The Three Point Play 05.20.08: Spurs and Celtics Win In 7, Move On To Conference Finals

Posted by Blake Lovell on 05.20.2008

The Eastern and Western Conference Finals are now set, as the defending champions picked up a victory on the road in New Orleans. Meanwhile, the Celtics got a big game from Paul Pierce, and countered Lebron's outstanding performance. All that and more in this edition of the Three Point Play!

Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting playoff edition of the Three Point Play here on 411Mania! All the intense Game 7's are over for now, and it's time to move on to the Conference Finals. This is such a great time of year for basketball fans, and arguably, the two best teams are squaring off on each side of the map. The number one and number two meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Celtics get a showdown with the Pistons. The Celtics escaped another close call by defeating the Cavs, and sending Lebron home to watch the playoffs on TV. As for the Western side of things, we get the Spurs and Lakers, who have both had dominant reigns in the NBA in recent years. Both series will be interesting to watch, and it could be yet another lengthy schedule for both of them. The home-court advantage will once again be key in this series, especially for the Celtics, until they prove they can win on the road. But with all this playoff action going on, it's time to get down to business and take a look at the Game 7's and the upcoming Conference Final matchups.

1. The Dynasty Lives

Sometimes I don't know how they do it. But they just do. The Spurs defeated the Hornets in the deciding Game 7 in New Orleans, and now move on to the Western Conference Finals to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. This was a total team effort from the defending champions, as everyone made great contributions in order to pick up the victory. Despite a late surge by the Hornets, the Spurs controlled the game the entire way, and looked like a championship caliber team. Although the Spurs advanced, you gotta give a lot of credit to the Hornets for what was an outstanding season. Chris Paul emerged as not only one of the best point guards in the game, but one of the best players in the league. Tyson Chandler and David West came into their own this season as well, and without question, Paul had a lot to do with that. This franchise has a very bright future, as I don't see them losing a whole lot heading into next season. They'll be a contender next year just like they were this year. Their best days are still ahead.

As mentioned, several players stepped up big for the Spurs. Maybe not points-wise, but in other ways as well. Ime Udoka had some key plays early in the first half that helped the Spurs push the lead out a little bit. Michael Finley hit some big three point shots, as did Robert Horry, which was no surprise at all for that guy. Say what you want about him throwing out cheap shots, but when big shots are needed, you need to look no further than Mr. Horry. But what really was the game changer for the Spurs was the rebounding. They absolutely dominated the boards from the very beginning, and although they did allow four offensive rebounds to the Hornets late which allowed them to cut the game to three, they were solid the rest of the way in the rebounding category. This was the backbreaker for the Hornets, as there were just so many instances in the game where they could only get one shot at the basket, while the Spurs were getting multiple shots on their end. Also, as expected, the Hornets double-teamed Duncan as they have before, but Duncan made much better decisions this time around. Instead of allowing the defense to completely collapse on him and prevent him from getting rid of the ball, he passed it early which allowed Ginobili and Parker to knock down open shots. These kinds of things are why these guys have won four championships.

Will they win they repeat as champions this year? That remains to be seen. But the experience factor finally showed up in Game 7 in New Orleans. The Spurs starting clicking on all levels, except for that late stretch in the fourth quarter, and may be back in that official championship form. They face a tough challenge now though. But even if the Spurs do not win the title this year, they still get a ton of my respect for the way they have been able to pretty much make a run every single year for a title. Even though they haven't won it every single year, they've still always been in position to do so. A lot of changes could be coming for the Spurs next season, so this would definitely be the ideal year to win another title. They are in a good situation. We'll have to wait and see what happens.

