How in the world can they top that

Cancel it.

NAM Y. HUH/AP

Who else is exhausted after last night?

Take Game 7 and throw it away, don’t even play it. Never mind who wins. Who cares? After all that the Celtics and Bulls have given us – six compelling games, two with single overtime, one with double-overtime and that one-for-the-ages triple-overtime gem last night – what can we ask of them in Game 7?

Can Ray Allen go for 70? Do you think Joakim Noah will ever do anything more dramatic that make a steal and then out-race Paul Pierce 55 feet for the game winning dunk, foul and free throw? Think Derrick Rose makes a more important defensive play ever than the block he had on Rondo? I swear, the kid smiled! Is Brad Miller, making clutch free throws and three-pointers, ever going to feel any better?

No way.

This has been the single most exciting series I can remember and two ask two exhausted teams to find some way to top it off in Game 7? Ridiculous.

So blow it off, let them spend Saturday night watching video of Games 1-6; let Cleveland and Orlando play for the East and the Lakers and someone play for the West and then let two teams play in the Finals but when it comes time to hand out the trophy? Make sure there are two other teams on the court.

Of course, I’m not being serious because now I’m really looking forward to a Saturday night Game 7 and the resulting hilarity on the in-game blog but I’m also fully expecting a rather drab affair. After all, you can ask for great every night, can you?

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You know who you’ve got to thank for all this, don’t you? The Raptors.

If they don’t drill Chicago on the last night of the regular season, the Bulls don’t finish seventh and none of this happens.

Dare I say that’s another reason not to tank.

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About last night

Not perfect, just dramatic

You know what added to the excitement in Chicago? Just enough mistakes to make us feel the guys playing – with perhaps the exception of Ray Allen – were human.

You had Derrick Rose looking like a scared rookie in the overtimes (and who could blame him), reluctant to drive, tentative with the ball.

You had Rajon Rondo losing his mind – and his game – early with some sort of wacky Classy Freddie Blassy arm-drag takedown attempt on Kirk Hinrich.

Paul Pierce must have zoned out for a minute because the foul he committed on Noah on that steal-drive-game-breaking-play was the single silliest foul I’ve seen in eons.

Maybe the next time Ray Allen, who had barely missed a shot all night, catches it beyond the three-point line with his team down three and about eight seconds left in the game and starts dribbling, some sane-thinking Bull will come off the bench and grab him around the waist because Vinny Del Negro seems to have forgotten that strategy.

Maybe next time, Hinrich will make that layup that would have sealed the deal instead of adding to the already incredible angst around the finish.

It was far from perfect, which made it more compelling.

-

One quick question

Who do you think Tracy McGrady’s betting on in the Houston-Laker series that starts Monday night?

Didn’t T-Mac tell the world Los Angeles was going to win it all last week?

Might make for some interesting time around the Rockets, no?

Anyway, I didn’t stay up for that entire game – I swear, I was exhausted after Bulls-Celtics – but the parts that I did see showed one thing: The Blazers, while great, are too young.

The Rockets, on the other hand, played with poise and composure and Ron Artest, bless his zany heart, was just what he had to be – in charge offensively and defensively and a huge factor for his team.

I don’t know if the Rockets can give the Lakers a series (and luckily I don’t have to do the setup box and prediction on that one for 48 hours or so) but they did show me something against Portland.

They got the game at the pace they liked, Artest and Battier were exceptional and Luis Scola has made a name for himself with casual fans, who now know what scouts and coaches and players have been saying for years – the dude can play.

The big story in Houston? That they got out of the first round, my buddy Jonathan tells you all about it here.

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A wise statement indeed

The Sixers were barely off the court – after being out of the game for most of the night – when a wise man with a penchant for hitting the nail on the head, sent me the following short but telling e-mail:

Philly should be embarrassed.

And well they should.

I know teams that lack stars and starters seem to have a knack for sucking it up for a game or two but for Philadelphia to let Orlando off the hook like that was despicable.

And they fully admit it, as we read here in Marcus’s game story.

But the funny thing? And the issue that’s going to haunt the Sixers for a while? The one guy they needed more than anyone else in that entire series was Elton Brand. A low-post presence, a big who can shoot, a guy you can throw the ball to in the slow-down moments of a playoff series.

No idea how they can integrate him into that system with those players in an 82-game schedule and be successful (they sure didn’t figure it out this season, did they?) but when the playoffs roll around, he’s the kind of guy they need.

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Usual growing pains

I know they feel like crap out in Portland today, who wouldn’t?

But the experience they gleaned in this playoff series – the first for so many of them – will be absolutely invaluable as they move on.

They’ll know the pressure, the intensity, the need to take care of every single possession better; they’ll be wiser and more experienced next year and I fully expect them to make even greater gains than they did this past season.

Think of them as this year’s Atlanta Hawks from a calendar year ago, except dramatically more talented and deep in my opinion. The Blazers seem to have the mental attributes that will allow them to learn from this rather than cower from it.

And they know it, as Kerry Eggers tells us here.

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One from the very light mailbag, which will likely be up tomorrow morning in all its glory:

Q: Hey Doug, I was hoping you could help settle a gentleman's wager that I have with a friend of mine. Do you think there is any chance at all that the likes of Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are going to wind up in the Hall of Fame one day?

Craig P, Halifax

A: In my opinion, there isn’t a chance in hell that either of them gets into the Hall of Fame short of buying a ticket.

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I would love now to give you a few little Raptors nuggets, tease you with coming player moves or somesuch but, alas, another dead quiet day.

