Month: May 2008 (Page 11 of 28)

Celtics/Pistons Preview: What we’ve been waiting for

May 20, 2008 / John Paulsen

Thus far, the Eastern Conference Playoffs have gone according to seed, and we have the matchup that (most) everyone wanted to see… Boston vs. Detroit.

At first glance, this simply looks like a battle of two experienced, defensive-minded teams. The Celtics have a trio of stars – Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – along with been-there/done-that guys like James Posey and P.J. Brown. On the flip side, there’s the Pistons’ foursome of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, who already have a ring and have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals 54 straight times.

Heading into the playoffs, one would have to give the edge to the Celtics. After all, they won 66 games and no one can match their hunger. Conversely, the Pistons have seemed bored at times, and given their play against the Sixers and Magic, they were a legitimate threat to make an early exit.

But here we are, a month later, and I’m giving the edge to the Pistons. The Celtics have yet to win a game on the road. Boston fans might say, “So what? We have home court advantage. We don’t need to win on the road.” But after dominating the Hawks in Boston, the C’s looked a little shaky against the Cavs in two of the four home games in the semis, including Game 7. The Celtics almost look too hungry. It’s as if Garnett and Co. have so much wrapped up in a title run that it’s impossible to play loose.

I’m not sure how well Boston will score. The Pistons will defend Pierce with Prince, who is one of the best defenders in the league. His long arms can bother any shooter, especially one that isn’t that adept at going to the hole. Rip is a tireless defender, but he’ll be most effective by running Ray Ray ragged through countless screens on the offensive end. Then there’s the Garnett/Wallace matchup, which should be a beauty. These are two of the most competitive players in the league and KG’s intensity should bring out the best in Rasheed.

I think the series may come down to just how much Billups can dominate Rajon Rondo. It’s not a given that Chauncey will have his way, but he has far more experience, so he should be able to win that matchup handily. Rondo prides himself on his defense, so if he can hold Billups down, the Celtics will have a good shot to win the series.

The wildcard is bench play. Detroit is much improved in this area with Jason Maxiell (who has started at times) and Rodney Stuckey, who got some great experience when Billups missed time in the Orlando series. It’s tough to tell who’s a threat on Doc Rivers’ bench, since he changes the rotation so much. It will be interesting to see if he sticks with Eddie House or if he goes back to Sam Cassell.

I’d like to see the Celtics in the Finals as there will be plenty of compelling storylines, regardless of their opponent. They do have home court advantage and are a slight favorite to win the series, but I think they finally drop a game at home and Detroit wraps it up in six.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

Who’s to blame?

May 20, 2008 / John Paulsen

Like most NBA fans living outside the greater San Antonio area, I was rooting for the Hornets last night. I always like to see new blood deep in the playoffs and I was excited about the prospect of a Lakers/Hornets series pitting the top two MVP candidates against each other.

Alas, it was not to be. A horrid third quarter did New Orleans in, and although they made a furious comeback in the fourth, the hole they dug was just too deep. I have to give a ton of credit to the Spurs, who made several adjustments between Game 2 and Game 3 that made life a lot tougher for the Hornets. They played terrific defense and Gregg Popovich should be lauded for having the trust in Robert Horry and Michael Finley, who hit some big shots down the stretch to keep the Hornets at bay.

But New Orleans had the advantage heading into the game. It was at home where they had already blown out the Spurs three times in the series. What went wrong?

It starts with Chris Paul. Though he had a near triple-double (18 points, 14 assists and eight boards), he wasn’t aggressive enough when the team went through its scoring draught. As a facilitator, it can be tough to know when to take over, and it wasn’t like Paul was getting great looks whenever he wanted. Next on the list is David West. After a third quarter where he made just two of seven shots, he only took two shots in the fourth. By the end of the game it was clear that his back was bothering him, so it’s hard to put too much blame on the young forward’s shoulders.

Now Peja Stojakovic is another matter. He missed all four of his shots in the second half, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if he’s getting open, but only one of those shots was a decent look. The other three were catch-and-fire jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face. His performance brought back memories of the Game 7 debacle against the Lakers in the 2002 playoffs, where a late-fourth quarter airball from the corner sealed the loss for the Kings. It made me wonder – does Peja always choke in Game 7’s?

