Finally, it’s playoff time
Hello, friend'o
Last night you saw reasons A-thru-Z why — even with Manu Ginobili out of the picture — nobody wants to draw the Spurs early in the playoffs: Tim Duncan. Needing a win over New Orleans to secure the 3rd seed in the West and win another division title (a loss could have dropped them to 5th place), Duncan turned into the bad guy from No Country For Old Men in overtime. Mid-range J’s, off-balance hooks, owning the glass, saving loose balls, blocking shots and dropping dimes like Al Harrington wishes he could, Duncan (20 pts, 19 rebs, 6 asts) won the game by himself while the Spurs announcers made sounds on-air that you should only make with the lights off … That the game even got to overtime was crazy enough. With less than a minute to go in the fourth, N.O. went ahead by five on a David West (34 pts) baseline jumper — after which you could hear the air go out of the San Antonio crowd — and it was still a two-possession game a little later when Rasual Butler split a pair of free throws. The Spurs just kept clawing, though, and trailed by three with seven seconds left. Right after the Spurs broadcast ran a montage of Roger Mason’s game-winners, Pop drew up a brilliant play where he focused the defense’s attention on Mason while Mike Finley slipped behind a Duncan screen and knocked down a three at the buzzer … The Rockets also went into Wednesday’s schedule with a shot at the Southwest Division crown, and were in pretty good shape when they led the Mavs by 14 midway through the third quarter. And then Josh Howard and Jason Terry got involved. Howard turned into Kevin Martin, getting to the line repeatedly and scoring 13 points in the third (seven at the stripe), then Terry dropped 14 in the fourth to complete the comeback. Jason Kidd had a triple-double (11 pts, 10 rebs, 12 asts) and Dirk added 30 points … One time Mark Jackson was describing a Terry bucket and said JT “gets the air space.” But for a second it definitely sounded like he said “gets the ass face.” … By winning five of their last six games the Mavs secured the West’s 6th seed, while the loss left the Rockets knowing they’ll be facing the Blazers in the first round, but whether they’d be the 4th seed (homecourt) or 5th depended on Portland’s game against the Nuggets. And in that game, the Blazers smashed Denver even without playing their key guys a lot of minutes … How sick was Kenyon Martin’s tip-dunk at the end of the first quarter? Hubie Brown and Kevin Calabro, who between them have been announcing games for like 60 years (throw in however many years Hubie coached; and remember he was the guy who taught Bob Cousy how to do a crossover), were left almost speechless. They were both reduced to going “Wow!” and “Oh man!” for a while before regaining their senses …
LeBron James (photo. Mannion)
The last bit of important business involved Bulls/Raptors and Cavs/Sixers. The Bulls had a chance to secure the East’s 6th seed with a win, but came out uninspired and flat (almost like they’d rather play Boston than Orlando) and got smacked. This was the game the Raptors have been waiting to play all year: Chris Bosh (21 pts, 19 rebs), Shawn Marion (34 pts, 11 rebs) and Jose Calderon (14 pts, 14 asts) looked like a legit Big Three. If anyone really believed in that “something to build on” stuff, Raps fans would be happy … Meanwhile, the Sixers earned the 6th seed by knocking off the Cavs at the Q. LeBron, Mo Williams and Big Z sat it out — ‘Bron looked like a gigantic English professor with his Burberry vest — so Philly goes down as just the second team to win a game in Cleveland all year … Boobie Gibson was getting buckets (28 pts, 4 threes), including a trey in the fourth quarter in front of Andre Miller where he stood there and left his hand in the air longer than Sanaa Lathan, and Gibson hit the OT-forcing three with less than a second to go in the fourth. With time winding down in the extra frame and Cleveland down three, Boobie pulled a step-back move on Thad Young behind the arc, and when Thad recovered to challenge the three, Boobie juked him again to get in the lane for a finger roll. Miller (30 pts, 8 asts) then missed two free throws on the other end, giving the Cavs the ball, down one, with 3.7 seconds on the clock. Inbounds to Boobie, but Royal Ivey (who got hit up on that OT-forcing three) jumped on him like Junkyard Dog, harrassing and humping his leg to where he couldn’t even get a shot off. Ivey may have even been barking in that last sequence … Other big stat lines on the last day of meaningless games: Kevin Durant had 26 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a win over the Clippers; Caron Butler scored 39 in a loss to Boston; Danny Granger dropped 35 in a win over Milwaukee; O.J. Mayo went for 26 points in a win over Atlanta; Kwame Brown (seriously) put up 17 points and 13 boards in a loss to Miami; Grant Hill had 27 points, 10 boards, five assists and four steals in a win over the Warriors, while Anthony Morrow had 33 points and 12 rebounds in the loss; and Ike Diogu posted 28 points and 13 boards in Sacramento’s win over the Wolves. Is there such a thing as a contract week? Ike’s gonna have to pimp last night’s game and his 30/10 game the other night against the Nuggets so hard in free agency, he might as well hire Mr. Whitefolks as his agent … We’re out like 14 teams …
April 16th, 2009 at 4:34 am
Duke says:
Damn. Way to go Houston. You always disappoint.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Done Know says:
The Raptors started playing ball after they were eliminated from the Playoffs. What a Joke.
