Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals
Updated May 27, 2011 20:27:00 They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place but here we are, staring down the barrel of a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas. Neither franchise has been back to the big dance since they met five seasons ago but both rosters have evolved considerably since then. Let's take a look at how the Heat got there.
Chicago (1) v Miami (2)
Series outcome: Heat 4-1
Writing as a former Cavaliers fan jilted by LeBron James 10 months ago when he departed for the tropical surroundings of south Florida, it's tough to concede that his much-maligned move is paying off and Miami is in unstoppable form as a result. The Heat made a shaky start to their 2010/11 campaign despite the coming-together of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh but the Eastern Conference's newest "Big Three" have figured it out in a big way. What was expected to be a team capable of an offensive blitzkrieg every single night poured equal intensity into the defensive end of the court as well.
Speaking of defence, it's been the cornerstone of Chicago's season after the club installed former Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau as head coach. Thibodeau was the defensive guru behind the Celtics' 2008 championship season and he earned the NBA Coach of the Year award after guiding the Bulls to their first division and conference titles since the Michael Jordan era and a league-best 62 wins, equalling a league record for wins by a rookie head coach. One of the Bulls' other weapons through the regular season was their offensive rebounding - led by Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, they grabbed an average of 11.8 boards on the offensive end per game with a 1.7-rebound differential over their opponents.
And as things turned out, it was second-chance points and dominance on the offensive glass that helped Chicago to a 1-0 series lead after Game One at the United Centre. The Bulls ripped down 19 offensive boards to Miami's six, scored 23 more second-chance points and crushed the Heat by 21. Luol Deng put up 21 points (including four three-pointers), seven boards and his defensive lockdown on an unusually flustered-looking James made Chicago's doubters sit up and think "these guys have got what it takes to make the Finals". Regular season MVP Derrick Rose had 28 on 10-of-22 shooting and added six assists, but the series opener was the last time the Bulls point man would make better than 45 per cent of his field goals.
Rose's shooting woes continued throughout the next four games, in which he went 32-for-98 (32.6 per cent) from the floor and even worse (4-for-23, 17.39 per cent) from long-range as his side lost the next four straight games - which was a big deal in itself considering Chicago never lost more than two in a row all season. It was unreasonable to expect Miami not to come out swinging hard to avenge the series-opening loss and it did so, stealing home-court advantage behind James' 29-10-5 night and Wade's 24. The defensive chokehold the Bulls had over the Heat's scoring threats seemed to have eroded overnight and by the end of Game Three, when Chris Bosh silenced the number one seeds with a 34-point night, Miami was moving full speed towards the Finals.
The Heat needed an extra period to push the Bulls to the brink of elimination with an overtime win in Miami in Game Four but the series could have been 2-2 if not for two missed Rose field goals from 17 and 18 feet with the chance to break the 85-85 deadlock as the clock ticked down. Wade and James had six each in overtime and Bosh added four more to give Miami the chance to close things out in Chicago on Thursday night. The visitors did just that in a surprising late comeback, erasing a 12-point margin in the final three minutes to clinch the Eastern Conference Championship with an 83-80 win. Wade struggled from the field early but he and James were both firing on all cylinders, orchestrating an 18-3 run to end the series on their terms.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the key to the Heat's offensive success was their Big Three - James, Wade and Bosh accounted for an average of 67.8 of Miami's 89.4 points per night. But Miami's bench players have acted as energy guys on both ends of the floor - most notably the fit-again Udonis Haslem in the paint and guards Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller playing cameos at the perimeter. Joel Anthony is still playing big minutes and while he offers virtually nothing in points or rebounds, his shot-blocking (2.07bpg this postseason) is a valuable asset.
Perhaps the most telling individual statistic to come out of the series was that Rose's assist numbers (6.6apg) dipped from his regular season average (7.7apg) while his field goal attempts skyrocketed from 19.7 a night to 24.0 ... but his makes dropped from 8.8 to 8.4. If that's too many numbers to process, it can be said that the 22-year-old former number one overall draft pick opted to take on much of the offensive responsibility himself, but struggled under the defensive attention of James and the Heat and tried his best to shoot his team back into each contest. His free throw numbers stayed largely the same due to Rose's propensity to drive in traffic to the basket but again Miami got its stops where it counted.
Rose averaged a team-best 27.1ppg for the postseason but the nearest Bulls contributor was Deng (16.9 a night), while Boozer was impotent with the ball in his hands. A career .537 shooter, Boozer's field goal percentage plummeted to .407 against Miami and despite back-to-back double-doubles in Games Three and Four he was unable to give Chicago the consistent second scorer it desperately needed. With that said the Bulls shouldn't go home discouraged that their season ended prematurely. After all, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with a rookie head coach and a roster that had only played in that system - and together, more importantly - for one season. Chicago will likely take a lot out of the series loss and as the cast and crew all find their grooves with each other, so should postseason success.
