Good feelings for some as an era comes to an end

How easy is it going to be for the lucky souls who get to cover Seattle-Vancouver this round?

Oops. Never mind.

-

Well, that was a helluva run, wasn’t it?

Four championships, no controversy, playing the game the right way, a model franchise that drafted brilliantly and spent wisely, the magic of Manu, The Big Fundamental and a teenage French point guard who grew into one of the best in the game.

Sorry it had to end.

But that’s what happened on Friday night in Memphis, we saw the end of the San Antonio Spurs dynasty – and it was awful close to being exactly that, even if that word gets tossed around too easily – when they bowed to the younger, bigger, quicker Grizzlies.

Was sad, in some ways.

The Spurs, to me, were the benchmark for what an NBA team should be and in this age of over-hyped individual stars who really haven’t done anything, it was a calming thought in a lot of ways.

All the Spurs did was play hard and play smart and win.

But that old team, weak on the wings, not a whole lot of depth, unable to keep up with younger legs, was exposed.

Now what?

Can Pop and RC Buford fix it? Can they find a way to ease Tim Duncan into even more of the supporting role he’s now best suited for?

Can they work some draft magic to rebuild a team better able to compete?

Maybe.

But, to me, instead of wondering what the future holds, today is a day to remember what the past was like.

It was glorious.

I covered a lot the Spurs championships runs – the win over New Jersey, the dramatic seventh game win over Detroit, a bit of the decimation of Cleveland – and it was always a treat to watch them play.

They probably won’t play that way again, and not too many teams will, but it was fun while it lasted; just glad it lasted more than a decade.

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I’m not exactly sure who these 5 Guys are but, I tell you, they make a mean burger.

Got one last night while Super Family deserted me at the new joint by Casa Doug and it was other-worldly. Well done.

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There was one guy I felt really good for, and another I thought an awful lot about as that game unfolded last night.

Not sure if you saw him, and probably didn’t recognize or know him if you did, but sitting behind the Grizzlies bench, taking copious notes, was Gary Schmidt.

He’s Memphis’s advance scout – and a former Canadian national team assistant to Jay back a decade or so ago – and has been with the franchise since the days in Vancouver.

Gary’s spent a lot of long years with that team, we’d commiserate often when he got to Toronto or I’d see him on the road, and I bet he felt a pretty big sense of accomplishment, too.

Advance scouts are a dying breed, I’d say about half the teams in the league actually employ one because most use freelancers as a way to cut costs, and that the organization stuck with him all these years is a good thing.

Of course, it might be the only good thing that carpet-bagging meany Michael Heisley has done but …

The other guy I was thinking of?

Don Poier.

Not sure how many of you remember him but he was for years and years the TV voice of the Grizzlies. He died in 2005 of a heart attack in Denver on a road trip and it would have been one of the highlights of his career had he had the chance to call the team’s first playoff win.

Those are the kinds of guys I think about at moments like Friday night.

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I remember way back in the day, I’m talking mid-90s, and I was chatting around NBA draft time with a guy who worked closely with Isiah and had an idea of how he was thinking.

Talk, as it does, came around to who the Raptors might pick depending on how the draft unfolded and the guy says to me:

“They really like that McDyess kid in Alabama. They think he could be special.”

Guess he was right and with McDyess saying last nigh that he’s definitely done, one of the classiest guys in the league is calling it a career.

I got to know him a little bit during the Vince heyday when they were teammates on the American Olympic team and I have to tell you, he’s a considerate, soft-spoken, first-rate kind of guy and the NBA will be a bit worse off when he leaves.

What he went through – the horrible knee injuries that robbed him of jaw-dropping athleticism – would have sent a lesser man into retirement; McDyess stuck it out through months of rehab, remade his game and never once complained about what had happened.

Good guy.

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So, I couldn’t escape watching some of the Royal Wedding highlights last night and yesterday during the day and, I have to tell you, the hats on some of those people were amazing.

Guess one of the reasons I couldn’t go is that the monarchists probably wouldn’t have appreciated my ball hat with the two beer cans attached to the side with the straws coming out.

