Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen got 25 first-place votes in the All-Defense voting. (GETTY IMAGES)

Playing defense is more than just racking up impressive numbers in steals, blocks, and rebounds. A great defender can go unnoticed because you don’t see the spectacular block or steal on SportsCenter or NBA Game Time. And more often, the best defenders come from teams that put a premium on defense. Of the 15 teams that have clinched playoff berths, eight are in the top 10 in points allowed.

The Memphis Grizzlies own the best defense in the Association, and Tony Allen and Marc Gasol are huge reasons why teams feel like they go through a meat grinder whenever they play the Grizz.

Allen is a 6-4 physical guard who specializes on hounding the opposition’s best perimeter player. In the first round of the playoffs, Allen was matched up with Clippers star Chris Paul. In the second round, Allen was matched up with Thunder star Kevin Durant. Both the Clippers are and Thunder are now sitting home in the playoffs. Being able to guard a point guard one round and then turn around and guard a high-scoring small forward shows Allen’s versatility.

Gasol is a 7-foot brute who guards the basket like his life depended on it. He uses his wide frame to push low-post players out of their comfort zone and force tough shots. The Spaniard may not be blessed with great athletic ability, but he has a high basketball IQ and moves his feet well for a big man. Given that he’s the anchor of the best defensive team in the NBA, it was a bit of a surprise the coaches didn’t vote him on the All-Defense first team.

Marc Gasol was named 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. (GETTY IMAGES)

Now, you can see why the sportswriters and NBA coaches were not on the same page this year when it came time to vote for Defensive Player of the Year. If you ask the writers, it’s Gasol. If you go by how the coaches voted on the first-team All-Defense team, it’s Allen.

Using a football analogy, Allen is the shutdown corner while Gasol is the big defensive tackle who stuffs the run and applies pressure to the quarterback. Both deserved to win Defensive Player of the Year, along with Miami Heat star LeBron James. Allen and James tied with the most first-place votes (25).

Traditionally, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award goes to big men. Since 1992, nine centers have won the award and three of them won it at least three times (Dwight Howard, Dikembe Mutombo, and Ben Wallace). The last time a guard won defensive player of the year was in 1996 when Seattle’s Gary Payton won it.

Allen was part of a Grizzlies defense that allowed a league-low 89.3 ppg. According to NBA.com/Stats, Memphis’ defensive rating with Allen on the floor was 94.3 points per 100 possessions compared with 101.1 points when he was on the bench. Allen may not have won defensive player of the year in 2013, but his reputation is spreading like wildfire and the media may finally give him his due someday.

OneManFastbreak.net picks the five best defensive players in the NBA for the 2012-13 season:

AVERY BRADLEY, Boston, guard
Since Rajon Rondo went down Bradley not only assumed the point guard duties but he has been absolutely dynamite when it comes to stopping the opposing team’s other point guard. The Synergy Sports Data stat shows that Bradley is second in allowing 0.678 points per play among guards involved in 200 or more defensive plays. But Bradley doesn’t need stats to prove how good he is as a defender. Just ask the point guards around the Association.

TONY ALLEN, Memphis, guard
Allen got rave reviews during the 2010 NBA Finals when he gave Kobe Bryant fits in the Lakers-Celtics seven-game war. When Allen was traded to Memphis, the Grizzlies instantly became more of a defensive-oriented team.

PAUL GEORGE, Indiana, forward
George burst onto the scene when he gave Heat star Dwyane Wade fits during the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers give up the second-least amount of points in the league and George is a huge reason why. George uses his length (6-8) and quickness to disrupt scorers, and he is also strong enough to hold his position in the low post. Watch the way he defends scoring champ Carmelo Anthony in the 2013 playoffs. You can create a DVD on how to play defense just from the Knicks-Pacers series, starring Paul George.

LeBRON JAMES, Miami, forward
James is better at playing defense than the idealized version of an NBA defender, as conceptualized by an analytic system that factors in everything from the precise positioning of every player on the floor to the individual skill-sets of the players involved on a given play. The Heat play great help defense and part of the reason why is James’ ability to cover so much ground. James is the epitome of a two-way player, which is a rarity these days. He’s not only a big force on offense, but he is extremely disruptive on the defensive end.

MARC GASOL, Memphis, center
The Grizzlies own the best defense in the NBA and a big reason why is the big Spaniard in the middle. Sports Illustrated writer Rob Mahoney makes a case for Gasol for defensive MVP. Mahoney wrote: “Gasol’s gift comes in the form of clairvoyance. He’s neither quick nor explosive, but manages to connect the dots of offensive action to give him the jump on a particular play’s progression. With a preternatural knack for timing, he slides into place to contest opportunities just as they become available.”

