May22

Good, bad, hope in Mike Woodson

by Kyle Inman on May 22nd, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Posted In: NBA

Mike Woodson will return as Knicks head coach next season and now his focus must be on getting them out of the first round.

The Knicks are working on a deal that would make coach Mike Woodson the head man in charge.  It’s clear that Woodson will be back for at least another year and the Knicks apparently have no interest in recently fired Stan Van Gundy or trying to pull Phil Jackson back from retirement.

The good is that Woodson went 18-6 as interim head coach after taking over for Mike D’Antoni to end the regular season.  The Knicks sealed up a playoff spot when it could have went the other way and he put the ball back in the hands of his star, Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony played some of the best basketball of his career in April.  He averaged 31 points per game for the month and showed that he has the talent to be an elite level superstar under Woodson.  Anthony has Woodson’s back 100% and has asked for him back saying that he is a very big believer in the things that Woody has done.

Woodson immediately demanded accountability on defense and the Knicks responded by clamping down on the defensive end.  This will be good for Amare Stoudemire who is a complete defensive liability out there.  Anthony hasn’t been known to be in love with playing defense either, but somehow Woodson got the effort out of them.

The bad is that all the great things that Woodson’s team did to end the season all went away when the playoffs started.  Knicks were a much better team than they showed against the Miami Heat in the first round.

Of course, Woodson isn’t responsible for knee injuries to Baron Davis and Iman Shumpert and he is certainly not responsible for Stoudemire sticking his hand through fire extinguisher glass mid-series.  However his lack of adjustments on the offensive end were extremely frustrating.

Woodson tried too much iso ball in the playoff with Melo when the Heat defense was clearly keying in on him.  Steve Novak was a big shot maker all season for the Knicks and Woodson failed to get anything out of him in the playoff.  He needed some screens or somehow the coach needed to figure out how to get him a couple of shots with the Knicks offense desperately needing points.

He chose to let J.R. Smith fire away and shoot the Knicks right out of the first round.  When it was clear that Smith couldn’t hit anything he still left him out there to keep shooting.  It was just clear all series long that Woodson isn’t the best at making offensive adjustments and the defense didn’t really show up either.

The season means nothing without post-season success and that’s something that Woodson has never really had besides two second round visits with the Hawks that both resulted in getting swept up in round two.

The hope is that Woodson continues to improve as coach, learn his players, and take the Knicks to the next level, which is a deep playoff run.  Getting him an offensive coordinator is a good idea because it would take some of the pressure off of him to make offensive adjustments.  He just needs somebody to fall back and draw up plays for him that involve ball movement and screens.

The relationship between Carmelo and Woodson is huge for the success of the team and I hope it stays healthy and the two maintain a high level of respect for eachother.  Both have proven that they can get it done at the regular season level, but must find a way to carry that over into the post-season or it’s a failure for both.

At the end of the day I am not mad about the Knicks resigning Woodson.  He’s earned it and despite his flaws being made clear in the playoffs, I’m hopeful for what he can accomplish in New York.

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May21

Lakers face vacation

by Kyle Inman on May 21st, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Posted In: NBA

Kobe faces his own mortality as the Lakers try to rally from a 3-1 hole in Oklahoma City tonight.

The Los Angeles Lakers have their backs against the wall as they are down 3-1 to the Thunder with a presumable closeout game in Oklahoma City tonight.

The last two games that the Lakers have lost are by a combined five points.  They have played well enough to be in this series, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

The changing of the guard in LA from all-Kobe to team ball has played out awkwardly on the court.  Lakers were up nine last game on their home court after three quarters and couldn’t hold the lead.  They got there by dumping the ball into Andrew Bynum combined with Bryant hitting big shots.  However in the fourth quarter it was all Bryant trying to win it like he has done so many times before.  Instead of feeding the ball down low, Bryant was jacking extremely difficult contested fall-away jumpers that didn’t have a chance at going in.

As good as Bryant is and has been, the only exploitable weakness on the floor for the Thunder has been Bynum’s ability to dominate in the paint.  Lakers needed to slow down this series as much as possible and almost eliminate the jumper from their game altogether.  Instead it came down to Bryant not really having the faith in his teammates.

Despite the Thunder being a younger, faster, better team at this point, the Lakers could have won had they played it right.  Instead Kobe is calling out Pau and Bynum just seems to not really care one way or the other.

