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The Cyclops, Day Four: Del Potro v. Hewitt

Jun 25

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

The Cyclops is our daily look at the one match you should make a point of following during the upcoming day at Wimbledon.

Juan Martin del Potro ARG (5) v. Lleyton Hewitt AUS, Centre Court, 1:00 p.m. GMT (8:00 a.m. ET)

It’s like 2001 all over again. Britney Spears is looking good, the Lakers won the NBA championship and Lleyton Hewitt is fine form on the tennis court.

Very, very quietly, the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon champion is playing solid tennis and appears poised to make an upset run at fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro during their second round match on Centre Court today.

Last year was the first in a decade that Hewitt didn’t win a tour singles title. A hip injury plagued him throughout his 2008 campaign and eventually forced him to withdraw from the U.S. Open. So far in ‘09, Hewitt has steadily improved since then, a first round loss in the Australian begat a third round loss at Roland Garros to Rafael Nadal which preceded a tough game with Andy Roddick at Queen’s Club. This match-up with a grass court novice like del Potro figures to be a good way to fully get back on track.

The 6 feet 6 inch Del Potro is an enigma on grass. He rarely plays the surface and has had limited success when he has. In his previous two Wimbledons, the Argentinian has won just one match, even though he’s advanced to at least the quarterfinals in the other three Grand Slam events.

Del Potro is up-front about his struggles on grass. After his opening round win over Arnaud Clement, he said of his next match:

“I don’t know if I can win this tournament someday, but I’m trying. I want to improve my game on this kind of surface. Now I have a very good player in front of me, but I have my weapons, I have my game, and I am confident with that and try to beat him.”

Whenever somebody says they’re confident, it usually means they aren’t. Del Potro has been playing better on grass (the dispatching of Clement was thorough) and figures to one day contend at Wimbledon. But is this the year?

Del Potro often has advantages over smaller opponents (although, I guess almost all of his opponents are smaller), due in main part to a booming serve. But if Hewitt can run Del Potro from the baseline, it could be a very interesting match.

The seasoned veteran against the up-and-coming ace: A great storyline for Day 4 from the All England Club.

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The 10-man rotation, starring Dwight and friends

Jun 21

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Dwight’s Twitpic, via NBA Off-Season 2009. Dwight was sure having fun with his iPhone yesterday …
PF: NBA FanHouse. Phil Jackson will donate proceeds of his “X” hat to American Indian College Fund.
SF: The Wages Of Wins Journal. Pondering potential first round point guards.
SG: The 700 Level. Andre Iguodala(notes) is being sued by “hip hop model” Clayanna Warthen for child support.
PG: That NBA Lottery Pick. One thing you can say about Westphal, guy played a mean game of HORSE.
6th: The Scores Report. What is the NBA Draft class of 2006 worth?
7th: Deadspin. Tim Legler likes to party and apparently sponsors some sort of team with his namesake.
8th: Friedell’s Blog. Wade isn’t sure how many points he’d spot President Obama if they played 1-on-1.
9th: SRI. Ron Artest(notes) talks about his buddies smoking blunts while golfing, steroids and Twitter.
10th: Silver Screen & Roll. C.A. Clark: “The Lakers don’t care what you think. They don’t care if you love them or hate them. They don’t care if you think their effort was commendable or shameful. All they care about, all they’ve ever cared about, is the pot (ball?) of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

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What’s next for the Lakers

Jun 18

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

Might as well come out and say it.

Say what?

The Lakers have the look of a three-time champion.

Great. Slurp away.

They do, actually. I know that LeBron James(notes) is coming into his own and that the Nuggets are in their prime and that the East has all sorts of fitful contenders ready to step up (no Nets or 76er-like foils this time around for Los Angeles), but the Los Angeles’ mix of potential on offense and defense has me thinking they can do this again in 2010, and 2011.

I’d go further, honestly, but I wouldn’t mind keeping some credibility.

Here’s the deal, though. Kobe Bryant(notes) can’t give in to his all-on-me instincts, Phil Jackson has to remain the coach, Andrew Bynum(notes) and Jordan Farmar(notes) have to keep improving at the rate the 2007-08 season suggested, and the team needs to pay the luxury tax.

Pay it again. Pay it for Lamar Odom(notes), and Trevor Ariza(notes). This isn’t an either/or proposition. You have to bring them both back.

