Chicago Bulls: Much Blame, One Blade
The ax had been swinging for weeks now above Scott Skiles’ balding head. It’s razor-sharp, silvery blade whipping back and forth in the hellish, Chicago wind. The handle, held in the sweaty, slightly shaking hand of General Manager John Paxson, finally swung down, releasing its force on the coach that was supposed to lead the Bulls franchise back to prominence.
There is no getting around the fact that 9-16 and deep within the bowels of the Eastern Conference is unacceptable, especially for a team having Conference Finals or even Finals aspirations. The reality has fallen far short, and although there is more than enough blame to go around, the easiest, cleanest chop is almost always the head of the Head Coach.
Bulls Executive Vice President John Paxson, who chose not to tinker with the team in the offseason in an effort to improve certain weaknesses on the roaster, presided over the firing of Skiles. “This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time,” Paxson said in a statement to the media. “Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team.”
Not appreciative enough apparently to give Skiles a chance to turn things around. This after Skiles led the Bulls to 47, 41 and 49 wins the last three seasons, including playoff appearances each year. Last year’s playoff run included a sweep of defending NBA Champion Miami Heat and their Coach, Pat Riley. Riley at that time hinted that Skiles and Co. may have what it takes to go all the way. My, how fickle a mistress the NBA can be.
It is the old adage that you cannot fire an entire team when the team underachieves. The General Manager will not fire himself, although that act may come soon enough from higher-ups if the Paxson handiwork does not show itself to be what was advertised. The players have certainly underachieved, in particular the nucleus of Gordon, Deng, Hinrich and Wallace.
In this 9-16 quagmire, there must be blame shined on Paxson as well. He has decided to stand pat with his hand, while Boston and Kevin Garnett have dedicated this and the next few seasons to putting a death-grip on the Eastern Conference. This also while Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers to the season the Bulls were hoping to have out in Los Angeles.
So Scott Skiles becomes the goat in this season’s sorry affair, a 9-16 debacle that Paxson hopes the next coach in can turn around in the direction of the post-season. A new coach, at least for now, will have the same cast that Skiles could not get through to this season. If Paxson begins to deal, then shouldn’t have Skiles been given the chance to sit at the table and play a few hands with the new deck? Sure, Skiles underachieved this season, but in a world where nothing is fair, here too someone had to be the first to go. If things do turn around, then Paxson looks like a genius. If not, then the sights of the blade may yet turn in his direction as well. There is no question that this team is flawed. The question is whether Skiles was an excellent coach who squeezed every drop out of this team’s squad, even perhaps overachieving, or is this Paxson-brainchild ready to take the NBA by storm with new leadership behind it?
The question is not whether the Bulls are flawed; the true question is whether they are flawed fatally. For one Scott Skiles, the answer was, “yes”.
Photo-AP
NBA-MVP Tourney Issue #4
This issue: Deron Williams vs. Richard Jefferson. Two young NBA bucks leading their teams. Two of the best ballers in the NBA fall into our “NBA Pit”. Who’s better…who’s best? 32 start…1 will be your MVP.
DERON WILLIAMS/UTAH JAZZ (#3 SEED, WILT 13 REGION)
Wow, this kid became a man in a hurry under Jerry Sloan in Utah. Just off the John Stockton-high of hall-of-fame caliber play at the point guard position, Utah again will enjoy play at the position at a very high standard it seems for some time to come. Together with Power Forward Carlos Boozer, the Point Guard in only his 3rd year is playing like a 10-year veteran. Points-per-game average for #8 have gone from 10.8 as a rookie, to 16.2 last year to a current average of almost 20 a game. He is the floor leader though, which is where he is most valuable. Williams averaged over 19 ppg in the playoffs last year in the Jazz’ improbably run to the Western Conference Finals.
RICHARD JEFFERSON/NEW JERSEY NETS (#6 SEED, WILT 13 REGION)
The 7th-year Forward out of Arizona, Jefferson has a slashing kind of game that does not necessarily complement fellow take-it-to-the-basket teammate Vince Carter. Jefferson has come into his own, with a career year on the horizon. Although averaging over 20ppg only once in his career before this year, he has been pretty consistent in helping the Nets during his tenure, average over 15ppg in his playoff career as well. His 5.6 rebounds per game and 3 assists per in his career are good but not great.
DERON JEFFERSON
PTS 19.4 24.5
REB 3.1 4.5
AST 8.7 2.6
STL 1.1 .94
BLK .27 .39
TEAM 18-16 15-16
Who you got? Your opinion counts! Drop me a fan mail of comment.
Loser goes home, winner moves on until an MVP is crowned.
Results and new match up – next issue.
LAST ISSUE
We still go 15, old-school, championship rounds here. No 12 rounders thank you. What’s next? 6 – inning baseball games?
Winner – Upset 15 Round Unanimous Decision – Allen Iverson over Carmelo Anthony RESULTS MAGIC 32 REGION
Steve Nash (2) KO 3 Vince Carter (7) - Nash to Sweet 16
LeBron James (1) KO 6 Caron Butler (8) - James to Sweet 16
BIRD 33 REGION
Allen Iverson (6) W 15 Carmelo Anthony (3) - Iverson to Sweet 16
Final Shot
Don’t look now but there is a storm rising in the Pacific Northwest. Nothing new you say? Wrong. Portland recently reeled off double-digit straight wins, and that is in the year before Greg Oden gets healthy. This most pleasant surprise is led by Point Guard Brandon Roy and his partner, LaMarcus Aldridge. Coach Nate McMillan has the team playing way over their heads and fighting for a playoff spot in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
NBA West Preview
WEST
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OVERVIEW
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The power and the glory of the NBA resides West of the Mississippi. Although the Eastern Conference has stripped the West of Kevin Garnett, the best basketball in the world is still played here. The Western Conference is once again locked and loaded for a super-competitive season.
There is no shortage of storylines either. Can the San Antonio finally cement their right to call their run a dynasty? Will Steve Nash and company in Phoenix finally get over the hump and into the finals? What about Dallas? Last year’s wonder-team blasted through the regular season to earn the #1 seed, only to get wasted in the first round by an inferior Golden State team coached by their former mentor (current tor-mentor), Don Nelson. Can they pick up where they left off from last year’s regular season and finally win their NBA title? Others such as Houston feel they have what it takes to get into the deep waters of the playoffs.
NORTHWEST
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The trade that brought Allen Iverson to the Nuggets last year sent joy throughout the Rocky Mountains. Alas, if you wished to create a permanent place in the first round of the playoffs for your team, you have found your man. The pairing of Iverson and Carmelo Anthony is a potent one, but if you have two stars on your team and want to do some damage deep into the playoffs, their names better be Kobe and Shaq. Marcus Camby helps provide rebounding and length but there is something that just isn’t gelling. They are competitive and fun to watch but when the chips are down count them out.
Shame on Kevin McHale for not being able to surround one of the best players in the world, Kevin Garnett, with a suitable cast to compete for an NBA title. The Timberwolves had what is the most important and difficult element to find in in the NBA, a selfless big man that can score down low, rebound and play great defense. Otherwise he is not much of a player. Garnett has become the toast of the NBA now in Boston, while Minnesota will now flounder in mediocrity. This team is officially terrible. They received several players in return for Garnett, but quantity nowhere equaled the quality they gave up. Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Antoine Walker will not get it done.
