Spurs/Grizzlies break even. And it’s dinner time for OKC.
Great signs for Oklahoma City in this one. In Game 1, Thunder players not named Durant or Westbrook combined for 36 points; in Game 2, they had 39 by the half and 62 overall.
OKC big men (Perkins, Ibaka and Collison) combined for 31 rebounds, equaling Denver’s total, while limiting Nene to 2-8 shooting and Kenyon Martin to 2-6.
And Durant and Westbrook hardly provided anything that resembled an epic performance, something required just to win in the opener, instead the Thunder exchanged it for depth and team balance as five players scored in double-figures (including a promising 18 on just nine shots from James Harden).
They’ve beaten a really good Denver two different ways—with explosive individual performances by their stars in the first game, and overall production in the next—but tonight was certainly more encouraging, a decisive win in Playoff fashion, with hard rebounding, strong defense, and contributors everywhere.
There just wasn’t enough for Denver to compete: A sluggish start, no rebounding (minus 23), and absolutely nothing from the imported Knicks save for Ray Felton, who had 16. They’re going home, but going home in a hole.
Don’t expect a rarely-content team like the Thunder to rest on their laurels, especially against a Nuggets team that grows an extra leg at home. Until Oklahoma City wins in Denver, don’t rule out a long and competitive series. —Todd Spehr
L.A. Lakers 87, New Orleans 78
In the most boring game of the history of basketball, the Lakers won 87-78. You probably fell asleep, but that’s fine, because so did Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Kobe dropped 11. Pau had 8. Ron Artest looked like the most capable wing scorer on the floor tonight, which is hilarious. It was a totally disgusting, awful mess for every team, including the Lakers.
But it didn’t matter. Because the Lakers are the most talented team in the Western Conference. That’s just how it is.
They sneeze out baskets. Phil Jackson is so put-together that he got nine players who were under a deep, deep trance to beat a team that made the NBA Playoffs. He is who to call when the robots become autonomous, start feeling feelings, start moving in on us. He’ll talk them all down.
He got eight grown men to think this: “When Kobe is off, then we get to play basketball as a team! Hooray!” Really. They’re all saying, “Hooray!” afterward, like second graders, and no one is upset. They all believe in this. That’s how they’ve won two straight NBA championships.
Someone asked Phil Jackson what he thought about the game. He said this: “We won by 9 points, maybe 11. That’s about it.”
He didn’t even know the score. He just knows that the Lakers are better.
The Hornets have no answer and they’re starting to realize that. The Lakers successfully defended Chris Paul tonight by focusing the entire team’s attention on him. This worked because there are no other Hornets. Chris Paul is the only Hornet and that works for exactly one game in a seven-game series.
“Who knows what they’ll throw at us the next game,” Phil Jackson half-asked after the game. Of course he doesn’t. He doesn’t know what their game plan will be; he just knows his will be better. —Ben Collins
You knew he was going to play, right? Hyperextended elbow or not, there was no way Manu Ginobili was going to miss Game 2 in San Antonio. Not when the Grizzlies embarrassed his ‘mates like they did on Sunday, 101-98.
It wasn’t prime Manu we saw on Wednesday. Yet he scored 17 points and grabbed enough steals (4) to open up San Antonio’s transition game and lead the way to a much-needed 6-point win.
Playoff Tim Duncan, not to be confused with Regular-Season Tim Duncan, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, proving once again the fountain of youth is nothing but a mental construction. Dominic Cobb.
He’s so consistent your aunt’s mashed potatoes get jealous.
On the defensive side, the Spurs held “The $71 Million Man,” Zach Randolph, to 11 points, by far his worst production against San Antonio this season. Z-Bo was in foul trouble most of the game, clearing the way for unsung hero Sam Young, who scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting and hit a key three down the stretch.
Memphis’ starters all played well, but Shane Battier and OJ Mayo were terrible off the bench (1-7 and 2-11, respectively).
If not for the Grizzlies’ egregious three-point shooting (3-14 from beyond the arc), they likely would have won the game. Then again, outside shooting is San Antonio’s Mortal Kombat move. Richard Jefferson. Finish him. (Hernan Sanchez voice.)
The Spurs are going to have a hard time taking both games in Memphis (the Grizzlies are good there). Still, I see them breaking even and eventually winning in seven games. Somewhere Kevin Durant and the Thunder are licking their lips.
Dinner time. —Patrick Crawley (@BasketballFiend)
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Trevor Ariza just made the right plays when CP was getting double or triple teamed. He can play like that every game in this series if the Lakers continue to defend this way.
It’s strange that so many of you did. I thought good defense was being played by the HOrnets, but they played sloppy offense. I enjoyed it.
