OFFICIAL 2010-2011 NBA PLAYOFFS THREAD : VOL. MOST. ANTICIPATED. PLAYOFFS. EVER?

[|A-Man|]

Why would Phil coach the Celts? If he wants an old team he'd stay with the Lakers and tell them not to make any moves. When you look at it the Lakers have a better chance of upgrading with the pieces they have than the Celts.

I see Ainge messing up the team dismantling the whole organization if he started to trade away the Big 3.

I only see Phil coming to NY if we have a Big 3 in place and decent big(s).

 

[pmatic]

43 seconds in, I swear there's like 8 limbs flying in different directions on KD's crossover on Battier.

#Durantula

 

[CP1708]

That play was so incredible. 

 

I'm honestly wonderin if he was just sittin in that corner for a while restin.  Certainly had to be a draining game, it spaced the floor for Russ, cuz they certainly couldn't just leave KD in the corner alone, but resting to me sounds feasible. 

 

[krazy88s]

Dudes is still daydreamin'

 

[shuges]

Originally Posted by JPZx

That process has already started. Tuesday's Post has a report quoting a source saying that Phil Jackson would be open to returning to a team in the right situation.

D'antoni is officially on notice.

Cuz the only place I see Phil coming back to coach is NY. I see him chillin for next season and then returning in 2012-13.

As for the KD/RW debate, I think you guys are missing the point a bit. Durant doesn't necessarily have to scream at Russ to get the rock on every key possession down the stretch. But I feel as if Kev simply has to learn WHEN and HOW to do it. Cuz Russ is just as important to the team as Kevin is. So there are times when Kev should definitely let Russ get his nut off (easy now). Analyzing individual match-ups, the defense, and which one of them is more "on" than the other is still something KD has to work on imo.

Some of you seem to be mad that Russ has the mentality that you wish Kev had...

 

[japanair21]

Josh Smith said that, "I've been a pretty good perimeter shooter this whole season."

You ain't foolin no one Smoove.

Also, Iguodala/Kaman swap?

Is that really all it takes to get Iggy?

 

[duba169]

i don't think amare or melo would be able to handle phil jackson calling them out publicly.

the quotes back and fourth between jackson and the new york media would be on another level. pure comedy.

 

[ballinsam23]

Originally Posted by DubA169

i don't think amare or melo would be able to handle phil jackson calling them out publicly.

its not that serious. i'm sure they hear criticism every single day of their lives.

 

[shuges]

Originally Posted by DubA169

i don't think amare or melo would be able to handle phil jackson calling them out publicly.

Nah, you buggin Dub.

When you have a coach like Phil step in, you IMMEDIATELY change your ways. PJ commands respect. And if Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe can flourish under him, I honestly can't see why Amar'e or Melo would have a problem with ANYTHING he did.

Put it this way, one of them would be sent packing before Phil.

Then again, this IS the Knicks FO we're talking about.

 

[japanair21]

Jordan, Pippen, Shaq and Kobe flourished under him because they were all in their prime under him.

It could work well.

 

[duba169]

maybe i'm just overly pessimistic after the last few decades.

i've decided to have no faith in the knicks whatsoever. so now everything will be a pleasant surprise to me going forward.

 

[proshares]

Westbrook and Josh Smith:

Spoiler

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Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

Heading into the home stretch of the second round, we still have two series that are in genuine doubt, tied at two games apiece.



And in each, we have a polarizing player whose decisions have become a focal point for fans and analysts alike.



In the East, Atlanta and Chicago are all square heading into Tuesday's Game 5 in Chicago, owing in equal parts to a brilliant Game 4 from Josh Smith and brutal Game 2 from Josh Smith.



And out West, Oklahoma City and Memphis evened up after Russell Westbrook scored 40 points in the Game 4 triple-overtime thriller ... and after his choices made him a target for the Thunder's offensive meltdown at the end of the previous game.



In both cases, the two players seem to be battling themselves as much as the opponent. For years, Atlanta's coaches have pushed Smith to stop settling for jumpers and use his athleticism to attack the rim, while Westbrook's decision-making -- and in particular his willingness to call his own number -- has made him a lightning rod for criticism.



So let's look at what's really happening with each.