Here are his stats from the four Game 7’s in which he’s played. The first three were with the Kings:

2002: (Kings vs. Lakers) 3-12 from the field, 8 points
2003: (Kings vs. Mavs) 7-15, 17 points
2004: (Kings vs. T’Wolves) 3-12, 8 points
2008: (Hornets vs. Spurs) 3-11, 7 points

So he doesn’t choke in all Game 7’s, just most of them. Considering he has a career average of 18.2 points and shoots almost 46% from the field, his Game 7 average of 10.0 points and 32% shooting looks even worse.

As they get older, it can be tough for former stars to accept a new role in this league. Peja can no longer take the ball to the hole unless he has his man completely out of position, so he’s pretty much a catch-and-shoot guy at this point in his career. But that doesn’t mean that if his team runs a play designed to get him a shot that he has to shoot it regardless of how open he is.

There’s no telling what would have happened if Peja had turned down those shots and passed the ball back out to Paul. It wasn’t like the rest of the Hornets’ offense was running all that smoothly. There was no one on the offensive glass in the second half and some of the role players took some wild shots when the team really needed a bucket. The Hornets were pretty brutal for much of the second half, so there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Still, they had a terrific season and should be back again this time next year. Sometimes a team has to taste defeat in order to bring out its best in crunch time. There’s no substitute for experience.

Just ask the Spurs.

NBA, NBA Finals

Barkley claims he’s done with gambling

May 20, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

Charles Barkley is apparently tired of losing money and is done gambling – for now.

“I like to go into Vegas, it’s a fun place, but you know what, I’ve got to stop gambling. That’s the bottom line,” Barkley said during TNT’s pregame show before Game 7 between San Antonio and New Orleans. “I am not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I’m not going to gamble.”

The Wynn Las Vegas resort alleged in a civil complaint filed Wednesday in a Nevada state court that Barkley failed to repay four $100,000 casino markers, or loans, received last Oct. 18 and 19. Clark County District Attorney David Roger said prosecutors would file a criminal complaint if Barkley did not pay the debt.

Just like alcoholism and drug abuse, gambling is an addiction. If Barkley feels that he has a problem, hopefully he can kick his habit for a while or maybe, entirely. It can’t be easy for someone with a lot of money and a gambling problem to not bet – especially when you can gamble 364 (the only day there’s absolutely nothing to wager on is the day after the MLB All-Star Game) days a year. I wish him the best of luck because it certainly won’t be easy.

General Sports, NBA, Television

NFL owners opt out of labor agreement

May 20, 2008 / Anthony Stalter

In a unanimous vote, all 32 NFL owners opted out of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. The original agreement meant there would have been a cap until 2012, but now there might be an un-capped season in 2010 if a new deal cannot be reached.

What does this mean to fans and games on the field?
Regardless of whether a new agreement is reached, NFL football will be played without threat of interruption for at least the next three seasons. The 2008 and 2009 seasons will be played with a salary cap. If there is no new agreement before the 2010 season, the 2010 season will be played without a salary cap under rules that also limit the free agency rights of players. If not extended, the agreement would expire at the end of the 2010 league year.

What are the key issues?
The NFL states that clubs are obligated by the CBA to spend substantially more than half their revenues — about $4.5 billion this year — on player costs. There are also growing costs for stadium construction, operations and improvements. The NFL feels the current labor agreement does not adequately recognize the costs of generating the revenues of which the players receive the largest share, nor does the agreement recognize that those costs have increased substantially in recent years due to difficult economic times. Owners also have concerns about the inability to recoup bonuses paid to players who subsequently breach their contracts or refuse to perform, as well as the current system that allows some rookies to secure contracts paying them more than top proven veterans.

One thing the league has to work on is how much rookies make. It’s ridiculous that a rookie top 10 pick could essentially make more than a five-year veteran coming off a Pro Bowl appearance. I don’t like the idea of an un-capped NFL, but maybe this expected opt-out by the owners will drive both parties to figure out a better system. Then again, it could be a disaster that leads to a future lock out.

NFL