A few quick hits before the hype really starts

The Ghost of Red Auerbach vs. The Logo.

Magic and Larry

Russell and Wilt

Rambis Youth and The Human Victory Cigar.

This is going to be a great few days of setting up a compelling NBA final.

You’ll be inundated with looks back and memories between now and Thursday’s Game 1; let’s just say for now that the league couldn’t have scripted a better championship series. Five days of hype and a bunch of games that should set TV ratings standards not set since, well, maybe since Magic and Larry. At least since Michael.

For now, though, let’s look back. The lookahead stuff will come.

Wither the Pistons?

Talk around the arena last night was that it’s an even money bet that Flip Saunders is gone and the coach-in-waiting is ex-Raptor Michael Curry.

And you know it’s on everyone’s mind around here. Second question for Saunders after the game – about 15 minutes after his season ended – is whether he thinks he’ll get whacked.

"That’s not a good question to answer right now,” he said. “I’m sure that’s something Joe (Dumars, the team’s GM) and I will sit down and evaluate.”

Best guess? He’s gone.

It’s only been three seasons (seems like he’s been in Detroit longer, doesn’t it?) but three straight losses in the conference finals might be enough to cost him his job. Saunders has now coached four times in a conference finals and has never won. That’s not a good track record.

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Yes, the Celtics won. Yes, they played a great fourth quarter. Yes, they showed some heart.

But watching Kevin Garnett pass up a dunk or a layup or at least a foul with about 1:40 left and Boston up four to pass off to Rajon Freaking Rondo for a jump shot was a hugely questionable decision and then watching him clank to game-sealing free throws was equally disturbing to Boston fans.

That’s not Big Game play.

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So, I walk out of my room in the wee hours, off to get some fresh air, and almost physically bump into ref Bennett Salvatore, who’s in the next room.

I resisted the urge to ask: “What the hell was that call on Pierce?”

Am sure you saw the play, Pierce pump fakes Richard Hamilton in the air, draws more contact than Brent Barry did on Derek Fisher, somehow gets a shot off that goes in and Salvatore calls an offensive foul on Pierce.

I don’t know if there’s anybody who’s seen every NBA playoff game ever played but that has to be the single worst playoff call ever.

I can’t even think what would be second.

Unreal.

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I’ve probably got enough to put up a mailbag Sunday morning but here’s one leftover from the other day.

Q: Counting the days to the draft has triggered a question for me. Do you think the Raptors have enough trade chips in its roster to compete with other teams to land their missing piece or pieces?
For example, any Toronto piece(s) for the 2nd round pick vs. Chicago piece(s). In my opinion, I would take what Chicago would have to offer rather than what Toronto would have to offer if I were Miami.
Your thoughts please.

Anthony R, Toronto

A: My thoughts are pretty easy to figure out. It depends on what the Raptors and/or Bulls offer in a trade. You can’t say one’s better than the other without knowing specifics and figuring out a team’s specific needs. You may think Chicago has more “good” parts but if they don’t want to lose them and Toronto has something people think is “good” to offer, then that’s a better deal to make.

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A guy goes out for some halftime fresh air on the Palace loading dock and finds himself hanging out with Bob Seeger and Kid Rock.

Very cool.

As was the Porsche that gravelly-voiced Seeger rolled up in just before the game.

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At the end of the first quarter, the goofy jumping-dancing-flipping troupe hits the floor and one of ‘em starts firing little plastic balls out of some toy cannon into the crowd.

Jalen Rose, sitting about five seats over, catches one.

No, he didn’t shoot it.

-

David Copperfield would have been proud.

Rasheed Wallace made himself disappear for almost an entire basketball game.

I don’t know what the Pistons are going to do player-wise this off-season but the sense I’m getting is that any team that wants ‘Sheed can have him.

Comments

[Kevin]

I find watching Sheed a contradiction. He can do so many things well on the floor, yet I never really would like to count on him. I also think of him as a soccer player.
In soccer when the whistle goes everyone seems to look around for someone to blame. That's Sheed. Also in soccer you will see a player act out the injury while leaving his time 11 against 10. I see a lot of Sheed in that with his technicals. Sometimes he puts his team at a disadvantage.

[Adnan Moeed]

Hey Doug...A hypothetical question, I know how you like them. Say BC makes the boldest move in Raptors franchise history and trades their cornerstone & future, CB4 (plus some scrapes), for The Big Ticket before Ainge pulls the trigger. Knowing KG's relationship with Sam & Rasho, are the Raptors a better team, a much better team, or the same? Do they even win a playoff round?

Thanks,
Adnan

Blogger's note: Oh, I'd sure think so; in fact, with the way the East is now, they may have played for a conference championship.

[J. Lee]

Hey Doug,

Got a question for you. I was watching the Orlando pre-draft workouts, there was this player(I forget his name) but this player played in the D-League last season and his team won the D-League championship. I am assuming he did not get drafted last year and was wondering why this player was at the pre-draft workouts to begin with? Is he eligible to go back into the draft or was he there as a free agent??

