There’s been a lack of activity on my part over here today and last night (not that it’s stopped any of you), but that’s in part because I’ve been pretty active on FanHouse. Here are some highlights from last night:
- Flip Saunders on Chauncey Billups taking his time returning:
“It’s up to the players [to decide] when they’re right,” said Saunders. “And when they’re right, I don’t want them to have any hesitation, because if they’re not right and they have hesitation, they’re not going to play very good, to be honest. So, he’s got to feel comfortable as far as about it.”
-
Stan Van Gundy on Jameer Nelson’s “guarantee” as well as calling out the media for making lazy judgments:
“What happens all the time is how well [we] play determines what you guys write about a team’s character and everything,” Van Gundy told the gaggle of reporters. “So automatically, if you play well, you have great character. And if you don’t play well, it’s because you don’t have the ‘resolve,’ and the ‘mental toughness’ and all of that. We have all of that. We have to play well.”
This is an excellent point. I’ve grown increasingly sensitive to assigning character flaws to a team every time they lose. The Magic didn’t lose last night because they lacked character. In fact, the opposite is true: they held Detroit to 36% shooting, they out-rebounded them and they gave up only three three-pointers all night long.
Unfortunately, they also turned the ball over 21 times (for 34 Pistons points) while Detroit set an NBA playoff record with three turnovers, including not one in the final three quarters. Orlando showed a ton of heart by staying in this game all night long, but in the end, the Pistons executed and they didn’t. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. The Pistons have been to six straight conference finals for a reason.
The Pistons see this type of logic used against them all the time. When the Pistons lose, it’s not because they’re complacent, they simply don’t well every single night. When Rasheed Wallace has a bad shooting night, he’s not being lazy, he just couldn’t get into a groove. If you ever see me relying on cliche instead of reality, please call me out.
- Jameer Nelson thinks the media made too much of his “guarantee:”
After the game, slumped in a chair in front of his locker with his feet soaking in ice and wearing only a towel, a dejected Nelson reflected on his “guarantee” and the attention it attracted. “I didn’t guarantee a win,” he said. “I didn’t say, ‘we’re going to …’ I said ‘we have to go win, we’re going to come get this win.’ And the media took it out of proportion or whatever they want to do. The media always wants a story. I mean, I really don’t care what people write, you know?”
I mean, he did say the Magic were going to win, but if you read my whole post, he explains himself.
- I spoke to Rashard Lewis before the game about a handful of things, including how competitive this series actually was despite the fact that Orlando only won a single game:
We won one game, but at the same time, the record doesn’t say how hard we’ve been playing, how tough we’ve been taking a team down to the wire. They’ve beat us three times, we’ve only beat them once, but I can guarantee you that every game they had to go out there and win the game, it wasn’t handed to them.
And last but certainly not least …
Rip Hamilton’s reaction after the game:
“I didn’t even see who blocked the shot, to tell you the truth. The only thing I’d seen was Tay flexing. I went up to Rasheed and I was like, ‘Uh, who blocked that shot? It must be Tay, huh?’
I made a point last night that it was one of the ugliest playoff games I’ve ever seen, and take a look at the stat line. I looked at the game the other way, Detroit could have shot better, and Orlando just made a ton of unforced errors. Several tons, actually.
Look, you can’t shoot 57% from the FT line, turn the ball over 21 times, and expect to win. They should have lost by 15 with those numbers. And that’s spotting them Chauncey in three of the games. I also don’t see the upside with Orlando that many of you do. Howard is a monster talent, and I’ve always liked Hedo’s game, but I have some questions about Rashard’s worth, and as you could see last night, the guard play needs some upgrading. I’m also not a big SVG fan either, Riles got a lot of heat for replacing him, but he had his chance to close out the Pistons, the ball, a 2 point lead and the home court with two minutes to play, and he failed (and as Rip reminded us then, that’s what they do-do). He failed to close out winnable games here as well. So, while I see some assets, they have quite a few liabilities right now to be anything more than a 50-win team in a weak conference.
I totally agree with point 2 in your post. Subjective judgments about a team’s “heart” and “resolve” mean nothing. Despite winning 4-1, it was a tough grind for the Pistons. For the Magic, that speaks for itself. However, I will say this about their stud Howard. He played soft last night. I can remember at least 4 times when he couldn’t corral a pass, or a loose ball, making seemingly half-hearted attempts at snatching the possession. I guess what can you expect from Sheed’s intern.
