The top seeds in the East don’t play.
by Shannon Booher
Line Of The Night AKA Near Trible-Double Of The Night:
Dwyane Wade — 32 points, 10 boards, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal
And it seemed so easy. The scary aspect of these Heat, is it doesn’t seem like they’ve kicked it into overdrive yet (assuming they have that gear). There are sorta cruising by the Sixers, just taking care of business. In a very quiet way, they are perhaps the most impressive team of the Playoffs thus far.
Not As Bad As You Think Of The Night:
Derrick Rose — 4-18 from the field
Rose was frustrated early. Maybe even a little rattled. But he battled, then battled, then re-upped on the battle. He managed 23 points by going to the line 15 times and despite his very difficult time from the field, drove to the basket and hit the go ahead basket in the waning seconds. But while his offensive doggedness was oh so necessary for the win, the story of this game was the Bulls’ defense, especially in the paint. Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough both shot 3-12, unable to finish inside. Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones were the only Pacers with significant shots that hit 50 percent, they only hit 4 and 5 shots, respectively. Then on the final possession, the Pacers were kept in a jail cell outside the three-point line. The defense is the backbone.
NBA-Tinged Lyrics Of The Night:
“Let the world listen, if a hater’s caught slippin’/Then my niggas stay tight, got my back like Pippen”
Need to wind down from the intensity of the Playoffs? Vibe out to new R&B cat The Weeknd’s free mixtape, House Of Balloons.
Smile For Me Of The Night:
Brandon Roy — 16 points, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 board
That is all you could do while witnessing Roy’s impressive effort last night. After barely playing and having even less of an impact in Game 2, Roy showed glimpses of his former self in Game 3, and it helped get Portland back in the series. After all his injury struggles and fall from the top, it was good to see him ball out a little bit. In the first half Wes Matthews was on fire, and in the second half it was Roy, but the Blazers may be a little to jumpshot dependent to win this thing.
We Are Impressed Of The Night:
While we are admittedly not the biggest Dirk Nowitzki fans here at L.O.N., we were taken aback and very impressed when we found during last night’s broadcast that Dirk is one of only four players all-time to average at least 25 points and 10 boards in their Playoff careers. The rest of the list: Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor and Hakeem Olajuwon. Daaaaamn, homey! That is legit. Even more surprising than seeing his name on that list, is seeing the short length of the list. There are a lot of other guys you might think would be on there. Wilt? Shaq? Barkley? Nah.
Paul George seemed way more aggressive back at home, although his shot was still not falling. If he had finished that one dunk attempt though, wow… About time Dahntay Jones got some minutes. He seems like the perfect irritant to serve up to Rose for a few minutes every game. And he even made some noise on offense… In the past few years the NBA has seemed too sensitive with the flagrants, but it looks like they have lightened up a bit. A couple could have been called last night that were not… It was a bad night to be a former Pistons coach, apparently… Love those Portland fans. Anybody that loves NBA basketball that much is alright with us… Kevin Love wins Most Improved award, which means it should be renamed the “Player Whose Minutes Increased” Award…
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