Sunday Best: Game 7’s galore
Rajon Rondo (photo. Christian Kozowyck)
Whether you loved Kobe Doin’ Work or you hated it, you have to admit Spike Lee is onto something. You’re telling us you wouldn’t watch Stephen Jackson Firin’ Shots or Reggie Evans Molestin’ Grown Men? … Assuming that Spike’s latest joint failed to satisfy your basketball jones for the weekend, fortunately we have two Game 7’s on the docket today: Rockets at Lakers (3:30 p.m. EST, ABC) and Magic at Celtics (8 p.m., TNT). In yesterday’s Smack we previewed Houston/L.A., so now let’s look at the Eastern Conference’s win-or-walk showdown … A lot of eyes will be on Ray Allen, whose postseason run has been the exact opposite of last year’s, when he started off terrible and ended up playing like Jesus Shuttlesworth. This time Ray was kicking ass early, but has dropped off in Round Two, averaging 11.5 points on 30 percent shooting from the field and THIRTEEN percent from deep against the Magic. If he rediscovers his stroke today, it’ll be huge for the Celtics … Rajon Rondo has almost been overlooked in this series compared to the attention he was getting in the first round, but he’s putting up 15 points, 10.8 boards, 7.7 dimes and 2.3 steals against Orlando. If Rondo does what he did in Game Two — when he racked up 18 dimes by living the paint and drawing Dwight Howard away from whoever he was guarding — and Paul Pierce hits shots and Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby hold court, the Celtics should be able to roll behind their home crowd. They’ve been here before; Orlando hasn’t … On the other side, a lot will swing on whether Orlando is hitting its threes; which on the road, can take the crowd out of it quick and force the C’s to start scrambling if the Magic build a lead. Thing is, they haven’t been so far: Rashard Lewis is hitting 30 percent beyond the arc in the series, Hedo is at 29 percent, and Skip is at 22 percent. Courtney Lee has hit 50 percent, but he’s only taking one trey per game, and J.J. Redick’s 34 percent looks even less impressive considering he hasn’t hit crap in the last two or three games … Dwight put a target on his back before Game 6 by demanding the ball, then went out and delivered 23-22 stat line. The Centaur doesn’t have to score a lot for Orlando to pull off a W here, just remain a presence in the paint and consistently get the ball, whether it’s to set up his own offense or keep the C’s from overplaying the perimeter … The roster is set for the next NBA pre-draft camp, which is back in its traditional home in Chicago after a few years in Orlando. Scheduled for May 27-29 at the A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics complex (the gym run by Jordan and D-Wade trainer Tim Grover), the roster includes all the big names you’d expect — Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, Stephen Curry, etc. — along with some dudes have a lot to gain or lose, like Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), B.J. Mullens (Ohio State), Joe Ingles (Australia) and our NBA Draft diarist, Jermaine Taylor out of Central Florida … After winning an important courtroom verdict the other day, Nets owner Bruce Ratner says he’s ready to break ground on the long talked-about $800 million Brooklyn arena project this fall. It should be finished just in time for LeBron to not want to play there … We’re out like the New Jersey Nets …
May 17th, 2009 at 1:58 am
the_don_mega (representin' the 3 stars and a sun) says:
pretty early smack today…
May 17th, 2009 at 2:26 am
tony says:
i hated kobe doin work. it was basically the stuff we get on a regular national game but with kobe commentating and he is about as interesting as a chris rock movie. what a total waste of time. there are quite a few players in the league who are good players and interesting to listen too. how great would it have been with kg?
May 17th, 2009 at 2:46 am
the_don_mega (representin' the 3 stars and a sun) says:
@ tony… if they have KG on it… it should be called… CUSSIN’ WITH KG instead… LOL!
May 17th, 2009 at 2:51 am
uneeda says:
Great post. Whatever your drinking its working.
