Also, Jason Kidd was, indeed, hired as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
That’s gotta be awkward for Deron Williams…
I have no idea what’s going to happen from one game to the next in this series. If Miami plays like they did last night I think they should probably win two out of three, since they have two home games if necessary. But so far all the games have been really distinct from each other. This one wasn’t close like game one but the quality of play felt the best to me.
I think Pop will figure it out before Spoelstra, but the Heat have Lebron so they can make more mistakes…
Hoping for an epic game today.
Will Parker’s hammy hold up?
Will Wade sustain?
Will Green/Neal continue to thrive?
Will Birdman be DNP-CD again?
Can Manu step up?
There is a woman screaming her head off near whatever microphone ABC has placed around the area. She’s doing this during games, she’s doing this during breaks, she’s even fucking doing this during the halftime show! I could hear her screaming all throughout the halftime analysis! Somebody shut her up!
Yes to all of the above.
I don’t understand sitting Chris Andersen. He was playing about 15 minutes a game, shot 7-9 in those games, was grabbing offensive rebounds, and his +/- was highly positive. Maybe the analytics showed something, but to go from a major bench contributor to DNP/DNP is really odd.
Hope the Heat can get to 7. Wonderful to see Danny Green’s success - and his defense is better than his offense - imho he’s playing at an elite level defensively (I recall seeing a stat that had Stephen Curry, who was setting the basketball world on fire, shooting 1 for 13 or 14 against him at some point in their recent series), witness his efforts in a few of those failed Miami fast breaks. His spot up shooting has been white hot, and may garner an MVP, but he doesn’t yet have the dribble drive like Manu, Wade, or Shuttlesworth.
He’s a casualty of Spoelstra going all-in with small-ball. He’s only playing power forwards who can shoot the mid-range shot, Bosh and Haslem. It worked like a charm in game 4, Wade was able to get into the lane at will because the floor was spaced so well.
He’d have to be Finals MVP if he keeps this up and the Spurs win. Just an amazing performance, as you say, not just the shooting but the hustle: 6 rebounds last night, and breaking up fast-break layups like Scottie Pipper.
Glad to see Timmy finally get his offense going, I was dying a little inside with each sub-50% shooting line. 7 for 10 last night, 17 points and 12 boards. Notably, this was the first game where the Spurs had more turnovers than the Heat and still won, and they only out-rebounded Miami by 2. The difference was efficiency: the Spurs shot an absurd 60% from the floor, 42 of 70; the Heat took more shots (86!) but only made 43% (37).
So, we’ve seen that the Spurs’ small lineup is just as deadly on offense as Miami’s, the winner will be the one who is able to impose their defensive philosophy on the other: Miami’s aggressive traps, or San Antonio’s sagging and timely help.
Boris Diaw guarding LeBron was a revelation, the chubby Frenchman did very well, and it allowed Kawhi Leonard to shut down the formerly-unstoppable Wade.
Go Spurs!
I don’t think we’ve talked about this yet, but it sounds like the Celtics are going to trade Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett to the Clippers for DeAndre Jordan, draft picks, and some other assets (probably not Eric Bledsoe. I don’t know if there’s ever been a coach and player trade like this. And it sounds like the Clippers would give Rivers a five-year contract even though he signed a five-year $35-million contract with the Celtics two years ago and decided he wants to walk away from it, seems to review his job status from year to year anyway.
I really don’t see how the Clippers could pull that off without having to include Bledsoe in the deal, unless it’s a pure salary dump by Boston.
I’m sympathetic to KG and Rivers, if the Celtics aren’t going to pick up Pierce’s team option and instead rebuild around youth (Rondo, Green, Bradley), then it’s only natural that Garnett and Rivers (and Pierce) would want to go somewhere they could contend.
Jordan, Bledsoe, and two first-rounders would be a fair deal, but it seems the Clips are reluctant to include Bledsoe, because a) they haven’t resigned Chris Paul yet, and b) they like him as a trade chip.
Which leads me to the other big (sign and) trade rumor: Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe for Dwight Howard. If I were a Clipper fan, I’d be praying this didn’t happen, I have no confidence that Howard will be worthy of the $119 million he’s likely to sign for.
I’m sympathetic to Garnett, but not to Rivers. He knew this was an old team and signed a very rich five-year contract with them two years ago. He had to know they were probably going to go into rebuilding mode before that contract was up, and he’s always talking about the difficult grind of coaching and spending more time with his family in Florida. So much for that. And what are the Celtics going to keep Rondo or move him?