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A bit of an interesting one out of the mail.

Oh, and it’s really dead over there in the inbox, can some of you folks kindly help me out? Much appreciated if you were to click right about here, tell me a story, ask me a question and keep me entertained as you so often do.

Q: Hi Doug, before I got to the blog this morning I was already thinking that Orlando would have to consider some big changes this summer, especially with the "Summer of Dwight and Chris Paul" coming

With the Raptors rebuilding, would Bryan be focusing any more on other teams that need to make big changes? Is it possible that we might see Hedo back in a Raptor uniform? (I keed)

Thanks,

 

 

Greg M, Halifax

A: I’ll leave that whole Hedo thing alone lest we start some craziness here.

The wise old man Butch Carter (who really wasn’t that old but who was certainly wise) was a big proponent of trying to pluck guys off teams that feel they’ve under-achieved and teams that might want to make change just to shake things up.

I’m not going to suggest there’s anything afoot with the Magic but I’m sure Bryan will look around the league for teams whose seasons ended in disappointment – and I guess you’d put the likes of Portland, Utah, Detroit, Phoenix, Houston in that group – as a short list of teams he might want to do business with.

I don’t think he’d ignore the other teams but you have to be realistic when you’re testing the waters and the reality is there are teams that need to make moves more than others do and they should probably be the first point of attack.

-

Hmm.

No games today?

What’s a fella to do.

“Super Dad? Can you put in the laundry and then start cleaning up the carnage that is the deck and back yard?”

Ah.

Okay, see ya later folks.

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The Goods On The Game, Spurs at Grizzlies

Welcome back, folks.

Hope it's a nice Friday night wherever you are.

When you're done with the wedding, this is here for you

Man, can you imagine being the bureaucrat who had to come up with all that wedding planning stuff?

Yikes!

Anyway, tea and crumpets all done, can we please get back to some semblance of normal?

Thanks.

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So, what about Orlando?

It’s not exactly a mess but it’s certainly not a good situation and their ouster in six games by the Hawks is sure to raise an awful lot of questions.

Most will circle on Dwight Howard, of course; he’s a free agent after next season, I doubt he’d look at signing an extension this summer before seeing what the lay of the land is in a new CBA and what management might do to improve a somewhat flawed team.

The Magic live and die by the jump shot, in all truth; Howard is a great, great post player and he’s going to get his but the rest of the roster doesn’t provide the support needed.

They don’t have a slasher, really; someone who can explode to the rim and create his own shot on the perimeter. And until they get one, I can’t see that team doing much damage and it may ultimately cost them their best player.

The deal for Gilbert Arenas was an abject failure and his contract will be an albatross for a couple of years to come, depending on any amnesty in a new CBA. But, and this is what I like about some GMs, the fact that Otis Smith went out and made a bold move should be, in many ways, applauded. I’d rather have a proactive manager rather than a reactive one and if gambles don’t pay off … well, they don’t pay off and changes must be made.

The Magic probably weren’t going to win with Vince and Rashard Lewis, and they didn’t win with Turk and Arenas but sometimes you have to try something.

Too bad it didn’t work but it’s going to make for a fun summer in Orlando as they try to fix things again.

-

I wonder which usher is going to, um, meet up with which bridesmaid at the reception?

That still happens at weddings, right?

-

We’re going to have all the next series predictions and fuller breakdowns either here or in the actual paper in either tomorrow or Sunday or Monday (I’m pretty vague, no?) but suffice it to say, I’m leaning towards experience in most of them.

The Oklahoma City-whoever one is kind of intriguing, though.

You’d think if it was the Spurs – and it still may be – San Antonio’s big game history might move the needle in their direction against a team in the second round for the first time.

Except …

Except for the fact what Kevin Durant did last summer – leading scorer, best player, focal point – with the American team at a tough world championships puts him in a unique position.

Even before he’s gone though the true toughness of an NBA playoffs, he’s got huge big-game experience that will serve him well.