V, Howard is a monster, freakish *physical* talent yes. As long as he’s getting lobs and putbacks. I don’t think he even attempted a single jump shot the whole series and more often than not, his low-block moves result in wild, errant shots.
as an aside, I don’t think it is a coincidence that dan wetzel of Yahoo sport wrote a piece about Joe Dumars and how he put together such a great team for so long — the same time it was announced that Danny Ainge is executive of the year
Anyone can win with a sell the future trade for superstars - Joe D has constantly found a way to the finals for the last 6 years
We just need some shitty team to send us their superstar for nothing again, sort of like how Rasheed fell into the Pistons lap.
Actually, I think it gets clearer and clearer for a lot of NBA columnists that the Executive of the year award is a travesty. Neither Buford from the Spurs nor Joe D. have won it. That in itself says everything we need to know. They are the only executives who should win this thing, because they haven´t once mortgaged the future of their team to save their job.
They don´t need to, because they are THAT good at creating and managing a team without having significant lows.Imagine writing about NBA everyday, about the importance of success, and being faced with the reality behind the award. Good for Joe D. and the NBA that the playoffs make his model shine like no other and that the media recognize it.
off-topic, but this is pretty hilarious: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080514
Simmons seems to be expecting a Celtics implosion. Do we hope they stave off that implosion against the Cavs so they can crumble against us, or do we prefer the Cavs?
I’ll wait on much commentary about Boston until we’re either facing them or they’ve bounced, and if they bounce in this series, I’ll probably wait until Detroit knows its fate.
But . . .
ESPN should be ashamed of themselves. Every major city should have a Bill Simmons on Page 2. He should be buried among them. Or, Bill should be released, and the turd in the punch bowl should actually write for Boston.com, because Hunter S. Thompson ran circles around Bill for talent. I feel like Page 2 is that horrible subsidiary company that is leeching off of the big pocket of the main company, and it should be sold off like what GM and Ford did with their subs. Cut it loose, watch it flounder.
Am I the only one starting to feel overconfident about Detroit’s chances. Rationally, I know Cleveland beat the Pistons last year, the Celtics are a powerhouse and every Western Conference team still standing is a cookie so tough the Cookie Monster would ask for celery instead, but even so my gut tells me Sheed’s tailor should start working on those championship belts.
I don’t care who wins tonight - as long as it’s a triple overtime slug-fest which features exploded patellas, double-technicals, brutal fouls, and maybe the self-immolation of some Boston bandwagon-jumpin’ fans. Not that I’m cruel, but it would be pretty sweet if that happened….
“I don’t think he even attempted a single jump shot the whole series.”
Yeah, he doesn’t take them often. Maybe once a week.
NBA.com’s Hot Spots (http://www.nba.com/hotspots/) show that Dwight attempted 837 shots in the paint this season. That’s 86% of his total field goal attempts.
Dude doesn’t have range yet, nope.
Ben Q. - since you’re trolling:
Don’t know if I’ve said this, but kudos to you and your work at 3QC. I read the recap and have to say that I thought your work was insightful. You pulled no punches about the Magic’s performance, nor about the Pistons’. I’d say a blogging dream team would be you and Matt W here at DBB starting something along the lines of Ball Don’t Lie. Finally, like Dwight, you have a bright future. He’s got to work on his J, you gotta stop splitting infinitives, but you’ll both get there…
That’s 2 years nobody’s either worked with Dwight on that, but at this point I’m willing to say that Dwight pushing a button and playing a v.g. version of himself in a commercial is only working on his bank account.
Ben Wallace had an excuse for shooting so poorly. He has wrists that pop out on him. Basically, imagine playing with flippers.
Shaq’s always been a paint mongler.
Dwight’s got no excuse. His hands and arms are perfectly fine. Nobody’s asking him to trey it up with Rashard and the other dudes. Just be able to hit a 16 footer to expand the play repetoire. That, and not be so easily abused in the paint.