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Larry Brown has compiled more than 1,300 wins in the NBA. (GETTY IMAGES)

When Larry Brown arrived in Detroit in the 2003-04 season, he inherited a team that couldn’t get over the hump and get to the NBA Finals. In one season he turned them into the best team in the Association, knocking off the heavily favored and loaded Los Angeles Lakers in The Finals.

After Phil Jackson turned them down recently, Brown is the best choice for the Brooklyn Nets as they search for a new head coach.

Over the course of a long and nomadic career, Brown — who was born in Brooklyn — he has compiled 1,327 wins and 1,011 losses (a 56.8 winning percentage). He is also 120-115 in the postseason and has missed the playoffs just nine times in a 31 seasons.

Currently, he is the Southern Methodist University head coach, but the Nets job has to be tempting since he has two young children in Philadelphia. Brown’s last NBA coaching job was the Charlotte Bobcats, where he posted an 88-104 record over 2 1/3 seasons.

The Nets have to be appealing since the Nets have a pretty solid talent base in center Brook Lopez, point guard Deron Williams and shooting guard Joe Johnson. Brown’s coaching could make all the difference as it did in Motown. The resemblance is uncanny. Chauncey Billups was a journeyman until Brown showed up and was able to get C-Bill to achieve better results as a captain of the Pistons offense.

Williams gives Brown an All-Star-caliber player to work with and he could help D-Will development even further.

Brown also had a good shooting guard in Hamilton. Hamilton was never really an elite shooter, but he was good. Johnson is constantly being called overrated, mainly because of an insane contract given to him by the Hawks, but could be a solid third option on a very good team. J.J. can handle the ball and also fill up the basket.

Brown had a strong defensive small forward in Tayshaun Prince. In Brooklyn, he’ll have a similar player in Gerald Wallace. Wallace might not be as good as he once was, but he gives the Nets a good defender to throw out there against the league’s top forwards such as Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Forward Reggie Evans provides the hustle and rebounds at the power forward position, much like Ben Wallace did for Detroit at the center position.

Lopez, a 7-footer who became an All-Star in 2013, would give Brown one of the top low-post scorers in the game.

I think Brown would be able to get the most out of these players, and the Nets would be a lot better next season.

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email at djroxalot@hotmail.com.

Kevin Durant was 2-for-13 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies. (GETTY IMAGES)

Kevin Durant won’t admit it, but he’s tired. And when you’re tired, you don’t have the same lift on your shots.

That was the case in Game 4 of the Thunder-Grizzlies series when Durant missed all five of his shots in overtime, including a layup in the final seconds. He went 2 of 13 in the fourth quarter and overtime and had only five points after scoring 22 points through three quarters.

Durant played 48 minutes and looked like his legs were gone by the end of the third quarter. In Game 3, Durant was limited to two points and 1-for-4 shooting in the fourth quarter so that’s a combined 3-for-17 in the last two fourth quarters for the NBA’s three-time scoring champion. It also doesn’t help that first-team defender Tony Allen (he finished 25 first-place votes on the 2013 All-NBA defensive team) is draped on KD like a steel curtain late in the game, covering him bump-and-run style like an NFL corner.

Durant has been getting good looks at the basket, but the shots just haven’t been falling. To his credit, he’s not making any excuses.

“It’s midnight and I usually sleep around 12 o’clock, so it’s way past my bedtime,” Durant said. “I’m a little sleepy, but other than that I’m good.

“I’m giving everything I’ve got for my team, no matter how many minutes I play. That’s what I’ve been doing since the playoffs started. No matter how the game goes I’m gonna fight.”

Unlike Game 3, Durant actually got help from his teammates in Game 4. Kevin Martin scored 18 points, Serge Ibaka had his best game of the series with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Reggie Jackson had 15. Nick Collison even added 10.

The Thunder was in great position to steal a game in Memphis, but Durant simply had little left in the gas tank to finish the job.

“Kevin has to do so much for them already, but we’ve thrown different guys … Tony Allen, Tayshaun [Prince], Quincy [Pondexter], and even Jerryd Bayless at times. They’ve all have had to guard him, pick him up fullcourt, and wear him down because we know he has to play a lot of minutes and do a lot for them,” said Memphis guard Mike Conley, who finished with 24 points and had four steals.

