I've been trying to keep quiet on this year's NBA playoffs as things have gone particularly well for my favorite NBA teams (the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, in that order), but with Denver on the verge of their first ever playoff sweep, I had to jump in. Thus, I will be writing this blog as I watch the game and you will get to join me in the emotion as the Nuggets try to close out the Mavericks.
1st Quarter
- Glad to see TNT has sent the C-team to do the play-by-play for this one. Matt Devlin, Steve Smith and some guy named Marty are our commentators. Clearly, the network feels pretty sure this won't be the featured game of the night. Then again, it's not like the Cavs-Hawks game was the height of drama; everyone and their dog knew what was going to happen in that one.
- Mavs strike first with some third chance points, and the Nugs follow it up with a turnover. Billups chucks one on next possession, but the game looks like it's playing at the Nuggets pace early.
- Melo and Dirk on the board quickly, no surprise there.
- A nice bonus as Dahntay Jones hits a "three" (looked like his foot was on the line to me) and the Nuggets get on an early run. Mavs need to be very careful. My prediction coming in was that this would be a big win for Denver. The way I see it, the Mavs will get down 8-10 points at some point in the game and will give up on the game. I give Jason Kidd credit for leading this team, but guys like Howard and Terry seem the type that might hang their head with a deficit.
- Nugs run up to 10-0 (12-6 lead)...
- Both teams having early turnover problems. Psychologically, this is much more dangerous for the Mavs.
- Dahntay Jones with the steal/slam! Wow, not the kind of thing you want to see if you're the Mavs/their fans. If Denver gets confident early, they can steamroll you. As I've heard multiple times this postseason, the Nuggets are tremendous frontrunners as they really step on the gas with a lead.
- First commercial break and the Nugs hold a nice 14-8 lead. Looking good so far.
- Let me just say this about the non-foul in game 3: I completely agree that a foul probably should have been called, but for anyone to say that this cost the Mavs the game is simply preposterous. Even if they get the foul call, the Nuggets still have the ball with 2.5 seconds left, plenty of time to get a good look or even draw a foul. So don't tell me that the Mavs lost because of the non-call. By the way, if Wright wanted the foul call, he shouldn't have put his arms up will committing it in the universal "I'm not fouling" motion! Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
- What's up with this "team role" thing TNT has been using this postseason? How many casual fans watching will know what they mean when they say Chauncey Billups is the Nuggets' "Commander-In-Chief" if they didn't already know what he does? Honestly, does this help anyone?
- Dirk is coming out aggressive and looking for his shot, a good sign for the Mavs. The problem is, Dirk's been amazing all series long and he's gotten no help. It's a shame that Josh Howard has been hurt this series and really prevented the Mavs from competing.
- Chauncey Billups is absolutely amazing. I rooted for him with Detroit when the faced the Lakers back in 2004, but as the Pistons kept dominating the East, I started to get tired of him. Now that he's a Nugget, I can't get enough of this guy. He has been exactly what the Nuggets needed. He's practically a second head coach, and when the players get sick of listening to George Karl, Chauncey can help keep things together. His scoring this postseason has been a breath of fresh air, taking a lot of the pressure off of Carmelo to score tons.
- Question: Anyone else think Carmelo is trying to prove something and win a title before his buddy LeBron?
- JR Smith is 1-for-1 from three. Uh-oh.
- Mavs with a missed three, Nugs get the fast break and the fans are already out of the game. Timeout Mavs as Kleiza nails the three and the Nugs are already up by 13. Maybe they won't win by 58, but I sense this game turning out very similar to the Nuggets' game 4 rout in New Orleans in the first round. Oh, did I mention it's still the first quarter?
- 34-23 Denver, end of 1. Pressure is squarely on the Mavericks.
2nd Quarter
- First play of the quarter, JR nails his second three. I don't care who you are, if Smith gets hot, the Nuggets are very, very tough to beat.
- No, Melo! NOOOO! Carmelo takes a swing at Antoine Wright, trying to get his arm untangled from Wright after a rebound. The last thing the Nuggets need is for Melo to get tossed or, much much worse, suspended for a game (especially a game in the next round). Hopefully the league will agree that it was fairly harmless. Steve Javy, one of the better officials I've seen this postseason, reviews the play and... Technical foul on Melo, but he stays in the game. Now it's in the league's hands.
- Quick whistle on the next play as Melo drive to the hoop. I agree with color man Smith that it was a smart play by Melo to attack the hoop and make the officials make a call.
- Dallas gets energized by a play by JJ Berea, and the Nuggets need to sense this and try to calm down a little, not let the Mavs get on a run.
- Nice pull-up by Melo, but Berea strikes again and the Nuggets still up 12. Meanwhile, Nene is playing very well and making the Mavs big men work hard on defense. Unfortunately, he misses two free throws and wastes his hard work.
- The refs are calling everything right now, and both teams are attack the rim to try to get calls. We'll see if we get another foul-fest like game 3. This would seem to favor the home team as the refs tend to call more fouls on the visitors, plus the Nuggets aren't nearly as deep in the frontcourt as they are in the backcourt, particularly with Chris Andersen m.i.a.
- Mavs crawl back within 9, 40-31, as we head to the under 9:00 break.
- Nuggets are playing a little sloppily this quarter, and with the Mavs within 7, things are getting tighter. Then again... next thing I know, Anthony "I'm not a three point shooter but I chuck 'em up anyway" Carter drains a 3, Kidd air balls one on the other end, and the Mavs momentum is fading again.
