Tag: 2009 NBA Playoffs (Page 4 of 13)

      Lakers dominate, on to the Finals

      May 29, 2009 /

      Every so often, a good team will have a game where things don’t just bounce the right way. Usually, this happens on the offensive end of the court. The team seems to press; they’re working hard, but the shots are rattling out, the passes aren’t getting through and the rebounds are bouncing just out of reach. Everything’s a struggle, and nothing comes easy. It can be quite frustrating.

      This was one of those nights for the Denver Nuggets. They just didn’t have it.

      Championship-caliber teams are able to offset these types of games by playing great defense. While the Nuggets are improved on that end of the court, they still don’t focus and execute on every possession defensively. The Lakers shot 57% from the field, and while Kobe Bryant led the way with 35 points (along with 10 assists), Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom combined to shoot 27 for 40 from the field (68%). From the Nuggets point of view, it’s inexcusable to allow that kind of shooting in an elimination game.

      Conversely, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups combined to shoot 8 for 24 from the field (33%). The Lakers didn’t have a great series defensively, but they did a nice job tonight of making things tough on the Nuggets. They recognized their opponent was pressing and they never allowed Denver to get in synch.

      The Nuggets had a nice season, and they have something to build on. Had they executed better at certain points earlier in the series, they would have been in a position to close out of the Lakers tonight instead of being closed out themselves. What’s worrisome is the lack of intensity and focus that Denver showed tonight. To lose by 27 in a Game 6 on your home court is nothing short of embarrassing. But sometimes when the game gets out of hand and it’s clear that the season is about to be over, the wheels come off. And they most definitely came off tonight.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Backs against the wall, Cavs win Game 5

      May 28, 2009 /

      Facing elimination, the Cleveland Cavaliers did what they needed to do tonight by winning Game 5, 112-102. It wasn’t always pretty, but a quick start put the Magic in the hole and a brilliant fourth quarter from LeBron James put Orlando away. He posted 37 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists, and was directly responsible (either by making the bucket or the assist) for 32 straight points spanning from the late third quarter to the late fourth.

      The Cavs started out the game on fire, scoring 26 points in the first six minutes, while holding the Magic to just eight points during the same time frame. To put that lead into perspective, at that point the Cavs were on pace to win the game by a score of 208-64. Wow.

      But the Magic are nothing if not resilient, and a terrific second quarter trimmed the lead to one at halftime. It looked like the Magic would once again take the game down to the wire, but Lebron’s wonderful performance in the fourth quarter gave control back to the Cavs.

      Mo Williams’ fine play in the first half (18 points) allowed LeBron to conserve his energy somewhat for the stretch run. He broke out of his shooting slump, hitting 6 of 9 three pointers and finishing with 24 points. The Cavs also enjoyed some good play from Zydrunas Ilgauskas (6-8, 16 points), Delonte West (6-13, 13 points) and Daniel Gibson (3-5, 11 points). The Cavs shot 50% from the field and 50% from long range.

      What’s scary for the Cavs is that it took this kind of performance from LeBron and most of his supporting cast and the game was still close late in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard (24 points) and Hedo Turkoglu (29 points) played well, but Rashard Lewis (15 points) and Rafer Alston (3 points) combined to shoot just 5 of 23 from the field.

      With the win, the pressure is back on the Magic. Nobody really expects the Cavs to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series (that’s not to say it can’t be done), but with a potential Game 7 back in Cleveland, the Magic will definitely want to wrap things up in Orlando.

      Game 6 is Saturday at 5:30 PM ET.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      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

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