Game Six: Utah vs Los Angeles

I expect the Lakers to close out this series tonight

• According to Hubie the Lakers’ transition game has been brilliant so far. They’ve been attacking the basket. All five Lakers have scored.
• Lakers lead 12-8 with 7 minutes to play.
• Kobe drives into the paint, fouled by Kobe
• …….
• Lakers lead 18-10 with 5 minutes to go in the first
• Kirilenko stripped in the paint, fastbreak, Fisher pushes it, nobody stops the ball, layup, fouled and forced the miss. Hubie is having a go at Utah for not stopping the ball.
• Vujacic nails a three with a minute to go in the first quarter
• Lakers lead 33-18 with 30 seconds remaining and with Ronnie Price shooting two FTs, hits the first, hits the second. Lakers lead 33-20.
• Second quarter
• Takes a minute and a half but Utah opens the scoring. Korver hits a three from the right corner.
• Kobe hits two FTs. Lakers lead 42-29
• There’s 8 minutes to go in the second. The lead is 13, largest lead has been 16.
• Defensive rebound Odom, Kobe puts on a dribbling show, then loses control, regains the dribble, blows past Harpring on the baseline, draws the foul. Great call Hubie, Kobe set Harpring up on that play, he called the pick and roll over, never had any intention of using it, blazed right and beat Harpring in two dribbles to the rim. He hits 1 of 2.
• Fisher gets the steal, fastbreak, fouled, Fisher gets the layup up and gets the cotinuation
• Kobe Bryant on the break, slam dunk. He’s back.
• Deron drives inside, hand off to Booz for the open layup.
• Lakers lead 50-35 with 5 plus minutes to go
• Sasha has a three pointer rim in and out from the top of the key
• Deron gets Odom on the mismatch, he calls a clearout, threatens the drive and takes the pull up J, miss. Gasol snatches the rebound, that’s 10 boards for Gasol.
• Screen and roll between Kobe and Gasol, threaded bounce pass in traffic, dunk
• Okur misses the turnaround out of the post, tip by Kirilenko, good
• Utah is shooting only 31% shooting and they have only 5 offensive rebounds. Great defense by LA tonight.
• Vujacic hits his fourth FG, that’s 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from three.
• Lakers lead 55-37
• Deron Wiiliams catches the ball 28 feet and on the left wing, drives right towards the middle, spin move backwards, layup in the lane. Nice move.
• Deron swings it to the opposite wing to Okur, Okur spots Kirilenko cutting to the rim, passes, foul on AK
• Timeout
• Fisher picks Williams’ pocket again
• Kirilenko with blocks forcing the turnover on back to back possessions
• Boozer picks up the offensive foul with the lead shoulder
• Deron Williams fouls after the non-call on his shot to beat the half
• Fisher takes two FTs, hits two
• Halftime
• Lakers lead 61-43

I’m tempted to call this right now. There’s no way the Lakers lose this game. I’m going to stop this notes on the game for the time being …. I’ll continue to watch the rest of the game and if Utah make this a game I’ll click back into this post.

Game Six: Cleveland vs Boston

Elimination game. I like Cleveland to win tonight but I don’t favour them by much. I think Boston has a good chance of winning tonight, easily their best chance on the road this series (I didn’t fancy them in the other two)

No Daniel Gibson tonight, he’s out injured for 1-2 weeks with a seperated shoulder from Game Five.