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Speaking of Spurs-Grizzlies, I know everyone was up super early Friday morning to watch TV but if you want to stay up late at night, we should probably do an iGBT tonight, no?

Pretty big game, hopefully as exciting as the other night and may as well talk while we watch.

So, be here at 9 p.m., okay?

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Oh yeah, the white dress was really nice and quite understated but the red jacket with the blue sash? Not sure about that.

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Are the Lakers back?

Are the Mavericks now more mentally tough after a great rebound from their Game 4 collapse?

I guess, in the end, no one should be surprised that Los Angeles easily dispatched the Hornets in six games – told you Chris Paul couldn’t win four on his own – but what Dallas did was pretty impressive.

That team wasn’t known for its (a) mental toughness or (b) recent first-round playoff success, shrugged off a choke job of biblical proportions to play two very tidy games and move on.

Maybe it’s the weight off their shoulders they need to really make a run in the next series?

I kind of doubt it but it was a rather thorough and impressive win.

-

Wonder what kind of wedding celebration they had at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese?

I guarantee my day at Derek’s birthday party was better.

-

This is kind of timely out of the mail:

Q: Hi Doug, earlier this week you commented that we may be seeing the future of Brandon Roy - Dominating in one game, passenger for the next. This sounds like a platoon situation, but is that workable in the NBA

Can there be a Garth Iorg who can be equally as good, but in a different way? Would the team have trouble changing the focus of their offence depending on the condition of his knees?

 

Joe U, Markham

A: I think a team would specifically change anything in that regard but most teams have more than enough offensive sets and defensive systems that they could change “focus” so to speak, during any particular game.

That is, if Roy’s got it going, run a lot of stuff for him; if he’s hobbled a bit, maybe cut his minutes a bit.

It’d be a bit of a juggling act but, to me, the nights he could be good are more than worth the nights he’s so-so.

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Okay, now that I was able to practically totally ignore the wedding, time to pay scant attention to the fighting thing that’s going on downtown tomorrow.

Seriously, if they held it in the backyard, I’d probably go sit on the front porch.

I presume I’m in the minority but I just don’t get it. The fact they sold 55,000 tickets probably also means they don’t care what I think.

-

Yikes!

They just said the Princess Di wedding was in 1981!

Wow. I’m old.

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Remember a while ago when I had that list of favourite sights in sports? The triple to right, the gentle draw, that kind of thing?

Well, I forgot suicide squeeze and it did my heart proud to see the TOD pull one off in a big, big win in Texas.

You take three of four on the road, send down the Snider kid because you can’t wait for him to get over the Mendoza line and as my man Zorro quotes the manager as saying in this piece, it’s time to get serious about winning.

Bring on the Not Mighty Yankees at the stadium this weekend.

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Speaking of weekend, some of it has to be spent doing mail because that’s what I do. But you need to do your part, please.

Click here, write down words, send them along.

Thanks.

 

 

 

High drama, good games and not a bad night all around

 

Overtime drama, last second wins, closeout games and a potentially epic series coming as result?

Yeah, not a bad night at all.

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On a roster that includes Manu Ginobili, Matt Bonner, Tony Parker and Richard Jefferson you call a play to save your season with 1.7 seconds left in an elimination game where the first option was rookie Gary (Not Curly) Neal? You’ve got to give Gregg Popovich credit, no?

And Neal was pretty appreciative of the chance when he talked about it after the game and you just have to know he’ll be full of confidence should the situation ever arise again:

“It’s kind of a great feeling; Coach Pop draws the play up and you see you’re going to get the shot and nobody looks around and questions it or anything like that It was great walking out of the huddle and your teammates are happy with you getting the shot and expecting you to make it.

"That’s a great feeling.”

But look at it this way, too.

The Spurs entirely botched the possession before when they blew an inbounds play that ended up with Manu hitting that crazy three-turned-two in the corner.

If they execute that one precisely, who knows what happens. Maybe they tie the game and the Grizzlies have a shot that they make to win and we’re here talking about the end of an era instead of the chance of resurrection in San Antonio.

I will say this about Manu, too.

