No selections at this time for the NBA, but there will be. It will be really interesting to see how Dallas responds tonight against New Orleans. So far in this series Dallas has shown no ability to stop CP3 (Chris Paul). On top of that the Hornets look so much faster and quicker.
Do the Mavs have the heart to fight back? Hard to say. This is a team that at times really shows grit and fight, but more times than not they simply seem to give up. Part of the problem is that they have as their best player a seven footer that really wants to play like a guard. We doubt the Mavs ever win a championship with Nowitski as the centerpiece of their team.
The other problem with the Mavs is Avery Johnson. Who actually has confidence this guy can out coach any other coach in the NBA? We certainly don’t. If the Mavs exit the playoff in the first round again…little Avery is gone and rightfully so.
The one issue with the Hornets is their youth. So far it has not stopped them from winning but it will be interesting to see how that goes tonight in what should be a very hostile environment. And as you saw last night with Toronto and Washington, being on the road in the NBA playoffs can be rough!
Apparently Utah and Houston have their home court sites mixed up! Huge win for Houston last night and to be honest, very surprising. Not so surprising they kept the score within the -9, but surprising they won the game outright. Now that is a team that showed some fight.
Phoenix and San Antonio to resume tonight in a must win game for Phoenix. Phoenix has to be sick about the first two games, especially the first one. It is a must win game for them tonight…they lose and this series is over. We have said it before and will say it again….NO team with Steve Nash as the point guard is going to win an NBA Championship. Strong words huh?
Here is the problem with the way Nash and the Suns play. First of all Nash cannot play defense. Second, with the way he wants to run an offense they MUST be wide open. They have no choice. His style of running around like a chicken with his head cut off works in the regular season when teams do not have as much time to game plan. But when the playoffs roll around teams seem to figure them out.
Because of this offensive style they are not good in the set offense at crunch time. Sure they are fun to watch, and Nash is a terrific player, but until Nash and this team figure out how to play defense and run a good offense at crunch time they are going to fall short of a championship and even a NBA Finals appearance.
Take a look at the Spurs. They are just a terrific team. They can play defense, they have a great set offense, and they run it well at crunch time. Why do you think they win so many close games? They just know how to win. However, the Spurs run into a buzz saw tonight.
Lakers at Denver. You can almost say the same thing about the Nuggets that you do the Suns. But there is one little exception….the Suns, believe it or not, actually play more defense than the Nuggets!! Both the Suns and Nuggets have excellent point guards but point guards that dominate the ball. Both teams also have good complimentary players around these point guards. And both the Suns and Nuggets have about the same type of coaches….coaches that apparently have no ability to teach their current roster how to play defense.
The Lakers are the better team, no question about that. Although not a great defensive team overall they can play terrific defense for short periods of time. And of course they can really score when needed. They have easily the best player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, a very good center in Gasol, and a GREAT third go to in Lamar Odom. The Lakers also have the superior bench.
And of course they have one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA in Phil Jackson. Nine titles and 10 trips to the finals. Three-peat three times. What else needs to be said. The Lakers will win this series…but that doesn’t mean they automatically win tonight! Stay tuned.