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

[JD617]

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."
What a pretentious douche.

 

[JD617]

[h1]Dirk torches Thunder in Game 1 victory[/h1]
In case you missed Tuesday night’s shootathon in Dallas, here are some of the biggest storylines to come out of the Mavericks’ 121-112 series-opening victory over the Thunder, and what to look forward to in Thursday’s Game 2:

• Dirk Nowitzki’s individual performance was obviously brilliant (48 points on 12-for-15 shooting from the field and 24-of-24 from the free-throw line), but the level to which he is lifting the Mavs’ overall offense is extraordinary. Dallas is averaging 115.9 points per 100 possessions in the postseason. No team in the history of the league has scored so efficiently over a full season, according to Basketball-Reference’s database, and only six have cracked the 115 barrier. Four of those teams featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson.

The Thunder rank second in the playoffs with an average of 110.2 points per 100 possessions. That gap of 5.7 points per 100 possessions between Dallas and Oklahoma City is about the same as the gap between the league’s top-ranked offense in the regular season and the 18th-ranked offense.

It’s crazy to see such a wide margin. It’s even crazier that Dallas is managing this in the playoffs, when scoring generally dips; the league is averaging about 1.2 fewer points per possession in the postseason.

• To put Dirk’s performance in perspective, here is the complete list of players who have scored 45 or more points on 16 or fewer field-goal attempts in a regular-season game since the start of the 1985-86 season.

• What was interesting about Game 1 was the degree to which Dallas worked from simple post-up sets. The Mavs finished 23 percent of their possessions in the post, up from 9.8 percent in the regular season, according to the stat-tracking service Synergy Sports. That’s massive, and it’s mostly a function of the Thunder’s total inability to defend Nowitzki there. As badly as Nowitzki torched Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison, I wonder if Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks regrets all the experimenting he did with Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden guarding the Dallas forward. Those guys had no chance, and the points Dallas piled up via those mismatches turned out to be more important than it appeared they would be, since the Thunder rallied late.

• Thing to watch going forward: The Thunder had Ibaka jump out hard on ball-handlers when the Mavs ran pick-and-rolls with Nowitzki as the screener. That surprised me because playing it that way gives Nowitzki space to roll to the rim or pop out for jumpers.

But the Mavs didn’t really hurt the Thunder for this approach — with a few exceptions. Ibaka played the passing lanes pretty well as he recovered to Nowitzki, and the Thunder guard defending the ball-handler did a nice job of bumping Dirk or lingering near him just long enough to throw off Dallas’ timing.

And when that failed, Russell Westbrook helped liberally off Jason Kidd. Watch for this in the next game. A great example: At the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, Jason Terry and Nowitzki ran a pick-and-pop on the right sideline. Ibaka left Nowitzki to trap Terry, allowing Dirk to pop free near the top of the circle. This was a nightmare scenario for the Thunder, as Dirk had the choice of a wide-open jumper or driving through the lane. But as Nowitzki readied to make the catch, Westbrook was on his back, ready to swipe at the ball. And where was Kidd? Totally unguarded, on the other side of the floor.

Different versions of this happened throughout the game. Even when it was Kendrick Perkins who left his man to take Nowitzki, he did so with the knowledge that Westbrook would leave Kidd and crash down on Dallas’ center.

Kidd was just 1-of-3 from the floor, but he did notch 11 assists, largely by making easy passes to open players as the Thunder recovered from overloading on Nowitzki. But Oklahoma City, in Game 1 at least, designated Kidd as someone it could leave open.

• For whatever reason, the Thunder abandoned the hard-hedging strategy against the Nowitzki/J.J. Barea pick-and-roll in the second half. As Barea dribbled around the Nowitzki pick, Ibaka either stayed attached to Nowitzki or gave a token reach toward Barea while keeping his other arm on Dirk’s waist. This was how the Lakers defended this play in the second round, and Barea again took advantage by getting into the lane and creating problems.

A note of encouragement for the Thunder: They managed this play better when Westbrook re-entered the game in the fourth quarter. Westbrook did what Lakers fans were screaming for their guys to do — go under the pick and dare Barea to shoot mid-range jumpers. Of course, Barea hit both a three-pointer and a mid-range shot against this strategy, but you have to concede those.

• Thunder guard Nate Robinson was awful, and we may not see him again for a while. He had no clue how to negotiate those Barea pick-and-rolls, nearly running into Ibaka at least twice as Barea pranced into the paint. And the one time Robinson successfully cut off Barea, the Mavs reset, and Barea just blew by a flat-footed Robinson in isolation.