He’s like some basketball artisan and the court is his workplace.

How many times last night did he snake through the lane where there was no space? How many times did it look like that right elbow might not work only to have him cross over beat someone off the dribble?

He made one play where he went down the lane – to his left, because he always goes to his left, it seems – went behind the back and finished a layup. It was so effortless you didn’t have time to appreciate the greatness of the move.

An artisan, I tell you.

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You know how you’re driving somewhere and a song comes on the radio and you go, ‘man, I haven’t heard this in a long time, I should put it on a list of all-time greats?’

Well, if you get a chance to listen to John Lennon’s brilliant Mind Games any time soon, you should. Made the trek home yesterday afternoon really nice.

And now, if you have that song in your head all day, I feel I will have accomplished something.

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Totally cool electronic conversation:

Me: Holy crap. Golden State whacked Keith Smart.

 

Him: Saw that. Word is Glen Silvestri didn’t care for his coaching style.

Man, I have some funny friends, don’t I?

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So, we finally get what we want:

Boston-Miami.

I’ll have a lot more on this later tonight and in the paper tomorrow – that’s allegedly going be my gig today – but suffice it to say, this could be a great one.

Or it could turn into a quick-finishing dog of a series if the Heat don’t get off to better starts than they did against the Sixers.

It’s one thing to come back against a young team getting its playoff legs, it’s an entirely different matter against a team like Boston.

Hmm, I smell a theme for a setup story?

-

What’s longer, or more painful?

Run-up to the wedding or a UFC news conference?

Man, I have never seen a more polite group of men whose sole intention on the weekend is to beat each other senseless in a long time than I did when I saw a bit of that dog and pony show yesterday.

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Okay, a long-time Irregular brought this up the other night and I figured I should do it now.

Q: Greetings Doug! As requested during the IGBT, a list of who you deem to be the top 5 vilified players in the NBA. Inspired by HWSNBN, feel free to include inactive players. If anything, it'll prompt some of us young ‘uns to look them up.

Thanks,

 

Natalie M, Brampton

A: Here’s the thing. I’m not sure any group of fans holds a grudge longer than the fans of HOTH, at least not by any anecdotal evidence I can find by covering the league and travelling around. Friends and colleagues are amazed, actually, by the vitriol that’s spewed here. But that’s for another discussion.

If I had to go with five current guys, it’d have to be LeBron, Bosh, Carter, Turk (sense a theme?) and probably Carlos Boozer back in both Cleveland and Salt Lake.

I really can’t speak to the past all that much, although I do recall Bill Walton not being loved when he went back to Portland after leaving the Blazers and I’ll have to ask Wayne Embry the next time I see him how Kareem’s reception was in Milwaukee.

The thing about the past is that players seldom – if ever – left of their own accord so there wasn’t much angst.

-

How do you think they’re feeling in Seattle today?

Yeah, pretty bad, I imagine, at least some of them.

You’ve got a Sonics nee Thunder team that left after a 20-62 season two years ago and all of a sudden it’s riding the sublime skills of Kevin Durant to the second round of the playoffs, where they are likely to be favoured over Memphis or San Antonio?

Gotta hurt at some level.

But you have to give Oklahoma City some credit. Team’s really good, fans are over-the-top nuts and I can just guess at the electricity that’ll be in the air whenever they start the next series.

And after what Durant did last night – 41 points overall, all of the last nine his team scored – what’s not to be happy about?

We don’t know when their next series will begin – Sunday if Memphis wins Game 6 on Friday, not ‘til Tuesday if the Spurs win – but you can imagine they’re chomping at the bit to get started.

-

Okay, listen up:

This is on behalf of bartenders and restaurant managers and people who scrape out a living serving others:

If you’re going out to watch a game, SPEND MONEY.

Not a lot, but maybe buy some food or two or three drinks over the course of a three or four hour span, it’s the right and honourable thing to do. And if you don’t want to order something, you ought to leave the most significant tip you’ve ever left.

If you’re going to go sit in some public house for that length of time and nurse a soft drink or one pint, you should be asked to leave.