• Boston look ready in the pre-game lineups. Focused look on their players faces, especially Paul Pierce.
• Cleveland look relaxed and confident in their pre-game lineups. Big difference. Haha, Ben Wallace is back in the corridor for the introductions. I’m assuming he didn’t want to be near all the pyrotechnics which he thinks might have affected his allergies.
• The Q is pumped. Fans all all standing, waving towels around above their heads, the noise, everything. Brilliant.
• Ben Wallace comes out as all the others wait at the centre circle. Ben has the fro out tonight, he looks younger. I expect a really good game out of Ben tonight, he’s capable of rolling back the clock every now and again and putting in quality performances.
• Perk and Z mis-time the tip, both miss the ball, it hits the floor, Bavetta will throw it up again, Z wins it.
• Rondo deflects West’s pass, steal. He brings it up and sets up the half court. Ray Allen hits Perkins on the cut to the rim for the layup
• West hits the runner in the lane over KG. Tought shot, not a great contest
• KG has a layup, passes to Rondo, Rajon gives it back, layup
• Z misses the fadeaway, Ben hits the offensive board, gets it, out to Wally, Wally drives baseline, screen Ben, Wally misses the reverse, Z grabs the offensive rebound and puts it back in off the glass
• Tied at 4 after 10 minutes.
• Ben Wallace shows on the screen, Rondo falls over, Ben ties him up and wins the jump ball
• Wally Szczerbiak hits the midrange J off the glass on the right wing off the dribble
• Wallace takes the hard drive, layup high off the glass, miss, Z offensive rebound, miss
• Pierce misses a three, cavs get up quickly, LeBron dribbles behind his back but loses control of the ball, steal Pierce, Big Ben hustling back, Pierce shoves him off with the left hand in the open court, offensive foul
• James runs down the paint, blocked by Perkins
• LeBron air balls the three
• Ray Allen misses a three pointer from the top of the key on the curl. Wallace with another defensive rebound
• Another offensive rebound for Z, his fourth, out to Delonte, three pointer
• LeBron James turns it over again, bad bounce pass, off target and right into Pierce who was beat, steal. Fastbreak, foul by Z to deny KG’s layup
• Timeout
• KG misses the first. Hits the second. Cleveland lead 9-8 halfway through the first
• LeBron James offensive foul on the drive. Another turnover.
• James strips Perk down low, James leads the break, sets up Wally for the open three, miss, LeBron taps it out, Rondo gets the loose ball, ahead to Ray, layup which Ray almost missed
• Bron sets up ben inside, KG knocks the ball loose
• KG on the right wing, travel, turnover
• James from 18 feet on the left wing, miss
• Pierce gets West on the switch, drives inside, beats West easily, great help defense by Wally and he forces the miss, Ilgauskas gets the board.
• Joe Smith and Varajeo in there together
• Varajeo turns it over, Rondo turns it over, steal Varajeo, Smith dribbling in on a 3-on-2 from 30 feet, dribbles into 16 feet, hits the J
• Perkins travels on the post move, turnover
• PJ Brown in for Perkins
• Delonte drives down the middle, kicks it out, bad pass a foot or two behind Wally, Wally tries to save it to no avail. Turnover.
• Rondo drives inside, sets up KG, Kevin hits the long 21 foot jumper
• Offensive rebound Smith, taken away from him. Celts bring it up, Pierce works Bron over and hits the 14 footer over James
• Varajeo misses the jump hook in the lane off the LeBron set up
• James goes down into the low block, he’s on the right post, backs Pierce down, layup, miss, offensive rebound, putback, fouled by PJ Brown, he gets the layup to go and hits the FT. Game tied at 14.
• Glen Davis checks in for KG. No Leon Powe? Okay. There’s a minute to go in the first.
• Rondo on the drive and kick to Posey, miss, Bron skies up for the defensive rebound. He dribbles up, gets into the paint, draws the defenders, finds Joe, short shot good
• Paul Pierce hits the 22 footer over LeBron off the dribble
• LeBron cuts under the hoop seals Pierce, Pierce fouls him on the catch. That’s two on Pierce. He has it cooking offensively, a stretch on the bench could hurt him.
• Eddie House is playing. Come on Eddie. LeBron hit both FTs.
• Boston hold for the final shot, Rondo on the drive and kick to Posey, to House, long two. Tied at 18.
• End of the First Quarter
• Do you think Doc just put Eddie in for the end of the quarter or will he roll with him as the backup point? I’m not sure. He did this against Atlanta and then went back to Cassell for the backup minutes
• Great for House to hit an early shot, that’ll do his comfort level the world of good the rest of the way.
• Ray Allen in for Pierce in the second unit
• Joe Smith and Varajeo tap the rebounds to themselves, four taps then the board. Damon Jones took two shots inside of a minute, a floater and a corner three
• Pavolovic picks up the foul on Ray Allen. Boston are up 20-18 off the BBD finish inside from the Ray feed
• Oh Eddie House hits a three pointer off the ball rotation
• Joe Smith pump fake, goes baseline, fouled on the layup, Joe hits one of two. Gotta hit your FT to win these close games.
• Eddie House off the dribble, hits Davis for the dunk
• Wally misses two shots. He’s 1-6 tonight. Bron is on the bench now. They need him back