• Kevin Durant said after the game that he bet his house on Westbrook not shooting 3-of-15 again, and he’s probably right. But the Thunder have now played Dallas four times this season, and Westbrook is 17-of-59 (29 percent). He has gotten to the line a ton, but it’s very hard to come out a net positive if you’re shooting 30 percent from the floor.

Dallas has found a way, in both zone and man defenses, to force Westbrook into tricky mid-range shots — and to contest those shots at least mildly. And when Westbrook gets to the rim, the combined length of Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler is bothering him. We all gush over the length of the Lakers’ frontcourt, but as Dean Oliver and Pete Newmann pointed out at ESPN.com recently, Dallas can nearly match the Lakers in that sense. That has been an underrated thing for the Mavs all year.

• On the bright side for the Thunder: Shawn Marion cannot guard Durant. The scoring champ is too quick for Marion off the dribble and running around screens, and Dallas is going to have a tough time even limiting Durant in man-to-man situations. It was only one game, but Chandler was not as aggressive as Marc Gasol in jumping off his man and blitzing Durant on those Ray Allen-style baseline screen plays, when Durant pops out toward the foul line area. That’s one adjustment the Mavs might be able to make in Game 2.

• There was a telling possession at the 4:30 mark of the fourth quarter, when Nowitzki set up on the right block with Marion behind the three-point line on the right wing. Durant basically ignored Marion and stood in front of Nowitzki, denying the entry pass. This is going to be an issue all series, and perhaps the Thunder will sag off Marion even more dramatically in the future. This should be a bonus of having Durant on your team, after all; the Mavs need Marion on the floor a lot (foul trouble aside), and tighter spacing is the punishment for that.

• Another possible good harbinger for the Thunder: Dallas’ offense was a mess when Nowitzki sat, especially during the first quarter, when it devolved into a series of going-nowhere pick-and-rolls, hot-potato passes around the perimeter and one Terry airball. The Mavs were minus-3 in the seven minutes Dirk sat.

• You could tell the difference in quickness between the Thunder and Lakers, couldn’t you? The close-outs were better, and there were many more instances of a Dallas spot-up guy starting his shooting motion only to close it down at the last second as his defender recovered. Some of the threes Dallas made were tough looks, at least compared to the gimmies it got against Los Angeles.

 

[duba169]

he is right though

 

[JD617]

he is right though

I agree, but what a dickwad. Acting like a statue is his birthright.

 

[CP1708]

Dirk 48
Terry 24
JJ  21
Marion 11
Kidd, Chandler, Peja, DeShawn, and Haywood, ALL with 3.
Brewer 2

Just like I said, let Dirk score all damn night long.  Stop those other guys.  If they chip off a bucket or 2 from JJ and Dirk doesn't get 24 free throws, you have a shot.  I mean, Dallas damn near looks like Miami right there with 3 man scoring.  93 points from 3 guys.  No one else did a damn thing for them in this game. 

I wonder if Brooks overreacts and tries to help stop Dirk, or likes what he sees and just stays a little tighter on the rest of the guys.  Dirk could go for 50 easy in this series. 

And Russ was bad at 3 for 15, even slightly better, hell, 6 for 15 woulda helped and they could be in good shape. 

But make no mistake, Dirk is COOKING. 

 

[duba169]

it isn't his birthright but Mr clutch, the logo only won one championship. he got a statue. so I can see where he is coming from.

 

[krazy88s]

How crazy was the Dirk for Robert Traylor trade tho? lol

 

[scuse7]

Just move on Kareem

pretty beat

 

[pmatic]

Brown finds Warriors job 'intriguing'

Mike Brown finds the Warriors head coaching job “intriguing,

 

[cato312]

Originally Posted by DubA169

it isn't his birthright but Mr clutch, the logo only won one championship. he got a statue. so I can see where he is coming from.

I see what you're saying, but don't also discount that West was the architect of the ShaqKobe 3-peat teams.

Kareem has a valid point definitely deserves a statue, and when he gets it I hope it actually looks like him unlike Magic's

 

 

[CP1708]

 kaj33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Rumor has it that I will be getting a statue. A caveat for all my fans-don't hold your breath. Lakers don't care about me

 

  What is this dude doing? 

 

[japanair21]

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."


I honestly can't see Kareem saying that. At all.

