10 NBA Basketball rules that Soccer should adopt

I'm not exactly a fan of soccer, as alluded to before. I've been thinking and it occurred to me that if soccer adopted some of the rules in the NBA, it would be infinitely more entertaining to watch. It'll never happen, but I can dream, eh?

1. Defensive 3-seconds.
NBA: A defensive player must not remain in the lane for longer than 3 seconds unless he is actively guarding an offensive player.
Soccer: The goal area of a soccer pitch is significantly larger than the key of a basketball court. So perhaps we can extend the time from 3 seconds to 9 seconds. A defensive player must actively be guarding a player in the goal area. This means no more 11 defensive players dispersed throughout the goal area.

2. No off-side penalty.
NBA: There's no such thing as off-side. If there was, there wouldn't be any fastbreak opportunities.
Soccer: Having the off-side rule makes scoring even harder than it already is. Getting rid of it would introduce fastbreak opportunities, which are always fun to watch.

3. Nature of disqualifications.
NBA: If a player is ejected for whatever reason, he is disqualified but his team can still have 5 players on the court.
Soccer: Currently, if a player is ejected, his team goes from having 11 players on the pitch to just 10. The team should not be penalized for the actions of a single player.

4. Different types and values of goals.
NBA: The value of each goal is in proportion to the difficulty of the attempt. A free-throw is worth 1 point. A field-goal within the three-point-arc is worth 2 points. A field-goal beyond the arc is worth 3 points.
Soccer: Currently, everything is worth 1 point. Penalty kicks and normal goals should not be valued the same when the former is infinitely easier than the latter.

5. Shot clock.
NBA: The offensive team has 24 seconds to attempt a field goal on each possession. If they fail, they turn the ball over to the defense.
Soccer: No such thing as a shot clock. A possession can last as long as possible. This makes some matches unbearable to watch. If a team is up by several goals and have possession of the ball, they just play hot-potato with the ball in the back and middle field to burn time. They don't press the action and the defense is unlikely to get the ball back to attempt a comeback. I would propose they have a 60-second shot clock. The offense must attempt a shot within the 60-second time limit. A shot attempt would be if the ball is either scored, touched by the goal keeper, bounced off the goal post, or sailed out of bounds behind the goal line.

6. Back court violation
NBA: once the offense advances the ball past the mid-court line, the offense may not cross back into the backcourt. Doing so will result in a turnover.
Soccer: Currently, there's no such rule. If there was, the game would be faster, spacing would be better, and there would be far greater number of possession changes.

7. 8-second violation
NBA: The offense has 8 seconds to advance the ball into the frontcourt.
Soccer: Currently, no such rule. If there was this rule, the offense would be forced to push the pace. Again, if the rule was adopted, it would likely be lengthened due to the size of the field (perhaps 20 secs)

8. The game should be officially timed.
NBA: Nothing is above the game timer. If a shot attempt was released 0.1 seconds after time expired, it doesn't count. Once the timer counts down to 0 seconds, the game/quarter is over.
Soccer: The length of the match is at the sole discretion of the referee. That makes no sense to me. If a match is seconds away from being over and the team that is down recovers possession and is in position to run an offensive play, the referee would allow the play to continue even though it clearly ran over the time limit.
I'm all for stoppage time. I think it's necessary since the game clock never stops during play. But if the amount of stoppage time is determined, then it should be strictly followed. If at the end of 90 minutes the officials decide that there should be 6 minutes of stoppage time added, then there should be 6 minutes, no more no less. The teams should manage the clock with their play. The referee should not be managing it with his judgement.

9. No penalty shootouts
NBA: If a game is tied at the end of regulation, there's no free throw contest to determine the winner. That would be idiotic. Overtime is the way to go.
Soccer: A penalty shootout at the end of a tied game is similarly idiotic. The game of soccer is one of athleticism, endurance, coordination, etc. Just because the game is tied doesn't mean it needs to be reduced to a penalty shootout. Just go to overtime indefinitely. The team with the best conditioned players will prevail, as they should.

