Foul Play

By Chris Le

Brent Barry should have sold the foul. That’s the explanation most experts are giving for the no-call, as if it’s some sort of justification for not blowing the whistle for obvious contact.

Admittedly, had Barry pulled a Kobe Bryant or Manu Ginobili and jumped directly into an aerial and extended Derek Fisher, the officials would have had no other choice but to call the foul (or at least, I would hope they do. Joey Crawford, infamous for his antics with San Antonio, was indeed head referee).

Instead, Barry hesitated for a split second and attempted to dribble around his defender, drawing incidental contact (see here). And yet, a foul is still a foul, and Barry arguably—perhaps justifiably—should have been heading to the line for two potential game-tying free throws, as opposed to the locker room down 3 games to 1.

But even I, the most die-hard and steadfast of Spurs fans, admit it was a decision that could have gone either way. (Note: the decision on when the blow of the whistle is debatable; the fact that it was a foul is not.)

No, this isn’t an article in which I deposit an outcry and suggest conspiracy. This is just me being pissed-off and expressing my own personal displeasure about the way things ended. As a Spurs enthusiast—hell, as a sports fan—I believe it’s well within my rights to do so. Bitching is one of the more underrated aspects of loving a sports team.

So the objectivity stops here.

As the defending champions, San Antonio deserved a chance to tie the game. People talking about the Lakers outplaying the Spurs, thus warranting the victory. Come on! That’s one of the lamest cop outs in sports. Teams outplay, out-coach, and out-talent opponents, and then go on to lose all the time.

It’s about execution and making plays when it matters the most. The Lakers failed to close out the game, making costly time-management mistakes, and the Spurs capitalized—or, I should say, put them in a position to win, since the word “capitalized” would only be appropriate had they won the game.

Last night, however, wasn’t merely a tale of officiating-induced woe; it was a prime example of the dichotomy between two franchises. Los Angeles, the internationally-known breeding ground of prima donnas, displayed their usual brand of smugness. At halftime, coach Phil Jackson credited the referees for “allowing” the Spurs to get back into the game. And in many post-game interviews, the league’s MVP Kobe Bryant, claimed ignorance of any foul occurring, while exposing his patented shit-eating grin. If that isn’t a tell, then I don’t know what is. Any rational person who witnesses the play can see the foul. End of stories. Blowing the whistle is a judgment call, and the refs didn’t want to decide the game. That as an answer, I’ll accept. But not Kobe’s.

San Antonio, on the other hand, who has a right to be upset, took the high road and owned up to their loss. They placed the blame squarely on themselves and not the botched call. Now that’s what I want in a champion. That’s what I want in my team.

End of rant.

NBA Conference Finals Predictions

By Chris Le

After a million home team victories, a pair of Game 7’s and one dirty play, it’s down to the final four.

In the East, we have Detroit and Boston, the two teams most pundits expected to face each other in the Conference Finals. Everyone is waiting to see if the Celtics are capable of channeling their regular season selves and win a road game. With home court advantage, will they have to? Chauncey Billups could be huge in this series, but is his hammy ready to go?

In the West, it’s once again Los Angeles versus San Antonio—an almost forgotten rivalry of the early 00’s with deep-seeded and very real animosity. Compared to the remaining teams, the Lakers have breezed through the postseason with their balanced yet potent offense. It’ll be interesting to see if they have enough weapons to trump the Spurs’ execution and know-how. Fatigue might be a factor for San Antonio and their aging legs after an emotional series against New Orleans that went the distance. But both teams match up well. Should we expect another Game 7?

Here’s my take:

Western Conference

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers

Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2

Outcome: Throw out the regular season numbers—if they even matter in the first place—since their first three meetings were without Pau Gasol, and in their final game, the Spurs were without Manu Ginobili.

Now, I’m not going to claim journalistic objectivity and refute that I don’t have a horse in this race. I’m biased towards the Spurs. There. I said it. Everyone knows it. Attempting to say otherwise would be lying.