Though we’ve spent a while on the Lakers’ look, it will be much simpler than Orlando’s turn. It comes down to retaining both Odom and Ariza, two players who are appropriately valued by the media, and by other teams. The Lakers paid the tax last year, they have a few expiring contracts (Adam Morrison(notes), Derek Fisher(notes); as if they’d trade the latter) for 2009-10 that could be packaged for an upgrade at point guard, but by and large any chance at sustaining the championship run will have to take its cue from internal development.

Odom might have to play the martyr here. Though his skill set leaves us drooling, even your parents know that he’ll turn 30 in November, and that he’s best suited for a team like the Lakers. His leverage isn’t great.

That said, the Lakers need him, badly. Odom made Derek Fisher’s awful defense in the Western Conference playoffs passable when, with Shannon Brown(notes) on the court for defense and defense only, he ran an offense that Brown hasn’t been able to grasp yet. He’ll, he runs it with Fisher out there.

Yes, Luke Walton(notes) can do a lot of the same things. Run the offense off the bench. Rebound and start the break. Make the pass that leads to the pass that gets credited as the assist. Occasionally post up or hit three-pointers. Luke can do it all, and cheaper. Love Luke. Love Lamar, more. He’s just better.

And all Ariza does is play lockdown defense, create turnovers, and hit three-pointers at an ever-improving rate. He’s not much for driving, or the in-between game, as the Magic exposed during the Finals. But while you might not recall him missing a series of pull-up jumpers during the championship round, you surely recall Ariza hitting three-pointer after three-pointer after three-pointer.

And you have to bring him back. Have to. He may only play D and hit threes, but you need that. On both ends. Up to seven, maybe eight million. Beat the offer, bring him back.

You know why, Buss family? Because you’re going to be playing into June. Deep into June, every year. And you’re going to make that money back. And this team, as presently constructed, is special. Three-peat, special. Maybe more.

I’m not giddy. I’m not a Laker fan. I didn’t get too much (or, any) sun while in Los Angeles last week. I just know greatness when I see it. And even with Kobe and Lamar in their 30s, lots of tread on Kobe’s rubber, and the ever-present potential for falloff, selfish play, lackadaisical play, ennui, earthquake, whatever … this is a special, special team.

And you keep special teams together. At any price. And especially when players like Ariza and Odom want to stay in town, and like the arrangement Phil Jackson has created. They’re both lanky forwards, they’re completely different, and they both work. On both ends. The Lakers could be top three in offensive and defensive efficiency next year. That would mean 70 wins, or so.

To get there, you have to bring them both back, and pay the luxury tax again.

And then you have to sit back, and wait for June to roll around again. I don’t toss this stuff out there, lightly. It’s not my money, but June is pretty special to me, and to us all. And I want to see Ariza and Odom there, every June, trading fours.

Make it happen, Dr. Buss.

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Off day notes, Bobcats broke, ‘Zo and Whitlock go off …

Jun 14

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

No regrets from Stan Van Gundy in off day media availability session. None from Phil Jackson, either, but you’d get the feeling you’d be laughed out of the conference call if you asked him if there was anything about Game 4 that he’d take back.

And, as you’d expect, either side played the part of the coach of a team either up 3-1, or down 1-3.

Van Gundy still charges that fouling the Lakers with 11 seconds to go in Thursday’s Game 4 would have been too early (forgetting, of course, that Trevor Ariza(notes) and Derek Fisher(notes) had the ball in their hands with seven and six and five seconds to go), while defending his decision to banish Rafer Alston(notes) to the end of the bench after a game-changing third quarter that saw the Magic only score 14 points.

On Jameer Nelson(notes) playing for the entire fourth quarter:

“Obviously in any kind of loss people are going to question anything; that’s fine. But our fourth quarter unit functioned a lot better than our third quarter unit did, so I stuck with what was working.”

He admits to not thinking about possibly giving a defensive-minded guard like Courtney Lee(notes) a shot in the last defensive possession of the game, he doesn’t want to be quoted as blaming Rafer Alston for the struggles in the third quarter (conveniently leaving out the fact that Hedo Turkoglu’s(notes) absence, more than Rafer’s poor play, contributed to the pathetic offense).

Van Gundy also still claims he’s not upset at Dwight Howard’s(notes) free throw frustrations because they were balanced out by the other aspects of his game (rebounding, and an NBA Finals-record nine blocks).

All in all, in was a pinched, frustrated, shoulders-shrugged bit of analysis.

Phil Jackson — and I swear I should have this phrase saved on my clipboard — was typically serene. Wistfully looking back to the struggles of his post-playing days, trying to find secure employment in and out of basketball, musing aloud about how the journey is the thing, how fun this ride has been, and how much he appreciates his team.