10. Stop touching each other and play by the rules.
None of my proposed rule changes will likely even have a chance of making it into the official rule book. So how about this? No rule changes; just enforce the current rules. Specifically, I'm talking about the excessive amount of physical contact in the sport. In every play of every game, the players are always grabbing each other for position. When jousting for position, players sometimes even get body slammed. There's pushing and shoving everywhere. Strange enough, the rules say that pushing, holding, and tripping are not allowed. Yet, they happen ALL THE TIME. Everyone is breaking the rules at every moment of every game!

Cleveland Cavaliers - 55?

55.

First thing that I associate that number with is the number of points Michael Jordan scored against the Knicks in his comeback game. This number could soon have a new association.

If I was a fan of the Cleveland Cavs, I would shudder at the mention of the number 55.

It's not because of the game on Jan. 11, 2011 when the Lakers decimated the Cavs by 55 points and then Lebron made that karma tweet. (That along with James' dropping 38pts on them in their first matchup has to be the low points of the year.)

It's just that they're currently on the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history at 25 losses in a row and they have 30 games to go in the season. This means they have the potential to push this streak to 55.

While I understand that there's always going to be bottom dwellers in the league, you never want to see a team get deflated like this. I'll be rooting for the Cavs to somehow get a win. All this losing is just depressing. Unfortunately, it seems like loss number 55 in a row is in the rear-view mirror of these guys. That is, it's closer  than it appears.

Update: It appears the Cavs won't reach 55 losses in a row after their win against the Clippers. The season doesn't get easier though. Hope they have the guts to tough it out.

Some observations 7 days after the start of the 2010-11 NBA season

Bulls look legitimately dangerous.
Derrick Rose (33.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1 spg, 1.5 bpg)
Joakim Noah (16.5 ppg, 18 rpg, 1.5 spg, 2.5 bpg)

Jason Kidd refuses to be washed up yet (Age 37, 11.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 11.7 apg, 2.33 spg).

Baron Davis is washed up (Age 31, 10.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 5.7 apg, 3 TO, 32.4 FG%, 11.1 3FG%).

Year by year, Rajon Rondo is earning respect. (10.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 16.7 apg, 2 spg)

Spurs core players are still running strong.
Tim Duncan (15 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2 bpg)
Manu Ginobili (22.5 ppg, 5 apg, 2 spg)
Tony Parker (16.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, 1.5 spg)
Richard Jefferson (17 ppg)

Why is Daniel Gibson playing 30min a game?

Where's Michael Redd?

Is Tracy McGrady's career already done? (Age 31, 0.7 ppg, 1.7 apg, 2.7 rpg, 16.7 FG%)

LeBron James is averaging 6.3 turnovers per game! Does anyone care?

The Magic's 3-point accuracy is just 25%. That's not going to get things done.

Wow, John Wall is quick.

Ronny Turiaf is averaging 2.67 blocks per game in just 23.3 minutes per game for the Knicks.

Darko Milicic is still in the league and is even the starting center for the Timberwolves. I don't know why that's funny but it is.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are fast becoming the most interesting duo to watch.

The Lakers appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of the league (including the Heat). Too much talent, too well coached, too much size and length, and Kobe's championship drive is unmatched by anybody alive.

Blake Griffin is the real deal (16.7 ppg, 11 rpg).

Greg Oden is a bust. Unless he gets back on the court and starts producing right away, he'll forever be linked with names like Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic. If I were him, I'd rather be associated with guys like Michael Olowokandi. At least the Kandi-Man had one memorable play (ie, being dunked on by Amare Stoudemire). When I think of Oden, I just picture him on the bench.

Chris Paul is back to reclaim his throne as the best point guard in the league. Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo are great, but CP3 is on a whole other level.

Luis Scola? I knew he had skills but I can't believe how he's schooling his defenders for 27.3 ppg and 14 rpg. His offensive skills resemble that of an undersized Tim Duncan.

Maybe Yao Ming should just continue to rehab rather than playing 24min a game and skipping back-to-backs. It's a little sad watching him play this way.