So now they face elimination and the usual myriad of offseason question marks if they lose, but really they just came up against a younger and better opponent in the Thunder.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook provide too much firepower to try and contain both especially with the perimeter defenders that the Lakers have at their disposal.  James Harden also provides a spark and the role players have been brilliant at doing the little things right.

It took a Durant clutch three for the Thunder to win last game, but look for this one to come a little easier.  The Lakers are defeated and everybody knows it… besides Bryant that is.  I don’t see any way they can climb out of this hole, but great players are capable of great things so I will never say Bryant is out of it until it’s said and done.

Looking forward the Thunder and Spurs will be a great battle in the Western Conference Finals.  I still think the Thunder have the upper hand despite San Antonio’s flawless 8-0 record through two rounds.

If the Lakers can win today then you never know because the series will go back to the Staples Center for game-6.  So a win today could equal a home win in the next game and just like that the series is all tied up.  I think it’s done tonight and the Lakers can book their vacation plans now.

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May20

Blueprint for big two

by Kyle Inman on May 20th, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Posted In: NBA

Coach Spoelstra has the blueprint of what his team needs to look like for the rest of the way. If he can get the big two to execute like today, Miami is in for another finals run.

It wasn’t pretty early in the first half, but the Miami Heat survived Bankers Life and the Indiana Pacers as their two superstars lived up to their rating.  Series is now tied 2-2.

LeBron James did exactly what a 3-time NBA MVP should do and found a way to win a tough road playoff game even after his team didn’t respond early.  He took the lead scoring role and that’s exactly how the Heat need to play.  He’s the best player on the team and has to have a killer instinct like he was forced into having today.

LBJ had 40 Pts, 18 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 Blk and absolutely put on the type of performance that gets him crowned the best player on the planet.

Dwyane Wade started off very slow hitting only one field goal in his first 22 minutes.  He then did what a playoff tested warrior should do and came up huge in the third and fourth quarters.

Wade finished with 30 points, 9 Reb, and 6 Ast and then the two hugged it out.  Wade came completely alive when people were doubting him and that’s what the elite players do.

Udonis Haslem got elbowed in the eye by Lou Amundson and started making shots which included four big jumpers in the fourth quarter.  That’s what the team needs because they don’t get much help outside of LeBron and Wade. Hitting jumpers has always been in Haslem’s game and he’s another guy that has a ring and has done it at the biggest times throughout his career.

This is why I always say that if James and Wade are two of the top five players in the world then losing Bosh shouldn’t be a problem.  James is the most physically gifted player in the world.  He is bigger, faster, and stronger than any everybody else and is the complete package. If Wade can score like he did today then those two are enough to run through the East.

As good as the Pacers are and as tough as they have been I don’t believe that it’s going to be enough to take out the Heat.  I don’t think the Celtics or Philly has enough on the other side of the bracket.  If Batman and Robin can takeover games like we all just saw they were capable of then the Heat are right back in the title picture if there was any doubt from the last two beatings they took.  I don’t see teams with enough firepower even with not much else on the team other than the big two.

Playoff time is where superstars make their names and I’m glad Wade realized that today and played a great game.  The formula has been revealed and that is to have their two megastars get all the buckets with James being the lead horse.  Spoelstra has to ride his lead horse and turn him into the Cavs era LBJ just like today and they will get this series.

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May20

Superstar sense of urgency

by Kyle Inman on May 20th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Posted In: NBA

It's time for Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to play with a life or death sense or urgency today to avoid going down 3-1.

The Miami Heat find themselves down 2-1 in the series to the Indiana Pacers with game four coming up in less than two hours in Indy without Chris Bosh.

I expect LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to come out with a sense of urgency.  The type of urgency that a team on the brink of extreme underachievement after they put themselves in the position of championship or bust needs to show to save face.

The Pacers are one of the biggest and deepest teams in the league.  There is no real superstar, but instead a solid group of emerging young talent looking to take the next step and David West.  They are headstrong and refuse to back down to the mighty Heat.

This is some Cleveland Cavs type of pressure that James is facing today.  He must put the team on his back and get them to the promised land.  We have all seen him put on a display and lead his team to victory, no matter the competition. So it’s not a question of being capable or not, it’s a matter of will he do it.  He’s the toughest guy to matchup with a keep out of the lane in basketball.

