Russell Westbrook About To Clank A Shot Off The Rim

The biggest difference between Game 1 and Game 2 for the Thunder’s offense was in the Pick And Roll Ball Handler play. Russell Westbrook went off in Game 1, hitting 10 of 15 shots with little to no resistance from Laker big men Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum when Westbrook came around a ball screen. When Westbrook scores that efficiently, the Lakers will get devastated.

But by containing him slightly better, getting a hand up on his 15 footers, OKC struggled mightily. While it wasn’t perfect, the Lakers big men hedged higher, almost to the point of ignoring Kendrick Perkins, and rightfully show. The Thunder center shot 1-5, violently missing some shots as they clanged off the backboard. The more shots the Lakers can get Perkins, Ibaka, and Sefolosha to take, the better off they are.

I have a rule that says the first team that wins two in a row wins the series, and that holds up almost every time. By that measure, the Thunder will win this series, and it’s just a question of how many games it takes them. If the Lakers can limit the space they give Russell Westbrook and do a better job getting Andrew Bynum the ball against Kendrick Perkins’ fronting, they stand a good chance to get back into the series.

The Lakers need to continue to control tempo, limit the OKC fastbreak, and keep them a jump shooting team. Then they better hope they miss, for we saw what happened in Game 1 when they don’t miss so much.

The question I kept asking myself while watching Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers was: Does anybody out there look like a championship team? The answer was a resounding no, after seeing both teams do their best to give the game away. There was a moment with 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter where it looked like Indiana was about to fold under the pressure and let the Heat win going away. But both teams shot a combined 5-14 from the free throw line down the stretch, with LeBron getting the brunt of criticism for missing two crucial ones.

Paul George Making A Play
Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP

So here’s what we’ve learned after two games:

Paul George needs to be the primary defender on LeBron James. Danny Granger has gotten into foul trouble and has been generally ineffective while guarding him. This has also affected Granger’s offensive game, since the brief flicker of light we saw from Granger came in the 3rd quarter when Paul George guarded LeBron.

David West can handle LeBron James down low in the post. Without Bosh in the lineup, the Heat are forced to put LeBron on him, since there isn’t anyone else with the size and strength to keep him out of the lane. That said, West was able to do damage anyway, and the Heat may be forced to double on him. Spoelstra doesn’t like to double down on the post, and he also seems to dislike adjustments as well.

LeBron James Having Trouble Holding On To Ball
Photo: Wilfredo Lee / AP

Now that Indiana has homecourt advantage, it remains to be seen if they can hold onto it. They haven’t played very well either, and to have stolen a game from Miami is certainly cause for celebration. If Frank Vogel can come up with one more adjustment to get the ball into the post versus the fronting Heat defenders, particularly for Roy Hibbert, than the Heat will have to ponder another season without a championship. If they get through this round, you can bet the Celtics are waiting and watching, and will give them an even greater challenge.

Written by Arun and Coach Nick

Spoelstra needs to teach Chalmers to stop trying to draw contact on his 3 point shots. Every one becomes off balance.

I don’t believe it – and Marv Albert got confused with clock and 24 second clock

@ec_lkhaa Pacers did their best to match Heat’s mistakes. #NoOneWantsThis

Almost good for the Pacers, as a lot of time ran out. But now Heat get to inbound it on their end. It is in a WEIRD spot, though.

Actually – great no call on Hill, b/c there was no foul on Wade – he just blew the right handed scoop on left side

Battier missed Wade on the right block. We know refs swallow whistles at the end, right? #BostonFansDisagree

So are his FTs (by the rim) RT @JRSportBrief: Damn. LeBron layups getting whopped.

LeBron James looks to attack Danny Granger

@haralabob Is there a catchier way to say Vinny Del Negro imprint? Because it’s so real, palpable.

Tell me something: Do EITHER of these teams look like potential NBA champions to you?

@swirvfly And I tweeted that before he missed those FTs!!!!!!!!

@swirvfly Spoelstra played him entire second half. Problem…

Hard to believe Hibbert couldn’t face the basket on that missed Wade shot.

