I decided to do a running diary of today's NBA Playoff action. My thoughts are below.
1:00 PM - It's the Playoffs!!! (3 exclamation marks! that's how excited I am). Getting ready to watch the first game of the day with the Philadelphia Sixers visiting the Chicago Bulls. Pretty cool montage being shown right now by TNT. Nothing will beat the one they had at the beginning of the season though which was amazing.
1:06 PM - Before we tip off I might as well make my first round picks. Last year I had the Blazers knocking out the Mavs so that should let you know my success rate with these. Bulls over Sixers in 5. Heat over Knicks in 7. Pacers over Magic in 6. Celtics over Hawks in 6. Spurs over Jazz in 5. Thunder over Mavs in 7. Lakers over Nuggets in 6. Grizzlies over Clippers in 6.
1:09 PM - Still commercials. This game is being broadcast on NBA TV Canada so I'm expecting a couple of awful Raptors commercials each break. This is the worst one of all time (this may be the worst commercial of all time period)
1:14 PM - 10-3 Bulls. Timeout from Doug Collins. Not a good start for Philadelphia, Chicago looks way more amped for this game in the early going. Appear quicker to their spots and as a result all of their shots have been wide open.
1:20 PM - Sixers have come back better after the timeout but just as I'm writing this, Rip Hamilton hits a 3, 15-9 Bulls. Hamilton scores again, answered with an Elton Brand Jumper only to have Rip hit one more. Rip with 9 and Brand with 6. These guys think it's 2004. We get a look and listen at the last Sixer huddle. If I was an NBA coach, I would hate "Inside Trax" because they always make coaching seem incredibly easy.
1:24 PM - Oh! Noah just posterized Lavoy Allen off a lovely fake pick and roll handoff with Rose (Think Webber). This was of course followed by his patented celebration of looking up in the air while flexing and screaming simultaneously. I can see why other players hate Noah. 23-16 Bulls.
1:32 PM - 26-20 Bulls with a minute left in the first quarter as Evan Turner checks in the game for the first time. Much has been talked about Turner essentially saying he's happier that Philadelphia got Chicago rather than Miami in the first round. Personally I think that it's being overblown by the media looking for a story but I disagree with what Turner did since there's no positive in motivating the Bulls further. The Bulls fans don't agree apparently as they're booing Turner every time he touches the ball.
1:35 PM - 28-24 Bulls. End of the first quarter. The Sixers came out looking tentative which was probably due to nerves but they've settled down nicely and are really moving the ball well against this great defence. The bad thing for Philly is that they're down 4 with Rose 1/7 from the field so far.
1:37 PM - This commercial break feels like it's been 4 hours long. So here's this new 50 song off his upcoming mixtape, The Lost Tapes.
1:38 PM - Is there anything more pointless in sports right now than the coach interviews after the 1st and 3rd quarters? I feel like all I learn every time I watch these is that coaches don't like sideline reporters.
1:41 PM - Sixers tie it up at 28 before turning the ball over on 3 straight possessions allowing the Bulls to go on a 9-0 run. 37-28 Bulls. I'm not sure where Philly can get consistent scoring from. So far Elton Brand has looked the most comfortable out there (not a good sign for Sixer fans).
1:47 PM - Watching Noah shoot makes me sad. The Sixers are playing 25 feet off of Ronnie Brewer begging him to shoot. A Turner steal leads to an emphatic Iguodala dunk! Philly only down 4, 37-33. The quick pace of the game thus far has aided Philadelphia. They'll struggle scoring in the half-court but on the break they're extremely dangerous (and fun to watch).
1:51 PM - Reggie just said he loves the chemistry between Rose and Hamilton. Chemistry? I'm not sure they've played 25 games together. Elton Brand came to play. Just hit a tough fade-away baseline jumper over Boozer even with Carlos fouling him on the play. Brand will have a chance to cut it to 5. 41-35 Bulls.
1:57 PM - Rose hits Hamilton on the break for a lay-up. Lead back up to 9, 45-36. "There's no way that Ronnie Brewer makes that play last year, Hamilton does because he's a natural born scorer" - Reggie Miller talking about Rip Hamilton's wide open LAY-UP. I wish there was a way where I could mute Miller but keep listening to Harlan. Every time the Sixers appear to be coming close to tying the game, the Bulls kick it into a next gear to keep them at bay. Philadelphia has to stop taking forced shots because they're just as bad as normal turnovers.
2:06 PM - 53-42 for Chicago at half. Bad way for Philly to end the half as they let Rose heat up a little while messing up a couple of fast break opportunities. Any time you have an easy opportunity against this Bulls team, you have to score if you want any chance of winning. For Chicago there's not much to worry about, if they play the way they did in the first half which wasn't their best they should still win this game comfortably. Top performers at half: Elton Brand with 15 and 4 off 7/10 shooting and Derrick Rose with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
2:11 PM - Why does Kenny Smith always sound like he's yelling when he's doing his big board thing? Has there ever been a worse studio guy than Shaq? Everything he says is either irrelevant or an awful joke that still gets laughs from the other 3 because they're so good at selling jokes. Can we get a Webber for Shaq trade? Who would say no to that?