“We know we can’t stop him, but we know we have to contain him and wear him down as best we can.”

Oklahoma City had a few opportunities to seize control of the game, but it seems like each time the Thunder called Durant’s number he uncharacteristically came up empty. He slipped on a pull-up jumper on the right wing and his shot bounced off the back of the rim, and then when he freed himself from Allen on the left wing the Memphis big guys got in his face and turned him away.

In fairness to Durant, he’s had to work extra hard in this series because he doesn’t have his All-Star sidekick Russell Westbrook. Without Westbrook, Durant not only has to score but he’s also asked to create shots for his teammates. As good as KD is at this stage of his career, he’s not LeBron James.

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson struggled in Game 7 of the first-round series against the Chicago Bulls. (GETTY IMAGES)

Joe Johnson seems like a really good guy – humble, low-key, not prone to idiotic statements or actions. A quiet professional who goes about his business, doesn’t make stupid plays on the court, and in his prime, was a very good shooting guard … five times over 20 points per game, three times at least 5.8 dimes, made six All-Star teams, but probably deserved to make just four. Which brings us to his Midas touch career, in terms of rewards: compensation, acclaim, and basically a free pass from sportswriters. He’s moved beyond the second round of the playoffs once in his career, and that was as the No. 4 guy on the fantastically fun-to-watch 2004-05 Phoenix team with Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Shawn “The Matrix” Marion as The Big 3. That’s also the only time he’s ever shot better than 43.9% in the playoffs – 50.4% – but he also missed six games in those playoffs. His 2-for-14 performance (with just three rebounds, two assists) in the Game 7 loss vs. Chicago was anything but an aberration when it comes to do-or-die playoff performances from him. In his last game of the playoffs (eight games), his career shooting percentage is 34.1% … 36.5% before the debacle against the Chicago Bulls. He has never shot better than 50% in any of those games. His career shooting percentage in the playoffs (69 games) is 41.4%. He was overpaid as a free agent leaving Phoenix for Atlanta ($67 mil/five years), but that was just a precursor to the really massive overpayment in 2010 – $123 mil/six years – as a 29-year-old coming off a second-round sweep at the hands of the Magic in which Joe averaged 12.8/4.5/3.8 while shooting 29.8% in the series…17.6% from distance! And then, to top it all off, the Nets actually traded to acquire this contract! Congrats Brooklyn, without Joe, you might have been an eighth seed and lost in four games to Miami, not seven games to an undermanned Bulls squad. And I don’t know about his local press in Atlanta or now Brooklyn, but it seems his low-key, humble nature has given him a pass with the national media. A charmed life…and a tragic contract.

OKC 93, MEMPHIS 91 – Tight action in Oklahoma as Quincy Pondexter missed the first of three free throws with the Grizz down by three, 1.6 seconds remaining. He made the second, missed the third on purpose, but OKC kept the rebound away from Memphis, and the Thunder escaped. Durant did everything for OKC (more below), while Kevin Martin had his second straight strong performance (25 points and seven rebounds) after going 1-for-10 in Game 5 vs. Houston. He also scored 25 when they closed out the Rockets. And to be fair…yes, The Mangy Mutt had a big play for the Thunder, stealing the ball from Mike Conley with a minute left, OKC down by one, which led to the last of Durant’s 35 points. Gasol (20/10/3, 3 steals, 2 blocks) and Zach Randolph (18/10) led Memphis while outside of KD & K-Mart, only one other Thunder hit double figures – 12 points from Mr. October (who had a really nice close-out Game 6 performance with 17 points, seven rebounds and eight dimes). The Thunder need to get more balanced and again, more from Serge Ibaka to have any hope of reaching The Finals again.

INDY 102, N.Y. 95 – Once again, Carmelo Anthony’s shooting was way too mellow, hitting just 10 of 28 in the game, while J.R. Smith also had troubles finding the hoop (4-for-15). In his last 4 games, Carmelo has made 35 of 110 shots (31.8%) while Smith has missed 30 of 42 in his last 3 games (28.6%). Additionally, Tyson Chandler was awful in the game, somehow managing to notch more fouls (six) and turnovers (two) combined than points (three) and rebounds (four) in 28 horrible minutes. After seven playoff games, he’s still looking for his first double-digit effort, and is not averaging a block a game, either (six total so far). Raymond Felton has been by far the most consistent Knick in the playoffs (17.3/3.7/5.0, 49.1%). As for Indy, their starters played massive minutes (37, 39, 39, 43, 43) and they all contributed nicely – 20 points from David West, 19 points and four assists from Paul George, Roy Hibbert blocked five shots, George Hill had a solid game with 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. And one of the surprises of these playoffs so far, Lance Stephenson grabbed 13 rebounds to go with three steals, while scoring an efficient (you hear that Melo/JR…E-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T) 11 points, going 5-for-9 from the floor. In the first real postseason action of his career (played a total of 12 minutes in four games last year), Lance is at 8.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 46%.