- The Mavs can't buy a 3, and as I said before, the pace of this game continues to favor Denver. Suddenly, that little Mavs run has turned around and Carlisle has to burn a timeout down 49-35.
- Brandon Bass has been huge for Dallas so far. He is playing with much more energy and intensity than the rest of his team. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are getting sloppy on offense again. 6-0 run out of the timeout for Dallas.
- Ridiculous foul called on Billups as Howard creates contact, gets the call and the bucket for a big three-point play.
- Four quick, BIG points from Melo and he gets Denver back up by 10. Teams are trading baskets right now. Nene continues to do his work down low, getting to the line yet again for free throws 9 and 10.
- Big final 3 minutes here as the Mavs need to stay in single digits going to the half.
- Nuggets get another technical as Billups whines to the refs. I agree the Nuggets haven't gotten (m)any calls in Dallas these two games, but you need to be careful not to give the Mavs free points by complaining.
- Flagrant foul on Howard. Hmmm, maybe Chauncey made an impact after all? Forget what I just said, Nuggets, whine away!
- Each team misses some golden opportunities and the game is still rather sloppy for both teams. Nugget's lead is down to 5... Big slap by Dirk on Kleiza, but Linas misses both, wasting the call. Mavs turn around and give it back with a turnover, though. Nuggets holding for the last shot.
- Another aggressive drive by Kleiza and he returns to the line with 3.8 to play, and Terry is actually called for a flagrant on a play that Smith claims he didn't even see the foul. Really, Steve? Terry basically threw himself into Kleiza, not exactly going for the ball. Nuggets make 2 of 3 free throws (Terry also got a tech) and get the ball again for the last shot.
- Amazing put-back by Carmelo as time expires and the Nuggets manage a little run to take a 10 point lead to the half.
- 63-53 Nuggets at the break. Mavs are still fighting, for now.
Halftime
3rd Quarter
- The Mavs had 9 turnovers and 20 points allowed off those. 20! That's more than 2 per turnover! That's almost impossible. To say that's the difference in the game is an understatement.
- 15 seconds in and we have our first foul. Yay.
- Foul #2 14 seconds later. This is going to be a long half.
- Another quick start for Dirk. The Nuggets really can't guard him much better, but he's just making some incredible shots.
- Jones has been much more active offensively tonight than I recall him being this postseason. He's contributing well.
- 3 by Terry, deuce by Dirk and the Mavs cut the deficit to 1. Nuggets need a timeout as they have been discombobulated on offense and the Mavs are clicking on offense themselves.
- Nuggets get 6 quick points from Melo and pull back up by 5 until Terry knocks down a pair of free throws. The Nuggets are just refusing to let the Mavs take a lead, but credit the Mavs for not going away.
- Melo adds another pair, but then he gets beat on defense by a guy with two bad ankles and Howard gets the Mavs back within 1.
- As has been the case throughout this series and the playoffs in general, the refs are making their presence felt with many close calls. So far, it doesn't seem to be favoring either team, which I suppose is all we can ask for.
- With 5:13 to go in the third, the Mavs have been called for 20 fouls and the Nuggets 15. As you might imagine, Denver leads by 7, 80-73.
- Dallas has gone cold and the Nuggets are rebuilding their lead. Dallas needs to get Terry back on the floor as the deficit grows back to 9.
- Kleiza cannot guard Dirk, and he compounds his mistake with a technical foul giving the Mavs a four-point play as Dirk hits a shot and both freebies.
- Big bucket by JR to stem a little Dallas run and Smith has a chance at the three point play (only to miss another free throw). JR has got work work on his free throw shooting.
- Again, the game is within 1 and the last 2:00 of the quarter loom large. Once again, the Mavs cannot get out of their own way with Dirk turning the ball over with a chance to take the lead.
- Bad jumper by Carter, followed by a bad 3 by Kidd. Neither team wants to score it seems. Under 1:00 to go, Melo heads to the line and gives Denver a 2 point lead (29 on the game already for Melo).
- JJ Berea strikes yet again, tying it up at 85. Nuggets get a pair of freebies from Smith to retake the lead and, after a missed trey by Howard, Melo makes a circus shot plus one to put Denver back up 5. Quick action to end the period; now it's Berea to the line. He misses both.
- 90-85, Denver. Twelve minutes to the WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS for the Nugs. Wow, didn't think I'd be writing that this year.
4th Quarter
- Denver: Win the quarter, win the game. Simple.
- Holy moly. Erick Dampier gets whistled for a technical 28 seconds into the quarter, and already Dallas has a foul and a turnover in the period. Rather inauspicious start, I would say. Nuggets up 3-0.
- Nice hometown call as Dirk flops when Melo strips him, and Dirk gets a questionable foul call, leading to another Berea score. 3-2.
- And we have foul #3 of the quarter, just 1:29 in. Insanity. Dampier is done with 10:31 to go.
- Foul #4! Wright does a good job of drawing a foul and will head to the line. Nails them both, 3-4.
- Beautiful runner by Kleiza. 5-4.
- Foul #5, third on Denver (4th on Melo) with 9:33 to play. Dirk nails 2, 5-6.
- Kleiza 3 rims out, then Terry does the same. Every possession counts.
- Denver turnover then Dirk swishes a 2, 2 point game. 5-8.
- Smith goes to the bank! 7-8.