2:14 PM - What would be better? Being Steve Novak or being Kyle Korver? Both guys are sharpshooters who can turn a game around if they catch fire and both guys play below average defence (this is very generous). For Korver the good thing is that you probably get people mistaking you for Ashton Kutcher, the bad thing is that you have people mistaking you for Ashton Kutcher. For Novak, the positives are you get to play and live in New York, you're a fan favourite (much more than Korver is in Chicago), have a cool celebration (the discount double check) and an amazing nickname (Novakaine). The bad thing is that you look like Steve Novak.
2:31 PM - Sixers just started the second half with 6 straight points before Hamilton stops the bleeding with a wide open mid-range jumper. 55-48 Bulls. Philadelphia just keeps hanging around as Chicago keeps taking their foot off the gas every time they get a more comfortable lead. Dangerous way to play.
2:34 PM - Does Rip Hamilton have one mask or multiple identical masks? I'd rather have the sideline reporters tell us vital (not really) info like this instead of saying that Doug Collins thinks the Sixers have to "rebound the basketball". Also I'm not really sure why Lavoy Allen starts. I think that Thaddeus Young could do just as good of a job defending Boozer plus he's much better offensively. Rose just scored 5 straight points to push the lead back up to 12. 60-48 Bulls.
2:43 PM - Rose just hit another 3 as the Bulls lead 65-51 with 5 and a half minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Brand is looking like the only Sixer who can score in the half-court, something the Bulls agree with as they are beginning to double team him in the post.
2:44 PM - Every time I think of anyone cheering for the Bulls, I think of this. Great Movie, Amazing Actor.
2:46 PM - Oh and we have our first post-whistle shoving match. It started because Turner hit Noah after the whistle causing Boozer to bump Turner and then everyone came into it. The refs somehow called 3 techs after that play, on Brand, Hamilton, and Rose. Not sure why those 3 got punished. Also, Reggie Miller just called Boozer "the enforcer" of the Chicago Bulls. I'm not sure he watches basketball.
2:53 PM - This game is now following a repetitive pattern, Bulls go up by 13-16 points followed by a Sixer run to cut it to 8 or 9 points and then it's repeated all over again. Every time Philly gets on the break something good happens as Iguodala has a putback dunk on one fast break and then 2 freethrows off of a second fast-break play. Sixers only down 8, 72-64 with a minute left in the third.
3:00 PM - Bulls up 79-66 at the end of three quarters. There will be one last push by the Sixers in this last quarter but with the way things have gone so far, I'm not expecting much. Louis Williams has been an absolute zero (5 pts on 1/4 shooting) so far.
3:04 PM - Things i learnt in the Thibodeau interview: Thibodeau is balding. Thanks Cheryl Miller.
3:11 PM - They said a seedless watermelon couldn't be done...Did it! Love that commercial. Bulls up 16, 84-68. If Philadelphia wants to have a chance at winning this game, they better start their push soon otherwise this will become an easy finish for Chicago.
3:17 PM - Rose just hit a deep desperation 3 as the shot clock expired. 93-73 Bulls with 5:49 remaining. I'm pretty sure that's game.
3:19 PM - Another insanely long commercial break. So here's Slaughterhouse's new single. This is way more radio-friendly than anything they've done in the past but that's the way hip-hop works these days. You have to put out a "radio" song in order to have your album released and do well. This particular one has grown on me and I like it now.
3:27 PM - Bulls up 97-81 as now I'm just waiting for the Knicks/Heat game to tip off. Watching this game makes me very confident in my Bulls in 5 pick as they are clearly the better team but Philadelphia can make these games closer and maybe even win one if they get Williams and Iguodala to show up (a combined 4/17.. that is terrible) while slowing down Korver and Hamilton (a combined 11/14 with 2/3 from 3-pt range) at the same time.
3:32 PM - Fuck. Rose just got hurt. Looks real bad. Let's hope it's not. You have to wonder why he was even still on the floor with the Bulls up 12 with a minute left. This is terrible. Rose is being helped off the floor as he walks off very gingerly. This does not look like it's nothing. Sad news for Rose, Chicago and the entire NBA.
3:33 PM - LET'S GO
3:35 PM - Stoudemire just posterized Bosh!! It's already not looking good for Bosh's pit. Knicks up 5-2.
3:37 PM - Heat fans really bringing it today. 2/3 of the crowd is already full!!
3:39 PM - Bulls 103 - Sixers 91. End of the game but sadly the only story that matters now is the seriousness of Rose's injury. It did not look good though.
3:40 PM - Baron Davis just dunked! And then a delay of game as the refs have to clear the multiple snickers bars that flew out of his pockets as he jumped (okay that didn't happen but it's just as believable as Baron dunking).
Ok that's it for me for now. I'm going to go watch the Knicks/Heat game at a friend's house so I'm not sure if I'll be doing this there. The Chicago Bulls looked great today and so did Rose which is what makes his apparently serious injury that much more sad. Let's hope he gets better. Enjoy the rest of today's games!
Luka Milanovic
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