May 17th, 2009 at 2:57 am
weezy f says:
are you kidding kobe doin work was amazing..the way he knows the game is unbelievable to me basketball will never be the same now when im on the court ill be thinking and analyzing things more
May 17th, 2009 at 3:26 am
JuiceMode says:
Jesus Shuttlesworth, Jackie Moon, Big Baby, The Truth, etc and all that experience going against a team with a player best known just for being a slam dunk champ and a bunch of no names making guarantees in their first ever game 7 is funny. The Magic has got a choker coach and an even bigger choker in their assistant coach, who has never won a game 7 btw
May 17th, 2009 at 4:20 am
jericho d. niera says:
got celts pulling out the w. rayray gets out of slump. hope house dont strut around like they won the trophy already though.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:50 am
blast in yo face says:
okay juice. it’ll be funny when you gotta eat yo words after the game. normally id go for the celts, but theyr extremely overrated. unless theres a ton of homecooking i wish i could see your face since you seem so sure-
May 17th, 2009 at 5:29 am
BNZA says:
I would love to see the Celtics make it, but I think the Magic would be a tougher matchup for Cleveland. I´m afraid Lebron will just destroy Boston, looking at the roll the Cavs are on in the playoffs so far.
But my heart still says: Go Celtics!
May 17th, 2009 at 5:51 am
QQ says:
Time for the real…
Of course, I’m gonna STILL go with the Magic. After two ugly, ugly losses, we got Game 6 by going to Dwight while still going with our set plays. Hopefully, we hit our threes, and if we aren’t, just drive the damn ball to the hole (which of course isn’t that easy, because the C’s defensive schemes are designed to defend that).
But right now, as I said before the series began, we’re the better team. Thing is, those damn Celtics have proven they have heart. So to win this, we gotta show OUR heart and destroy them fools.
Magic in 7.
@ 6:
Taking a jab at Ewing when he accounts for about 2-3 percent of what’s happening to the Magic? Priceless.
So that’s why the Mavs lost. Because Darrell Armstrong is one of their assistant coaches.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:58 am
sans says:
The only reason that the MAVS WON was because of Darrel Armstrong…that dude has more hardworking grit and energy to him than the entire Clippers organization.
Seriously though, Ingles should be a Lottery pick. Mark Price taught him to shoot, he’s a gunner with height, although I have no idea how athletic he is (sometimes when you watch Youtube clips the comp looks terrible enough to allow anyone with height to dunk on them). The steal of the draft whenever he goes.
May 17th, 2009 at 8:08 am
sans says:
I was talking about the first round with the Mavs.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:10 am
that's whats up says:
Eddy Curry - Whippin’ It Out
A Spike Lee ‘Joint’
May 17th, 2009 at 9:14 am
that's whats up says:
…and the Nets arena is being built in New York City.
That will take at least 7 years to finish after all of the “delays”, as in payoffs, greasing and the sudden influx of “permits” that have to be secured and paid in full, in cash.
The re-build of the WTC was supposed to be finished in late 2007 originally - the last time I looked all the underground work was still in progress
May 17th, 2009 at 9:35 am
doc says:
Hell of a day to be a b-ball fan.For my bread I would pick LA and Boston,but who knows fucking with this year.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:46 am
JuiceMode says:
Ok, blast, lookin forward to it. But these Celtics aren’t overrated. They are this year’s “cinderella team”, if you will. They are longshot underdogs who have taken a bigger, better (but mentally weak) Magic team to seven games. No team left standing right now would trade players with them. The current Cs roster has just taken hustle and scrappiness to a higher level. Even a player like Scal has become a threat, well not really, but at least an outside shot threat. They should let him sing “Love Me Sexy” before the game.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:51 am
JuiceMode says:
@10
Took a jab because I’ve never heard of an assistant coach making guarantees before. So does that make it a 2-3% guarantee then?
May 17th, 2009 at 10:38 am
nckdmss says:
@JuiceMode…
“They are this year’s ‘cinderella team’…”
You forget about the other game 7 today?