Tags: sport, basketball, united-statesSunday, April 17, 2011
NBA Playoffs Preview: Eastern Conference
Posted April 17, 2011 01:16:00
Updated April 17, 2011 01:26:00
The 2010/11 NBA season proved to be one of the most headline-heavy in memory. Superstars teamed up in Miami and New York, elder statesmen San Antonio and Boston proved they still have the fire to compete for another championship while the defending champion Lakers went up and down in their quest for another hat-trick of titles.
With the postseason kicking off on Sunday morning (AEST) the Larry O'Brien Trophy is still anyone's for the taking. Denver came home with a wet sail but does it have what it takes to win a title without Carmelo Anthony? Can the Heat's three stars carry them to all the glory for the first time since 2006? Will Los Angeles deliver Phil Jackson his 12th ring and fourth three-peat? Only time will tell, but for now let's take a look at how the first round shapes up in the East.
Chicago (1) v Indiana (8)
There is no hotter team going into the playoffs than the Bulls. Owning the league's best record at 62-20 and clinching the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since Michael Jordan led the team to its last title in 1997-98, Chicago is in devastating touch indeed. Former first overall draft pick Derrick Rose is at the helm this time around and is the hottest candidate in MVP discussions after having a career-best season in almost every statistical category.
Rose has matured into the franchise leader Chicago had hoped he would be, leading the Bulls through difficult stretches when marquee power forward signing Carlos Boozer and energetic centre Joakim Noah spent time on the sidelines injured. He thrived under pressure and was the player his team-mates constantly looked to late in close games. That said, Chicago certainly runs deep in every position. Boozer and Noah's understudies - Taj Gibson and Kurt Thomas - have been useful in limited minutes and backup guards Kyle Korver and Keith Bogans give the Bulls' second unit an outside shooting threat. While starting small forward Luol Deng has plenty of minutes on the clock this season he's also having a productive year feeding off Rose.
The Bulls forced an entertaining seven games out of eventual champion Boston in 2008 but were rolled in five by Cleveland last season, so Rose's and indeed his team's playoff mettle will certainly be tested against Indiana. The Pacers, on the other hand, haven't played in the postseason since 2006 when they were beaten in six games by New Jersey in the first round. That year was a nightmare for Indiana, which suffered through the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl against Detroit, and the franchise has not been the same since.
No player from that season remains on the Pacers' roster, which could be why they've returned to the Eastern Conference's top eight. Led by franchise player Danny Granger and young sidekicks Darren Collison and Roy Hibbert, Indiana edged Milwaukee by two games to sneak into the playoffs with a 37-45 record, making the Pacers the only losing team to reach the postseason this year. Former coach Jim O'Brien was sacked midseason and assistant Frank Vogel took the reins, somewhat reenergising the club to wins over fellow playoff teams Portland, Chicago, New York, Boston and Atlanta.
The Pacers' inexperience in the postseason is going to be a key factor in the first round against the red-hot Bulls. Their go-to man Granger can be a streaky shooter and there are few options besides Collison and Hibbert. Expect Chicago to run Vogel's charges ragged, although they can probably steal one in front of a basketball-mad Indiana crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Prediction: Chicago 4-1
Miami (2) v Philadelphia (7)
All eyes have been on South Beach, Florida since the summer of 2010 when LeBron James and Chris Bosh teamed up with Dwyane Wade in Miami chasing the titles that eluded the latter pair in Cleveland and Toronto respectively. The move was divisive but love or hate the new-look Heat, they shook off a shaky start to the season, questions of chemistry and some sub-par performances against the Association's toughest teams to clinch the number two seed and book a meeting with Philadelphia in the first round with a 58-24 record. They finished in the top eight in the league in points scored (eighth, 102.1ppg) and conceded (sixth, 94.6) so there's no denying they're a threat.
The biggest question to loom over the Heat this season is their depth. Miami has three of the biggest offensive stars in the league in James (26.7ppg, 7.5rpg, 7.0apg), Wade (25.5ppg, 6.4rpg, 4.6apg) and Bosh (18.7ppg, 8.3rpg) but there's very little else backing them up. No other player on the team averages more than 8ppg, and the top honour goes to Udonis Haslem who missed 69 games due to a foot injury and is only just returning to the practise court. Centres Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier aren't getting any younger and have all played limited minutes this season, which could expose the Heat against strong defensive frontcourts like those in Los Angeles, Oklahoma City or a healthy Boston.
With that said, Philadelphia should not pose many problems for Erik Spoelstra's crew of stars. The 76ers enjoyed a resurgent season despite starting in a 4-13 hole that was reminiscent of last season. But with 12th-year power forward Elton Brand enjoying his best scoring year in three seasons and a better-than-average defensive output (12th in the league, 97.5 points conceded per game) as well as a shared offensive load between young guards Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams and franchise star Andre Iguodala, the Sixers returned to the postseason after missing out in 2009.