With that out in the open, however, I have to admit there’s no denying that the Lakers have been the most impressive team in the postseason, showcasing a juggernaut of an offense with 112.1 points per game. They have scoring at every position: Gasol in the post; perimeter shooters in Derek Fisher, Sasha Vujacic, and Luke Walton; Lamar Odom everywhere else, and obviously Kobe Bryant, the best player in the world.

But they work best in transition—even their big men, Gasol and Odom.

That’s why Tim Duncan will be the most important player on the court. The Spurs must establish their franchise player in the post—thus the game’s tempo—if they stand any chance of winning. I would normally think no one on the Los Angeles roster can effectively guard Duncan, but Timmy didn’t look like his usual impressive self against New Orleans. He missed a bunch of chip-shots and seems reluctant to use his patented 15-foot bank. He’ll really need to assert himself and get Gasol into foul trouble. If Duncan fails to do so, they’ll single cover him and deny the three-ball, which is the best way to beat the Spurs if you can get away with it.

Once in a half-court game, the Spurs could more easily sic Bryant with specialized defenders (Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka) and take away a chunk of LA’s three-point attempts. In order for this maneuver to be effective though, San Antonio will have to rotate like they’ve never rotated before. It should be burned into their brains that giving up the three is almost certain death. The Spurs will live with Bryant getting his; it’s his teammates they should worry about.

When it’s all said and done, whichever team wins the battle of tempo and rebounding will take the series.

Using these criteria, my eyes and brain scream that the Lakers are the obvious choice, maybe in an easy series. But my gut and my heart say the Spurs. And when it comes to sports—or life, for that matter—it’s always best to go with the latter. Spurs in 6.

Eastern Conference

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (1) Boston Celtics

Regular Season Series: Boston 2-1

Outcome: A closely matched pair of teams, this will be a battle of attrition. Both squads are stout and the play on both ends should be what we all expect from a playoff series—extremely physical and very defensive. The Pistons shot horribly against the Celtics, a combined 88 for 228 (.386) in their three regular season meetings. But if we’ve learned anything in the first two rounds, it’s that these postseason Celtics aren’t the same team we saw in the regular season, particularly on the road.

Kevin Garnett has shown his inability to take over a game, sporadically looking like an MVP candidate. Ray Allen has all but fallen off the face of the planet, something the Celtics won’t get away with against Detroit. But most glaringly, the vaunted Celtic defense has been mediocre at best outside of Boston, allowing 95.3 points per game against 77.4 at home.

Detroit, on the other hand, has proven it’s capable of winning away from home. They also are rested, while the Celtics are coming off of a second consecutive 7-game series. Don’t be surprised if the Pistons steal Game 1.

Like the Pistons-Magic series, this one comes down to backcourt play. (I’m assuming Billups is fully recovered from his hamstring injury. If not, the makeup of this series changes, evening things for Boston.) Frontcourts are a wash—KG and Rasheed Wallace cancel each other out in my eyes, and Tayshaun Prince can keep a lid on Paul Pierce. But Billups has the strength and savvy to abuse Rajon Rondo on both ends of the floor. Rip Hamilton can score in bunches, which will be magnified if Allen continues his disappearing act.

I don’t foresee an end to the Boston road woes, especially after fourteen playoff games, and now they must face their toughest and most experienced opponent yet. It’s just slightly too much to overcome after what the Celtics just endured. Pistons in 6.

The Weekly Rundown

By Bryan Jeon

Big Brown Wins Preakness

Big Brown easily won the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths on Saturday, running away from the pack from the final turn. The colt, who is unbeaten in five starts, will attempt to become the 12th Triple Crown winner and the first since Affirmed in 1978. The last leg: the Belmont Stakes on June 7.

It’s been a 19-year drought, but put me down for at least $100 on Big Brown in three weeks. Hopefully, the odds won’t be as bad as it was in the Preakness, where Big Brown ended up having 1-5 odds. As of Monday, 5 horses entered in the Belmont have been in one of the previous two races.

