Big Papi certifies himself as my second favorite baseball player, by defending my favorite baseball player. This is literally what I have been telling people, mainly white, for the last few years now. Steroids don’t guarantee that all of a sudden you are going to just jack home runs left and right. Look at Jason Giambi…he was actually worse when he was on the juice then when he got off. Barry Bonds has insane hand-eye coordination and bat speed. Now he is healthy and look what is happening. The man is so good it is ridiculous. Who else who take golf balls, write numbers on them, put them in a pitching machine and try to read them off? Steroids can’t do all that brother.
On to last night’s events. Unfortunately I was on a plane from Phoenix back to Portland, so I caught none of the Golden State/Utah classic. This however was the most telling sign of the Detroit/Chicago series. As I walked to my gate, the airport had TV’s that genuinally have the same news from CNN on all the time. For some reason they had Detroit/Chicago on. I was in shock so I took a look at the score and saw Detroit was up by like 15 in the 1st half. I shook my head; “Man how can they show the same game over again that’s messed up.” I called my mom and it turns out they actually were showing Game 2. In my eyes, this series is over. I don’t care if the Bulls get inspired and win two at home (which they won’t). They simply cannot win in Auburn Hills. They have no advantages and they are inexperienced; not the best of combinations. I think another underrated story is how their “glue” aka Big Ben is being cracked by the Detroit crowd. Their chants have clearly gotten to him which hinders his ability to give them the “We got this, I’ve been here before” chant. With their leader frazzled and their players getting locked up they have no chance.
I will confess, I missed every second of the Golden State/Utah classic. And as a diehard, I am not going to lie it is hard to hear everyone talk about how great it was. It’s like in high school when you weren’t able to go to a big party because you were sick, but everyone is talking about how great it was on Monday. I’m that guy. But anyways I still have gathered a few uneducated thoughts I’d like to share. First of all, this ain’t your daddy’s Utah Jazz. This isn’t the unathletic, grind em up with the pick and roll then D up Utah Jazz. I will give major credit to Jerry Sloan. It would be so easy for him being in Utah for 19 years to force a slow style on his team. But to make the adjustment and let his guys run is phenomenal. Contrast that with Jeff Van Gundy who runs a horrible looking college offense and refuses to abandon it and you have the real reason why Tracy McGrady has been crying all weekend. I think the one thing that surprised me was Matt Harpring dropping 21 and Dee Brown actually playing.
(Side note on Dee Brown…I always wondered how he felt last series. He was teammates with Deron Williams and Luther Head and was the “best” player on that Illinois team…yet he is the one on the bench. I wonder if he got on some of the Jazz players nerves by telling them old Illinois stories or something. Oh well.)
Utah has pleasantly surprised me to the point that I may not dread a potential matchup with San Antonio. Point blank, the Western Conference Semis are great for basketball. It is just beautiful to watch and anyone who says different should be beaten with a lead pipe. The one thing I wonder about Utah is are they going to be able to keep this up? Can Harpring keep scoring? Will Dee Brown be effective? Can Deron Williams keep playing like this? Utah does not have much of a bench that could be factors in this series. For Golden State, it is good to see Al Harrington remembered how to play basketball…but what the hell happened to Monta Ellis? He has got to start giving them something.
The 99′ Knicks? That 4-point play was bogus, everyone and their mom knows it. They got in because they had to get in. They were the last team in the final four that could sell. For christ’s sake it could have been Indiana vs. Portland two years in a row.