The Akeem Olajuwon Award — Kevin Durant — 35 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, nine free throws made, one steal, two blocks, 0 treys, and 13-for-26 shooting…Predictably with Russell Westbrook out, KD has been massive in the playoffs so far — 32.9/8.9/6.0, shooting 48.7%. Just to watch more of him is reason enough to hope they can somehow get into the The Finals again this year.

The Rafael Araujo Award — Jason Kidd — 0 points, two rebounds, one assist, 0 free throws made, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0 treys, and 0-for-1 shooting in 17 minutes of floor time…Since we already pointed out the majorly deficient big men in OKC (Ibaka) and N.Y. (Chandler), I thought the 87-year-old Mr. Kidd would be a good candidate for the Bozo Award. Jason – please make this year your last.

P.S. Came across this funny little item …

From Marcus Thompson’s Twitter page (@gswscribe):

Warriors PG Stephen Curry was told Greg Popovich said watching him was like watching Jordan. Curry laughed: “Was he drunk when he said it?”

Todd Robinson is a contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. To read more of his articles, go to spdbrnr.wordpress.com.

Olympiakos’ Kostas Sloukas is defended by Real Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez in the 2013 Euroleague final in London. (GETTY IMAGES)

Led by Euroleague MVP Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiakos Piraeus used a dominant second half to defeat Real Madrid, 100-88, to capture Europe’s premier basketball trophy for the second year in a row.

The game was a stark contrast to last year’s final when it took a game-winning shot from Georgios Printezis at the buzzer to overcome heavily favored CSKA Moscow. Olympiakos became the first team to win back-to-back Euroleague titles since Maccabi Tel Aviv won in 2004 and 2005.

Spanoulis, who once played for the Houston Rockets and one of the stars on the Greek national team, dominated the second half. He shot five 3-pointers and notched four assists. He was voted the Final Four’s most valuable player for the third time and finished with a game-high 22 points.

“It has been a very difficult year – you know our budget,” Spanoulis told Reuters. “Our backs have been against the wall many times, but we have stayed together and fought back each time.”

Greece has been stuck in an economic rut, so the victory was a much-needed one. Inspired by a vocal following who made the trip to London’s O2 Arena, Olympiacos battled back from 27-10 down after the first quarter to take the lead early in the second half. They rarely looked threatened, scoring 39 points in the fourth quarter to clinch their third Euroleague title.

“[Madrid] scored some incredible shots in the first quarter, but we put a stop to that and started rebounding offensively, and I think that was the key to success in the end,” said Olympiakos forward Pero Antic.

After defeating CSKA in the semifinals, the Greeks used their trademark defense against Real Madrid, holding the eight-time Euro champions t0 14 points in the second quarter and 20 in the third. Kyle Hines and Pero overpowered the Spanish forwards inside.

Former Portland Trail Blazers guard and Spanish national team star Rudy Fernandez led Real Madrid with 21 points. His teammate’s on Spain’s nation team, Sergio Rodriguez and Sergio Llull, scored 17 and 14 points respectively. Madrid lost its first Euro final since 1995 when it fell to KK Cibona in Zaragoza, Spain.

“Spanoulis’ three-pointers changed the game’s rhythm while we were still working to get back into the game, but in the end they were able to control the (lead),” said Real coach Pablo Laso.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and guard Steph Curry talk strategy. (GETTY IMAGES)

When you have sharpshooters like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on your roster, it’s hard to identify the Golden State Warriors as a defensive team. But somewhere beneath all the swishes and splashes, the Warriors have become a hard-nosed team that doesn’t mind rolling up its sleeves and getting dirty.

The stats won’t show it but the Warriors have actually played better defense than the San Antonio Spurs in their Western Conference semifinal series. You see Tim Duncan working hard to score against Andrew Bogut, you see Tony Parker’s signature teardrop blocked by Thompson, and he you see Kawhi Leonard struggling to post up against Curry.

Even the Golden State rookies are playing defense.