- Bass misses from point blank, Bass then fouls out of frustration and picks up a T. Big blow-up from Bass, and this could be very costly for the Mavs. 97-93 as we go to the under 9:00 break at 7:59.
- Melo drains the T, 8-8.
- Bucket for Wright, 8-10.
- Melo drains another huge J. 10-10. Melo with a career playoff high of 36.
- Dirk wastes no time, throwing in a circus shot with an and-1, cutting the deficit to 2. 10-13. Dirk has 32.
- JR with another cold-blooded deuce. 12-13.
- Wright back to the bucket, 12-15. Non-stop action and the crowd is really getting into this one.
- Wright with a foul on the other end, and suddenly we have ANOTHER technical foul. Unbelievable. The call on Wright certainly looked a bit questionable, but if anything the foul might have been that he flopped. Regardless, the Mavs' mental errors are keeping them from closing the gap indefinitely.
- Seven. Seven! Seven technicals in this game. Incredible. Billups hits the T, 13-15.
- On the technical possession, Smith hits another ridiculous jumper. 15-15 (105-100).
- 5:39 to go and Dirk is back at the line, swishing 2. 15-17.
- Late call on Nene for a push off after a bad jumper by Melo. Dirk back to the line as Denver has long since been in the bonus. 15-19.
- Nuggets up just 1, huge possession and Mr. Big Shot drives for 2. 17-19.
- Nice little jumper from Howard, 17-21. Billups quickly answers with a 3, 20-21.
- Fast and furious, Kidd to the line makes 2, 20-23.
- Melo with another great steal off Dirk, but the Nugs can't cash in.
- Howard air ball on a three and the Nuggets have the ball, still up 2. 110-108 with just over 3 to play.
- Dirk ties it with 2:43 to go. 110-110. 20-25 in the quarter. The series comes down to just under 3 minutes. I am mentally exhausted and extremely anxious. I do NOT want a game 5.
- Here we go. Melo is rejected by Bass, then Howard misses a J. Still tied.
- Billups to the rack, misses but Nene cleans it up, Nugs back on top. 22-25.
- Dirk goes to the rack and draws yet another foul. Not surprisingly, the German makes them both. 22-27.
- Melo misses a close shot, and the Mavs get it back with a chance to take the lead.
- Unreal jumper by Dirk, Mavs take the lead, 22-29.
- Under 1:00 to play. Dirk again. Dirk finally misses one, and Melo is ridiculously called for a loose-ball foul on the rebound, Howard to the line. He of course drills them both. Mavs up 4. 22-31. The Nuggets have not played well this quarter and it's looking like they'll pay for it by having to play another game. 31.4 seconds to play.
- Awful foul by Josh Howard, and Melo heads to the line. 2 huge free throws here. First is good. Second... swish. Nugs within 2. This is looking eerily like game 3...
- Timeout. Denver must guard Dirk on this next possession. If someone else beats you, so be it.
- Great D by Martin, and a HORRIBLE touch foul is called on him. Dirk goes to the line yet again. Very weak call. Argh. He makes them both (obviously). 118-114.
- Just reviewed the replay, and it is confirmed: awful call on that last play. Should cost Denver the game. There you go, Mavs fans. No more bitching.
- Amazing 3 by Melo, and Denver is back within 1. This has been an incredible dual between Melo and Dirk, both making insane shot after insane shot. Great game. 3.1 to play.
- Terry to the line. 1.1 to go. He drains the first. Mavs up 2. Terry intentionally misses the second, and Melo can't even get a shot off before the buzzer. The Mavs improbably force a game 5 that they really had no business winning. Damn shame, but a damn good showing by Dallas. The refs made a big impact, but I'd be reluctant to say that they were the difference in this one. Certainly some calls went against Denver, but some also went against the Mavs, so it is what it is. Denver had better win game 5, because Dallas won't give up and the last thing the Nuggets can afford is for this to go 7.
Hope you enjoyed, because this was nerve-wracking and frankly, extremely disappointing. No live blog for game 5, because clrealy it was bad luck for Denver.
To get updates and notices each time there's a post, subscribe above. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the blog, please post below or I can be reached at chrisf884@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
State of the Denver Nuggets
As I've mentioned numerous times before in this blog, I still consider Denver to be my hometown even though I currently reside in Houston. Therefore my "home" teams are still the Denver sports franchises (Rockies, Broncos, Nuggets, Avs). So when news breaks (no pun intended) that a Nuggets player has a broken hand and will miss 3-4 weeks, this stands out to me. When that player happens to be their best player, Carmelo Anthony, this is a big deal.
The Nuggets (24-12, #2 in the Western Conference) have been a completely different team this season since the acquisition of Chauncey Billups for "me-first" star Allen Iverson. Don't get me wrong, Allen Iverson is likely a Hall of Famer and in his prime he was a franchise-defining player that could carry a team single-handed. But now, Iverson still has the score-first mindset but without the remaining gas in the tank to be a game-changing player. The Nuggets knew this, and I have to believe the Pistons knew this, too, when they agreed to the trade. The decision for the trade from the Detroit perspective seems pretty clear: they knew their window was almost closed, with The Big Three in Boston and LeBron dominating in Cleveland, in the Eastern Conference Detroit, with its roster at the start of the year, was a second-round playoff team at best.