Rant on behalf of friends, over.

-

Hey, you know what?

I need some mail. Badly.

Click, write, send.

Thanks.

The Goods On The Game, Grizzlies at Spurs

Well, welcome back.

Here's hoping for a more competitive night.

Reverting to form and an unexpected -- but deserving -- award winner

Magic in a rout, Bulls win easily, Lakers dominate Hornets.

Yeah, guess we’re not going to have high drama every night, are we?

Anyway, still lots to chatter about:

-

By the ambient light of the television, I think I saw Kobe Bryant look like Kobe Bryant last night, not some guy who was supposedly hobbled by a bad ankle or foot.

And I think I saw the Lakers look like the Lakers and maybe – just maybe – they realize the situation they’re in.

Look, if you want to go on a pure talent assessment, there is no one in the West today that can compare with Los Angeles. The Lakers are bigger than anyone, more experienced than anyone and have won more than anyone.

It’s really only they who can cost themselves a series before they meet the East winner in the final.

Oh, sure, Chris Paul can win a game or two or maybe even three but, truth be told, the Lakers are their own worst enemies.

When they are distracted, they are vulnerable. When they play like they did last night, they look like finalists.

They certainly have it in them to cough up another one and send the whole thing back to California for a seventh game but that’s more on them than it is on the Hornets.

-

I really hope a lot of other coaches were watching the Bulls-Pacers last night.

The game really turned when Tom Thibodeau went against conventional wisdom and put Derrick Rose back in the game in the third quarter despite the fact Rose had four fouls and maybe it’ll be a lesson to the rest of the coaches.

Rose had two or three three-pointers, a momentum-changing blocked shot on Roy Hibbert, I believe it was, and an assist as the Bulls regained control after frittering away most of a lead.

Normally, coaches would sit a guy with four fouls early in the third until the start of the fourth, the thought being you need a guy – especially your best player – down the stretch more than you need him midway through the third.

But that’s not always the case, is it?

Sometimes you can win games in the third quarter just as easily as you can in the fourth as the Bulls showed in their close out triumph over Indy.

Now, I know some would say it was the playoffs and circumstances dictated something other than the usual coaching strategy but what if a team did that two or three times in a regular season, won two or three more games than it would have? Don’t think that would make a difference?

I’m not even sure about the wisdom of taking key players out with two fouls in a first quarter – role players don’t really matter as much – but I do know that coaches need to take more “gambles” in the third with their top players.

I remember one time being in Phoenix in the D’Antoni-Nash era and Nash had picked up a fifth foul early in the fourth or even late in the third, the specifics are a bit fuzzy.

D’Antoni stayed with him, the Suns went on to win and, when asked about it, the coach said something along the lines of:

“Steve’s smart enough not to get a sixth and why wouldn’t I want my best player on the floor.”

Makes entire sense to me.

-

During one of the click around the dials, happened up on the start of the pucks game and I have to say this again:

No one that I’ve seen in that sport does pre-game intros and ceremonies better than the Montreal Canadiens.

The fire thing? Entirely cool.

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Let’s get this quickly out of the mail:

Q: Hi Doug. Quick question, which occurs to me on Tuesday night as I watch Noah shoot techs on the flagrant against McRoberts. Is there a 10 second limit to shoot tech/flagrant free throws, as there is on regular free throws? Seemed like Noah took a long time to shoot his first (although it might have been within 10 seconds).

Thanks!

 

Kate C, Toronto

A: There is, indeed, but it’s one of those rules that’s so selectively enforced, it’s appalling. I want some of these refs who count to 10 to count down the rest of my life because I’d live forever.

-

Oh oh.

I see crumpets on the counter and I know there’s tea in the cupboard so all I can think is I’m going to have some company when I’m down here working in the TV room in the wee hours of Friday morning.

At least it should give me some good fodder for that morning’s offerings.

And I guess, in my best fashionista, pop culture way, I best do some Royal Wedding reading today, no?

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I’m not sure if all of you have heard – I do know some of the Irregulars mentioned it last night – but we of the PBWA gave our most prestigious award – the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award – to Ron Artest.

