Watching the Greats

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Living through a great athlete’s career is something special.  Watching Federer, Woods, Phelps, Kobe, Mariano, and the countless other dominating stars of our time gives you a sense of perspective.  It’s a rare moment where nobody’s looking towards the past or future.  You embrace the present, not preaching about the old days and how players were better and more disciplined in an older generation.  It’s a victory for people my age.  Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett are the two greatest power forwards of all time.  Ironically, there personalities are opposite.  Duncan’s career has been spent on a constant contender, yet you would never recognize it from his Ed Helms-like voice.  No shouting or flopping from Duncan, just quiet leadership.  Garnett, well you know Garnett.  He dominated with his defense and questionably legal screen setting.  His tough guy act involves intense sweat dripping from his rigid face like a Gatorade commercial, only to be interrupted with interludes of random phrases of confidence shouted from his ever-moving mouth.  But the beauty of living through greatness is that we can appreciate both of them separately.  I’ll always remember Duncan as a true role model.  He did his job with class and did it better than anybody ever has.  He’s a winner with the “clutch-gene” yet he doesn’t have to lead with his voice.  And I’ll always remember Garnett as one of the best tickets in sports.  Any night you went to see him, he gave it his all, even if it means pissing off Charles Oakley and every other washed up tough guy that’s jealous of Garnett’s incredible talent.  Duncan will be remembered as the greatest power forward ever, and KG will be remembered as the 2nd best.  But the disparity isn’t because of personality, or lack there of.  It’s because of championships.  And even at their age, with the injuries both have endured, both of their teams are in the playoffs.  Because that’s what the greatest players of all time do.  They play and fight until the game’s over, and when the lights dim on these two hall of famers, I’ll take a moment and appreciate how lucky I am to have watched two of the greatest to ever play.

Last Second Shots

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When Mario Chalmers tried to tie game two of the Pacers-Heat series with a contested three, I knew the next day was going to be insufferable.  Talk show hosts and bloggers alike would condemn the Heat for not putting the ball in LeBron’s hands once again.  And this time, they might’ve been right.  Rather than allow LeBron to create, they settled with a very low percentage three from Chalmers.  It might not have been the ideal play, but it was certainly a change from the normal last possessions in the NBA nowadays. Usually, you square your star up, let him work in isolation until he clinks a contested shot off the back of the rim.  If you’re lucky, there’s a pick and roll involved.  So I assumed Chalmers three was an anomaly; a weird broken play that only looked half-designed.  But in the waning moments of last night’s game, Mike Brown trusted his point guard and allowed Steve Blake to take a wide-open three with the game on the line.  And they should let him do that every time.  The Thunder knew they were allowing a solid shooter to take a completely uncontested three rather than put the ball in Kobe’s hands.  And it’s absolutely better for the Lakers than letting Bryant swing the ball in his hands waiting for the slightest inch of separation.  For some reason, brilliant NBA coaches stop drawing up plays in the last 15 seconds of the game.  Perhaps it’s fear of a broken play or turnover, but there is no shame in allowing your supporting cast to take a shot with the game on the line.  It’s certainly better odds than letting your small forward or shooting guard take a shot when the entire opposing team recognizes that he’s going to shoot.  The Heat certainly didn’t execute well, and the Lakers simply missed an open jumper, but I’m happy there’s a trend in the NBA of drawing up last second plays rather than allowing another iso to no avail.

The Pacers Point Guards

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The Pacers have a problem at point guard.  Not because they don’t have a starter, but because it’s tough to decide who to start.  The options are George Hill and Darren Collison.  Collison started the season as the number one point guard.  His averages this year have dropped slightly, but he still averages ten points and five assists a game.  Hill is an x-factor.  He averages nine points and three assists, but that’s not where his value is.  He’s managed to identify himself as a clutch three-point shooter, just as he was in San Antonio.  He struggled early on in the year, but it appears the momentum is swinging his way.  They split time game one, but in game two, Hill played 35 minutes opposed to Collison’s 17 minutes.  Hill was forced to sit minutes in game one because of foul trouble, a problem that plagued the Pacers in that first game.  It’s a truly tough decision for Frank Vogel that could result in both of them starting.  Collison is more of a pure point guard.  He has the ability to create of the dribble and run in transition.  Hill can play the traditional point but thrives when the drives of Paul George and Danny Granger create open shooting opportunities for him.  Either way, both are going to have to get major minutes if they want to beat the Heat.  It might seem like a trivial decision in a gigantic playoff series, but against a Miami team that struggles at point guard, it will affect the rhythm of the game from minute one.  Even though I believe Collison is more effective than Hill, starting Hill for game three might be just what Indiana needs.  His shooting can rile up the crowd quickly, and Collison has been an extremely effective energy boost off the bench.  Vogel might elect to start both Collison and Hill, offering them a true point and a clutch shooter on the floor at the same time.  Whatever his decision is, you can bet it will dramatically affect the outcome of the game.

