Jack’s Blog

Each year, the NBA’s contending teams make moves they hope will pay off with a title.  This past NBA season saw a flurry of activity, with each move trumpeted as “the one” to push that team ahead of the others.

In San Antonio, the addition of Richard Jefferson was supposed to add offense and athleticism to the (aging) Big Three (Duncan, Parker & Ginobli).  The Spurs never have replaced the lockdown defense that Edison (Fresno) High’s Bruce Bowen gave them.  With Jefferson, a hard-to-guard three man, moving into the lineup, the thought was the Spurs would be a formidable threat.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison.  People who praised the move said he’s still a beast (for brief periods) and one who could guard Dwight Howard.  In addition, the big guy wanted to show he’d gladly be regulated to sidekick so he could to bring a championship to the Cavs (mainly LeBron) like he did for DWade.  Critics of O’Neal said opponents would put him in pick & roll situations, a fact not denied by anyone in basketball.  Jamison was supposed to take some of the scoring load off of James.

The Orlando Magic, came so close last year to winning it all, but having lost Hedo Turkoglu, realized they needed serious help - which came in the form of Vince Carter.  Never have fans and pundits swayed to and fro when it came to assessing whether obtaining VC was a good move or not.  They’d win and - if Carter played well - the blockbuster move was brilliant.  A Magic loss, or a few in a row, and VC was the on the receiving end of brutal criticism.  One reason was that there was no move the Magic could have made that would have replaced what they lost in Torkoglu’s game.

Boston made a huge move when they acquired Rasheed Wallace.  Sheed gets a bad rap from fans, mainly because of his on court rantings and the number of T’s he picks up.  However, talk to any NBA insider and they’ll tell, to a man, what a great teammate and locker room guy Wallace is.  Then, late in the season, the Celtics picked up controversial and talented Nate Robinson from the dysfunctional Knicks - a move that paid off exactly as Doc Rivers had predicted.

However, the Lakers addition of Ron Artest, also a lightning rod for controversy, paid off the most.  Why?  Because LA won the championship and as the saying in professional sports goes:

“Winning isn’t everything.  It’s . . . Forget it, winning IS everything.”

 Â

Kendrick Perkins should have read my blog yesterday.  For those you who haven’t - and thank you to the many who contacted me by posting a comment, emailing me with kind words or calling my cell phone (I’m starting to figure out this “power of the Internet” thing everybody’s always talking about), the blog was about NBA players complaining - about every call - and even some of the non-calls too.

In this case, while Perkins does need to maintain better control over his emotions (after all, the game is about more than just him), the subsequent technical foul called by veteran official Eddie F. Rush was flat-out wrong.  While Perkins displayed disagreement, he was walking away from the action - and Rush.  There was absolutely no reason, other than Rush’s ego, for him to make that call.  And because it’s Perkins’ seventh technical of the post-season (who said Rasheed Wallace doesn’t have influence over the Celtics?), he, by rule, merits an automatic one game suspension.

The way the series has made a turnaround, the likes of which haven’t been seen since . . . yesterday, when the Phoenix Suns tied their series with the Lakers, the Celtics look like Friday’s game in Boston, although they still lead 3-2, is a must game.  Consider that they lost Game Four and then got hammered last night.  That means should they go down in Game Six, the deciding game will be in Orlando.  Don’t think that after winning three in a row and heading home the Magic won’t be a prohibitive favorite.  In a game of Friday’s magnitude, Boston had better have everyone on its roster.  Which definitely includes their starting center.

Doc Rivers (have you ever seen a calmer guy in such a stressful situation?) mentioned that, had Rush known the call would have automatically disqualified Perkins from Game Six, he probably wouldn’t have made it.  Slick move.  Why antagonize a league that holds in their hands the decision as to whether Doc’s club has to go into a pressure-packed game short-handed?  Plus, if he complains, he 1) gives his guys a reason to justify losing (it was the referee’s fault) and 2) gets hit with a fine which, in the current state of affairs, just adds insult to injury (to his bank account).

What Eddie Rush did reminds me of a story the late Jim Valvano used to tell.  In an NC State game in which V was coaching, he complained to an official about a call.  The ref hit him with a technical foul.  When Jim asked the guy why what he said deserved a tech, the zebra turned to him and said, “Jim, you showed me up.”