They better not mess up the Draft.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:48 am
that's whats up says:
sorry Gee. Houston (has to pack) Up! …and go on the road.
Spurs had the resolve to grab the 3rd seed, AND reclaim their Division.
Now they get home games against the Mavs – nice.
Damn, I still hate CP3’s cheatin’ ass but I’m glad the Nuggets get first crack at his squad. David West was born to kill the Spurs. How many baseline j’s did he hit? Oh yeah, 14 or 15 last night. Seriously Pop – David West can shoot! Watch the tape.
Two days off then the bloodshed begins – where amazing happens.
Good luck to all.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:07 am
QQ says:
I’m not really a stat or record guy, but damn, Cavs should’ve gone for that 40-1 record.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:11 am
ToAn says:
so it’s the lakers/spurs/houston/nuggets and cavs/boston/orlado/miami in the 2nd round….i’m not sure with houston and nuggets, we’ll see…..let it begin
April 16th, 2009 at 5:12 am
Rafa23 says:
did you guys see that alley oop from earl watson to saun livingston?
i thought he couldn’t do that anymore…
nice to see him do that!!
April 16th, 2009 at 5:34 am
John says:
No mention for Cris Quin carrer high 26 ptos, plus the game winner ??? He will never do that again ,,
April 16th, 2009 at 5:42 am
rkirby says:
anybody see grant hills crossover? whooo…toasted tht bamma
April 16th, 2009 at 5:47 am
AB_40 says:
cleveland haha they should have practiced instead of practicing victory dances and their bench squad might have gotten the win. They spend at least an hour a day practicing that ish by the looks of it. 39-2 is great but it isn’t as sexy as 40-1. I wonder if detroit is gonna do that thing where they have 16 games and they cross one everytime they win a playoff game. Let’s hope Ben and Sheed bring in the belts haha.
New Orleans Denver isn’t gonna look like a playoff series because they’re both just normal devensive teams. Hawks Heat will for me be the most watchable first round series.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:12 am
LayupDrill says:
The streak will continue for the Rockets, with or without T-Mac.
As for Duncan, their potential matchups are favorable, even without Manu.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:08 am
mavs all the way says:
Who’s that other team again that won at the Q?
April 16th, 2009 at 7:16 am
92021SpurMD says:
Everyone gets that “16 games” add on their scorer’s table, it’s been like that since 2005.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:24 am
mavs all the way says:
the mavs are 0-4 against the Denver Thuggets this season.
they are 2-2 against the short-handed Spurs.
So i guess they are in the best position to win a series and go from there. I know it’s different in the playoffs especially if you have Duncan (and it’s an odd year), but with them missing Manu and they’re all banged up, i think mavs has a chance, a big chance. this is going to be a good series.
as for the other Texas team, no worries, you’ll have your vacation early. congratulations. welcome to the tmac curse…
and for the melo curse, i think it’s going to be a different story this time around. hornets future is getting bleak. tsk tsk… melo should bring chauncey to the playboy mansion as a reward.
Cavs vs Pistons: Cavs in 4.
Celtics vs Bulls: Defending Champs in 5.
Magic vs Sixers: Magic in 5.
Lakers vs Jazz: we all know how it’s going to end.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:16 am
QQ says:
@ 11:
The Lakers
April 16th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Rafa23 says:
spurs vs. mavs, here we go spurs fans:
dirk is soft and flops
carlisle is a terrible coach and never laughs
the refs love dallas
jkidd is old
dirk is from germany
the refs love the mavs
mark cuban insulted san antonio
dirk is tall and white
the refs hate the spurs
terry punched finley
the league wants dallas to advance
if dallas wins it doesn’t count with ginobili out
the mavs lucked out in 06
tim duncan and tony parker dont play for the mavs
with those great arguments, the spurs deserve to win
April 16th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Alf says:
Dime,
I TiVO’ed that Kenyon Martin dunk…Kevin Calabro’s exact words were:
“RAINING DOWN THE LOVE!!”
that’s classic
April 16th, 2009 at 8:35 am
that's whats up says:
how about the announcer last night after Finley’s three….