Forward Harrison Barnes wasn’t known as a great defender coming out of North Carolina, but he’s a good enough athlete to stay with quick guards and strong enough to hold his ground in the low post. Forward Draymond Green played for Tom Izzo at Michigan State, so playing defense comes naturally to him. In Game 2, Green had seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Center Festus Ezeli is raw, but head coach Mark Jackson won’t hesitate to play him in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors may not play lockdown defense like the Boston Celtics or Chicago Bulls, but they are making life very difficult right now for the Spurs.

It starts and ends with Bogut. The 7-foot Aussie is able to play Duncan one-on-one, which allows the rest of the Warriors to stay home and stay attached to the Spurs’ shooters.

Marcus Thompson II wrote this for MercuryNews.com

Warriors center Andrew Bogut was told before the series that he was on his own with Spurs star Tim Duncan, one of the greatest of all-time. Whatever happens, happens. But the help wasn’t coming.

To Bogut, that sounded like Australian for fun.

“I’m fine,” he said after totaling six points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s 100-91 Game 2 win. “He’s had games where he’s killed me, and I’ve had games where I’ve guarded him well. You’ve just got to battle against him.”

A major part of the game plan is to play straight up on Duncan. The Warriors don’t mind if he scores. They just don’t want to double-team him because that opens up avenues for the Spurs’ wealth of 3-pointer shooters. And Duncan is such a great passer, he can pick the Warriors apart.

So the Warriors are allowing Bogut — and rookie center Festus Ezeli — to take their medicine against San Antonio’s low-post specialist. He’s averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds the first two games. He’s shooting 42.9 percent (15 of 35).

Bogut is all but giving Duncan the midrange jumper. He’s using his size to keep Duncan from catching the ball deep and his shot-blocking ability to challenge Duncan’s array of post moves.

“If Tim gets off, like he did a little bit tonight, we’ll live with that,” Bogut said. “If he’s getting easy shots against me where he’s two feet from the basket, we have a problem. But if I keep working him, pushing him out, making him work for his buckets, we’re not too worried about it.”

Bogut is rugged and rough on the edges, which is exactly what the Warriors need at this point. They have enough pretty boys on the team. His post defense is the reason why the Warriors are able to survive without All-Star David Lee. He may not get the same attention as Curry and Thompson, but his presence in the middle is the difference between going home in the first round or playing for a spot in the conference finals.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Manu Ginobili is a three-time NBA champion. (GETTY IMAGES)

When Manu Ginobili ever decides to retire from the NBA, he’ll go down in basketball history as one of the greatest to play the game. He’s a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer who belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of international players who changed the NBA landscape, a short list that includes Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, and Tony Parker.

Ginobili is arguably one of the most popular players in the world, and only Pope Francis is more popular in his native country of Argentina. And even that is debatable.

What makes Ginobili so special is his ability to create something out of nothing. It’s a unique skill only a handful of players in the NBA possess. Ginobili is at his best when a play breaks down, and that was on full display Monday night in Game 1 of the 2013 Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, in a game that could go down as one of the greatest playoff games in NBA history. Even basketball superfan Jimmy Goldstein was impressed. He tweeted: “I have attended more than 4000 NBA games, but I just witnessed one of the greatest games that I have ever seen. #Spurs.”

Ginobili’s clutch 3-pointer from the wing with 1.2 seconds left in double overtime lifted the Spurs to a thrilling 129-127 victory over the Warriors despite 44 points from NBA phenom Stephen Curry.

“On the last play, it wasn’t for me; they just left me open,” Ginobili said. “I set a screen for TP [Tony Parker] and they both went with him and left me open on the weak side. When I caught it I just saw [Kent] Bazemore flying. I just gave it a lot of air and it went in.

“I wasn’t even an option. They told me just go screen and stay far from the play. The play was for Tony or Boris [Diaw]. And they got confused.”

Prior to his winning play, Ginobili had been 4-for-19 from the field and badly missed his last two 3-pointers. But his confidence never wavered. He’s stubborn enough to think that he can make a play no matter how poorly he’s playing. All the great closers possess this skill. Kobe Bryant has it and Michael Jordan had it.