The Portland Trail Blazers will be better in the future but now is not their time. They have seemed to have cleaned up their act and have brought in better character guys. I like Brandon Roy at Guard. He has the potential to rival the other big-time guards in the West as time moves on. Lamarcus Aldridge has potential as well to be a good but not great scorer. They now must be patient and wait for Greg Oden to heal. Oden, the #1 draft choice out of Ohio State, is considered their savior and rightfully so. With a flair for great defense and the ability to score some, Oden can anchor the paint there for the next decade if healthy.
The Seattle Supersonics are brutal. I can put it no other way. Their hope is rookie Kevin Durant, the overall #2 pick in the draft out of Texas. They are young and not talented (a fatal combination) and they will fit snugly in the bottom of the standings.
The Utah Jazz just keep moving along. Gone are the days of Stockton and Malone, henceforth known as the glory days in Utah. Jerry Sloan keeps law and order as the wily veteran coach, but with a new and interesting cast of characters. I love Deron Williams. He is their point guard (but don’t tell anybody) and is one of the most exciting young players in the league. Although only a second-year player, he leads the team vocally and by example. He called out teammates in the off-season for packing it in too early last year in the playoffs. This although the Jazz reached the Western Conference Finals. Carlos Boozer is a great Power Forward and complements Williams well to form a kind of Stockton-Malone lite (a little more filling and not as great taste as the original but still tasty). They overachieved in the playoffs last year but gained a lot of experience in the process.
SUMMARY
A very weak division overall. A lot of hype in Denver for their two-man gang but more talk than action when things matter there. Portland, Seattle and Minnesota are trying to find their way but have no chance this season to even make the playoffs. The cream of the crop here is Utah, who will win the division by default more so than blinding ability.
PACIFIC
The Los Angeles scene will be on its head this season as the Clippers will take hold of bragging rights to the Staples Center. The media and fans will not realize it however, begging the question: If a team gets better than another team and no one notices, does it really matter? Although the Clippers are better than the Lakers, that does not mean much as they still need to defeat others teams in the league. The loss of Guard Shaun Livingston hurts their chances. Elton Brand when healthy is a force at Forward and he is good for 18 and 10 almost any night. However, his health is a big question coming into the season. Chris Kaman is back from his year-long vacation and should have a good year. I do not like their chemistry and they have too many chuckers for my taste. Still should be better than last year and will secure a playoff berth.
Kobe, Kobe, Kobe. Kobe Bryant got what he wished for and now does not want what he wished for. A watered down roster where he can shine is not all that it is cracked up to be. Kobe is good for 35 a night it seems. That is where the fun ends. Lamar Odom is the softest 2nd best player on a team I maybe have ever seen. He is not Scottie Pippen, although I am not sure if Scottie Pippen was Scottie Pippen looking back, and is starting to wear down at this point in his career as well. Zen mastery is not as much fun for Phil Jackson when he does not have the most talented team as he has for most of his Head Coaching career. It goes to show that it is a player’s league. To coach you better have among the top 5 in talent in the NBA if you hope to compete at the elite level. Do not expect too much from the Lakers this year and you will not be disappointed. Your centers are Kwame Brown, Andrew Bynum and Chris Mihm—oy!
The Sacramento Kings remember only a few years ago when they had an exciting squad that came thisclose to the finals. Ah, the good old days!! Unfortunately this is not your older Brother’s Kings. It may not even be the “Queens” as Shaq used to say. Maybe the “Jokers” would be more appropriate. Trade rumors swirl around an already aging Mike Bibby, as he is the team’s best chance to move forward with his subtraction. It is the 9th year for Bibby already. Everyone’s favorite, Ron Artest, has been quiet as of late. Good behavior does not necessarily equate into success however. A boring team headed by ex-showboater Reggie Theus. Not a good fit and not a good team.
Golden State is a fun team to watch, and had a marvelous run in the playoffs featuring a squashing of the #1 seed Dallas Mavericks last Spring. An upset for the ages, the team played over their heads, with ex-Mavs coach Don Nelson getting into the heads of his old team I believe. So a perfect storm enabled the Warriors to show some life in the playoffs. There was a reason they were the #8 seed to begin with let’s not forget. They are led by Baron Davis, a feisty point guard who has a flair for being clutch and is a floor general. Stephen Jackson, former problem-child of the Pacers, has supposedly cleaned up his act by the Bay and is providing leadership (are you kidding?) to a relatively young team. An overrated coach that does rise to the occasion on occasion, Nelson looks tired and sometimes bemused by his position. I do not have much faith in them that last year’s playoffs were the real Warriors.
I wish we could have a league with 8 teams, with one of them being the Suns. When the elite teams get together it is like a different league, with some of the best basketball ever seen being played. Phoenix if it were a player would be classified as a “stud”. They have a high powered, high-wire offense that normally leaves opponents’ defense in tatters. Unfortunately the elite teams many times can do the same to the Phoenix defense. They try to ignore their Achilles heal by outscoring teams. In the regular season it works. In the playoffs not so good. Last year it seemed they were poised to break through and were neck and neck with the San Antonio Spurs in their playoff series. A little short and a little late and the Spurs went on to their 4th title. The team does have a few questions that need to be answered. Steve Nash is the best point guard in the NBA. He is up there in years and is slight. Can he withstand the heat for upwards of 100 games in an environment where he needs to be a huge part of their offense for them to win? He needs to be paced, and that is where Leandro Barbosa may be their most important player as weird as it sounds. He is an energetic guard that can distribute the ball well. Learning under Nash has helped his game plenty. I cannot tell if Shawn Marion is overrated or underrated. He is also a whiner that wants out of Phoenix but they may try to hold him in place for what could be their final serious run. Amare Stoudemire is a state of the art center that can jump out of the gym and lead a team in scoring and rebounds on any given night. They are loaded.
SUMMARY
The reputation of the teams in the Pacific are better than what you will see on the court this season. The best team far and away is Phoenix, who should cruise to the division title. The Clippers are the best of the rest and should be in the playoffs. For the others I wish them well in the lottery.
SOUTHWEST
The New Orleans Hornets seem younger than they are. However, the roster headed by Coach Byron Scott is not up to the speed of the higher-end models in the division. Scott, who led New jersey to back-to-back finals in what seems ages ago, is not known for his x’s and o’s. He must have big-time talent on his team in order to compete (he does not). Chris Paul is the team’s shining light. A 6’ guard out of Wake Forest, Paul is an exciting playmaker if undersized. He will need a much better cast around him though. Tyson Chandler shows signs of coming out of his professional basketball coma last year but that is more on the rebounding end than elsewhere. A borderline playoff team in a loaded division.
How will the Rockets survive without Jeff Van Gundy? Remember all the playoff series won under Jeff? Neither do I. When your franchise is an enigma, there is only one Coach to call upon—Rick Adelman. Adelman is a curious choice as he himself never led any of his teams to an NBA title, although he has shown the ability to take teams very deep into the playoffs at Portland and Sacramento. Time will tell if his system can work in success-starved Houston. The cubbard is far from bare. Houston has underachieved during the Tracy McGrady-Yao Ming era to say the least. No playoff series won – period. McGrady’s teams just do not do well in the playoffs and there is no excuse for it. He is an electric scorer that does not believe in defense. Yao is a force in the middle and is slowly improving his game. Technique aside, many question his ability to carry a team deep into the playoffs. Does he have the heart of a champion? Very questionable until now. The balance of the roster is pedestrian. The addition of Luis Scola out of Argentina will help.