May 17th, 2009 at 11:01 am
jzsmoove says:
GO Rockets!!!! GO Magics!!!!!!!
May 17th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Kermit The Washington says:
“Kobe Doin’ Work” was unbelieveable. At first, I was like “please don’t be boring, please don’t be boring”. But it wasn’t that type of film. I was expecting a “Come Fly With Me”-type of thing, but this was so different. I now see why Kobe must have felt like he needed “his own team”. He brings SO much to the table, and that was being stifled before.
Seriously, how could he have a voice on a team with Shaq, Payton, Malone, etc? Conflict was inevitable on a team like that, and now, even though they aren’t an instant title grabbing machine, they are a smooth running machine with Phil at the helm and Kobe as his #1.
May 17th, 2009 at 11:40 am
JuiceMode says:
@18
doh! oops. your right, man. lol. eastern cinderella then?
May 17th, 2009 at 11:53 am
CCB says:
Was it me or were there far to many obligatory Nike Hyperdunk shots? Other than that the Kobe Spike Lee Joint was pretty slick. I think as long as they don’t overdo it then we could definitely use those during the summer when people outside of New York and LA don’t have any hoops fixes to get high on. I don’t think they will need quite as many cameras for a Monta Ellis ‘Moped Diaries’ video or a Tony Parker evening with Eva video, but it would definitely be worth the minutes invested to do at least 5 of those per year. Celtics and Rockets win today. Call it the ESPN jinx, kind of like the SI cover jinx.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
dk says:
@2 and the rest of the Dime morons, Kobe ” Doin Work ” ( Horrible title and horrid piano music ) is what you get when you sit fucking court side, not what you get when your watching National TV… I would pay extra to see some games during the season and/or playoffs from that perspective…
May 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
dk says:
Oh, and my favorite part is how Phil stepped aside at one point, Kobe had the team huddled around the clip board directing traffic like he was the zen master, classic Phil. All the while telling Kobe he better not lose focus…lmao, consummate professional but I bet 75% off the ignorant bastards on here think Phil is ” overrated ” .
May 17th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
dk says:
Phil Jackson 1026 wins 431 losses (.704) Life time… Wait, make that 1027 after today.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
dk says:
Red Auerbach 938 wins 479 losses (.662)
Boston sucks, Red did this with a league filled with watered down teams….
May 17th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
dk says:
Pat Riley 1210 wins 694 losses (.636)
Second best coach ever….
May 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
dk says:
and I better not here shit about Lenny Wilkins, or Ill start talking about McDonalds.
May 17th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
dk says:
@13 Theres a joke some where about a Jason Williams after party…
May 17th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
E$ says:
And starting for the LA Lakers……JOEY CRAWFORD!
May 17th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
dk says:
@30 Ha!
For the visiting Houston Ra- ra ra rockets -
Maaaaaark Wunderlich,
Moooonty Mccutchen,
and Toooom ( Ill give phantom T’s to the greatsest player ever ) Washington
May 17th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Austin Burton says:
@dk — Tell me again why any refs would be on Houston’s side?
May 17th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
dk says:
LA Lakers -
Houston
wins 53 losses 29
Utah ( some experts picked to play very well through out the playoffs and only won 3 games in April or our record would have been money )
wins 48 losses 34
Cleavlands opponents -
Detroit ( over the mountain ) Pistons
wins 39 losses 43
Atlanta ( we only can try to play at home, half the time ) Hawks
wins 47 losses 35
Synopsis - Cleavland is playing bums and even a dismantled Houston team is 3 times the team that Atlanta ( will ever be ) or that Detroit is now. Cleavland sucks and you guys are sorry bandwagon fans…
May 17th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
dk says:
@32 So there would be a game 7 on this wonderful Sunday… I have seen a few mysteriously unexpected game 7’s in my time… a few….