2. One on One

In what was a tremendous finale to a hard-fought series, Lebron James scored just a few more points than Paul Pierce. But fortunately for Pierce, his team scored more than Lebron's team, as the Celtics went to 8-0 at home in the playoffs, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 7's are suppose to be like the one in Boston, as those two teams battled it out until the end, with the home team coming out on top as usual. The performance of Paul Pierce was nothing short of extraordinary given the circumstances, as Pierce racked up 41 points. And it wasn't one of those times where a guy just gets hot late and scores a lot of points. Pierce was consistent throughout the game, and made the big shots when he had to for the Celtics. After putting up 26 in the first half, you knew he was in for a big game. He was the go-to-guy, no doubt about it. Kevin Garnett had a solid game, although he didn't have a ton of points, but still dominated the defensive boards which was something the Celtics struggled with early on in the game. Ray Allen is still nowhere to be found, as he just can't get the ball to go in the basket, scoring only four points in Game 7. But, I suppose it's a good sign for the Celtics when Allen has a lackluster series, yet they still find a way to win. In the upcoming series with the Pistons though, Allen is going to have to find a way to step up and make shots. More on that later.

Another big lift for the Celtics came from their bench. Guys like James Posey and Eddie House came in and contributed solid minutes, especially on a great hustle play in the second half which led to points for the Celtics when they needed them. It also helps when you have guys on the bench that can shoot the ball from the outside, and provide instant offense at any time in the game. Posey and House are two of the better shooters in the league, as they've consistently been able to knock down the trey on many occasions. All in all, the Celtics just got help from everywhere. Rajon Rondo had another good game distributing the ball, as he continues to grow as a player with each passing game, and has turned into a solid NBA point guard even at an early age. Despite the game being somewhat close pretty much the entire way, they still used the home-court advantage and found a way to pull it out. That's what great teams do, and the Celtics are still a great team at this point, although they are most certainly gonna have to figure out how to win on the road. Even though they're undefeated at home now, they will get all they can handle from Detroit in the upcoming series.

In a losing effort, Lebron had the type of game you would expect from him given the situation. 45 points is not bad at all, and this shows what he is capable of, and more importantly it shows that when the pressure is on, he can deliver. But we already knew that. Just ask the Pistons in last year's playoffs. But as for the rest of the Cavs, it was a game to forget. Wally Szcerzbiak and Delonte West missed wide open shots that they would normally hit, and those were two of the guys who had been pretty solid for the Cavs the entire series. West clearly had a better game than Szcerzbiak, as he was the only other player for Cleveland in double figures, but neither played as well as they have previously. Lebron was pretty much the only offensive threat in the first half, and the only offensive threat in the second half. The injury to Daniel Gibson before Game 7 wasn't monumental for the Cavs, but they could have definitely used another shooter out on the floor since West and Szcerzbiak were not at their best from beyond the three point line. The Cavs had a lot of chances to take a lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get over the hump and take a convincing lead. It should be interesting to see where the Cavs go from here. If the Cleveland organization would find a way to get another top star to compliment Lebron's game, these guys would be in the Eastern Conference race every single year. They have to acquire another guy who is seen as an offensive threat, as Lebron can't be the only guy on the floor capable of taking over a game. Yes, they won with that formula last year, and made it this far this year. But if they want to always be a championship contender, Lebron needs more help than he's getting right now. It's time for Cleveland to make a move. If not, the New York Knicks will very likely make a move of their own, and try to take Lebron from Cleveland after next season.

3. The Final Four

Let's now take a look at both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals. The East begins tonight in Boston, as the Celtics host the well-rested Detroit Pistons, in what will surely be another defensive showdown. If you're a fan of offense, you might want to tune into the Western Conference games as opposed to this particular series. The obvious question heading in will be how the Celtics play on the road, and whether they can keep their flawless playoff home streak alive. The Pistons are a much better team from top to bottom than the Cavs or Hawks were, so the Celtics will most definitely have to step their game up a notch if they want to advance to the NBA Finals. Ray Allen has to figure out his game, and find ways to score. Rajon Rondo will have a much tougher matchup in this series, as guarding and being guarded by Chauncey Billups is a difficult assignment to say the least. Billups' injury seems to be getting better, so I would expect the injury to be a small factor during the series, unless of course he aggravates the injury again early on.

