Conference Finals Could Determine the Future of the NBA

Tweet You may be wondering where the article I promised in my last edition of playoff awards (the one devoted to San Antonio) is. Simply put: it is on hold. The article is a celebration of how San Antonio has managed to embrace the 'team over the individual' concept (something fans of North American sports always crave and ask for, but hate it when they get it), Tim Duncan and his under-rated career, the brilliance of Popovich, and many other things that have defined the Spurs, but that have also been unappreciated for far too long. Kevin Durant and the Thunder of Oklahoma city do not want me to post that article.
Before you continue reading this, please note that I have nothing against the Thunder winning, I just think that future NBA seasons would be better if San Antonio or Boston capture the NBA title this year.

The ode to the Spurs was going to be my finals preview (obviously, they have to make the finals for this to happen), as well as a hopeful thought that the NBA would now move back to an era where teamwork and individual sacrifice would once again be crucial to success. Where watching beautifully executed plays and sequences that could only come from having an unquestioned trust in your teammates (think Ginobili behind-the-back to Tony Parker) would occur on a nightly basis. Where superstars would forego the chance to break a scoring record, in order to truly elevate their team mates, or as I like to call it: the anti-Kobe. And lastly, an era where you would not watch a guard pound the ball for 22 seconds and then launch an off-balance three with the shot clock expiring (and yes, that one is called a 'Westbrook').

The run that the Dallas Mavericks had last year wasn't just beautiful because they beat the NBA's resident villain, the Miami Heat, it was also beautiful in the way they did it. Jason Kidd did not just dribble up the court and pass it to Dirk Nowitzki; the Mavericks moved the ball (often all five players getting a touch)  looking for the best possible shot. If that shot happened to be a Nowitzki fade-away, then so be it, but the point is that Dallas played as a team and it was a big part of why they won. Another thing that contributed to the Mavs' success was that their role-players knew exactly what their roles were. Watching the thrilling Boston-Miami game last night and seeing Spolestra just throwing line-ups out there hoping that they would work (Norris Cole in after Lebron fouled out) reminded me of just how important role players (and coaching) can be. Rick Carlisle of Dallas made sure that players one through twelve on his roster were ready to play if they were needed. That is why Dallas had great moments in their title run such as Brewer changing the pace of game one against the Lakers, or J.J. Barea changing the complexion of the finals.

I guess that what I am trying to say is that it would be good for the NBA if the formula for winning titles went away from "let's build a super-team" to "let's maximize what we have and win that way". The Spurs and Celtics do not have much in common with a lot of teams in the league (teams such as the Lakers, Clippers, Pacers, Grizzlies etc.) they are not as athletic or as talented (at least in terms of their best players). Yet the Spurs and Celtics outlasted all of those teams and have a good chance to make it to the NBA finals, all because they set individual stats aside for the greater good, in this case winning a title. If the Heat or the Thunder win the title, then the Brooklyn Nets pursuit of teaming up Deron Williams with Dwight Howard (both guys had a hand in the firing/resignation of a coach recently) is justified. More and more stars will take the easy 'non-Duncan' way out and just team up instead of working hard. That is why I am rooting for a Spurs and Celtics finals, one that may not get the ratings of other match-ups, but one that could benefit the league in a way not seen since the early 80's.

A Look at the Week That Was in the NBA

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Which teams are making noise?

With only four weeks to go in the NBA's regular season, now is the time where teams need to make their move and peak at the right time (which everyone seems to agree is right before the playoffs). The team that did that in a resounding way last week were the Thunder of Oklahoma city. OKC is currently riding a 6-game winning streak in which they went 3-0 against other title contenders (The Lakers, Bulls, and Heat) as well as another quality win over a good opponent who isn't quite as good as the other teams (The Clippers). I have to admit that I was genuinely impressed by Oklahoma's performance, especially the chemistry between Westbrook and Durant. Last season Westbrook took a lot of criticism for not deferring to KD, but as Magic said today "we hated on him last year, but now we have to give him his props", the truth is, if both of those guys can sustain this level of performance (and play with each other unselfishly) in and throughout the playoffs, we could see the birth of a very scary dynasty. However, despite their level of play this year, Oklahoma still has work to do to clinch home court advantage throughout the West thanks to the ageless Spurs.

San Antonio did not really impress me as much as the Thunder this week, but this is largely due to the fact that San Antonio's consistency over the last decade, as well as their refusal to die (figuratively of course) does not phase me anymore.  I could type how under-the-radar they have been, or how they have quietly gotten younger and more athletic, and how they have the best coach in the league, but none of that stuff matters because nobody will be interested in hearing it. San Antonio will get their proper respect after the first round of the playoffs (if they get there), until then, you really wont hear as much about them as you will about some of the other contenders. One last team I will mention, before moving on to other topics, is the Boston Celtics. Following the trade deadline, in which Danny Ainge wisely decided to let this crew have one last run (and if you think anyone will knock this team out easily, you are mistaken) Pierce, Rondo, Garnett, Allen, and Rivers will have this team believing, even if no one else believes in them. They have crept up on Orlando for the 3 seed in the East and are in full out business mode. The blowout they laid on the Heat yesterday signals that these guys are locked in, and the Heat and Bulls wont be happy about it and they definitely will not be happy if they have to face a rejuvenated and motivated Celtics team in the playoffs.

How is the MVP race shaking up after last week?