He got it last night before the game to honour his excellent work raising awareness of the issue of mental health, particularly among youth.

Yes, you would have made a kabillion dollars betting on Artest being honoured for “citizenship” after the 2005 incident in Detroit but I honestly can’t think of a more deserving winner this year.

This story is probably the best one out there on it, you can see that other think the same thing.

The NBA, as a whole, does such tremendous work, I think it should be the benchmark for other professional sports leagues.

I know this is a bit sappy and sounds like towing the company line but Basketball Without Borders, the NBA Cares program, all the stuff that individual players do truly is important work.

And we now return you to regularly-scheduled ramblings.

-

Hang on a sec.

Montreal wins the big Game 6 pucks match on Tuesday and they have to play Game 7 on Wednesday?

That kind of stinks, no?

-

Now having watched the Atlanta Hawks sleepwalk through Game 5 and knowing they have the ability to lose, um, focus for long stretches, I am under no illusions that they can close that one out against the Magic in six and I fully expect to be watching a Game 7 on the weekend.

Another reason?

The Magic are, despite the presence of that Howard fellow, something of a jump-shooting team and they have to be brimming with confidence off their Game 5 shellacking of the Hawks.

The big winners?

The Bulls.

The league told us that regardless of what happens in Game 6 between Atlanta-Orlando, the next series won’t start until Monday so there’s all kinds of time to rest Derrick Rose’s ankle.

-

But there’s no rest of us, is there?

After a couple of crappy games – and the first IGBT Change Of Venue in our history – we’ll try to hit a homer tonight with Spurs-Grizzlies at 8:30 p.m. my time.

Be there, or be square.

-

 

 

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Hawks at Magic

Hello, again

Let's see if we can't get a better game tonight, shall we?

Time to start over and valuable lessons learned

Idle thoughts from a rambling mind.

Enjoy.

-

Team at the crossroad?

Would that be your San Antonio Spurs, who are on the verge of being just the second No. 1 seed to tumble to a No. 8 since the league went to the best-of-seven first-round format a decade or so ago?

They sure looked old and slow at times last night, didn’t they?

(No, I didn’t see a lot live thanks to the Dallas-Portland IGBT, but I have seen a bunch of stuff this morning).

I don’t know that there’s going to be a call for dramatic change if the Spurs don’t rally (and I don’t think anyone’s too confident they will) but seeing how Tim Duncan turned 35 yesterday, I’m thinking the move to someone else up front has to be made.

Trouble is, who?

Tiago Splitter’s been underwhelming, to say the least; DuJuan Blair is really undersized and I’m not sure where they can get some help.

We’ll delve into the dynastic qualities of the Spurs when they’re finally eliminated this year but, regardless, I still think they’re the gold standard for franchises of this era.

-

Do you think there were times this season when people in Indy and Philly might have thought:

What for?

Why sneak into the final few playoff spots just to get drilled? Why not play the kids, tank the season and build for the future?

The Pacers were 17-27 and fired Jim O’Brien; the Sixers started the season 3-13 and I can imagine more than a few people thought the best thing would be to have a so-so, season get another high draft pick and move on.

But here they are out of the lottery and I’ll tell you this:

The experience they’re getting in the playoffs is invaluable to the development of the team and when people ask me whether it’s worth sneaking into seventh or eighth just to get hammered by better teams, this is why I always say yes.

I fully expect both the Pacers and Sixers to have their seasons end tonight (no way they get road wins down 3-1) but I also think what they will have learned about playoff basketball in five games will serve them so well in the future, the fact they were quickly eliminated doesn’t matter.

-

Wow, did Canada really play the USA in the gold medal game of the women’s world hockey championships yesterday?

Whoever saw that coming?

Must have taken some monumental upsets for that one to come off, no?

-

Is there a favourite underdog?

I mean a team you can really root for passionately that you haven’t really thought much about?

I don’t think you can get all warm and fuzzy about Memphis for some reason and I don’t know that there’s a lot of love for Atlanta, to tell you the truth.

