15 Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs

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1. Chris Paul* is the best player in the NBA right now.

* when healthy

There are sooooo many ways to classify this distinction, but here's mine: Who do you want on your team with 5 minutes left in a tie game situation? My answer is Chris Paul. Over LeBron (who, obviously, I'd much rather have for an 82 game season), Kobe, Dirk, or Durant. He is simply magnificent with the ball in his hands. Smarter than any other star in the league, every move he makes on the court feels calculated. A complaint here, a dish there, it's all done with reason. The problem is that Paul struggles to remain healthy. He ripped through the Grizzlies up until he pulled a nut. He looked better in Game 7, but clearly still not 100%.

2. The Clippers will beat the Spurs in 6 games.*

* if Chris Paul is healthy

Yes, I hate the Spurs and am openly biased with my opinions of them. However, I also correctly picked them to lose to the Grizzlies last year. I honestly can't even watch the Spurs, so I don't really understand how they're so good this year, but apparently Tony Parker is dominant now. Eric Bledsoe (the unsung hero of yesterday's Game 7) might play a pivotal role in shutting down Mr. Longoria-Parker. Just remember, lockout seasons get crazy in the NBA (the Knicks made the Finals as an 8 seed in 1999). The first round was rather tame (aside from an 8 seed beating a 1 seed, although it hardly classified as an upset after D-Rose's injury). This second round could, might get crazy...

3. The Lakers will beat the Thunder in 7 games.

Lets acknowledge some facts. I'm still bitter about Kevin Durant's lucky game winning shot in the opener against the Mavs. I might cheer for the Lakers with the excuse that I want to see an all L.A. Western Conference Finals. The Thunder are extremely young (staggering that their best four players are all 23 or younger). The Lakers have been here before. End facts, cue opinions. I don't think the Thunder are ready. They're too jumpshotty. They're still wet behind the ears (whatever the fuck that means?). I expect Gasol and Bynum to beat them up inside. I think Shitface Artest will break the record for number of times bringing the opposing crowd to such a hostile level that people wonder aloud how good the security in Oklahoma City actually is (currently held by Ron Mudbutt).

4. Kobe Bryant was the 6th best player on the court in Saturday night's Game 7 victory.

Gasol, Bynum, Steve Blake (that game shall be known as "The Steve Blake Game"), Ty Lawson, and Al Harrington make up 1-5. And this is a compliment. Seriously. Old Kobe wouldn't have been able to accept the fact that the Lakers won or lost without him playing a significant role in the game (however, his insecure side still had to let the world know that he was double teamed the entire game. Oh, Kobe). But the Lakers are at their best when he is facilitating. Their strength is their size and their size is their strength. If Kobe figures this out, then the Lakers will the West.

5. Inside The NBA reached best show on TV status this week.

I've heard lots of disses on Shaq, but I don't get it. Sure, his opinions aren't as strong as Barkley's (or even Ernie's), but he brings some comedy to the table. His opinion on Kobe and the Lakers is always interesting. But the show is so open-ended that you never know what debates will spark up (and they're almost always interesting). It's must see TV from now until the Finals.

6. My favorite player to watch in Round 1 was Javale McGee.

This dude. Every play he makes is an adventure. He's like a Saturday morning cartoon on a basketball court. He plays hard, doesn't fully understand goaltending, shoots sky hooks, puts up 21 and 14 one night and 2 and 5 the next, and is watched real closely by his former WNBA playing mom who sits courtside.

7. My favorite player moving forward is Reggie Evans.

Yes, he of the Sea-dragon Hall of Fame. Evans is the thickest dude in the NBA. Maybe not physically, but anatomically. I watched Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol bounce off him without Evans even grabbing a ball. In that series, he eventually became more valuable to the Clippers than Blake Griffin because of Blake's injury and because of the size of Memphis. He shut down Z-Bo. Next up, Timmay.

8. My favorite moment of Round 1 was Kenyon Martin's stalker stumbling on to the court in Denver.

However, the best part was the continued coverage from the television team. Contrary to the NFL ignoring streakers and such, they showed multiple replays and even came out of halftime with the back story on the crazy bitch. She's well known in Denver, isn't allowed in the arena, and used to stalk Kenyon Martin, who no longer even plays for the Nuggets.

9. Blake Griffin may have figured his shit out in Game 7.

It was one of the best games I've watched him play, a game that he finished with 8 points and 4 rebounds. But he battled all game long. Those easy baskets that the Grizz were scoring on him weren't there in Game 7. On the offensive end, he kept his theatrics to a minimum. I believe he creates a frenzy around his team because he overreacts every time he gets touched, both in body flailing and in staring down the refs. Too often, the entire Clippers team comes away thinking they're being officiated unjustly. Somebody had to have said something to him before Game 7, and I'd put 100 bucks on it being Chris Paul. Jeff Van Gundy chronicled the whole situation beautifully throughout the game yesterday.