IND need only point to their last 2 possessions, and George’s missed FT if they lose htis

Holy Moly! Did I just see LeBron turn back into LeBrick from the finals last year?

Did you see Hibbert come out 2 feet farther on that Wade ball screen? Wade brocked it

Heat deserve ball back – Wade got hit on his shot, no call.

I don’t think you can sacrifice defense for Barbosa’s offense.

@RicaldiJMarc That’s where they should be, man. Haslem!

@travishealey Same – they’d front the post, pressure the wing. But they were much better at attacking this

There’s about 6 or 7 possessions left, IND up by 2.

OMG – Battier on West? Are you serious Spoelstra??

If you’re looking for an example of an inexperienced team beginning to fall apart, look no further than the #Pacers

While Granger started shooting better for a stretch, he’s KILLED the Pacers tonight.

Hard to believe Hill and Granger don’t even try to box out… Wade put back

So Indiana has got to 5 out, here. No post presence at all. Vogel has no other ideas to combat the fronting. Kinda sad.

David West proves indispensable to the Pacers

So Granger is pretty bad leading a fast break. That’s two bad decisions this quarter.

So Vogel doesn’t put Paul George back in (his best player in this game) and takes out Hibbert instead.

I imagine Vogel brings Paul George back in now.

Hibbert doesn’t grab offensive rebound, taps it to Heat. Then challenges Anthony’s shot?? Doesn’t get rebound

OH WOW- the replay of Wade shows Flagrant for sure. Wade couldn’t control himself after not getting a call on Dahntay Jones

If Granger is tired, maybe – but what an awful pass to Collison, also way too slow getting loose ball

Heat don’t match up great, with Battier guarding Barbosa.

Holy Crap is Barbosa AWFUL at passing to the post.

MIA went from 21 pts in 1st to 17 pts in 2nd to 14 pts in 3rd. At this rate, they’ll have 12 pts in 4th. #Math #Patterns

With this (kinda yucky) Heat lineup -LBJ, Battier,Chalmers,Anthony,Cole – all Pacers need to do is stop LeBron from shooting.

Danny Granger has raised his level. But question is – can the Pacers keep up intensity in the FOURTH quarter?

Paul George is a +20 (higher until that LBJ And1 just now) and is simply making plays.

When Wade goes out, it enables Paul George to guard LBJ, which has been very successful thus far. Granger can check Battier.

Usually, saying let everybody not named LeBron or Dwyane shoot is cliche. But it’s the truth tonight.

This is where the Heat wished they had Bosh instead of Joel Anthony shooting turn around jumpers

OH! Paul George with a flush!

I bet Heat go to HORNS out of this time out. Their offensive sets this quarter have been atrocious thus far.

Here’s that first half awesome dunk by Wade: http://youtu.be/moxgFlwTo3k

Does Paul George (@King24George) have eyes in the back of his head? That would explain his hand. #ShakeWeight http://yfrog.com/oc8o6emj

And I have NO idea why I’m tweeting like I’m a Pacers fan, BTW

OMG, Haslem grabs Paul George’s arm. While Pacers got that open court foul on Chalmers, they’re getting screwed otherwise

Whatever you want to say about the Pacers offense, the Heat offense is equally bad

@NBATupark He guarded LBJ and shut him down, got his 2 buckets during that run that closed the gap…

Vogel should put in a rule: You cannot attack from the top without making a pas first

@NBATupark Are you kidding me? George has been the best player on the Pacers today. Don’t look at shooting #’s only – he’s +10

With 2 post players like West and Hibbert, you NEED some high low action. Instead, I see both of them low, getting in each other’s way

I’m really not liking Indiana’s offense – and I’m talking conceptually. MIA can keep them on 1 side of floor too easily

Miami shooting 38% – LBJ & Wade are 8-19 (42%). THe rest of team? 7-21 (33%). Make the others shoot, IND

Wow – all Pacers have to do is make sure Haslem, CHalmers, and Turiaf shoot

This is what the Heat do – let you pass around perimeter, so you think you’re getting good offense, til shot clock winds down

There’s HORNS by the Pacers – of course, it gets a layup, but George can’t finish. Gotta dunk that sh*t

@AdamReisinger Wait – did he say that’s what he averaged one year?