Blogger's note: I don't know who you're talking about, unfortunately; I'll check with the Raptor people the first of the week and see what's up
But if a guy played in the D League last year, he's not eligible to be drafted

[GM]

"the league couldn’t have scripted a better championship series" Exactly! That is, if you read your statement to mean that the league did, indeed script this series. I've been a basketball junkie since 1979 and was a huge fan of Magic's Lakers. Those Lakers-Celtics finals were great. However, that was a long time ago. I'm thinking I'm not going to watch a second of this final. On the one hand we have Phil Jackson going for his 10th ring. Who needs that? On the other hand, we have the prospect of Kevin Garnett scowling his way to his first. Who needs that? I've never had a final where I couldn't cheer for one team before. Yech. And it doesn't help that the perception is that it was aided in large part by the league, with bogus calls from questionable officials.

[Alex H]

From now on, any blatantly terrible foul calls should be labelled "pulling a Salvatore." Nice ring to it, I think.

[Rob]

Hey Doug, long time!

Re: I don’t know what the Pistons are going to do player-wise this off-season but the sense I’m getting is that any team that wants ‘Sheed can have him.

Would you include our Raptors as "any" team and do you think there would be interest on Colangelos part. He's still a great defensive player and could reall yhelp Bosh.

Blogger's note: Rasheed Wallace here? For the one year left on his deal? No way, can't see it happening in any way, shape or form.
Why would Toronto have interest in an over-priced big who plays the same position as the team's best player?

[Marc]

Not only was the call on Pierce not the worst call ever, it was actually the correct call, check the replay. It was a subtle move by Pierce but with the camera view coming from the Boston backcourt there was no doubt about it.

Blogger's note: We will respectfully agree to disagree on this one, I'm afraid.

[Jonathan Aneja]

So when I first saw that Pierce play I totally agreed it was a horrible call, but after seeing it from an angle behind Pierce I actually think Salvatore was *right*.

He didn't call a charge, he called an offensive blocking foul (see the 51 second mark of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5xQExrt0aA). There's a difference.

Hamilton was in the air and heading toward an *unoccupied* area on the floor. The rule at any level is he has a right to land there. If an offensive player slides over after a player's in the air its the exact same thing as a defensive player sliding in after an offensive player has taken off for a layup. The offensive player has the right to land, and the defensive player came in too late.

At the 43 second mark of the video you can clearly see Pierce slide over a good foot or two into an airborne Hamilton's path. That's the right call.

From section 2 of http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_a.html?nav=ArticleList:
"A player is never permitted to move into the path of an opponent after the opponent has jumped into the air."

Refs make mistakes, the NBA admits that, but too often we fans complain about calls where we know 1/10th of what an NBA official does about the actual rule governing the situation. The fact that Salvatore got this right the first time without instant replay is mighty impressive.

[Craig A]

I think Salvatore had the right idea. Pierce didn't just lean in to draw the contact - he shuffled over. You could argue that Pierce deserved to be called for a travel instead of the foul, but he definitely didn't deserve to get a four point play out of that situation.

[Joel]

Definitly not the worst call ever, not even close. It shouldn't have been a foul either way, Pierce clearly traveled so I don't know why you think it should have been a 4 point play

[Adam G]

"
I don’t know if there’s anybody who’s seen every NBA playoff game ever played but that has to be the single worst playoff call ever.
I can’t even think what would be second.
Unreal.
"

Doug, I saw both of those plays, and I fully agree with both decisions. The Fisher situation was a no-call because Barry moved his body, and especially his head, forward and into Fisher. Barry initiated contact.

In the Pierce situation, it was an offensive foul because Hamilton jumped at - but beside - Pierce to block the shot. Pierce saw him go up, and took a side step that put him under the Piston's landing spot. Moving into another player's landing spot is a foul.

[bballer]

the player who was in the dleague i think is mike taylor who is about 21 years old and spent one year in college. he is listed on draft express. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Mike-Taylor-5211/

i don't know how it works but he is eligible to be drafted. if this is the case, why don't some players just bypass college, go to the dleague and get paid. or do the players not realize that can be an option. you can sign on as a free agent. to be eligible for the draft you have to be 1 year removed from your graduating class or 19 years of age. it stands the same for americans as well as international players.

[RS]

Hey Doug,

I believe I can answer the question about the D-league player in Orlando. I think he was played for Iowa State and got kicked off the team. He was then allowed to play in the D-league, but has never been through the draft process. I believe his last name is Taylor.

[Uncle Zeke]

Rasheed Wallace is on a deal that only pays in the range of 11 million for his last year. Clearly not overpaid by any stretch of the imagination- not much more than the deal Nesterovic is working on and he's clearly no Nesterovic... Rasheed has been guarding centers for the last several years and remains one of the best big man defenders in the NBA. If you think he couldn't immensely help the Raptors then by all means keep enjoying the Nestero/Humphries tag-team...

Blogger's note: Actually, the contract pays him $13,680,000 and if I thought he was the one piece that would get the Raptors to the NBA Final next year, he'd be worth it. As a one-year rental on a team with other glaring needs? A guy who plays the same position as Toronto's best player? Sorry