On the upcoming Game 5, as you’d expect, the Lakers coach is hoping his team busts out with a singular focus, rather than reacting to largeness of the moment, or Orlando’s desperate crowd.

“The big key is that if we can match that play and the energy that they throw out there on the floor, then we give ourselves a chance. To do that we have to be focused, which is always a coach’s cry, ‘get focused.’ We have to reach the energy level or the emotional level of the game in a way that matches what the crowd and the Orlando team put out there on the floor.”

He mentioned that his players were giddy after Game 4, happy to be this close to a championship, while taking on an even cheerier tone following Friday’s film session.

“What I told them is there’s a chance tomorrow’s practice may be the last practice of the season. That’s also something that gets them pretty excited because practice for players is something that is — at this level of the game, having gone through hundreds or probably more than a hundred-some practices, they’re excited about not having to come to practice again.”

Jackson also gave another mention of Derek Fisher reminding the team about how the Indiana Pacers sent it back to Los Angeles with a Game 5 win in 2000.

That cracks me up, seeing as how just about every player on the Lakers save for Kobe and Fisher was well into their teenage years when that happened (Andrew Bynum(notes) was 12, Pau Gasol(notes) was 17; hell, I had just turned 20), I can’t imagine many or any of those players even remembering that game. I do, but I had a Behind the Box Score to write. Seriously.

***

Discussing the “idea” that Kobe Bryant(notes) is actually the real coach behind these Los Angeles Lakers is a bit like trying to convince someone that the NBA isn’t fixed, or that the sun doesn’t revolve around the Earth. What more is there to say beyond, “you’re daft,” before moving on?

And Alonzo Mourning(notes) is daft, here. He’s never liked Phil Jackson, it’s always been cool to pump up current, hip, players while putting some older guy down, and if you give more than two seconds thought to Mourning’s claims that Bryant “is doing all the work” and that Phil “is just showing up” — honestly, you’re taking unmitigated idiocy to an entirely different level.

To just get into the hours upon hours of work that detailing an offense, breaking down game tape, studying motivation techniques, self-improving so that you can advise others on self-improvement, 40 years of hoarding plays so that you know exactly what to call in a pinch, working endlessly on game preparation so that you can boil that knowledge down and put it across effortlessly to your team in 15 minutes during a walk-through before they lose interest, the ability to … I’ll just stop.

How do you convince someone that they’re wrong, when they’re wronger than anyone’s ever wronged before? You can either write a series of almanacs on the subject, or you can make it the second item in a notes column, 300 words or less. It’s sunny out. I’m going with the latter.

***

Scary news if you’re a Bobcats fan. The team might not even be able to afford a summer league team this year, which kind of strikes me as odd.

I know the economy isn’t at its best, I know the Bobcats have a payroll that probably goes beyond the realm of the fiscally sound, and I understand that the team isn’t exactly raking in the profits from attendance or local TV/radio, and I understand that summer league runs cost quite a bit of money, often for a payoff that isn’t so profound.

But I can’t help but wonder, given owner Robert Johnson’s NBA naïveté heading into his venture as owner of this pathetic team, if this is more of a choice than an end-result. And wonder if there haven’t been teams in tougher financial straights that still managed to make a summer league turn happen. That’s just me, though.

***

If Stan Van Gundy “needs his ass beat,” then where does that leave Jason Whitlock?

Deservedly run over by a cement mixer? Appropriately drawn and quartered? Stuck thrashing around for relevance over the last five years as the rest of the sporting world finally comes to regard him as the prat that he is? If Van Gundy made his mistake at the spur of the moment, what’s Whitlock’s excuse for being allowed time to think and re-think that line?

If this isn’t the biggest tip off that the sporting media absolutely and unabashedly roots for the underdog because they get bored with a game they don’t understand, then I don’t know what else to give you.

Jason Whitlock did not watch an Orlando Magic game until May, but now he’s emotionally invested in the team because — like the fair-weather dorks down at your local sports pub — he’ll root for an underdog winning over a close and entertaining contest regardless of outcome.

And when his underdog fails, he turns into a churlish, childish whiner. And in lieu of actual analysis, he blames the coach. Because it’s the easiest thing to do in sports, a shocking turn run by a columnist who has done nothing but take up the easiest sides in sports for years. And because he’s alone on an island desperate for hits, they allow comments like “Stan Van Gundy needs his ass beat” to run.

