Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Where Down 0-2 Happens

Well the playoffs are underway...and as of presstime 5 of the 8 series are 2-0...most exciting race in a while right?...not really because the gap of certain matchups are as wide as any other year.

Take the Suns/Spurs series...

I've finally figured out what the issue is with the Suns.......they cant beat the Spurs...its like a mental block,similar to what the Red Sox went through with the Yankees(before the super 3-0 comeback) you can honestly see the Suns getting up by almost 20 in the 1st quarter and snap your fingers and say "well....here's a comeback,just wait" just like you could with the Red Sox...just wait around and make your move..and thats what has been happening. For every matchup advantage you can list for Phoenix -Amare -Nash -Barbosa...there are equal amount of disadvantages...cant stop Duncan...or Ginobli....or Parker...wild really..

With the Raptors/Magic series

Toronto cant start a quarter..at one point it was 20-8..and Orlando didnt even have a hot start like they did in game 1.It was almost unwatchable and then literally all of a sudden Toronto woke up and started to claw back into the game. Defensively there isnt much the Raptors can do because Dwight will command a double-team(small mention:Rasho only played 5 mins..but dont have another center on the team....weird) and when you double him...they have 4 shooters on the floor at all times it seems...even people like Bogans and Evans can hit...and they can look like Ray Allen when they are super wide open...but Toronto was with them the entire time both games so that is an issue Orlando will have to deal with...giving games away...But I cant get behind the last play for Bosh.Jumpers for big men arent very good unless they are open..having Dwight in your face is the complete opposite of open...I think Calderon should have drove instead of kicking it out...if Bargnani can realize he's a taller version of Hedo on offense..I expect this series to get better for Toronto.

There isnt a soul on Dallas that can stay with Chris Paul...I think thats a good breakdown of that series...and technically Dallas has been on the slide since the finals...so..yeah..Avery could be on the cutting block...or 12 of the 15 players...maybe 13.

Now this irks me to no end...Kevin Garnett winning the defensive player of the year...now I'm a KG guy,i've stuck up for him countless times but I think that he shouldnt be the DPY..here's why.
18.8pts 9.2 rebs 3.4 asts 1.4 stls 1.3 blks this year.

nice solid numbers...but you know what?...all the defensive "numbers" are down for him blocks by .4 and steals are up .2 but thats so marginal...anyways the main argument I've heard is this

"Its Kevin Garnett's impact man..he resurrected the Celtics!"

Oh..so its impact now right?...when all the years that Ben Wallace was winning this award he was leading the league in rebounds and up there with blocks with a decent amount of steals... as was Ron Artest with steals...the lack of critera is draining the validity right out of the NBA's awards every year...or maybe I'm missing the point of keeping track of statistics and throwing them in people's faces all the time.


This playoffs I've been a little irritated with a few things...lets go through the list thus far.

-Overly physical play...look...cheap shots are not playoff basketball!...ie Haywood on Lebron,Turkoglu on Bosh..even since the 80s Pistons and the 80s Lakers/Celtics series have set the heads on all basketball networks to say that this acceptable and encouraged...meanwhile I'm sure there is a kid out somewhere trashing another kid because its okay on tv..good plays and bad plays are on the highlights all the same people...you can give someone a hard foul without making it look like the WWE.

-Bad calls...okay not so much the bad calls..it happens in every game..but the announcers(with the beauty of instant replay) not identifying a bad call...I can think atleast 2 times where I saw a play that was a clearly a foul and the announcer would say "Such and such with the....good defense".....huh?...look..just say that the ref blew the call..or I would disagree with the no call.

-Every game being a "Must win"...you would think that being down 1-0 would be enough...nope...the Wizards were in a must win in game 2...uh oh...blowout...well..that means game 3 is a must must win....correct?

-Tracy's 1st round resume'...oh he hasnt been out of the 1st round?..really?..I think the verdict is out that he hasnt been out in a while(or ever)...will he this year?...doubt it...but you know who else has never been out of the 1st round?....Grant Hill....yep...thats right...wheres the bashing for him?....oh..thats right...this is a double standard situation..


-Oh yeah...Barry Zito..lost again...::sigh::...0-5 so far...this hurts..

-Thanks for Shaun Alexander..the memories that is...he was the reason I became a Seahawk fan...he was just so ineffective this past season and he had to go...well...we have TJ Duckett now...so I guess there was only room for one ineffective running back..even though I'd stay with Shaun...but anyways I havent agreed with one single move we've made this offseason...I hope they trade for Jeremy Shockey..just to make one good move to me.

2 comments:

S said...

Where is this Tmac love coming from?

I was surprised to hear that about Grant Hill, but then again I think he gets a pass because he was injured forever. Tmac has no excuse like that.

Shaun Alexander shows why football doesn't do guaranteed contracts like the NBA. I know players in the nba do the same "get my money, forget how to play" thing (ben wallace...) but it seems like nobody ever lives up to the money in the nfl (reggie bush...)

Brad said...

don't think it's T-Mac love as much of a recognition of wrongdoing....We'll always disagree on Shaun Alexander's effectiveness at his peak...but at least we know he was done last year....Totally agree on Toronto...spread the floor!