The Detroit bench can match the intensity of the Boston bench in this series as well. Whereas the Cleveland bench really didn't provide anything at all, the Pistons bench provides length and athleticism. Antonio McDyess, Rodney Stuckey, and Jason Maxiell can all provide energy off the bench for the Pistons, and they have been quite effective thus far in the playoffs. With Game 1 of this series taking place this soon, the Pistons could surely take control of the series early by winning one of these first two games in Boston. The Celtics still have to be emotionally drained after playing yet another Game 7 in the playoffs, while the Pistons have had a while off to rest up. Yes, the Celtics found a way to make it past the first two series, but at this point, they've got to step it up a notch if they want to make it past this series. The Pistons have stopped fooling around, and are now playing like they are capable of, instead of taking nights off every now and then. If there's anybody who can say they've been here before, it's the Pistons. Look for Detroit to take it right at the Celtics early, and possibly steal Game 1 in Boston.

As for the Western Conference Finals, it's really a battle of the two giants in the conference. The Lakers won championships before the Spurs started winning their championships. These two teams have seen each other quite a bit in the postseason before, but there are different players making up these two teams this season. This will undoubtedly be an excellent series, and it would be no surprise to see this one go the distance. Kobe will of course be a difficult assignment for anyone on the Spurs, with Bowen likely getting the assignment. Pau Gasol and Tim Duncan have similar styles in the way they like to take the midrange shots at times, while making a hard drive to the bucket at other times. I think these two guys will make or break their team's chances to head to the NBA Finals. If Gasol can continue to be effective like he has throughout the postseason, the Lakers will have a much easier chance of knocking off the champs. Gasol and Lamar Odom have to be able to compliment Kobe's game if the Lakers want to knock off the Spurs. They've done a great job of doing that so far in the playoffs, so really they just need to continue to play like that.

But again, we can't discredit the Spurs. They are the ones defending the NBA crown, and they'll do all they can to make sure the Lakers don't dethrone them. Tony Parker's ability to get to the paint will go a long way in telling how the series will do. If Derek Fisher can control Parker's penetration, the Lakers will be in very good shape, as the Spurs will have to settle for one-on-one outside jumpshots. On the other hand, if Parker gets to the paint any time he wants to and creates open shots outside for Ginobili and Bowen, L.A. will have trouble stopping them. But perhaps the biggest factor in this series will be the tempo of the game. The Spurs don't want to run up and down the floor, and score 100+ points like the Lakers do. Don't get me wrong, the Spurs can still win a game like that. But that type of pace favors the Lakers much more than it does the Spurs. The Lakers have energetic guys off the bench like Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Luke Walton who love to play the up-tempo style, while the Spurs bench consists of guys like Brent Barry and Michael Finley, who would much rather get wide open shots in a slow-down style of game. The Lakers are playing great right now, but so are the Spurs. The Spurs took four of five against the Hornets in the Semi-Final round, and seem to be back in championship form. It's going to be a great series, and I'd expect every game to be very close.

THE BONUS

- Investigative reports on the Tim Donaghy scandal claim he bet on over 100 games that he officiated. Why isn't this a bigger story? This guy could have controlled the outcome of a playoff game. Hopefully we'll get more information, and some type of report to see what games he bet on and officiated in, so we can see what type of impact it had on the outcomes.

- A Los Angeles TV station is reporting that Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis is one of the leading candidates for the Phoenix job. Mark Jackson has also been interviewed by the Suns. We all remember Rambis. He made the googles look cool. Well....maybe not. But still, coaching under Phil Jackson can do nothing but improve your resume, so maybe the guy has a legit shot in Phoenix. And to me, Mark Jackson would be a better fit in Chicago.

- It may just be me, but I think it's very unlikely that Ron Artest stays in Sacramento next season. The guy can clearly play, but his issues off the floor are what probably scares many teams away from him. What team should make a move to bring him in? Would he be a good fit playing alongside Lebron in Cleveland? Would he fit the D'Antoni system in New York?

That's it for this edition of the Three Point Play. Tune in next time for more Conference Final coverage, as we are officially on the road to the NBA Finals.