The league is filled with two kinds of stars. Ones that have proven to produce championship hardware (not many of them admittedly), and those that get paid bundles of jack and have excellent regular seasons. The formerly mentioned McGrady falls into the latter class, as does Dirk Nowitzki. History has shown us you need to have “The Man” on your team when the chips are down in May and June. They have everything in place for a deep run potentially save this element. Is Dirk that guy? He had better be if the Mavs are to compete. Avery Johnson is a fiery leader and a great motivator. He also has an incredible regular season record and could do no wrong until last Spring. The question still exists: what the heck happened? They were the #1 seed with the best record in the NBA and got schooled by the Warriors. There is no excuse, and I am not sure they have patched up what was wrong from last season. Jason Terry is a clutch-shooting guard that is Avery’s extension on the court. Josh Howard is a smooth Wake Forest product who will be counted on to carry the load throughout the season. I like watching their up and down style. However, like the Suns they are a bit light in their Converse.
Memphis—the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of the NBA Southwest. The most intriguing thing about this team is whether or not their star player, Pau Gasol will be traded as has been discussed constantly over the past year or so. A really bad team mired and unable to get out of its own way.
Finally we come to the reigning NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. With an uncanny ability to pluck the juiciest b-ball fruit from around the world, this organization has been the gold standard going on a decade. From Coach on down they unassumingly go about their championship-level business as quietly as any dynasty I have ever seen. Coach Greg Popovich has won 4 NBA titles with San Antonio, only 1 less than Pat Riley. By the noise level, you would have thought that Riley won his and Pop’s. San Antonio’s star player right now is not Tim Duncan, but Tony Parker. The NBA Finals MVP showed leadership and toughness and is expected to produce it all again this season. Former MVP Duncan is a hall-of-famer in waiting that is the best low-post player this generation and maybe the best power forward ever. Manu Ginobili is a terror-slasher that makes terrific plays with flair in an otherwise conservative environment. Duncan is up there in years and needs somehow to be paced.
SUMMARY
Texas sports the best basketball in North America if you are calculating volume. All 3 of their teams are in the Southwest, which should make for some serious infighting throughout the season. I say that half of the West’s playoff entries will come from this division. Probably the best division in the NBA, only Memphis is a weak Sister and can be counted out. New Orleans will sneak into the playoffs on the lower-tier. Dallas still has the goods to win the division and should by a few games. The Spurs and Rockets should both be outstanding as well, fighting it out for a first-round home advantage.
MVP – REGULAR SEASON—KEVIN GARNETT/BOSTON
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PREDICTION
Phoenix (1) – def New Orleans (8)
Dallas (2) – def Denver (7)
LA Clippers (6) – def Utah (3)
San Antonio (4) – def Houston (5)
Phoenix (1) – def LA Clippers (6)
San Antonio (4) – def Dallas (2)
Western Conference Finals……
San Antonio (4) – def Phoenix (1), 4 games to 1.
The Spurs are just too good for the rest of the field. They have the best coach, the best nucleus, an excellent bench and the best defense in the West. The Suns suffer another close look at the Finals but fall just short.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS – WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
NBA—FINALS
San Antonio Spurs versus Boston Celtics. In a matchup chock full of potential hall-of-famers, Kevin Garnett finally gets his chance to shine with his running buddies Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The Spurs desperately want to repeat to cement their legacy. The Spurs finally wear down the Celtics with a deeper lineup and a playoff-tested coach.
San Antonio defeats Boston Celtics, 4-2 to repeat as champions.
MVP-FINALS MANU GINOBILI/SAN ANTONIO
NBA East Preview
EAST
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ATLANTIC
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It is nary a week into the new NBA season and it is always a good time to check on the Association. First things first—this is not your Grandmama’s Eastern Conference. The East is a new and shiny model that handles better than last year. Not up to the S-Class that is the Western Conference by any stretch of the imagination, but you can see the balance of power shifting ever so slightly from the Pacific.
Everyone’s darling is Boston these days. Not so fast I say. Time will test the glorious trio of Garnett-Allen-Pierce. On paper it looks sweet. In reality they each have lots of tread off their tires, and their teammates do not instill fear in anyone. It is a great nucleus on top for the first 50 games of the season. However, you need to play 82 plus win 4 post-season series to win it all—that is a long road with guys that are long in the tooth.
The same case can be stated regarding New Jersey. I am not sold on their trio either when it comes to going the distance. Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards in the game. His court vision, spurred by the presence of Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson is formidable. Will Vince Carter earn his formidable keep and go to the hole after February when his legs tire? However, I have seen this show before. It ends with no rings as it does every year in New Jersey. I will take it a step further and say it will not even end in a playoff berth for the Nets. Their coach is on the hot seat as well.
I like Toronto spearheaded by Chris Bosh. He is a smooth 7 footer that given time can lead the Raptors into the deeper portion of the playoffs, just not this year. They are on the right track but still in the slow lane.
The Knicks would be better if Isiah were at point guard rather than coach. With all their issues they are more interesting in the courtroom than on the court. I can hear Jim Mora now. Playoffs? Playoffs?
76ers—the trade of Allen Iverson was said to be the undoing of the team. It would not be the first time a disgruntled character made things better by their disappearance. I saw them versus Bulls the other night and they are better than advertised. Coach Mo Cheeks has the team playing hard and playing good D. They can be more competitive than you think.
SUMMARY—Boston is the class of the division. Toronto is on the come, while New Jersey lives off the reputation of their big three. Isiah and “Starbury” consider it a successful year by staying away from the bondsman.
CENTRAL
On paper this should be a really good division with Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago all fighting it out for supremacy. However, there are chinks in this division’s armor.
The Pistons are the old guard. It has become commonplace for them to ascend to the conference finals, but for all the fanfare, they have won it all only once, and have slipped from Finals to Conference Finals level play. It will still be hard to unseat them not because they are so superior, but because there is no other team in the division ready to take them over and stay there. It is getting closer though.
The backcourt of Hamilton and Billups is still one of the best in the NBA. Saavy and cocksure, they play well off each other. The underrated Tayshaun Prince provides great defense, but in my view they still miss Ben Wallace providing the last line of defense in the middle. He was the perfect fit in Detroit, and although he is stinking it up at the United Center these days, his shortcomings were camouflaged brilliantly with the Pistons.
The Cavs are a one-hit wonder in multiple ways. They have arguably the best talent in the NBA in Lebron James. His supporting cast should not have been good enough last year to make it to the finals, reminiscent of AI in his 76ers finals run several years ago. With the rest of the East improved and the Cavs not, they will slip back to the middle of the pack.
The Bulls had high hopes before the season, and were considered a chic pick by many to go to the NBA finals. An 0-4 start has dampened spirits in Chicago. When will they get a low post scorer? Kobe to the Bulls talk is rampant, but do the Lakers want what the Bulls have been cooking so far? Same problems-different season.
Milwaukee and Indiana bring up the rear in the Central. Yi brings a new look to the Bucks. Michael Redd is one of the most underrated players in the NBA, but for the Bucks it is a nickel short and a day late to compete this season.
Same is true for the Pacers, who are still looking to trade Jermaine O’Neal but have not found the right offer until now. Maybe L-Bird can suit up at least to bolster attendance and spirits in Hoosier-Land.
SUMMARY—Pistons still the class but are slowly coming back to the pack. Bulls and Cavs are the upstarts that think they both can make it to the Finals. Not happening for either this season.
SOUTHEAST
A three horse race that is intriguing on paper but alas, can old and young alike withstand the rigors of an 82 game season….that’s why they play the games.