Lebron James: Triple-double season? Not even close.

So, I've read that this year is suppose to be the year Lebron James may average a triple-double for the season.

• http://bleacherreport.com/articles/505623-miami-heat-can-lebron-james-really-average-a-triple-double-per-game
• http://nbaprimetime.com/lebron-james-set-to-average-first-triple-double-of-this-generation/3048/
• http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/14/lebron-james-could-very-well-average-a-trip-doub-next-season/

These articles all look at past stats and current trends in their analysis. But looking at these can only tell so much. Now that the season has begun, we have a better picture of what to expect.

To be on pace for a trible-double average, James needs to accumulate at least a total of 10 pts, 10 reb, and 10 ast per game.

Over 4 games, James is at 62 pts, 16 reb and 17 ast.

Quick math shows that he's behind by 24 reb and 23 ast. That's off by a huge margin. Label me a pessimist but there's no way Lebron averages a triple-double in a season.

Also, when I think of a triple-double, Lebron isn't even the first player to come to mind. Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul are the guys that I think of who are likely to get a triple-double on a nightly basis. A look at their stats shows that they're actually closer to a triple-double average than Lebron James.

Lebron James

Over 4 games, he's at 20.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 5.7 apg

Rajon Rondo

Over 3 games, he's at 10.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 16.7 apg

Chris Paul

Over 3 games he's at 17.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 11.5 apg

So if Lebron James, can't duplicate Oscar Robertson's triple-double average, then perhaps he can challenge the Big'O's other record, the top spot in total triple-doubles?

Nope. He won't even crack the top 3.

Lebron currently has 34 triple-doubles over 7 seasons. That's about 4.86 per season.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I'll assume he plays 20 full seasons while keeping up his current pace of collecting triple-doubles (this is highly unlikely which just strengthens my point). This will give him about 97 triple-doubles over 20 seasons, moving him past Wilt Chamberlain for 4th place.

3rd place is occupied by Jason Kidd with 105 over 16 seasons. To match him, James will need to increase his current triple-double production by about 12%.

2nd place is occupied by Magic Johnson with 138 over 13 seasons. To match him, James will need to increase his current triple-double production by about 65%.

1st place is occupied by none other than Oscar Robertson with 181 over 14 seasons. To match him, James will need to increase his current triple-double production by about 133%.

Kevin Durant - Much Respect

I've never watched Kevin Durant play prior to the FIBA World Championship semi-finals game between USA and Lithuania. Meanwhile, I've watched Lebron James play numerous times. In just one game, Durant has done two things that Lebron has not. He led a team to a championship on the professional level and he's earned my respect as a basketball player.

On the professional level, Lebron James has never lead a team to glory. He's never won an NBA Championship. He's won an Olympic Gold Medal back in 2008 but he was clearly not the leader of the team; Kobe Bryant was.

Kevin Durant, on the other hand, was the clear leader on this World Championship team. His teammates deferred to him. He knew what his team needed from him and he executed. He risked his reputation by taking over the team. He knew that he would be the one to blame if Team USA lost but did it anyway because he had the courage and the heart to do so. This is something that you can't say for Lebron James (Remember, his kick-out pass to Donyell Marshell?).

Heart is difficult to measure. So I won't continue to question James' heart in the game. I'll question his skills.

In all my time of watching Lebron James, here's my breakdown of his game:
- He has excellent court vision primarily because of his height, he simply sees over the defense.
- He has never developed a post-up game. He has no back-to-the-basket moves.
- The way he gets to the rim is he just drives hard and powers his way through the defense. I've never seen him use deception on his moves.
- No change of speed moves.
- His perimeter shooting has improved but is unreliable.
- He's able to get perimeter shots off because of his length; not because of quickness or deception.
- His defense is over-rated. Uses his hands more than he uses his feet.