From what I saw during this series, Orlando has no floor general. Howard is a superhuman bigman yes, but he doesn’t appear to LEAD while out on the floor, Detroit, on the other hand, sometimes its Chauncey, sometimes its Sheed, sometimes its Dice! I don’t mean LEAD as in running the offense or setting the tempo, I mean LEAD as in running the team (and no I do not mean the coaches leadership). When Boston is playing team ball, (not this I’m gonna git mine crap they have been playing in the playoffs) KG or Pierce LEAD that team, Nash LEADS the Suns, James LEADS CLeveland, Kobitch LEADS the Lakers, to list a few examples. I never witnessed any leaders on Orlando. I suppose that could be by design, but nonetheless, it seems that the continusously successful organizations have player-leaders as well. V’s comment “So, while I see some assets, they have quite a few liabilities right now to be anything more than a 50-win team in a weak conference.” I agree with most of the comment, I am not convinced the Eastern conference is weaker, I think the East plays a different style of Basketball…but I digress, back to the Magic; I too see several assets in Orlando, Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu. A nice start, but if one of them doesn’t step up and lead, Orlando will be relegated to a very talented 50 win team, but have no leadership to advance deep into the playoffs. I think Dallas suffers form this problem as well, AJ got fired and Carlisle is inheriting a team that has an asston of talent but no leader (Kidd included).
Dg.But: While Buford has never won the EotY award (which is silly), Joe won in the 2002-2003 season when we ended up getting swept in the ECF by the Nets despite having home-court advantage.
He may have won it waaay back in the day (only 6 years ago, I know, but it feels like an era ago. It is, in fact), LawyerBoy, but like Buford, the sustained run of excellence of several years of his team should be recognized. What kind of award is it when a good year that costs you the following ones is considered what should be emulated, but many consecutive years with a very good chance to win it all are considered secondary?
You´re right, he has won the award once, but the people who voted are still getting it all wrong.
As for Howard and his offensive game, it is severely limited, as everyone knows, but I have doubts on how much he will be able to progress. He doesn´t have a soft touch, and his footwork is approximative. He may be able to develop a reliable jumper a little and become decent (and even that will be hard work), but I think his offensive game will always be limited, like Chandler´s, and without a great point guard, it will be a big hurdle in Orlando´s way towards a title.
Dg.But: If it were about sustained production, then they would be career achievement awards, not just awards for a given year. That being said, Ainge made the most shrewd moves that led to a direct change in team success, he gets the award. A lot of it was blind luck, but he’s the beneficiary, and so goes the award to him.
Regarding Lewis’s comments:
Umm of course “every game they had to go out there and win the game, it wasn’t handed to them”
Dude, this is the 2nd round of the plaoffs. every team who got there isn’t a pushover.
HOWEVER, your team is the only one who was ejected with a 4-1 record. That doesn’t mean we are better than the rest and it doesn’t mean you are worse than the rest but its got to be something right?
what would you say was the deciding factor? the weather?!
Re SVG, I thought his post-game comments were classy and fair. I can’t evaluate him as an Xs and Os guy, but he seemed to do a good job with the somewhat odd set of tools he had (playing Rashard Lewis arguably out of position, a small point guard, etc.). His team didn’t quit and Orlando was in a position to win three of the four games they lost. I don’t think it’s SVG’s fault that the Magic missed a crucial boatload of free throws, made some careless turnovers, or that Tayshaun managed to block Hedo on a key drive after Hedo had scored twice in the last two possessions on the same play.
The Magic are missing a piece or two. Howard still has some limitations — although his overall stats for this series were still pretty impressive, and were amazing for the first series. I predict Dwight will become a truly dominant center.
Having said that, and with no disrespect to Orlando, the Cavs or Celtics will be tougher.
I’m inclined to agree. The Magic seem to have their core of Turkeyglue, Lewis (though way overpriced), and Howard in place. I gotta figure there’ll be quality players interested in playing alongside them. They don’t need a superstar, just a few solid pieces.
Rob G - I thought trolling was analogous to antagonizing or spamming. I hope that what I’m doing here doesn’t fall under that category.
Thanks for the kind words. I aim to absolutely cut down on splitting infinitives.
Wink.
DG.But - Howard’s touch was much softer in the regular season and in the first round. He cracks against the Pistons and rushes his shots; Rasheed’s in his head, that’s for sure.
Toledo Joe - SVG is already the most beloved coach in Magic history. He’s indeed gotten more out of his players than anyone imagined he would. His largest weakness is his inability to get us good looks at the end of games. Or maybe that’s Hedo’s fault. Hard to figure because none of us were there in those timeouts to see/hear what Stan wanted to do, then compare it to what Turk actually did.
Slappy - Don’t forget Nelson. He’s here until 2012/13. Turk can opt-out after next year, and I wouldn’t blame him if he did.