Although I do not think Miami will win the division I do think they have the best chance of the Southeast teams to win the Conference. Any time you still have D-Wade and Shaq in the lineup, with the Slickster calling the plays, you have a puncher’s chance. The question is the health of all of them. Dwayne Wade first and foremost needs to prove that he has the physical presence to withstand 82 games and then the postseason. He is an awesome talent…a championship talent as proven a couple of years ago. What about Shaq? A 4th ring two years ago showed he still had the goods post-Kobe, but a sweep last year at the hands of the Bulls may have proven otherwise. He needs to be strong down the stretch for them to have any chance. Riley looks tired on the sidelines as he may be realizing that his brainchild may have seen its best day in Miami.
The up and comer in the division is the Orlando Magic. I think Dwight Howard is a future MVP, but it is a little early in his career for him to lead a team to the Promised Land.
The most overrated team in the East may be the Washington Wizards. I do not like the chemistry of this team. Too many guys liking to take too many shots for my liking. Where the D? Agent zero—you’re not kidding. Not happening in DC.
Atlanta and Charlotte—interesting cities with fattening yet tasty cuisine.
SUMMARY—Orlando the class during the regular season. However, a healthy D-Wade and Shaq can whip up on anyone when right in the East.
EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PREDICTION
Boston – def Miami
Orlando – def Washington
Cleveland – def Toronto
Detroit – def Chicago
Boston – def Detroit
Orlando – def Cleveland
Eastern Conference Finals……
Boston (1) – def Orlando (2)
Boston, riding their big three, has enough to hold off this year’s upstarts, the Orlando Magic in 6 tough games.
BOSTON CELTICS – EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Bulls’ December Blues
Here it is the cradle that holds the space between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The turkey has been devoured. The mistletoe is on call. Holiday music pulsates in our ears as we shop along ice-kissed avenues. Oh yes and the Bulls are again struggling to survive an early season disaster. Yup, it must be December in Chicago.
This unmitigated convulsion of a start (again) leaves the Bulls at 3-10, dead last not in their division but in the entire Easter Conference. Of course there is time to regenerate and check into the lower-echelon of the playoffs, but it is not the issue to be sure. The concept of making the playoffs, Baby Bulls, etc has gone out of the rearview mirror many miles ago. What we have here is a veteran team with supposed leadership oozing all over the United Center floor and bench, still not prepared to begin a season in order to compete for one of the top spots in the conference. The East has markedly improved. If one imagines the Bulls waltzing through the opening round of the playoffs please think again. At this rate, provided they do make the playoffs, Chicago could very well be staring down the barrel of a loaded Boston Celtics shotgun come April. In such a scenario the Bulls could be lucky to get a game.
The West-coast road trip, the “circus trip”, provided its usual fare as the team procured a 1-3 record. Featured was a 38 point mashing by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Bulls seem more intrigued by what Sun Times reporters have been writing (aka-Kobe trade talks) than shooting, defending and, oh yes, winning. Based on results to date the trade value of any Bull worth mentioning would not hold water in a Kobe trade anyway.
At 18.1 points per game, Ben Gordon leads the team in scoring average with Luol Deng right behind him at 18 even. These two “big guns” both thumbed noses at large contract offers from the Bulls and are set to roll their dice after the season closes. There is still no one in red and black who has stepped forward and become that go-to guy that can consistently bang down 23-25 points per night. Gordon was thought to be that player one day, but his career has taken a sharp turn down to the cross-streets of World B. Free Avenue and Inconsistency Boulevard.
Chicago is still looking for the player blowing in from Detroit that warranted a $16 million ticket per campaign. The Defensive Player of The Year attitude and game. The ‘fro at the top of another swatted block into the fifth row. The mean-natured rebound leading to another fast break at the other end. Ben Wallace still looks too intimidating for anybody to mess with, but his 4 ½ points per night and less than 8 rebounds per game beg otherwise. That all-star player does not exist anymore yet the Bulls are still weighed with his anchor of a contract that lasts for almost another 3 years. Joakim Noah could give you Wallace’s production today if he played Wallace’s minutes.
Easily the most disappointing performance has been turned in by one Kirk Hinrich. Like Gordon, Hinrich’s game is marred by inconsistent shooting, although this season the shine of it is much more glaring. An anemic 10.4 points and 5.3 assists per game tell of a regression that has permeated throughout the team.
If you are watching this team with any regularity you can sense that it is something more than just the stats being off-kilter. The Bulls are operating at a low frequency, much as a toy that is about to lose the last juice of its Duracell’s, that is the most shocking development of all. For a Scott Skiles-led team to look disinterested, to be afraid, confused and uninvolved is mind-boggling. The calling card of this team without a star has been toughness, mental acumen and a never-quit attitude. The floor-burns from last year have healed without fresh ones in their place.
History states that the Bulls have rebounded from similar starts in previous seasons. In what is almost an annual event, like a Macy’s Winter Sale, the Bulls have righted their ship with the help of Skiles and returned to hard-nosed basics. However, one gets the feeling that one of these years the black and red vessel will stretch too far out to sea and not be able to be steered back to shore.
Land Mines In Chicago
All major professional sports franchises in Chicago are marred as a gang of enigmas these days. The Chicago Bulls head the class courtesy of questions that have remained unanswered for several seasons now, finally coming home to roost. The Bulls are a collection of useful parts that have been billed as able to win the Daytona 500 as presently built. Not so fast (pun intended). They have drafted slyly on paper. Utilizing a formula of plucking good character players from big-time Universities, who have a degree to pin on their wall and have been coached up right seems like a solid plan of attack. That’s just it. Solid is not great. Solid is not elite. Solid is not championship material. General Manager John Paxson looks the part as a savvy Executive plotting the course of his organization. However, something is sorely lacking even before this abyss of a season.
The players drafted are of quality, some at times very good. Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, etc all in their own way have shown themselves to be good players with some NBA staying power. However, each player brings with them glaring weaknesses that may very well produce a squad that peaks below a championship curve. Under glass you can see the marks that the Bulls would have you believe are not relevant long-term. These cracks enable opposing coaching staffs to have relatively easy times game-planning for them, as their lack of dimensionality forces the Bulls to rely on high risk strategies each and every night in order to be victorious.
The lack of an inside-outside game for one is helping prohibit the Bulls from taking that “next step”. That leap into elite territory, Conference-Finals plus territory, is the most difficult and in reality the only one that counts.
Several potential landmines litter the path in and around the United Center. Mines that must be cleared before this organization can bring true dreams of reaching heights it has seen in recent history. Further unnerving is how many landmines there are. Worse, these mines have been in the fields for years without anyone minding their whereabouts. Finally this season they are blowing up all over downtown Chicago.
In no particular order here is a list of these mines and what has laid them:
1. Undersized starting backcourt
Opposing teams froth at the idea of putting on the hard hat against Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich is scrappy on D, but not having a big guard to get up into the grill of larger shooting guards around the league is a huge liability for the Bulls defensively. It also fails to allow for help on the boards, where the Bulls can use all the help they can muster. In addition, best of luck when opposing guards start posting and toasting you up, while the Bulls can only dream of answering in kind.
2. Who’s “The Man”?
Another missing piece of the puzzle is a lack of a go-to guy during crunch-time in games. Heck, even during earlier parts of the contest when you need to have a leader slow the rock of the boat when choppy waters are inevitably below. That “Man” was supposed to be Ben Wallace, but of all people he is anything but immersed in what the team is trying to achieve. This ironically on a team that is seemingly bristling with good-character guys with oodles of leadership potential. Going into this season, Luol Deng was also supposed to be another floor general, but alas he lacks the heart of an assassin, which can be said of the entire top-line portion of the roster. Ben Gordon, electric at times, inevitably disappears during long stretches of games. Hinrich is extremely inconsistent and overrated with concern to his shooting touch. Tyrus Thomas has shown flashes of brilliance but is nowhere near ready to be the complete, consistent, prime-time scoring threat necessary to compete.