 

Here’s Why Nash Is Needed On The Knicks

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Writes the Daily News’ Frank Isola and Kevin Armstrong, “Ideally, the Knicks would have Nash as their starting point guard next season with Jeremy Lin serving as the understudy. The addition of the two-time MVP would go a long way toward making the partnership of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony a successful one.”

We totally agree. And we understand why Amare Stoudamire has begun making his pitch for Steve Nash public.“Everyone knows that Steve loves New York and that New York loves Steve,” Stoudemire told The New York Daily News. “I love Steve. It would be great to have him here next year.”

The move just makes sense! Think about it…Without Nash next year, Jeremy Lin, who will probably be $5 million richer this summer when he’s offered and accepts the mid-level exception from the N.Y. Knicks, would ultimately be the starting PG. So with an aging and broken down Baron Davis more than likely getting set to retire after blowing out his knee during the Miami series, that would leave Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby, assuming they’re still with the Knicks, to back up Lin.

It would also leave one of them to become the starter in case Lin should experience any after affects from his surgically repaired left knee or suffers any other injury. Then it would be a case of history repeating itself wouldn’t it? If the 2011-2012 season has taught the Knicks anything, it’s that they need an authentic and productive point guard on the floor if they have any hopes of being successful.

Enter one Steve Nash. He’s experienced and is the epitome of a floor general the Knicks so desperately need. He clearly would not need to play 40 minutes a night with Lin coming in off of the bench. And Lin, who’s been quietly compared to Nash, would represent a great spark with fresh legs which is just what the doctor ordered.

Picking up Nash would also solve T.M.P. (The Melo Problem). If you remember, Carmelo Anthony wasn’t too thrilled with Linsanity because with Lin on the floor the ball didn’t go through him; it was either distributed or Lin drove the lane or took jumpers. Nights like Wednesday in Game 6 when Carmelo took 31 shots and Amare 7 won’t happen with Steve Nash playing the point. When Amare was in Phoenix the tandem of Nash, Shawn Marion, and Stoudamire worked pretty successfully and there’s no reason to believe it wouldn’t flourish with Nash, Melo, & Amare.

Lastly, there is an intangible that Nash brings to the table that will prove to be invaluable to the Knicks as a whole, and that’s his leadership. I would expect Jeremy Lin to be a much better and smarter point guard under Nash’s tutelage, and since presumably the starting role will be his at some point, what better teacher could he possibly ask for besides the future Hall of Famer?

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Does Bosh Injury Give the Miami Heat a Pass?

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We all know that the Miami Heat has self proclaimed to be the dream team… if you don’t remember the quote…

LeBron James said,

“Not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7. Hey, and when I say that when I say that, I really believe it. I’m not just up here blowing smoke at none of these fans, because that’s not what I’m about. I’m about business. And we believe we can win multiple championships.”

I understand the confidence, you don’t want to come to a new team and say that you will try to win one championship. You want to win multiple, you want to be borderline arrogant with your statement.

The Miami Heat disposed of the New York Knicks this playoff season in dominate fashion. Although it should have been a sweep, the Knicks posed no threat, due to multiple injuries and chemistry issues. Now the Heat are faced with an intriguing matchup. The Indiana Pacers are a different type of team, no superstars, nothing flashy, just basketball. How will they do?

Well… Game 1 proved to be no problem for the Heat winning easily 95-86. Although they won the game with no issue, they lost a key player Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh, although he has faced many criticisms, averages 18 ppg and 8 rpg. Although he doesn’t prove as dominate in games as his teammates Lebron and Dwyane Wade, he stills bring a certain flash that helps his team get to the next level. Rebounding and scoring in certain situations has been his skill since coming from the Toronto Raptors where he was the number 1 threat.

Unfortunately for Bosh this is what was reported earlier by SportsNation.com…

Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh has been sidelined indefinitely with an abdominal strain as his team prepares for Game 2 of its Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Pacers.

What does this mean for the Heat? Can teams like the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics or even the San Antonio Spurs/Oklahoma City Thunder. Take advantage of this important injury? With the pressure that the Heat have put on themselves, will it be a failure if the they don’t deliver a championship this season?

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