Relive the Preakness here:

Top Women Abruptly Retire

The No. 1 women’s tennis player Justine Henin retired immediately last Wednesday, making way for Maria Sharapova’s fourth time she has been ranked the top player. Henin, who at age 25 is winner of seven Grand Slam titles, is the first woman to retire while holding the No. 1 ranking.

Just one day later, 37-year-old Annika Sorenstam decided to call it quits at season’s end. Sorenstam has won 72 tournaments to date, third all-time, including three this year. The woman that Tiger Woods has called “the greatest female golfer of all time” won LPGA Tour player of the year a record eight times, including five straight seasons (something Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can’t even say he did, with his record six NBA MVPs).

How many times do you see athletes go out on top? Historically, this would be the first time in women’s tennis. And to retire at age 25, that’s the life. It’s crazy to hear Henin say she just doesn’t have it in her anymore when she’s the No. 1 player in the world. We’ve watched two of the best players ever in their sport, but I think we’ll pull through with No. 1 Lorena Ochoa virtually winning every weekend and the ever-so athletic build and audibility of Sharapova’s play.

NHL Playoffs – Stanley Cup Finals

Sidney Crosby reaches the Stanley Cup Finals in just his third season in the NHL, helping Pittsburgh back there for the first time since they completed back-to-back championships in 1992. Since then, the Detroit Red Wings have won three times and will make their fifth appearance in the Finals this year. You’ve got to watch hockey at its best, and this Finals will not disappoint.

Western Conference Finals

Last game: Detroit beat Dallas 4-1
won 4-2

Eastern Conference Finals

Last game: Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 6-0
Pittsburgh won 4-1

Stanley Cup Finals

Game 1: Pittsburgh at Detroit Sat. at 5p PT on Versus

Candace Parker – the Real Deal

The number one overall draft pick Candace Parker absolutely tore up the court on Saturday, leading the L.A. Sparks to a 99-94 victory over the defending champion Phoenix Mercury in the season opener. Parker had 34 points, the most ever in a WNBA debut, to go with 12 rebounds and 8 assists. She wasn’t without help though, as Lisa Leslie, who missed last season on maternity leave, had a solid 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Those two are going to be a force to reckon with, and they have got to be the early favorites for the championship. I caught some of the game, and I’m glad I did. Parker is a woman among girls, if you will, finishing just two assists shy of becoming the first WNBA rookie to record a triple-double.

Who said no one watches WNBA? With an attendance of 13,749, that’s far more than what the Indiana Pacers averaged this season, with a per-game attendance of 12,221. The Sparks have a whole week off and next play on Sunday against the Atlanta Dream at 12p PT.

A Look Ahead: Hatton Returns

Ricky Hatton returns to his hometown in Manchester, England to fight Juan Lazcano on Saturday. He is looking to rebound from the December knockout from Floyd Mayweather but did get one nice thing out of the defeat: he took home close to $40 million from the fight in Las Vegas. Catch Lazcano (37-4-1, 27 KO) v. Hatton (43-1, 31 KO) on Versus.

What’s With the Horry Backlash?

By Chris Le

By now, most of the NBA world knows that David West aggravated his back injury in Game 5 from a Robert Horry screen.

Almost immediately, I could hear everyone in the greater New Orleans area cry murder—and most assuredly, for Horry’s head.

Then the next day, I turn on my DVR and watch my daily round of ESPN’s Around the Horn, and I see Woody Paige, the old and loud boob that he is, screaming that Horry had malicious intent and merits a suspension, citing his “history of dirty plays.”

Please.

Aside from last year’s Steve Nash shoulder bump (which admittedly was blatant and deserving of a suspension), what else do these whistleblowers have? Horry has no laundry list of foul play whatsoever; no injury-inducing body of work that I can recall. I’d say you would need more than two cheap shots in a 16-year career to be pegged as “dirty.”

