Musings on the Second Season

Musings on the Second Season

One day into the playoffs, and no big surprises.  We knew that Dallas was old and unathletic even before Chandler Parsons went down for the year with a knee injury.  Any team that relies on Dirk, Deron Williams, Raymond Felton, Zaza, and Salah Mejri in crunch time, is going to be defensively challenged.  I watched roughly 3 minutes of the game before turning it off; it was as if the Mavs were moving in slow motion.  Dirk doesn’t look much physically different than he did 10 years ago, but he is slower and couldn’t jump over a coffee cup at this point in his career. 

Last tango in Paris?

The general rule is to pick the team with the best player in a series; when the two best players are on one team, it is almost unfair.  Durant may never play for OKC after this season; I think he and Westbrook are both aware of the potentially fleeting nature of their partnership and intend to take advantage of their remaining time together.  They are going to absolutely massacre Dallas.  This series should be over in four games, but if the Mavs’ role players excel in a home game and Dallas gets some hometown officiating, this series could go 5.

In the Eastern Conference, the Raptors lost game 1, as they are wont to do.  It isn’t hard to understand why: talent wins more than effort in the playoffs, when effort is no longer skewed one way or the other.  In the playoffs, the game is slower, tighter, and more methodical.  There are less bad turnovers, less fast break opportunities, and more physical, grinding, half-court possessions.  In such a scenario, the team with the best player usually wins.  Paul George is the best player in the series, by a wide margin.  Before he suffered the gruesome leg-break, PG was already a superstar.  Who will ever forget him playing LeBron to a virtual standstill at the pinnacle of LBJ’s powers (like Reggie did against MJ), blowing by him, and dunking on Birdman’s very soul?  As good as Kyle Lowry and DeRozan are, they aren’t playoff superstars.  I expect the Pacers to win a close series.

On the subject of talent and effort, when the playoffs come around and the intensity level ratchets up, I am reminded of all those people who prefer college basketball to the real thing.  They say the kids try harder, it is a purer sport, and that March Madness is exciting.  I can understand someone cheering for his alma mater, but for real basketball fans, there is nothing like the highest level of competition.  Keep your March Madness; I will always prefer watching professionals at the peak of their abilities playing against each other for the highest of stakes.  The glory of June lasts forever; an NBA player’s resume is never complete without a ring, or at least a trip to the Finals. 

CP3 and Blake ready for their annual fishing trip after another failed playoff run.  

Speaking of playoff glory, keep in mind the primacy of the second season when you hear someone anoint Chris Paul one of the best point guards of all-time.  How can someone who has never even made it to a Conference Finals be a legend?  How can one be an all-time great without ever making his team great?  It isn’t as though Paul lacks a talented supporting cast; he plays with one of the best power forwards in the league, a dominant defensive center, a deadeye shooter, and has a walking heat check off the bench in Jamal Crawford.  If the Clippers can’t make it to the Conference Finals this year (and they won’t), it will get harder and harder to consider Paul as historically elite in the second season.  One could say that Paul has been snake-bitten to play in the same conference as the Big Three of the Spurs, or against Steph Curry and his otherworldly talent.  However, that argument doesn’t hold up.  The Jazz, who never won a title despite having one of the greatest point guards and one of the greatest power forwards of all-time, at least made it to the Finals twice.  The Supersonics of Payton and Kemp made it to the Finals, as did Charles Barkley and his Suns. Reggie Miller made it to the Finals with the Pacers, and Patrick Ewing made it to the Finals with the Knicks.  None of them won a ring, but they got a lot closer than Paul ever has.  It is starting to look like Chris Paul will only make it to the NBA Finals if he buys a ticket to the game (of course, if the rumored “super friends” squad of Chris Paul, Wade, LeBron, and Carmelo are able to assemble in LA Clippers’ regalia this summer, that could change).

"Are you telling me Marc Gasol and Conley are BOTH out?  LOL"

Getting off my Chris Paul tangent, back to the picks:  San Antonio will beat the Grizzlies (if you can even call them the Grizzlies with their 2 best players on IR) in 4 games.  It will look like a regular season game for the Spurs; everyone will play 25 minutes and Bobo Marjanovic will get some run in the 4^th quarter of blowouts.  Timmy, Tony, Manu, and Boris will be seen laughing hysterically on the bench, and Popovich will try to maintain his serious demeanor in the face of a D-League-caliber opponent. 

Boston vs Atlanta has all the makings of a seven-game series, although if Avery Bradley is hurt, the Celtics might not make it that far.  Both teams are scrappy; while Atlanta is still the better team, the Hawks are on the downswing while Boston is on its way up.  Sadly for Hawks’ fans, the team’s window is closed, as Kyle Korver went from a lights-out shooter to a one-dimensional guy who seems unable to add any nuance to his game.   In the long run, who cares though?  Neither of these teams has a chance in hell at being world champion any time soon.  

"Please carry me, LeBron"

The Cavs will beat the Pistons, but it won’t be a sweep; LeBron is past his prime and Detroit is tough.  Reggie Jackson, if he has recovered from his abdominal strain, will give the inconsistent Kyrie Erving fits, Andre Drummond is a true alpha big man, and Tobias Harris and the less-prickly Morris twin will make LeBron and Kevin Love work on defense.  I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Detroit were to win 2 games this series; Cleveland is good, but not great, and definitely less than the sum of its parts.  I bet Kevin “white Chris Bosh” Love regrets re-upping with a team that apparently has wasted his skills and or made him into a mediocre player.  This guy went from putting up 26 and 12 to 16 and 10, with a lower shooting percentage and seemingly much less confidence.    

Blake and his main sparring partner.  A really tough guy is Mr. Griffin.

The series between the Clippers and the Blazers should be high scoring and exciting, but the Clips are a much better team.  If Chris Paul and friends can’t beat a band of upstart kids with no playoff experience, then he should retire, Blake should become a pro fighter (preferably only against people much smaller, as is his preference), JJ should become a hair model, and DeAndre should make commercials full-time.   As well as Patriot League standout CJ McCollum has played, and as much of a star as Lillard has become, they are still woefully unequipped to beat a team with as much experience making it to the second round and then losing as the Clippers.

The last series in the Eastern Conference, between Miami and the Hornets, should be fun.  Kemba Walker is a blur, Nic Batum is a skinny man’s Boris Diaw, and Marvin Williams has become a legitimate two-way player.  Charlotte has a great bench; Lin, Al Jefferson, Frank the Tank, Spencer Hawes, and Psycho T, all of whom seem to make legitimate contributions on a regular basis.  If Michael Kidd-Gilchrest and his bulldog defense were playing, I might pick them in this series, but I think Miami is a bit too tough.  Dragic has rediscovered his game, Wade has a nasty old man game, Winslow and Richardson are providing athleticism off the bench, the addition of Joe Johnson was huge, and Whiteside has been killing people.  If Bosh weren’t injured (sick?), I would take them to beat the Cavs.  Alas, for a second straight season, it is not to be. 

The look of a champion. 

Finally, we have the Warriors vs James, Dwight, and the rest of the embarrassing Rockets.  Steph Curry played 3 minutes in the second half and the Dubs still won in a blowout.  Even if Curry’s ankle is badly injured, the Rockets are terrible and pose no danger to the Warriors.  I wonder where Dwight will end up playing after this disastrous season; maybe he can go to China and finally win a title.