The choice to move Billups makes perfect sense in the salary cap era. Billups was an aging (while still very effective) guard with 3 years left on his contract, while Iverson was the same aging (yet much less effective) guard with 1 year left on his huge contract. In other words, the Pistons had to decide whether to be above average this year before potentially losing Rasheed Wallace in free agency, or be average this year with the chance to clear Wallace and Iverson off the cap next year and buy some new, younger talent. They chose the latter. We'll never know if they could have made a push this year, one more (last?) time, but we will know in a year or two if the path they chose was correct.
As for the Nuggets, Billups is the perfect player for them right now. It's been an interesting road that has led to this point for Denver. The first incarnation of the Nuggets with Anthony was their most effective run-and-gun style, with Andre Miller manning the point and Marcus Camby, a great defender with enough "hops" to be an effective alley-oop target, playing center. The addition of Kenyon Martin was questionable at this point, as his defense was good but his offense didn't seem particularly suited to the up-and-down the court style. When Melo was suspended for 15 games for an ill-advised cheap shot on a player in a fight against the Knicks, the Nuggets decided that they needed more scoring to replace him, and that a second scorer would give the team more offensive versatility in the long run. This led to the trade of Miller for Iverson.
At first, Iverson's time in Denver was a big success, but as had been the case throughout Anthony's young career, the team simply wasn't good enough defensively or consistent enough offensively to compete in the slow-it-down, every possession counts postseason. Again, Denver was one-and-done in the playoffs. So the Nuggets finally decided that a new direction was needed. When Denver traded Camby for effectively nothing this offseason (officially the rights to swap second-round picks with the Clips in 2010... aka NOTHING), it looked like a clear cost-cutting move as Camby was a highly-paid player at a position where they already had another highly-paid, yet younger, player in Nene. What accidentally happened was the Nuggets put themselves in a position to completely shift gears as a team.
While losing Camby significantly hurt the team's defense and rebounding, the Nuggets have been finding over the last two years or so that both Nene and K-Mart are becoming competent defenders and managing to stay healthy, a huge issue with both. Both are also showing to be plenty competent offensive players in a half-court set, meaning that the missing ingredient was no longer a scorer, but instead a point guard that could actually make plays for his teammates. Allen Iverson, this was not. So when the Pistons decided it was time to make a change (rumors are this trade was discussed in the offseason, although it wasn't consummated until a couple games into the regular season), the Nuggets jumped at it and George Karl, a solid coach that has always liked solid point guards that could defend, got the player he'd been seeking since coming to Denver.
So if Chauncey is so important to the Nuggets' success, why am I so worried about the injury to Carmelo? Simply put, Carmelo is still the heart of this team. One thing I have definitely seen over the first 2 months of the season is that every member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, particularly the starters, from Melo to D-Wade to LeBron to Chris Paul to Dwight Howard, has shown a dramatic increase in both confidence and leadership ability. Each of these guys bought fully into the team concept and it was refreshing to see the way they functioned in Beijing. Now, this has spilled over into the NBA season as these players are all leading top teams in the NBA.
What's my point in all of this? Maybe I'm just trying to justify this being more than just another Nuggets team that wins in the regular season only. Or maybe there's more here than that. Maybe, just maybe, the Nuggets have finally found the combination that they've been needing all these years. The next few weeks will be very telling, because the Nuggets have to at least maintain a .500 record while Melo is out to avoid losing serious ground in the brutal Western Conference. But if ever there was a Nuggets team that could survive time without Melo, this just might be it.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the blog, please post below or I can be reached at chrisf884@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.
The Nuggets (24-12, #2 in the Western Conference) have been a completely different team this season since the acquisition of Chauncey Billups for "me-first" star Allen Iverson. Don't get me wrong, Allen Iverson is likely a Hall of Famer and in his prime he was a franchise-defining player that could carry a team single-handed. But now, Iverson still has the score-first mindset but without the remaining gas in the tank to be a game-changing player. The Nuggets knew this, and I have to believe the Pistons knew this, too, when they agreed to the trade. The decision for the trade from the Detroit perspective seems pretty clear: they knew their window was almost closed, with The Big Three in Boston and LeBron dominating in Cleveland, in the Eastern Conference Detroit, with its roster at the start of the year, was a second-round playoff team at best.
The choice to move Billups makes perfect sense in the salary cap era. Billups was an aging (while still very effective) guard with 3 years left on his contract, while Iverson was the same aging (yet much less effective) guard with 1 year left on his huge contract. In other words, the Pistons had to decide whether to be above average this year before potentially losing Rasheed Wallace in free agency, or be average this year with the chance to clear Wallace and Iverson off the cap next year and buy some new, younger talent. They chose the latter. We'll never know if they could have made a push this year, one more (last?) time, but we will know in a year or two if the path they chose was correct.
As for the Nuggets, Billups is the perfect player for them right now. It's been an interesting road that has led to this point for Denver. The first incarnation of the Nuggets with Anthony was their most effective run-and-gun style, with Andre Miller manning the point and Marcus Camby, a great defender with enough "hops" to be an effective alley-oop target, playing center. The addition of Kenyon Martin was questionable at this point, as his defense was good but his offense didn't seem particularly suited to the up-and-down the court style. When Melo was suspended for 15 games for an ill-advised cheap shot on a player in a fight against the Knicks, the Nuggets decided that they needed more scoring to replace him, and that a second scorer would give the team more offensive versatility in the long run. This led to the trade of Miller for Iverson.