And as far as the back screen against West, I’m meeting the two polarized sides in the middle and calling it a “clean dirty” play. Meaning, I’m not going to naively say that Horry didn’t know West was injured or that the play was even necessary since Manu Ginobili wasn’t driving very hard, looking for a lane. But it was well within reason and far from anything that could be deemed a flagrant foul.

If you think otherwise, then surely you’ve never seen any of the Pistons-Bulls or Bulls-Knicks series in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

I know it’s cliché, but this the playoffs. And the saying is cliché for a reason–it’s true. Regular season basketball is almost a different game than in the playoffs. It isn’t always pretty, peachy, keen or fair.

Pistorius, Double-Amputee, Allowed To Sprint

By Chris Le

It was announced earlier today that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has allowed Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter, to compete against able-bodied athletes in the forthcoming Olympic qualifiers. This arrives after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruled the 21-year-old South African ineligible last January.

The controversy surrounding Pistorius, also known as “The Blade Runner,” whose legs were amputated when 11 months old due to congenital absence of both fibulas (the outer bone between the knee and ankle), lies in his “Cheetah Flex-Foot” prosthetics.

There are claims by researchers and fellow sprinters that the synthetic appendages specifically used by Pistorius are unnecessarily long, allowing him to cover more ground with each stride. Additionally, since consisting of carbon fibre, the prosthetics are able to do and withstand certain variables the average human ankle cannot. The little—meaning still insufficient—research that has been done, shows the artificial limbs do provide Pistorius with advantages.

But does his advantage of technology outweigh his disadvantage of missing two legs?

This is a tough issue to address and a bit of a heart vs. mind situation. On the one hand, who wants to root against a disabled person? No matter what, you’re going to look like a dick. Pistorius is an inspiration and should be lauded as such. He embodies all the feel-good qualities of sports. He’s the ultimate underdog. Emotionally, I want this guy to go to the Olympics, win the gold medal and live happily ever after.

But I’m finding it almost impossible to overlook the mechanical one-up on his competitors. Slice it anyway you want, in the end, it’s an uneven playing field, whether the prosthetic turns out to be in his favor or not.

As callous as it may seem to ban him from running in the Olympics, it might be as unfair and irrational to allow him to compete.

The Weekly Rundown

By Bryan Jeon

NBA Coaches Hired; Third Time’s the Charm?

On Friday, Rick Carlisle, who coached the Indiana Pacers the last four seasons and was fired after missing the playoffs this season with a 35-47 record, agreed to become Avery Johnson’s successor in Dallas with a 4-year, $17.5 million deal. He spent his first two seasons with the Detroit Pistons.

On Saturday, Mike D’Antoni, who coached the Phoenix Suns the last five seasons, became Isiah Thomas’s successor for the Knicks with a 4-year, $24 million deal after much speculation with the Chicago Bulls, making him the third-highest paid coach. His first coaching year was with the Denver Nuggets in 1998.

MLB – SC’s Players of the Week

Kevin Youkilis, Bos – 1B: 8 R 5 HR 10 RBI 1 SB .375 AVG (12-32)
Season Totals: 27 R 8 HR 30 RBI 2 SB .322 AVG
Not surprisingly, Youkilis won the MLB American League Player of the Week Award, as he currently has a 9-game hitting streak, scoring at least a run in every game and driving in a run in all but one of the games during that span while raising his average 35 points for the AL’s top team.

James Shields, TB – SP: 9.0 IP, 1-0 8 K 0.00 ERA
Season totals: 51.2 IP, 4-2 39 K 3.14 ERA
Shields’ one start the past week was magnificent enough to nab this week’s pitching honor. His complete-game one-hit shutout over the Angels on Friday wasted Jon Garland’s 8-inning scoreless effort and would be the first of two straight 2-0 victories over the Angels, moving the Rays (formerly known as the Devil Rays) just a half-game back of first-place Boston, as of Monday.