3. No low-post scoring.
This is the 800 pound gorilla on the team roster for several seasons now. He has been so effective that apparently Paxxson has offered him a contract extension. There is only one Tim Duncan in the league. However, there needs to be at least a hint of a scoring threat down low, where someone can put the ball on the floor in a post-up situation to keep opposing defenses honest. When PJ Brown was your biggest low post weapon a year ago you know you have real issues. Ben Wallace was paid a king’s ransom but with Wallace you know what you were supposedly getting, and that did not include a relevant offensive game from you Center position for 4 years. All the more reason for the acquision of a forward that can bully down an opposing player, and even more importantly kick the ball out to what would be a certainly more open guard tandem from the outside.
4. Living and more often dying with jump shooting.
The Bulls are a fun watch when they click on tough defense that creates transition opportunities. When hot they can pull up and drain jumpers with the best of the NBA. However, they have a tendency to be extremely reliant on this weapon, which is probably their best on offense. When the jumpers stop falling, they go through huge droughts where the other team is afforded every opportunity to feast on scoring binges. Instead of driving more to the basket, they continue to force a lost issue from the arc. This in part because they do not have the low-post option as mentioned previously.
5. Kobe
Not only is Kobe Bryant a highly paid and talented hindrance to his own team in Los Angeles, the talk of his potential arrival played inside the heads of the nucleus of the Bulls when trade talks were rampant in Chicago. That is no excuse, as the Bulls core is no longer young relative to when they were drafted, and everyone knows even the best in the business switch zip codes on occasion. Even with a trade for Kobe, Chicago still does not have a low-post presence. In addition, if a Kobe trade were to ever come to fruition, the team as it is presently constituted would have to be somewhat gutted, not guaranteeing anything this season or long-term. Kobe is also a complainer that can in short order be unhappy in Chicago for a myriad of reasons as well. It is a high reward proposition with a very high risk component.
6. Paxson in love with own handiwork.
A key issue plaguing the franchise is that Paxson has fallen in love with his blueprint. He treats his drafting as an end in and of itself, as opposed to the bargaining chips that they truly are. He wants to show how brilliant his master plan is and is waiting for it to come to fruition. Please note the absolute turnabout in the Northeast, where Boston has put together a team with all the tools to make a championship run. Boston has pulled the trigger and parted with most of its team in order to get one of the best players in the game in Kevin Garnett. The Bulls had a far better list of trade bait for Minnesota and could have pulled off a trade if they wished to. In addition, Kevin Garnett would have been a much better fit for the Bulls than Kobe Bryant. Both would have cost around the same to obtain, but Paxson refused to do so. Now he will watch as Boston rolls through the East, while the Bulls can only watch and wonder.
7. Coach Stress Out
Head Coach Scott Skiles has done an admirable job during his tenure until this season. With the arrow shooting straight down for the first time for him in Chicago, it begs the question as to how much Skiles is to bear as a result of this awful mess. From the outside he is constantly looking stressed. Never one to promote a relaxed atmosphere, one can only imagine the snowball effect of the losses on his manner with the already fragile psyche of the team. There have been questions even before this season as to whether or not he is Doug Collins about to get sliced before the “real” coach comes in and takes the team to the next level.
So the mines have exploded all around and inside the United Center. The Unit knew of the danger, but refused to acknowledge. Disaster is at hand. The leaders are scratching their heads, perplexed. The fans are shaking theirs in disgust.
NBA Issue #3 – MVP, Big Game Huntin’, Last Shot
This issue: AI/The Answer vs. ‘Melo. Teammates in Denver, but not here. Two of the best ballers in the NBA fall into our “NBA Pit”. Who’s better…who’s best? 32 start…1 will be your MVP.
ALLEN IVERSON/DENVER NUGGETS (#6 SEED, BIRD 33 REGION)
A lot of nicknames for a little guy, but one with a lot of heart and a lot of game. He single-handedly carried a sub-par 76ers franchise from the day he came into the league until last year, when he was sent packing to the Rocky Mountains. Paired with today’s opponent, the two have lit up scoreboards across the league. The question for both of them is: can they win together long-term? Still Un-“Answered”, it is still early in the duo’s run to make a final determination on the project. So far not bad. A hall-of-fame lock and a career 27.8 points-per-game scorer, Iverson has averaged higher than 30 ppg 5 times. With a career playoff average of 30 ppg, AI tasted the Finals once and got mauled by the Shaq-Kobe Lakers in 5. Not Al’s fault, as Philly would have gotten nowhere near the Finals if not for him running the table versus a weak East.
CARMELO ANTHONY/DENVER NUGGETS (#3 SEED, BIRD 33 REGION)
One year at Syracuse was all that was required not only to be a top draft pick, but to provide the University with an NCAA Championship. Denver was banking on that pedigree when taking Anthony. He has delivered on the scoring front, a career 24.1 scorer, married with an OK 5.7 rebounds per game. His D can use mucho trabajo, a weak point of his game, although it has improved some since his entry into the league in 03-04. It is time for the forward to step forward and be a team leader together with his opponent. Rumor is that he has stepped up his game in this regard, but time will tell if it is enough to lead the team into the second-half of the playoffs.
IVERSON ANTHONY
PTS 26.3 25.5
REB 2.9 6.5
AST 3.7 3.7
STL 2.4 1.4
BLK .14 .64
TEAM 17-11 17-11
Who you got? Your opinion counts! Drop me a fan mail of comment.
Loser goes home, winner moves on until an MVP is crowned.
Results and new match up – next issue.
LAST ISSUE
We still go 15, old-school, championship rounds here. No 12 rounders thank you. What’s next? 6 – inning baseball games?
Winner – KO 6th Round – LeBron James over Caron Butler RESULTS MAGIC 32 REGION
Steve Nash (2) KO 3 Vince Carter (7) - Nash to Sweet 16
LeBron James (1) KO 6 Caron Butler (8) - James to Sweet 16
STANDINGS
East
Boston 23-3 .885
Detroit 21-7 .750
Orlando 19-11 .633
Atlanta 15-12 .556
Washington 14-13 .519
Toronto 15-14 .517
Indiana 15-14 .517
LeBron’s 13-16 .448
New Jersey 12-16 .429
Philadelphia 12-16 .429
Milwaukee 11-16 .407
Charlotte 10-16 .385
Chicago 9-17 .346
New York 8-20 .286
Miami 8-21 .276
West
San Antonio 20-7 .741
Phoenix 19-9 .679
Dallas 19-10 .655
Denver 17-11 .607
New Orleans 18-10 .643
Kobe’s 18-10 .643
Golden St. 17-12 .586
Portland 16-12 .571
Utah 16-14 .533
T-Mac/Yao’s 13-15 .464
Sacramento 11-16 .407
LA Clippers 9-17 .346
Memphis 8-20 .286
Seattle 8-20 .286
No-Garnett’s 4-23 .148
BIG GAME HUNTING
Big games and such that you need to know about…
Detroit 87 Boston 85 — @ Boston 12-19
Chauncey Billups in a big moment is as good as there is in the NBA. Two clutch free-throws with the clock almost expired hands the first loss for Boston at home this season. In a playoff, dare we say Eastern Conference Finals-like atmosphere, the two top teams in the East put on a defensive-minded performance. Detroit’s game actually, as they brought the Celtics in the muck with a 16-13 point 3rd quarter and 42-33 second-half. Billups had 28 points overall to go with 8 assists, while Kevin Garnett poured in 26 with 12 boards for Boston. These two teams will be seeing a lot of each other down the road.