LeBron’s demeanor when he steps onto the floor will be a telling sign.  Is he ready to fight for what is his or is he ready to let the bad play of Wade and the injuries to Bosh be a scapegoat for the Heat losing today and most likely dropping the series?  Or will he be in kill mode and make all the necessary sacrifices to get the win?  We will see how bad James wants it from the opening tip.  The ball must be in his hands and he must find a way to put it in through the hoop or the Heat will be facing a deficit that not many have climbed back from.

Wade has to step in his game times a thousand.  As has been well documented, Wade threw up just five points last game and did nothing to help the team win.  He threw the ball away, played poor defense, yelled at the coach, and was just an awful player that I would have benched down the stretch.  However, we happen to know that Wade is worlds better than he played last game.

Flash has to try and get into the paint and find good shots without settling for the long contested jumper that is sure to bounce off the rim and equal points for the Pacers.  Hustle and attitude are the biggest things that need to go the other direction that they did last game from No. 3.  When Ozzie Guillen is calling you out saying he would have whooped your ass, it’s obvious that the effort and passion need to be kicked up a notch.  He’s done nothing but play poorly and pout all series long and that isn’t winning formula.

I hesitantly think that Wade will get back on track today and LeBron will do anything to avoid being the talk of the offseason again with his failures to bring home any hardware.  I’m picking the Heat to bounce back and tie up the series 2-2 in a very hostile environment at Bankers Life Arena.

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May19

Clippers collapse

by Kyle Inman on May 19th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Posted In: NBA

Chris Paul was a no-show again in the fourth quarter as the Clippers fell down 3-0 to the Spurs.

Chris Paul has been a complete non-factor in the Clippers second round series with the Spurs.  He went missing again today as the Clippers blew a 33-11 lead to lose 96-86.

Paul went 5-for-17 and still dished out 11 assists.  He got guys involved and and made some good plays, but he faded away when all he had to do was ride a 20-point lead. I had envisioned Paul as a true leader who wouldn’t let his team collapse like that.

CP3 carried the Clippers to victory in the fourth quarter all season and has long been one of the most clutch players in the NBA.  He’s been suffering from a strained hip flexor injury and has been invisible ever since in the fourth quarter.  His two fourth quarter buckets today were the first time he has made a basket in the fourth quarter in the last six games. I don’t know how bad he is hurt or if the Spurs defense is just that good.

Blake Griffin came up huge with 28 Pts, 16 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 Blk.  Play like that from the 23-year-old power forward and the Clippers should win with CP3 on the floor.  The CP3 that laced them up today isn’t the same guy that shined in the most crucial moments of big games all season.

Credit must go to the Spurs for being completely flawless so far this postseason.  They are a perfect 7-0 and Pop continues to prove he is by far the best coach in the NBA.  The Spurs have gone to the formula of being a potent offensive team and it’s working like a charm.  I personally was proven wrong because I put too much stock into their first round exit last season.  I thought it would be the end of an era.

It wasn’t.  The Spurs are arguably the best team in basketball right now and are just the model of team work and beautiful passing.  Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are playing at a championship level. 19 Pts, 13 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Blk for Duncan today and he continues to be a vintage version of himself.

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May18

Garnett’s dominance

by Kyle Inman on May 18th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Posted In: NBA

Kevin Garnett is playing as dominant of basketball as he ever has during the most crucial time of year. If that continues then Philly doesn't stand a chance.

Kevin Garnett also known as the Big Ticket has returned to dominant for that everyone has grown used to in the last 16 years.  KG has been as good as he has ever been in his career over the last eight playoff games.

Garnett is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds this postseason and has gotten even better this series against the 76ers.  In game one he came with 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks.. the Celtics won.  Game two his scoring was held to 15 and the Celtics lost and then game three in Philly he exploded again for 27 points and 13 rebounds.

KG has been the main reason why the Celtics are thinking about one last championship run before the team breaks up.  He is the guy you don’t want to play against because of his physical, sometimes called dirty play.  He’s a true competitor that won’t let his team go down without a fight to the death.

Philly grabbed the momentum in the series with a game two win in Boston, but the Celtics stole homecourt advantage right back by pouncing on them in game two of their building.  If Garnett brings the same level of dominance to the game tonight, then the Celtics will be up 3-1.

Boston is too hard to stop when all three big guns are firing at the same time.  Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett complete a 3-headed monster that’s capable of getting buckets anytime down the court and placing the clamps on a defender.  Doc Rivers has his team playing hard-nosed basketball and it all revolves around their hall-of-fame power forward who is writing a new chapter in his career, one of veteran dominance.