@dianaallen Rushing a shot to get it under a certain time ends up being inefficient. Better to work to get the best shot possible always

I’m not agreeing with all this Hibbert too slow and deliberate in post talk. Lobs don’t work when West is on weakside block.

@dianaallen At @SloanSportsConf, they analyzed the value of executing 2 for 1 correctly. One extra win every 2 years

@TimDonahue8p9s It’s their position when Heat front. West’s man can come over WAY too easily for lob. & they won’t hit top and duck in

And I wish I had invented the shake weight, since that motion could be construed as very natural

The shake weight is frought with such eroticism, it’s not even a subtle joke

Is this Carl’s Jr commercial with the chick eating the chicken tender sandwich national? i.e. did everyone just see it?

While you wait for the 2nd half, enjoy this crazy spin move slam by Dwyane Wade: http://youtu.be/moxgFlwTo3k #Heat

I’m such a broken record, but 2 for 1 don’t net you anything.
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@TimDonahue8p9s And when I say you’re frustrating me, I really mean I love you.

@TimDonahue8p9s Tim, you are frustrating me – it’s the other way around!!! Post sets up outside shots

Chuck: “Scoring 33 points ain’t gonna beat ANYbody.” #True

Chuck has so little respect for the Pacers, he won’t even round up on their FG%

@HPbasketball …On an Island in the post, Roy Hibbert can’t make them toast…

I need a light up red phone to Frank Vogel’s office.

Dammit! Pacers can’t have West on the weakside post when they lob to Hibbert. The help D is 2 steps away!

@DJHendry How about that last LBJ pull up jumper he nailed? Hibbert has to step up, or someone else has to cover for him.

Check out that great Wade spin move and dunk on the Pacers. Pretty impressive: http://bit.ly/JfdpiD

Amazing Dwyane Wade Dunk vs. Pacers: http://bit.ly/JfdpiD

Paul George is everywhere – laying it in, deflecting passes. I don’t know why they went back to Granger on LBK

Out of time out, instead of Horns, Spoelstra goes with LBJ ball screen for Wade. Not a bad idea, til LeBron popped for a fade away brick

Granger gets away with a vet move of pushing LBJ from behind on his floater in lane.

Paul George is on his way to establishing himself as the star of this Pacers team

They need to feed Hibbert from the top on a duck in! Or bring it it to corner and attack from there.

A SpecTACular move! Wade dunk… highlight coming… stand bu

There are bad turnovers and not-so-bad turnovers. Throwing a pass to the high post away is a bad turnover. #ColeDunk

You want to know why Paul George is +10, while team is down 5? Watch him defend LeBron

Jones shooting a 3 while trying to draw contact before the release. #BadIdea

I was going to count the # of times the Pacers post up Hibbert, but I fear I won’t need any fingers

Vogel: “Only difference is that they made some easy shots, we missed ours.” kinda/sorta

So the Pacers, piece by piece, are figuring out the matchups that work for them. Paul George guarding LBJ is infinitely better than Granger

So I said on Twitter yesterday that Paul George should guard LeBron – & what do you know? He’s doing a good job, only Pacer in positive +/-

@TimDonahue8p9s @IndyCornrows Wait – last year, we’re talking. Hansbrough made Boozer look bad in post (not hard to do, btw)

@IndyCornrows BTW – have you noticed who was guarding LBJ the last 2 times he’s bricked? #MYIDEAFRANKVOGEL

HORNS by the Heat – good shot by LBJ going to left (natch). but a brick

@IndyCornrows Don’t they throw the ball to Hansbrough in the post anymore? I remember last year he hurt the BUlls in the playoffs

I am astounded and appaled that the Pacers have not adjusted to the Heat fronting of the post

MIA leads the league in throwing passes to the wing, then having the wing throw the ball right back to PG. #Turrible

@JoshZavadil Could? you mean should?