Landry looks horrible. Forcing up horrid shots, refusing to get back on defense, not rebounding. He’s so much worse than DAvid West, who can at least score over Gasol pretty much at will with his jumper. Landry is undersized and underskilled and he’s not bring enough effort.
Last night, the Hornets’ role players played the way everybody expected them to play in this series, and that’s why they lost. And CP3 refused to hit the “gunner” switch and just take over as a scorer. I don’t know why, but he refused.
Very few of us enjoy watching good, sound, defensive basketball now days.
I just thought Paul should have taken over as a scorer at some point. He was too willing to allow Carl Freaking Landry to iso at the elbow and go to work? That ain’t a recipe for success.
Nah, the Lakers gameplan wasn’t that great. He just wasn’t looking to score. Like Iverson or Derrick Rose, he has to understand that when your team is undermanned offensively sometimes you have to take what other people consider “bad shots” in order to jumpstart the team. You have to be willing to be inefficient, in order to be impactful. Dude was still ball, no doubt, and I laughed at how Kobe thought he could bother him with his defense, but I still felt like he needed to be more selfish out there.
Trusting your teammates is good, and important, but in certain games you just have to flip that switch.
but yeah, i was just waiting for CP to turn it on and take over, it was weird.
i guess i’m spoiled watching bulls games but the hornets offense was stagnant and i expected Paul to simply try and score at will.
That’s bogus. Rose and Paul face the same sorts of defenses every night. It’s not like Rose is getting some special defense that Paul doesn’t see.
Paul is just more efficient. He doesn’t shoot as many quick shots, he’s more likely to see one or two passes ahead, and he rarely turns the ball over on the dribble.
Last night, I think possibly because of fatigue, he just didn’t take enough shots.
Besides, Paul was 5-11 with 20 points and 9 assists. And that was with missing free throws he normally cans. When was the last time Rose took 11 shots and got 20 points? Come on, that was a bogus observation.
Besides, even though I brought up Rose and Deron Williams last night, it was only to note that it is unnatural for Paul to take over offensively in a way that is perfectly natural for Rose and Deron. Not to say those two are better.
Derrick Rose would sacrifice an infant for that type of efficiency.
And I’m not saying that’s why Paul is playing. I’m saying that Diesel’s comment was offbase. Even with a swarming defense against him, Paul was still crazy efficient. 9 assists to that collection of bums is like 14 on a team with talent, and he only had one turnover. That’s insane.
is it per se, did i use it wrong? hahah
If you get a hard double on a pick and roll, that’s a double team. If you get a hard double on the pick and roll, and there is a third defender playing zone near the lane, that’s a triple team.
Nobody ran three or two defenders at Paul. They only double on pick and rolls for hte most part. They shaded the defense to Paul. They can’t run actual double and triple teams on him because he will EAT THEM ALIVE with his court vision. Even last night, he was making the “correct” pass, but he was passing to bums, so in reality the “correct” play might have been just to shoot the damn ball.
When was the last time Rose had 1 turnover in a game with 9 assists? You are reaching so hard to prove a point.
Chris Paul failed to take over the game offensively as points like Rose and Deron Williams are more willing to do. Yet, even with a more focused defense, he was sill incredibly efficient and rarely made mistakes on either end.
That’s it.
Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda.
Come on man, think that statement through. That doesn’t make any sense.
You just saw Paul win a game nobody in the world expected him to win in Game 1 with an efficient and masterful performance.
He lost last night, but the game was still closer than most folks expected. Clearly dude is Derrick Rose’s equal, if not superior like I believe.
Anyway, it’s not about who is better between them, or at least I wasn’t making that argument. I was actually saying that Paul need to adopt some of Rose’s attitude about shooting because sometimes, when you’re team is outgunned, you need to do that if hte other players are really struggling. Which they were.
You think Memphis can win this series?
I like the way they competed last night. They didn’t take anything for granted. Now, the Spurs out executed them at key moments, but the Grizzlies matched their intensity the entire game, and that was despite the fact that the Spurs were the desperate team.
I like their chances in Memphis. I really like them.
Because as Allen pointed out, 20 on 11 shots, 9 assists to 1 turnover, thats pretty efficient.
You are talking as if Rose does not lose games any more, how do you know that Rose with the Hornets supporting cast would have won the game last night? How do you know he would have put one of the better road play-off performances in history in gm 1 to get the win?
Manu’s return fueled the Spurs, he’s fearless (hit the deck like 4x in the 1st qtr alone), but as you said, the Grizz got out-executed.
Doesn’t help that Z-Bo lost his focus and played like he had a date after the game.
But bring ‘em to Memphis, in front of a playoff-starved crowd, and they get a 3rd quarter lead; they can take the Spurs.