10. Jeff Van Gundy should become the next Commissioner of the NBA.

He is leading a one-man charge against the flopping pandemic (PANDEMIC!) in the NBA, even getting it brought up to Commissioner Stern in an interview during yesterday's Heat/Pacers game. Until the NBA responds to flopping with fines or suspensions, then it'll continue to remain a problem with the game (especially if the Clippers and Heat continue to advance).

11. Tie game with 24 seconds left, I'm not going to Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Carmelo, Durant, or even Dirk.

I'm putting the ball in Paul Pierce's hands, the most underrated player in all of sports. Pierce never gets his due. Never, ever, ever has he been mentioned among the game's elite, and yet there he is carrying his team to a playoff victory on the road sans Rondo and Ray Allen. There he is guarding the other team's best player. There he is waddling his fat ass to the elbow, stepping back, and hitting big shot after big shot, game after game.

12. The Celtics will beat the 76ers in 6 games.

And I probably won't watch more than one.

13. The Pacers will be lucky to win a game against the Heat.

They're already freaking out about the foul discrepancy in Game 1 (not even bad). They play no-star basketball (not an insult, watching the Pacers play is rather refreshing when compared to Lebron and Wade's dueling banjos routine). Their best player, Danny Granger, has been afraid of every big moment I've seen him in. They had a chance to steal Game 1 and couldn't get it done. They got owned in crunch time. Heat in 5.

14. The impending Heat/Celtics Eastern Conference Finals will be the best series of the Playoffs.

I give the Celtics the best chance of taking out the Heat this year. It takes a certain mental make up to beat the Heat, one that everybody was surprised the 2011 Mavs had. But they had it. And the Celtics have it. They (irrationally) believe that they would've taken the Heat down last year had Rajon Rondo not gotten hurt. That's both incorrect and admirable. They're rolling this year though. They beat the Heat up last two times they played. I think they fully realize that if they lose to the Heat this year then their run is over and done with. The Celtics will be all in, and when those warriors are all in, results usually follow. I cannot wait for this series. I kinda wish they'd cancel the semifinals and just let them play a 15 game series (could you imagine the home crowd for a Game 15 in Miami? They might even show up before the end of the first quarter).

15. After debating Mark Cuban's offseason decisions for 6 months, I still have no idea if he made the right decision or not.

Maybe you can help me. I'll lay out the arguments on each side of the debate. First off, the decision under discussion was to not resign Tyson Chandler, JJ Barea, and DeShawn Stephenson following last season's NBA title run.

Cuban was right - The team's money would all be spoken for right now. And the team would be old. The team would've struggled to match the hunger of last year's team. What happens if you bring everybody back and you lose in the first round? You're looking at starting over from scratch. With the cap room, Deron Williams more than likely joins the team this offseason, and the Mavs are back to being title contenders for the foreseeable future.

Cuban was wrong - The Mavs didn't defend their title, they didn't even really try. The team was still decent, but the players (especially Jason Terry, the Mavs' emotional leader) could read the writing on the wall - This is your last year in Dallas. Meanwhile, the West was wide open and you could've made the Finals for a second straight year. You're sacrificing a year of Dirk's prime (which might have ended with the title as well). What do you do if Deron Williams doesn't come to Dallas? That's the worst case scenario and would be an absolute disaster for the Mavs.

Go Clipz,
His Dirkness

NBA Playoffs Opening Weekend Thoughts

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Purely judging off the opening weekend, this could be the craziest NBA Playoffs of all time. Yes, it's rash to believe that already, but would you really be surprised? The Lakers are fading. The Heat aren't yet the juggernaut they will be in a couple years. Same with the Knicks. The Spurs are nearing extinction. Same with the Celtics. The Bulls and Thunder are a year or two away from maturing into superpowers. Same with the Dirkness. In other words, this thing is wide open.

It feels like the NBA is due for a crazy playoffs. With by far the tamest postseason of all the major sports (mostly due to 7 game seriesesesses), there isn't much precedence for a wild n' crazy (KIDS!) playoffs. In 1999, the Knicks went to the NBA Finals as an 8 seed, but that deserves a huge asterisk because it was a strike shortened season that only saw 50 regular season games (EXACTLY what the NBA should go to). Outside of that, you have the Mavs going down to Golden State as a top seed (I think I finally see why it was such a big deal) in 2007 and the Sonics to the Nuggets as a top seed in 1994 (the images of Dikembe are fannnntastic). We haven't seen a 7 seed over a 2 seed since 1998 (also Knicks over Heat). The last 6 seed to beat a 3 seed was in 2006 (and it was the Clippers!). Beyond the first round, the Pistons over the Lakers in 2004 and the Magic over the Cavaliers in 2008 come to mind, but those definitely weren't shockers. Upsets in the NBA playoffs just don't happen all that often (and yes I live in a sports world that began in the 90's).