Do you think he could tell you, last October, who the coach of the Magic was? I’m sure he’d heard of and remembered Stan Van Gundy, but wouldn’t you bet a week’s pay that Whitlock’s answer to that question would run along the lines of, “hold on … I know this … don’t tell me …”?

You think he knows anything about the history of not fouling when up three points? You think he was angry beyond belief during the regular season when teams didn’t try it? Or in the first round of the playoffs?

You think he felt bad for Lawrence Frank in the regular season when Frank tried, and as the exception to the rule, it came back to bite New Jersey in the ass? You think Whitlock is poring over any NBA statistician’s research on the issue, bound and determined to get NBA coaches to favor the statistics on this issue, and foul?

Or did he just want the plucky underdog to win, and because it didn’t, ranted away like a spurned message board denizen. And will any other “please foul when you’re up three points” rant ever get the sort of exposure Whitlock’s “needs his ass beat” comment will get? No way.

Jason? Who does JaVale McGee(notes) play for? No idea? Then can it, kindly, regarding the NBA.

Or, better yet, give us something we haven’t heard. Discuss this situation intelligently. Don’t make a point to draw attention with foul-mouthed twaddle like that.

You’re the online equivalent of a frat boy, half-watching the Cubs game on WGN on another TV, turning into an NBA genius in June over his four Miller Lites, just in time to forget about the league for another 11 months. Why anyone would give that line of thinking a forum is beyond me.

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Phil, at ease

Jun 14

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

Even by his own, flip-flops-at-practice, standards, Phil Jackson sure seems a lot more relaxed these days than he has been in the past.

This doesn’t really have anything to do with where we’re at in the Finals, either, with the Lakers up 3-1 and potentially a few hours removed from winning their first NBA championship in seven years.

There’s something else going on with this guy. Maybe the times have come up around him, maybe he’s at peace with most of the civilized world realizing that he may have had just as much to do with all those championships as the superstars he coached. Maybe he picked up himself up a nice pair of shoe inserts. I’m not entirely sure.

What I can tell you is, after two decades of observing this guy from afar, he actually, publicly, looks the part of the contented Zen master the cliché-ready press wearyingly love to describe him as.

There are no more press conference battles, no messages through the media meant not for quotability, but to hit the intended targets (the NBA’s league office, the next game’s refereeing crew, opposing coaches, certain power forwards). No more smirking, very little bemusement as a defense (there’s bemusement, mind you, just not used as an alternative to yelling at people), and nobody’s being warily regarded.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t battles to be won with the intended targets mentioned in the parenthesis above. And that certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t members of the press that Jackson can’t stand.

There is a certain Los Angeles columnist, name sort of rhymes with “Mee-May Whimers,” who tries to bait and match wits with Jackson in every press conference. And, I’m sorry, but while I don’t mind Mee-May as a writer and certainly don’t mind his efforts to tweak and twist, he fails miserably every time out.

In the past, Jackson would shoot this guy down. In 2009, you get the sense that he’s not worth Jackson’s time, even without Jackson having to go out of his way to let everyone know that he’s not worth Jackson’s time. Years ago, this would have been a big deal. But right now, unless you’re at the press conferences or an avid NBA TV watcher at two in the afternoon on a weekday, you have no idea that this is going on.

Have I been at these press conferences, myself, for years? No, but we’ve been able to see Jackson’s post-game press conferences on cable TV since the mid-1990s, and just about all of his playoff pressers since the outset of this decade. And there’s something different about it. More candid, without being brutally honest. More at ease. More direct, without directing.

Even in the best of times in his run with the Chicago Bulls, the guy still seemed unnerved by something. Even with the outcome really never in doubt, he still seemed pinched. Not quite frantic or hurried, but aggrieved about something that he never decided to expound on.

Perhaps it was the way the Bulls had to wonder every June if they’d be back for another go the following year. Perhaps it was his domestic life, surely none of our business, but something that we know sadly soon unraveled for good once the Bulls won their last championship in 1998.

And while it seemed to go away once Jackson came out to Los Angeles — working under the sun and winning a title in your first year will do that — it was replaced by more bemusement in place of something, and all that smirking. Jackson’s press conferences never seemed … typical? Is that the word? And is that even right?

Atypical, compared to what? Gregg Popovich’s smart-alecky tone? Jeff Van Gundy’s sarcastic droning? Stan Van Gundy’s exasperated, to the point, analysis? Every other coach in this league seems to go out of his way to warily regard most league-mandated media sessions, often for good reason, so why does Phil’s stand out when he bemusedly regards them? When he makes the best of what can be a frustrating situation?