Valvano said to the guy (and this line should be retold at every officials’ meeting):

“Showed you up?  Who the hell do you think came to watch YOU!” Â

For a couple of years the “in” offense to run in high school and college has been the Dribble, Drive Motion.  It’s an offense predicated on the player with the ball being able to beat his defender off the dribble.  He then continues to the basket or kicks the ball out for a three point attempt by the teammate whose defender helped on the drive.  Should a post defender step up, the pass is made to the offensive post player for a layup or dunk.

The concept is based on the fact that most players are better offensively than their opponents are defensively.  This makes sense.  Think about the last time you drove, jogged or walked past a basketball court.  What did you see?  Kids shooting, dribbling, maybe even passing.  Ever see a kid doing defensive slides?  Ever have a kid jump out from behind a tree and take a charge on you?

One aspect this offense does not allow are screens.  Another is the mid-range game, i.e. the short jump, two-point jump shot.  It’s just not a part of the philosophy.  Many teams run this offense and many win.  Others run it and lose but that’s true with any offense.  In a large majority of cases talent dictates the winner of a game anyway.  Maximizing the squad’s talent is the coach’s job.

In the NBA, principles of the DDM are used but if a rule were passed that outlawed screening, NBA offenses, as we know them, would cease to exist.  Same for the mid-range jumper.  Take, for example, the four teams that remain.  Well, three because the Orlando Magic have yet to find an effective offense to run against the Boston Celtics (however, what they ran in the first two series worked fine as they swept both). 

The Lakers run the now-famous (or since the Bulls won their six titles) triangle offense.  Movement is predicated on where the ball goes.  Cutting and passing are of paramount importance. 

Phoenix’s offense would be hardest hit if a “no screen” was implemented as on nearly every possession someone is setting a screen for Steve Nash.  This strategy makes sense since Nash is a reincarnation of John Stockton, i.e. a guard who only needs a screener to get a piece of his defender, free him for a split second while he surveys the floor for a pass to the screener, a pass to another of his teammates (whose defender has left him to help stop the ballhandler) or a drive to the bucket for himself.  He also can split the two defenders and pass, drive or shoot or a jump shot - whether inside the three-point line or beyond it (if the defender chose to go under the screen).  If this sounds difficult to guard, ask the Lakers who tried in vain last night.

Finally, the Boston Celtics have a variety of offensive sets (if it were up to Rajon Rondo, they’d fast break every time).  One of the plays the Celts run has Ray Allen run off multiple screens.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  One is that Ray Allen is one of the premier shooters ever to wear an NBA uniform.  Yet another is that chasing Allen around that many screens and taking that many hits - from bodies like Kendrick Perkins, Big Baby Davis, Kevin Garnett (and his pointy elbows) and Rasheed Wallace (who will hit you with any and everything he can) - wears out a defender.  Because that defender becomes an offensive player when the ball exchanges hands, often there’s not much energy left to play at the offensive end.  Most great offensive players won’t give up their points, so they glide on defense, allowing Allen open shots.

Dribble, Drive Motion is the rage at the levels below the NBA, but don’t expect to see it take over at the professional level as long as screening is allowed.  Which only means:

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” (or “score a ball”).

While players always talk about taking it “one game at a time,” bloggers have the liberty to look ahead.  As far as the current NBA playoffs, why not?

The Lakers are up 2-0, having won both games at the Staples Center.  But their wins were more than just holding home court.  Phoenix just doesn’t look like a team that even thinks they can beat the Lakers.  Granted, they do make the outcomes tantalizingly close, but in the end, it’s too much - what’s the new (new, as in a few years now) word - length.  Teams used to be tall.  Nowadays tall’s not enough.  Your team has to be long too.  And if you don’t understand what I’m referring to, just watch the Lakers.  Long fits them - with no explanation necessary. 