• PJ deflects the entry pass over the top when fronting Z, out of bounds. Pavlovic misses a face up three
• Joe Smith picks up a ticky tack foul defending Ray on the show on the screen and roll
• Timeout Mike Brown
• Eddie House has a three rim in and out
• James drives on Posey, spin move, layup
• Celtics lead 25-21 with 8 plus minutes to play. Offensive foul on BBD for the moving screen. KG comes back in for PJ Brown.
• Glen Davis fouls on the steal. That was harsh. Cavs ball. Perk back in for BBD.
• James drives inside, James turns it over again after picking up the dribble. Eddie House steals the ball, dribbles for 12 seconds, then passes. Celtics move the ball, going nowhere, oh no, KG wide open from 18 feet and hits off the glass. Varajeo left him alone and wasted a great defensive effort from his teammates for 22 seconds. How can he leave KG that open to go down and double Perk 6 feet from the rim when Z is right there on him? C’mon. That’s dumb.
• James fouled on the drive, hits two.
• Eddie dribbles for 10 seconds, gives it up
• Wally blocks Ray, fastbreak the other way, LeBron against Posey and KG, splits the two, fouled on the layup. James misses two.
• Eddie brings it up, quick pass, into KG, Garnett works on Varajeo, hits the turnaround in the paint
• Ray Allen fouls Wally off the ball coming through all those screens. Wally hits two.
• Eddie House sits down. Rondo back in. Very good job by Eddie House.
• KG hits a 20 footer on the left wing off the dribble with a hand in his face over Wallace. Bad shot, lovely make.
• Wally fouled again, hits both.
• Celtics lead 31-27 at the halfway point in the second
• Rondo works the screen and roll, nothing going, still nothing going on another screen and roll, KG ends up taking a three pointer from the top of the key, miss
• Turnover, LeBron stepped out of bounds. That’s his fifth turnover. He was pushed by Perk in fairness to LeBron this time.
• Posey misses the three, Celtics starting to settle for jump shots
• LeBron in the post, miss, offensive rebound snatched from Posey, out to Wally, miss, out of bounds of KG. Celtics ball, bad call.
• Offensive foul on Perkins, that’s three fouls on Perk. Glen Davis comes back in, Davis has three fouls also. Tony Allen is up on the bench standing and cheerin.
• Better ball movement Cleveland, open three Sasha, hits it
• Timeout Boston with 3:30 to go
• Celts lead 31-30
• Pierce draws the foul, hits two
• Delonte on the pump fake, Rondo jumps by him, misses the 18 footer
• Pierce sets up Glen Davis, layup, miss, offensive rebound, putback, blocked by Wallace out of bounds.
• Ilgauskas back in for Smith, immediately gets a rebound, outlet to James, James dribbles up, hits the trailing Z for a 20 footer at the top of the key.
• Pierce over Wallace, miss, KG fights Z for the rebound, Z gets it
• Rondo fouls James, he’ll shoot two, Celts in the penalty.
• Glen Davis the offensive rebound, Z blocks it, fastbreak, James runs into the paint, nowhere to go. He holds it up, they look agitated, he tries again, messes it up, hands off to Ben, Ben jumps up has nowhere to go, hits it out 30 feet, Delonte kicks it back to Bron, Bron takes a rolling hook on the drive, miss. Rebound KG, outlet pass, Rondo loses it, Wallace gets to the loose ball, tips it off Davis. Z hits a 20 footer off the screen and roll after the inbounds
• Cavs lead 36-33 with 50 secs to go
• Z with a great rebound in the paint, heavily contested off of Rondo’s 20 footer. KG passed up an open 20 footer so Rondo could shoot.
• That ticks me off … KG was open from 20 feet and he passed up the shot to Rondo in the corner. Take the shot, you’re the best shooter on the team from that range. Rondo has barely shot the ball. Why do that? Just take the shot.
• James drives into the paint, fouled. He hits two.
• Pavlovic gives the quick foul. 7 secs remaining. 20 sec timeout Doc.
• Celtics turnover, steal Delonte, dribbles the court, around Garnett, lightly contested, three pointer at the buzzer, hits it.
• Cavs lead 42-33
• Halftime
• Cleveland closed the half on a 17-2 run over the last 6+ minutes
• Some Team Stats - Cavs winning the rebounding battle 26-18 and 10-5 on the offensive boards. The Cavs have 5 assists on 12 made shots. The Celtics have 10 assists on 14 made shots. Shot attempts is equal. The Cavs have shot 32% from the floor, 3-9 from three, 15-18 from the line. The Celtics have shot 38%, 1-10 from three, 4-5 from the line. Combined blocks/steals 8-7 Cavs. Celtics have 9 turnovers (2 for Rondo/Pierce/Garnett/Perk), Cavs 8 (5 James, 2 West). Cavs have given up 5 points off their turnovers, Celts gave up 10.
• Some individual stats Cavs - LeBron James has 13 (2-9), 6 rebounds and 3 dimes. Z has 7, 7 and 2 blocks. Joe Smith has 5 off the bench plus 3 boards, Andy 2 boards, Sasha a three. Delonte has 8 on 3-6. Wally has 6 on 1-7 shooting
• Some individual stats Celtics - Garnett has 13 (6-9) and 4. Pierce has 6 on 2-8 shooting. The bench gave good service, Eddie had 5 and 1, Davis had 4 and 3, Posey had 3 boards and 3 dimes. Rondo is scoreless but took only two shots, he has 3 dimes, 2 boards, 2 steals. Ray has only 3, Perk 2.
• Celtics missed their last 10 shots of the half. They were 14-27 from the field (52%) before their poor finish