Dallas 108 Phoenix 105 — @ Dallas 12-19
These two will be nip-and-tuck all season long also, jockeying for playoff positioning while sending messages in the process. The battle between former Mavs teammates Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki continued at a very high level. Nowitzki tallied 31 point and 9 rebounds in the win, including the final 8 points for the Mavericks. Begging the question: Where was this guy versus Golden State in the playoffs last year? The only thing that will wash away that memory is a power performance in the playoffs and not the regular season. Steve Nash dished 18 assists to go with 21 points in the loss for Phoenix.
LA Lakers 122 Phoenix 115 @ LA, 12-25
There are only two reasons why the Lakers are at 18-10, and both are Hall-Of-Fame reasons. Kobe Bryant is setting the league ablaze but alas, he is a party of one, and that in the West especially will not get it done. The other is Phil Jackson, who is somehow getting everything possible out of this roster, which is pedestrian at best. LA beat Phoenix at their own run and gun game, outscoring the Suns 37-36 in the 2nd quarter. Kobe went off for 38, including 26 in the second-half. He finished with 7 boards and 5 assists as well. Center Andrew Bynum had a great game, pushing in 28 in the win, to go with 12 rebounds. More consistent effort from Bynum could spell trouble for more of the West. Steve Nash went for 24 points and 14 dishes in the loss. These two could see a lot more of each other come the playoffs.
Final ShotThe Celtics are setting the league on green and white fire again. The “Big 3” of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce seemed meant to play with one another, but it is Garnett that stirs the drink for this franchise. He has the passion and game to take Boston back to the Promised Land, but the road to glory is littered with power teams ready to take down the anointed ones. Should be a great playoffs with the East finally doing their part.
NBA Issue #2 – MVP, Big Game Huntin’, Last Shot
This issue: King James vs. Caron Butler. Two of the best ballers in the NBA fall into our “NBA Pit”. Who’s better…who’s best? 32 start…1 will be your MVP.
LEBRON JAMES/CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (#1 SEED, MAGIC 32 REGION)
King James proved once and for all you can skip college and make a major impact in the pros. A once in a generation stud, James has led the Cavaliers since the day he was drafted #1 overall. He has the strength, vision and speed to play your game better than you. No matter to him. Has proven very durable and he and his team have improved since his arrival. Problem is: can a Brother get some help trying to win a title? Shades of another #23 as LeBron has carried his team single-handedly without much support truth be known. He has voiced frustration in watching free agents sign with his competition. James is a student of the game and knows that the ring is the thing. He was behind the wheel of last season’s improbable ride to the Finals. A la Allen Iverson and his trek with the Sixers, James was one-man gang, including a stupid performance in a 1-on-5 clinic against Detroit. If he ever gets a serious side-kick the East may as well shut down for a season or six as LeBron is coming into his prime.
CARON BUTLER/WASHINGTON WIZARDS (#8 SEED, MAGIC 32 REGION)
On paper this could be over quickly, but note that Butler is on pace for a career year. Paired with “Agent Zero”, Gilbert Arenas, the duo make for a formidable offensive combination. The trouble begins when the Wizards try to play defense. Both Butler and Arenas have been known to go into funks at times, making their status as playoff contenders very unpredictable. Butler came into the league shooting after going to the University of Connecticut under Jim Calhoun. He averaged 15.4 points per game as a rookie for the Miami Heat, and the 6-7, 230 pounder has averaged at least 15 points per game each season in the NBA except for one.
JAMES BUTLER
PTS 29.5 22.1
REB 7.2 6.9
AST 7.7 4.0
STL 1.75 2.2
BLK 1.3 .30
TEAM 11-14 13-10
Who you got? Your opinion counts! Drop a comment.
Loser goes home, winner moves on until an MVP is crowned.
Results and new match up – next issue.
LAST ISSUE
We still go 15, old-school, championship rounds here. No 12 rounders thank you. What’s next? 6 – inning baseball games?
Winner – Knockout 3rd Round – Steve Nash over Vince Carter RESULTS MAGIC 32 REGION
Steve Nash (2) KO 3 Vince Carter (7) - Nash to Sweet 16
STANDINGS
East
Boston 20-2 .909
Detroit 17-7 .708
Orlando 17-9 .654
Toronto 15-11 .577
Washington 13-10 .565
Indiana 13-12 .520
Atlanta 12-12 .500
LeBron’s 11-14 .440
Philadelphia 10-14 .417
Milwaukee 10-14 .417
New Jersey 10-15 .400
Chicago 8-14 .364
Charlotte 8-14 .364
Miami 7-17 .292
New York 7-17 .292
West
San Antonio 18-6 .750
Phoenix 18-7 .720
Dallas 17-9 .654
Denver 14-10 .583
Kobe’s 15-9 .625
New Orleans 15-10 .600
Golden St. 14-11 .560
Utah 14-12 .538
Portland 13-12 .520
T-Mac/Yao’s 12-12 .500
Sacramento 10-14 .417
LA Clippers 9-15 .375
Memphis 7-17 .292
Seattle 7-18 .280
No-Garnett’s 3-20 .130
BIG GAME HUNTING
Big games and such that you need to know about…
Houston 80 Detroit 77 — @ Houston, 12-12
My first reaction when seeing this score was whether or not Jeff Van Gundy was working both sidelines in this one. It had the feel of an Eastern Conference playoff game, but Houston at home was able to finally stay away long enough to win the decision over Detroit, who has stayed very consistent so far this season. Houston was led by Tracy McGrady who popped home 29 points, while his partner Yao Ming added 21 and pulled in 13 rebounds. The wildest stat of the week has to be Houston’s free throw shooting in this one. They began the game on the line shooting 1-15 (yes, 1 of 15 made) and finished 6-22, AND WON! At 12-11, The Rockets will take what they can get in a rocky start to what was supposed to be a rejuvenation season under new Head Coach Rick Adelman. Rasheed Wallace had 21 for the Pistons, while Jason Maxiell contributed 13 boards off the bench.
Dallas 111 Orlando 108 — @ Dallas 12-17
Led by Dirk Nowitzki’s 12 points in the 4th quarter (31 points overall), the Dallas Mavericks escaped at home with a 3 point win over the up and coming Orlando Magic. Nowitzki looked like last year’s regular-season MVP, hitting big shots when they mattered in crunch time. Dwight Howard, the young Orlando phenom, chimed in with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 dished assists in the loss. Both teams are now at 17-9 after the match up. Dallas must continue to get such productivity from Nowitzski if they hope to contend in the West, especially as they need him more than anything to be the go-to guy in 4th quarters of tight games.
Phoenix 100 San Antonio 95 — @ San Antonio, 12-17
Tim Duncan, back from an injured ankle, was his usual magnificent self, putting up 36 points to go with 17 boards with Guard Tony Parker sidelined. However, the story of the night was Grant Hill. Pouring in 22 points for the victorious Suns to go with 7 boards, Hill is playing healthy and with the vigor of a younger day. If the Suns can count on that kind of productivity throughout the season and playoffs from Hill, he may be what Phoenix needs to put them over the top in a rough-and-tumble playoff series versus the likes of these same San Antonio Spurs.