The other series is also 2-0, but looks even worse for the team in the hole.  Orlando has lost both games at home and just doesn’t seem to have an answer for the Celtics’ - for lack of a better description - game plan.  If anyone listens to the TV broadcast, they’d have to be pretty dense if they didn’t come away with the point that color commentator Mark Jackson feels the best way for the Magic is NOT to run the initial offense through Dwight Howard, especially if they feel there best option is to have Howard try to score with his back-to-the-basket game.

So, rather than dissect the remainder of those games, let’s jump ahead to the Lakers and the Celtics (inevitable) series.  The match ups are fascinating.  Fisher vs. Rondo at the point.  If Fish thought guarding Steve Nash was a difficult task (and it is), he might consider using some sick leave against Boston.  However, where the Magic struggle guarding Ray Allen - chasing him around all those screens (not exactly Vince Carter’s forte) - LA has a couple of guys who are rather adept defenders.  Whether Kobe or Ron Artest guards Allen isn’t as much of a concern because their defensive prowess is such that the other could D-up Paul Pierce.  Now, defending Pierce isn’t a slice of heaven but being shadowed by Bryant or Artest is no day at the coast either.  In addition, one of those Celts (but probably not both at the same time, as the Suns discovered in Game 2) has to guard Kobe - and that takes several ounces of energy, as well as providing a feeling of humility.

Next, the match up of Gasol and KG.  Advantage?  I’d give it to whichever guy is on offense.  Finally, Perkins and Bynum, the nearly forgotten fifth starters, might be the X-Factor, although because each club has a deep bench, the center position is, more than likely, a wash.  So, what about the benches?  Both provide spark. 

Odom (in reality a starter) is probably the most talented of anyone not out there for the opening jump, but Big Baby and Tony Allen have found their confidence.  ‘Sheed never lost his.  On the other side, Jordan Farmar has made momentum shifting plays (example: last night) and Shannon Brown can be a freakish human highlight video.

Not lacking for interest - or impact - is the coaching match up between two master motivators, Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.

One day at a time?  Sorry, as far as most fans are concerned. the cry is:

“Bring it on!” Â

Simple.  Because they have a better team.

Compare the personnel.  When everybody’s healthy, it’s not even close.  Boston might be old, but they’re still incredibly talented.  KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are as good as about anyone at their positions.  Rajon Rondo has emerged as an elite point guard - scoring, passing and controlling tempo.  Kendrick Perkins is a perfect fifth starter, mainly because he doesn’t care that he’s the fifth starter.  He guards, rebounds and gives all-out effort.  Their bench - Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen and Glenn (Don’t call me) “Big Baby” Davis - gives them more than just point production.  Their major gift to the team is that there isn’t a great drop-off when they enter the game.

As far as the Cavs, one thing that exposed them was the playoffs format.  The dancing, posing, and jovial attitude that a team can display prior to each game is fun during the regular season, but it gets old when a playoff series starts - because if you do it before game one, what’s left for game two?  and three, and . . . ?  To sum it up, Cleveland was very talented - maybe relying too much on one guy, but, then again, that one guy is someone who can bring it every night - during the regular season.

Playoff basketball is about familiarity, adjustments and is, simply put, a grind.  LeBron will be “game-planned” for - and if something’s not working, the opposing coaching staff will make the changes so whatever beat them in one game won’t in the next one.  The attitude the Cavs displayed during the season has been called immature, but it might be more accurately called unprofessional.  And when you run up against a veteran, totally professional organization, coached by a master motivator - with “game cred” because he was there and performed - and has continually worked at improving his craft, his way of handling business will beat the loosey-goosey outfit every time.

As far as Boston upsetting Cleveland, as an old friend of mine used to say:

“It ain’t no upset if it’s supposed to happen.”   Â

After 82 games (many of those last week being played by guys who won’t see much action from here on out, so the key guys would be well-rested), the NBA playoffs are finally here.  It sure seems like a long season just to eliminate less than half the teams.

The final week of the NBA schedule was like training camp - it gave most teams a chance to see some of its “prospects” in game action, even though the games meant nothing.   Except for the Bulls and Raptors (and with Chris Bosh’s season-ending injury, it was much better for all concerned the Bulls got the 8th spot) and, maybe, a few others jockeying for a chance to move up a spot, most of the teams were resting for the playoffs (or the lottery). 