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May18

CP3/Flash catch the blues

by Kyle Inman on May 18th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Posted In: NBA

Check the back of the milk carton for Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, both were missing in action last night as their teams took beatings.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul were virtual no-shows last night as both of their teams were beaten without much resistance to the Pacers and Spurs.

Wade played the worst game of his entire NBA career and looked to be pouting and uninterested for the majority of the game.  He shot 2-for-13 for five points and five turnovers and left LeBron James on an island all by himself as the Pacers took a 2-1 series lead.  Wade made terrible passes, took bad shots, played lackadaisical defense, and got into a shouting match with Coach Spoelstra.

The Clippers only chance at challenging the untouched Spurs was a huge outing from their superstar point guard, Paul.  CP3 didn’t answer the bell in San Antonio last night going for 10 points, five assists, and eight turnovers.  Instead he let Tony Parker have his way and rack up 22 points.

Miami is in danger of underachieving in a large way this season with a second round loss to the Pacers, but this time the blame won’t be James’ fault.  The finger will be pointed squarely at Wade with Bosh out.  James and Wade should be enough firepower to bring home wins, especially this early in the playoffs.  Bosh or not they shouldn’t be getting blown out in Indiana.  Wade’s jumper isn’t falling and he doesn’t look like the same player as in the regular season.  He missed a game winning layup in game two and then didn’t show up yesterday.

Lob City is just up against the juggernaut known as the Spurs.  They are the better team with the better coach and the Clippers are banged up and left for dead after their seven-game first round series with Memphis.  Coach Pop has the Spurs playing like a well-oiled machine and little is standing in their way of going to the Western Conference Finals.

The only hope for both Miami and Los Angeles is that their superstar guards can come out of the shell that they crawled in last game and play like everybody knows that they can.  Wade didn’t get a championship for nothing and Paul isn’t considered one of, if not the, best point guard in basketball.  They looked like a sad story last night, but the great ones always bounce back and we will see if these two are that.

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May17

Superstar gut-check

by Kyle Inman on May 17th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Posted In: NBA

It's gut-check time for Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in Indianapolis against a confident Pacers team. The big two must also find just a little bit a help from the roleplayers.

The tables have turned in the series as the Indiana Pacers took game two to steal home-court advantage and leave the Heat searching for answers in game-3 in Indy.

Pacers used size, depth, and teamwork to their advantage last game in Miami and it took a missed layup from Dwyane Wade and two bricked free throws by LeBron James in the final moments to seal up the victory.

The entire Heat team outside of James and Wade combined for 23 points last game.  No player outside of the big two had over five points.  I know I have said that James and Wade shouldn’t need any help to win, well they need role players who wont hurt the team when they are playing.

Mario Chalmers is the main guy who has to step his game up in the absence of Chris Bosh.  He shot a dismal 2-for-10 and missed the 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.   He has to score some points from the point guard position or the Heat must turn to Norris Cole, who was 2-for-2 in 17 minutes of game two.

Mike Miller, James Jones, Rony Turiaf, Udonis Haslem, an Shane Battier have to provide something by the way of buckets and toughness.

James and Wade shot 18-for-44 and need to be much more efficient in shooting the basketball.  Miami shot 34% as a team and only scored 74 points.

The crowd will be hostile in Indianapolis and the Heat have a tall task ahead of them.  James has come out and said that playing the ‘four’ in place of Bosh is taxing because of the physicality and has also said that the long minutes in the playoffs aren’t the same as playing long minutes in the regular season.  These are baffling statements because they sound like excuses.  Never before has a league MVP brought these things up in the middle of a series.  They are all true, but not wise for him to use as a scapegoat for Miami losing games.  Probably just taken out of context, but a guy that big sounds soft talking about he can’t play the power forward position.

I believe that the Heat will win this series without Bosh.  The bench, while not good, can certainly play much better than they did last game in Miami.  Wade can play better, James can play better.  That being said it’s going to be a tough matchup in Indy over the next two games because of the home crowd and the fact that the Pacers have some confidence now.  David West has been the man and Roy Hibbert needs to get more involved.  West and Granger shot only 10-for-27 last game in the win so Miami isn’t the only team suffering shooting woes in these low scoring affairs.

We all know James and Wade are great players, but a 3-time MVP and a perennial all-star with a ring should be able to survive a second round series with the Pacers, but will they?  That’s the million dollar question. Either way the momentum of this series is going to swing in a huge way tonight.