Final Shot
Rumor out of New Jersey is that Jason Kidd (and his sparkling 10-15 record) is unhappy (again) and wants out of his situation (again). Some people my friends are just never happy. It’s has been a while since Kidd and the Nets have made any serious noise in the East, and when they did it was in a very weak conference, with a zero chance of winning it all once the West became involved in their post-season. Nets Management needs to entertain offers while the getting is good. They are an injury away from the aging Kidd to be worthless to them in a Nets uniform or otherwise. A malcontent is a malcontent, and who needs that kind of attitude bleeding onto other teammates.
NBA Issue #1 – MVP, Big Game Huntin’, Last Shot
This issue: Vinsanity vs. Nash. Two of the best ballers in the NBA fall into our “NBA Pit”. Who’s better…who’s best? 32 start…1 will be your MVP.
STEVE NASH / PHEONIX SUNS (#2 SEED, MAGIC 32 REGION)
Not much to look at, especially by NBA standards, Steve Nash plays much bigger than his frame. Deft shooting touch, toughness and surprising speed are his calling cards to go with an other-worldly court vision. Considered one of the best point guards ever, Nash has already won MVP hardware twice (in a row no less). His Suns are thisclose to winning it all, and this may be their turn. They said that last year however and got taken out by a Robert Horry hip check among other things. Nash is his team’s unrivaled leader, a floor coach who whips passes into assists while finding his own offense in the flow of games. Not sure if there is another player you want to be rock-handling in crunch time.
VINCE CARTER/ NEW JERSEY NETS (#7 SEED, MAGIC 32 REGION)
Carter made his bones North of the border, and parts of his game are still unthawed, although he has been one of the most electrifying high-wire acts of the past decade in the NBA. Flying at a bit lower altitude than in his younger days, “Vinsanity” is the recipient of the stylish passing of yet another great point guard, Jason Kidd. Carter is not a great or some may even say a good defensive player, but he is something to behold on the offensive side of the floor. When focusing on going to the basket he is at times unstoppable. He and the Nets get into trouble though when settling for outside jumpers, not the strong suit of Carter’s game.
NASH CARTER
PTS 18.1 20.2
REB 3.6 5.1
AST 12.3 4.1
STL .65 .76
BLK .04 .53
TEAM 17-6 9-13
Who you got? Your opinion counts! Drop me a fan mail of comment.
Loser goes home, winner moves on until an MVP is crowned.
Results and new matchup – next issue.
STANDINGS East
Boston 18-2 .900
Orlando 16-7 .696
Detroit 15-7 .582
Toronto 13-10 .565
Washington 11-10 .524
Indiana 11-11 .500
Atlanta 10-11 .476
LeBron’s 10-12 .455
Milwaukee 9-12 .429
New Jersey 9-13 .409
Philadelphia 9-13 .409
Charlotte 8-12 .400
Chicago 7-13 .350
Miami 6-15 .286
New York 6-15 .286
West
San Antonio 17-4 .810
Phoenix 17-6 .739
New Orleans 14-8 .636
Denver 14-8 .636
Dallas 14-9 .609
Kobe’s 12-8 .600
Utah 13-10 .565
Golden St 12-10 .545
T-Mac/Yao’s 12-11 .522
Portland 10-12 .455
LA Clippers 8-13 .381
Sacramento 8-13 .381
Memphis 6-15 .286
Seattle 6-17 .261
No-Garnett’s 3-17 .150
BIG GAME HUNTING
Big games and such that you need to know about…
Denver 122 Dallas 109 — @ Dallas, 12-6
Allen Iverson’s 35 led all scorers but do not be sold on Denver’s ability in the playoffs. There are teams that are built for excitement and there are teams that are built for playoff runs. AI’s shift to the Rocky Mountains is fun to see if you adore offense, but this team even if they win 55 games will struggle in half-court showdowns in the post-season. Speaking of which, do not be sold on Dallas either at this stage. They look good (again) on paper, but the Mavs’ defense is porous, especially surprising with such an intense and defensive-minded Coach as Avery Johnson. Dirk Nowitzki had 32 in the loss at home. Keep playing that kind of D and another first-round debacle could be on the horizon for Avery and Co. in a rugged Western Conference.
San Antonio 104 Utah 98 — @ San Antonio, 12-7
With Tim Duncan sidelined courtesy of an ankle injury, the Spurs showed again how the duo of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are stars in their own right versus a tough Jazz team. Ginobili poured in 37, backed by 8 boards and 6 assists in the victory. Parker added 16 points and set teammates up with 7 assists. The Spurs roll along with three players that would be the #1 go-to guy on many other NBA franchises. Just like Tim Duncan did for David Robinson during the initial phase of the dynasty, so too are Parker and Ginobili now lending their talents to Duncan.
Utah point guard Deron Williams continues his electric play, scoring 28 in the loss. He would go on to hit for 41 the following night versus Dallas. Power Forward Carlos Boozer tallied 28 points versus the Spurs as well, to go with 17 boards. This dynamic duo is the best kept secret in the NBA and comparisons to a young Stockton-Malone are not as crazy as you might think.
Miami 117 Phoenix 113 — @ Phoenix, 12-10
The Heat as a team this season has been dreadful, but this game is of note as Dwayne Wade is back from (another) injury and is cutting into form as his alter ego, “D-Wade”. Miami is a completely different team when he is on call, providing a lift on and off the floor. Wade chimed in with 31 points and 6 assists in 43 minutes of spirited play. Pat Riley was so excited that he postponed his annual in-season trip to the disabled list for the time being. Riley went only 7 deep during the game, with Shaquille O’Neal side-kicking with 18 and 11 in the win. Balanced scoring by Suns’ starters was not enough, with Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Raja Bell and Shawn Marion supplying 19 apiece, while Steve Nash dished 14 dimes. The Heat is a team that can compete in the East, but their health with the delicate Wade and aging O’Neal is always a question mark.
Final Shot
Memo to Knicks brass—fire Isiah. Oh, wait. Isiah IS the Knicks brass. Thomas has caused more destruction, pound-for-pound, than any executive in the history of basketball. Toronto, the CBA and now the Knicks. The only time he is flashing that smile these days is when he checks his direct deposit from MSG. Get his arse out of town, the sooner the better. Maybe he can trade himself even-up for J-Kidd, another brooder who is more trouble than he is worth.
Bird – Magic II – Rivalry and Rings
To be nonpareil in this world at anything is remarkable. The effort, dedication, balls and discipline required is unquestionable. Between 1980-1987 both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird set forth to battle for no less than the title of “Best basketball player on the planet”.
The backdrop for many of these duels was set on the hardwood parquet of the old Boston Garden. An incomparable basketball shrine, Boston Garden dripped in nostalgia as championship after championship banner hung from its rafters. Air so thick and humid you could knife through it, those Celtics teams used the Garden as a weapon. An ally to wear down until wilting (pun intended) opposing teams not used to its humid and rambunctious atmosphere. Add rabid fans who settled for nothing less than winning at all times and at all costs and it was a cauldron for other franchises. The Garden and its players at that time mirrored the city of Boston.
Old-school and no frills, both had their collective nose to the grindstone year after year, grinding out titles like a Chelsea factory. Fanfare was palpable as both Bird and Magic made their simultaneous jaunt to the NBA. At that time the NBA was suffering a serious image dilemma. Too druggy, too arrogant….too black in some estimations. The media shied away from such fare but Bird’s whiteness added an element to the script that made him all the more interesting a character in a league laden with black talent. It was prior to the era of European talent dotting the NBA landscape, so the emergence of a white star of Bird’s ilk was a novelty. The fact that he was a basketball savant made the plot all that much thicker. Here was a white boy who was championship-caliber right out of the box.
