NBA BeatDown 04.30.08: Bucks, Cats Have New Coaches, BeatDown Q&A, Mavs, Suns Eliminated
Posted by BL Anderson on 04.30.2008
The Mavs are soft AND Eliminated. Meet Avery Johnson in the unemployment line...he has free cheese to spare
Hello everyone I'm BL Anderson, and welcome to this week's edition of the NBA BeatDown. We've got lots of news for you around the league, and a brand new edition of the BeatDown Q & A. Incorporated in this column, is another column! That's right, instead of bothering with two columns being posted tonight, I'll just post one! Logic is brilliant! So…in addition to the Q & A and some around the league stuff, we'll start off with the BeatDown Fastbreak…
Fastbreak 04.30.08
It's a column inside a column! We'll be taking a look at all of the playoff action from Tuesday, April 29th!
BL's Take: Well…shit. You know, I had predicted that the Mavericks were going to win this; instead they went out with little more than a whimper, and that pisses me off. You know who I bet is MORE pissed off? Mark Cuban. Do you hear that noise in the background? It's the sound of Mark Cuban blowing up the Mavericks, and starting anew. This whole idea of picking up veterans who can barely play anymore and trying to make a playoff run is not the most well-thought out strategy that we have seen in the NBA lately. Dirk did just about everything he could in this game. Jason Kidd had a pretty good game offensively, too. But they allowed Chris Paul to dominate and go for the jugular, and that's exactly what happened. Paul smelled blood, and killed the Mavericks dead.
The Hornets will now go on to face the Spurs, which is not something they should be irking to do. The Spurs match up pretty well with the Hornets I think, and both teams have superior coaches in Popovich and Byron Scott. That should be a good series, but for now I'll say that the Spurs will take that one in 7. Buh-bye soft Mavericks. Next year will be a whole different squad.
BL's Take: Now these are the Pistons that we know and sort-of love in a weird way. They came out knowing that, in order to win this ball game on their home floor, they would have to distribute the ball, share the ball, play great defense, and shoot a high percentage, and that's exactly what they did. The Pistons shot 58 % from the field and 46 % from beyond the arc (6-13 3-pt FG), so they know how to get it done. And now they have the 3-2 series advantage.
Philly has been more than a success story, winning two games against the most dominant Eastern Conference team this decade in a series where they weren't predicted to win any games. Philly is still in this, if they can go back to Wachovia and execute. Tonight, Iguodala executed, but due to the fact that the Pistons brought their defensive A-game, no one else did with the exception of Louis Williams. Sam Dalembert showed his inconsistency by being passive on offense and with rebounding (4 points, 6 rebounds 2-4 FG), and Andre Miller shot terribly. Willie Green is another one who will have to step up offensively if they hope to win game 6 in Philadelphia.
BL's Take: Well the Rockets did what got them to the dance in the first place, which is play exceptional defense and control the tempo of the contest, allowing Tracy McGrady to do whatever he needed to, to win the ball game. McGrady was pretty efficient, save the 5 turnovers, and every reserve that took a shot scored. Again, a key reserve was Carl Landry (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3-8 FG), who affects games in places that the box score does not track. The Rockets will need to maintain this in Utah, but I have a feeling that Utah is not going to let Houston tie this series on their home floor.
The Jazz did not perform especially well tonight, and allowed the Rockets to get the best of them defensively, as well as offensively. The Jazz must maintain their focus, getting the ball inside to Boozer, or allowing Okur to take uncontested perimeter shots, in order to complete this series. There is no doubt in my mind that the Jazz will get this done; but the fact of the matter is that the Jazz have to close this series out so that they will be on a more even playing field with the Lakers who finished off their opponents on Monday night.
BL's Take: Man, this one was all Duncan and Parker. The Spurs will now go on to face the New Orleans Hornets. They'll need to continue to function as they have been as New Orleans is a much more well-balanced team than the Suns were.
And I would imagine that the Suns will be searching for a new coach in the off season, and maybe even a new GM; Steve Kerr made the trade for Shaq, sending Marion to the Miami Heat in the exchange, and now that move has turned out to not have much of an effect. Also, the small ball, run as fast as you can down the court and don't play too much defense mentality that the Suns have used the past 4 seasons has worked great in the regular season, not good enough in the playoffs. I would expect a bit of a personnel change, not quite as large as the one that Dallas is going to undergo, but of similar proportions in some form of fashion.
