Category: NBA Finals (Page 18 of 58)

      NBA officials out of control? Not so much.

      May 28, 2009 /

      John Hollinger writes that the uptick in free throws this postseason is nothing new.

      This phenomenon has gone on since prehistoric times as clubs enforce the no-layups policy with greater zeal, and garbage-time situations become fewer and farther between. These playoffs’ free-throw rates have increased over the regular-season rates similar to past seasons’ rates, even though high-foul teams are overrepresented this time around.

      Denver led the NBA in free-throw attempts per field goal attempt this season by a wide margin.

      Orlando averaged .351, good for third in the league, with center Dwight Howard leading the league in free-throw attempts.

      Sum it up, and that’s six conference finals games with an above-average number of fouls, but we also have a far greater sampling of 67 games from the first two rounds of the playoffs. And in those two rounds, we had no deviation from the historic trend whatsoever. The only noteworthy development is a phenomenal increase in the frequency of technical fouls, with 1½ being called a game in this postseason, compared to less than one per night just here years ago.

      But as far as live-ball action goes, the evidence for the “refs gone wild” theory is skimpy at best. Basically, we’re getting all bent out of shape over a six-game sample when a sample of 10 times as many games shows the opposite conclusion.

      The bottom line is that teams and players don’t care if the refs call it close or loose, they just want consistency throughout the game. Officials can’t “let guys play” in the first quarter and then start calling ticky-tack fouls late in the game. The players adjust based on how the game is being called early on, but if that changes throughout the course of the game, all hell breaks loose.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      23-5 run keys Laker win in Game 5

      May 27, 2009 /

      The Denver Nuggets were in position to win Game 5. They were up 71-64 with 6:31 to play in the third quarter and they had the Lakers on their heels. If they had shown patience and executed, they could have pushed the lead to double digits or at least have a modest lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Lakers tightened up their defense, and the Nuggets committed four straight turnovers late in the third to let L.A. back into the game.

      The Nuggets were stuck on 76 from the 2:25 mark in the third quarter until the 7:52 mark in the fourth. That’s almost six and a half minutes without scoring a single point. The Lakers deserve some credit for playing pretty good defense, but the Nuggets were sloppy with the ball and took a ton of bad shots.

      Lamar Odom finally showed up. He posted 19 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists, and was the single biggest reason that the Lakers won this game. I grow tired of hearing how talented of a player he is and then watch as he misses bunny after bunny at close range. Shannon Brown also played well of the Laker bench. He and Odom were on the floor when L.A. made its run.

      The series moves back to Denver for Game 6, and the pressure is squarely on the Nuggets, as they face elimination.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Cavs/Magic Game 4 reaction

      May 27, 2009 /

      Brian Windhorst of Cleveland.com…

      What you have here is a team playing at its peak playing against a team on its heels. It is a rather classic situation. The Magic are not a team of destiny, they are a loaded team hitting on all cylinders. It is rather impressive you have to admit. The Cavs were going to have their hands full beating the Magic just playing to their season averages. Playing the way they are now, it isn’t happening. Remember that 4-1 Pistons series victory over the favored Lakers in the 2004 Finals. When Kobe Bryant hit a miracle shot to win Game 2? That is what this feels like watching.

      Michael White of the Magic Basketblog.

      MJ himself could not win a title with the stiffs LeBron is carrying.

      The Cavs might come back and win this series, but how in the world have they gotten this far with such a laughable supporting cast?

      Imagine if Van Halen was just Eddie and 3 Michael Anthonys? You might still get “Eruption,” but you’d never hear anything close to “Hot for Teacher.”

      The refs are better friends to him than the schlubs who share his uniform.

      Think about the players Jordan, Bird and Magic ran with. DJ. James Worthy. Pippen. McHale. Even Horace Grant. If James had just one player of that caliber, he’d probably already have a ring and be working on another.

      Continue reading »

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Magic take care of business in Game 4

      May 26, 2009 /

      Despite some poor play down the stretch in regulation, the Magic survived another test from the Cavs, winning Game 4, 116-114, in overtime.

      The Magic had a six-point lead with 4:18 to go in the fourth quarter before this series of possessions:

      3:28 Hedo Turkoglu misses 13-foot jumper
      3:15 Rafer Alston misses 25-foot three point jumper
      2:55 Hedo Turkoglu traveling
      2:29 Rafer Alston bad pass (Anderson Varejao steals)
      2:03 Mickael Pietrus misses 24-foot three point jumper
      1:43 Dwight Howard misses free throw 1 of 2
      1:43 Dwight Howard makes free throw 2 of 2
      1:10 Rafer Alston misses 24-foot three point jumper
      0:45 Hedo Turkoglu misses 25-foot three point jumper
      0:07 Mickael Pietrus misses 24-foot three point jumper

      So in those nine possessions, the Magic scored one point (Howard’s free throw) on 0-6 shooting from the field and two turnovers. They found themselves trailing by a point with four seconds to play. Then Rashard Lewis hit a very difficult three pointer to give the Magic a two-point lead. It’s quite tough for a right-handed player to square up on his right foot and make a long shot like he did. On the Cavs next possession, LeBron took the ball to the hole and got the call when he collided with Mickael Pietrus in the lane. He hit both free throws to force overtime.

      In the extra period, it was the Dwight Howard show. He posted 10 points, including two clutch free throws with 0:21 to play to give the Magic a four-point lead. On the Cavs’ next possession, he had an amazing block on LeBron’s drive to the rim. The extra period was a defining moment for Orlando’s big man.

      With the Cavs trailing 3-1, it’s looking like there’s a good chance that we won’t see that Lakers/Cavs matchup that everyone was expecting. Howard and Co. have used this supposed inevitability as motivation and they now have a great shot at making the Finals.

      For Cleveland, LeBron isn’t getting much help. If you remove his field goal attempts from the equation, the rest of the Cavs have made 90 of 220 shots (41%) in the series, and that’s poor accuracy given how much attention the defense is paying to the Cavs’ superstar. Mo Williams is averaging 17.3 points per game in the series, but he’s not scoring efficiently. He went 5 of 15 from the field in Game 4, which puts him at just over 32% for the series. That’s not going to get it done.

      The Cavs have two of the last three games at home. If they can get a win in Game 5, the pressure is back on the Magic, who will treat Game 6 like it’s a Game 7 — they won’t want to go back to Cleveland. The series definitely isn’t over, but the fat lady is stage right warming up those vocal cords.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Gasol wants the ball

      May 26, 2009 /

      Pau Gasol can’t understand why the Lakers aren’t utilizing their advantage inside to better effect.

      “I wish we would take more advantage of our height and the inside game, because it’s pretty effective. It’s unfortunate that we don’t recognize it enough,” Gasol said, according to the Daily News.

      “It’s frustrating because we lose games,” Gasol said, according to the report. “I don’t mind when we win, because the bottom line is, I want to win. But I feel like we have an advantage, and I’m effective, we should stay with what works and what’s effective and not get away from it. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

      Gasol is shooting almost 63% in the series and should be getting the ball more. The Nuggets have been reluctant to double team, so if the Lakers start feeding him the ball and let him go to work, it will force Denver to adjust (or let him score efficiently). Derek Fisher has been awful from the perimeter, and Lamar Odom isn’t bringing much to the table, so the Lakers might as well go with what’s been working. After all, he is their second-best player.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