Oklahoma City’s a nominal favourite so the Thunder doesn’t count and Sixers and Pacers fighting history to come back from down 3-0 and neither really capture the imagination, do they?

So?

Portland or New Orleans, which do you like better?

Personally, I think New Orleans is a better story, continued reclamation of the city, less overall talent than the Blazers, a tougher opponent to overcome.

But it is kind of nice to have a couple of choices, no?

-

Best thing about the deluge of rain we’re getting here in Hazelville?

(Besides the flowers and the green grass and the coming spring and yadda, yadda, yadda)

Fewer walks for the wimpy Super Dog, who puts two paws on the front porch and goes, “no way, dude.”

-

Okay, we had all right attendance for the IGBT on Tuesday night, not a lot of advance warning, I guess.

So we’ll try it again tonight for the Magic-Hawks at 7, shall we?

Tell your friends, it’s a fun time in most regards.

-

My Man Griff, who made a rare appearance in the office yesterday, tells me to keep an eye on this Morrow fellow with the TOD, that he’s the next big thing.

So we should.

But if they’re going to get six runs a night, I like our chances at a fun summer.

-

Oh, those irrepressible kids.

Did Kevin Durant really show up at his post-game news conference wearing a book bag or backpack or something?

How cute.

I tell you, though, if it was a book bag, I hope inside there was a copy of “Hey, Pass Me The Ball Mr. 30 Shots Russell Westbrook!”

Really, I know Westbrook is good, among the better young point guards in the league this is one-on-five, jack-it-up-at-every-moment stuff isn’t going to fly.

-

Do you think we’ve seen now what we’ll see from Brandon Roy for the rest of his career?

Brilliance one night with a fair amount of rest and little impact the next?

I wonder how creaky those knees really are, he didn’t seem to have the “oomph” last night that he did on the weekend that’s for sure.

But, you know what?

I’m okay with him being dominant one night and so-so the next, it sure beats the alternative and if he can’t bring the same intensity, tenacity and talent every night, I’d be glad to see it every now and then.

Oh, and I am almost certain we’re going to get a Game 7 in that series. As I’ve mentioned, the Portland fans are probably the best in the league and I’m sure their energy will carry the Blazers.

And the more Game 7s we can get, the better, right?

-

Games Mondays, games Tuesdays, no chance to catch up with DWTS?

This hurts.

But I still have my money on Kirstie Alley, with Hines Ward as a close second.

All you Raptors fans should want that Romeo kid to do well, right?

You know why, of course?

Well, if you can’t figure it out, someone will help you.

Or I’ll let you know tomorrow.

-

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Blazers at Mavericks

Hey everyone.

Remember how this works?

Upsets brewing, which is a very good thing

Man, I can’t wait for July when we can put all this talk about brilliant playoffs and brilliant players and all this drama and potential upsets aside and get on to the exhilarating business of lockouts.

That’ll be nice, won’t it?

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Well, seems we might have a wee detour on the road that was to take us to the Spurs-Lakers Western Conference final, don’t we?

Now, it may all work out in the end but I’m not sure anyone can confidently sit here right now and say those top two seeds are the best teams in the West at the moment.

The way the Oklahoma City Thunder is rolling (Thunder? Rolling? I slay me!), can we say they might be the power of the West at the moment?

Anyway, I’m not sure if Memphis’s 2-1 lead over the Spurs says more about the Grizzlies or San Antonio but I can absolutely see a monumental upset coming in that one.

Seems the Grizzlies have every antidote for what the Spurs usually do – they’re big and can pound the ball inside; they’re quick and can defend on the perimeter – and I think the biggest surprise is that Tony Parker hasn’t really been himself.

Yes, he’s scored a bunch of points (48) in three games but his shooting percentage is awful (15-for-44 and someone with math skills can figure that out) and he’s yet to truly dominate like we know he can.

With Manu a bit banged up and the front line neutralized by the likes of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, Parker has to be San Antonio’s ace and so far he hasn’t been.

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Who was better? Brandon Roy against the Mavs or Chris Paul against the Lakers?