At first, Iverson's time in Denver was a big success, but as had been the case throughout Anthony's young career, the team simply wasn't good enough defensively or consistent enough offensively to compete in the slow-it-down, every possession counts postseason. Again, Denver was one-and-done in the playoffs. So the Nuggets finally decided that a new direction was needed. When Denver traded Camby for effectively nothing this offseason (officially the rights to swap second-round picks with the Clips in 2010... aka NOTHING), it looked like a clear cost-cutting move as Camby was a highly-paid player at a position where they already had another highly-paid, yet younger, player in Nene. What accidentally happened was the Nuggets put themselves in a position to completely shift gears as a team.
While losing Camby significantly hurt the team's defense and rebounding, the Nuggets have been finding over the last two years or so that both Nene and K-Mart are becoming competent defenders and managing to stay healthy, a huge issue with both. Both are also showing to be plenty competent offensive players in a half-court set, meaning that the missing ingredient was no longer a scorer, but instead a point guard that could actually make plays for his teammates. Allen Iverson, this was not. So when the Pistons decided it was time to make a change (rumors are this trade was discussed in the offseason, although it wasn't consummated until a couple games into the regular season), the Nuggets jumped at it and George Karl, a solid coach that has always liked solid point guards that could defend, got the player he'd been seeking since coming to Denver.
So if Chauncey is so important to the Nuggets' success, why am I so worried about the injury to Carmelo? Simply put, Carmelo is still the heart of this team. One thing I have definitely seen over the first 2 months of the season is that every member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, particularly the starters, from Melo to D-Wade to LeBron to Chris Paul to Dwight Howard, has shown a dramatic increase in both confidence and leadership ability. Each of these guys bought fully into the team concept and it was refreshing to see the way they functioned in Beijing. Now, this has spilled over into the NBA season as these players are all leading top teams in the NBA.
What's my point in all of this? Maybe I'm just trying to justify this being more than just another Nuggets team that wins in the regular season only. Or maybe there's more here than that. Maybe, just maybe, the Nuggets have finally found the combination that they've been needing all these years. The next few weeks will be very telling, because the Nuggets have to at least maintain a .500 record while Melo is out to avoid losing serious ground in the brutal Western Conference. But if ever there was a Nuggets team that could survive time without Melo, this just might be it.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the blog, please post below or I can be reached at chrisf884@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
So What Else is New?
Yesterday I covered the big stories (on the field, at least) in the NFL thus far this year. Today, let's take a look at what we know so far in the NBA season.
1. There are three teams that can win the title. The Lakers, Caveliers and Celtics are the clear-cut favorites for the NBA title this season, and there's really no argument to be made for anyone else. In the NBA this year, as is often the case, there are a finite number of teams with the star power and depth that it takes to win the title, which is why we see so many teams stay at the top for extended periods while the rest of the league toils away in the "everyone else" column. Last year, the Celts and Lakers (after the Pau Gasol trade) were the clear favorites, while the Pistons, Cavs, Spurs and Hornets, and to a lesser extent Jazz, were the "if we can get all the right breaks and play our very best in the playoffs, we might have a shot" teams. In other words, they were the contenders, and everyone else was just along for the ride. This year, the Cavs made the jump to that top echelon, while it looks like the Nuggets and Rockets have moved up to the contender level, and the Pistons officially declared they're looking to tear down that roster.
2. The Knicks should change their name to the "New York Summer of 2010s." Mike D'antoni was given a huge contract to lead the Knicks back to relevance, but this turnaround will not happen overnight, and they know it. While the Knicks have been surprisingly competitive this year, their recent roster moves (trading Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, two of their only long-term contract players) clearly signal that the building process has begun, and it's all supposed to come together in the fabled "summer of 2010." In case you haven't been following the league lately, that summer marks the free agency of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Steve Nash (you know the star Canadian guard would love to get back together with the Suns old coach), among many others. Currently the Knicks have 0 contracts on their payroll that don't expire within the next two years. Heck, they may even have enough cap flexibility to sign 3 superstars, with room left over for the customary flock of veterans willing to take a discount to play for a title (see Celtics, Boston, 2007-08).
3. Trades have started early this year. Headlined by the Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade, which has turned out to be very one-sided in favor of the Nuggets save the fact that Iverson is a much-coveted expiring contract, this year has already seen a handful of meaningful trades. Now that December 15th has passed, players that signed with new teams this offseason have also become available for trade. So the next few weeks and months leading up to the trade deadline should be quite fascinating, although as outlined above, every trade will be performed with an eye on 2010. The question is, as the Western conference appears tighter and tighter at the top, which team is going to make that desperate move to try to move from an also-ran to a contender? And will it have the same damaging effects as the Shaq and Jason Kidd trades did last year, effectively closing the Suns and Mavs windows for a title.
4. The Thunder may be historically bad. For those of you rooting for the Detroit Lions to "run the table backwards," I present to you the 2008-09 Oklahoma City Thunder! They are, after all, on pace to set the NBA record for losses in a season. Are they really that bad? No... probably not. Could they pull it off anyway? Absolutely.
5. Coaches are dropping like flies. Six head coaches have already bitten the dust and I have no doubt more will inevitably follow. And we haven't even reached the new year yet. Just crazy. But this begs the question, back to my first point, if it's so clear who is in contention, is there really any reason to get rid of the coach when the team's ceiling is a first-round playoff loss?
Next up, and quick glance at the MLB Hot Stove League and how the tanking economy has played a big role.
