Day 7 & 8 – Parker the Great

April 27th, 2008, Author: robd

Contrary to what most of you are probably thinking, the reason I didn’t add to my playoff diary yesterday was not because my Pistons got slammed by the 76′ers. I actually had a friend’s bucks party to attend, and due to a bout of beersomnia I’m currently dealing with I thought I’d get to some bloggin right about now.

PLAYOFF DIARY: DAY 7
I woke up early on this day, well it was around 11am but it felt early because I’d been up till 3am the night before playing 2K8 with my friend. The night didn’t end well. Playing in the same team (as the Sonics) we lost to the Hornets when Yi Jian Lian hit a buzzer beating layup – this put us in a 0-3 hole for the series. We were gutted. In fantasy draft mode, we managed to draft T-Mac, Sheed, Bogut, JR Smith, Cassell and Larry Hughes – wait – then sent Hughes packing to get Ray Allen (to make my house mate happy). We have a great team, but right now Yi and Rashard Lewis are tearing us apart in this series. It’s infuriating, and little did I know it was a preview of what was to come the next morning. So I go to pick up my mate and bring him back to ours to watch the Suns v Spurs. He’s a Suns fan so he spent the next couple of hours curled up on my couch in the fetal position with a pillow over his face cursing Tony Parker’s name. I felt sorry for him. Right now there is no fan harboring more playoff scars and more hatred towards another team than Suns fans. I didn’t really understand it till yesterday, but when you get knocked out of the playoffs four times in five years by the same team, a team that beats you with sheer persistence of execution and lack of flair, it makes you go a bit insane.

Tony Parker played a ridiculous game. Day 8 of last year’s playoffs was where my man-crush on TP started to surface; this year it is day 7. I don’t know how you’re supposed to stop Tony Parker. He made a complete mockery of the Suns defense yesterday. On the pick ‘n rolls he found Duncan for easy scores a bunch of times, and when the Suns weren’t staying honest on him he’d bury the mid-range jump shot. When both of those options broke down he’d find a way to get to the hoop and score. This may sound a little ridiculous, and remember the beersomnia, but when Tony Parker is on his game he is arguably the most unstoppable player in the league. He is right up there with Kobe, Lebron and Chris Paul. What’s more is that he does it with extreme efficiency and zero fuss. Do you see Tony Parker hollering after making his 5th, 6th or 7th straight shot? Do you see him bumping his chest or pulling on his jersey? Nope. You see the same face through the whole damn thing. By his demeanor you’d never guess he’s completely murdering the opposition. It’s a quality I’ve really only seen in one other player, and surprise surprise it’s Tim Duncan. Duncan has turned Tony Parker into a champion and an assassin, and he’s only 25 years of age. Any one who thinks the Spurs championship window is closing should go and watch this game, because quite frankly it’s nonsense. Those Spurs will contend as long as Parker is at the helm and Ginobili can still flop. Parker too often gets overlooked when people talk about the best point guards in the game, but the fact remains – when it’s all said and done, he will go down as the most successful and decorated point guard of his generation.

I’m not trying skirt around the Detroit loss. But I don’t want to dwell on it. There have been too many times, far too many times over the past six playoffs where Detroit has found themselves in a tough position or a position they weren’t supposed to be in, and clawed themselves out of it. It’s not ideal I know, and I’ve already had a rant in the TrashTalk forums about what I think is wrong with this team’s attitude and motivation, but it’s just the way they’re wired. Chauncey Billups said game 3 was NOT a must-win game. Who says that? Why would you bother saying that? Every playoff game is a must-win. That’s the kind of comment that can filter through your ball-club and affect your preparation. And what happened? The Sixers spanked us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pistons fall in a 3-1 hole, and similarly I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up coming back to win the series. Nothing surprises me with these Pistons, and that’s why I’m a bit numb to it all. Or maybe it’s the beersomnia.

Today’s Playoff MVP Votes
3 votes – Tony Parker
2 votes – Dirk Nowitzki
1 vote – Samuel Dalembert

PLAYOFF DIARY: DAY 8
I’m so glad I got up at 10am this morning to watch the Hawks v Celtics game, despite only getting four hours of intoxicated sleep. It was one of the funnest games I’ve seen live. It was the only Hawks game I’ve seen live. I usually get pretty fired up watching live NBA games, but today I was really fired up. The Hawks enthusiasm and intensity was infectious, and cheering on Horford and J. Smith I really got the feeling I was witnessing a team take a huge step together, perhaps the start of something big. My Atlanta supporting friend came round to watch the game, and in the final minutes we were both jumping off our seats at every big play the Hawks made. We each had our own reasons: he was excited to see the Hawks avoid another fourth-quarter collapse, and I was comforted to know that even the 8th seed can cause a little trouble (and not just the 7th).