Given the circumstances – the point in the series, the knee issues, the drama – I’d give it to Roy but what Paul did late Sunday night was pretty incredible, no?

You don’t get 27 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds too easily in the post-season – heck, you don’t get those numbers too easily on some Tuesday night in February – and reducing that series to a best-of-three could make for a classic finish.

Yes, I know the Lakers were pushed to six games in the first round by Oklahoma City a year ago and that worked out all right for them but there doesn’t seem to be the same vibe – at least not from a distance – about this Los Angeles team.

I don’t know if this is the right way to put it, but it seems they’re hanging on and hoping to play well and win rather than expecting to have success.

I still think they have greater talent than the Hornets and could very well win this series rather easily but I don’t know if they have what it takes to get past whoever survives Portland-Dallas in the second round.

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I know this isn’t likely to happen but how good would an Oklahoma City-Portland Western Final be?

I’m telling you, it would be the loudest series from a fan perspective maybe ever. Two of the best groups of fans ever? In a conference final? Man, that’d be a classic.

And it’ll only take about three giant upsets to happen.

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3, 2, 1.

That’s the countdown for the calls for Mike D’Antoni to be fired in New York.

The Knicks sure didn’t cover themselves in glory, did they? That’s going out with a big, old whimper rather than a bang and, yes, they have two nice pieces in Stoudemire and Anthony and maybe they bring Chauncey back for one good run but that team has some issues.

Whether D’Antoni is the fall guy or not really doesn’t matter, they need upgrades a whole lot of spots before they can be serious about moving up in the conference pecking order.

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So, a somewhat slow start to Treme, in my opinion.

Great music, of course, but I sure miss John Goodman and I’m not sure about the story arc with the dude from Dallas.

I can absolutely see Melissa Leo and the cop getting together.

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3, 2, 1.

That’s the countdown for the calls for Mike D’Antoni to be hired in Toronto if he’s fired in New York.

I know he’s not Ettore Messina or Rick Adelman or Jeff Van Gundy or whoever else is the flavour of the month to some of you but I know, if he’s free, there will be a flood of calls for him to be hired here.

Can we just hold off until he’s out of work?

Thank you.

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Think it’s time for an IGBT?

Yeah, me too.

Been a while and there’s a potentially good Dallas-Portland game on at 8:30 p.m. somewhere so why don’t we try and see how things work out?

See some of you then?

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I’m sure you’ve all seen the numbers on the Heat, right?

Being a collective 1-for-19 on shots this season in the final 10 seconds of games that are at three points or fewer?

Not too impressive.

And I’m sure it’s causing all kinds of angst in south Florida, which is kind of fun to me; a bit of angst with that team is always good fodder.

Anyway, my humble opinion, the fact they don’t seem to call any plays might be a bit of an issue. Seems it’s always an iso for either James or Wade might a problem, if the one without the ball did more than just stand around and watch, better things might happen.

But that’s just me.

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What do you think is more troubling?

Derrick Rose in a walking boot on Sunday or Kobe leaving the New Orleans Arena on crutches Sunday night?

Here’s a list, in order, of guys who can least afford to get hurt if their teams have any chance of even moving on:

Dwyane Wade

And conversely, LeBron James, because the other is just as good most nights.

Kobe

The Lakers still have some other weapons and might be able to miss him for a game or two.

Dirk

I don’t know where Dallas would replace those points because most of the stuff the other guys get comes because the opponent is paying so much attention to Nowitzki.

And, it has to be a tie for No. 1, no?

Paul and Rose.

I love Jarrett Jack and all but he can’t replace Paul any more than I can; and there are serious questions about Chicago’s offence with Rose, can you imagine it without him? Ghastly is a word that comes to mind.

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Oh yeah, wanna know what’s up with the Raptors?

Very little.

Ran into Jay last week and the coaches are hanging around finishing up some work and starting to do some serious draft prep but other than that, it’s still a waiting game until the really tall foreheads in ownership decide to do something – anything – to fix the mess they’ve created with their dawdling.

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