In my one game of watching Kevin Durant, his game was just beautiful to watch.
- Like James, he can see over the defense and makes excellent passes.
- He's 6-10 but naturally plays the 3 spot and prefers to operate on the perimeter. But when he's put on the low block, he has shown he has some nice low post moves (ie, shoulder fakes, spin, hooks, etc)
- He's tall but he handles the ball like a guard. His dribbles are low, wide, and most importantly, blindingly fast. Several times I see him with a live dribble walking up to the defender and he just simply shook him back several feet with just a couple of dribbling moves.
- He gets to the rim with finesse. The defender never even touches him because he faked him so hard that he's out of the picture.
- He has a beautifully clean shooting stroke for such a tall player. Very effortless even when far out on the 3pt line.
- Durant likes to use his step-back move to set up his jumper. And he sells the fake very nicely. Each time he does it, he successfully creates space between him and the defender to get a clean look. James also likes to use the step-back. But every time he does it, the defender is still right up on him and the only way the shot gets off is because of James' length.
- I've not seen enough games to comment on Durant's defense. But with his speed and length, he's definitely no slouch.

Pao Gasol vs Tim Duncan

Yahoo! Sports has come up with a list of the top Power Forwards in the NBA. It's only for the upcoming season, not an all-time list, so the list has Pao Gasol ahead of Tim Duncan.

Whether or not Gasol is better than Duncan is up for debate. But I feel that recently, people have forgotten the brilliance of Timmy and instead have been fawning over the mundane production of Gasol.

Duncan is 4 years older than Gasol and is unmistakably on the downturn of his career while Gasol has just hit his prime. But to put things into perspective, try to flash forward 4 years from now and ask yourself this: Can Gasol even come close to matching the same accolades that Duncan has?

Here's what's in each of their NBA trophy cases:

Pao Gasol
NBA Championships (x2)
Rookie of the Year
All-Star appearances (x3)
All-NBA Third Team (x2)
All-Rookie First Team



Tim Duncan
NBA Championships (x4)
NBA Finals MVP (x3)
NBA MVP (x2)
Rookie of the Year
All-Star appearances (x12)
All-NBA First Team (x9)
All-NBA Second Team (x3)
All-NBA Third Team
All-Defensive First Team (x8)
All-Defensive Second Team (x5)
All-Rookie First Team
All-Star Game MVP

A random thought on Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Juwan Howard

Webber, Rose, and Howard are the 3 best Fab5 players. They are all the same age. In terms of attention, I think Howard received the least throughout his career. Isn't it odd that Howard is still in the NBA being recruited by championship contenders while Webber and Rose are now TV analysts? Webber is probably a Hall-of-Famer but Howard could be the one who ends up with championship ring...

Webber

5-time All Star

1-time All NBA First Team

3-time All NBA Second Team

1-time All NBA Third Team

Rookie of the Year

National High School Player of the Year

Games played: 831 (retired Mar 2008)

Rose

All Rookie Team

Most Improved Player

Games played: 923 (retired May 2007)

Howard

1-time All Star

1-time All NBA Third Team

All Rookie Second Team

Games played: 1116 and counting

2010 NBA Playoffs - 2nd round

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics
The Cavs are the better team. But the Celtics are no slouch either. They can't seem to maintain their championship defensive intensity over a course of several games. But they are certainly capable of it for stretches. If the Celtics can somehow neutralize Lebron James as they did with Kobe 2 years ago, they'll have a chance to pull off the upset. There's a lot of good players in this matchup so it'll be interesting to see how each responds.

Cav's shooters will have to be effective because Celtics will collapse their defense on James.
Jamison needs to be able to step up his game to relieve pressure on James.
Mo Williams and Z will need to help draw out the defense to create spacing for James and Jamison.
Celtics like to pack the paint so I don't see Shaq having much impact in this series. But it would make a huge difference if he can get Perkens and KG into foul trouble.

Ray Allen needs to keep doing what he does best. Play without the ball and use screens to set himself up for that sweet stroke of his.
Pierce needs to force James to check him. If James is not on him, he needs to post his defender to score or draw the foul. Anything to put James back on him.
If James is on Pierce, then that means James isn't checking Rondo. Just as we saw with Derrick Rose, the Cavs have no answer for quick PG's. Rondo should be able to carve up everyone else on the Cavs team off the dribble to create shots for himself or opportunities for others.