Boston embraced Bird as one of their own in part I believe because he was white. Bird if black would have been appreciated and revered, but I am not convinced he would have been as loved by the predominantly white Boston faithful. Boston historically has a reputation of being less kind to their black stars, with Jim Rice coming to mind for one. However, Kevin Garnett has taken the town by storm. He could be enjoying the effect of a town whose Sheriff has gone away, leaving the homefolk unguarded. Garnett, the new Sheriff in town, at any rate would be treated well by folks with a renewed appreciation for protection, regardless of his race.
Back in Los Angeles, Magic Johnson entered the league with a future hall-of-famer alongside him in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jabbar himself had been all-world in college, starring for the vaunted UCLA teams under legendary coach John Wooden. Jabbar, aloof and distant at times, was an interesting foil for Magic’s exuberance and flair. Magic embraced Los Angeles as no player before or after him, displaying an elegant cool that Laker fans aspired to.
During the ‘79-‘80 season, both Bird and Magic played with a vengeance, bringing an immediacy that the game had been in short supply of. It was a standard both would actually surpass as time went on. Magic averaged for a rookie an impressive 18 points, nearly 8 rebounds and over 7 assists per game, almost Oscar Robertson-like numbers. It was Bird who won the ‘79-‘80 battle but lost the war. In besting Johnson for rookie-of-the-year honors, Bird’s Celtics improved by a whopping 32 games in winning 61. Bird himself compiled 21 points and over 10 rebounds per game that year. Bird and Magic missed their first encounter in the Finals that year, as Bird’s team fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Magic and the Lakers would go on in ‘79-‘80 to win the NBA Finals, defeating the 76ers in dramatic style. It was Magic as a rookie who played Center in the clinching game after Kareem went down to an ankle injury. Magic, in the game 6 clincher, scored 42 points and drew 15 rebounds in the victory. This rookie made an indelible impact like the league had never seen previously at this level. Rookies are supposed to carry the luggage, not drop 42 and 15 in the Finals finale. As we were to bear witness, Magic and Bird would break molds throughout their careers.
The ‘79-‘80 season would mark the beginning of dominance for the two players and their franchises. With the Lakers winning the title that year, it would begin a stranglehold of the NBA championship which would include an amazing run of 8 of 9 years with one or the other winning it all. Only the dominant 76ers team of ‘82-‘83 would prevail in June during that era. That team, with perennial superstar Julius Erving and the underrated Moses Malone, would chop through the league that year, ultimately sweeping the Lakers in the Finals to finally bring Erving and Philadelphia their crown.
The Celtics would return fire in ’80-‘81, after Boston acquired both Robert Parish and Kevin McHale that off-season. This trio would subsequently become the frontline by which all others would be measured. In the ’80-’81 season, the Celtics would again have to face Erving and the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit, Boston would win the final 3 games and advance to defeat Houston in the Finals. Houston would earlier pull a stunning upset of the Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, 2 games to 1. Moses Malone would almost single-handedly help Houston prevail in that series, leading to the abolishment soon thereafter of the best-of-three playoff format. The ’81-’82 season saw little-known Pat Riley take over the Lakers as Head Coach.
Riley, the slick-haired, well-dressed icon who would ultimately lead Johnson and the Lakers to become the team of the ‘80’s, preferred an up-tempo style that pleased Magic and the fans alike. Los Angeles would propel themselves back into the finals where they would again defeat Philadelphia. The Philadelphia 76ers were an enigmatic squad led by future hall-of-famer and high-flyer Julius Erving. With many talented pieces in place, they were destined to be near great during that era. If it weren’t for Bird and Magic, the 76ers and Erving almost surely would have garnered more titles and a more pronounced legacy. In boxing, champions are made greater by dangerous contenders that provide dramatic challenges. The same can be said with regard to the Sixers during this era. Their Joe Frazier (both Philadelphia products ironically enough) to the Lakers’/Celtics’ (take your pick) Ali, Philadelphia would always make for a bloody and close decision, but inevitably they would watch as Magic or Bird would move on to higher peaks.
Finally in the ‘82-’83 Finals, bolstered by the enigmatic Moses Malone, the 76ers got their hardware, scorching the NBA in both the regular season and playoffs. The Lakers for once would be their foil, being swept by the hungry Philadelphia squad in 4 straight. The 76ers had hit their apex that year and would not return to the finals during that era, even though a young, rotund power forward by the name of Charles Barkley entered the Philadelphia scene just after they won their title. Boston would end Erving’s trips to the Finals thereafter in dominating the Eastern Conference by going to the finals the next 4 consecutive years.
The ’83-’84 Finals finally secured the matchup that the league and fans had been salivating over since the days of Michigan State-Indiana State. Both the Lakers and Celtics rolled into the Finals that season, with Boston winning a hard-fought 7-game series to even up the trading of championships between Magic and Bird at two apiece. It was this series though that allowed Bird head-to-head bragging rights for the first time in their careers. It would also be the only time that Bird and the Celtics would defeat “Showtime” in the Finals. It seemed during the Magic-Bird run that theirs were the only two teams playing at a level elite enough to win a championship. If one would slip in their conference playoffs, the other hungrily appeased their ravenous appetite.
The Celtics mastery over Los Angeles lasted exactly one year. In ’84-’85 the highly anticipated rematch went to the challenger as Los Angeles committed the sacrilege of defeating the Celtics in a deciding game on the hallowed parquet floor of Boston Garden. During that run neither team could produce a repeat and defend their championship. It would take until later in the decade when Los Angeles would finally break through, defeating Boston and then the rugged “Bad Boys” of Detroit. The ’85-’86 season saw the Lakers again fold to the Houston Rockets in the West. This time instead of Moses Malone doing the damage, there was a new force emerging in the twin towers of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. This duo seemed destined to perhaps wrestle control of the west during that time, and were the most serious threat to do so during the 1980’s. However, after defeating the Lakers and making it to the finals only to lose to Boston, the Rockets would not make it back to the Finals during the 1980’s. Sampson’s fragility would not lend itself to powering together with Olajuwon at a championship level thereafter. Hakeem would however ultimately lead Houston in the mid-‘90’s to back-to-back titles.
The ’85-’86 Finals would be the last that Bird’s Celtics would win. He also garnered his third straight regular-season MVP as well that year. The fitting rubber match between the Lakers and Celtics was somewhat anti-climatic, as Boston would be the franchise to blink. It was this ’86-’87 Finals that secured the Lakers as the team of the decade. The Celtics were willing but their flesh was weak. By outlasting the Celtics 4-2 that June, the Lakers would post the first title in their back-to-back run, leaving the Celtics as a worthy second-best team of the decade. It was the twilight of a superb rivalry.
What perhaps gets lost in the distance between there and here is how clutch both Bird and Magic were when the stack of chips were at their highest. Whenever either team needed a big play or someone to lead, both men would raise their hand, time and time again. It is an era now locked in the far reaches of our minds. However, a quick trip back recalls the Celtics-Lakers battle royale that emerges not as separate seasons, but one almost decade-long fight for NBA supremacy. That both franchises could stay atop their respective conferences for so consistently long speaks volumes not just about the teams themselves, but their leaders, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. In our minds both will always be tussling in the Finals, securing enough real estate to pop a jumper, to find an open teammate, to grind out another win against an insatiable rival. They were each great in their own right but they made each other that much better. They were rivals in search of rings, daring the other in a simply glorious time to be a basketball fan.
