Nothing too surprising last night. The internet may be full of people who pull the “just when you write them off they’re back” card. Unnecessary. There are certain guarantees in life. Just like people will always watch the Super Bowl and American Idol…and just like Madonna will change her personality every 5 years to stay “fresh”, just like how Inside the NBA will never get old and how the new American Gladiators will never measure up to the old (Gemini would have murdered Zen). Just like ‘The Hills’ will always close the show with dramatic music and camera cuts no matter what happened. Just like all of that…the Detroit Pistons will play well with their backs to the wall. Times two if they are the ones who put said back against the wall. It should be written in stone or something. That is if people still do that.
Last night was no different. If I was a betting man I would have put money on the Pistons solely based on the fact that they royally screwed up Game 3. Their runs to start the first and third quarter meant they were ready to play and more importantly ready to win. That sense of urgency that was nowhere to be found in Game 3 was in the building. They knew they needed to win and that expereince allows them to know exactly what to do. If Detroit’s sense of urgency was an actual human being he would have been sipping on expensive bubbly with a flock of females last night. Detroit becomes frustrating until you realize that the Pistons just love playing with their backs to the wall for some reason. And upon that realization you become even more frustrated. It’s their thing. Chauncey Billups put it best when he said this: “We’re so unpredictable that we’re predictable”
Indeed. What was not predictable from last night was the play of Antonio McDyess. Sweet mother of pearl what got in to him? I’m not sure anyone saw that coming. Someone should look into this because either he’s had his life threatened by the Yakuza or he’s having flashbacks to 2000-2001 when he was an All-Star with two knees averaging 20 and 10.
(Yes kids, Antonio McDyess was an All-Star with two knees who averaged 20 and 10. While I’m here…Vince Carter used to be the most clutch player in the league, Jason Kidd once had blonde hair and babies are not made from the stork, birds or bees.)
(Second sidenote…isn’t the evolution of the sports world going to eventually lead to a sports figure owing money to the Yakuza? That’s going to Breaking News one day on ESPN and you all know it. We’re all going to cry. I just pray it’s not Barkley. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Kill Bill. Forgive me.)
Back to McDyess…his sense of urgency is a sight to behold. You have to respect a veteran seeing his time wind down and busting his tail to do something about it.
(as Madonna would say tick tock tick tock tick tock. She must be stopped. Two Madonna references by the way, I’m one more from having my manhood challenged by a reader. Why don’t I just call her the truth? Also why am I parentheses crazy? My apologies. That’s a tough word to spell…so tough that spell check gave me the F-U when I tried. Apparently my effort was so embarrassingly bad that spell check decided to say ‘are you serious’ and not even tell me it was wrong. Jerk)
McDyess is a fresh air in this era of veterans who tag on to championship teams to try and win titles. Made famous by John Salley and then Glenn Robinson. Then Karl Malone and Gary Payton obviously did it (didn’t work). Now you’ve got Damon Stoudamire effectively doing nothing and being happy about it. How could you be happy playing behind Jacques Vaughn? Kudos to you Mr. McDyess. Quick question though: isn’t he doing what Chris Webber was supposed to do last year? Compare and contrast how hard McDyess plays and how badly he wants it to how indifferent Chris Webber was in last year’s playoffs…and..well…yikes. And while I’m on the subject of Chris Webber…during his Inside the NBA run how did he not get relentlessly made fun of for his run with the Warriors? Seriously he deserves to stub his toe really hard for doing that to the Warrior fans.
All is gravy in Detroit for now. Celtic fans need not want to kill themselves or the C-3 quite yet. Take a deep breath and realize that somehow, someway all 3 of your top players played like Boo-Boo Swanson. Take inventory and realize that despite this and despite how well the Pistons were playing, the C’s were very much in that game in the fourth. While you’re at it, relish in the fact that the C’s got to the line 39 times after completely forgetting that the foul line existed in the previous two series.
At the end of the day it is an old school best-of-3 series. Two games in Boston, one in Detroit…and there is no way in hell anyone can predict what is about to happen. Because over the course of the next week anything could happen.
Lakers/San Antonio….something out of the ordinary needs to happen in this series. I’m dead serious the series isn’t boring by anything length, it’s quite entertaining, I just don’t want to keep saying the same things over and over again. I was shocked when the Spurs blew that lead in Game 1. Not quite so shocked by the Lakers blowout win in Game 2. And definitely not shocked with the Spurs blowout win in Game 3. If the Lakers want to win this series they’ve got to make either Parker or Manu ineffective. It’s the only way. Timmy is Timmy and he will put up Timmy numbers. Why? Because he’s Tim Duncan. And Pau Gasol is “guarding” him. The Spurs are a three person team, even moreso than the Celtics to a degree that if all 3 of those guys don’t play well the Spurs are more than likely going to lose. Look at Games 1 and 2. Also Lamar Odom can’t struggle if they want to win in the AT&T Center. He just can’t.
Other thoughts:
- Clay Bennett: confirmed to be the devil. His response to the players who didn’t want to go to OKC was ‘boo-hoo’. In an e-mail. Every single time I read an article about Bennett and this e-mails I am shocked that this is still going on. I’m not a big legal buff (i.e. I don’t know the law for squat except you can’t hook up with girls under 18 and you can’t drive drunk) but this is just wrong. “Boo-hoo” Really Clay? That’s the mature response from a league owner. How David Stern has not had Bavetta and Salvatore sent to take him for a ride is just beyond me. This has to be made right, it just has to be.
- Steve Kerr and the Suns are apparently interview everyone for that head coaching job. I’m sorry but Vinny Del Negro? Jeff Hornacek? I know Coup’s all for people getting their first shot…however someone’s first coaching job shouldn’t be on a 50 win team, unless it’s Don Nelson saying ‘here Avery I’m going to go drink scotch for a year and then indirectly lead to your downfall you coach the Mavs.’ That’s the only acceptable scenario. You wouldn’t give a 16 year old with a fresh license from the DMV a Bentley would you? My point exactly. Somewhere Shaq got a text message about this and cursed I would guarantee it. Also someone somewhere is reading this and pronounced it Vinny Del Knee-gro (as in black people) instead of the Spanish version. Real classy.
- Ladies and gentlemen…Phil Jackson in a nutshell.
- Also Jemele Hill…well I was going to say she should be shot but that’s just mean. So I’m going to say another female should bash her in the head with a steel chair repeatedly until she agrees to no longer say ridiculou
s things. Which of course for her may mean the end of her ability to speak or write. Seriously…an argument for a Spurs/Pistons series? I could handle that. But telling everyone that they should pray for that over the revitalization of the Celtics/Lakers rivalry. Pure stupidity. I would enjoy a Spurs/Pistons Finals because I love basketball. I wouldn’t be happy in the days leading up to it though. I’d feel a little empty before the tip off.
That’s all I got. The rest is full of hot garbage and faulty trade rumors.