It probably, like it is with all the greats, has more to do with us than him.

Hell, I often find myself thinking and acting like the bemused Jackson at children’s birthday parties, or while observing my girlfriend after she and her girlfriends have had one too many, and can’t keep themselves from laughing about fanny packs. Noting the silliness of the situation in your mind, not giving it too much credence, while just trying to stay aware and good-natured in a setting that could drive you batty if you don’t stay in the moment.

Yet, in this turn, Jackson seems completely different, again. His manner both before and after games, and during off-days, suggests someone who is completely and utterly removed from the game itself. Separate, certainly not unsentimental, but secure and unattached enough to soberly and accurately describe exactly what has gone on without letting emotion or even pro-Laker bias get in the way. It’s been remarkable to watch, whether in the comfort of my living room, or just a few feet away.

We can’t possibly pin this on Los Angeles’ likelihood to win it all, be it entering the postseason, the Finals, or Sunday evening, because he’s had it easier with teams both in Los Angeles, and Chicago. He has a team that seems to fully grasp what he’s after on both sides of the court without much pleading from the sidelines, but he’s also had that in other places, on other teams, the symbiotic relationship between coach and rotation just as strong.

So really, all I’m left to assume is that we have a new stage of Jackson to deal with, irrespective of the on-court goings-on. One where every word, taken literally, is enough. Fewer mind games. Fewer ploys. And I’m only writing “fewer” instead of “no,” because there is that persistent if not expected overwhelming chance that I just don’t know what the hell I’m on about.

It’s an odd thing to feel good about the perceived sunnier state of someone’s mind when you don’t even know them. But that’s a by-product of seeing someone’s post-work thoughts broadcast nationally, or documented for the record. That’s just how it goes.

Of course, if he responds to a win or a loss in Game 5 with his best approximation of Allen Ginsberg’s famous rant, you didn’t hear it from me. Blame the humidity. It’s hot down here.

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Behind the Box Score, where the Lakers put the hammer down

Jun 12

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

Wow, that was some defense.

It didn’t seem to come up much during the game, for the usual reasons (defense isn’t much of a talking point, unless teams aren’t playing it), but this was a phenomenal defensive game from both sides, following a Game 3 that saw both teams take off on the offensive end.

The sheer activity levels in this game were awesome, and on a pretty incredible level when you figure the amount of games played and minutes slogged through this year before reaching a Thursday night in the second week of June.

Then again, this is also pretty typical of two great teams who more or less have each other’s wants and needs sussed out. The game preparation meets the athleticism then feeds off the drive and leads to what we saw. Great, friggin’, defense.

It shouldn’t be surprising, considering how good these teams were defensively in 2008-09, but on the heels of that Game 3? An impressive about-face, no less entertaining, just as competitive.

As is always the case, there were self-made mistakes and mitigating factors that added to the defense-fest, with the losing team providing more of the shots to the foot.

The Magic missed 15 of 37 free throws for a miserable 59.5 percent clip, absolute suicide in a game that was tied after 48 minutes. The team continued its turnover-happy ways, coughing it up 17 times in a very slow (96 possessions in 53 minutes) contest. Dwight Howard(notes) had as many turnovers (seven) as the entire Laker team.

But credit the Lakers’ defense, which harassed the Magic screen and roll game to no end. Credit Kobe Bryant’s(notes) help defense. Truly applaud the way Pau Gasol(notes) moved his feet, thought off the ball, and gave up his body in defense of Dwight Howard (5-12 shooting two days after going 5-6 from the floor).

Gasol was brilliant, defensively. Lamar Odom’s(notes) help defense was superb again, this time without leaving Rashard Lewis(notes) so much, and Derek Fisher(notes) was allowed to play a physical brand of defense on the perimeter (surprising in a game where Bennett Salvatore was the lead official), so he took advantage.

The Magic were just as sound. They can see the obvious coming just as clearly as anyone, so Orlando made a point to chase Pau Gasol off the block early and often, battering him off the ball and bumping him with help as he cut to the ball. And because the Lakers offense is a read-and-react offense, Gasol didn’t see the rock as much as we assumed as the ball swung around, desperate to find someone who was open.

Before Derek Fisher’s two late three-pointers, the Lakers were shooting 6-21 (28.5 percent) from behind the arc, as the Magic made a point to chase them off the open long ball. Kobe Bryant got his 32, but it was a huge struggle (31 shots), and every other Laker only seemed to contribute in spurts.

But when they did contribute? The difference in the game.