Now, the level of play will certainly ratchet up several notches (except for Joakim Noah, Chris “The Birdman” Anderson and Edjuardo Najera who are always ratcheted up) and interest in the NBA will increase in direct proportion.  I know many basketball coaches who won’t watch a pro game until the playoffs.  Ask them why and they’ll say they’re bothered by the less-than-all-out effort during the regular season.  Ask them why they like the playoffs and the answer’s usually, because then, we get to watch the greatest athletes in the world.

When the season began, and even as it progressed, many thought a Lakers-Cavs showdown was inevitable.  Now, there are diverse opinions as to whether either or both may not even be there when the finals roll around (in June, as amazing as that sounds).  Will Shaq’s return raise the level of Cleveland’s game (after all, he is one of the greatest players to ever put on a uni and has four championships on his resume) or will his presence slow them down, clog the lane and mess with what’s been pretty good chemistry to date?  He’s allegedly been working out during Cavs’ games - even on the road, where he burns a game’s worth of calories by riding the bike and working out in the weight room, on the road as well as home.  Supposedly, he’s in the best shape of his career and totally focused on fulfilling his promise of bringing a championship to Cleveland.  Shaq has been known to blow smoke every once in a while, however.

How about LA?  Is Kobe’s finger healed?  Don’t ask him.  We know what that answer will be - even if he comes out to shoot with only four of them on his hand.  What about the addition of Ron Artest?  He’s a lightning rod for controversy, but has also been a lockdown defender - and if his head is right, he’d be an major asset.  Incredible as it sounds for someone of his talent, all he’s expected to be is a role player, albeit a significant role.

Consider the potential road blocks for these two along the way.  Although Boston occasionally looks old, the every other day off format of the playoffs aids veteran teams.  Think all the way back to the Celtics when Bill Russell was at the end of his career and the Knicks a few years later.  Because of KG’s injury last season, the Celts still consider themselves the defending champs, i.e. no one’s beaten them when they’ve been at full strength.  As for their X factor, Rasheed Wallace has a bad rep with officials (and deservedly so), but, throughout the league, he’s known as a great locker room guys and is as crafty as he is talented.   Plus, now is the time Doc Rivers is at his button-pushing best.  The flu bug has hit Boston (mainly Rajon Rondo and Glen “Big, But Don’t Call Me Baby” Davis), but what could cause Boston to be really sick is if Dwayne Wade takes over the games, as he is able - and prone - to do.

There are those who feel Orlando will repeat in the East (and they have the best chance to take down the Cavs) but they have to get through Charlotte first.  Larry Brown is as good as any coach at game-planning and now that he has quelled the rumor that he’s headed to the Clips or the Nets (for at least a week), the Bobcats and Magic series is an intriguing one.

Forget even attempting to handicap the West.  The Mavs had a terrific season, got the number two seed and their reward is they get to play the Spurs.  All the other match-ups in this division are just as compelling.  In a best-of-seven series, it’s usually the better team that wins.  Yet, with all the injuries this year, no one’s sure which is the better team!

The games start today, so as far as analyzing the NBA playoffs any further, it’s time to follow the advice from the Al Pacino-Robert DeNiro movie, Heat, in which the famous exchange ends with the line: 

“Yeah, stop talking, OK, Slick?” Â

The major contenders for the Larry O’Brien trophy as the best professional basketball team in the world each made big moves in the off-season.  Some were better than others, e.g. Rasheed Wallace wearing green and Ron Artest joining the Lake Show.  But the other three, namely, the Cavs (obtaining Shaq), the Magic (picking up VC) and the Spurs (adding Richard Jefferson) also made moves designed to gain their ultimate goal - winning an NBA Championship.

Somehow, the Memphis Grizzlies were mistakenly sent the same memo, or decided to read tea leaves, and they, too, spent money in the free agent market - on Allen Iverson.  Make no mistake about it, there is an I in Iverson and, as far as the talented (elderly) vet is concerned, there’s an I in every other word he knows.  It didn’t take long for AI to start his bickering, just a few games into the season, after playing fewer minutes than he wanted.  He talked about how he can still put up big numbers - as if that alone is the mark of a championship caliber team.