Lakers by 12
May 17th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
tp says:
@ 33
trust me, only biased fans will ignore what you mentioned up there.
regardless, this doesnt give the lakers a right to be playing with very little heart, and it shouldnt take away from the fact that cleveland has been blowing teams out. they are on a mission, the lakers are still acting like they dont care and it shows.
i’m at borderline disgust with the way the lakers are playing.. even as a laker fan, its hard to not cheer for these rockets.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
dk says:
@35 Believe me I know what you mean. Its actually only happening in Houston and Denver will bring the competition back out of em’ . Im guessing they thought Houston would lay down after Ming and then again after the forty piecing…
May 17th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
dk says:
@35 Game 4 was won because of a slight free throw advantage and a couple threes in which Houston jacked 30 prayers… And mind you the was with a shit Laker team on both ends the floor for a bout 40 minutes…
Game 6 I didnt see but according to everything I have read and seen it was absolutely disgusting to watch, yet the Lakers cut it to 2 or 3 at one point…
Cleavland seems to be more hungry but their also playing teams that believe they have no chance and they also can do no wrong….
May 17th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
dk says:
Got D?!?! 6 minutes = 0 points…
May 17th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Austin Burton says:
@dk — Can’t blame the refs for blowout losses in Game 4 and Game 6. And if the League wants to sway series to go seven games, why haven’t the Cavs been touched yet? Wouldn’t they benefit from having LeBron on TV more often? Sorry, the one thing Lakers fan have no business complaining about is bad ref treatment.
May 17th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
tp says:
@39
refs have been inconsistent, but thats part of the nba today. thats why you will never hear me bitch about it.
as for the lakers.. if bynum keeps this up, we should win the chip.
May 17th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Kermit The Washington says:
Good game. BUT…you saw Gasol getting up for this one because Scola got under his skin. Well, Gasol, THAT’s how you play. I feel like Will Smith in Bad Boys…THAT’s HOW YOU DRIVE! FROM NOW ON, THAT’S HOW YOU DRIVE!!
May 17th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
dk says:
@41 lol Im praying he hears you man… When Bynum gets that lift back in his knee, we got this.
@39 Well, typically in the playoffs the golden rule is to let them play, today that was the case, thank God. The Lakers had 4 more free throw attempts and I remember the Farmar bump being questionable, but thats whatever, he did get bumped but he missed the attempt from the stripe. The ball never lies.
This victory was all defense and Kobe we all know cant play D……… The Lakers even had 4 more turn overs. A decent game now lets crank this shiz up and get Denver in the building.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
dk says:
Lakers starting five, nine blocks!
May 17th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
dk says:
“Even though I’m not playing, I’m guaranteeing a win,” Ewing said to ESPN Radio 980 in Washington.
Wow, coming from a man who has made so many of these, I would be shaking. After this was stated there should have been a maniacal MJ laugh cued in the background.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Dagomar says:
Suffice to say that without Gasol Kobe’s reputation would have taken a nosedive today. Brutal game from #24.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
dk says:
Celtics by 3
May 17th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
dk says:
@45 Maybe Im the idiot here… But I seen Kobe come out in attack mode but quickly realized it wasnt necessary and differed to his teammates 75% of the time. Kobe had 12 total FG’s and four of those being threes! Great point dude, great point. Glad to see the Dime followers stick to their plan, talk shit with no factual basis or bothering to even view the game…
May 17th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
dk says:
Dagomar, your site sucks…
May 17th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
tp says:
@45
hmm i’ll bite at this obvious troll.. most of gasol’s damage was done when the game was already in hand. it was actually bynum’s defense in the first quarter that opened this game up.
May 17th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
the truth says:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J2zudcnYkY
I don’t think KG has the right to say this now, he’s not loading up the pumps and the uzis, he’s loading up the suitcase coz he’s gonna go on vacation soon.
Great game by L.A., as long as Billups is held in check, no way the Nugs can beat LA.
