So the first weekend of NBA Playoffs went down, and there is
much to talk about. I have no witty
opening since I am a little fired up, so I’m just going to get right to it.
Let’s start with Bulls-Nets since Derrick Rose’s ACL injury
put me in such a depression I gave up blogging the entire season. Rose has now become the source of a great
controversy surrounding the Bulls as many are upset he has not returned from
his injury yet, and likely won’t this season.
People are questioning Rose’s heart and toughness and trying to make him
look like a bad guy because he has been cleared by doctors to play for months
but won’t come back.
Call me crazy, but I feel like there is more to a return
from a major injury than simply being told by doctor’s that structurally you
are good to go. If he isn’t comfortable
then he isn’t comfortable. Players like
LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony have defended Rose’s decisions
thus far, and you haven’t heard anything about the organization being furious
with him for not playing, and his teammates all stand by him. You only really hear the shit talking coming
from fair-weather fans and idiots.
The Bulls didn’t re-sign Rose to win a title in 2013, the
Bulls re-signed him to contend for years to come since he is an amazing
basketball talent and if you have to sacrifice one whole season for him to come
back strong then so be it. But frontrunners
seem to know what’s right for the Bulls and Rose and feel he is a dirt bag
because he isn’t playing right now. I am
only mad that they would not announce Rose is out for the year months ago since
they knew it all along. I am not mad he
is missing time. Screw it, they can win
next year or the year after. I would
much rather Rose take the time to get comfortable than come back too soon, a
decision basically everybody but people who don’t know anything about anything
sympathize with.
People are saying Rose isn’t tough and doesn’t have heart,
but if you stop and think for a minute you would realize that makes no
sense. The only reason LeBron James
isn’t about to win a fifth straight MVP is because Rose played out of his mind
two years ago. Fair-weather fans and
idiots have short memories and now think Rose was overrated this whole time, but
he was a death dealer in 2010-11 and nobody should forget it. Then in the playoffs he badly sprained his
ankle against the Pacers but kept playing and took a beating every night all
the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Then the next season he was nursing injuries to his back,
his groin, basically his entire body. He
pushed himself hard to come back and try to win the championship, but he has no
heart? He ended up tearing his ACL
because of that. That’s a major injury,
and just because Adrian Peterson could come back quick and be successful that
doesn’t mean Derrick Rose is ready.
Maybe it comes from the fact I enjoy fighters like Anderson Silva and
Lyoto Machida, but I recognize patience is extremely important and right now
isn’t as important as setting up for the future. Who is the motherfucker who has delivered
again and again in big games for the Bulls and said he wants to lead them into
the future? I’ve never had reason to
doubt Rose before, and just because the Bulls won’t win a championship this
season I am not about to start doubting him.
So the moral of the story in terms of Bulls-Nets is that the
Bulls are fucking terrible and are going to lose in six games, and I don’t feel
bad that Rose won’t be playing. Noah’s
hurt, Hinrich’s hurt, Hamilton’s
a walking injury, Gibson’s hurt, Deng is drained from too many minutes yet
again. Yes, the next part of Rose’s
rehab is to play in a game, but if he isn’t comfortable then why rush him back
to take part in the ass kicking they are going to be dealt for the next
week? And the Nets are just going to get
beaten by Miami
next round anyways so I won’t even bother discussing them.
The Nuggets-Warriors game was pretty wild. Last year the Nuggets were on pace to set the
world on fire until everybody got injured.
They were ready to set everybody on fire this year but things looked bad
once Danilo Gallinari went down with a torn ACL and Kenneth Faried got
hurt. But the beauty of the Nuggets is
that they play an amazing team game. The
Nuggets could very well make it to the Finals.
They are that good even without a superstar to lead the way. Ty Lawson is filthy, Andre Iguodala is solid,
and Andre Miller is still good.
Miller, at the age of about 867, drained the game winner
with 1.3 second left to give the Nuggets the victory in Game 1. The 37-year-old has missed six games in his
entire career, and has overcome his strange Smokey Robinson voice to become one
of the most reliable players of the era.
Speaking of reliability, the Warriors were dealt some damage when David
Lee suffered a torn hip flexor and had to leave the game. Lee got a whole lotta money, never really
played up to it until this year, and now he goes down with an injury. That’s a big problem for Golden State
as they need all the help they can get against the amazing team game of Denver. I figured the Nuggets could handle them
before, but now with Lee out it seems like Denver just got a much easier road to the
second round.