Letting Dirk score all he wants is a bad idea. You can't just stop our guys like that. It's not that simple.

We don't just run plays through Dirk, we run pick and rolls with Barea and Terry with our bigs all the time.

If Dirk has another 40 pointer and he's not outdone by Durant, we aren't losing.

 

[CP1708]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."

I honestly can't see Kareem saying that. At all.

Letting Dirk score all he wants is a bad idea. You can't just stop our guys like that. It's not that simple.

We don't just run plays through Dirk, we run pick and rolls with Barea and Terry with our bigs all the time.

If Dirk has another 40 pointer and he's not outdone by Durant, we aren't losing.

They let 3 people score dude.  Slow up JJ or Terry just a smidge better and what do you have?  You had 3 guys score NINETY THREE points, just like Miami been doin all year. 

Let Dirk go for 50 every game and hold off the rest, and they have a shot.     Sooner or later Dirk will wear down too.  Scorin 50 every night ain't easy.  Terry and JJ deserve credit, they played well with Dirk, no one else was there.  They didn't even get 30 points did they?  Between 8 other guys. 

 

[pmatic]

Excellent read on Thibodeau and the Bulls defense: http://bit.ly/iPplSU

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."

I honestly can't see Kareem saying that. At all.

Letting Dirk score all he wants is a bad idea. You can't just stop our guys like that. It's not that simple.

We don't just run plays through Dirk, we run pick and rolls with Barea and Terry with our bigs all the time.

If Dirk has another 40 pointer and he's not outdone by Durant, we aren't losing.

They let 3 people score dude.  Slow up JJ or Terry just a smidge better and what do you have?  You had 3 guys score NINETY THREE points, just like Miami been doin all year. 

Let Dirk go for 50 every game and hold off the rest, and they have a shot.     Sooner or later Dirk will wear down too.  Scorin 50 every night ain't easy.  Terry and JJ deserve credit, they played well with Dirk, no one else was there.  They didn't even get 30 points did they?  Between 8 other guys. 
Their defense is good enough for that? No.

When has this magical idea of yours ever been used?

Because it's not practical. It sounds nice in theory, wear down the other teams main guy, but we aren't the Allen Iverson 76ers. You want to just let Dirk get his shot off, it's literally practice for him. Guys take HUNDREDS of shots everyday in practice. You don't think Dirk could hit most of em?

I mean, it just doesn't sound plausible. Are they that good defensively that they can just let Dirk go?

By that measure, why don't teams just let Rose score 70 points every game, and stay at home on the rest of the guys?

It's not practical my dude. Stretches at a time, I guess.. But that guy gets hot, they start worrying so they start doubling him, and it's just a revolving door.

 

[CP1708]

PMatic, GREAT article on Tibs.  I only wish that @#$%^ Luke could read it. 

JA, you read this thread, yes?  You don't remember just a week ago people talking about the Spurs letting Amare go off on Duncan for the whole series?  You were here, weren't you? 
So you don't think he would miss after a while?  He'll just go on and on and on and never miss a basket?  That's what he does, he shoots 98 % or some @#$%? 

  Guys miss shots eventually.  He'll do major numbers, but sooner or later shots will fall off.  And you can switch it up say in the 4th.  1 on 1 him all game long, final 6 minutes, THEN you double/triple team him.  If guys been standing around all night, will they hit shots at the end of the game?  *shrugs*  Seems like a good way to go about it. 

Let Terry and Peja, JJ, even Kidd get into a rhythm shooting, no I don't like that idea, but let them do nothing, blanket them, and then ask them to hit a big shot late out of nowhere, those chances I like. 

We'll see what Brooks does, but that shoulda been our strategy, and it should be OKC's.  They have enough defenders to guard Dirk all night long, even with fouls and foul trouble.  They could line 6 different dudes on him, hack him, push him, run him, do whatever, and if he can do that for 40+ minutes, shooting 25-30 times, and score 50+ and win, then tip your cap and say great game/series to the guy.  But if you wear him down a little...........

 

[hankmoody]

wow...Kareem is going off on his twitter and is doing the media circuit tomorrow. ruh-roh. One of the worst months in Laker history for sure now.

This is awesome.

 

[|A-Man|]

Originally Posted by JD617

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."

What a pretentious douche.
You just throwing out words now. None apply to Kareem.