Second Half

• Ray misses, James hits, Z defensive rebound. 11 minutes to go.
• James on the right wing, drives left, fallaway in the lane over Pierce, Garnett jumps from behind Pierce, James pump fakes in the air on the fallaway, doesn’t shoot on his way up, doesn’t shoot as he reaches the top of his jump, starts falling back to earth, halfway down he releases the ball, from 12 feet? Swish. What a shot.
• Timeout Doc
• Cavs lead 47-33 with 10:44 to play
• Celtics miss, defensive rebound James, James runs the floor, crossover from 25 feet, goes left, turns on the gas, draws the foul on Pierce. That’s three on Paul. James hits both. Cavs up 16.
• Pierce turns it over as he throws it out of bounds
• Defensive rebound C’s, Rondo pushes it hard, doesn’t get anything, passes to Perk, Perk back to Rondo, Rondo holds the ball up, looks to drive, floater in the lane, blocked by Z.
• Turnover Cavs, moving screen in the open court by Delonte. Ruined a fastbreak.
• Pierce spinning on LeBron, drives inside, hits KG for the dunk, KG goes up soft for the layup, blocked by Ben Wallace and Z.
• Ray gets the rebound, layup. Pierce follows that up with a three pointer. Huge shot.
• LeBron drives inside, to Ben, miss, tap out, Bron has it, didn’t hit the rim, to Delonte, nope, 24 second violation. Good defense Boston.
• Cavs lead 51-38 with 7 and a half to play
• Rondo almost lost it, dribbled for 10 seconds, gave it to Pierce, three from 32 feet. Miss. That was Rondo’s fault. Rebound Wallace.
• Eddie House comes in for Rondo
• Ilgauskas misses the turnaround
• Eddie pushes it, gets it to KG in the post, blocking foul on Wallace. Bad call. That was an offensive foul. Z gets called for a foul on the show. 2 fouls on each.
• Garnett hits the 20 footer over Wallace from the top of the key. His first bucket of the second half.
• Ilgauskas pump faking, driving inside, spin move, almost loses it, turnaround floater, in and out.
• KG’s elevelation has looked off tonight. There’s been a couple of plays where he didn’t look like he could get up high enough to dunk the ball. Maybe he just had poor balance on those plays or something … wierd
• Perk misses the first FT, hits the second. 10 point game now with 6 minutes to play. Cavs need some baskets.
• Ilgauskas misses the layup and three tips
• Garnett comes back and hits off the glass from 10 feet. 8 point game.
• KG has 17, the rest of the team has 26 points
• 5 minutes to go
• Mike Brown about to make some changes, about 90 seconds to late. They’ve been losing their energy for three mintues now.
• Joe Smith comes in for Ben
• Garnett step back J off the dribble from 20 feet. 10-0 run by Boston.
• Delonte throws it out of bounds
• Pavlovic comes in for Wally
• Pierce knocks down the three. It’s a three point game. Down from a 16 point lead.
• James in and out on the J, Joe keeps it alive, Varajeo snatches it, out to LeBron, LeBron holds it, then drives to the rim and gets the layup. Brilliant drive through four Celtics in traffic.
• Garnett misses a 20 footer. He’s been on fire, about time he missed one. KG doesn’t fit in for this series, he’s making too many shots. He’s making everyone else look bad.
• Timeout
• Eddie House sets up Garnett, fouled hard by Joe. Celtics need these. Pressure is on, KG will make them. He hits the first, hits the second
• Varajeo misses the shot, defensive rebound Garnett.
• Garnett on the left wing, drives left, goes back right across the paint, avoids the contact, floater, miss. Loose ball foul on Perk, that’s five.
• Varajeo taps in Bron’s miss
• Eddie House misses a long two off the backboard from the top of the key
• Garnett drives, great defense, Joe helps, Garnett picks up his dribble, tries to get rid of it, 3 second violation. KG took too long to make up his mind.
• Screen and roll between the King and Varajeo, James hits Varajeo, Garnett rotates slowly, off balance, fouls Varajeo, Varajeo gets the shot to go and has a FT. Miss.
• LeBron with the steal, fastbreak, fouled. He hits two.
• Garnett and the Celtics on the bench right now. They’re frustrated. Rondo especially. Then KG. Then Ray. Then Perk. All look mentally beaten up. Gotta get fresh and ready to compete guys.
• Pierce on the clear out, off balance fadeaway, miss.
• End of Three

Fourth Quarter

Ah damn it, my compute froze during the fourth quarter so I lose the detailed accounted of the fourth. LeBron James has been huge.

• 2:30 to go, Cavs lead 69-63, LeBron holds it for the final shot, clear out he’s 40 feet out, Boston send the extra defender, over to Wally on the left wing, huge three pointer from 27 feet. He’s only 2-11.
• Perk with a dunk
• Pierce fouled, he shoots two, hits two
• James forced to give it up, Cavs swing the ball, Z posts up, turnaround misses
• Pierce runs up the floor, offensive foul on the drive
• Cavs lead 72-67
• Turnover, Wally fouls, West blocks from behind
• 23.4 seconds to go
• Ray hits both. Cavs lead 72-69
• Inbounds to Bron, out to Wally, they break the pressure. Wally fouled. He’s an 87% FT shooter. We have a Wally chant. No wait, it’s an inbounds, must have had a foul to give
• There’s 16.2 seconds to go. Cavs lead 72-69, James has 32, 12 and 6 assists. 20 second timeout. LeBron couldn’t get the ball in.
• Joe sprints the floor, hear the shout “throw it high”, Joe goes up and gets it. Joe to shoot two, not a great foul shooter this series. Only 4-8. Joe hits the first, Cavs up 4 points. There’s 14.4 seconds. Ben Wallace comes in for Z for D. Joe hits the second.
• Timeout Doc
• Celtics inbounds, miss, save, miss.