“Un-Freakin’-Believable!!!!!”
@ post 15 – you forgot…
Josh Howard TELLS everyone he gets high when most NBA players just keep it to themselves
April 16th, 2009 at 8:39 am
POPPI GEE says:
Houston Up!
that’s whats up you are right pimpin and it’s messed up 1 cause the Spurs got that call about 2 games back and they should really possibly be tied with us.
And we are facing a red hot Portland team on the road. Oh well such is life. It’s time to rumble!
April 16th, 2009 at 8:40 am
E$ says:
Blazers not a threat to the Rockets
April 16th, 2009 at 8:41 am
rangerjohn says:
HA i knew dime would have labrons ugly mug on this smack!!! i called that shit yesterday on the lakers propaganda tape thread.
on another note, GO SPURS GO. we where damn sure lucky to get that win.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:45 am
rangerjohn says:
by the way, who ever said cp3 was a cheating POS i COMPLETELY AGREE! how about him and thomas, cp held kurt to keep him from going up for the rebound, and when thomas jerked his arm away, paul pulled the flop of all flops, he went the complete opposite direction he should have naturally gone. refs gave a double T. the whole rest of the game we where watching saying “come on chris pull that shit again”.
on a side note, cp3 sure looked tired in teh 2nd half, those 39 minutes a game and carrying the weak ass team has been wearing on him.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Big Freeze says:
If I was the NBA, I would hate the Spurs too. The Spurs are the ratings killers.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:15 am
that's whats up says:
yeah Gee, I agree. Finley got that lucky call in Sacramento the other night – that’s the NBA… Where Consistency Never Happens.
I actually like Houston to take Portland in that series, even on the road.
Portland has so little experience I think that will come into play.
If the Spurs beat the Mavs they face the Lakers (hopefully the Jazz)
Oh Lord
April 16th, 2009 at 9:31 am
danksy says:
i think its gunna all go by the seedings this yr.
1 and 2 seeds lakers v nuggets in the west final and 1 and 2 seeds cavs v celtics in the east.
lakers v cavs nba final lakers win 4-3
April 16th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Rafa23 says:
@ thats whats up
if the spurs win, they play houston/portland
April 16th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Rafa23 says:
lol, now you got me crazy
of course it would be spurs vs denver/NO
April 16th, 2009 at 9:45 am
rangerjohn says:
@#23 thats whats up
nah the spurs as the 3 seed dont face the lakers in the second round, they would face the winer of denver/no. the portland houston winner faces the lakers (or jazz lol)
it goes 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, 4/5 then 1/4, 2/3 then 1/2 (you get the idea anyway)
April 16th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Xavier Garcia says:
Come on Dime, Rudy Fernandez broke the record for consecutive 3’s in a season for a rookie by hitting SIX last night, give the man some props! Calderon also broke the Free Throw % record.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:08 am
rell says:
Look like KG might be out for the playoffs. I knew Doc was hiding his injury. He can hang up making it back to the ECF unless Pierce/Ray Ray pull a Sprewell/Houston and go a run. Here is the link to the article.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4073024
April 16th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Tom S. says:
Wally World was 2 boards and 2 assists short of a triple-double.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:14 am
ticktock6 says:
It was James Posey who missed the free throw. At the end of Hornets/Spurs. It sucked, but then the Hornets bracket is significantly better off for it. Shrug. (I’m not accusing them of throwing OT– if you saw the look on CP’s face during the postgame interview you know that wasn’t the case) but it is what it is.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:17 am
calvin brodus says:
good god, did my nuggs get cracked last night. thats in the rearview though. PA-LAY-OFFS!!!!!
first game vs NO on sunday at 8:30. i got tix and my inner old man is a little pissed ill be up that late on a school night. but, ill still be hella drunk, pointing and cursing at the hornets/refs with two foam fingers.
Go Nuggs!
Go Jazz!
Go Mavs!
Go Blazers!
Northwest coming up!! Mile high!!
