On The Sidelines 05.21.08: Spurs Defeat Hornets, Melo to Nets Rumor, Bulls Win Draft Lottery

Posted by Porfirio Diaz on 05.21.2008

The Hornets had their chances but it's the Spurs that will move on to the Western Conference Finals once again. Plus, is Melo really going to be traded to the Nets? All that and more in this week's edition of....wait, what do you mean the Bulls won the draft lottery?

Honestly, besides Game 1 of the Spurs-Suns first round game, this year's playoffs have been sort of lackluster. There were too many blowouts and not enough exciting or memorable games. But the semi-finals are finally done, and only four teams are left standing. Let's first take a trip down memory lane to Monday's Game 7 between the Spurs and Hornets.


Inside The Lines

Spurs defeat Hornets 91-82 to advance to Western Conference Finals

Manu Ginobili led the way with 26 points, including hitting four free throws in the final minute, to send the Spurs back to the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs held off a late rally by the Hornets to become the first team in this series to win on the road. Tony Parker contributed with 17 points, including a decisive jump shot in the final minute as. The Hornets fell to 0-5 in second-round series. The Spurs will play at Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Inexperience finally caught up to the Hornets. They couldn't handle the pressure of being the #1 seed at the end of the season and couldn't handle the pressure of Game 7. They let the Spurs get a big lead on them at home and the Spurs never looked back. The Hornets did manage to rally within three points near the end of the game, but couldn't fully recover from the big lead. Chris Paul missed a big wide open three, Peja was ineffective (no surprise there), and then there was Jannero "Bean" Pargo. Pargo was 5 for 13 shooting in the fourth quarter with four made free throws. Why was he channeling Kobe and trying to take over the game? Chris Paul got you here; just give him the ball and let him finish. But Peja might be the biggest reason why the Hornets lost. He's just not a big time playoff performer. He wasn't when he was with the Kings and he's not now. For some reason, he chokes in big games. 3 for 11 shooting? 1 for 5 three point shooting? That's terrible. If the Hornets ever want to advance further than the second round, Peja needs to man up and stop be a wussy.

Thus ends the magical season of the Hornets. But they shouldn't be ashamed. They had a great regular season, Chris Paul instantly became the best point in the league, David West had a breakout year, they took out the Mavs in the first round when people doubted them, and took the defending champs to the brink of elimination. This will be a good learning experiencing for them and hopefully they will grow from it. The Hornets are a young, quality team and I'm sure we will see them back towards the top once again.

The Spurs were the better team in this series, and they can now claim to have won a series while down 3-2. They proved doubters wrong once again and it annoys them to no end. Can the nation really handle another Spurs championship? Let's face it, almost nobody wants to see the Spurs go back to the Finals again, much less win another championship, and almost nobody wants to see another possible Spurs-Pistons Finals once again. The people want a fresh, exciting face. They want to see a Lakers-Celtics Finals. David Stern wants a Lakers-Celtics Finals because he has a chance to make eleventy billion dollars off of it. I don't mind at all. I just want to see the Lakers lose and would settle for a Spurs-Celtics Finals. That's just the hater in me.



Tony Parker is everywhere!


Carmelo to New Jersey?

The Nets and Nuggets have been discussing a blockbuster deal that would send Carmelo Anthony and Marcus Camby to New Jersey. In return, Denver would get a package that includes Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, Keith Van Horn's contract and the Nets' lottery pick. There likely is more involved to make the salaries match up, but multiple league sources said the trade could happen. The only thing that will hold this deal up is if the draft lottery drops the Nets out of their current top 10 spot.

Wow, this just shows how much the Nuggets are willing to part with Carmelo Anthony, especially when the team is more willing to keep an older Allen Iverson over their franchise player. But Melo has been kept on a short leash ever since his arrival in Denver. From the sucker punch incident to the DUI before the start of the playoffs, Denver thinks it's time to part ways and let New Jersey deal with him. With Jefferson and Williams starting alongside with Iverson, Nene, and Kenyon Martin's bloated contract, they will be slightly better defensively (which is a major improvement in the case of the Nuggets).