Ginobili’s late-game heroics against Golden State is nothing new. He’s been doing this since 2002 when he joined the Spurs after a very successful run with Italian League power Kinder Bologna, where Ginobili won the Euroleague title in 2001 and named MVP. Prior to Ginobili’s arrival in San Antonio, the Spurs had been bounced out of the playoffs by the L.A. Lakers in 2001 and 2002. With Ginobili, the Spurs won NBA titles in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

Manu grew up idolizing Jordan, and he was the first international player who didn’t carry a “soft” label. He came in with an edge and feared no one, qualities you normally see on the blacktops of New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. He could have played in the Rucker League and no one would have known he’s from Argentina.

Oftentimes his carefree, free-wheeling style has gotten him into trouble with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. His play in the final 50 seconds Monday was almost too much for Popovich to handle. Then again, the Spurs’ coach is used to it by now.

The game-winning shot came 43.7 seconds after Ginobili took an ill-advised 3 that appeared to cost the Spurs the game.

”I went from wanting to trade him on the spot to wanting to cook breakfast for him tomorrow morning,” Popovich said. ”That’s the truth. When I talk to him and say, ‘Manu,’ he goes, ‘This is what I do.’ That’s what he’s going to tell me. I stopped coaching him a long time ago.”

Ginobili said Pop said nothing to him on the bench, but he knew he made a monumental mistake.

”I took a really bad shot,” Ginobili said. ”I was on the top of the key. I had no chance whatsoever to make it to the basket. I couldn’t penetrate; I was very tired. Jack gave me a couple of feet and I thought I could make it.”

Make no mistake about it, the Spurs will only go as far as Ginobili takes them. Tim Duncan may be the heart and soul of the Spurs and Parker may be the team’s MVP, but Ginobili is the spark that ignites them to great heights. His value to the team can’t be measured by mere statistics. He is the ultimate X-factor that you can’t account for because he even doesn’t know what he’s capable of.

Injuries have derailed Ginobili’s last three seasons. He busted his nose in 2010 and the Spurs were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the second round. He broke his arm in 2011 and the Spurs were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. He broke his left hand — his shooting hand — in 2012 and the Spurs were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals.

Popovich has been managing Ginobili’s minutes all season and it appears that the two-time All-Star guard has gotten over the hamstring injury that forced him to miss 22 games in 2012-13. He played 36 minutes against the Warriors, a sign that his body is getting stronger. As long as Ginobili is in the lineup and relatively healthy, the Spurs are legitimate championship contenders and could pose a great threat to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

LeBron James is defended by Jimmy Butler. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Miami Heat are 41-3 in their last 44 games, an incredible run that makes you wonder if anyone can beat the Heat in a seven-game series. Don’t tell that to the Chicago Bulls.

The Heat have lost just three games in the last four months, but two of those losses came against the Bulls. One of them was the epic battle in Chicago on March 27 that ended the Heat’s 27-game winning streak. During the regular season, the Bulls and the Heat split their four-game series. It doesn’t matter if the Bulls are healthy or not, they give the Heat a run each and every time. And since 2010 when LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade joined forces in South Beach, the Bulls are the only NBA team to have a winning record vs. the Big 3.

After Monday’s stunning 93-86 win in Miami in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals — with no Derrick Rose, no Kirk Hinrich, and no Luol Deng — the Bulls are now 3-2 against the Heat this season and 9-8 since 2010. The Heat have been held under 90 points only 11 times during the season, and the Bulls have done it three times to the Heat.

So why do these Bulls give the Heat such a hard time? We could go several ways, but the simply answer lies in the foundation laid down by head coach Tom Thibodeau.

The Bulls’ head coach comes from the Pat Riley coaching tree. He was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy — a Riley protege — for seven seasons with the New York Knicks and four seasons with the Houston Rockets. Van Gundy learned all his defensive philosophies from Riley, and Thibodeau picked Van Gundy’s brain and added his own slice. Much like those Knicks teams in the 1990s, Thibodeau’s Bulls subscribe to three things: effort, energy, and execution. The Bulls play with passion, they work hard on every possession, and they follow the game plan to near perfection.

“Coach [Thibodeau] always harps on winning your matchup,” Bulls guard Nate Robinson said. “We play as hard as we can for as long as we can.”

Thibodeau is great at identifying a team’s weakness and exploits it. Oftentimes, great scorers struggle against the Bulls because Thibodeau knows how to make star players feel uncomfortable and force the supporting players into tough situations.

“They play Bulls ball. They’re rugged,” says James, who has seen his share of struggles against Thibodeau-coached teams going back to Thibs’ days as an assistant with the Boston Celtics when James was a Cleveland Cavalier.