Face it, the guy’s probably a lock for the Hall-of-Fame, and deservingly so, after all he got out of a rather frail body in a game dominated by giants.  But another thing that must be faced is that the Grizzlies are much closer to being a lottery team than they are to being a contending team - and if he thought that Memphis, with a good, young nucleus, was going to revamp its entire system so that he could be the centerpiece -(or what? - the gratification of his ego - which is and always has been inversely proportional to his body), then he’s as foolish as people - for years - have been making him out to be. 

And so are the Griz.  A few of the talking heads and scribes have said that they shelled out the dough because they thought the ROI would more than balance in their favor - meaning tickets sales would escalate.  Do they really believe that people want to shell out hard earned bucks (and was there ever a more fitting term in today’s economy than “hard earned”?) to watch a bunch of young, talented players (of the future) hang out with a guy who’s at the end of his career (unless you ask AI who’d probably tell you he has another good two or three . . . decades left to play).  That feeling must come from his thinking of what in the world he would do if he stopped playing basketball.  I’m just saying, don’t be surprised to see Iverson play overseas after his NBA run is over. 

Sometimes it’s that way with one dimensional people who have the ability to focus so intently on one thing, they lose the ability to see anything else.  It’s understandable for Iverson to feel the way he does.  It’s not, however, at all clear to figure the motives of the Memphis franchise.

My late mentor, John Savage, used to say:

“Some people are a mile wide and an inch deep, while others (AI) are an inch wide and a mile deep.”Â

All the talk of the number of “elite” teams in the NBA and how exciting a (playoff) season it’s going to be (as long as you don’t happen to live near a city that houses a “dog” team - of which there are several) might be right on the mark.  But (granted, we’re only three games into the 2009-10 campaign), the Boston Celtics seem determined to let the rest of the league know it does not, by any means, feel they had a chance to rightfully defend their title from ‘07-’08.

Make no mistake about it, the Los Angeles Lakers won it all last year and did so in very convincing and impressive fashion, but the Men In Green didn’t have their leader, KG, and are playing like they want to (in their minds) three-peat.  Jumping to conclusions not even 1/27th into a looooong season?  Probably.

But consider what’s transpired to date.  The three main contenders (Boston, LA and Cleveland - I think San Antonio and Orlando are a notch, if not a notch-and-a-half below those three) came into the fray with guns blazing - player, fan and media expectation-wise.  Cleveland dropped their first two.  Not to worry; there was talk of the team just needing to get used to having such a force as Shaq and exactly where he was going to fit into the general scheme and . . .

Then, after pasting the hapless Clippers (especially without Blake Griffin who, by all accounts could be a great one), the Lakers got thrashed - at home - by Dallas, a team that always is in the talk for the championship, yet somehow finds a way to bow out.  Could it be that all the complaining and “conspiracy” talk that Mavs’ owner, Mark Cuban, espouses every year turns their season into a self-fulfilling prophecy? 

Meanwhile, Boston has started 3-0, but more impressively, has cruised to their victories.  They opened on the road against the sexy pick for this year, the Cavs, who, in the off-season, picked up Shaquille O’Neal, a once dominant player who is still a load inside, but no longer commands a double team, struggles to get up and down the floor (never a strength of his to begin with, but most of the other clubs he played on used to wait for the big fella and these guys don’t) and is a major liability when having to guard in a pick & roll (or pop) situation (as I blogged on 10/27 regarding a “repeat champion” this year - meaning the Lakers or the Celtics). 

While the score was 95-89, there were many lessons learned.  One was LeBron can’t be stopped (he hung 38 on Boston), but no matter his numbers, they still don’t guarantee a Cavs’ win.  Another is Boston morphs from a really good team into a nearly impossible one to beat when Kevin Garnett is healthy.  And, lastly, while Shaq was a key acquisition for Cleveland, the summer’s best move may have been the Celtics signing Rasheed Wallace, who people outside the game think is a problem child, but NBA insiders realize is not only a good player, but a great teammate. 