If CP has any sense of the moment, he should come out gunning and take 20 shots the next game.
and not to mention it was his rookie year, tied kareem’s record for points.
The main issue I had was that he didn’t look as quick, and he wasn’t aggressive with his shot.
Well, he looks like the quickness issue is over with, now he needs to deal with the shooting issue.
It’s fine if you don’t think Paul is the best, I’m not going to rehash that tired argument. But, very few people have said he’s the best of all-time. I actually haven’t seen anyone say that.
And there was nothing incosistent about his performance last night. Dude was balling, balling hard, but he was playing 44 minutes against intense ball pressure and swarming defense, and his teammates, outside of Ariza, appeared either outclassed or frightened.
Rose, for all he does for the Bulls, has much better talent than NOLA right now. Last night Paul kept giving those cats a chance to shine, and they kept failing.
i beleive derrick’s is on par, if not better.
And I’m not trying to make this a Rose vs CP3 thing. I’m just saying focusing in on CP3 – My main question is what the heck is any of his efficiency good for when he doesn’t step up when his team needs him? Last night’s example: Ariza scores a basket to put them down 2 with late in the third. Close game, time for your star to step up. CP responds by scoring 5 points in the 4th and dishing 1 assist I think. That’s junk to me. That’s not how a superstar responds. I wouldn’t be ripping CP3 if he stepped up and they lost. I’m calling him out because when crunch time came he deferred to Ariza. What other point guard in the game today would do that?
what chris paul did the other night should hardly come as a surprise to many.
He said “statistically” he’s put up the best numbers for a PG in playoffs history not he’s the best PG in the history of the playoffs.
That’s like taking someone saying that Wilt’s statistically the greatest player of all-time to mean that he’s the GOAT.
The mind is a terrible thing to waste.
If that’s your argument, I have no problem with it.
But, that’s really not what your initial comment said, which is what I was responding to. Your initial comment about how Paul couldn’t be efficient given the same defenses Rose sees. Cause that’s bogus.
But, I agree that he should have shot more. I can only surmise that he felt it was really important to keep his teammates involved an confident if he’s going to have a shot. Kind of like what Kobe argued against Phoenix back in the day, but less obviously d*ckish.
That, or he was really tired and just didn’t have any more gas.
I clearly said statistically the best, and after his short play-off career he probably is.
What really pissed me off about that game was how small Gasol played once the game turned physical. That was ridiculous. He totally folded up like a punk. On the other hand, Bynum feasted.
Gasol is still soft, I was fooled by last year and the year before into thinking he had gotten past this mental impediment, but nope, it’s still there. Dude needs to take some lessons from Dirk. Dirk BULLIES any smaller player who tries to guard him, and still gets foul calls by creating weird contact.
I give Rose the nod because he was a rookie and he was going against a veteran who many people believe is a great defender. Paul is a wily vet and was going against Derek Fisher. But Rose had better talent around him and was facing an lesser team.
In the end, he was making the right basketball plays all night (although they may have been the wrong plays to actually make). airs, didn’t Ben Gordon go off! In that series? Didn’t the Bulls have Salmons too? Both of those guys would get major minutes for the NOH team, BUT, I do think that Derricks game was better, being that it was his first ever play-off game.
Rondo with his all-around brilliance and BG with his lights out shooting. Without BG’s clutch shots, I doubt that series makes it past 5gms. Also the celtics were without KG, so that played a big part.
Umm, maybe you want to go back and read the comments again. The question wasn’t about who had the best series, it was about who had the best “game.”
As in single game.
(Glass houses and stones, my man. Glass houses and stones.)
Oh, and people saying someone is the statistically best PG in NBA playoff history means little, especially when said PG hasn’t made it past the 2nd round. He’s played what, 20 games? He’s a great player, but “statistically best” means sh*t. It’s window dressing.
(If you can’t run with the big dogs, you’d better stay on the porch)
a mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste
Now, I agree that they are shaky at both guard spots. I don’t trust Conley and Tony Allen is too limited. But, I absolutely love their frontcourt rotation with Zbo, Gasol, Powe and Arthur and Gay and Sam Young at the three. That is excellent.
I wish Mayo would have panned out at the one. That would have been perfect.
Those clowns have no idea that a team has never gone far in the playoffs without a star player, the only one I could think of that didn’t really have a great player was the 04 Pistons and even that team had way better players than Den does.
Looks like Matthews and Roy needed some home cooking to find their way back into the series.
And ASON Kidd’s baaaack.
Oh well, can’t win by having nearly double the opponent’s amount of turnovers. Still fairly close though. Sure wish Chandler and Marion would join the team right about now. Especially on offe…. Oh they’re playing? Nevermind.
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