Save for the third quarter, Trevor Ariza(notes) shot 1-8 as the Magic continued to run him off the three-point line, force him to drive, and work an in-between game (shooting on the run, leaners and such) that he just isn’t good at during this stage of his career. Save for the third quarter. Ariza hit a tough leaner as the Magic overplayed everyone but him, which got his rhythm right as he went on to score 11 more points in the quarter, including hitting both of his three pointers.

Bryant shot poorly, save for the first quarter, acting as the team’s offensive savior for the second game in a row during that term as the Magic just crushed any other Laker’s hope of securing an easy shot. And Fisher had missed all five of his three-point attempts before nailing a game-tying trey with just a few seconds left in regulation, and a straightaway three-pointer in overtime to just about put the Magic away.

The first shot will be the subject of some controversy, as it should be. The Lakers had the ball with just over 11 seconds left in the game, down three, and the buzz in the arena was fixated solely on whether or not the Magic would foul to send the Lakers to the line, with the potential for only two points.

We’d find out later that the Magic, fearful of their own free throw shooting woes (I’m sorry, but that’s a cop out. Dwight Howard’s not going to catch the ball, trust your guys to shoot their averages even if they just missed three of four in the quarter), decided not to foul. That much has been gone over quite a bit in the hours since Game 4 ended.

What hasn’t been discussed much is the way the Lakers surprised the Magic by taking the ball out in the backcourt, as opposed to the frontcourt, as most coaches do.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was left to yell at his team like a little league coach, directing the center fielder to move farther out when the kid with the pituitary problem that repeated 2nd grade comes up to bat. The Magic did a superb job of denying Bryant the ball, face guarding him with two players on the in-bound pass, but the surprise of the backcourt in-bound rendered any speculation about fouling pointless.

Even if the Magic wanted to foul, they would have had a tough time doing it, as the Lakers put in the perfect counter. Almost perfect, I should say, because the Magic still had a chance to make things right.

Almost perfect because, for whatever reason, Jameer Nelson(notes) was treating Derek Fisher as if he were Derrick Rose(notes) as Fisher approached the three-point line. I’m not excusing Stan Van Gundy. He should have known that Phil Jackson, as he’s done for 20 years, likes to take the ball out in the backcourt. And he should have called for the foul. But Nelson’s decision was the real game-changer.

Nelson was essentially playing a slow, spot-up three-point shooter for a drive in a three-point game. Even if the Magic wanted to foul, there’s no way Nelson gets out on Fisher and wraps him up with the defense he was playing. This one, unfortunately, is on Jameer.

“This one” meaning “the final play of regulation,” mind you. It’s not Nelson’s fault that Howard missed six of 14 free throws, or that Hedo Turkoglu(notes) missed four free throws in the fourth quarter. It’s not his fault Rafer Alston(notes) struggled in the third quarter (1-5 shooting, bad decisions) as the Lakers made a halftime decision to force everyone but Rafer away from the ball, and good shots.

And it’s certainly not his fault Rashard Lewis wanted no part of contact on drives, being a go-to guy, or collecting tough rebounds (attempting to rebound with his arms, with his body spiraling away from the ball, while Derek Fisher throws his whole body into the loose ball). Six points on 10 shots for Lewis, who may as well have been Pat Garrity(notes) out there. Actually, Garrity would have hit a few more of those open shots.

Howard had nine blocks, an NBA Finals record, and he defended superbly without rejecting anything. Still, when you toss in the free throw mark and those seven turnovers, you can’t really regard his outing as an All-Star performance. Time after time he was afforded solid attempts in the paint, but ruined his chances by bringing the ball down below his waist, ready to bring it back up for a monster slam a la Shaquille O’Neal(notes).

Dwight? You may have shown more interest in team defense during this two-game homestand than Shaq has shown in his entire career. You’re not immature like Shaq. You’re not insecure like Shaq. You’re not out of shape, like Shaq. But you’re not Shaq. Just because he had that bad habit of bringing the ball down that low, it doesn’t mean you should emulate it.

O’Neal’s frame was much, much wider than yours, which made it tougher for teams to wrap him up from behind. You, actually in shape, have that problem to think about. Keep the ball high, please. You would have had a 30-point game had you just kept the ball above your waist, or higher, even with the free throw woes.

Again, credit that Laker defense for knowing what to do, and where to go, at all times. And Gasol for making sure that the shots that Howard did get off were usually off-balance, and off the mark.