In Smith's case, it's one shot in particular that has made him a target -- the catch-and-shoot mid-range J that he oh-so-slowly lofts toward the rim while the locals groan in anticipation of a brick. Those of you new to Hawks basketball should know that has been going on for a couple of years now, and the crowd's groans are nothing compared to those of the coaching staff.



By now most people have seen that Smith is 1-for-the-series on jump shots (he made his first one in Game 4), but that wasn't what happened in the regular season. In fact, Smith threw a new wrinkle into the debate this year by actually making enough jump shots to make it a non-terrible choice in the right situations.



Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to know when those are. When Smith shoots and there's only a couple seconds left on the shot clock, that's an appropriate choice. When there's 18 on the shot clock, however, it's a much more questionable decision.



Smith shot 39 percent on long 2s this season according to hoopdata.com, which is significantly better than he's done historically and not far off the league average of 40 percent ... but also significantly worse than he shoots near the basket (68.9 percent). Smith also took two 3-point tries per game and converted only 33.1 percent. As this season wore on, smart Atlanta fans began to realize that the increased success on jumpers was only encouraging him -- ultimately, to his and the team's detriment. Ergo, the groaning as he winds up.



Overall, he averaged long six jump shots a game, and only 4.4 shots at the rim. Even doing so, he was a pretty good player, but the frustration is that he could be so much better. This is especially true going against a slower and turf-toe hobbled Carlos Boozer. In Game 4, when he took 16 shots in the paint and only six from distance, he owned the second half.



Yet the real loss is not in what he can create for himself, but in what he can do for others. Smith is a far better passer than most acknowledge; when he's attacking, Game 4 showed what kind of an all-weather force he can be. Smith's True Shooting Percentage this season has hardly budged even as he's taken more jumpers, but his Assist Rate fell sharply. (The TS% is also a bit misleading -- a big chunk of the reason it's unchanged is that his free throw percentage improved dramatically, which has little to do with his shot selection.)



Along the same lines, it's why it was so disappointing to see Smith backslide in this department under Larry Drew. Under Mike Woodson in 2009-10, Smith took 3.0 long jump shots per game and 6.7 shots at the rim, plus he had essentially abandoned taking 3-pointers, trying only seven all of last season. Not coincidentally, he set career highs in shooting percentage and PER.



Although he criticized Smith in the press after Game 3, Drew has generally given Smith a longer leash than Woodson did on shooting jumpers. Smith has used it to strangle himself at several junctures.



Thus, heading into Game 5, one can only wonder which Smith will show up -- the aggressive, attacking one that destroyed Boozer in Game 4, or the meek jump shooter that showed up for the first two games?



For Westbrook, it's a more complicated debate. He can create his own shot at any time and generally can create pretty decent ones. Although he's not a great outside shooter, at the end of the shot clock, his ability to rise up and reliability get a clean look is valuable.



The "complicated" part comes because he plays with the league's most potent scoring weapon in Kevin Durant. Westbrook's Usage Rate was higher than Durant's this season, which on the face of it appears ridiculous, because Durant was so vastly more efficient with his shots. Durant's TS% was 58.9, while Westbrook's was just 53.8, a shade below the league average of 54.1.



Additionally, there's the undeniable fact that Westbrook's decisions are often less than optimal. This has become particularly apparent in two of the Thunder's three playoff losses -- a close loss in Denver in Game 4 of the first round, and the overtime loss to Memphis in Game 3. In both instances, Westbrook's imperfect instincts at the point guard position led to some questionable shot-pass decisions.



And this is where the Thunder's basketball people all chime in and say: Whoa. Wait a minute.



Westbrook is 22. He had hardly played point guard before coming to the NBA. He is not a natural at the spot by any means but, compared to where he was two years ago, he's improved his decisions by leaps and bounds. And -- especially when James Harden isn't in the game -- he has to make virtually every decision on every trip. As Thunder coach Scott Brooks pointed out after Tuesday night's game, the point guard and the coach become magnets for criticism when the offense fails, and that's particularly true when so much of it is in Westbrook's hands.



Another aspect that gets far too little attention, and has really become apparent to me in the two rounds I've spent covering the Thunder in these playoffs, is how frequently plays called for Durant break down. In those situations, Westbrook is basically forced to improvise a shot -- sometimes a poor one -- because he's often the only other Oklahoma City player on the floor who can reliably generate a halfway-decent look.