The Celtics followed the road win by unmercifully pounding the Charlotte Bobcats, 92-59.  In case the reader had any doubt about what a “dog” team was, Charlotte qualifies.  Next, the Shamrocks manhandled the Chicago Bulls, a team coming off a victory the preceding night against one of the other “elite” teams, the San Antonio Spurs.  The Celts might have been sending a message for last year’s first round playoff scare the Bulls gave them by taking the series to the seven game limit.  The game was 50-35 at the half and got worse from there, culminating in a bench-clearing 118-90 victory.

While it’s too early to declare the Celtics the champions, barring injuries (and if anyone’s figured out how to do that, they’re not divulging it), I’d make the same wager that’s become popular in a golf tournament involving Tiger Woods: the Boston Celtics vs. the field.  And you can have the field.  As American cartoonist Scott Adams said:

“There are many methods for predicting the future.  For example, you can read horoscopes, tea leaves, tarot cards or crystal balls.  Collectively, these methods are known as ‘nutty methods.’  Or you can put well-researched facts into sophisticated computer models, more commonly referred to as ‘a complete waste of time.’ “

I guess that’s why they play the games.

My reasoning for the 2009-10 NBA season to have a repeat champion is not only because last year’s winners, the Los Angeles Lakers, got appreciably better by replacing Trevor Ariza, a vital piece of their championship club, with Ron Artest.  To sum up that move, the Lakers replaced a poor man’s Ron Artest with the real thing.  Ariza’s skill set is virtually identical to Artest’s, but the latter has been performing that role better and for longer than the former.

A shrewd move by the Lakers’ once (and often) villified GM Mitch Kupchak, who, upon realizing injuries to the Rockets’ Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady were going to preclude Artest from signing there, leapt at the opportunity of substituting the promising and talented Ariza for the proven and talented (and volatile) Artest.  That last adjective, for all the Laker-haters (of which there many), will be the difference between last year’s Kobe-led Lakers (all bowed to the captain) and this year’s version.  Because Ron Artest bows to no one! 

Don’t believe the chemistry issues people are talking about (hoping for in the case of the Laker bashers).  Ron Artest might be a charter member of the P-I-T-A club, but he’s no fool.  He, as well as anyone, knows how difficult it is to play against Kobe and will relish the opportunity to play alongside him.  No one, no matter how inflated an ego (I’ll go out on a limb and even say AI, the one from Memphis, not the one from Philly - how soon they forget, Allen) wouldn’t admit that Kobe is better than he is.  Plus, the “in” thing for players from this century is “the ring” - and between them, Bryant and Artest have four, all belonging to Kobe.  If ever Ron will be on his best behavior, this coming season will be it.

However, that’s not the only reason I am predicting a repeat champion.  You see, in my mind, the Celtics were the champions and as soon as KG went down, they never had a chance to repeat.  While LA was certainly a deserving champion, I don’t feel as if they dethroned the Celtics. It was more like Boston took a sabbatical.

Now, with a healthy Garnett (and all that comes with him, e.g. the competitive fire that he morphs into superleader), the Men in Green are back to truly defend their crown.  Maybe not legally - as far as the NBA historians are concerned - but in their minds.  Sure they’re a year older (Pierce & Ray Allen - along with KG), but that is a positive when it comes to Rondo, Big Baby and Kendrick Perkins.

Plus, the Celtics made a huge deal - also for a potential hothead - in Rasheed Wallace.  Yet, if you ask anyone in the league, the answers border on unanimous that ‘Sheed is a major positive factor in the locker room.  He’ll have to tone down his confrontational attitude toward the refs (good luck with that) and the opposing fans (but his teammates will have his back when and if that ever comes into play).  In the meantime, Boston now has not one, but TWO big men who can score both in and out.  Meetings about the defensive game plan against the Celtics just got quite a bit longer.

The other contenders?  Orlando?  Sorry, Vince Carter gives them much more explosiveness but any reasonable person who watched them play in last year’s playoffs has got to come to the conclusion that losing Hedo Turkoglu hurts them more than two  VC’s would help.  A 6′10″ guy who can run the point of a “pick & roll/pop” is infinitely more difficult to replace than a slasher.