The Heat love to isolate LeBron or D-Wade at the elbows, and they are very successful against most teams but not against the Bulls. James and Wade struggle to get to the rim because the Bulls load up on James or Wade and force them to give up the ball. If the Heat role players end up shooting the ball, the Bulls have done their job.

Loading up basically means taking away what the opposition likes to do, forcing a team’s best player into a crowd and taking the ball out of his hands. For this to work, you need a strong perimeter defender and a big man who is strong enough to protect the rim and quick enough to close out on shooters. The Bulls have lockdown defenders such as Hinrich, Deng, and second-year player Jimmy Butler. They also possess athletic big men such as Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, who cover the rim and recover on shooters. It’s basically a soft zone defense, with an emphasis on constant ball pressure.

If a player gets beat off the dribble, one player steps in to help and the man he’s guarding is then picked up by another teammate. Thibs calls this “helping the helper” or “playing on a string.” You’ll hear this a lot from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who also runs the Riley system and preaches the same defensive philosophies.

The beauty of the Thibodeau scheme is that the parts are interchangeable. Each player’s role is defined, which makes is easier to plug in guys in case of foul trouble or injuries. That’s why the Bulls keep on winning despite not having All-Stars Rose and Deng because the next guy up knows the scheme. Robinson steps into the vacuum left by Rose and Butler is more than capable of filling in for Deng. Robinson may not duplicate what Rose does, but he’s confident enough to carry the team for stretches. The same can be said of Butler, who is an emerging star in the playoffs. Thibodeau loves tough-minded, two-way players, and Robinson and Butler are capable scorers who defend their positions. They can win their matchups.

Imagine if the Bulls had a starting five of Rose, Hinrich (who makes life miserable for Wade), Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Noah. And coming off the bench you have Robinson, Butler, Marco Belinelli, and Gibson. Talk about a formidable nine-man rotation.

If there’s a team that can knock out the Heat in the playoffs, it’s Thibodeau’s Bulls.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Mike D’Antoni and Kobe Bryant endured a tumultuous 2012-13 season. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Los Angeles Lakers completed a very difficult season in a most embarrassing way by getting swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. Now, the organization has to figure out how to remake this team on the fly and try to stay competitive in the stacked Western Conference.

They need to start by firing Mike D’Antoni and hire Byron Scott

DA was too often clueless on how to incorporate his players into the offense, mainly Pau Gasol. Gasol and Howard give the Lakers a huge advantage over most teams with two very good big men, but DA alienated Gasol almost immediately (upon being hired) by benching him rather than working with him.

Antwan Jamison was left out of the playing rotation earlier this season and he complained before DA started to trust him more in the second half of the season.

Byron Scott was recently fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers after failing to improve the team, but he would be an excellent choice for a veteran team like the Lakers. His Laker past would help him bring an air of credibility and he would step into a situation where the talent is plentiful. He never had these kind of players when he took over coaching jobs in New Jersey, New Orleans and Cleveland.

Talk to and amnesty Kobe

See if Kobe would be willing to be amnestied and come back in the 2014-15 season when they would be able to re-sign him. He would be able to rehab and collect the $30 million owed to him. But, amnestying him would save LA close to $80 million with the new CBA structure. As difficult as it sounds, this needs to be done so that the franchise can make the necessary improvements to be able to sign players and compete.

Most likely, Kobe will want to try and come back by the All-Star break … so in all likelihood he has played his last game with the purple and gold. The Lakers have to consider and ultimately use the amnesty clause to try to help improve the team and ease a huge financial burden.

I think he would probably sign with the Chicago Bulls to give them a pretty solid backcourt, even if Kobe won’t be the same player he once was.

Re-sign Howard and Earl Clark

Howard is the centerpiece to the future of the franchise. He is the best rebounding and defensive big man in the game and he is eager to prove he can carry the load on offense. He has made numerous comments about playing inside-out and wants to be the one to carry the torch for this great franchise.

Clark has stated he wants to remain with the Lakers, even if it means taking less money to do so. The Lakers should bring him back and play him at the small forward position. Their biggest weakness this past season was the lack of a perimeter defender. At 6-11, Clark would give them an excellent defender and he would upgrade a weakness. He’s too tall for most SF’s and he has the speed needed to keep up with most wing players; kind of like when Lamar Odom was playing small forward early in his career with the Los Angeles Clippers. Not that Clark is the scorer or passer Odom was. But, his height advantage and length give him a clear advantage over other small forwards.