I'll take the Cavs in 7.

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks
The Magic are hitting their stride in the playoffs. Vince Carter is once again attacking the rim, either finishing or getting to the line. Jameer Nelson is playing like he was before his injury that forced him to miss his first all-star game. Rashard Lewis is sinking shots from deep again. And of course, they have Dwight Howard. He's not been effective in the postseason because of foul trouble. But the Hawks can't count on that to keep Superman off the court against them.

It's well documented that this Hawks team has issues playing on the road. It certainly doesn't help that this series starts off with 2 games at Orlando. The Magic are not going to have any problems dispatching Atlanta.

Magic in 5.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz
The Jazz are severely undersized at all positions except point guard compared to the Lakers. Ball movement is the Jazz's bread and butter. But the Lakers' size and length will bother them. Besides, these 2 teams are meeting for the 3rd consecutive time in the playoffs. The Lakers won the previous 2 series so they've shown, they know how to beat this team. Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap are good interior players but they'll have their hands full trying with defending and scoring over three 7-footers. Deron Williams is spectacular but he no longer has the size advantage if Kobe or Artest is on him. They'll play his shot and if he chooses to drive, he'll have to deal with the Lakers' bigs. This will be an easier out than the Thunder.

Lakers in 5

San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns
These 2 teams can't have more contrasting styles of play. Spurs will need to control the pace to have a chance. The older Spurs team would not be able to keep up if the Suns start their running game. Steve Nash is the engine that makes the Suns go. The Spurs would be wise to try to score on him on the other end to tire him out. Their combination of George Hill and Tony Parker have the ability to do just that. Amare Stoudemire and Jason Richardson needs to continue their strong play against Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
Again, pace is the key in this series. The lower the final score, the higher the chance for the Spurs to win. Look for the Spurs to lead at halftime, only to have it squandered because of of the Sun's breakneck speed getting up and down the court.

Suns in 6

2010 NBA Playoffs begin!

Playoff seedings are set! Here are my thoughts on the 1st round matchups:

Cleveland Cavs vs Chicago Bulls
This will be a blowout. The Bulls might be able to steal one game because James and Shaq may need some time to shake off the rust for sitting so long.
Game 1: Wow, seems like there's no rust after all
Game 2: The Bulls gave their best effort and still lost. If there's such a thing as a TKO in basketball, this would be it.
Game 3: They pulled away early and won the game. Chicago should be happy about that part. But they allowed the Cavs to storm back and the final difference was just 2pts. They have much to be worried about.
Game 4: Lebron toys with the Bulls by registering a monster triple double with 37pts-12reb-11ast with 2stl, a block, just 2to and shooting a ridiculous percentage from the field, 3pt, and from the line. I look for them to finish them off by the 3rd quarter in Cleveland in Game 5.
Game 5: Bulls came pretty close to extending this series. But alas, it was not to be. I wonder if anyone from the media will ask Joakim Noah about his comment about shocking the world?

Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Bobcats
This could be closer than people think. It's clear that the Magic is the better team. But it'll be interesting to see how Larry Brown defends Dwight Howard and his kick-outs to the 3pt shooters.
Game 1: Things look even worse for Bobcats now because of Jax's knee injury.
Game 2: Jax looks fine; he's a warrior. How did the Bobcats lose? Magic were just more aggressive with their offensive attack. Look at the free throws disparity. Magic shot 24 of 35 while the Bobcats only had 13 of 18.
Game 3: The Bobcats are just simply not good enough. Sure, Jameer Nelson torched them for 32pts but no one else on the Magic squad had it going offensively and the Cats still couldn't find a way to win.
Game 4: Don't fault the coaching in this sweep. Larry Brown's strategy to defend Dwight Howard worked out better than he could have possibly imagined. Howard average 5.5 fouls per game in this series. The Bobcats just don't have enough offensive firepower to match the Magic.