The Cavs?  Shaq will have to do more for them than he did for the Suns.  If he does (not including pregame choreography, which everyone in the NBA is conceding to the Cavs), they have a chance.  But pulling Shaq out to guard in P&R situations is a detriment to their defense.  And, really, how much better can LeBron play?  Admittedly, that’s a frightening thought. 

The Spurs?  Adding Richard Jefferson was a nice move, but they weren’t as close as everyone would like us to believe last year.  Age (and the nagging, if not serious, injuries that go hand-in-hand) can work to their disadvantage as well.   

So, . . . whether either the Lakers or the Celtics win it all, it will say “Repeat” to me.  How do I know this?  I learned it from none other than Dr. Benjamin Spock who said:

“Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do.”

After all the woe-is-you talk, mostly from the media, following their Game 1 loss to the Lakers, somehow, the coaching staff got the Nuggets ready (or they got themselves - or each other - ready) for Game 2.  Questions coach George Karl had to face (mere minutes after losing a game they had control of - against the odds-on favorite to win the West and one of two favorites to win it all): “After such an absolutely gut wrenching loss, how can you possibly get your team ready for game 2?” and “Every game you’ve lost in the playoffs so far has been by two points.  Is there a reason for that?”

Regarding the latter question, it was easy to see in Karl’s body language that he wanted to unload on this asinine scribe what he truly felt about that question, but he contained himself and made mention of the fact that in one game, they were way behind and caught up, only to lose at the end; in another game, they lost on a last second shot, etc.  In other words, the only things those games had in common were that all were decided by two points and the Nuggets lost each.  Sometimes, pure coincidence is the answer.  It’s impossible to say, that because a few games were decided by a couple points and the same club lost each one, that there’s anything more to analyze but coincidence.  It’s not baseball, hockey or soccer where there may be a similar thread that will explain this string of events, but in basketball, in which a total of 200+ points are usually scored, finding the common link among two-point games isn’t nearly as simple.

So, last night they won by three.  If Derek Fisher’s last shot had gone in, the game would have gone to overtime and, possibly LA might have won by two.  What would be the parallel between that and the first game?  None that I can tell.

The NBA Playoffs are usually highly competitive games - because you have the better teams playing (this year, it’s the two #1 seeds, a #2 and a #3).  Everyone is playing the hearts out (with the exceptions being that occasionally Bynum and Odom are seemingly excluded - from the looks of it, by personal choice).  The regular season might seem like a drag, but when the playoffs start, an infusion of adrenaline takes place.  In addition, some guys just start acting differently, e.g. some joke around a little more than usual (distracts them from thinking about the pressure), some may become more withdrawn (realizing there’s so much more on the line now), others become ridiculously superstitious.  Each player has his own way to deal with the added stress of the situation.

The Lakers may have Kobe to thank for losing this one (and possibly others in the future). It is so apparent what a different player Carmelo Anthony is this season (just as the past few blogs have mentioned the same regarding LeBron James and the overall improvement in his game).  When each of them played this past summer for the U.S. Olympic Team (Redeem Team), they needed to make amends for the last group that “represented” our country in 2004.  Anthony and James have admitted on more than one occasion, they were in awe of the workout regimen of Kobe Bryant (and how Jason Kidd conducted himself).  It was the older guys, (Kobe and J Kidd) taking the youngsters under their wings and showing them, not how to be a player, but how to be a professional.  Melo learned well at the foot of the Master.  In the opening game, he was outscore by his mentor, 39 to 40.  But he got the best of Kobe last night by posting 34 to Kobe’s 32.  More importantly, his team won this one.

There’s no more goading those guys into technicals; they’ve grown up (consider it, Rasheed, it’s not in vogue to get the most tech’s) - Melo in his overall attacking the hoop, instead of just settling for threes or long twos.  LeBron looks as if he got a shooter’s touch transplant.  I hope LeBron’s old touch went to someone who wants to works with pottery, because sculpting and molding bricks is an interesting occupation.  With his new found shooting prowess, LeBron found he would be infinitely harder to guard if he could knock down shots, including three’s.  It worked and he is now so much more difficult to hold down to mortal numbers.

Both of these young superstars are vastly improved - and one of the main reasons can be condensed in a line from Warren Buffett:

“I talk with smart people and listen to what they have to say.”Â