Pelletier's Perspective 06.04.08: The NBA Playoffs and the Lessons Learned
Posted by Justin Pelletier on 06.04.2008
The sports world holds its collective breath as it awaits the pending showdown between Boston and LA. That's a colossal true, but plenty of other important events transpired as well. Join 411's Justin Pelletier as he takes a look at the important lessons he's learned during the 2008 NBA Playoffs in this week's Pelletier's Perspective.
The NBA got exactly what it wanted when the Celtics ran the Pistons out of the building in game six of the Eastern Conference finals, a Lakers-Celtics championship (more on that later). That match up is money, literally. If this series pays off the NBA's streets will be lined with gold.
Although C's-Showtime is important, (again, more on that later) it isn't the only story to come out of the 2008 NBA playoffs. The following is some perspective on that and nine other key topics from this year's tournament.
Deron Williams has become a truly great player, a perennial All-Star.
Carlos Boozer is a great player but it is Williams who powers the Jazz. The guy has all the ability in the world and does everything well. Coupling him with Boozer gives Utah a Stockton-to-Malone esque pairing for the next decade. The next decade is also the time Williams will be the West's starting point guard in the All-Star Game. Or at least it would be if it weren't for the fact that…
Chris Paul has become one of the top five players in the league, the best point guard of his generation.
CP3 is filthy. It is the era of the point guard and Paul has ushered in that era. The way he dissected Dallas was just sick (more on that later) and his success has persuaded me that Derrick Rose, not Michael Beasley, should be the first pick in the draft (more on that too). Move over Kobe and LeBron, you've got company. Speaking of LeBron…
LeBron James can't do it all himself.
The big midseason trade proved to signify nothing. Adding Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace was really a piss-poor effort when it comes to giving LeBron help. Those guys are all nice pieces but none of them, not one, are number two options. In reality none of them are even legit third options. If Cleveland has learned anything from the 2008 season it has to be that you need to surround your superstar with some help. See how it's worked out in LA? Speaking of which…
Lakers verses Celtics matters.
When the playoffs started, I wasn't sure if it did but now I'm positive. You can expect the ratings for these finals to rival ones starring Jordan. These are the two franchises that matter. Celtic green verses Laker gold. Bird verses Magic, Bob Cousy verses Jerry West, east coast verses west coast (without the rival rap factions). That's not even mentioning the subplots. Can Kobe win the solo championship he so longs for? Can KG finally win a ring? Can Pau Gasol look more homeless than he already does? The biggest concern in my eyes is whether the C's can keep this series close because LA is the class of the west. Speaking of LA dominating the west…
Dallas, as currently constructed, is dead.
Not only dead, but the autopsy has been performed, the body has been cremated and the ashes have been spread in Mark Cuban's garden. It's over. The Jason Kidd trade has proven to be a huge failure. The catastrophic nature of the deal is only compounded when you take into account the fact that the west is loaded with great young guards (see points one and two), guards whom Devin Harris was much better suited to match up against. Don't forget that Dirk Nowitski is soft, soft like Jell-O. Cuban needs to cut his loses and get the David Hasselhoff lover out of town ASAP. That way he can leave Josh Howard as the competent second option he is and bring in a star free agent with heart. Rick Carislie is a good coach to head Dallas in the direction they to go but eventually he'll have to be replaced with a coach with legit leadership qualities as well. Take heart Mavs fans because…
The Nuggets window of opportunity has closed.
It's hard to say that considering Carmelo Anthony is still a kid but he just doesn't have that killer instinct to compete in the west with the likes of Bryant and Paul. Allen Iverson does but age and injury are quickly taking their toll. Denver was too far away from elite status to make the jump necessary to strike while it still has a chance. While Denver never reached the status it had hoped for some teams have but…
Father Time has caught up with the Spurs.
That's not to say that they are awful and not a threat but the Lakers are already too good and next year the Hornets will be too. Looking down the San Antonio bench is like waking into the early bird special at the Old Country Buffet. Brent Barry, Robert Horry and Michael Finlay don't have what it takes any more. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are still in their primes and Tim Duncan will continue to be a force but their big three simply isn't as good as LA's (Bryant, Odom & Gasol) and it's bench is nowhere near Showtime's level. The Lakers may have other company atop the west next year because…
With a healthy Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets are a serious championship contender.
Say what you want about Tracey McGrady never getting out of the first round but this year it was not his fault. The man was a beast in the Rockets series with Utah. He carried a team full of scrubs and nobodies to a point where it almost beat a squad with one of the premiere power forward/point guard combinations in the league. Add Ming to that team and the Rockets crush Utah. While the sun rises for one team in the west, it is setting for one in the east because…
It's time to blow up the Detroit Pistons.
Just like the Spurs, this isn't to say that Detroit can't contend anymore. It's just saying that they can't win. Boston will continue to be the class of the conference, Cleveland has to make some moves if it hopes to ever win with LeBron and Orlando is on the rise with Dwight Howard proving that he's Superman, Batman and Spiderman all in one. Detroit is getting too old and it's tricks are played out. There is another issue conspiring against Detroit as well and that is that…
The last two NBA draft lotteries have worked out perfectly for the NBA.
When the ping pong ball were, initially, drawn in 2007 it appeared to be a worst case scenario for the NBA. Its most storied franchise (Boston) was the odds on favorite to land the top pick, or at least one of the top two, which was all that mattered. The lottery gods did not smile on the Association that day as both Oden and Durrant were summonsed to the abyss that is the Pacific Northwest. Although any city would have been better than Seattle or Portland, the Celtics bad luck turned out to be a blessing as it forced the green and white to completely retool and now, 13 months later, Boston is back in the finals.
This year the draft is similarly top heavy and, again, faced the prospect of its top two draws landing in marketing hell (Minnesota or Memphis perhaps). Things worked out from the onset this year, however, as two of the three teams the NBA would have wanted to see improve the most, will. Beasley or Rose will give Jordan's old team, which is already a good squad, the help it needs to be a true contender in the East. One of them will also help one of the league's golden boys, Dwayne Wade, become relevant again. Now if only somebody could figure out how to un-Isaiah the Knicks.