Game Over. Cavs win.

Strange Times

The road record for all teams in the second round is 1 win against 21 losses. The only team to get a win on the road in the second round is Detroit in Game Four down in Orlando. So let’s look ahead to the rest of second round, will this trend continue?

I like the Lakers to win Game Six in Utah and close out the series

I like San Antonio to win Game Seven in New Orleans to win the series

I’m going to roll with Cleveland to win Game Seven in Boston to win the series. My primary reason being that was my pick before the series and I can’t shake the feeling of two things (1) LeBron James is capable of it (2) The Cavs have come mighty close two out of three games in Boston. I’d rate the liklihood of this happening somewhere around 5-8% for Cleveland pulling this Game Seven out and that’s assuming they win Game Six which I’d say is about 55-45% in Cleveland’s favour. Terrible odds, but I just can’t shake the feeling that they’re capable of it and Bron will find a way to get it done.

No, I don’t think this trend continues, it’s just some wierd anomaly. Don’t read too much into it, it won’t last. I think we’ll see three more road victories before it’s all said and done. If not we’ll see more competition on the road in the Conference Finals.

Carlisle Likes Artest

While Artest’s future remains unknown, it was made clear this week that they could have a potential trade partner in Dallas. In a Dallas debut interview on the local ESPN affiliate (Galloway and Co. show), new Mavericks coach and former Indiana coach Rick Carlisle gave a Marv Albert-like “Yes!” when asked if he would coach the 28-year-old Artest again (for the whole interview, read here and here).

“Of course,” Carlisle said when asked if he would coach his former player again. “This guy is one of the real difference-makers that we have in this league. He’s had one all-star year; that’s when he played for me. I’ve had a chance to reconnect with Ronnie a couple times over the last couple of years. I love him and I love his family, so yeah. This guy was one of the most physical, intimidating players that I’ve ever seen at the small forward position, so he’d be a player that any team would want to have.”

Ron Artest would be a huge difference maker for Dallas. That toughness, that defense, that extra scoring option, that post game. The Mavs need big changes and difference makers, someone of Ron’s ability is likely a must find. Artest would be a great start for the restructuring Mavs. Good luck hunting Mavericks.

Wizards’ Defense Still Very Poor

Good article by Kevin Broom over at RealGM, full of information.. This’ll save me sometime later this summer from cutting apart the Wizards over their lacklustre defense.

Let’s break it down a little. In 06-07, the Wizards were 28th in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). This season, they did actually improve just a bit — to 24th. But let’s put this in terms the mainstream media would understand.

In 06-07, the Wiz ran at 94.1 possessions per 48 minutes; this season, at 89.5. In 06-07, they allowed 104.9 points per game; this season, 99.2.

What happens if this season’s Wizards played at the same pace as last season’s? Their points allowed per game would rise from 99.2 to 104.3. In other words, this “improved” defense that Jones and mainstream media are celebrating is in reality an “improvement” of just 0.6 points per game.

As I’ve pointed out gazillion times, NBA defense is primarily about making the other team miss shots. In 06-07, opponents had an effective field goal percentage (eFG is far preferable to FG% because it accounts for the effect of the 3pt shot) of .517. This season, the Wiz allowed opponents an efg of .513 — an improvement of .004. That’s an additional .28 misses per game — about one additional opponent miss every four games. Lemme pause so my heart can stop racing.

The Wiz did a bit better on the boards (defensive rebounding percentage of 72.8% this season vs. 71% last year), but they forced fewer turnovers (defensive turnover rate of 15.5% this season vs. 16.6% the previous year), and they sent opponents to the FT line more frequently.

So taking the season as a whole, the improvement was extremely small.

They’re defense is killing them. No hope of becoming a contender until their D improves, injuries have had nothing to do with it.

Check out the rest of the article. It’s a good read.

Quick Update On Chauncey

Boston Herlald reports

Billups strained his hamstring on May 7 and missed two-plus games in the second round. He went through a full workout with the team yesterday for the first time since getting injured.

“He went through the whole practice, full contact,” Saunders said. “He would’ve played today. He looked good in practice.”

Billups said he can’t sprint straight ahead as well as he’d like, but was encouraged with his health after scrimmaging longer and harder than he expected to be able to do.

Now, he just hopes the break will be long enough to help him get healthy without stunting the team’s rhythm

JJ Reddick Still Not Happy

JJ Reddick cotinues to ask for a trade

“I want to play. There were a lot of things that were said last summer and in the preseason, you know, and I thought I was going to play. It didn’t happen,” Redick said.

“I’m certainly not going to sit there and hear the same stuff and think I’m going to get the same results. I’m going to put some of this on myself to get better, but there’s got to be an opportunity for me to get on the court.”