I thought I wanted to see the Knicks make it out of the East
until I saw Game 1 of their series with the Celtics. In life there are few things I hate more than
the Madison Square Garden
crowd. Spike Lee is a douche, and Knicks
fans suck at life. Now that the Knicks
are good, there are a lot of obnoxious frontrunners afoot. The Garden crowd acts like their team is the
best team in the universe when they are winning, then boos the team off the
floor when they aren’t playing well. Now
all of a sudden they have “real” fans because they are good but you know if
they get eliminated by Miami
in Game 6 of the Conference Finals the Garden crowd will be booing their own
players because they are morons.
Boston
has had a nice run after losing Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL a few months back,
but this is where the run ends. They are
a solid defensive team, but their offense is only slightly less ugly than that
of the Bulls. Even if Carmelo Anthony decides
against passing and keeps shooting terribly, it will be enough to carry the
Knicks since Pierce and Garnett might be cooked. And Jason Terry was a waste of a signing. Thanks for that amazing 0-5 performance,
Jet! Jeff Green can play his ass off in
the first half all he wants, but the Knicks have too many weapons on offense
and the Celtics don’t have anything.
These teams are fairly evenly matched defensively, but down the stretch
in a close game New York
will kill them because of weapons like Anthony and JR Smith, and that is what
happened on Saturday.
The Clippers-Grizzlies series has me torn. On one hand, I really like the
Grizzlies. I thought they would be the
team to beat in the West since they play such solid defense and a good team
game. I love the Gasol-Randolph team
down low, I love that they have Tayshaun Prince now, I love that Jerryd Bayless
cut his hair and grew a beard and looks like Carlos Boozer. The Grizzlies are a tough, solid team. On the other hand, I love the Clippers. Chris Paul is the best point guard in the
league, Blake Griffin is an animal, Chauncey Billups is a good man, but Vinny
Del Negro is their coach. It will be a
very entertaining series, but ultimately the Clips may pull this one out
somehow. I hope I don’t miss any games
from this one.
The Hawks-Pacers series is the most uninteresting series I
could ever think of. Two teams I can’t
stand in one place. I will not talk about
this further.
The Heat-Bucks series will be a source of great comedy on a
game-by-game basis since Milwaukee
guard Brandon Jennings said they would defeat the Heat in six games. There isn’t much to say about this series
since the Bucks are completely overmatched and will get swept. But at least Brandon Jennings makes funnies.
I was excited for the Thunder-Rockets series until the first
few minutes of last night’s game. I
stepped out of the room and missed the first few minutes of the game and walked
in to see the score was 13-2 and the Rockets had not hit a field goal. Granted it was still early, but that said
everything I needed to know about the series.
The Rockets have an exciting young team, but the Thunder have been
possessed all season. Houston just doesn’t have enough to stop
OKC. Maybe they can win a game in
Houston, but really the Thunder are going to jack them up since too much
Houston offense revolves around James Harden isolations and missed threes.
And the last series, the best series, is the LA Lakers vs.
the San Antonio Spurs. 10 years ago this would be a showdown of the West’s
superpowers. This year, it is the
hobbled Lakers meeting a determined Spurs squad playing like this is their last
time out. Mike D’Antoni, so stubborn in
his ways, is the reason Kobe Bryant is out.
You can’t play a guy who has 20 seasons worth the wear and tear on his
body (17 seasons plus post-season and Team USA stuff) for over 40 minutes a
night and rely on him to do everything.
That was how D’Antoni approached the home stretch of the season and it
cost the Lakers dearly. Steve Nash isn’t
100% and D’Antoni’s defenseless approach to the game is only going to make
things worse.
The Spurs made D’Antoni’s life a living hell for most of the
2000s, and it is happening again. Tim
Duncan is playing like it is 2003 again and all signs point to this being his
last run. I have written here before
about how Tim Duncan is an amazing talent, and this season only reaffirmed
those statements. He has elevated his
game yet again and the Spurs are poised to dominate. LA is a mess with no depth and no defense, so
they may not have a good shot against the Spurs juggernaut.
That is it for the weekend’s games. I will try to talk some trash about the other
games this week at some point.
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