Indiana has to be patient, keep it moving. Ah, hell – Steve Kerr said it first

@francisco_u_III That said, when Rose went down, I was more upset that MIA gets to Finals as a result

@lancebailey Aha – thanks. Let’s see if Pacers can make a layup…

@francisco_u_III Honest answer – not really, per sé. I think LeBron is best player in the NBA

@IraHeatBeat Ira, that’s the worst shot in basketball, don’t you know? Shoot the 3, or get closer…

Having only watched 2 mins, I can already say with certainty that Miami pulls away for an easy win #NostraBALLus

Dahntay Jones dunk, James Jones curl and jumper, who’s next? Caldwell?

Dahntay Jones with a dunk!

So IND is a scrappy team, a bit less athletically gifted than Heat. How are they only down 6 when shooting 24%? Heat have 6 TOs

David Stern hands LeBron James the 2012 MVP Trophy (Al Diaz Miami Herald)

Lebron James was given the 2012 MVP Trophy before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and after Miami trailed Indiana 42-48 at halftime, James showed exactly why he won the award by scoring 26 points (9-17 fg’s) as the Heat outscored the Pacers 53-38 on their way to a 95-86 win.

The Heat are the better team in this series but they face a serious challenge due to the loss of Chris Bosh, who sustained an abdominal injury that will sideline him indefinitely. The Heat’s advantage is predicated on Wade and LeBron attacking to spread the floor for drives to the hoop or to create open shots for teammates. They also look to harass the ball handler, create turnovers, and ignite their utterly lethal fastbreak.

The Pacers have an advantage inside with Roy Hibbert, David West, Tyler Hansbrough and Louis Amundson. In Game 1 these Pacers combined for 42 points and 28 rebounds. West and Hibbert both had 17 points on 6-12 fg’s and 5-6 free throws. However, time and again down the stretch, the Pacers wilted under the Heat’s pressure, unable to utilize their size advantage with Hibbert, and unable to adjust to the Heat fronting their post up players.

Chris Bosh after suffering an abdominal injury in Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers (Al Diaz Miami Herald)

The Pacers will need much more scoring and better offensive efficiency from both Paul George and Danny Granger. They combined for 13 points on 2-15 shooting. While the Heat have incredible wing and perimeter defenders, the Pacers should be able to get better looks for George and Granger given their advantage inside. In Game 1, Granger and Paul got some good looks, but were unable to convert, leading to long rebounds and dunks by LeBron.

If Frank Vogel can get a handle on what matchups present themselves, the Pacers have a chance to make this series very interesting. Roy Hibbert will have to make the jump to legitimate All Star, and carry the burden heaped on him by being another in a long line of centers out of Georgetown. If the Pacers can definitively win this match up, it will relieve the pressure on their outside shooters. But if Indiana can’t mount a consistent inside attack, they are doomed to lose every game of this series.

Written by Arun and Coach Nick

We’ve all seen the footage and thrown our hands up at watching CJ Watson race up the court with 10 seconds to go, not pull it out, but instead attack the basket and give it to the worst free throw shooter in the league. Watching the replay, Hawes foul on Asik should’ve been flagrant, since he hit him on the head. But we know how the referees tend to swallow their whistles, and this was no exception. And of course, after the second miss, there is no explanation for having the Bulls two guards go after the offensive rebound. In fact, they didn’t really go after the rebound, they simply wander below the three point line, completely out of position to get back. I have never seen such an awful breakdown of communication and fundamentals, much less such a spectacular display of idiocy in back to back plays.

Let’s dig deeper into this game to identify what the Bulls need to address in the offseason. The context of this game: The biggest game of the year, a chance to save the season and go back to a seventh game at home, where the home team wins 80% of the time. The Bulls are shorthanded, so they must look to Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng to come up big and perform. In hindsight, an average game from Boozer – hell, a little below average game from Boozer would’ve sufficed. But look at these numbers:

Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng's Stats

While Deng did fairly well, he shot 1/3 in the 4th quarter. Considering Rip Hamilton got 7 shots (missing 6 of them), and CJ Watson took 5 shots in the fourth, it’s hard to believe Deng doesn’t get more attempts. I can’t criticize Boozer for his poor shooting in the fourth quarter, because he DIDN’T PLAY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER! In fact, Thibodeau yanked him out of the game with 4 minutes to go in the 3rd, never to return. Boozer is making $13.5 million this year, and in the biggest game of the season, gets splinters in his ass from sitting on the bench for the last 16 minutes of this game. You can’t even give him that much credit for his rebounds, since the Sixers shot under 40% – there were a ton of rebounds flying around all game. The Bulls had 22 second chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds. Only one of Boozer’s 10 misses was rebounded by the Bulls, even though the majority of his shots are taken within 12 feet of the basket.