NHL Playoffs Recap (thru 5/14)

Detroit and Pittsburgh continued their winning ways in the conference finals, both nearing impressive victories in their respective series. The Red Wings are now 11-3 in the playoffs, the Penguins even better at 11-1.

Western Conference Finals

Game 5: (5) Dallas @ (1) Detroit – Sat.
Last game: Dallas beat Detroit 3-1
leads 3-1

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 4: (2) Pittsburgh @ (6) Philadelphia – Thurs.
Last game: Pittsburgh beat Philadelphia 4-1
Pittsburgh leads 3-0

Clip of the Week

Danica Patrick’s car struck another team’s crew member coming into the pits in a practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Friday, and the man suffered a concussion and scalp and facial cuts. Hey, I’m not saying it, but you know all the guys are muttering under their breath, “women drivers.”

A Look Ahead: Preakness and WNBA Tipoff

The 133rd Preakness Stakes is this Saturday at 3:15p PT on NBC with Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown the heavy favorite in the second leg of the Triple Crown races. Big Brown, at an astounding 1-2 odds (no, that’s not 2-1 odds) will begin out of post 7 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

The 12th WNBA season tips off Saturday at 12:30p PT with number one overall pick Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie and the Los Angeles Sparks against the 2004 first overall pick Diana Tuarasi and the defending champion Phoenix Mercury. Sounds like an exciting match up on paper.

The Weekly Rundown

By Bryan Jeon

Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby

Favorite Big Brown was victorious in Saturday’s 134th Kentucky Derby, beating runner-up Eight Belles by 4 3/4 lengths. Surprisingly, Eight Belles, the lone filly in the race, broke both of his front ankles and was so severely injured, he was unable to be taken off the track and euthanized by injection on the spot. Now, PETA is demanding a suspension for the jockey and a revocation of the $400,000 second prize, insisting that the horse suffered the injury before the finish and not during the gallop out. Notwithstanding the commotion in this year’s race, I realized that this is an event I have to make a trip to once in my lifetime. Some interesting facts from Big Brown’s win:

• It was just the second time a horse from the No. 20 post won, the other was in 1929.
• It was the first time since 1915 that a Derby winner raced just three times previously.
• Jockey Kent Desormeaux became the 8th jockey to win the Derby three times (1998, 2000).
• The colt earned $1,451,800 with a finish of 2:01 in the 1 1/4 mile race, raising his total to $2,114,500.
• Up next for Big Brown: the Preakness in two weeks with a chance to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978.

De La Hoya Victorious Against Forbes

Oscar De La Hoya was absolutely dominant against Steve Forbes Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson. De La Hoya, who marked this the first of three fights this year, lost just one round on two judges’ scorecards and none on the other. The Golden Boy was unable to knock down, however, the former 130-pound champion fighting at 150 pounds, making it all 38 fights now that the runner up of the Contender series has not been knocked out. De La Hoya will likely get a September rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and if he wins that, a match with perhaps Miguel Cotto in December as his swan-song fight, assuming that the 35-year-old actually retires.

NHL Playoffs – Conference Finals Set

Detroit garnered the only sweep of the round although there wasn’t much drama in any of the series. The Red Wings scored 21 goals, including eight in the series clincher, and now face a Stars team coming off of a 4-OT, 5-hour, 14-minute game that saw Marty Turco make 61 saves in the 2-1 win. Pittsburgh has won eight of their nine playoff games but now face a Flyers team they dropped five of seven to in the regular season. Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins’ attack with 2 goals and a playoff-high 12 assists. This is the furthest Sid the Kid has gone in his short 3-year career. Will the buck stop here for now?

Western Conference

(1) Detroit beat (6) Colorado 4-0
(5) Dallas beat (2) San Jose 4-2

Western Conference Finals:

Game 1: (5) Dallas @ (1) Detroit – Thurs.
Regular Season Series: Red Wings 3-1

Eastern Conference

(6) Philadelphia beat (1) Montreal 4-1
(2) Pittsburgh beat (5) NY Rangers 4-1

Eastern Conference Finals:

Game 1: (6) Philadelphia @ (2) Pittsburgh – Fri.
Regular Season Series: Flyers 5-2

Go !