Fair points. Then again, if I’m Boston, do I want Rivers developing my young guys? If he proved anything in his time with the Celtics, it’s that he was much better at getting veterans to play at a high level in his system than at developing young talent.
I’m biased, as both a Kentucky fan and a huge Rondo partisan, but they’d be fools to move him, IMHO. They signed him to a five-year, $55 million extension at exactly the right time, December of 2009, right as he was breaking out but before it was obvious that he was the talent that he is. As a result, he’s a relative bargain for an elite point guard:
2012-13 salary, in millions:
Rajon Rondo: $12.91
Deron Williams: $16.36
Derrick Rose: $16.4
Chris Paul: $16.65
Russell Westbrook: $12.92
Among top-tier PGs who aren’t on rookie contracts, only Tony Parker ($12.5) makes less than Rondo.
And paying a coach $7 million a year to preside over a rebuilding team would be ridiculous. I guess Danny Ainge likes him so much they’re willing to reward him. I think I’d rather just let him quit, but maybe that creates too much bad press and would take too long.
That makes sense to me. I guess the question is what kind of rebuilding process they expect: Rondo is 27 and coming off injury. Can he be the star they build around, or will he need a new contract and a raise by the time they’re good again, which might interfere with their plans.
Plus, a good coach is an asset just as a good player is. If they can sent him to the Clippers for some extra assets beyond what just KG would bring, why not do it? Also, as you note, that keeps the Boston media’s mudslinging and general rancor to a minimum.
I have to wonder what Pierce plans to do if Boston does indeed decline his option. Does he also join the Clips to form Celtics West? He’s an upgrade over Caron Butler, who, as an expiring $8m contract should be fairly easy to move. If they can roll out Paul/Green/Pierce/Griffin/Garnett + Crawford and Barnes (UFA), with a decent coach, that’s a team that can make things really interesting out West.
He is coming off an injury, but it wasn’t a complete ACL tear, so he should be able to come back sooner than is typical.
They’ve got him signed through the summer of 2015, so if I were them, I’d keep Rondo and see how the new nucleus of Rondo/Bradley/Green/Bass/Jordan* + Jared Sullinger/Eric Bledsoe* was working out. If it’s gelling, re-up with Rondo. If not, bottom out and get some high lottery picks. They aren’t starting over from zero the way a lot of aging teams have to, they’ve got some decent young talent on the rise. If the Jeff Green they got in the playoffs is the new Jeff Green, I say roll with the youth movement and keep Rondo.
- Pending trade, of course.
If the Clippers really want Rivers and he wants to go there, I guess it does make sense to use that situation to your advantage if you feel it will improve your team. By the way, how is this happening without tampering? Do those rules not apply to coaches?
That’s my thought on the matter; never lose an asset for nothing.
I don’t think that forbids Rivers from telling the Clippers he’s interested, but to negotioate with him would require the Clippers to get the Celtics’ permission. I’m assuming that happened, or the Celtics would be raising a fuss about it, so that’s evidence that they won’t be heartbroken when Doc leaves, since his salary and skill set doesn’t fit into their future plans.
I continue to have no idea what’s going to happen in game six. I could imagine the Heat rallying and forcing a game seven, and I could imagine the Spurs continuing to attack until the Heat fade. I don’t have a clue. By the same token I still don’t know what I want to see happen in this series. I like the way the Heat play when everything works and I hate listening to all the bullshit LeBron (and now Bosh) psychologizing that we’re subjected to every time they lose, but then again Duncan might be my favorite non-Bulls player and it’s impossible not to like so many things about the Spurs.
According to reports the Clippers-Celtics deal is off. The Clippers didn’t want to meet Boston’s asking price and maybe didn’t want to pay Rivers all that salary. Danny Ainge says the Celtics still want Rivers. Maybe he does…
Either way, I have a feeling that these last two (?) games will be the break in the pattern. Either the Spurs win 2 in a row and close it out tonight or the Heat take the next two. I don’t see the Spurs losing here and winning in game 7. Danny Green may have been on fire lately, but a game 7 is all kinds of pressure on everybody. The role players won’t play nearly as good so I expect him to be a non-factor.
However, given past precedent, there is a strong chance that Lebron goes crazy this game or next and drops like 40 points with 15 rebounds and 8 assists on the Spurs. He was forced into a corner a couple of times the last 2 years and both times he’s come out crazy. I think the Spurs will have to withstand a hell of a run in the first half today. No way Lebron is coming out passive and facilitating, I expect him to shoot first and ask questions later.