Amnesty This Man

The Bulls future is as bright as you can imagine if Derrick Rose recovers completely. The only way to ensure they make the jump to championship contender is to amnesty Carlos Boozer and use that money to sign another power forward that can back up Taj Gibson. While Gibson finished up most of the games for the Bulls this season anyway, it is time to give him the starting nod and utilize his superior defensive ability and complementary offensive game. Signing a rugged finisher like Brandon Bass or Carl Landry, or a smooth shooter like Ersan Ilyasova would shore up some of the Bulls few weaknesses and allow them to finally compete with the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference. The Boozer experiment is done, and it has failed.

Manu and Parker Are Keys For The Spurs
REUTERS/Mike Stone

Duncan Looking Spry
Photo by Roland Martinez

Next up is the Pick and Roll when the ball handler shoots. Make no mistake, this is mostly Tony Parker – who uses 59% of his team’s Pick and Rolls. Interestingly, Parker has been average with his pick and roll attacks. The rest of the team has picked him up – mainly Manu and Gary Neal, since they are rated 8th out of the 16 teams.

Transition is key for the Spurs, and this is their third most method of attack, at 15% of the time. Again, Tony Parker is a one man fast break, but Ginobili is right behind him in terms of usage. Manu has struggled a bit in transition to score, but Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Jackson, and Gary Neal have all been lethal on the break.

The only play type the Spurs struggle with is isolation, which isn’t surprising since so much of their offense is based on passing and movement. When you have your players moving like 5 fingers on a hand, there is no need to stop the ball and have one guy just go at the teeth of the defense. The shots they generate are just too good to pass up, and one of the strongest reasons why the Spurs are the prohibitive favorites to win the title.

Looking ahead to a potential matchup with the Heat, the Spurs possess elite talent at the key positions that give the Heat trouble: Point Guard and Center, with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Throw in the 3rd best shooting guard in Manu Ginobili (behind Kobe and Wade) and the Spurs match up star for star. Moving farther down the lineup, it’s clear that the Spurs have a much deeper team, play together better, and it seems impossible that Wade, Bosh, and LeBron will get to hold up even one finger this year.

Written by Coach Nick

Kobe has always battled with his efficiency on offense, preferring 1 on 1 forays into the teeth of the defense over making the extra pass to a wide open teammate. This season, he has surprised me in his willingness to let the offense work more for him, by using weakside screens and letting the double team hit Andrew Bynum and waiting for the swing pass against a scrambling defense. However, old habits die hard, and Kobe still finds himself taking enough bad shots that weigh the team down, keeping an obviously inferior club closer than it should be.

The mile high altitude has clearly been taking its toll on this slowly aging Laker team, and many of the bad shots Kobe has been taking look to be as a direct result of his tired legs. No longer can he shot fake and blow by his defender, especially someone as spry as Arron Afflalo, who was instrumental in harassing Kobe into a bad shooting night. Which makes George Karl’s decision to go with Galinari on Kobe a big head scratcher. It also matched up Afflalo on Pau Gasol for the crucial possession where Steve Blake hit the game clinching three pointer.

While that possession, and the game, worked out for the Lakers, the decision to ignore Gasol in the post against Afflalo should not be completely overlooked. And in future playoff series, against much better opponents, those kinds of decisions can’t be left on the table, or else the Lakers will get bounced early.

Will Kobe Stand Together With His Teammates?
Source: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images North America

The bottom line is that the Lakers should be scoring much more easily against the Nuggets defense, which ranked 25th in Synergy’s defensive rankings (PPP) and 19th in Hollinger’s defensive efficiency. While Javale McGee has proved somewhat effective as a low post defender, Bynum and Gasol should still be the keys to get Denver’s defense out of position, and that will open up shots for Kobe. Whether Kobe trusts in them and allows this to happen may mean the difference between a brief second round exit and a deep run in the playoffs.