April 16th, 2009 at 10:37 am
that's whats up says:
gotta hand it to Snoop. Dude is a serious Nuggets fan.
with two foam fingers….. That shit is funny
April 16th, 2009 at 10:40 am
MetaMeta says:
What a surprise, DIME.
Yet again, no mention and no love for the dynasty that is building in PDX.
The supersweating of superstar balls continues on this site, but my team, which was considered marginal for the playoffs, just tied for #1 in the division as they packed and smoked the Nuggets in the game last night.
Guess y’all still haven’t heard, the Blazers kick ass.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Patrick Cassidy says:
@ Meta
Not sure where that’s coming from. Brandon Roy is on the cover of our current issue.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:24 am
erichv96 says:
The Nugz got cracked last night, but do you really think they were going to go all out for no reason? They coasted through the game because it didn’t matter. Mavs looked sharp coming back against Houston in a game that mattered. Rockets fans have something to worry about against Portland. Lakers are going to have a tough road to the Finals….don’t hand it to them yet
April 16th, 2009 at 11:28 am
x0t says:
Im pretty disappointed but the fact is houston aint going anywhere with artest and his putrid fg% anyway. dude really thinks he is a great offensive player and I guess no one over there has the balls to tell him otherwise
April 16th, 2009 at 11:58 am
dagwaller says:
For the last 30 games, I’ve thought that Rick Adelman was the coach of the year. Taking his team to the 2nd seed (right up til last night – 5th seed in reality). Losing his “superstar” (I guess we see who REALLY stirs the drink on that team). Having to integrate Ron Artest of all people. Playing in the toughest division in sports. Losing his starting PG in mid-season and replacing him with a younger version.
But I thought more and more about it. The team that ACTUALLY ended up as the 2 seed in the West played in a division ALMOST as tough as Houston did. I’m talking about the Nuggets, and while they don’t have 4 playoff teams in their division, they do have 3.
George Karl had to deal with a COLLECTION of knuckleheads, instead of just one: JR Smith, Chris Andersen, Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, all of whom have definitely cleaned up their acts in the past year.
He, too, had to completely change his gameplans when his starting PG from last year was traded for a drastically different player.
He lost his defensive stalwart from the past few years, when they were a laughingstock defensively. Remember all the people that thought the Nuggets couldn’t be anything but worse?
More importantly, remember all the people that were calling for Karl’s head, saying that he was the cause for all the problems in Denver, and that he was one of the worst head coaches in the League? Where are you now? You know who you are.
The same thing happened to Sam Mitchell and Doc Rivers. “They’re terrible coaches!” Nooo. Just keep in mind how coaches can turn things around when you’re calling for Mike D’Antoni’s head, or Larry Brown etc.
PS I heard last night that George Karl averaged 59 wins for SIX STRAIGHT YEARS with the Sonics. Then he went on to success with the Bucks. Still blows my mind that people thought that he was a bad coach.
PPS For anyone that thinks that “anyone” could coach certain teams to good records, just look at what happened to the Pistons and Suns, seemingly perennial playoff contenders. Yea, Mike D’Antoni is a bad coach, all right. He improves the Knicks, and the Suns drop out of the playoffs altogether. The Pistons? Lose Flip Saunders, and they go from Conference Finals every year to the 8th seed.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
PDiddle says:
LOL at KMart. After the putback, he was huffing because something smelled like stanky fish in the joint. Then he realized it was on his two fingers and gave the dap to one of the other Nuggets. Priceless.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
rangerjohn says:
@ # 37
would you want to tell ron ron he is no offensive god? i mean this is the guy who went into teh stands and beat the shit out of the wrong guy, the same guy who said “eh fuck it those dogs dont need to eat”, the same guy who got suspended for beating up his wife.
i bet if yao said “hey ron pass the ball to be instead of shooting” ron would say “you sit your tall ass down you dumb chinaman, i gots this” right before smacking him in the yao face.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
BERN BROGDEN says:
Note to Celtics:
MIKKI, SCALABRINE, POWE, BABY – Step ya game up!
Note to Mikki and Scalabrine:
I was really talking to you two.
Note to Scalabrine:
Channel your inner “LIL’ ENGINE”…
I KNOW you can, I KNOW you can, I KNOW you can.
Keep sayin’ it and you might believe it and you probably will be the only one to believe it but that’s besides the point.
Note to Mikki:
Ask Brian what I said.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
the cynic says:
@37
isn’t that why Alston got traded?