Around the League
New York Knicks President Donnie Walsh ‘reassigns' former President and now former coach Isiah Thomas; Search for a new coach is underway
Rejoice, Knicks fans, as your prayers have been answered! I still don't know what exactly you are going to chant now that ‘Fire Isiah' will no longer be a viable option. How bout…'Free Concessions!' The Knicks got that right, didn't they?! Of course they did! This is an excellent opportunity to turn things around, and select a coach who the Knicks fans are already familiar with, and who either already has a successful coaching background, or can convince Donnie Walsh that they have the right tools for the job. And also the new coach would have to convince Walsh that what he plans to do will not mirror in any way, shape, or form, what Isiah Thomas attempted to do with the ballclub when he took over in 2004 as President, which basically was see how many individual talents you can put in the same locker room, and see if they gel together. It was like a weird science experiment that went horribly, terribly wrong. But hey…Jared Jeffries and Jerome James got paid, didn't they?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH…what a bunch of bullshit.
And the rumors out of New York cite two major candidates for the coaching vacancy: ESPN and ABC NBA Analyst Mark Jackson, and Boston Celtics Associate Head Coach Tom Thibideau. Walsh has admitted to contacting Jackson about interviewing for the vacancy, and Danny Ainge, President of the Celtics, has stated that no one has called asking for permission to speak with Thibideau. It is widely considered that Jackson is the front runner for this job, as he played for the Knicks and is originally from New York. Jackson was a good point in his day, very solid. He also was a point guard during the Pacers more successful years in the 1990's, which is where the tie to Walsh comes in, as Walsh has ran the Pacers organization since…forever.
Truth of the matter is this: If I was a Knicks fan, I wouldn't really care who the next coach is. They could make Reggie Miller the friggin coach, and I would have more hope about the future than I did when Isiah was running things. Thomas really screwed things up big time. His performance and image as a coach did no favors whatsoever for his performance and image as an All-time great player. Damn shame, just a damn shame.
The Milwaukee Bucks Announced that they have hired former Bulls Coach Scott Skiles to be their new Head Coach, and have signed Skiles to a Four Year Contract
Something that I don't understand about the bucks, and it's something that has irked me for a couple of years now; they have these big contracts, and have lots of passable or near-star talents on their team – but nothing seems to get all of that talent out in the open and translate it into wins. They've got Michael Redd, who really is Ray Allen's play-a-like, and Charlie Villanueva, who was a lottery pick. They've got Andrew Bogut, the #1 pick in the 2005 draft, and he has progressed, and Mo Williams, who is just about as good a scoring point guard as you are going to get, and still this does not translate into wins.
Skiles is a no nonsense, defense-first type of head coach, and he changed the culture there until this year, and made them a winning team after years of being near the bottom of the standings after the Jordan era ended in 1998. The thing that trumps this situation over the situation that he walked into in Chicago is that he already has a TON of talent with the guys that I listed above. Now he has to get them together, organize them, and help them reach their full potential. If Skiles is given as much control as I suspect, then the Bucks WILL be back in the playoffs this time next year and maybe with a 5th or 6th seed. The Bucks have the pieces of the puzzle…it's just putting the puzzle together. Maybe they shouldn't have hired Bill Simmons after all…
But you've got to feel for Larry Krystowiak, as he did everything that he could to make the team win, he just wasn't a strong enough personality to make things fall into place. Skiles will make the Bucks more amiable to his wishes than Skiles' predecessor.
Charlotte Bobcats Coach Sam Vincent was fired this week; A few days later, former Philadelphia 76ers VP of Basketball Operations Larry Brown was named Vincent's replacement
I feel like the Bobcats had enough talent to succeed in the East, and they just didn't, even though they were only a few games out of the final playoff spot. Brown agreed to a 4-year deal, and will be attempting to get the Cats into the playoffs in 08-09 for the first time in their existence.