Written by Coach Nick

Paul Pierce struggled in Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Not only is he the captain and longest tenured Celtic, Paul Pierce is the heart and soul of this team. Having persevered on some awful Celtics teams, when Pierce brings that toughness to the court, the Celtics become hard to beat. So it’s not hard to imagine how his team beat the Hawks in Game 2 without their mercurial point guard Rajon Rondo (who did a little chest waltz with referee Marc Davis that earned him a one game suspension) when Pierce went off to the tune of 36, 14, and 4.

And make no mistake – it’s not about him shooting the lights out, mind you. It’s about him not settling for jumpers, attacking the hoop, manufacturing points from the free throw line, which in turn seems to energize him on the defensive boards.

In Game 1, as you see in our breakdown above, he continually settled for open jumpers from distance. On the road in a hostile playoff environment, Pierce found out the hard way that those shots don’t always fall so easy. Perhaps he was rusty from the extra day layoff before the playoffs started, but that just sounds strange to me. He’s a veteran, who should savor the extra day to rejuvenate. But someone on the bench should have communicated to Pierce, telling him to do something else besides jack up long jumpers. This never happened, and the Celtics folded down the stretch amid bad shooting from the Celtics (38%) and Pierce (26%).

Pierce must have gone through the tape as we did, and realized that he didn’t take advantage of Joe Johnson quite like he should have. And certainly with Rondo nursing his bruised chest, sorry – ego, Pierce was the one who was going to have to bring it. And bring it, he did – from the opening tip where he grabbed the loose ball in the open court and executed a beautiful spin move layup. The first and fourth quarters proved pivotal for him, as he went 2-10 in the middle two frames. Comparing his stats from Game 1 to Game 2, notice that he shot better (if not great) and the disparity between the Free Throw Attempts and rebounds, two key indicators for the rest of this series:

To further illustrate how important Pierce is, let’s look at his regular season splits. His scoring, rebounding, three point attempts, and assists all go dramatically down when comparing wins and losses. This clearly shows an overall level of activity on both ends of the floor by Pierce, and will certainly doom them if he can’t maintain a high usage rate.

Paul Pierce dunks in Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

This wasn’t one of Paul Pierce’s best games, as he shot under 50% and committed a whopping 8 turnovers. However, the Celtics match up well enough with the Hawks where Pierce’s best isn’t necessary to win the game. Throw in the fact that Josh Smith is day to day and may be hobbled with a knee sprain, and the Celtics can easily come back to Atlanta up 3-1 in this series.

This promises to be exciting and dramatic, as two teams on their last waltz battle one last time for the chance to face a beatable foe in the second round. While Rondo coming back will certainly help, and Smith’s injury does no favors for the Hawks, it still rests on Pierce’s shoulders to carry them in this round by being active and attacking the lane, something he’s proven particularly adept at.

Written by Arun and Coach Nick

Our talk ranged from Carmelo Anthony having such a burden, especially since the Knicks epidemic of injuries puts them in an untenable position. And to top it off, the Glasshole Amare Stoudemire is taking himself out of the game by hurting his hand on purpose.

We shifted gears to the Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, and we both agree this could be the most hotly contested sweep of all time, or a seven game epic series. With Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle involved, you can never count out the Mavs.

And finally, we went over the Clippers vs. the Grizzlies, marveling at how Chris Paul had willed them to a victory, even in the face of Vinny Del Negro wanting to throw in the towel.

Stay tuned, as we hope to have Rob back on the show to offer his expert insights into the other series. And next time, we promise to argue a little bit.

Quarter By Quarter Score

But nothing could prepare us for the onslaught of the fourth quarter, as the Clippers shot 12/14 from the field. Interestingly, it was their bench that carried them – shooting 9/12 with 5 layups and 4 long jumpers. One could argue that it was the big lead by Memphis that loosened the Clippers up enough to get back in it, since playing on the road and down by that much gave them that “nothing to lose” mentality. You could literally see the pressure shift to Memphis as the lead shrank under ten, and their offense stagnated.

Marc Gasol Doing Damage (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)