MLB – SC’s Players of the Week

Matt Kemp, LAD – RF: 7 R 0 HR 11 RBI 6 SB .407 AVG (11-27)
Season totals: 18 R 2 HR 22 RBI 7 SB .324 AVG
Kemp has a nine-game hitting streak going, raising his average 51 points in the process. More impressive are his six steals in a five-game span after swiping just one base in the first 23 games, leading the Dodgers to an eight-game win streak that just snapped.

Roy Halladay, Tor – SP: 16 IP, 1-1 13 K 1.12 ERA
Season totals: 57.0 IP, 3-4 38 K 3.00 ERA
The Blue Jays ace has continued to rack up the innings, pitching at least seven innings in each of his seven starts and piling four straight complete games under his belt. Halladay beat the White Sox Sunday to break out of three straight losses.

Quote of the Day: Ozzie Guillen

Before Sunday’s loss to Toronto, outspoken White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen went on yet another tirade. This guy wouldn’t survive in New York:

“Right now everyone in Chicago is making lineups — ‘Call up this guy, call up that guy.’ … If we had 50 people allowed on the roster, we could do that. That’s what ticks me off about Chicago fans and Chicago media: They forget pretty quickly. A couple of days ago we were the [bleeping] best [stuff] in town. Now we’re [bleep],” Guillen said to the Chicago media before the game. “We won it a couple years ago, and we’re horse[bleep]. The Cubs haven’t won in [100] years, and they’re the [bleeping] best. [Bleep] it, we’re good. [Bleep] everybody. We’re horse[bleep], and we’re going to be horse[bleep] the rest of our lives, no matter how many World Series we win. We are the [bleep] of Chicago. We’re the Chicago [bleep]. We have the worst owner [Jerry Reinsdorf]. The guy’s got seven [bleeping] rings, and he’s the [bleeping] horse[bleep] owner.”

NBA Second Round Predictions

By Chris Le

For the most highly competitive race in Western Conference history, the first round hasn’t exactly been one barn-burner after another. So far, we’ve gotten one sweep and two 5-game series, which included what was supposed to be the greatest opening round match up of all-time. And in the East, which appeared to be a two-team race between the Celtics and the Pistons, those top two-seeds were in tougher battles than they ever wanted, or expected.

So it’s fair to say the opening round wasn’t necessarily what some expected.

Will the next round be more of the same?

Will the West be tighter in the second round?

Will the power teams in the East finally wake up?

Here’s my take (subsequent match ups will be posted once their first round series are finished):

Eastern Conference

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (2) Detroit Pistons

Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2

Outcome: In their last two games against the 76ers, the Pistons appear to have regained their championship focus. This is bad news for the Magic. We all know about the 20-20 capabilities of Dwight Howard, who along with Hedo Turkoglu makes possibly the best frontcourt in the playoffs. But the Magic’s frontcourt advantage pales in comparison to the Pistons’ backcourt superiority. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups will have a field day chewing up and spitting out any combination of Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling and Maurice Evans. And that’ll be the difference. Shot selection and taking care of the ball will be essential to Orlando’s success. So in other words, it’ll be their downfall. With a weak corps of guards and the turnover machine that is Dwight Howard, the Magic are dead last in turnover differential (plus-5) of all the playoff teams. This means more possessions for Detroit, who is shooting a postseason-leading .488 from the field. Pistons in 6.

Western Conference

(4) Utah Jazz vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers

Regular Season Series: Lakers 3-1

So far in the playoffs, Utah has been incredibly stingy on defense, second-best in both points allowed (88.0) and opponent field-goal percentage (.409). They really clamped down on the Rockets, something they didn’t always do in the regular season. But they’re facing a different beast in the Lakers, who shot lights-out in the first round (114.8 points per game on .483 shooting), albeit against the defensively-challenged Denver Nuggets.