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May16

Lakers must wage war

by Kyle Inman on May 16th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Posted In: NBA

Does Kobe Bryant have the answers on how to slow down the Thunder? We'll see if the aging legend can play chess against young superstars.

Los Angeles Lakers must show up to Oklahoma City ready to play tonight if they want to have any remote chance of winning the series.  After a 29-point blowout in game-1, it’s more important that they battle tonight than win in game-2.

Lakers hopes at this point are to make this a long series and somehow wear the Thunder down throughout.  Even if they lose tonight and fall 0-2, they  have a great home court advantage in the Staples Center.  If they can make it a hard fought game tonight that isn’t decided until the end then they can tip the series momentum a little before the it goes back to L.A.

Oklahoma City looks like they are the best team in basketball right now with the Spurs and Heat having arguments.  Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were unstoppable in the first game of the series and the role players played brilliantly.  If they play like that and jump shots are going in then all bets are off and these guys aren’t going to be beat.  There will be a championship parade in Oklahoma City of all places.  Lakers and Kobe Bryant have to play chess in this one and send a statement tonight that the Lakers are going to give them a long, brutal, fatiguing series against the young guns.

Lakers record is 2-17 when dropping the first two games of a series so that doesn’t support my theory.  However I just believe that the Lakers aren’t going to win tonight, but that they can still make it a series if they don’t let OKC win by double-figures.  Westbrook can’t shoot 10-for-15 or it’s game over again quickly, the Lakers have to get physical with these guys and eat them up in the paint.

Andrew Bynum is the player who could be dominant in this series for L.A., but they have to feed him the ball much more.  Kobe Bryant has to be an efficient scorer and dump the ball inside.  Mike Brown tried Bryant on Westbrook and that can’t happen again because he clearly doesn’t have young enough legs to keep up on defense and still be a weapon on offense.  Westbrook flat out embarrassed Bryant’s usually solid defense and that can’t happen again.  It’s time for Ramon Sessions to give it a go on guarding No. 0.

Oklahoma City is too good and the Lakers don’t stand much of a chance, but I can’t count out Bryant and the Lakers experience in long playoff series.  A message must be sent tonight because another 30-point blowout and the Thunder might come into the Staples and broom the Lakers which would result in mass hysteria in the Laker organization and some people will surely be losing their jobs.

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May15

James defers to Wade

by Kyle Inman on May 15th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Posted In: NBA

LeBron James has to be the guy who gets points in the final moments games. The MVP showed lack of a killer instinct for the first time in this year's edition of the playoffs in a game-2 loss to the Pacers.

The age-old debate of LeBron James’ fourth quarter failures has reared its head for the first time in the ’12 playoffs as the Heat dropped one at home to Indiana.

Most will credit Chris Bosh being out with injury as the reason why, but the Heat had more than enough to win  if James and even more so Dwyane Wade could buy a jumper down the stretch of the game.  Wade went 8-for-22 on the game and missed the crucial ones that a star player must put in at home in the playoffs at the very end of the game.  Flash missed easy shots and Bosh wouldn’t have changed that.

James didn’t do anything wrong by kicking the ball out, but as the league’s Most Valuable Player you have to create points when you have a chance to put your team up one in the last minute of the game.  He made a good pass, but how many times am I going to hear people talk about Wade has realized it’s LeBron’s team and took the role of Robin.  No he hasn’t because if he had then he wouldn’t be shooting 22 times when he is clearly off.

James shot 10-for-22 and needed to shoot 35 times in my opinion.  With a big piece of the offense out, the biggest physical specimen the league has ever seen has to takeover.  Credit that to the Pacers stingy defense.  Paul George had an amazing block on unsuspecting James and they did an excellent job on him all game long.

These are the times when you want to see a scorers mentality from James down the stretch because that is what would truly make him the undisputed best player in the world.  The reason he gets crushed so hard when things like this happen is because he is so great that any flaw stands out and lack of killer instincts under the most extreme pressure is real.

He can’t be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world until he proves that he can get a chip and he wont get one unless he has the killer instinct to get buckets in the final seconds of games.  He’s the best player on the planet, but if he doesn’t win it this year I think Kevin Durant is going to.  Then you have a real argument of what type of player you would rather have.  Durant is more Jordan and LeBron is more Magic.  Either way I think this season is a defining moment for taking the career of both players to the next level of greatness.

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