Chris
1. There are three teams that can win the title. The Lakers, Caveliers and Celtics are the clear-cut favorites for the NBA title this season, and there's really no argument to be made for anyone else. In the NBA this year, as is often the case, there are a finite number of teams with the star power and depth that it takes to win the title, which is why we see so many teams stay at the top for extended periods while the rest of the league toils away in the "everyone else" column. Last year, the Celts and Lakers (after the Pau Gasol trade) were the clear favorites, while the Pistons, Cavs, Spurs and Hornets, and to a lesser extent Jazz, were the "if we can get all the right breaks and play our very best in the playoffs, we might have a shot" teams. In other words, they were the contenders, and everyone else was just along for the ride. This year, the Cavs made the jump to that top echelon, while it looks like the Nuggets and Rockets have moved up to the contender level, and the Pistons officially declared they're looking to tear down that roster.
2. The Knicks should change their name to the "New York Summer of 2010s." Mike D'antoni was given a huge contract to lead the Knicks back to relevance, but this turnaround will not happen overnight, and they know it. While the Knicks have been surprisingly competitive this year, their recent roster moves (trading Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, two of their only long-term contract players) clearly signal that the building process has begun, and it's all supposed to come together in the fabled "summer of 2010." In case you haven't been following the league lately, that summer marks the free agency of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Steve Nash (you know the star Canadian guard would love to get back together with the Suns old coach), among many others. Currently the Knicks have 0 contracts on their payroll that don't expire within the next two years. Heck, they may even have enough cap flexibility to sign 3 superstars, with room left over for the customary flock of veterans willing to take a discount to play for a title (see Celtics, Boston, 2007-08).
3. Trades have started early this year. Headlined by the Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson trade, which has turned out to be very one-sided in favor of the Nuggets save the fact that Iverson is a much-coveted expiring contract, this year has already seen a handful of meaningful trades. Now that December 15th has passed, players that signed with new teams this offseason have also become available for trade. So the next few weeks and months leading up to the trade deadline should be quite fascinating, although as outlined above, every trade will be performed with an eye on 2010. The question is, as the Western conference appears tighter and tighter at the top, which team is going to make that desperate move to try to move from an also-ran to a contender? And will it have the same damaging effects as the Shaq and Jason Kidd trades did last year, effectively closing the Suns and Mavs windows for a title.
4. The Thunder may be historically bad. For those of you rooting for the Detroit Lions to "run the table backwards," I present to you the 2008-09 Oklahoma City Thunder! They are, after all, on pace to set the NBA record for losses in a season. Are they really that bad? No... probably not. Could they pull it off anyway? Absolutely.
5. Coaches are dropping like flies. Six head coaches have already bitten the dust and I have no doubt more will inevitably follow. And we haven't even reached the new year yet. Just crazy. But this begs the question, back to my first point, if it's so clear who is in contention, is there really any reason to get rid of the coach when the team's ceiling is a first-round playoff loss?
Next up, and quick glance at the MLB Hot Stove League and how the tanking economy has played a big role.
Chris
Monday, July 7, 2008
What a year to be a sports fan
From steroids to gambling to cheating to game-fixing refs, virtually all sports around the world, and in the U.S. in particular, have come under heavy scrutiny of late and are facing image problems in one form or another. Despite all these issues that have recently been brought to the forefront, the products on the field have been some of the best a sports fan could hope for, and I could easily argue that this has been the greatest year ever to be a sports fan. Almost every time you turn on the T.V. to watch a major sports event, you have been treated to an all-time great performance or an epic contest. So with that in mind, here are my top 5 best championship events in sports in 2008 (keep in mind some may have been missed since those listed are only the events I watched live).
Honorable Mention #1: Euro 2008 - The final of the European soccer championship last weekend was some very high quality soccer, but the drama was somewhat lacking due to the impressive style with which the Spanish won. The best match in the tournament, Turkey's improbable 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic, would easily make the top 5 list if not for the fact that these are only events which directly determined the champion.
Honorable Mention #2: Stanley Cup Finals, Game 5 - This 3 overtime epic barely misses the cut do to one thing: the winner of the game did not win the title. Had the Pens used the thrilling late-night victory to propel themselves to a series win, which would have meant overcoming a 3-1 series deficit, then this game may well have found it's way into the top 2. Alas, the veteran Red Wings regrouped to seal the series in game 6 in Pittsburgh, and leave this as a great game, even if it's simply a footnote in the series.
5. NBA Finals, Game 4 - Unimaginatively labeled "The Comeback Game" by ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, game 4 was arguably the deciding game of the NBA Finals this year with the Celtics overcoming a 20+ point third quarter deficit in Los Angeles to earn the first road win for either team in the series. With the win giving the Celtics a statistically insurmountable 3-1 series lead, the final two games lost some luster as it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Boston would take home the title. It's because of this, and because I had no real rooting interest in the series, that this game makes only the #5 spot on the list. It was an incredible win, but I personally didn't feel chills while watching.
4. NCAA Basketball Men's Championship Game - Over the past several years, the title game of the NCAA basketball tournament has been less than gripping, and often the entire Final Four turns out to have little excitement. This year appeared to be on the same course as Kansas and Memphis dispatched of their foes without too much struggle in the semifinals, but we had no idea what was in store in the final. What happened that Monday night in early April was one of the most exciting finals in NCAA tournament history, thanks largely to the coming of age of Memphis freshman point guard and 2008 NBA Draft #1 overall pick Derrick Rose. Rose seemed to take the game over in the final 10 minutes, helping Memphis turn a close game into a potential runaway with Kansas struggling to keep up. But Kansas persevered, and Memphis's fatal flaw, free throw shooting, was exposed as the Jayhawks completed an impossible comeback, down 8 in the last minute and a half, and eventually won going away in overtime. Had the overtime portion been as exciting as regulation, this game likely would have made it higher.
