Tag: 2009 NBA Playoffs (Page 6 of 13)

      Nuggets outmuscle Lakers to even series

      May 26, 2009 /

      Typically, an NBA team can expect to score one point per possession (or thereabouts) over a course of a game. So when one team outrebounds another on the offensive glass by a margin of 20-9, it’s really 11 extra possessions and 11 extra opportunities to score. That’s why the Nuggets were able to bounce back tonight from a tough loss in Game 3; they dominated the glass by a margin of 58-40, and went on to win 120-101.

      The win is even more impressive considering the struggles of Carmelo Anthony, who went 3 of 16 from the field. Chauncey Billups picked up the slack, and had key back-to-back buckets when the Nuggets were nursing a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter. He drove to the hole and got the “and one,” and then on the Nuggets’ next possession, he brought the ball up and drained a three. Billups was one of seven Nuggets to score in double figures; J.R. Smith deserves mention for his 24 points and four assists off the bench.

      Kobe Bryant posted 34 points on 10 of 26 shooting (39%). Pau Gasol added 21 points and 10 boards, and Andrew Bynum had 14 points and five boards, but Phil Jackson isn’t getting much production from the rest of the roster. Two vets that the Lakers are counting on — Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher — combined to shoot 3 of 15 for 10 points.

      The series moves back to L.A. for Game 5 and if the Nuggets can avoid the mental errors in crunch time, they have a good shot to win this series. The Lakers are inconsistent and out of synch, and they really need that supporting cast to raise its game.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Magic triumph in chippy Game 3

      May 25, 2009 /

      The so-called “shot that saved Cleveland” didn’t seem to affect the Magic in Game 3. The heartbreaking Game 2 loss would have sent most teams into a tailspin, but Orlando has been resilient all season long, and like any championship-caliber team, the Magic look forward not backward.

      Game 3 was the most physical of the series thus far. The officials called 58 fouls and the teams shot a combined 86 free throws. Dwight Howard shot 19 of the Magic’s 51 attempts, and made 14. That’s a 74% clip for a guy who shot 59% on the season.

      Free throws also had an impact on the Cavs. LeBron James made 18 of 24 attempts (75%), but missed five attempts in a six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter that, had he made them all, would have had his team trailing by one instead of six with two minutes to play. Even the most diehard Cleveland fan would admit that LeBron was getting to the line more than he ought to be in the final quarter. He got just about every call when he went to the hole, drawing a questionable blocking foul on Mickael Pietrus, and drew a foul on the retreating Howard at the rim. Then Howard fouled out after cleanly blocking LeBron’s three-point attempt with 0:36 to play. In short, LeBron is getting Jordan-esque treatment from the refs, even on the road.

      He posted 41 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, two steals and an amazing block, but shot just 1 of 8 from three-point range. The Magic’s plan is to encourage LeBron to shoot the long ball. If he happens to get hot, then they’ll just have to live with it. The Cavs didn’t have much else going offensively. Mo Williams scored 15 points on 5 of 16 shooting and Delonte West pitched in with 12 points. The rest of the Cavs combined for 21 of the team’s 89 points.

      The Magic had a more balanced attack with five players in double figures, led by Howard’s 24 points.

      With the loss, the Cavs find themselves in a hole once again. They do not want to go down 3-1 in the series, so while Game 4 isn’t quite a “must-win,” it’s damn close.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Lakers win back home court

      May 23, 2009 /

      The Lakers didn’t play all that well, but they performed well enough to get a win (103-97) on the road in the playoffs, and that is no small feat. Denver had control for much of the game, and with Carmelo Anthony on the bench, the Nuggets built a seven-point lead at the end of the third quarter. But a sorry five-minute stretch to start the fourth quarter was Denver’s undoing. Check out these nine possessions:

      11:41 J.R. Smith misses 25-foot three point jumper
      10:49 Linas Kleiza misses 5-foot jumper
      10:27 Chauncey Billups misses 26-foot three point jumper
      10:11 Chauncey Billups makes technical free throw
      9:59 Chris Andersen misses layup
      9:44 J.R. Smith misses layup
      8:53 Nene Hilario misses 9-foot two point shot
      8:22 Trevor Ariza blocks Carmelo Anthony’s 15-foot jumper
      8:18 Kenyon Martin misses layup
      7:39 Pau Gasol blocks Chris Andersen’s layup

      That’s one point in the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. By the time they scored again, they were trailing by one. Carmelo Anthony went cold and the Nuggets simply struggled to score. Chauncey Billups launched some ill-advised shots (and hit a few of them), but it was J.R. Smith who seemed to be the go-to man down the stretch.