Every game of this opening weekend seemed to be a toss up though. The Pacers should have beaten the Bulls. The 76ers put a scare into the Heat. The Hawks whooped the Magic. The Grizz and the Hornets shocked the Spurs and the Lakers, respectively (pinky extension), while the Knicks and the Nuggets led throughout playing on the road. Not one of the home teams dominated the opening game of the opening round. Wild n' crazy? Not yet, but a great start.

Lets hit up some of the seriesesesses for some further in depth analysis, shall we? We shall...

Dirks/Blazers - The Mavs finally have some size to protect Dirk down low. Tyson Chandler might be the perfect compliment to His 'Ness. However, the Mavs are gonna have trouble scoring throughout these playoffs (I feel they were fortunate to even be in Game 1 after their 2nd half shooting slump, and I thank the refs for that). Their best bet is to manage games, keep them close, and then win them in the end. Dirk was able to take over in the 4th quarter (18 points) on Saturday, and will have to continue to do so for the Mavs to advance.

Bulls/Pacers - I felt bad for the Pacers the way they dominated that game, but couldn't pull it out. I'm sad to say, but I think they'll get swept now. The real story of this series is His Forgiveness of Tyler Hansbrough. Once thought to be a permanent Dirkness whipping boy, I've found it in my heart to forgive he. Call it the Josh Freeman Theory. If I speak out against you time and time again, but you prove me wrong, I'll usually come out as a fan of yours. I'm a very flexible fan that likes my impressions of teams and players to adjust on the fly. I've been practicing my Psycho T celebrations ever since.

Heat/76ers - One of the best, if not the best, traditions in sports returns with the Miami Heat playoff White outs!!!!!!! It's time to FAN UP. Just caught the PTI interview with LeBron from Friday, and was shocked to hear Bron concede that he has accepted his role as a villain, when in reality I don't think he has (not showing up for the intros in Cleveland is my best evidence). This is a great example of why I just can't get behind LeBron.

Spurs/Grizzlies - Didn't get to watch it but BOO YAH!!!

Lakers/Hornets - Boy, do I owe an apology to Chris Paul after making this statement...

For whatever reason Chris Paul bores me.

From the sounds of it (I didn't get to see this game either) Paul was the most exciting player of the opening games. I was just firing him up! The Hornets only had 3 turnovers in the game. 3!!! Seems like it was all Chris Paul. I had forgotten about Trevor Ariza, who is now going up against his former team, and could have something to prove. Hopefully this series stays fun. For now, the next 3 games are all must see TV.

Celtics/Knicks - Interesting series because both teams best players all matchup with one another. Billups and Rondo. Carmelo and Pierce. Amar'e and KG. Which leaves the difference maker, Ray Allen. The Knicks need a fourth player to step up (Toney Douglas might be he), and will need even more than that if Chauncey is out for more than just Game 2 (which is what they're saying now). Lastly, the call on Carmelo last night was incomprehensibly bad. I really believe the ref forgot where they were at in the game. You can't make that call at that time. And if you argue a foul is a foul (which is a tired, sophomoric argument) then they should've called the illegal screen on Garnett at the other end.

Thunder/Nuggets (similar to stuff you get out in California) - This was a trendy upset pick, but as I was watching this game, I never thought the Thunder would lose despite trailing throughout most of the contest. Everybody's worst fear of the Nuggets shined through, and they were completely unable to score at the end of the game (Kenyon Martin long jumper and Tymond Lawton heaving a 3 on their two biggest possessions).

I conclude thee with a look at the +/- stats (only the most telling stat in the game) from the games this weekend. Here's the high man and low man from each of the games...

Bulls/Pacers - Kyle Korver +13, Keith Bogans -11
Heat/Sixers - Dwyane Wade +17, Jrue Holliday -8
Magic/Hawks - Kirk Hinrich (and his sniper goggs) +21!, Brandon Bass -20
Mavs/Blaze - Dirk Nowitzki (like there was any doubt) +17, Brandon Roy -10

Spurs/Grizzlies - Marc Gasol/Tony Allen +8, Gary Neal -16
Lakers/Hornets - Aaron Gray +25!!!, Andrew Bynum -15
Celtics/Knicks - Big Baby +13, Jermaine O'Neal (odd because he played really well) -11
Thunder/Nuggets - Nick Collison (high on the regular season +/- list) +12, JR Smith -11

There you go, that's who's good and who sucks. Not up for debate. Here's to hoping Game 2's live up to the expectations of Game 1's.

His dirkness