As for Redick, he’ll talk with Smith this week and the meeting might determine if he stays or not. “The thing I want to discuss is my future here and kind of what their plan is. As I said all along, I want to play here . . . but I want to play,” Redick said. “I can’t predict the future. I honestly think when training camp starts, I’ll be here — that’s my gut feeling — but I don’t know.”

Otis Smith responds

Smith that Redick “could easily go from the third guy to the first guy because other guys opt out as free agents. I do think he’s a pretty good guard. He’s a backup 2 [shooting guard].”

Well I think it’s a disgrace what Orlando are doing to JJ Reddick. If you don’t want him then let him go. Plenty of teams have called about Reddick, Smith has said several times that he’s the most called about player on his roster and that there have been good offers. Then let him go. It’s been two years and both Magic coaches haven’t shown any serious interest about putting him in the rotation. This has reached a point where you’re now just hurting a young player’s career. There are other teams that want to give this kid an opportunity to play, let him have his career.

I understand holding onto a player because he’s an asset but it’s been two years. It’s gotten ridiculous, it’s simply gone on too long.

Orlando need to free JJ Reddick. Play him or move him, just stop hurting his career.

Deke Wants To Return

Dikembe filled the Chronicle in the other day on his plans

“I’m going to consider to keep playing basketball,” said Mutombo, saying his return will now depend on reaching a contract agreement with the Rockets. “The next part will be to tell my lawyer, David Falk. My body and my mind is responding to the thrill of the game. The coaches and the fans and everyone are in there.

“I talked to my wife and kids a lot this week, especially my children. (They) want me to play one more year.”

On his legacy

Mutombo’s 3,278 blocked shots are second in league history, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon’s 3,830.

“When I came into this leagut to the time I walk away, I want to be remembered for one thing, that I was one of the great shot blockers whoever played,” Mutombo said late in the season. “To see the things I’m still doing today at the age of 41, I wonder myself why I haven’t lost my timing.”

Great to hear Mutombo wants to return, he can still play and should continue to play.

Game Six: San Antonio vs New Orleans

I like the Spurs for this game tonight

Tuning in late today, near the end of the first quarter

• Ginobili is at the point as Tony rests
• Spurs lead 26-17
• Skip ahead
• Spurs lead 33-23 after two FTs by Bowen
• Wells has been beating on Udoka down low but hasn’t gotten much success
• Duncan is defending David West right now. He’s getting close, taking away his jump shot and forcing him to put it on the ball. Duncan’s length is enough to trouble West after the drive
• Bowen three pointer left wing. That’s seven straight made shots by the Spurs
• Tim Duncan has 10 and 5 in the first quarter, he’s 5-7 from the field. The Spurs have appearantly been feeding him hard and consistently in the low post.
• End of One
• Spurs lead 36-24
• Scoring for San Antonio - Udoka has 7 off the bench. Bowen 6. Manu 6. Parker 5. Robert Horry is the only other bench player to play getting four minutes replacing Oberto who has 2, 1 and 4 assists.
• Scoring for Hornets - Peja leads the way with 9 on 4-6 shooting, that has to delight New Orleans. Chandler has 6. Paul 5. West 4. Four scoreless players - Mo Pete, Pargo, Wells, Wright
• Second Quarter
• Kurt Thomas starts the second on Chandler
• Wright drives off the right wing, drives to the FT line, runner, hits it
• Duncan draws two fouls early, and takes four FTs. Second foul was the first on Chandler today. He hits 3/4.
• Spurs lead 39-30
• Terrific defense by Tim Duncan on the contest and forcing West to the fadeaway going left off the drive from the top of the key, missed shot.
• Lovely ball movement by San Antonio leading to an open 20 footer for Parker
• Spurs lead 46-39
• Paul screen and roll with Chandler, alley oop pass, dunk
• Paul drives inside, nice layup avoiding Duncan’s shot blocking attempt
• Ginobili nails back to back three pointers
• Parker comes back in
• Spurs lead 55-45
• Timeout with 3 minutes to play in the first half
• Lovely ball movement for San Antonio again, although no good shot, Bowen puts it on the floor, drives, takes the 9 footer, misses. Great look but Bowen creating offense for himself isn’t great.
• Spurs lead 55-45 with two minutes to play
• Peja drives inside, hits the runner. Good defense, better offense.
• Parker posts up Paul, Parker spins inside, layup blocked
• Paul before the half ends, yes
• Halftime
• Some Team Stats - Spurs lead 22-17 on the boards. Hornets have 9 assists on 21 made field goals, the Spurs have 15 on 22. Hornets have taken 5 extra shots. Hornets shooting 48% from the floor, 2-5 from three, 7-7 from the line. The Spurs are shooting 56% from the field, 5-8 from three, 9-14 from the line. Spurs have 5 turnovers and have lost 6 points on them. Hornets have 2 turnovers which San Antonio haven’t exploited. Combined blocks/steals 6-2 Hornets.
• Chris Paul has 15, 6 and 4. Peja has 13 (5-7), Chandler 10. West 8. Rest of the team has 5.
• Tim Duncan has 14, 8, 2 and a block. Manu Ginobili has 15 points and three assists. Parker has 10 points, 2 dimes and 4 boards.
• Spurs lead 58-51