Los Angeles was ably prepared, and had the talent and energy and drive to execute. The Magic weren’t that far behind, they were certainly on point defensively save for that final regulation possessions, but the team’s own offensive mistakes coupled with that Laker D (just 95 points per 100 possessions for Orlando, awful) made everything a struggle.

The question now is whether or not the Magic struggle with their confidence, heading into the rest of a series that has likely been decided, or if the Lakers struggle to overcome common sense. Common sense that tells them that the series is already theirs, whether they play just as desperately in Game 5, or not.

We’ll see on Sunday.

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Defining Pau Gasol’s martyrdom

Jun 11

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

It might be time to re-consider how much we howl about Pau Gasol(notes)

Coming off the heels of a Game 3 that seemed all-too-typical amongst Laker losses, the usual bleating (with yours truly tending to yell loudest, above all) about the lack of Pau in the post appeared to re-emerge. The Lakers lost by four, and Gasol only got 11 shots. He made nine of them, made just as many free throws as Kobe in four fewer attempts, while making nine of those 11 field goals overall.

He’s often unguardable in the post by Rashard Lewis(notes). He can even face up Lewis down low, and score. If doubled, he can find the open man better than just about any big man in the NBA. The Laker offense needs to go from the inside-out. Same attributes. Same stuff I was banging my head about, after dozens of games, during the regular season, and over the first three rounds of this postseason.

Why has my tone changed, after a loss that seemed a mirror image? Why am I defending a night where Kobe Bryant(notes) took 25 shots and Gasol managed only 11 attempts? Well, I can’t completely defend that night. Nobody can.

Bryant needed to find Gasol more often. Gasol scored an almost uncontested dunk on the first play of Tuesday’s Game 3 and was just as unstoppable in the fourth quarter, and the space between, so it wasn’t as if the Lakers had hot and cold streaks in order to pick and choose as to when they’d find Gasol. He was ready to rock all game long.

But there’s a lot more to this offense that obvious scores off of assists (like Gasol hitting a cutter), isolation moves and scores (Gasol takes two dribbles and knocks in the lefty hook, he’s awesome), or hockey assists (Fisher got that wide-open corner three because Gasol found Ariza, the Magic collapsed, and the next pass found Fisher; it all starts with Pau, he’s awesome).

The Magic bump cutters. Sometimes they get away with it, sometimes they don’t, but as a function of having two smallish forwards instead of one small and one power forward, it means they have to protect the low post before someone even sets up on it, and it also means they have defenders who are fleet of foot enough (again, no lumbering power forwards) to knock and overplay a guy as he’s flashing from the weak side.

So, while all of that’s going on, the Lakers can call for a different screen on the strong side and score, or quickly reverse the ball starting with a pass to the top of the key, and run a guard-around screen. All while Orlando’s eyes are focused on the orthodox move of swinging that awesome 7-footer from the weak side baseline to the low post on the strong side.

On top of that, you have the big plays that Gasol is part of where he makes the initial strong pass that eventually leads to the score; without even giving him the benefit of an assist or a hockey assist. Pau mentioned this at media availability on Wednesday.

“For the most part when you get the big men in the offense first you become a passer because there’s a lot of cutting, a lot of cutting from the wings, a lot of cutting from the weak side, so there’s always something going on unless we decide that we’re going to be in isolation for the guy on the post.”

If this seems like an excuse for not finding him enough in the fourth quarter, well, it is. But first I want to get into something that drove me batty. Namely, Los Angeles’ run through the Western Conference. Pau wants to talk about his touches. Go ahead, brah:

“It kind of came up every series to be honest with you. It came up a little bit in the Utah series but we did well and we were winning, so it was cool. It came up in the Houston series, and when we had those big games, Games 5 and 7, we did go to the post more and it worked out and we won well. Then it happened in the Denver series. Again it worked out, it went well. Hopefully it will continue.

“It’s just got to be a part of our offense and emphasis, a conscious effort that this works, okay, let’s make it work a little more often, because it’s given us a good plus out there. I’m ready always to be there and compete and deliver, so that’s what I like to do.”

Those series’ saw Kobe shoot a ton, as well, often without offering an efficient result. And even as an impartial observer who could give a rip as to who emerged the winner, I was still absolutely losing it while watching because the Lakers ignored Pau so much. I want to see basketball at its best. The Lakers, while ignoring their offense and their 7-footer, weren’t giving to me. Anger results. Things are muttered. Behind the Box Scores are fashioned.