 

[big j 33]

With no affiliation or interest in Kareem or the Lakers, I'm very interested in seeing Kareem and the Lakers go back and forth.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

You are asking a lot of Dirk to play like this for 4 games in 7, this could be a Chris Paul lakers situation where simply one players greatness is not enough.

I wish it was but honestly, I don't feel any less confidant in my OKC pick, hope I'm wrong.

 

[CP1708]

I wouldn't imagine that we'd go back and forth with him though. 

I agree the dude should get a statue, but beggin for it.....

 


In the Laker thread, someone made a point about Kareem and Shaq not getting one because they played elsewhere.  I dunno if I agree with that or not.  I think Kareem should get one, Shaq goes in the rafters, but I dunno if he should get a statue outside Staples either.  That's a bit much. 

I hope Kareem gets one though, not sure why it never happened yet, but I don't agree with him crying about it on twitter. 

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by Osh Kosh Bosh

 I wish it was but honestly, I don't feel any less confidant in my OKC pick, hope I'm wrong.

My sports book account hopes you are right

 

[japanair21]

JA, you read this thread, yes? You don't remember just a week ago people talking about the Spurs letting Amare go off on Duncan for the whole series? You were here, weren't you?
So you don't think he would miss after a while? He'll just go on and on and on and never miss a basket? That's what he does, he shoots 98 % or some @#$%? smiley: laugh Guys miss shots eventually. He'll do major numbers, but sooner or later shots will fall off. And you can switch it up say in the 4th. 1 on 1 him all game long, final 6 minutes, THEN you double/triple team him. If guys been standing around all night, will they hit shots at the end of the game? *shrugs* Seems like a good way to go about it.

Let Terry and Peja, JJ, even Kidd get into a rhythm shooting, no I don't like that idea, but let them do nothing, blanket them, and then ask them to hit a big shot late out of nowhere, those chances I like.

We'll see what Brooks does, but that shoulda been our strategy, and it should be OKC's. They have enough defenders to guard Dirk all night long, even with fouls and foul trouble. They could line 6 different dudes on him, hack him, push him, run him, do whatever, and if he can do that for 40+ minutes, shooting 25-30 times, and score 50+ and win, then tip your cap and say great game/series to the guy. But if you wear him down a little...........smiley: wink


Just wondering which series you are referring to (Amare and Duncan), before I go too in-depth about my answer, but..

It's not like our guys are terrible. You think Dirk is just going to go out of his way and say that this team is the best he's ever been on nonchalantly? I don't think so.

Our other guys are too good right now for us to play like that.

You can say that was the plan against Denver when we lost to them, and many countless other series like the Hornets, but our guys just didn't come out and perform and put forth the effort needed to win.

We are this series, and say what you will, it's because of Tyson.

 

[|A-Man|]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

JA, you read this thread, yes? You don't remember just a week ago people talking about the Spurs letting Amare go off on Duncan for the whole series? You were here, weren't you?
So you don't think he would miss after a while? He'll just go on and on and on and never miss a basket? That's what he does, he shoots 98 % or some @#$%? smiley: laugh Guys miss shots eventually. He'll do major numbers, but sooner or later shots will fall off. And you can switch it up say in the 4th. 1 on 1 him all game long, final 6 minutes, THEN you double/triple team him. If guys been standing around all night, will they hit shots at the end of the game? *shrugs* Seems like a good way to go about it.

Let Terry and Peja, JJ, even Kidd get into a rhythm shooting, no I don't like that idea, but let them do nothing, blanket them, and then ask them to hit a big shot late out of nowhere, those chances I like.

We'll see what Brooks does, but that shoulda been our strategy, and it should be OKC's. They have enough defenders to guard Dirk all night long, even with fouls and foul trouble. They could line 6 different dudes on him, hack him, push him, run him, do whatever, and if he can do that for 40+ minutes, shooting 25-30 times, and score 50+ and win, then tip your cap and say great game/series to the guy. But if you wear him down a little...........smiley: wink

Just wondering which series you are referring to (Amare and Duncan), before I go too in-depth about my answer, but..

 

CP please tease JA in the series thread

 

[JD617]

Originally Posted by ATGD7154xBBxMZ

Originally Posted by JD617

"I am highly offended by the total lack of acknowledgement of my contribution to Laker success," Abdul-Jabbar was quoted as saying. "I guess being the lynchpin for five world championships is not considered significant enough in terms of being part of Laker history."

What a pretentious douche.

You just throwing out words now. None apply to Kareem.

They definitely apply to you, though.