With the NBA Finals finally getting started this weekend, I’ll share some random NBA thoughts rattling around in my roomy noggin.
Reggisaurus
Why on earth did Reggie Miller play so many minutes for the Indiana Pacers? He did absolutely nothing for them. Well, unless you consider letting the other team’s best offensive player light him up.
Back in Reggie’s prime, about 15 years ago, he was a one-trick pony. Reggie could shoot. He’d run around off screens all day and nail jumpers. He’d occasionally score in other ways, but that’s all he did – score. He was one-dimensional. Unless you consider getting under people’s skin a dimension – in which case he’d have two.
Now, though, the guy’s too slow to get open. He never gets a clean look, so he never scores. Yes, I know that Reggie is one of the great clutch shooters of all time. I also know that he hit that big three to win game 1. But, how many other late game shots did he miss? All of their losses were by fairly close margins where a late three or two could have turned the tide. But he either couldn’t get shots off or he did and missed, and he missed them badly.
Rick Carlisle’s a good coach, but he should have had someone out there who could do something productive.
Payton’s Face
There was a point near the end of the Lakers’ final game against the Timberwolves where it looked like they had wrapped it up. They had just scored again with only a couple of minutes left. There was a timeout and the cameras showed the bench where all the Lakers who weren’t in the game were jumping up and smiling and greeting the guys coming off the floor. All, except Gary Payton. He was standing with the other guys, but he looked more like someone standing for a judge than celebrating a trip to the finals. GP was pissed because he wasn’t on the floor. What a team player.
Princely D
Man, those two Tayshaun Prince blocks were things of beauty – the one on Reggie Miller’s layup (get that tapioca pudding out of here!) and the one on Al Harrington’s dunk. Incredible. In each case, slow-mo replay showed that he had no contact at all with anything other than ball. Those are the kind of plays I love. That’s what I want to see more of. In college, the defender would have instead slid under the guy, held his arms at his side, and then flopped like Benny Hinn had healed them. Those plays exemplify why I want to get rid of the charge.
Shaq Don’t Dance
Did you see where the NBA official tried to force Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone to celebrate on the court after beating the T-Wolves? Shaq and The Mailman wanted none of it. Their goal is the NBA title, not the Western Conference title. And they are right. The Lakers as a franchise have won tons of championships, three with the current group of players. Nothing less than a title is worth celebrating any more.
That’s one of the problems with pro sports – trying to force excitement. Making the players go out and “celebrate” is just like those annoying billboards that tell the fans when to cheer. If it’s fake, it’s not worth anyone’s time.
For the Pistons, winning the Eastern Conference is an accomplishment worth celebrating. That’s fine. But, don’t make the Lakers pretend.
Okafor = Sampson?
I have to call out Chris Chase here. He writes some great stuff over on his blog – good, funny stuff. But, he posted something today where he predicted that Emeka Okafor, the likely #1 pick in the draft, would have a career comparable to Ralph Sampson’s.
No way.
In Ralph’s first three years, before he blew out his knee the first time (which he never recovered from), his points and rebound averages were 21 and 11, 22 and 10, and 19 and 11. And remember, that was back before expansion, high schoolers in the draft and the extinction of the true center. Also, he shared the post with Olajuwon after his rookie year. What other rookie big men have had numbers like that since? Duncan, Ewing, Robinson, Shaq and Olajuwon. Needless to say, Okafor is not in that class.
I say he turns out pretty similarly to Kenyon Martin, just without the insanity.
Finals Predictions
I think both sides bring some pretty solid arguments about why they should win. One one side, you have size and experience. On the other, you have intensity. It’s a tough pick, but I think I’m going with Detroit … to have the biggest riots. Win or lose, the citizens of Detroit will smash more windows, burn more cars and punch more police horses than those of LA. The University of Maryland will come in a close third (after all, it is summer session).