Oh yeah, this has been said a million times already, but it’s nice to see how Mamba reacts on game 3in Denver….
May 17th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
JoeGym says:
Is it just me or does JJ Redick look like he wants NO part of shooting the ball…and he’s a shooter
May 17th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
dk says:
What an absolute asshole. NBA players take a step frwd with a great show ” doin work ” of the internal mechanics ofa game without the ” thuggery ” . Then this ignorant bastard talks like a terrorist.
May 17th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
dk–This has been pretty entertaining. Just rant after rant of “Fuck you if don’t like the Lakers.” A little more straight-forward than some of the others. Good stuff.
Oh yeah, the word is “deferred” not “differed”
May 17th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
ponky_alolor says:
celts down big with 2 minutes to go. gotta tip hat for the defending champs. they played with heart.
May 17th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
QQ says:
Magic wins!!!
Great, great game by the Magic. Celts put up a fight, but ran out of gas in the end. Good thing my Magic didn’t throw away the lead. With 3 minutes to go and a 19 point lead, I thought ‘Ok, no matter how fucking bogus we play to give away the lead, 3 minutes aint enough for the green fools to steal this’. LOL.
CONFERENCE FINALS, BITCHES!
@ 44:
He IS right this time, so pull your panties up, bitch.
And to that guy ‘jamesinva’:
You told me you’ll love to see the Magic lose just to see me ‘IN PAIN’.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
So I guess, we won, eh??? I’M STILL NOT IN PAIN!!! WOOOOHOOO!!!!!
May 17th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
QQ says:
Also, nice to see the Magic handle the win. No career bench guys screaming like they won the chip (Hello, Eddie House), no waving bye bye to the other team(Glen Davis did that when they fucking tied the series at 2-2. Yeah, not won, but tied. Classy!), no over the top celebration whatsoever after the win.
Good job, guys.
May 17th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
dk says:
@55 I completely agree. Boston wins a game and they act like its their 47th championship. I guess when you wear the Celtic green ( greed ) it means you were balling right next to Bill Russell every game and for every win… Losers!!! Garnett wouldnt have done shit out there tonight thats for sure. Hopefully he goes home and takes out one of those guns and does the right thing for society or at least bring that arsenal to J Williams house for a how to!
Lakers / Orlando about a week away!
May 17th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
dk says:
Oh, and for the idiots that post and know absolutely shit about whats going on. Boston lost a game 7 at home!
Chris Webber ” Orlando best team in the NBA ” .
Charles Barkley ” Orlando takes out Cleavland ” .
PS: You have no idea how ecstatic I am that I dont have to see Big Fat Baby every other night or Brian (I would have been a bad ass pirate ) Scalibrinenene…
May 17th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
e says:
KOBE DOING WORK WAS EACK I EXPECTED TO SEE MORE OF A PERSONAL SIDE WITH HIM WHAT I GOT WAS A MAN TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF BASKETBALL ANY PERSON THAT HAS A BASKETBALL IQ ALREADY ISNT IT INTERESTING HE TALK SO MUCH TEAM BASKETBALL BUT NEVER PLAYS TEAM BASKETBALL UNLESS HES TOTALLY OFF O HIS SHOTS SMH KOBE IS WAY BETTER AS A PLAYMAKER TO ME HIS BEST SEASON WAS WHEN PHIL USED HIM AS A 2 GUARD BUT HE HANDLED MOST OF THE BALL HANDLING RESPONSIBILITIES HES MUCH BETTER WHEN HE GETS HIS TEAM INVOLVED
May 17th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
dk says:
@e Hey man, WHO THE FUCK YOU SCREAMING AT bro’ ? OMG that hurt my brain.
May 19th, 2009 at 6:00 am
matt says:
It seemed to me that Kobe cares about basketball more than anyone else on the team. Everyone else was just saying yeah yeah yeah Ok, but Kobe is just rambling on non stop
I enjoyed the film.