      For the Lakers, Trevor Ariza and Pau Gasol played well in the closing minutes, but down two with about a minute to play, it was Kobe Bryant who hit a huge three pointer to put his team ahead. Denver turned the ball over (again) on the inbounds pass, and again, it was Ariza who made the big defensive play. At that point, the Lakers just had to knock down their free throws, and they did. With the win, the Lakers wrested back control of the series. Game 4 is of the “must-win” variety for the Nuggets.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Resilient Nuggets take Game 2, 106-103

      May 21, 2009 /

      After their tough, emotional loss in Game 1, conventional wisdom said that the Nuggets would be reeling and wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight in Game 2. But these aren’t your father’s Nuggets. With the addition of Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony’s transformation after playing in Beijing with Team USA, these Nuggets are tough-minded.

      It took a while for Denver to get going. The Lakers came out like gangbusters and had a 13-point lead with 2:40 to play in the second quarter. But the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run over the last 160 seconds to narrow the lead to one at halftime.

      The Lakers built a seven-point lead in the middle of the third quarter, but once again, the Nuggets responded and cut the lead to one at the end of the period. In the fourth quarter, it was the Nuggets turn to build a seven-point lead with 9:06 to play. At this point, I was a little perplexed by George Karl’s decision to go with J.R. Smith (1-6, 3 points) instead of Linas Kleiza (5-8, 16 points, 8 rebounds) down the stretch. Smith didn’t play horribly in the final minutes, but he didn’t do anything positive either. The Lakers fought back, and with 1:00 to play and the Nuggets up two, Smith turned the ball over (his third of the night). Karl obviously knows his team far better than I do, but Kleiza simply played much, much better tonight and probably should have been in the game.

      There were a couple of missed calls down the stretch. Kobe traveled before he made his three to tie the game at 99-99 and during a jumpball with 0:18 to play, the refs missed Smith slicing through the circle before the ball was touched. That should have been Laker ball out of bounds, but since the refs missed Kobe’s travel, things evened out.

      Chauncey Billups made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal the 106-103 win. Derek Fisher had a shot from the corner to tie the game at the buzzer but he missed the rim.

      Carmelo Anthony had another great game, posting 34 points, nine rebounds (five offensive) and four assists. Chauncey Billups had 27 points, while Kleiza and Kenyon Martin chipped in with 16 apiece. Kobe led the Lakers with 32 points, while Trevor Ariza added 20 points (on 6 of 7 shooting) and four steals. Pau Gasol added 17 points and 17 rebounds.

      I know that Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant have a long history with Derek Fisher, but he went just 1 of 9 from the field tonight, and is shooting under 30% in the last two playoff series. It might be time to give Jordan Farmar a few more minutes.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Hollinger says the Cavs should go small

      May 21, 2009 /

      In his latest PER Diem, John Hollinger thinks that the Cavs should think about going small.

      Thus, the Cavs must go back to the drawing board, and it’s time for them to unearth the one tactic we didn’t see Wednesday night: going small.

      This may be the only way for the Cavs to survive. It’s easier to double Howard with quicker, faster players, while James can slide up to the 4 and lock up Lewis. The Cavs haven’t used that plan much this postseason, but it may be the only way they can guard the Magic in this series. Such a lineup might require them to play Sasha Pavlovic, because Wally Szczerbiak can’t guard Pietrus, and that’s a terrifying thought. But anything would be preferable to the way they’ve been chewed up during the teams’ first four meetings.

      I know the Cavs like the idea of allowing James to roam by having him defend Alston, but he’s the only player on the team qualified to check Lewis. I’m a huge fan of Anderson Varejao’s defensive expertise, but this is a bad matchup for him. He isn’t used to defending the 3-point line and had trouble getting back to Lewis on the pick-and-pop plays on which Orlando devoured the Cavs during the second half. And if Varejao guards Howard instead, he may be able to flop himself into a few offensive-foul calls — which is vital, because putting Howard on the bench is about the only way Cleveland can stop him.

      I guess it’s worth a try. Having Zydrunas Ilgauskas cover Dwight Howard one-on-one did not work. Going small would allow the Cavs to double Howard more quickly with smaller players and the theory is that he’d give the ball up. The problem is that the Cavs would be replacing one of their better players (Ilgauskas or Varejao) with one of their…um…more questionable players (Szczerbiak, Pavlovic). This also means that Joe Smith would see fewer minutes in favor of Szcerbiak or Pavlovic and that’s not a good thing.

      NBA, NBA Finals

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