So, I’ll answer a question about it:

Q: Doug, does it seem that with each passing day without an announcement that it’s less likely that Triano will be asked back? If JP knew he wanted him, wouldn't he have made the decision public by now? Does this time mean that he is taking time to see who else is available before he makes this decision?

John G, Toronto

A: No, it means everyone took a week or so off after the season to decompress, Bryan and Maurizio are in Berlin for the EuroLeague Final Four and things are progressing on about the timeline we all expected, which is a resolution sometime in the first couple of weeks of May. And from every indication I’m getting, I still fully expect that resolution to be Jay gets the job.

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Okay, that’s it (sorry I was late, some technical difficulties here at Casa Doug) until we do the morning mailbag tomorrow and, of course, you should join me sometime just before 8 tomorrow night to see what Chicago and Boston might have in store for us.

Comments

[Bball]

Doug, I am not a conspiracy theorist but I just googled the 1985 draft lottery for Patrick Ewing and if you look carefully at it, City Country is right when he/she says that the corner of the envelope is bent on the 1st envelope taken out. Also, Stern grabs 2 envelopes and then turns them over and takes the bottom one as the first envelope. I invite you and others to take a look at the video clip. Here is a link. If you pause the video just as he grabs and removes the envelope, you will notice a bent corner on the right hand side. See for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgJE7C5wiU

Personally, I don't think games are decided but I agree that in some cases they can be easily influenced - which is easily done by calling fouls against certain players or teams.

[Rob]

Peter, totally agree with you on this, although I will say that TSN is much better than sportsnet when it comes to basketball highlights and coverage

That said I've come to realize after spending time in the US and watching their highlight shows on ESPN and ESPN2 that it's virtually impossible to find one that suits my needs perfectly.

[Steve]

How much of Sportsdesk (or is it sportscenter now?) did you watch. They showed lots of highlights included clips from the Artest press conference. Mind you it was after the hockey highlights.

[jimmie]

The conspiracy theories about fixing games is nonsense.

There's been some bad officiating this post-season, and at key times in games, but it's not much different than every other year. The league does not fix games -- the financial risks attendant with ever getting caught are way too high for smart businessmen to even contemplate such a thing, and really, there's very little for the league to gain by one team advancing over another anyway. Nonsense.

[Mr Will]

Just when you think that this series can’t get any more riveting; the boys from Chicago come from a double digit deficit late in the fourth quarter to pull a triple overtime win, and force a game seven. Clearly, both of these teams deserve major credit. Plain and simple: the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics are clutch.

That being said, the star of last night’s game six was, hands down, Joakim Noah. How many guys are going to (in the third overtime mind you) steal the ball, drive the length of the court, hammer a dunk, get fouled (a foul that benched Paul Pierce), and turn a three point play all within four seconds? This guy was explosive last night.

A close runner up to Noah, of course, was Brad Miller who more than made up for his bricked free throws at the end of game five. He got his payback with interest in this one.

I think that Chicago has given Boston all they can handle in this series, and I believe that game seven belongs to the Bulls. Chicago has the drive and determination to take this series, and have clearly proven that they refuse to stay down. I predict a close Bulls win in the eighth overtime of the series.

-Mr. Will

[Nick]

Where does T-Mac go from here? He is getting old, injury prone, and most importantly, team wins without him. It's like we are seeing another Penny Hardaway in the making.

[John M.]

Just want to let all the raptors fans know that I have venemously and tirelessly been heckling Stephen A. Smith on every article associated with him in the last 8 months and asking ESPN to release that classless clown... My wish (among thousands of others) have finally come to fruition... Smith has let the world know on his new website www.stephenA.com that his last day with ESPN is today (May 1st 2009)... Justice!

[Al]

Polish Hammer - Awesome. I'm not sure we'd have much use for him if we end up bringing back Mr. Mob, Rasho and his forces of freedom.

Go Jays.

[doug]

people sometimes confuse bad officiating with calls, decisions going against their teams...flagrant foul calls are a judgment call just like in the NFL pass interference calls are...in fact I feel that in this years playoffs the officiating has been outstanding, there have been some very well officiated games....whenever a decision falls into the laps of Stu Jackson and the NBA head office it's a no-win situation..and in this particular instance justice was served as Rondo had a dreadful night, and Miller was the feel good story of the night..sure there are times calls influence games that's the nature of them, in hockey you get penalty calls that are called or not called, in football questionable calls that turn the tide....there is no conspiracy that's the nature of sports, the human unknown element both from the players and from the officials...

[WA]

Nick says: "Where does T-Mac go from here? He is getting old, injury prone, and most importantly, team wins without him. It's like we are seeing another Penny Hardaway in the making."

The only difference is without Penny the Suns and Magic struggled, and you could make a case for the Knicks too who made the playoffs with him healthy and sucked with him sitting out in pain (from an undiscovered bone spur until 2006/2007).

[doug]

seems like high spirited exciting playoff b-ball is contagious as today the two Euro-league semi's were played and they were barn-burners and well played games....CKSA Moscow is unbeaten this season today they beat FC Barcelona so they go against Panathinaikos in the finals. Panathinaikos won a helluva game against their greek opponent Olympiacos, who Josh Childress plays for as you know Doug, he was alright but man there was some excellent b-ball there...it will be a classic final game

[Rick]

So Rondo's not suspended for his actions during game 5 and game 6. Considering how much he's gotten away with in terms of bush-leagued antics, how on EARTH does the NBA not suspend him? Really, the league has to draw the string somewhere and say enough is enough to this kid.

[aditya]

marc jackson and the other guy (not JVG) do not seem to know that joel anthony is left-handed after he finishes a left-handed layup/bankshot...thats sad.....