Despite all that, there's an unquestionable tension in his game, a fight between the yin of aggressively using his athleticism to take over the games and the yang of getting the rock to Durant. I've seen him try to take over games that Durant had already taken over. I've also seen him tilt too far the other way (though admittedly less often), and ignore a promising matchup because he's trying so hard to be a "true" point guard.



Either way, he can't win. Not unless Durant takes 65 shots and Westbrook plays like assistant coach Mo Cheeks, which has no chance of ever happening.



But because he controls so much of the action, he can be the driving force behind victory, as he was in Game 4 (check out the superb baseline drive-and-kick for a Harden 3 at the end of the second overtime; Westbrook scored or assisted on all 10 Oklahoma City points in that stanza), or a major impediment to it, as he was at the end of Game 3.



And in that sense, he and Smith are the focal points in the upcoming Game 5s. Each has enough ability to win the game single-handedly for his team ... and each is capable of enough spotty decisions to lose it. The next 48 hours are so interesting precisely because we're so genuinely curious as to which of the two alterative outcomes will prevail.

 

[koolbarbone]

Originally Posted by Ballinsam23

Originally Posted by DubA169

i don't think amare or melo would be able to handle phil jackson calling them out publicly.

its not that serious. i'm sure they hear criticism every single day of their lives.

Not from their coaches in the media.

Melo might be able to take it, but Amare's ego is as fragile as papier mache.

 

[al3xis]

I'd be ecstatic if he was our coach, but isn't it safe to say Phil is past HIS prime? He's been in a comfort mode where he can sit back and has guys he can trust on the floor. He goes to a new spot, he has to overhaul everything to fit what he does. I don't know if he has the energy left for that.

 

[mronegative]

Yea...there's no way Phil goes to Boston if and after Doc leaves. Dude came back to the Lakers, because 12 and 3-peat sounded like good numbers. He's not going to old %%+ KG and Pierce, especially after Doc won a ring with em, on him.

That being said...I think Phil would sonn Dolan. Buss is the original %+$++%#$*+@+ meddling owner and Phil found a way to work with him.

Poor Isiah...Phil would have him banned from NY state.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

The only way Phill is going anywhere if it's a ready made championship team.

 

[duba169]

i said the same think but 67 is the new 57. people are living much longer and being very functional and energetic into their mid 80's

i think going out and getting a young up and commer would be a better idea but amare and melo wouldn't respect them. dolan wouldn't respect them. and the media wouldn't respect them.

i mean the last time the knicks won we had freaking Red Holtzman. last time we had a serious chance we had Pat the Rat. It's very, very, VERY hard to coach in NYC.

 

[duba169]

Originally Posted by Osh Kosh Bosh

The only way Phill is going anywhere if it's a ready made championship team.

there is no such thing with the heat in the league though. nobody is for sure going to beat them. he will have to take a chance even if another team has a big three

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Osh Kosh Bosh

The only way Phill is going anywhere if it's a ready made championship team.

 

[mronegative]

Originally Posted by koolbarbone

Melo might be able to take it, but Amare's ego is as fragile as papier mache.

yeaaa.... 

 I'll say this much...if LaLa broke him and Ciara up...right before playoffs, dude would turn into Shawn Bradley.
And yeah...after this offseason and trade deadline, there's gonna be maybe 10 upgrades on the Knicks. at least 2 vital. Who knows...

 

[jpzx]

The Jackson 5.... Wade, Bron, Bosh, Chalmers, Joel.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by JPZx

The Jackson 5.... Wade, Bron, Bosh, Chalmers, Joel.

You can say that about any team.

The Jackson 5.... Mo Williams, Eric Gordon, Aminu, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan.

 

[japanair21]

Man, the All-NBA teams are taking forever to get out.

Last year they were announced by the 6th.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

The Jackson 5....................

Thornton, Evans, ________, DMC, Sammy

 

[japanair21]

Dallas assistant Dwane Casey and former Cleveland coach Mike Brown will get the first two interviews for Golden State Warriors' vacant coaching position.
The team will likely take its time in finding a new head coach, but this is consistent with previous reports that they'd target a veteran NBA coach. Assistants Lawrence Frank (Boston) and Brian Shaw (Los Angeles) could also be in the mix, but it's possible that they stay with their current organizations.


Dammit, stay away from our coaches, I like Dwane Casey.

At least wait till the off-season.