Second half

• Ginobili drives right on Peja, foul. Sideline out, nice movement from San An, into Duncan, double, out to Manu, three pointer, no good.
• Paul drives into the paint, pivots back, fadeaway from 9 feet, miss
• Parker into West, Oberto fadeaway from 10 feet, miss
• Paul hits the runner off of the CHandler screen and roll
• Mo Pete doubles Duncan, catches the kick out
• Chris Paul picks up his third foul pushing off Bowen on a layup attempt on the break
• Paul pushes off on the fastbreak, pushing Bowen off 30 feet from the rim
• Bowen misses a three from the right wing
• Spurs lead 60-55
• Peja misses a face up 17 footer on the right wing
• Byron Scott decides to leave Chris Paul in the game. He has to, good move. Mark Jackson wants Paul to switch onto Bowen though rather than stay on Parker, not happening so far.
• David West called for a foul, he’s upset, yelling at the refs, Mo Pete comes over and calms him down. Tim Duncan immediately takes West into the post, draws another foul on West. He’s livid again, calms himself down this time after a little arm flailing.
• Chris Paul runs the screen and roll with West, drives inside, Duncan helps, out to West from 17 feet, West hesitates, allows Duncan to get out, West goes right, goes left, comes back right, great defense by Duncan sliding his feet and drawing the charge. That’s four fouls. West is pissed off again, he gets a Tech.
• Spurs up 8 now
• West and Paul have four fouls each
• Parker penetrates against Paul and looks to take advantage, steal by Chris Paul
• Oh that was lovely, Manu dribbles on the outside, hits Duncan in the high post, quick pass, lookaway bounce pass through the paint hitting Oberto on the move for the reverse layup. He caught Chandler cheating there.
• Timeout
• Duncan finds an open Parker, nails it
• Paul into the paint to Chandler, alley oop dunk
• Paul into the paint again, floater, hits it
• Spurs lead 68-61 halfway through the third
• Parker on the drive and kick to Manu, open three pointer left wing, nails his fourth three. Spurs up 10.
• The Spurs ball movement has continued throughout the third
• Paul bounce pass on the drive to Chandler, dunk
• Timeout
• Turnover Spurs, no refs looking at each other, yes turnover. Oberto and Manu messed up a hand off on the left sideline
• Block and defensive rebound in traffic by Tim Duncan. Great play. He was surrounded by Hornets.
• Paul drives inside, kick out to West for the 20 footer, miss
• Oberto on the offensive boards, keeps it alive, Hornets come up with it
• Paul backs Parker down, gets the double, pass out, Manu picks up a foul
• Duncan passes out of the double, three pointer Udoka, hits it
• Udoka’s three point shooting has been disappointing all season long after what he did in Portland. It’d be great for San An if he could shoot better in the playoffs, it’d be much easier for them to put him on the floor.
• Chandler on the long tap out, Hornets miss another
• Duncan backs down, left hook in the lane, good move
• Pargo drives to the rim, blocked by Duncan
• Pargo on the fastbreak, reverse layup, blocked by Udoka
• Fastbreak the other way for San An, ahead to Duncan, layup and the foul on Chandler, that’s four on Tyson. Duncan shouting, he’s excited, like Phoenix Suns game winner excited. Misses the FT, Horry gets the offensive rebound on the FT.
• Bowen misses an open three in the corner, another offensive rebound Horry, steal by Paul, Paul pushes it up the floor, through the middle, contested layup, miss.
• Manu misses a three to end the third

Fourth Quarter

• Spurs lead 78-63
• Spurs need to be up by 12 with 6 minutes to play
• Ginobili hits his fifth three from the left wing to start the quarter
• Great ball movement by San Antonio
• Manu Ginobili hits his sixth three off the Duncan double
• Pargo keeps shooting and Pargo keeps missing
• David West fouled, hits his back, he isn’t moving after the fall. He doesn’t want to move. He’s in pain. He might be done for the night. Spasm. Still down. Still has his hand wrapped around his back. Timeout. Hornets trainers looking after him now.
• It was Robert Horry setting a back screen on David West’s bad back. Haha, Mark Jackson thinks veterans all around the country are smiling at Horry’s choice to go at West.
• Horry takes a three from the top of the key, miss
• Horry has 7 championship rings
• Horry fouls Ely down low
• Spurs lead by 21, they’re up 84-63. There’s 9 minutes left in the third. Ely misses the first, hits the second.
• Ginobili yo-yoing at the top of the key, drives and kick to Udoka, three pointer
• West is back in the locker room now, he’s in a tremendous amount of pain, he’s being evaluated now. He had a pinched nerve from game five.
• Another offensive foul on Chris Paul, that’s five. Well done Kurt Thomas taking the charge on the pick and roll. Spurs up 24 with 8 minutes to go.
• Spurs need to be up 12 with four minutes to go or 17 points with 5 minutes to go. I’ll check out at either point.
• Chris Paul checks out for the night. Hornets throwing in the towel.
• JVG makes a very good point. Jacque Vaughn needs to continue shutting down Pargo, you don’t want to give him anything to build on
• Spurs up 22 with 7 minutes
• Horry from 22 feet, misses again
• Wright drives right, pull up on the baseline, hits it
• Spurs up 20 with 6 minutes remaining
• Mike James misses a three pointer from the left wing
• Timeout
• Chris Paul gathers everyone around and gives them their orders. Nice work young fella. Helping out his teammates even in the blowout loss. Showing you give a damn and that these minutes aren’t worthless and should be regarded well because something can still happen.
• Barry with the fadeway off the dribble over James
• Wright drives right hits the FT line, spins back left towards the rim, layup, wow
• Matt Bonner hits the 16 footer off the dribble
• Vaughn misses a 19 footer
• Spurs up 22 with 4 minutes to go
• Ely hits the baseline fallaway

