I had to stick strictly to the key points and facts today because an hour’s worth of typing somehow got deleted due to an internet crash. Yeah, I’m pretty heated, but sh!t happens I guess. I’ll begin with the Celtics/Knicks game, which was a really good one.
First of all, Carmelo Anthony had one of the best all-around statistical games that I’ve seen in the postseason since, well, Dwight Howards game one performance against the Hawks; 42 points, 17 rebounds, six dimes, and two swats was Melo’s line. He took 30 shots to get there, but that was the best plan for the Knicks in this particular game. They were without Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire, their only other potent sources of create-your-own offense, and guys like Jared Jeffries aren’t going to be stepping up offensively against a D like Boston’s…or…are they? Jared actually scored 10 points on 5-7, and damn near had himself a game-winner. Jeffries, who scored a basket about once every 24 minutes played with the Knicks this season, scored a driving layup with 13 seconds on the clock that put the Knicks up one. KG then stuck a hook shot in his mug…
…to give the Celtics to lead, and it was Jeffries’ turn once again…
…but predicatbly, he dropped the ball. Damn, Jared… Damn. That was bad. All you had to do was pivot the other way and lay the ball off the glass. Instead, you pivot away from the basket–directly toward Kevin Garnett, who has been known to block a shot or two, I might add–and try to pass the pressure off to young Bill Walker. Terrible play, but one that you saw coming as soon as Melo passed the rock. This is precisely why superstars sometimes refuse to pass to certain teammates in crunch time even when forced to take tough shots. I mean, I’m almost tempted to call this a bad pass by Anthony. Despite Jeffries’ 10 points, which likely gave Melo some confidence in him, you know he’s going to choke that sh!t. KYP (Know Your Personel, n00bs).
Anyway, as for what got the game to the point where I picked it up? Well, Rajon Rondo had his occasional assertive type of game–he was pretty damn good with 30 points and seven assists. Even with the 23 shots he took, I felt that he passed up at least one layup that he NEEDS to take. Dude was wide the f@ck open, but he still opted to toss the ball out to KG at the top of the key. KG made the shot, Rondo got an assist, but that’s not a good play.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, who destroyed the Cs in game one, is questionable for game three (missed the entire second half of game two). I didn’t realize that the injury occurred as he dunked in warmups. That makes me wonder if he’s hurting worse than he’s letting on and he just won’t admit it due to the embarrassing nature of the incident. If I hurt myself throwin’ down in the warmup line–well, first of all, that would mean I can dunk, so I’d be thrilled… but I’d also have to be damn near dead to be kept off the floor. I figure Amare feels the same way.
Credit the Knicks for staying in these games with the Cs, which have both been played under the 100-point mark. New York missed Billups and STAT last night, shot 35.6 percent from the field, and lost by three. Honestly… that says more to be about this team to me than a 135-130 victory would. This shows me that they have it in them to dig in and give the necessary effort at both ends. Will they ever do it consistently with this coach and roster? Not likely… but I can’t say that I’m not a little bit impressed by the fact that they’ve done it in two straight playoff games. By the way, they stayed in last night’s game by absolutely abusing the Cs on the offensive and defensive glass. Boston can’t rebound worth sh!t (stating the obvious, but they need to work harder on that).
Aside from the officiating, one of the main reasons the Blazers lost game one to the Mavs was their masonry from long distance. They got that all figured out for game two and went 7-14. Hell, even Marcus Camby got in on the action (complete with three goggles)…
Unfortunately for Marcus and his Blazers, though, Peja Stojakovic five-upped him. That’s right, Peja knocked down five threes on his way to 21 points off the pine. Can’t honestly say I saw that coming… but that’s one of my favorite aspects of the NBA playoffs… it seems like some guy who you’d never expect to step up always ends up stepping up, and it’s even cooler when they become a key component to a winning effort. Leon Powe against LA in the Finals? Boobie Gibson against Detroit a few years back? I love those kind of performences. As for dudes that are expected to step up, Dirk Nowitzki poured in 33 of his own (he took another 17 trips to the stripe, but I’m not blaming the refs this time), and Jason Kidd continues to play out of his mind as far as scoring the ball; he dropped 18 as Dallas won it 101-89. The Blazers? Well, their bench was out-scored 39-11, and they doubled Dallas’ turnovers 12-6. Brandon Roy played just eight minutes and went scoreless on one shot… and he isn’t exactly pleased about that. Said LaMarcus Aldridge, who dropped 24: “Every time we had a chance, we’d turn the ball over or make a big mistake and they ended up closing out the game… I think we’ll go home and have our crowd behind us,” Aldridge said. “Hopefully that will bring us more energy and we’ll play better.”
Yeah, hopefully. You guys are making me look dumb as a rock right now (I called an upset).
The Magic got another heoric effort from Superman Jr, and this time they capitalized, 88-82. Dwight had another moster first half, racking up 24/11 by the time he went to the lockerroom for a rest. He finished up with 33 points and 19 boards on 9-12. Those 12 shots aren’t a good indicator of his offensive involvement in the game… keep in mind that he got 19 freethrow attempts. Orlando pounded the ball into the paint, as they should every night, and Dwight delivered. Good thing, because the Magic couldn’t hit a three-ball to save their lives (5-23). As a matter of fact, they couldn’t really hit anything (34.6 percent from the field). The Hawks also came back to reality (you may recall that they shot 55 percent or some sh!t in game one) with some sub-40 percent gunning, but they were able to stay in it ’til the end because ORL wasn’t any better. This game is more like how I expected this series to be; competetive (ugly at times, pretty when the jumpers are falling) with Orlando winning in the end.