As for the Nets, getting Carmelo is apparently only half of their major plan. Many are saying the Nets want to lure LeBron James away from Cleveland and over to the Nets since minority owner Jay-Z is very good friends with James. The team is hoping that by having Melo, James can finally play with the kind of player that he‘s been wanting for a long time and thus making the decision easier for LeBron to come play for them. Although when you think about it, having Melo become expensive bait is kind of an insult. It's humorous in a way. Not so humorous for the rest of the East if the Nets do have Melo and James on the same team. But I'm getting a little too ahead of myself. Carmelo, Carter, Camby, Harris, and Swift might be a decent offensive team, but it would not hold up defensively. If people thought Denver was bad defensively, just wait until they see this starting lineup. Camby is a former defensive player of the year, but one player does not make a defense, unless his name is Duncan.

This is all a rumor at this point and rumors never seem to live up to the hype. This trade largely depends on the draft position of the Nets' first round pick and if it's a top 10 pick, the Nuggets may bite. So if the trade does go through, Nuggets win in the short term. But if LeBron does end up with the Nets, of course the Nets will win long term.


Draft Lottery Results

The Chicago Bulls, won the NBA's draft lottery Tuesday night, giving them the right to choose between star freshmen Michael Beasley (averaged 26.5 points and an NCAA-best 12.5 rebounds) and Derrick Rose (averaged 14.9 points, 4.7 assists and carried Memphis within minutes of a national title). The Bulls entered the draft with a 1.7 percent chance of winning. The Miami Heat, who had a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick thanks to their NBA-worst 15-67 record, fell to second while the Minnesota Timberwolves will go third.

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Miami Heat
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Seattle SuperSonics
5. Memphis Grizzles
6. New York Knicks
7. Los Angeles Clippers
8. Milwaukee Bucks
9. Charlotte Bobcats
10. New Jersey Nets
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Portland Trail Blazers
14. Golden State Warriors



Some quick hitters:

Wow. I am shocked that the Bulls got the #1 pick. From 9th to 1st? Incredible, although the lottery is nothing but a crapshoot anyway. I shouldn't be all that surprised. This is great news for Chicago. Out of the two, Rose looks like the better prospect and the safer pick. But Beasley has the potential to be a great interior scorer, a position in which the Bulls need. I can't argue with either one, but the Bulls once had Elton Brand only to give him away. They don't want to do that again with Beasley, do they?

The Heat spent all year tanking, but they still ended up with the #2 pick. If the Bulls do end up getting Beasley, the Heat will still get the player they wanted all along. See, tankers do win. A Rose-Wade backcourt with Marion (if he stays with the team) at the 3 is going to be awesome to watch.

Poor T-Wolves can't catch a break. Neither can the Grizzles.

Was it good that the Sonics did not get the #1 pick seeing is how they are going to be leaving for Oklahoma City? How devastating would Sonicfan be if they got the #1 pick, knowing full well they wouldn't have a chance to settle in with Rose or Beasley? That would turn out worse than Stewie's iPod commercial.

Nets stayed in the top 10. There's now an even better chance that the Melo to Nets will come true. But still take this with a grain of salt.


Out of Bounds

- The finale of American Idol is this week?! And Dancing with the Stars?! And Greg's Anatomy? Really? Don't care. Sorry.

- The review for the new Indy movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is ranging from decent to slightly bad. The action sequences and sense of humor found in previous films are still here, but as many people feared, the film is swimming with CGI. Now, there are some movies that do require the use of CGI to become good, but not Indiana freakin Jones. I might watch it on DVD when it comes out. Now where did I put that "Raiders of the Long Ark" VCR tape...

- Quite possibly the greatest Walker, Texas Ranger line ever.




Final Seconds

Man, this Celtics-Pistons game is great! And by great, I mean not so great. It's pretty meh.

Hope you enjoy the three day weekend coming and I'll see you next week. Out.