Busy, busy, busy weekend and in the middle of all of it…Basketball. Every night. Every damn night. With how great these NBA playoffs have been, it’s like a gift that you don’t have the space for. Like some of your favorite desert right after you stuffed yourself with a big meal. You can’t say no, but at the same time, maybe a little break will be nice.
Then again, I’ll be scratching and twitching during the summer when all I’ve got is baseball, “What, you’ve got that game two of the conference championships recorded? Come on man, I need it, I don’t care if it is a shitty VHS. Lemme see that Lebron shot, just one little shot, that’s all I need, come on baby, help me out here…” It won’t be pretty. So I’ll enjoy this while I can. Y’know, if the refs let me. Okay, lets get to it:
Orlando Magic v Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 3, in Orlando
This series has been really, really, really fun to watch. Lebron James and Dwight Howard are two of the biggest physical freaks in the leak- dynamic players that are unbelievably exciting to watch. They’ve both got supporting casts that get buckets and play hard D, this is a dream match-up out of the east. But what could make the game not only a little bit less exciting, but a lot less exciting? How’s 86 free throws sound? Eighty Six. The whole game is only 48 minutes, that’s nearly a foul every minute! If that still sounds like your idea of a good time, well, I don’t know what to do with you. The refs simply cannot play such a large role in the game if the NBA wants to keep putting out an entertaining product. Can we expect a little more restraint on the whistle tonight? Eh, I’m not holding my breath.
Dwight Howard came out with a nice workman-like game, getting 24 points despite only going 5-8 from the field. Mike Brown and the Cavaliers, right from the start, decided they were perfectly happy letting the typically poor shooting big man hit free throws instead of break the shot clock with his dunks. Howard happily obliged, going 14-19 from the charity stripe. Most of Mickael Pietrus‘ work came towards the end of the game, making his effect on things in the eyes of the viewer disproportionate to his box score- but he did do a nice job guarding Lebron. Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston had solid games, posting +-’s of +20 and +17 respectively.
On the Cavaliers end, it was the same old story. LeBron James got 41-7-9, which is great but he took too many shots to get there. It’s hard to blame him, as the rest of his team were their same ho-hum selves they’ve been this entire series. Delonte West and Mo Williams were the only two players to crack double digits and they were less than efficient themselves- Williams was 3 for 10 from long range. Speaking of jump shots (and not making them), LeBron was 2 for 15 on his jump shots for the day, check out his shot chart. While it certainly says something that he was able to drop 41 while his jumper was MIA, that can’t continue. He needs his touch back on those, but he also doesn’t need to be taking that many unless he’s got a hot hand. He’s one of the best in the game at driving to the hoop and perhaps the only in the league capable of doing that against Dwight Howard and expecting some reasonable success. More driving+less shooting=more efficiency? The Cavs better hope so.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets, Game 4, in Denver
Hey another series that’s been fun to watch! At least that ref crew from Cavs-Magic isn’t over here in Denver to foul things…oh what the f- 84 free throws? God dammit. Yeah, this one was nearly as ugly as the last one. Despite nearly the same number of fouls, it didn’t feel quite as painful. Still, this is bad math:
(170 free throws/96 minutes)*just over 24 hours=0 thanks
Writing that (very scientific) equation was about as much fun as watching all those fun, fun trips to the foul line. Then there were the four technicals which, by my expert (and again, scientific) calculations, a grand total of one was necessary. Then there was the flagrant foul that wasn’t (Andrew Bynum swatting for the ball and catching Birdman’s face) and the one that wasn’t that should have been (Dahntay Jones reaaaching out with his foot to trip Kobe Bryant). Blech. Lets just armor these guys up and get rid of refs altogether. Not a bad idea, except Kenyon Martin might kill someone.
This is the same story as the last series, both set to the sound of Nike’s execs crying. You’ve got the super star putting up nice numbers (34-6-7) but with poor efficiency and the rest of the team simply not pulling their weight (except you Pau Gasol, he got 21 and 10 off 8 for 11 shooting). Meanwhile the Nuggets had a hobbled and sick superstar in Carmelo Anthony and just decided to spread the love around with seven players in double digits. Chauncy Billups didn’t have as many assists as usual, but that’s because he was busy scoring 24 points on his own. More crucially, JR Smith stepped up as the 6th man X-Factor that the nuggets depend on, pouring in 24 points.
Fouls aside, these games have been outstanding. A bit more whistle swallowing and I doubt I’ll have any complaints. Oh, and sorry other little projects and things I might be doing with my free time- I really hope both of these go to game seven.
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