Miami swept the season series between the two teams 3-0, with Wade averaging 30.7 points on 52 per cent shooting against Philly. Expect much of the same as the Sixers come to Florida having lost five of their last six games. Even with more depth on the bench, Philadelphia will struggle to contain the firepower that is the Heat's Big Three.
Prediction: Miami 4-1
Boston (3) v New York (6)
What a difference a trade can make. While raw statistics painted one picture, the Celtics seemed to be in disarray after dealing title-winning defensive centre Kendrick Perkins and energy bench guy Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic at the deadline. Boston strung together 14 wins before Christmas, including impressive victories over postseason players Chicago, Portland, Denver, Philly and Atlanta. But inconsistency and injury played niggling roles in the second half of the Celtics' season as Shaquille O'Neal and Jermaine O'Neal remained sidelined and unable to properly shore up the void that Perkins vacated.
Appearances can be deceiving though. In the 2010 playoffs, Boston limped into the first round looking nothing like a team that won the title less than two years earlier. But the Cs blasted through the Eastern Conference, losing only five games on their way to the finals against Los Angeles where they stretched the defending champions to a gruelling seventh game. Like their old rival Lakers, the Celtics have the innate ability to kick the energy up several notches on the big stage and with the defensive intensity of Kevin Garnett, the leadership of veteran small forward Paul Pierce, the outside shooting of an evergreen Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo's brilliant court vision, Boston should not be counted out by any means.
New York reloaded this season with the offseason acquisition of Amar'e Stoudemire and a mid-year trade that brought Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to the Big Apple. The Knicks certainly have their scoring sorted for their first playoffs campaign since 2004, with Anthony (26.3ppg) and Stoudemire (25.3ppg) ensuring New York was ranked the second-highest in the league in points scored with 106.5 a night - a fairly common statistic for Mike D'Antoni teams. Where the Knickerbockers will fall to Boston though is at the other end of the court - they don't play a great deal of defence. New York finished with a 42-40 record, and it's easy to see why - they had the third-worst defence in the NBA allowing 105.7ppg for the season.
Even without Perkins, Boston finished the regular season with the best defence in the league, conceding a stingy 91.1 points per game. If Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal can both return from injury to provide solid minutes down low, consider Stoudemire's effectiveness in the paint mostly negated. Putting cagey defender Pierce on Anthony will stem the flow even more, and Rondo's quickness is an easy match for veteran point guard Billups. The New York-Boston rivalry runs fierce so the Knicks certainly won't lay down, but the Celtics are more than likely to make it out of the first round.
Prediction: Boston 4-3
Orlando (4) v Atlanta (5)
The Magic haven't enjoyed the same success as they did in 2008-09 when they made it to the Finals but lost to the Lakers. They flirted with 60-win seasons the last two years with 59-23 records, but lost seven more games this time around and settled for the fourth seed in the East. Orlando's formula has not changed - with Dwight Howard (22.9ppg, 14.1rpg, 2.4bpg) banging in the lane and a host of outside shooters forcing defenders to hedge their bets - and they have a deep roster of guys who can score on a nightly basis. Vince Carter (15.1ppg), Jason Richardson (13.9) and Jameed Nelson (13.1) can all fill it up from long range, making the Magic a constant perimeter threat.
What Orlando may lack is the killer instinct to win its way through to the Conference Finals and further. Howard and coach Stan van Gundy publicly questioned the Magic's drive this season and their desire to play night in night out, and both men have expressed dismay at times when the superstar centre was left to carry the team's hopes alone. And while Orlando boasted the fourth most miserly defence in the NBA this year, it has no true back-up big man for when Howard inevitably needs a rest. Like their Florida neighbours the Heat, the Magic could run into trouble against deep frontcourts down the track.
In the first round they drew the perennial prematurely exiting Hawks. The club has not made it past the second round of the playoffs in its history in Atlanta - 42 seasons of postseason disappointment. To add more chinks to its armour, Atlanta lost its final six games - the league's worst home stretch skid among playoff teams - and has not won more than three in a row since before Christmas. The Hawks' record on the road is an average 20-21 for the season but they won their season series against Orlando 3-1, including one on the Magic's floor. Atlanta could also boast that it had a Howard-stopper in Jason Collins, a 10-year veteran who pestered the Orlando big man in their last regular-season match-up.
The Hawks have several options on the offensive end with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Jamal Crawford all averaging more than 14 a night. But save for a few role players in Kirk Hinrich, Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia, Atlanta's depth pales in comparison to Orlando's and they will have to capitalise on a cold shooting night for the Magic if they want to take a couple of wins out of this series.
Prediction: Orlando 4-2