The NBA so far (Part 3)

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For Parts one and two of our NBA rundown, in case you missed them click here (one) and here (two). I noticed that in part two I forgot to post the points that the teams accumulated from our ranking system. Better late then never right? Here they are for those of you who are curious: Kings-27, Suns-37, Bucks-37, Cavs-40, Warriors-41, Jazz-47. Yes, I do realize that the Warriors are going to be ranked higher even though they received fewer points, but it is a small price to pay for a quality report. Anyways, here are teams 19 to 14.

19. The Golden State Warriors (41 points)

Heading into the season the Warriors had failed at getting DeAndre Jordan, settled for gifting Kwame Brown 9 million for the year (if decent big men weren’t so scarce this guy would never have a job in the NBA unless it was a locker room bouncer…and even then he’s probably too soft), were uncertain if their back court could co-exist, and brought in rookie head coach Mark Jackson. This obviously was not a recipe for success, so as a fan I wasn’t expecting much this year except some fun up-tempo Warriors’ basketball. Unfortunately, early on in the year the team seemed to have lost their flair on offense while still being mediocre on defense which really concerned me (c’mon Mark you’re better than that). However, in the last few weeks the team has really turned it around and started playing that fun to watch basketball again. With a relatively easy schedule the rest of the way (really doesn’t mean much since they could lose to a d-league team but beat the ‘96 Bulls on any given night) they could sneak into the playoffs as an 8th seed…and we all know what happened last time they were 8th. Monta Ellis has been his usual self, hitting ridiculous shots and making some spectacular plays, but the other half of their back court really worries me. Stephen Curry keeps re-injuring his ankle and unless he takes a larger amount of time off and heals fully, I could see this keep happening throughout his career (knock on wood that this does not happen). As for the other players, David Lee is showing why the Warriors signed him a few years ago (no flesh eating elbow disease this year thankfully), Ekpe Udoh is a solid center but probably not one I would start, Dorell Wright has gone from one of the most improved players to one of the biggest busts this year and needs to be benched or traded ASAP. The bench has been playing well and is packed with scorers (Robinson and Thomspon) and good defenders (Rush and McGuire) which is always a luxury to have. Apparently the front office is interested in making a move for Bogut which I wouldn’t mind, even though he comes with a huge injury risk. Many moves need to be made to improve this team for the future, the first one being to acquire a good center, but for now I’m happy to enjoy these fast paced late night games.

-Igor

18. The Boston Celtics (53 points)

The already old Celtics are getting older, yet Pierce and Garnett are having very solid seasons. However, the Celtics aren’t playing as well this year, which can be seen by their sub-par record (at just over .500), putting them currently near the bottom of Eastern conference playoff teams. The Celtics have had injuries all season, especially with Rondo and Jermaine O’Neal, and their play has been inconsistent as a result. It also doesn’t help that Rondo has been inconsistent himself, who followed the best statistical game of this NBA season with an 8, 5 and 2 performance just two games after. Pierce has been the best Celtic this year, and Ray Allen is shooting a career high percentage from three point range, but there is not enough depth on this Celtics team and a team with such a poor bench cannot expect to do well in the playoffs. Boston’s decline began after they traded away Perkins, and it’s a shame they could not win another title with him the previous year, but when you are playing against the Lakers and David Stern, you probably shouldn’t expect to win the title (though they did manage to take the series to seven games, even though only one of those seven games were fairly refereed). The Celtics are struggling, and their chances of making it anywhere in the playoffs are looking slim, which is unfortunate because they will soon have to begin rebuilding once their three veterans retire. At this point, it would be best for them to start rebuilding right away and trying to get good value for their veterans, who can still play well on their own. There’s no point in waiting for them to retire when they still have a high current market value.

-Jovan

17. The Minnesota Timberwolves (56 points)

Ricky Rubio. Sadly this paragraph must begin with him and his season-ending injury suffered just last week. With Rubio the T-Wolves have that rare player in the mold of Steve Nash (yeah I get it, Rubio’s shooting sucks, but Nash shot 36% in the 98-99 lockout shortened season...just saying) with his ability to see the floor, always find the open teammate, make passing infectious throughout the team, and in general seem like the type of guy who would be extremely fun to play with. With Ricky the Wolves were surprising everyone by staying right in the playoff hunt in the extremely competitive Western Conference. Now without him they have to turn to Luke Ridnour (very average) and J.J. Barea (Rick Adelman seems to not like him for whatever reason) to hold down the fort at point guard for the rest of the year. Could the Wolves still make the playoffs? Possibly, but they’ll need to get even more from their superstar (no question about this) forward Kevin Love who is without a doubt the best Power Forward in the league (sorry Blake but you’re going to need something more than “spin, spin, spin, yell and flop your arms” as  a post-move to get this status). Since Love is already averaging 25.7 points and 13.6 rebounds a game, this may be too much to ask. The Rubio injury has been one of (if not the) worst stories of the year because this Minny team had been one of the feel-good stories up to that point. Rick Adelman continues to prove he’s one of the best coaches out there and Nikola Pekovic has emerged as a very solid big man in the NBA. Something that seems even less likely when his appearance seems more suited for a bouncer rather than an NBA center. I believe Minnesota will continue to fight for a playoff spot the rest of the season but will fall short due to a lack of PG consistency. Their future looks very promising though with a young core of Rubio, Love, Pekovic, Derrick Williams (has shown flashes of very good play), Michael Beasley (still salvageable in my opinion), Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster, J.J. Barea, Darko and the rest of a team that can only improve. Finally, if you’re not a fan of the T-Wolves, watching this will make you one.

-Luka

Editors Note: We wish Ricky Rubio a swift and successful recovery, its never fun when such a likeable and unselfish young player has his season ended so abruptly.

16. The New York Knicks (62 points)