much offense, but when you have Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups you don't need much offense from the center position.
All you need are some nice screens, some safe passes and an offensive rebound every now and then.
New York has the parts, but it is highly doubtful that Mike "small ball" D'Antoni will put them in the right positions to win.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if D'Antoni started Andy Rautins at center for the series.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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Now the fun begins. And there are a few things to point out, for starters.
The injuries to Arron Afflalo and Timofey Mozgov are really going to hurt Denver.
Denver's depth and low-post defense will be severely impacted in any games those two miss.
The worst coaches who made the playoffs are Larry Drew, Mike D'Antoni and Stan Van Gundy, with Frank Vogel coming dangerously close to joining that group.
The Atlanta and Orlando series will come down to which coach screws up his team less than the other.
Good luck with trying to figure that one out.
Is it now safe to say that New Orleans should have never traded Marcus Thornton, Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic?
And now that we've seen Thornton in Sacramento, Bayless in Toronto and Stojakovic in Dallas is it easier to understand how New Orleans got off to an 11-1 start?
And why they have struggled since?
Miami played its best game of the season against Boston this past Sunday.
They moved the ball like a championship team.
Finally, Boston better hope whatever is wrong with Rajon Rondo gets fixed before the playoffs start; or they might not make it out of the first round.
New York has the team in place to be very dangerous right now.
Ronny Turiaf, Shelden Williams and, to a lesser extent, Jared Jeffries give New York all the center they need.
They may not provide much offense, but when you have Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups you don't need much offense from the center position.
All you need are some nice screens, some safe passes and an offensive rebound every now and then.
New York has the parts, but it is highly doubtful that Mike "small ball" D'Antoni will put them in the right positions to win.
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if D'Antoni started Andy Rautins at center for the series.
Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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