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat
I smell an upset here. The Celtics finished with the better record but I wouldn't doubt any team led by a healthy Dwayne Wade. He's proven that he can win a championship just with his own individual brilliance. The Celtics on the other hand seems to be sputtering and age has caught up to their Big 3 faster than anticipated.
Game 1: Miami had the lead but the C's turned up the D at the end. KG's absence in game 2 may be the best chance for Miami to steal homecourt advantage.
Game 2: This game was 1 against 5. Wade was brilliant again (29pts shooting 11 of 18 with 5ast, 2blk, with just 1TO in 37min) but the rest of the team was a no-show (making a combined 18 shots out of 58 attempts). They've recovered from an 0-2 playoff deficit before; we'll see if they can do it again.
Game 3: Well, I guess I was wrong about the possible upset in this series. Here we go with that statement that we hear all the time when this happens. Nobody has ever rallied to win a 7gm series when down 0-3. I don't doubt Wade's ability to pull it off. Afterall, he's willed his team to win 4 straight games when down 0-2 to the Mavs to win the title in 2006. But his teammates really need to show up.
Game 4: There's still life in Heat. Wade decided from the start that he was going to win this game and nobody was going to stop him. Now, we just need 3 more of these superhuman performances from him. By the way, Jermaine O'neal combined for 6 of 34 from the field this series. I'd say his career is pretty much done.
Game 5: Disappointing playoffs for the Heat. They wasted yet another brilliant performance by Wade (31pts-8reb-10ast-2blk). That entire roster needs to be gutted. Not sure if the Celtics should be happy to advance. Their prize is a matchup with the Cavs.

Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks
Due to the unforunate injury suffered by Andrew Bogut, this series was over before it began. After Bogut's injury, I just get the feeling that the Bucks are just running on fumes and playing off of adrenaline.
Game 1: Jennings was playing a bit out of his mind and the Hawks relaxed after they jumped out to a large lead. The Hawks still won. I expect the Hawks to win the next few games in easier fashion.
Game 2: Can we just skip all this and just start the Magic-Hawks series already?
Game 3: Huge win by the Bucks to keep the series alive. I'll start believing in them if they can tie the series. Otherwise, they're just delaying the inevitable.
Game 4: Okay, this Bucks team has more heart than I gave them credit for. They're certainly not as talented as the Hawks. But there's no questioning their aggressiveness and fearlessness in this game. They outscored the Hawks 44 to 26 in the paint and shot 28 of 32 from the line compared to 18 of 21 for the Hawks. I'm a believer now.
Game 5: The Bucks went on a 14-0 run over a span of about 3 and half minutes towards the end of the game. They went from down 9 pts to up 5 with 30 seconds to go. Horford knocked down 2 shots (one of them a 3-pointer) to keep within striking distance. But Jennings drilled 4 clutch free throws to put the game away by making it a two-possession game with 9 secs to go. Hawks now have to win on the road to force a game 7. If I remember correctly, the Hawks haven't won on the road in the playoffs in a long long time...
Game 6: Hawks finally came up with road playoff win to force game 7 at home. This was the Bucks' best chance at the upset. Will need to see if they can somehow replicate their amazing game 5 performance one more time.
Game 7: Good to see the Hawks didn't choke. Magical run for the Bucks finally came to an end. To their credit, they lasted much longer than anyone could have predicted. They showed everyone else that come next season, they need to Fear the Deer!

Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder
One surprise of the season was that the Lakers season was not as strong as predicted. But I wouldn't doubt them in the playoffs. I predict their focus will return and they'll steamroll the young Thunder team as they keep their eyes on the prize.
Game 1: Lakers zeroed in on Durant to limit his offense. I look for them to keep it up and see if anyone else on the Thunder squad can beat them.
Game 2: Phil Jackson told Kobe to limit his shots because of his broken finger. Kobe then went off for 39pts and carried the team in the 4th to avoid the upset.
Game 3: Kobe needs to relax a bit with his shot selection in Game 4 to avoid the Thunder knotting the series. As Jackson said, 30% volume shooting just won't do it.
Game 4: We've seen this before. Kobe stops shooting just to let people know what happens when he does that. The Thunder is getting more dangerous with each win. Lakers need to concerned if they can't put them away in 6.
Game 5: When you have two guys capable of putting up 20-10 each game in Gasol and Bynum, the game becomes easy. Westbrook and Durant were both pretty much shut down. Easy win for the Lakers. Better close them out in 6. Otherwise, Laker fans will get even more uneasy.
Game 6: Contrary to recent beliefs, Kobe's career is not done. He made huge shots down the stretch. With the Lakers down 1, the shot clock turned off, and Kobe bringing the ball up the court, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Lakers had the advantage. The Thunder lost the game before Kobe's shot was launched. You can see that the Thunder team and crowd all gasped as the shot when up. The shot missed but since the Thunder seemingly already conceded the game, Gasol was able to get the putback.

Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs
A matchup of the Texas rivals. This will be fun. Dirk vs Duncan. Butler vs Ginoboli. Kidd vs Parker. I see this one going to the 7th game.
Game 1: The Spurs had good games from Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. But they chose to use single-coverage on Dirk and he just took advantage.
Game 2: The story of the game was Jefferson's resurgence after getting bashed by Popovich. But Duncan is just amazing. He averaged 18-10 for the season and then improves to 26-12 for the first 2 games of these playoffs.
Game 3: Duncan continues to tap into the fountain of youth with 25pts and Parker backs him up with 23. But the main story is Ginobili who hits for 11pts in the 4th after breaking his nose.
Game 4: Timmy only had 4pts, Parker had 10pts, and Ginobili managed 17pts on 25% shooting. Amazingly, Spurs still won, thanks to George Hill's 29pts. This series could be over sooner than expected.
Game 5: Mavs asserted themselves and defended their homecourt to extend the series. Timmy and Ginobili struggled for the 2nd straight game while Butler took advantage with a huge night (35pts, 11reb, 3stl)
Game 6: It's becoming almost repetitive. Mavs are done in the 1st round, again. They've been eliminated in the opening round 3 times in the last 4 seasons. Two of those losses came against teams with inferior regular season records (the Warriors in 2007 and now the Spurs in 2010).

Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz
The Nuggets have the homecourt advantage. But they've struggled to close the season while the Jazz have really picked it up as the year went on. I see the Jazz taking this series in 6.
Game 1: Injury to Okur coupled with the lost may have swung the series in the Nuggets favor. Going to have to go with Nuggets in 6 now.
Game 2: Impressive effort by the undermanned Jazz to even the series heading back to Utah. When you have Deron Williams, best PG in the league, and a solid 20-10 PF in Boozer on your team, you always have a chance.
Game 3: Nuggets appeared to be in control early in 1st quarter. But then it became the Paul Millsap show as he went for 22pts-19reb. The Jazz swarmed Carmelo Anthony. Deron Williams had his usual solid performance with 24pts -10ast. Boozer overcame a slow start to finish strong. It's amazing to watch how Coach Sloane keeps this team so disciplined in breaking down the opponent.
Game 4: Seems I underestimated the Jazz after they dropped their first game. They now look to be clearly the more aggressive and composed team. The Nuggets have to regroup and hope that their homecourt will help them extend the series.
Game 5: It's amazing what happens when you're backs are against the wall. We first saw it this year with the Mavs and now the Nuggets. They withstood a historical performance by Williams (first player ever to record at least 20pts and 10ast in history). But the pressure is still on the Nuggets. The Utah crowd is going to be loud...
Game 6: Composure. That is what is lacking with the Nuggets. Another thing lacking is a playmaker. They have so many offensive firepower in Anthony, Billups, Nene, Martin, and Smith. But they don't have an assist man to set them up. The disciplined play of the Jazz completely dismantled the Nuggets defense for easy scores. Scoring the ball forced the Nuggets all series long to run half-court sets which they just can't do it seems.

Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trailblazers
The Blazers just can't catch a break. Brandon Roy may or may not play and even if he does play, he probably won't be very effective. The high-octane Suns will just destroy this injury-ravaged team.
Game 1: Impressive win by the Blazers to steal homecourt. They kept the pace down and had huge games from the verterans Miller (31pts-8ast-5reb-3stl) and Camby (17reb and 3blk).
Game 2: Suns finally quickened the game's pace, scoring 119pts to the Blazers 90. In fact, the Suns could've not scored a single point in the 4th quarter, and they would still win by 4pts.
Game 3: Some interesting stats about a couple of Suns starters over the past 2 games. Nash has 26 assists. Grant Hill shot a combined 14 of 16 from the field. Jason Richardson averaged 35.5 pts while shooting 12 of 17 from 3pt land. In Game 3, they once again surpassed the opponents final score with 3 quarters worth of points (1st, 2nd, and 4th this time). Look for them to continue to blow out the Blazers if they continue to push the pace.
Game 4: The return of Brandon Roy was almost Willis Reed-like. Except, for Roy, he actually played more than a couple of possessions. He didn't have a spectacular game, but his presence alone provided so much energy for his teammates to feed off of. With the series tied, this could get interesting again.
Game 5: This series should have been over by now. Instead of a couple days of rest, the Suns now have to fly back to Portland to try to finish things off. If Portland pulls out the upset by somehow winning the next 2 games, the Suns really need to take a cold hard look at itself. They have so much talent over the last couple of season and but just seem to lack the mental discipline.
Game 6: Order is restored as the Sun go on and win on the road behind the hot shooting of Jason Richardson, 10 of 16 from the field, 5 of 8 from deep for 28pts. Hope they're not too proud of themselves as they really should have swept this series due to sheer talent.

Thunder beat the Celtics - interesting boxscore

I don't watch a lot of NBA games since moving back to Hong Kong a few years ago. (I do catch the All-Star and a couple of Playoff games). So I regularly check game recaps and box scores. I noticed something interesting today.

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics today. The game recap is not up yet. So I'm just checking out the box score.

Looking at the Thunder's stats, it's easy to see how they won. Durant scores 37, adds 8 rebounds, turns it over just twice, shoots 50% from the field, and is perfect from the charity stripe. Westbrook scores 21 with 10 assists, also just 2 turnovers, and shoots over 50% from the field. Actually, every Thunder shot over 50% except for Krstic who goes for 2 out of 7.

Looking at the Celtics' stats, it's difficult to see how they lost. The Big3 combined for 46 points while shooting over 50% from the field. Rondo had a great game with 16 pts, 11 assists, 5 rebs, and 5 steals. Rasheed finally found his touch with 18 pts going 7 of 8 from the field.

Celtics shoot 59.5% from the field (44/74)
Thunder shoots 50.7% from the field (38/75)

Rebounding numbers are close with the Thunder edging the Celtics 36 to 32.

The Celtics have 16 fast break points to the Thunder's 13.

The Celtics have 56 points in the paint to the Thunder's 40.

The Celtics have 30 assists to the Thunder's 22.

The Celtics have 9 steals to the Thunder's 6.

The Celtics just have 2 more turnovers than the Thunder.

The Celtics just have 4 more fouls against them than the Thunder.

Then I noticed one glaring detail that probably explains it all. Free throws.

From the stripe, Celtics go for 13 of 17 while the Thunder went 28 of 34.

Wonder why that is...
My theory is that the teams are no longer afraid of the Celtics defense. The C's use to be dominant in this area. They had quick rotations. They were physical with you all over the floor. 1on1 moves were met with aggressive double teams. Slashers would get knocked down by hard fouls.
Not anymore, it seems. Just looking at the boxscore, it seems like the Thunder are just driving the ball into the teeth of the defense. And they'll either score or get to the line.

They can't blame their defense on injuries anymore. Everyone is as healthy as they can be. It's just that age has finally caught up to them.