Tag: NBA Playoffs (Page 7 of 16)

      Sports become less family friendly, again

      May 24, 2009 /

      http://meignorant.com/files/images/angry_kid_playing_chess.jpg

      While this story is a few days old, it brings up an important problem in sports-spectating today (the picture represents the reaction of Ms. Vasquez). We start off with the recent interview of Carmelo Anthony’s fiancée, Lala Vasquez concerning an incident at the Western semis Game 5 between her and a group of fans as posted on Mom Logic:

      They began yelling ‘F*** the Nuggets!’ right in front of my son.” Then she says they started calling the Nuggets players “n*****s.” She was shocked. “I’ve been at a ton of games — but I have NEVER heard fans say things like that.” Then, looking directly at her while taunting Anthony on the court, Lala says the fans called her son a “bastard.”

      While this seems a case taken to an extreme, it certainly isn’t so uncommon to anyone bringing their children to a game. Especially this year’s playoffs (with Mark Cuban dumping on somebody’s mom and children being tossed aside by large men) it seems like sports, specifically basketball, have become less and less family friendly.

      OK, OK. I’m blowing this a little out of proportion, besides I’m a single, young guy. Why should I care about this anyway? Well, come on, some things belong in sports and some don’t. The kind of language and behavior I’m talking about goes far beyond anything acceptable at a bar, let alone a public all-ages event. So it’d be nice to see something done at least to dissuade people from unloading a salvo of vulgarity at the back of an 8-year-old’s head. What if they rise up against us? Look at that face up there and tell me you wouldn’t run for it.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NBA, Rumors & Gossip, Women

      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

      Couch Potato Alert: 5/24

      May 22, 2009 /

      “Gentlemen, start your engines.”

      These four words begin one of the grandest traditions in auto racing, as the 93rd Indianapolis 500 will take place this weekend. The Old Brickyard has been home to some memorable finishes and characters that make this one of the marquee events on the racing season.

      The NBA Conference Finals are really heating up. Arguably, the four best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) in the league are fighting tooth and nail for a title. All four have shown the determination and drive needed to win a NBA crown.

      All times ET…

      NBA Playoffs
      Fri, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
      Sat, 8:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
      Sun, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)

      NHL Playoffs
      Fri, 8 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (Versus)
      Sat, 7:30 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
      Sun, 3 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC)

      MLB
      Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees (FOX)
      Sun., 1:30 PM: New York Mets @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
      Sun., 8 PM: Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins (ESPN)

      Auto Racing
      Sun, 1 PM: The 93rd Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ABC)

      Tennis
      Sun, 5 AM: The French Open (ESPN2)

      Couch Potato Alert, MLB, NBA, NHL, Television, Tennis

      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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