Looking at their regular season series however, the Jazz weren’t capable of stopping the Lakers from scoring in any of their four games. Jerry Sloan and his squad gave up an average of 111 points on .518 shooting—and this was before Los Angeles acquired Pau Gasol. With Gasol in the lineup, the Jazz have another viable scorer they’ll have trouble defending. The combination of Kobe Bryant, Gasol, the versatile Lamar Odom and an increasingly reliable bench is simply too much firepower to overcome. The Lakers possess the most balanced and unselfish offense of all the remaining teams. Utah simply can’t counter this. Deron Williams, no doubt, is capable of putting up a lot of points on the board, but he’ll have to be a scorer as well as a facilitator if Utah is to beat Los Angeles. Yet, the Lakers restricted him to a mere 6.5 assists per game in the regular season. I’d give the Jazz a shot if they could consistently get 13 to 15 points from Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, but I wouldn’t trust those two; they’re notorious for being wildly unpredictable, disappearing for extended periods of time when they are most needed. Ultimately, I can’t envision a scenario where Utah shuts down or outscores the Lakers. Lakers in 6.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) New Orleands Hornets

Regular Season Series: Tied 2-2

Outcome: My unabashed Spurs fanaticism aside, I’m a little worried for the defending champs against this young but extremely well-rounded Hornets team that matches up nicely with Tim Duncan and co. New Orleans proved in the regular season that they can beat the Spurs, doing so twice in blowout fashion with .564 shooting from the field and a 24.5 point average margin of victory, and it comes as no surprise that Chris Paul and his playmaking ability is the key to the Hornets’ success. In their two regular-season losses against the Spurs, his assists were held to under double-digits (7 and 4, respectively), while he averaged 14 dimes in their landslide victories.

That’s why the Spurs’ MVP in this series will have to be Bruce Bowen. It’s imperative that he pester Paul all night, put a hand in his face and budge him off balance—maybe even be a little dirty—because the Spurs will desperately attempt to block off the passing lanes, trying to make CP3 a scorer rather than a distributor. I honestly think the only reason why David West is an All-Star, why Tyson Chandler is averaging a double-double and why Peja Stojakovic is shooting .607 from three-point land in the playoffs is because Paul puts them in positions to thrive. Make Paul a scorer, and the rest of the Hornets are taken down a few notches. The games in which the Spurs are able to do this, they’ll win. And I believe they’ll do it more often than not. Spurs in 7.

Johnson Fired, D’Antoni On Hot Seat

By Bryan Jeon

After first-round exits by the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, one coach is out and another is rumored to be next. Sadly, neither coach deserves unemployment despite the absence of a title. But that’s the problem these days; coaches’ statuses for their job solely depends on whether they win the championship and obviously, many coaches are wrongly “relieved of their duties.”

Avery Johnson: 3+ seasons as head of the Dallas Mavericks – 194-70 (.735) in the regular season, 23-24 (.489) in the playoffs

Record Playoffs
2004-05 16-2   Lost, West semis
2005-06 60-22 Lost, NBA Finals
2006-07 67-15 Lost, 1st round
2007-08 51-31 Lost, 1st round

Noteworthy: A.J really solidified this ball club as one to be reckoned with during his brief tenure with the Mavs. He led Dallas to a club-record 67 wins last season and their first NBA Finals two years ago while winning Coach of the Year that year but after two consecutive first-round exits, Mark Cuban and company led Johnson to the door.

Argument: Look at Johnson’s playoff record. He has under a .500 winning percentage.

Rebuff: Numbers don’t lie, but stats can be skewed, and this is definitely one of them. Just look at his four playoff appearances – an NBA Finals and 2nd-round showing among four straight playoff appearances. If you want to criticize the two first-round exits, I’m pointing the finger at Dirk Nowitzki in last year’s upset by Golden State and the unbelievably stacked Western Conference in this year’s spanking from the Hornets, where a first-round loss by any team (except for the Lakers who were matched up with the horrid Nuggets) wouldn’t be too much of a disappointment to go into panic mode. If it’s just to terminate a coach because he didn’t take home the top prize, shouldn’t 28 other coaches be fired every year as well?