Something seems different in this series, though. Gasol needs the ball more, make no mistake. He needs touches, and he needs shots. The Laker offense is just (if not more) potent in his hands as it is in Kobe Bryant’s hands (shooting 46 percent from the floor, 35 percent from behind the arc) at this point. Idolize all you want, but with Kobe’s age and the way the Laker offense is set up, they’re on par.

That said, the Lakers scored about 121 points per 100 possessions on Tuesday, well over their regular season mark, and an even better mark than what we saw in the team’s Game 1 blowout win (about 115 per 100). Jordan Farmar’s(notes) hot hand and Lamar Odom’s(notes) decisive moves in the low post (adding to the overall score) shouldn’t excuse Gasol’s inexcusable two shot attempts (making both) in the fourth quarter, but it is safe to say that offense wasn’t the Lakers’ problem.

And unlike the head-banging times of April and May, when it seemed Kobe Bryant preferred Mike Brown’s pathetic 1-on-5 offense to Tex Winter’s triple-post, I don’t get the feeling that the Lakers are acting too stubbornly.

Kobe took one awful three-pointer in the fourth quarter of Game 3, his huge turnover turned the tide, and he missed a crucial free throw. Not great. But when you take away the two three-pointers he had to chuck desperately in the final minute, the man shot 2-3 in the fourth quarter with two assists.

That sounds to me like he made one dunderheaded move (the three-pointer) followed by two possessions that just didn’t go his way (the free throw split; the turnover), surrounded by a quarter that wasn’t much different from Pau’s (2-2, six points, one turnover, no assists). Gasol’s human, just as Kobe, and he has just as much chance at going 2-2 from the floor for six points had Kobe given the ball up to Gasol, as he had pulling a Kobe in those three possessions (bad shot, free throw split, turnover).

Gasol needs the ball. He needs the ability to match Kobe’s fourth quarter assist total, if not double it. But even with Kobe messing up a few times and nobody hitting a last-second three to jack up the score, the Lakers still scored 29 points in the fourth quarter against the NBA’s best defense, and whittled a nine-point deficit down to a two-point game at times.

And unlike the team’s turn in the Western Conference bracket, I don’t get the feeling that this is a team that’s unaware of Gasol’s abilities. It just seemed like the decision to go elsewhere just happened to go away from Gasol — happened to, I mean that — time and time again in a quarter that saw the Lakers shoot 11-19 from the field even with a flurry of desperation threes missing in the final minute.

And I expect things to change, in Game 4. Even if it means Gasol gets just as many shots, in the end. Even if it means he “only” finishes with one assist again. He’ll get the ball more, but understand that it won’t always result in the obvious, stat-padding, play.

Take us home, big man.

“[My play in the post] also gives us motion in our offense, and it gives us energy and flow. So it’s something that has worked for us, and I’m a good passer, I feel comfortable passing the ball, I’m a willing passer and I want to get my teammates shots and layâups. It’s fine with me, obviously. Like I said, I’m all about winning, I’m all about being effective and contributing, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

This ain’t no Houston, this ain’t no Denver. This ain’t no fooling around.

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Finally, Orlando’s time

Jun 9

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

It’s been a fitful 20-year run for the Magic franchise, and though you’d have to assume the team and the fan base are awfully happy to be in this year’s Finals, you also get the feeling that they might regard their matchup with the Lakers as the most recent in a series of calamities.

Well, maybe “calamity” isn’t the right word, but the Magic have had a lot given to them, and quite a bit cruelly taken away.

The most obvious case is Shaquille O’Neal, who left town in 1996 for the Lakers, leaving the Magic with nothing in return.

Then there was Penny Hardaway’s health, Nick Anderson’s confidence (which dragged well beyond the 1995 Finals), Grant Hill’s health, Tracy McGrady’s interest in playing defense, Fran Vasquez’s interest in just playing in the NBA, and a litany of coach (nine of them in total, with Brian Hill somehow coaching twice) after coach after coach.

Orlando isn’t allowed this cruel twist of fate, however, if they don’t have a bit of luck on their side. Winning the lottery to get O’Neal. Striking again the next year as a 41-win team to pull in Hardaway. The interest in coach after coach after well-regarded coach. The max signings of Grant Hill and McGrady in 2000, a free agent turn that hasn’t been replicated by any NBA team before or since.

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Who will win the NBA Finals?

Jun 1

Posted by sophie in Uncategorized

Who will win the NBA Finals?
1.Magic in 4 or 5 games
2.Lakers in 4 or 5 games
3.Magic in 6 or 7 games
4.Lakers in 6 or 7 games
After last season’s embarrassing loss to the Celtics, the Lakers are back in the Finals. Are they a better team?

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