The Three Point Play 05.07.08: Conference Semi-Finals In Full Swing

Posted by Blake Lovell on 05.07.2008

The Celtics and Cavs have a monumental struggle in Boston, while the clock has a monumental struggle in Detroit. Plus the Hornets take a commanding 2-0 lead against the defending champions.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting playoff edition of The Three Point Play. As expected, Kobe Bryant won his first MVP award, with Chris Paul finishing second, and Kevin Garnett finishing third. This is a year where any of these three guys could have took home the award, and I would have had no problem with it. The Lakers certainly wouldn't be where they are right now without Kobe, the Hornets wouldn't be up 2-0 on the Spurs without Chris Paul, and the Celtics wouldn't have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs without Garnett. All three have good cases, but Kobe had to win one sooner or later. But if you felt Chris Paul was the better choice, yo'uve got a good argument. Maybe we will be able to see these guys face off in the Western Conference Finals to settle it. But, several playoff games took place recently, so it's time to get down to the business at hand.

1. The Boston Struggle

Well I can honestly say I didn't expect the Celtics-Cavs game to be in the 70s. Maybe I should have expected it considering the type of pace both of these teams play at. The Cavs sort of had to up the tempo in their first round series with Washington, as did the Celtics against the Hawks. But these two same type of styles clashing equals a very low-scoring game. And Ray Allen doesn't score? If the Celtics can win a game without Ray Allen scoring a single point, then they should say something about how good these guys can be when they are all clicking. Paul Pierce didn't have that great of a game either with only four points, but Rajon Rondo stepped up and finally had himself a coming out party in the playoffs. All in all, it was a pretty ugly game from start to finish, even though it was competitive. It just seems like nobody could hit a shot. Like ever.

And if you're a Cavs fan right now, you've gotta be wondering what might have been. This was the kind of game the Cavs needed to take advantage of, because a Ray Allen scoreless night is not something that will happen again in this series, nor will Paul Pierce only having only four points. And one other thing that will most definitely not happen is Lebron having nearly as many turnovers as points (12 points, 10 turnovers). Even though Lebron only had 12 points, the Cavs somehow managed to stay in the game. That has to be a positive for Mike Brown and his staff, despite the fact that there weren't a whole lot of positives for either team in this game. Defense was the main theme of this game, so if you're someone who likes a high-powered offensive show, you may want to stay away from watching this series. I would expect most of the games in this series to be defensive battles, although the scoring will surely pick up in Game 2.

2. 05.1....05.0....04.9....04.8....04.8....04.8

In case you're wondering, the title above indicates the countdown of a clock. More specifically the countdown of the clock at the end of the third quarter in Game 2 of the Pistons-Magic series. For those who missed it, to make a long story short, Chauncey Billups hits a three to end the quarter to put the Pistons up by two, although the clock clearly malfunctioned and froze. The basket counted, and the referees did nothing about it. Now my question is, with all the technology in the world, why are the referees not allowed to go to the monitor in order to check out a problem such as this one? Say what you want about it not having an impact on the game, but the whole dynamic of the fourth quarter is changed if that basket doesn't count. By looking at the replay on the TNT broadcast, it was very close, but Billups did not get the shot off in time. I'm not hating on the Pistons, I'm just trying to figure out why the NBA allows the referees to check the monitor on a close two point or three point call, but they can't check the monitors on a potential game-changing play after a clock problem. Stan Van Gundy was angry, and he had good reason to be. In that particular situation, the Magic got hosed. That's all there is to it.

As for the game as a whole, it was a much better ballgame than the first one in this series. The Magic showed that they could hang with the Pistons, but just couldn't get it done on the road. Dwight Howard returned to Superman form, as he recorded yet another double-double (22 pts. 18 boards), and pretty much dominated the game inside the paint. Free throws down the stretch locked it up for Detroit, as they now head to Orlando with a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. This was the kind of game the Magic really needed to win, and the chances were there. But key turnovers down the stretch hurt the inexperienced Magic, and they are now in a must-win situation heading into Game 3. Van Gundy should have these guys ready to play, as he knows that an 0-3 deficit would all but end their chances of heading to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons have showed their experience thus far in this series, and they've undoubtedly played like they are capable of playing, as opposed to their lackluster series against Philly. If the Pistons continue to play at a high level as they did at home, the Magic are going to have a tough time advancing.

3. The Sleeping Giant

Despite their 0-2 heading back to San Antonio, I'm not jumping off the Spurs bandwagon just yet. Although if the Hornets continue to dismantle them in the second half of every game, this will be a quick series. The Hornets are just playing at a pace right now that the Spurs are having trouble adapting to. Chris Paul is continuing to push the ball up the floor, and guys like Peja and Morris Peterson are left open because the Spurs are having trouble getting back in the transition defense. If you really want to think back, had the Suns not made the trade for Shaq, and continued to run their original high-paced offense, they may have had a much better chance to knock off the defending champions in round one. The Spurs are not a team that wants the game to be in triple digits. They would prefer a more defense-oriented style, which is what they have won championships with in the past. But the athleticism of the Hornets has clearly proved to be too much for San Antonio in the first two games of this series.

But again, the Spurs can still tie the series up in San Antonio. The Hornets did what they had to do, protect their home court, and now the Spurs have to do the same thing if they want to have a chance to win this series. Even though they are the most experienced team in the league in terms of postseason play, I can't see them getting down 3-1 and winning the series. Byron Scott has the Hornets playing at an extremely high level, with an extremely high amount of confidence. At this very moment, the Hornets are serious contenders to win the NBA Championship. However, like I said before, as crazy at it may seem, the Spurs still have what it takes to erase this deficit and win the series.

All in all, the Spurs have to find a way to control the tempo. That's really what it comes down to. If the Hornets continue to get open shots by pushing the tempo, then they could very well end this series in 4 or 5 games. But if the Spurs can slow the pace of the game down, and find ways to keep the New Orleans' shooters in check, then they have a serious chance to send it back to New Orleans with the series tied at two games a piece. The Spurs are definitely not in panic mode at this point, as these guys have been here before and know what it takes to win. But to state the obvious, they really need Game 3. In fact, it's a must win for San Antonio.

THE BONUS

- Lakers and Jazz Game 2 tonight in Los Angeles (10:30 PM ET, TNT). Should be a good game, and I could see the Jazz taking this one. However, as for the entire series, here's a stat for you that I discovered while watching NBA TV: Phil Jackson's teams are 39-0 when winning the first game of a series. So if you're betting on the Jazz to win the series, you might want to rethink your strategy. That's a scary good stat.

- Chauncey Billups won the NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award this past week. For those who view the NBA as a league of thugs, I advise you to read up on the work put in by Mr. Billups. You mostly see the pro players mentioned in the news for bad things, but it's nice to see the good things come out too.

- And it looks like Sam Mitchell will stay as head coach in Toronto. That's understandable, although I think the Raptors need to make a move for a big-time player to compliment Chris Bosh.

That's all for this edition of The Three Point Play. Tune in next time for more analysis on the NBA, and more coverage of the playoffs.