Argument: Johnson blew it with the Jason Kidd trade, as they were 35-18 with Devin Harris but 17-17 with Kidd, including the playoffs. And he’s 35 with a player option for $21 million next season!

Rebuff: I guess Johnson knew he was going all in when he anted up for Kidd, as D’Antoni did with Shaquille O’Neal. Obviously, had it worked out, Johnson, and similarly D’Antoni, would have been hailed for winning that one championship despite the aging Kidd and Harris (or the aging O’Neal and Marion) both being gone in the near future, buying some years with no worries on the hot seat. Historically, it’s doubtful a Harris-led team could have taken out the Hornets or another year of the Marion-led Suns could defeat the Spurs. Bottom line, it was just something that had to be tried.

Forecast: I guess what matters is Johnson doesn’t seem bitter at all about the decision, which is good but surprising given what he’s accomplished during his brief time in Dallas. Possible suitors: New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.

Mike D’Antoni: 4+ seasons as head of the Phoenix Suns – 253-136 (.650) in the regular season, 26-25 (.509) in the playoffs

Record Playoffs

2003-04 21-40 DNQ
2004-05 62-20 Lost, West finals
2005-06 54-28 Lost, West finals
2006-07 61-21 Lost, West semis
2007-08 55-27 Lost, 1st round

Noteworthy: D’Antoni took over a roughly .500 ball club in 2003 and in his first full season, engineered the then-third largest turnaround in NBA history with a 33-game improvement and tied the club record with 62 wins, earning him Coach of the Year honors. His immediate impact took Phoenix deep into the playoffs but never reached the NBA Finals, stopped by the San Antonio Spurs three out of the past four years. General manager Steve Kerr has denied reports that D’Antoni is going to be shown the door, but time will tell.

Argument: Even worse than Johnson, who has at least been to the NBA Finals, D’Antoni isn’t successful in the playoffs.

Rebuff: True but his only kryptonite is the problem of running into the defending champions almost every year. Forget his playoff record; it should be noted that in playoff series during D’Antoni’s reign,  the Suns are 0-3 against the Spurs but 5-1 against all else. Besides that one glitch, that’s pretty successful to me.

Argument: The Suns gave up a versatile player and noteworthy defender in Shawn Marion for an over-the-hill O’Neal.

Rebuff: You’ve got to address the fact that you’re losing to a particular team year in and year out so what else is there to do but to shake up the roster? One can be conservative and not make any moves to save his job, but these coaches should be praised for their bold and unpopular trades that if unsuccessful, is a very good reason that could remove them from their positions. D’Antoni went straight after Tim Duncan and the Spurs by acquiring O’Neal but was criticized because Shaq is 36 and Marion is a valuable role player who actually plays defense against the Spurs. Heck, five games might seem like an easy series, but it was far from it. O’Neal averaged a solid 15 and 9 with 2.6 blocks per game. His dagger? Going 32-of-64 from the free throw line, his 8th playoff series that he missed over 30 free throws (believe me, no one comes close). The Spurs adjusted their game plan to the Hack-a-Shaq method and the 5-point series-clinching Game 5 win saw Shaq go 9-for-20 from the line. Who would have guessed that that would have been their downfall? Marion ain’t no cheap commodity either, raking in over $16 million this season. Phoenix just has to concede that they won’t be able to win during the Tim Duncan reign (and consequently, Steve Nash) much like oh, all of the big names during Michael Jordan’s title run with the Bulls.

Forecast: It’s been fun watching the Suns’ high-octane offense led by Nash but if D’Antoni is let go, he might not make that far of a move with that vacant spot in Dallas. Possible suitors: Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks.