Did Tony Parker Call Out Russell Westbrook?
This is one of those stories that gets more attention than it deserves simply because of the time of year the season is in. The playoff spotlight is shining bright, and every word uttered by every player still standing in the playoffs will be scrutinized.
Spurs guard Tony Parker on Wednesday put himself in that position while revealing his upcoming plan of attack against Thunder guard Russell Westbrook in the Western Conference Finals.
Via the San Antonio Express-News.
I’m definitely going to go at him. It’s not going to be like Dallas or the Lakers, where their point guards are not as aggressive. I’m going to go at him and make sure he works a little bit.
Color me indifferent.
These comments from Parker are being made into a big deal in some parts? Really? What else is Parker supposed to say? ‘Westbrook’s a great player and I doubt I’ll be able to score against him so I’m going to defer to my teammates.’
No.
Let’s not pretend Parker got out of pocket here. What Parker said was simply the truth, as well as an obvious part of what will be the Spurs’ game plan.
Of Jason Kidd’s 41 shot attempts in Dallas’ series with the Thunder, 26 were 3-pointers. Lakers guard Ramon Sessions, meanwhile, took just 34 shots in his team’s five-game series with the Thunder.
On the other hand, in just his last three games against the Clippers, Parker took more shots (52) than both Kidd and Sessions in their respective series with the Thunder. Parker’s offensive aggressiveness is what makes the Spurs go. In no way can you consider Parker’s comments to be trash talk.
But bait?
Now that’s a different story.
Thunder heads’ favorite talking head, Skip Bayless of First Take fame, actually hit the nail on the head Thursday when discussing Parker’s comments with cohort Stephen A. Smith. Beginning at the five-minute mark in the below video, Bayless explains how Parker’s comments could be nothing more than good old fashion gamesmanship.
“The bait is being laid,” Bayless said. “The trap is being set here. Because Tony Parker wants Russell Westbrook to think this is going to be a mano a mano shootout. And then that means Russell Westbrook better get himself 30 shots in Game 1.”
That could be the worst thing to happen to the Thunder. Or the best thing depending on how focused and determined Westbrook is while trying to win the battle. But we all remember Parker posting 42 on the Thunder back in February. Westbrook does, too. In that game, Parker got in Westbrook’s head and carried the Spurs to one of their two statement wins over the Thunder.
Westbrook would be wise to ignore Parker, to take a pass on the bait. He’s got nothing to prove in this series, other than his ability to help lead the Thunder to the finals. Accomplishing that has little to do with Westbrook winning his one-on-one matchup. Out-dueling Parker would be just icing on the cake.
Fortunately for the Thunder, Westbrook seems to realize that.
-DM-
Russell Westbrook Remembers Parker’s 42
Russell Westbrook can’t deny it.
That 42-point explosion Tony Parker posted on the Thunder back in February still eats at him.
“A little bit, yeah,” Westbrook admitted.
It was February 4, a Saturday night down in San Antone. The Thunder had walked into the AT&T Center having won 13 of its past 15 games. An 18-4 record had Oklahoma City comfortably atop the Western Conference standings.
And Parker plowed through it all.
The Spurs point guard made 16 of 29 shots and heated up like a slow cooker, scoring six in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 16 in the third and another 10 in the fourth. He made 10 of 12 free throws. He dished out nine assists. He pulled down three rebounds. He came up with two steals. And he didn’t have a single turnover in 40 minutes.
“It was a bad game,” Westbrook said when asked what he remembers about that night. “It was a bad game for our team. We got out sluggish, kind of let them do what they wanted to do, especially Tony Parker.”
That winter night is now an important one as these two teams prepare to square off in the Western Conference Finals.
Westbrook hasn’t forgotten what Parker did to him and his teammates. And when the ball is thrown up in Game 1 on Sunday, you can be sure that memory will help fuel Westbrook this time out.
Judging just stats, Westbrook seemed to have a solid game that night. He scored 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting, had six rebounds, six assists, two blocked shots, a steal and just three turnovers. But in reality, it was one of Westbrook’s worst performances of the season.
Westbrook got outworked by Parker and, worse, let the Spurs’ jitterbug get under his skin. A scrum for a loose ball involving Parker and Westbrook with four minutes remaining in the second quarter started the snowball. After the two hit the hardwood, Westbrook got up fuming. He lost his cool, and the Thunder quickly lost control of the game. From then on, Westbrook’s night was marred by poor defense, forced shots, frequent complaining and costly turnovers.
“I definitely can learn from it,” Westbrook said. “Like I said, it was a tough game for us and we’ll learn from it.”
Ironically, since that game Westbrook has played phenomenal ball. He’s slowed down. He’s played under control. He hasn’t forced shots. And he’s kept his emotions in check.
Now, with Parker again in his sights, Westbrook will have to harness those lingering feelings about that February night and ensure that those emotions are turned into positive energy instead of negative energy.
“We definitely need Russell to play with the passion that he does,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “You can’t get frustrated if a guy scores on you. You have to stay with what we do. But you have to have that passion.”
-DM-
Kevin Durant Sick of Spurs Questions
Kevin Durant was just three minutes into his 10-minute session with reporters Wednesday when he grew a bit testy.
Of the first seven questions lobbed at him, Durant was forced to field five about the San Antonio Spurs.
And he didn’t like it. Didn’t like it one bit.
Once that fifth question came — a reasonable query about what he anticipates from the Spurs defensively against him — Durant tried to supply an answer but soon found himself swerving off script.
“I’m just going to play my game,” Durant started. “I can’t really think about how those guys are going to defend me. They’re a tough defensive group. But every question is about how the Spurs are going to come and how the Spurs are going to play. But you got to ask me how we’re going to come at them. We’re a tough team as well. We come out and play hard. We have a lot of weapons as well. I know they’re the No. 1 seed, they’re a tough group and they haven’t lost in a couple of months but I think that we bring another dimension to the table as well. And we can come out and compete.”
Durant has a point.
Most every question players and Thunder coach Scott Brooks faced Wednesday was about how they were going to stop the Spurs. Not once did anyone, including yours truly, inquire about how they Spurs would stop them.
Of course, there’s a reason for that. As Durant said, the Spurs are a tough group. They’re the No. 1 seed and the hottest team in basketball. And they just so happened to trounce the Thunder twice long before they got rolling in the final month of the regular season.
Wednesday’s media session was nothing more than a microcosm of the basketball world’s widespread belief in the Spurs. Few will pick the Thunder to win this series. Oklahoma City, to many, just seems to be out-manned.
Still, the Thunder’s unwavering confidence was on full display Wednesday, with Durant’s brief retort representing his team’s self-belief.
Durant wanted questions about his team, so I asked about his team.
What makes you confident, I asked, against the Spurs? Where do you feel like you have the advantage?
“I just think we play hard,” Durant said. “We’re athletic. I didn’t say we were going to come out and dominate those guys. But I said that we can compete, of course. We can move the ball. I think cutting down on turnovers has been great for us these last couple of series. Also, just getting out and getting stops and trying to get easy points.”
All good answers.
But none are quite good enough to keep the Thunder from walking into the Western Conference Finals on Sunday night in San Antonio as the underdog. Must be a rude awakening for Durant. In the span of three weeks he’s seen his team transform from the darlings of the postseason and a heavy favorite in its prior two series to second fiddle. It’s as if he senses that few outside of Oklahoma believe the Thunder can win.
Before walking over to local reporters, Durant had just finished a sit-down interview with TNT, which sent bulldog sideline reporter Craig Sager to town as part of its coverage team. No telling what was asked in that closed-door meeting. But there’s a good chance Sager stuck a mic on Durant and inquired about everything from the Spurs’ regular season series win over the Thunder to San Antonio’s history of excellence.
Maybe that’s what the Thunder needs going into this West final: a chip, an edge, a supply of just a little more motivation.
And maybe all of it might stem from mounting skeptics now gushing over the Spurs.
-DM-
Charles Barkley’s criticisms don’t add up
As Charles Barkley remains steadfast in his criticism of the Thunder, one obvious question remains: If OKC has such little hope of winning a championship, how does it keep winning so many games?
With Thursday night’s 105-102 victory at Orlando, the Thunder has the best record in the NBA (29-7), the best record at home (15-1) and is within one game of having the league’s best record on the road (14-6).
Barkley sees many flaws in the Thunder, the most prevalent being that OKC is a jump-shooting team that struggles with its half-court offense. The Thunder indeed relies heavily on the jump shot and at times struggles with ball movement in its half-court sets. This will come to the forefront in the playoffs when the pace slows, play becomes more physical and the half-court game takes on added importance.
But what if your jump shots keep going in? OKC is second in the the NBA in field-goal percentage (.474) behind Miami (.487), the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s title. Because a half-court offense becomes more important in the playoffs, wouldn’t this be advantageous to good jump-shooting teams like OKC?
Kevin Durant is shooting a career-high percentage from the field (.512), as are Russell Westbrook (.469), James Harden (.475) and Nick Collison (.656) – and all by substantial percentages. The last time the Thunder/Sonics franchise shot this well from the field was 1995-96 when it finished the season 64-18 and lost 4-2 in the NBA Finals to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, the winningest team in league history.
Barkely also criticizes OKC for having only three scorers in Durant (28.0), Westbrook (23.6) and Harden (16.7). This trio ranks second to the league’s most heralded threesome of Miami’s LeBron James (27.7), Dwyane Wade (22.8) and Chris Bosh (18.4), and trails by just 0.6 combined points (68.9-68.3). Isn’t having three prolific scorers a good thing?
OKC’s inside combination of Collison, Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Nazr Mohammed is arguably the league’s best defensive frontcourt, and prides itself as such. They don’t demand the ball, but will gladly mop up misses and accept any open looks. Terrific Karma underneath. Again, a good thing.
During TNT’s pregame show on Thursday night, Barkley twice said of OKC, “This (Orlando) is not a good matchup for them” and he repeated it again at halftime. An hour later, the Thunder completed a season sweep over the Magic and won for the first time in Orlando since 2004.
Barkley credited Westbrook for his Wednesday performance at Philiadelphia (22 points, season-high 13 rebounds) and co-analysts Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal also shared how Westbrook could improve. It was accurate and helpful criticism without trashing Westbrook, as many have been prone to do.
Barkley: “One of the keys to being a great player, you can always get your shot. The key for him (Westbrook) is, ‘How can I get Kendrick Perkins six points? How can I get (Thabo) Sefolosha (out with a foot injury) six points?’ That’s when you become a great player, when you make the players around you better. When you make the players around you better, it makes the game easier.”
Smith: “There’s five ways to be a superstar — points, scoring and assists, but the others things are leadership and tempo of the game. He (Westbrook) can create a tempo of the game … that he can get those guys easy baskets. Kendrick Perkins should just be laying it in. He can do that. The issue is, he (Westbrook) is so good at scoring he says, ‘Why should I, because I could get by my guy, too.’ But sometimes that will make you go over the top and be a championship team.”
O’Neal: “Those guys (Durant, Westbrook and Harden) score 66 percent of the team’s scoring and the big guys only score 12 percent. The question is, do the big guys need to score more? Do you want to trade what they’re doing on offense for defense? I think they’re doing well, but the question remains, ‘Will they play this way in the postseason?’ Chuck said it, I said it, you said it, ‘You live by the jump shot, you die by the jump shot.’ ”
Until the playoffs arrive, it appears a team with many flaws will somehow keep winning many games.
Kings 106, Thunder 101
The Thunder's game at Sacramento on Thursday essentially was "Chris Webber Night" on TNT and the Kings responded with a 106-101 victory over OKC. Reggie Miller looks on as Webber receives a commemorative Kings "black" jersey.
Some thoughts on the Thunder’s 106-101 loss at Sacramento on Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion:
- I’m almost certain the answer to this question is “no,” but here it goes: Has any team ever won an NBA title leading the league in turnovers? My guess is no, and the answer will remain no because the OKC Thunder will not win an NBA title committing this many turnovers. The Thunder might win the Northwest Division again. It might be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Heck, it might even finish with the best record in the NBA. But OKC will NOT survive a playoff series against a quality opponent by handing out free possessions at the rate of 17.0 per game.
- The OKC locker room was interesting after the Sacramento loss. Players were quiet, but not sulking. They weren’t angry, there was no sense of panic, nor did they seem helpless. The overwhelming feeling I got was disgust. It was as if every OKC player under his breath was saying, “All right, enough of this (hooey). We have to take care of the ball.” True dat, but thinking about it is one thing. Doing something about it is another.
- Nick Collison on all the turnovers: “It’s been a common problem for us. We’re able to get by a lot of teams because we’re really talented. We’re more talented than most of the teams in terms of having guys that can bail us out, but we’ve got to play better. We learned that last year in the playoffs. We weren’t able to win a tough series because we weren’t able to execute. Defensively, we need to be better, too. They are things that can be corrected, but we have to actually do it. It’s been a problem for a long time now.”
- Russell Westbrook was having such a good day. He was named a reserve for the NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. He had 27 points through three quarters and scored 16 points in the third quarter alone. He finished with 33 points, shot 15 of 26 from the field and also had six rebounds and three assists. But all these numbers consistently lose their luster up when you include the habitual kicker — turnovers. Turnovers routinely turn Westbrook into “Pig-Pen.” It’s his own dirty cloud. He had seven turnovers against the Kings.
- A commendable day for James Harden. He missed the cut as an All-Star reserve, yet still went out and scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Didn’t sulk and granted interviews afterward. Commendable.
- The Thunder shot 48.1 percent from the field compared to 40.4 percent for Sacramento. The Thunder NEVER loses when the numbers are like this. The more OKC players and coaches break down this game, the angrier they’re going to get.
- OKC was 11-0 this season when Serge Ibaka had three or more blocks. Tonight, Ibaka tied a career-high with 10 blocks, and the Thunder still lost to a last-place team on the verge of leaving town because it needs a new arena. Good grief (speaking of Pig-Pen). OKC also set a Seattle franchise record with 17 blocks … and still lost to a last-place team on the verge of leaving town because it needs a new arena.
- Kevin Durant has become an outstanding page-turner. “We’ve got to move on. We’ve got a game tomorrow (in Utah). We can’t harp on this one,” said the three-time All-Star. “This was just one of those games, man. Those guys played hard, scrappy. It was a tough game.”
- The Kings aren’t horrible, but they’re not nearly as good as OKC. Not even close.
- Thunder center Kendrick Perkins scowls. Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins sulks. There’s a huge difference. Cousins is an ungodly talent. If he ever learns to shut up and play, he’ll be an All-Star. Repeatedly.
- Kings point guard Tyreke Evans is a load at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds. He’s much larger in person than on TV. He dwarfs Westbrook.
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson came over to press row to say hello between the third and fourth quarters and granted an interview on the spot with Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The topic discussed? Relocation. What else?
- I asked Condotta if everyone in Seattle still hated Oklahoma City. Condotta didn’t think so, but thought Thunder ownership chairman Clay Bennett likely remained one of the three most hated men in the history of the city. Didn’t ask who the other two were, but figured previous owner Howard Schultz was one of them. I told Condotta that Seattle only had itself to blame because if the city truly wanted to get back at Bennett, it should have built a new arena and made him keep the franchise in Seattle.
- Look for the NHL Phoenix Coyotes to move to Seattle before an NBA franchise does.
- Gotta admit, as the last three Thunder games were unfolding, I incorrectly predicted the outcome each time. I predicted losses at Portland and at Golden State — figuring LaMarcus Aldridge (39 points) and Monta Ellis (48) would simply be too much for OKC to overcome in the end, but the Thunder gallantly won both games. Tonight, I figured OKC would hang on to win despite its relentless generosity toward Sacramento. The Thunder ended up being far too kind with 23 turnovers, which resulted in 28 points for the Kings.
- At Utah on Friday night at 9:30, then it’s back home to OKC. Finally.
- John Rohde
Thunder still not best in West
NBA on TNT crew of Shaquille O'Neal, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.
On Monday night on TNT, the Thunder beat the Boston Celtics for the third straight year inside TD Garden. For more than two hours, the telecast crew of Kevin Harlan, Mike Fratello, Chris Webber and David Aldridge heaped praise upon the Thunder, which has the NBA’s best record at 12-2 after its 97-88 victory at Boston. But when TNT joined its studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal outside Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Thunder quickly played second fiddle again.
Johnson asked the panel to pick a series winner between the Los Angeles Lakers and Thunder right now and all three without hesitation picked LA. The Lakers are too big and Kobe Bryant is simply too good for OKC to win.
LA then went out and nipped Dallas 73-70 on a 3-pointer from Derek Fisher with 3.1 seconds left. The Lakers scored seven total points in the third quarter, shot 38.2 percent from the field, shot 10 percent from 3-point range (1 for 10) and Bryant went 7 for 22 from the field and finished with 14 points.
Some excerpts from the TNT experts:
Webber on Thunder forward Serge Ibaka: “He is athletic, smart defensively. He’s a great shot blocker and a great inside presence.”
Fratello on Thunder head coach Scott Brooks: “He really knows his players and he knows which guys to let grow and develop and which ones he can get on a little bit harder. He wants players to grow and experience this learning process and by the way, they’re winning a lot of games in this process.”
Webber on Thunder sixth man James Harden: “The best teams that I played against had role players that were superstars. They took their role seriously and they knew the importance of their role to the team. (Harden) has embraced his role (as sixth man) and has made sure that the bench is better for that.”
Smith on point guards Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and OKC’s Russell Westbrook: ”They are the only two teams that have guards, besides (Chicago’s) Derrick Rose, that consistently get into the paint.”
Fratello on Thunder forward Kevin Durant: “He is a very unselfish player. He has the God-given ability to score the basketball whenever he wants to. He understands the team aspect of the game and is a willing passer.”
Barkley’s predictions on the best teams in the Western Conference: “The Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets are the two best teams I have seen in the West.”
O’Neal on the Thunder being 12-2: “They’ve had an easy schedule.”
As you can see from ESPNstats, the Thunder ranks No. 1 in the NBA in RPI and No. 8 in strength of schedule. O’Neal is partically right in that OKC often has played teams not at full strength such as San Antonio (no Manu Ginobili), New York (Carmelo Anthony), Memphis (Zach Randolph, Darrell Arthur) and New Orleans (Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza), but other teams also have enjoyed the same benefit. In addition, the Thunder also swept its back-to-back-to-back, won five games in six days and is on a seven-game winning streak.
Jason Terry: Thunder ‘little brother’ to Mavs
Dallas guard Jason Terry pumps up the home crowd.
Throughout the 149-day NBA lockout and the first week of an abbreviated schedule, the entire Western Conference universe seemed to rotate around the Thunder. When OKC jumped out to a 5-0 record after seven days, it simply added to all the fawning.
Now the Thunder is riding a two-game losing streak and people are either jumping off the bandwagon, insisting they never liked the team in the first place, or are simply pleading ignorance.
After Portland manhandled OKC in its own refurbished building on Tuesday night, Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was asked if he was getting tired of all the Thunder talk. “Nah, I don’t read papers or watch ESPN, so I haven’t heard nothing,’ ” Aldridge lied.
Dallas Mavericks sixth man Jason Terry says little has changed from a year ago. The world champion Mavs are still the team to beat in the West.
OKC is 183 miles north on Interstate 35 from the Metroplex and the teams met in last year’s Western Conference Finals. “It’s a big brother-little brother scenario,” Terry told ESPNDallas.com after the Mavs manhandled the previously unbeaten Thunder 100-87 on Monday. ”It is what it is. They’re good. They’re up and coming and they’re dangerous. When you got guys like (Russell) Westbrook and (Kevin) Durant on your ballclub, it’s tough any time. They’ve beaten us a number of times. Now, if you want to say in a series, that would make some intensity come to the rivalry.”
ESPN.com’s John Hollinger was among those to heap praise upon the Thunder during the lockout, but not lately.
The Thunder began as favorites to win the West and seemed to back up that impression with a 5-0 start, but I’d argue that the start was a lot less impressive than the win-loss record made it look,” Hollinger wrote. “They’re 5-1 after Monday night’s loss in Dallas but have scored only 14 more points than they’ve allowed. Were it not for a miraculous shot from Kevin Durant a week ago, they’d be looking at a five-game losing streak to the Mavs — an odd circumstance for a favorite, to say the least. All the attention is swirling around last week’s dustup between Russell Westbrook and Durant, and certainly Westbrook has seemed off his game in the early going; he has more turnovers than assists and is shooting 37.5 percent.
“Yet I’d argue the focus on those two masks deeper and perhaps more immediately relevant concerns. Such as whether the frontcourt will ever score a basket, for instance. OKC’s perimeter trio of Durant, Westbrook and James Harden is an outstanding foundation, but Durant is also outscoring the entire frontcourt group, 27.3 points per game to 21.9. I don’t mean the starters, I mean all of them. In fact, no Okies average more than eight points a game outside of their big three. I’d be less concerned about the frontcourt scoring if the Thunder could leverage their defensive talent into something more than an average defense. OKC was 13th in defensive efficiency a year ago and 17th this year, which basically requires the Thunder to have a league-leading offense or close to it to legitimately contend for anything important. They may very well tighten the D, get some extra juice from the frontcourt and justify all our preseason pontifications, but it might be a bumpier ride to that point than expected.”
With its huge win on the road against the Thunder, Portland already is 2-0 in the Northwest Division while heavily favored OKC is 1-1. Asked if players would still concentrate on division play in a shortened, 66-game schedule, Aldridge said, “Yeah, you do. I think you’ve got to think about it all. But the season is going by so quickly, you have to think about winning all your games.”
NBA already blew it with 2011-12 schedule
Thunder All-Star forward Kevin Durant had 44 points on Christmas Day in a 114-106 victory last year over the Denver Nuggets inside the Ford Center. (Photo by Steve Sisney)
The 66-game regular-season schedule presumably is still on the drawing board, but already the NBA has made a huge mistake.
Opening day for the abbreviated 2011-12 season will be Dec. 25. The league got this part right. Christmas Day was a wise decision and an obvious choice. It’s important to get off on the right foot following a 149-day lockout which, based on the tentative agreement, appears as though it could have easily been settled in 49 days.
Where the league got it wrong was scheduling only three games on opening day — the Celtics at the Knicks; the Heat at the Mavericks; the Bulls at the Lakers.
Rather than cater solely to the major markets, the league should have included everybody. Why in the name of David Stern weren’t 15 games slated for Christmas Day? Schedule these games in the right arenas and there might have been nothing but sellouts on opening day.
Including all 30 teams would have been the proper sign of goodwill in celebration of the new collective bargaining agreement. Show fans every team is created equal (even though they aren’t). Allow every team to share the stage. Small-market teams like the Thunder certainly would have appreciated the gesture.
Stern and Co. are a sharp bunch, but they whiffed on this one.
I have no idea when the revised schedule will be determined. Maybe it’s already complete. If not, then make the change and schedule 15 games. Make it a Merry Christmas for every team and its fans, not just the Big Six.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade Lead Miami To Game 1 Win
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined for 46 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in Miami's 92-84 Game 1 win.
When the final horn sounded, Dwyane Wade embraced LeBron James and whispered two words into his ear.
“That’s one,” Wade said.
The Miami Heat’s star then slapped five with his remaining teammates and repeated that refrain.
Final score: Miami 92, Dallas 84.
And between now and Thursday evening, when these two teams tip it up for Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals, we’ll be inundated with reaction and analysis of every aspect of Game 1.
Dallas’ poor shooting. Miami’s offensive rebounds. Dallas’ unusually ineffective bench production. Miami’s defense on Dirk Nowitzki.
But, really, the opening game came down to one simple fact: The Miami Heat have two of the best players on the planet.
And, now, maybe everyone again realizes that.
After years of struggles and setbacks, failures and flame outs, the Mavs had made believers out of the basketball world for the way they ran through the competition en route to the finals. They showed heart in a six-game opening-round series against Portland. They showed dominance in a sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. They showed maturity in making quick work of the Thunder, winning the West finals in five.
Somewhere along that journey, so many seemed to forget the greatness of Wade and James. But so many times Tuesday, the duo delivered reminders.
James hit a third-quarter, buzzer-beating 3-pointer while falling out of bounds.
“Momentum,” was how Wade described it.
Later, Wade rejected a Shawn Marion shot attempt at one end then drilled a contested and cold-blooded 3 at the other end to push Miami’s lead to nine with 3:05 left to play.
“When D-Wade is dribbling the ball, he gets in his rhythm and pulls up for 3,” James said. “Once that went down, I knew he was feeling really good. We’re rhythm players. When we get in a good rhythm, when we get in a good groove, we feel like every shot we take is going to go in. Those are two cases of it.”
It was just the beginning.
James followed Wade’s big shot and a pair of Nowitzki foul shots with a rim-rocking slam, blowing by Marion and forcefully punching it in while getting fouled to extend the Heat’s lead to 10. Wade later grabbed a rebound, avoided three separate traps to squirt free, got just pass halfcourt and fired a bullet to Chris Bosh (remember him, the third member of the “Heatles” who had 19 points and nine rebounds?) for an uncontested dunk.
And, fittingly, the final nail came on a connection between Wade and James. It started when Wade attacked off a high ball screen. He darted right and sucked in the defense. He got just beyond the painted area before lobbing a sky-high pass for James. Of course, James threw it down hard to start the party with just about 40 ticks left on the game clock.
In the final 10 minutes, when Miami broke open a 68-66 ballgame, Wade and James scored or assisted on 16 of the Heat’s final 24 points. The two combined for 46 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists on the night.
At halftime, they sat on 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting with only eight rebounds. Wade was particularly quiet with only seven points at halftime. Then he came alive.
“He’s such an explosive offensive player, he spoils you a little bit,” said Bosh. “You kind of look for that every game. When it comes it’s like, ‘OK, here it is.’ He can really get it going. I mean, he really heats up at times.”
Somehow, everyone seemed to forget.
But that was the story of Game 1, and Wade and James will be the deciding factors in this series.
It’s not who guards Dirk, or how deep Dallas is, or what impact Dallas’ zone has on the Heat. If Wade and James play to their abilities, they’ll remind, as they did in Game 1, that they’re hands down the best two players in this series. And Miami will be awfully scary and this series could be awfully short if they are.
They’ve done it once. Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking they don’t have three more in them.
-DM-
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James combined for 46 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists in Miami's 92-84 Game 1 win.
When the final horn sounded, Dwyane Wade embraced LeBron James and whispered two words into his ear.
“That’s one,” Wade said.
The Miami Heat’s star then slapped five with his remaining teammates and repeated that refrain.
Final score: Miami 92, Dallas 84.
And between now and Thursday evening, when these two teams tip it up for Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals, we’ll be inundated with reaction and analysis of every aspect of Game 1.
Dallas’ poor shooting. Miami’s offensive rebounds. Dallas’ unusually ineffective bench production. Miami’s defense on Dirk Nowitzki.
But, really, the opening game came down to one simple fact: The Miami Heat have two of the best players on the planet.
And, now, maybe everyone again realizes that.
After years of struggles and setbacks, failures and flame outs, the Mavs had made believers out of the basketball world for the way they ran through the competition en route to the finals. They showed heart in a six-game opening-round series against Portland. They showed dominance in a sweep of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. They showed maturity in making quick work of the Thunder, winning the West finals in five.
Somewhere along that journey, so many seemed to forget the greatness of Wade and James. But so many times Tuesday, the duo delivered reminders.
James hit a third-quarter, buzzer-beating 3-pointer while falling out of bounds.
“Momentum,” was how Wade described it.
Later, Wade rejected a Shawn Marion shot attempt at one end then drilled a contested and cold-blooded 3 at the other end to push Miami’s lead to nine with 3:05 left to play.
“When D-Wade is dribbling the ball, he gets in his rhythm and pulls up for 3,” James said. “Once that went down, I knew he was feeling really good. We’re rhythm players. When we get in a good rhythm, when we get in a good groove, we feel like every shot we take is going to go in. Those are two cases of it.”
It was just the beginning.
James followed Wade’s big shot and a pair of Nowitzki foul shots with a rim-rocking slam, blowing by Marion and forcefully punching it in while getting fouled to extend the Heat’s lead to 10. Wade later grabbed a rebound, avoided three separate traps to squirt free, got just pass halfcourt and fired a bullet to Chris Bosh (remember him, the third member of the “Heatles” who had 19 points and nine rebounds?) for an uncontested dunk.
And, fittingly, the final nail came on a connection between Wade and James. It started when Wade attacked off a high ball screen. He darted right and sucked in the defense. He got just beyond the painted area before lobbing a sky-high pass for James. Of course, James threw it down hard to start the party with just about 40 ticks left on the game clock.
In the final 10 minutes, when Miami broke open a 68-66 ballgame, Wade and James scored or assisted on 16 of the Heat’s final 24 points. The two combined for 46 points, 19 rebounds and 11 assists on the night.
At halftime, they sat on 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting with only eight rebounds. Wade was particularly quiet with only seven points at halftime. Then he came alive.
“He’s such an explosive offensive player, he spoils you a little bit,” said Bosh. “You kind of look for that every game. When it comes it’s like, ‘OK, here it is.’ He can really get it going. I mean, he really heats up at times.”
Somehow, everyone seemed to forget.
But that was the story of Game 1 and is what will be the story of this series.
It’s not who guards Dirk, or how deep Dallas is, or what impact Dallas’ zone has on the Heat. If Wade and James play to their abilities, they’ll remind, as they did in Game 1, that they’re the best two players in this series.
They’ve done it once. Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking they don’t have three more in them.
-DM-
Nowitzki’s place in history secure, Haywood says
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki already has proven himself as an NBA great.
Dallas Mavericks backup center Brendan Haywood said teammate Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t need to win a championship ring to justfied his worth as an NBA great.
“I’ve been in the league 10 years. this is my first time ever making it out of the second round,” said Haywood, who spent his first nine-plus seasons with the Washington Wizards. “A lot of guys don’t get rings. A lot of great players don’t have rings. I don’t want that to be the case with Dirk. I want to get one this year, but he doesn’t have to win a ring to validate himself. The work he’s put in over the years validates himself. This franchise wasn’t where it was until he got here. What’s he have, 10 straight 50-win seasons? (Actually 11.) That’s validation — MVP; 20,000 (career) points; the work that he puts in when no one is looking. That’s all you need.”
The Mavericks can advance to the NBA Finals with a victory at 8 tonight over the Oklahoma City Thunder inside American Airlines Center. Nowitzki is in 11th postseason and still looking for his first world championship, as is the Dallas franchise.
“In some people’s minds, that’ll stamp him as an all-time great,” Haywood said. “In my mind, it’s one of those things that he doesn’t need. It’s your effort and what you put into it. It’s so much more than that (winning a ring), man. Only one team wins the ring every year. To me, it’s about what you put in at such a high level for such a long period of time.
“People who want to justify his career by (him) winning a ring or not are just foolish.”