3. U.S. Open Golf Championship, 18-hole Playoff - This may forever go down as the greatest "Injured star willing himself/his team to a Championship" event of all time. Knowing that he was not 100% entering the 4 day event, Tiger Woods fought through pain and the PGA Tour's toughest course of the year for four days, even leading after 54 holes going into Sunday. Then, the sports world was stunned as relative unknown Rocco Mediate, a man who had never won a major and would be expected to be well beyond his prime, pushed the World's No. 1 to the brink, only to watch from the clubhouse as Woods sunk a cold-blooded 12 foot putt on #18 for birdie to force the playoff the next day. What followed was one of the most incredible rounds of golf of all time, with the star and the no-name battling back and forth, each holding as much as a 3-stroke lead, with Woods nailing yet another birdie putt on 18 for the title. The result would gain further amazement value over the next couple days as the full extent of Woods' injuries (a torn ACL and a broken leg) became public knowledge. Were it not for the inherently slow nature of golf, this would have been an easy #1.
2. Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Men's Singles Final - A match that upon its conclusion was dubbed by many, including former tennis great John McEnroe, as possibly the greatest match of all time, was an easy choice for this list. The competitors, the "aging" superstar on his best surface and one he's owned for the past five years (Roger Federer) against the rising star that has dominated the clay courts but has never won a major on any other surface (Rafael Nadal). The stakes were simple: either Federer wins and sets a modern record for consecutive Wimbledon titles won, or Nadal wins and signals a changing of the guard and proves once and for all that he has the game to win on any surface. Like a classic "Rocky" film, the aging Federer fell into an early hole, losing the first set before completely choking away the second set, blowing a 4-2 lead to fall 6-4, Federer seemed to be on the ropes. But then the rain came, and midway through the third set the players had a break to regroup. And regroup Federer did, fighting back to win the third in a tie break and then scratching and clawing to a breathtaking fourth set tiebreak win, erasing a 5-2 tiebreak deficit. With neither player showing any sign of losing his service games after the second set, the match seemed destined to be called on account of darkness, but with the final set tied 7-7, Nadal finally stole a break, and despite Federer's valiant efforts in the final game, Nadal again held serve, being broken only once in the match, and won his first Wimbledon title.
1. Super Bowl XLII - Even if you had no real interest in either the New York Giants or New England Patriots, you still were rooting for someone in this game. You had no choice. It was one of the biggest Super Bowl underdogs of all time against the unstoppable 18-0 juggernaut. What's more, it was a rematch of a week 17 game that was meaningless in the standings and yet still turned out to be the best game of the entire regular season. The Giants had accomplished the improbable, winning 3 road playoff games en route to the Super Bowl, a feat matched by the 2005 Super Bowl champion Steelers but not expected ever to be equalled. The Patriots had cruised for more than half of the regular season, but were not blowing anybody out in the second half of the season or the playoffs and were starting to seem almost mortal. Still the Vegas wiseguys opened the line at Patriots by 14 and it held at 10+ even as game time arrived. I myself told a friend of mine that the only result that would surprise me would be a Giants blowout win. Anything else seemed possible, but I certainly didn't expect what happened. The defenses dominated. Only 5 weeks after the teams previously met in a 38-35 shootout at Giants Stadium, neither team was able to muster much offense throughout the game, with the Giants d-line constantly pressuring Tom Brady while the Patriots stuffed the Giants running game. Despite the defenses dominating, the game never felt like it was dragging with each possession gaining importance as the game moved along. When the Pats offense finally seemed to find its stride midway through the fourth quarter, and they broke into the endzone for a 14-10 lead, the game felt like it was over. But time was nowhere near up for the G-Men, and the much-maligned Eli Manning took the game in his hands, moving the Giants confidently down the field, aided by the most spectacular catch in Super Bowl history (argue if you want, but it's true). Finally, with under a minute to play, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for the touchdown and a 3 point lead, and the Patriots were stunned. 17-14 has already become a black mark throughout New England, and fans will never hear the end of 18-1, the would-be perfect season ended by the likes of Eli Manning and rival New York.
Honorable Mention #1: Euro 2008 - The final of the European soccer championship last weekend was some very high quality soccer, but the drama was somewhat lacking due to the impressive style with which the Spanish won. The best match in the tournament, Turkey's improbable 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Czech Republic, would easily make the top 5 list if not for the fact that these are only events which directly determined the champion.
Honorable Mention #2: Stanley Cup Finals, Game 5 - This 3 overtime epic barely misses the cut do to one thing: the winner of the game did not win the title. Had the Pens used the thrilling late-night victory to propel themselves to a series win, which would have meant overcoming a 3-1 series deficit, then this game may well have found it's way into the top 2. Alas, the veteran Red Wings regrouped to seal the series in game 6 in Pittsburgh, and leave this as a great game, even if it's simply a footnote in the series.