This is over

Spurs win. We’re going to Game Seven.

Backup Point Guard’s Struggling

Nearly all of the backup point guards are struggling in the second round, let’s have a look:

Backup Point Guards

Western Conference

Jannero Pargo - Has yet to have a good game. Has stunk 4 out of 5 games. He’s shooting 25% and taking more shots than Sam. His defense is better than Sam’s. His playmaking has been worse. He has no idea how to be a floor general.

Jacque Vaughn - Terrible performance. His minutes have been cut so Tony Parker can play more so he’s only play 6mpg rather than the 15mpg he averaged in the regular season. He’s done nothing worthwhile in the five games he’s played. He’s been a drag on the ticket. Manu Ginobili has taken over some of the backup minutes, I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten them all.

Jordan Farmer - Has stunk in 4 out of 5 games. He was 1-17 entering the fifth game. Fifth game was mediocre. He’s been getting destroyed on defense by Deron Williams. He hasn’t been able to penetrate or create off the dribble.

Ronnie Price - Not game as good as either of Sam’s two but far more consistent in his impact because of his defense and enery. He’s shooting 27%. He’s also only played 6mpg because of the masterful Deron Williams.

Eastern Conference

Rodney Stuckey - He started two games and starters minutes in a third because of Chauncey’s injury. He played solid in one, well in the second and very well in the third. In the two games where he was a backup he was shooting 25% in over 20mpg. He hadn’t played well there. He’s easily had the biggest impact in the second round because of Chauncey’s injury and his quality play stepping into the void.

Kenyon Dooling - He’s been horrific. He didn’t have a single good game in the series. Quality defense, a couple bad fouls ruining his defense but quality defense. Offensively he’s been a disaster. Dooling has been completely out of control. He’s forced shots, he’s turned the ball over. He’s gone away from Dwight Howard in the post. He hasn’t gotten his best scorers the ball. He has a total of three assists in 67 minutes of action. He’s shooting 38% from the field.

Daniel Gibson - Sam’s primary opponent. He has scored 5.6ppg in 21.4mpg, down from 11.4ppg in 29mpg in the first round. Shooting only 39% and 33% from the field. He’s been below par for four out of five games. He had one very good game, game four, when he beat Sam on a couple of possession late in the fourth. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, Sam’s defense hasn’t been an issue for the majority of this series. He’s played fine defense. They aren’t killing them. Sam is very weak defender, but it hasn’t been an issue for most of this series.

Sam Cassell - He’s been alright. In the first two game of the series he was instrumental in leading Boston to victory which is huge. The next two he was poor. The fifth he was mediocre playing only 6 minutes as Rondo put on a show and played the last 30 minutes of the game. Let’s look at the two good games. Cassell led a fourth quarter rally by scoring 10 of his 13 points in the fourth and by getting KG good shots, either in the post or off the pick and roll. KG had barely touched the ball in a scoring threat position while Rondo ran the third quarter. In game two, the starters were awful in the first quarter and were in a double digit deficit after 7 minutes, Doc switched his rotation and brought the bench in early. Sam had the game on a string, leading the reserves on a huge run that saw Sam play the rest of the half and leading Boston all the way back, then taking the lead into the break. Sam was running the show, he was the best player on the court in the first half of that game. Since then he’s been missing every shot he’s taken, most of which were solid shots, just missed. Sam’s now shooting a delightful 24%.

Rodney Stuckey has easily had the best performances and most impact but only because of Billups’ injury. For play off the bench I’d have to go to Ronnie Price for his consistency and quality play. Third would be Sam Cassell for two very good games against his otherwise inconsistent and poor performances.

Not a great showing from the backup point guards. The one’s you look at most are the strong backups who should be performing better like Jordan Farmer, Jannero Pargo and to a lesser extent Sam Cassell.
Time to step it up lads