They also need to decide what to do with Gasol

Do they try and trade Gasol to help improve the bench or keep Gasol and let his deal come off the books after next season. It all depends on what happens with DA, but I think a new head coach would work with the two big men and try and take advantage of their strengths. Gasol’s passing skills are a huge advantage and I think he actually played well over the last few weeks of the season. I’d keep him.

The Lakers have the ability to rebuild on the fly and still be a factor, but it all hinges on what they do with the head coach and Kobe.

Darren Jacks is a regular contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email at djroxalot@hotmail.com

Dwight Howard calls the 2012-13 season with the Lakers a “nightmare.” (GETTY IMAGES)

Drama seems to follow Dwight Howard wherever he’s at. He was like a petulant child in his final days in Orlando, holding the team hostage for months because he couldn’t make up his mind. Now, the drama has shifted to Los Angeles where Howard is again at the center of a firestorm that will undoubtedly exhaust the Lakers franchise this offseason.

Howard will be a free agent this summer and could leave L.A. for another city. In what may be his final game in a Laker uniform, Howard scored seven points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had five turnovers in just 20 minutes because he was ejected in the third quarter for arguing with an official after he felt he wasn’t getting the benefit of the calls against the Spurs big men. Howard walked off the court, briefly ran into Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak in the tunnel and had some choice words about the officiating.

It wasn’t exactly the image the Lakers envisioned when they acquired Howard during the offseason. He was suppose to help Kobe Bryant win championship ring No. 6 and serve as the Lakers’ next great franchise player of the future.

The season didn’t go as planned and, when the Lakers needed Howard the most, he folded his tent and literally left the building. As much as we’d like to think that Howard didn’t quit on his team, it certainly begs the question.

Magic Johnson had the same thought when he tweeted this message to Laker Nation moments after the Spurs eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs: “Dwight with an already depleted team you couldn’t afford to foul out or get kicked out. Having you on the floor was the only chance for the @Lakers.”

Hours later, Howard responded Monday morning and apologized to Laker Nation. Here’s a series of tweets from @dwighthoward:

The four-game sweep was a fitting conclusion to a season Howard described as a “nightmare.”

“It’s like a bad dream, and we just couldn’t wake up from it. That’s what it felt like,” Howard said. “It seemed like nothing could go right, right from the start, injuries and all that stuff. We get an opportunity to get some rest for guys who are injured. A chance to rehab and think about what we can all do to better ourselves.”

When Yahoo! Sports writer Marc Spears asked Dwight if the last part of that statement reflected optimism toward returning, Howard said: “You’re reading too much into it.”

One of Howard biggest critics is Shaquille O’Neal, who knows a thing or two about playing center for the Lakers. O’Neal said on TNT’s postgame show Sunday that the first thing Howard needs to do is change his attitude and approach to the game. “Dwight is a power player and he needs to get some power moves. This is his seventh or eighth year and I’m disappointed that he doesn’t have a go-to move where he could score every time. The rest is just all heart and determination.”

O’Neal recalled when he acted up like Howard, complaining to the refs and whining about not getting enough calls. But Shaq said former Lakers assistant coach Bill Bertka convinced him that he needed an attitude adjustment. “I used to be like Dwight, doing stupid stuff and getting techs. Bill Bertka, Phil Jackson, and my father Phil Harrison told me ‘Do you see Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] complaining?’ No. Kareem went out, dominated, and won championships. The way to combat [the bad calls] and defeat that is to go out and dominate.”

Charles Barkley said Howard needs to spend more time with former Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon and learn some post-up moves because Howard is severely limited when it comes to low-post skills. “He doesn’t even know how to post up,” Barkley said. “He’s a very good rebounder and shot-blocker, but offensively he hasn’t gotten better.

“You notice he gets one or two offensive fouls a game because he doesn’t know how to post up. He’d post up with his arms way down. When you post up, you put your arm up. You don’t swing your arms. I like him a lot as a person, but as a player he’s got a long way to go.”

From strictly a financial standpoint, it would be better for Howard to re-sign with the Lakers because the team could pay him a five-year, maximum $117.9 million contract. If he signed somewhere else, he’d only get a four-year deal worth around $87 million. Howard would have to walk away from $30 million on the table if he decides to leave the Lakers. That alone should be an indication that Howard is leaning heavily toward re-signing with L.A., which is not good news for Lakers management because — based on the last two seasons — he has proven be undependable and unfit to be the face of a franchise.

Howard says he’s going to reflect on the season and clear his head. What the Lakers should do is clear his locker room and plan on not having him for the foreseeable future.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.