The Bobcats have several talented players in Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, and Raymond Felton. They have a couple of good role-players in Emeka Okafor (double-double feller) and Nazr Mohammed, as well as Earl Boykins. Brown will now have to contend with his unknowns on the roster as well, as both Sean May and Adam Morrison have been injured all season long. So the Cats have a good core group of relatively young players; the key is making it all work, and co-existing with VP of Basketball Ops Michael Jordan. Of course, Jordan hired Larry Brown, and was apparently his first choice. I feel as if, if anyone can turn the fortunes of the Bobcats around on the basketball court, it's Larry Brown. Brown has stated that he looks forward to the challenge of coaching this expansion team, and hopefully he can get them into the playoffs next year, provided that injuries do not derail the team.
NBA BeatDown Q & A
BL: And here we are, back again for another semi-exciting edition of the BeatDown Q & A. Last week, it was the very-informed Mitch Joseph, who was an excellent guest. And this week, another veteran 411 Forum member…Wayne007! Also know as…Wayne! How's the spying life, Wayne?
Wayne- I was actually going to make a joke right here, but I started my new job, and I sent someone to jail today over a $12.99 wallet. Although he did have over $50 on him.
BL: Nevermind. We'll get right to it then. Lot's of news coming out of the NBA this week, as it is the most exciting time of the year for pro basketball fans like you and I, and a not-so-exciting time for a coach who gets canned for extreme suckitude and failing to make the playoffs. Case in point: Isiah Thomas was ‘re-assigned' I.e. ‘fired' from his head coaching job with the New York Knicks, less than two weeks after being ‘fired' from the Presidency of the Knicks in favor of former Pacers President Donnie Walsh. Word also came out of New York that Thomas isn't to have contact with the team or any of the players on the roster. Now, obviously all of us know that this was the right decision to make, but the question is this: who do you think has the inside track on the new job? Is it Mark Jackson? Patrick Ewing? Or some other unknown entity?
Wayne- You know, there a lot of stories going around saying that it's Mark Jackson's job to lose. I really don't understand that. He has no NBA coaching experience what so ever. Where as you have the beloved Ewing, whom has a strong history with the team. He knows that city and he knows how judgmental the fans can be. Then you have to factor in that he has four years experience as an assistant. And he's been learning from both Jeff and Stan Van Gundy who have a wealth of knowledge that Ewing has been able to learn from. Ewing has been mentoring Dwight Howard down in Orlando, so he has a proven track record for being able to work with the younger guys. Mark Jackson has none of this, he's a TV analyst. But, this is also the Knicks organization we are talking about, and they haven't exactly made the best decisions over the last few years. So I'm going to say the Knicks will make the mistake of taking Jackson on as their next head coach, when it would be infinitely better to take Ewing.
BL: Hmm. That is certainly and interesting viewpoint on Ewing. Ewing does have a few years of assistant experience now, but I was under the impression that he was primarily a big man coach, more than anything. That certainly does give Ewing an experience edge over Jackson.
Next, of course the Bulls expectedly let go of Interim Head Coach Jim Boylan this past week, and have began their search for a new head coach. Rumors are circulating that this new head coach will be Rick Carlisle or Tom Thibodaux (who's also in the running for the Knicks job). Who is available on the open market that you believe would be a good fit for this Bulls franchise?
Wayne- I'm going to come out of left field and say Larry Brown. He just stepped down as President of the 76ers, right in the middle of their playoff run. While that may not be the most professional thing to do, it is a statement that he is ready to be a head coach again. He is a proven commodity. He has won on both the college and pro level. The thing I like about him is he is an old school coach. You play his way or not at all. The Bulls lack chemistry, they lack team work. It's a bunch of young guys who don't know how to play together. They need to learn defense, and as shown by their record, they need to learn to score more than the other team. Larry Brown can help with that. As far as the other two candidates go, I don't care about them. They would only be a stop gap. The Bulls know they are a team with talent, they proved that by making the playoffs the last few years before their complete collapse this season. They just need a coach to give them that extra push. And I think Larry Brown would do that. (BL's Note: Since the Q & A took place, Larry Brown has since taken the head coaching job for the Charlotte Bobcats. More about that in the Around the League Section of the column)
BL: Speaking of the Bulls, the Milwaukee Bucks took a step towards being mildly relevant again after hiring former Bulls Head Coach Scott Skiles, and signing him to a 4-year deal, a move that was made to add stability to the tumultuous structure of the staff. Thoughts on Skiles, and is he the right man for the job?