I didn’t realise how good Al Horford was until watching this game. The guy is dangerous every time he gets it in the post, and despite being a rookie he has the toughness and strength to take it to the hoop against anybody. Some of his finishing was a little unpolished, especially when he has to settle for that mid-range baby hook, but I just love the guy’s energy, hustle and smarts. For a big guy, he has smarts. He ended up with six assists today, and for the most part made the right decisions when the defense collapsed on him.

I thought Josh Smith was huge. The old line “if Josh Smith ever develops a reliable jump shot then he’ll be unstoppable” has been said a billion times, and I’m so sick of it that I swear I’ll never say it again, but it’s games like this that cause it. Smith was nailing threes and mid-range jump shots with ease, which affects Boston’s defensive patterns because KG has to stay honest on Smith, robbing the Celtics of their best interior defender. If Smith keeps playing like that the Hawks are a good chance to win game 4. The rest of the Fig Tree were also good today, and despite JJ and Bibby not shooting so well, they had 14 of the team’s 28 assists.

The Celtics weren’t horrible. They just lost the game in a five minute patch where they didn’t hit a single shot and the Hawks had a bunch of big momentum swinging plays. I can see why though, my friend thinks the Hawks match up well. Joe Johnson can have his way with Ray Allen off the dribble any time he wants to. Horford’s lack of experience and size can’t really be exploited by Perkins (I give Horford the edge in that match up), while Josh Smith can match it with KG in just about every facet, except when KG stays aggressive in the low post. Oh, there is one advantage the Celtics clearly have, I forgot. During the broadcast one of the ESPN commentators was talking about Glen Davis when he was backing down Horford in the post, and they mentioned he had a “girth advantage” over Horford. I have never heard that term in my life. If someone has a “girth advantage” I think you’re basically saying “they’re fat”. I don’t really see how it’s an advantage to be honest, but nonetheless it’s difficult to dispute because Glen Davis does indeed have a “girth advantage” over every other forward in the NBA, and the Celtics team bus.

The Hawks had to flog their starters to get over the line in this one, but with such a young team, they’re one of the few teams who can get away with flogging their starters regularly. I’m not saying an upset is in the balance here, but I will say that 1) from watching today I’m not sure how the Hawks got blown out in games 1 and 2, and 2) I don’t see why they can’t win game 4 at home. They’re young so the home crowd is really important for them. All of a sudden the series that was a certified sweep has a bit of life, just one of the many surprises we’re seeing in this mixed up first round.

In other games today, the Nuggets go down 0-3 to the Lakers. I think most people would have tipped Lakers in 5 or 6, but many said this series had a chance of an upset. The Lakers are looking real good. They have reached leads of 19 points or more in each of the first three games, and Kobe is even getting some love from the Denver crowds. You’d have to say that a Lakers vs Spurs Western Conference Finals is looking very likely right now.

The Magic upset the Raptors despite a monstrous 39 point, 15 rebound performance from Bosh. Still, he was the only guy to grab more than 7 rebounds, and Anthony Parker was the only other one with more than 4. Andrea Bargnani grab a freaken rebound! I know the guy is not one of their primary rebound getters, he averaged barely 4 per game during the regular season, but so far this series he has been useless. You know how many rebounds he’s averaging this series? Wait, I won’t tell you his average, I’ll tell you his total number – six. The Toronto Raptors “power forward” has grabbed six rebounds over the first four games of this series. Maybe by the time it’s done he will have totaled a double-double.

T-Mac did another classic disappearing act in the fourth quarter today, scoring only 4 points. Still the Rockets had a chance to win. They shot 37% from the field and they had a chance to win. If that isn’t the sign of an ugly game I don’t know what is. The Rockets are done anyhow. All they can hope to do is point out a few more little chinks in the Jazz armor that the Lakers can use to exploit in the second round. As an interesting bit of number-fed reading, check out this analysis of Kobe and T-Mac in post-season from the Wages of Wins.

Today’s Playoff MVP Votes
3 votes – Josh Smith
2 votes – Rashard Lewis
1 vote – Kobe Bryant

Playoff MVP Leaderboard
Chris Paul – 6 votes
Dwight Howard – 4 votes
Kobe Bryant – 4 votes
Tony Parker – 4 votes