5. NBA Finals, Game 4 - Unimaginatively labeled "The Comeback Game" by ESPN.com's Bill Simmons, game 4 was arguably the deciding game of the NBA Finals this year with the Celtics overcoming a 20+ point third quarter deficit in Los Angeles to earn the first road win for either team in the series. With the win giving the Celtics a statistically insurmountable 3-1 series lead, the final two games lost some luster as it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Boston would take home the title. It's because of this, and because I had no real rooting interest in the series, that this game makes only the #5 spot on the list. It was an incredible win, but I personally didn't feel chills while watching.
4. NCAA Basketball Men's Championship Game - Over the past several years, the title game of the NCAA basketball tournament has been less than gripping, and often the entire Final Four turns out to have little excitement. This year appeared to be on the same course as Kansas and Memphis dispatched of their foes without too much struggle in the semifinals, but we had no idea what was in store in the final. What happened that Monday night in early April was one of the most exciting finals in NCAA tournament history, thanks largely to the coming of age of Memphis freshman point guard and 2008 NBA Draft #1 overall pick Derrick Rose. Rose seemed to take the game over in the final 10 minutes, helping Memphis turn a close game into a potential runaway with Kansas struggling to keep up. But Kansas persevered, and Memphis's fatal flaw, free throw shooting, was exposed as the Jayhawks completed an impossible comeback, down 8 in the last minute and a half, and eventually won going away in overtime. Had the overtime portion been as exciting as regulation, this game likely would have made it higher.
3. U.S. Open Golf Championship, 18-hole Playoff - This may forever go down as the greatest "Injured star willing himself/his team to a Championship" event of all time. Knowing that he was not 100% entering the 4 day event, Tiger Woods fought through pain and the PGA Tour's toughest course of the year for four days, even leading after 54 holes going into Sunday. Then, the sports world was stunned as relative unknown Rocco Mediate, a man who had never won a major and would be expected to be well beyond his prime, pushed the World's No. 1 to the brink, only to watch from the clubhouse as Woods sunk a cold-blooded 12 foot putt on #18 for birdie to force the playoff the next day. What followed was one of the most incredible rounds of golf of all time, with the star and the no-name battling back and forth, each holding as much as a 3-stroke lead, with Woods nailing yet another birdie putt on 18 for the title. The result would gain further amazement value over the next couple days as the full extent of Woods' injuries (a torn ACL and a broken leg) became public knowledge. Were it not for the inherently slow nature of golf, this would have been an easy #1.
2. Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Men's Singles Final - A match that upon its conclusion was dubbed by many, including former tennis great John McEnroe, as possibly the greatest match of all time, was an easy choice for this list. The competitors, the "aging" superstar on his best surface and one he's owned for the past five years (Roger Federer) against the rising star that has dominated the clay courts but has never won a major on any other surface (Rafael Nadal). The stakes were simple: either Federer wins and sets a modern record for consecutive Wimbledon titles won, or Nadal wins and signals a changing of the guard and proves once and for all that he has the game to win on any surface. Like a classic "Rocky" film, the aging Federer fell into an early hole, losing the first set before completely choking away the second set, blowing a 4-2 lead to fall 6-4, Federer seemed to be on the ropes. But then the rain came, and midway through the third set the players had a break to regroup. And regroup Federer did, fighting back to win the third in a tie break and then scratching and clawing to a breathtaking fourth set tiebreak win, erasing a 5-2 tiebreak deficit. With neither player showing any sign of losing his service games after the second set, the match seemed destined to be called on account of darkness, but with the final set tied 7-7, Nadal finally stole a break, and despite Federer's valiant efforts in the final game, Nadal again held serve, being broken only once in the match, and won his first Wimbledon title.
1. Super Bowl XLII - Even if you had no real interest in either the New York Giants or New England Patriots, you still were rooting for someone in this game. You had no choice. It was one of the biggest Super Bowl underdogs of all time against the unstoppable 18-0 juggernaut. What's more, it was a rematch of a week 17 game that was meaningless in the standings and yet still turned out to be the best game of the entire regular season. The Giants had accomplished the improbable, winning 3 road playoff games en route to the Super Bowl, a feat matched by the 2005 Super Bowl champion Steelers but not expected ever to be equalled. The Patriots had cruised for more than half of the regular season, but were not blowing anybody out in the second half of the season or the playoffs and were starting to seem almost mortal. Still the Vegas wiseguys opened the line at Patriots by 14 and it held at 10+ even as game time arrived. I myself told a friend of mine that the only result that would surprise me would be a Giants blowout win. Anything else seemed possible, but I certainly didn't expect what happened. The defenses dominated. Only 5 weeks after the teams previously met in a 38-35 shootout at Giants Stadium, neither team was able to muster much offense throughout the game, with the Giants d-line constantly pressuring Tom Brady while the Patriots stuffed the Giants running game. Despite the defenses dominating, the game never felt like it was dragging with each possession gaining importance as the game moved along. When the Pats offense finally seemed to find its stride midway through the fourth quarter, and they broke into the endzone for a 14-10 lead, the game felt like it was over. But time was nowhere near up for the G-Men, and the much-maligned Eli Manning took the game in his hands, moving the Giants confidently down the field, aided by the most spectacular catch in Super Bowl history (argue if you want, but it's true). Finally, with under a minute to play, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for the touchdown and a 3 point lead, and the Patriots were stunned. 17-14 has already become a black mark throughout New England, and fans will never hear the end of 18-1, the would-be perfect season ended by the likes of Eli Manning and rival New York.
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