Wayne- Seriously Skiles is a good regular season coach, not so good in the playoffs. And that was with a talented team in the Bulls. Who do the Bucks have? Outside of Redd and Williams, they don't have a whole lot of talent on that team. Unless the Bucks do well in the draft, or get some good solid free agents, Skiles isn't even going to be able to get the team a record good enough to get into the playoffs. If they get Skiles the right players and pieces, he'll be just like he was with the Bulls, a good regular season coach, and then most likely get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
BL: In a move that everyone suspected, the NBA announced that Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has won the 6th Man of the year award, after leading the defending champions in scoring this season, whilst coming off the bench. How does Manu stand up to some of the other great 6th men of years gone by that have won this award?
Wayne- I think he has to go down as one of the best, if not the best. The only reason he has won this award is because the Spurs don't have room for him to be a starter. Put him on any other team and he's a starter and his productivity go up. He can do everything you need from a guard on the floor. He can shoot from beyond the arc, has a very high % from the free throw line, and he doesn't mind sharing the ball. Others that have won the award such as Bobby Jackson and Toni Kukoc were eventually able to get starting jobs, but the majority of others on that list either remained in that role or fizzled out when given the opportunity to start. Ben Gordon being the only name that springs to mind that has a chance to make something of himself as a starter if the Bulls would ever pull the trigger and keep him in that role, but he's so streaky that they won't keep him there permanently. So yeah until Ginobli gets a starting job the award should just be named after him.
BL: Also this week, Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Garnett has changed the face of the Celtics franchise, and the culture there from perennial losers to perennial ass-kickers in the (L)Eastern Conference. What are some of the things that Garnett does that make him such a valuable defensive player?
Wayne- Garnett is one of the most unselfish players in the league. He will get in the lane and take a charge. He boxes out and takes control of the boards, he blocks, you name a defensive element and he does it. He makes the players on the other team have to change their shots. Whomever he is covering on that night is going to have a long night. And unlike others who have won the award recently, he also translates that defense into offense. For the last few years this award was dominated by guys such as Ben Wallace, who can't score to save his life outside of dunking, it's nice to see someone like Garnett who can not only play defense but also take control on the offensive side when needed. You may be asking yourself what does this have to do with him winning an award for defense? Alot, when he has the ball on the other end of the floor, the opposing team has to change their defense, whether it's to double team him in the key, or to send a man out to cover him from 15 feet away. He dominates on the defensive side for his team, and changes the defensive strategy of the other team when he is on offense. And like I said, the man is unselfish which is a quality that a lot of the highlighted players that we see so many clips of on ESPN lack.
BL: Last questions Wayne, and we'll let you go; Now, I picked the Wizards to beat the Cavs in 7 games. Am I crazy? Or are the Wizards holding something back from me that they did not show in Cleveland?
Wayne- I think that you might have to swallow that prediction. As much as I hate LeBron, the Wizards just don't have the right guys to stop him. Outside of Boston and Detroit nobody in the East does. While the Wizards may be able to make it a close series and hell it might even go to the 7th game, I just don't see them winning this. (BL's Note: Screw the Cavs, and screw the Wizards, too!)
BL: Well, this has been an excellent edition of the Q & A, and I want to thank Wayne007 from the 411 forums for participating with us this week. Any last words or plugs before I boot you out?
Wayne- Well it's been a blast to talk some basketball with you. Hopefully I can come back for another guest appearance. I don't have any plugs outside of the readers continuing to read this article, but I do have some last words. As I alluded to in my last answer, I hate LeBron. I think he's an over hyped big fish in the small pond Eastern Conference. That's the only reason he gets so much play. Who else is there to talk about in the East? Nobody really. You put LeBron on a team in the Western Conference which is where all the big boys play currently and his numbers go down. A lot of people like to cite the fact that he lead the Cavs to the finals last year. Well what happened when he had to take on the Spurs for more than just a one game stop? He couldn't lead his team to crap. That's because he's not as talented as the East makes him appear. Make the world a better place, and punch LeBron James in the face.
BL: And thanks again Wayne. Click back next week as we introduce another guest on the BeatDown Q & A.
Enough Already, stupid jerk!
That's all for me this week. Don't forget to send feedback. If you like sending hate mail…GREAT! I LOVE HATE MAIL!
I'll be back tomorrow with the BeatDown Fastbreak on Wednesday's Playoff Action.
