Conference Semis, Game 1: Bulls Take Cavs, Clippers throttle dazed Rockets (Jimmy Butler, Blake Griffin and Psychology)

Chicago Bulls 99, Cleveland Cavs 92

Jimmy Motherfucking Butler. LeBron can huff and LeBron can puff but LeBron can’t blow Jimmy Butler’s house in. Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler.

Mike Dunleavy decided to imitate Klay Thompson to open the game, hitting three from deep that splashed cleanly through before the Cavs knew which way to turn. Bulls 21, Cavs 7. Dunleavy smoking.

As expected, Cleveland knocked the rust off and jumped back into the game in the second quarter, but never got over the hump. Rose, Gasol and Butler counter-punched throughout. After the Cavs tied things up to start the third, the Bulls rampaged and that vaunted Cavs defense (oh wait, they aren’t known for their defense) couldn’t stop a 15-0 run. Bulls 68, Cavs 53.

Kyrie Irving single-handedly (or should I say ambidextrously?) kept the Cavs within range early in the 4th, crossing every which way and finishing with his trademark spinning lay-ups (reminiscent of peak Tony Parker).

As the Bulls bench (Brooks, Hinrich, and Dunleavy) floundered, the Cavs pulled to within 3 (83-80) with 8:30 remaining.

Thibodeau came back with his starting crew, the defense picked up, while LeBron and Kyrie were forced into desperation heaves from beyond 25 feet. Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler, and Jimmy Butler.

And one big jumper from Pau and Rose to ice the cake.

Los Angeles Clippers 117, Houston Rockets 101

Wow. No Chris Paul, and no energy from Houston. The Rockets were brutal. McHale’s coaching interview mentioned being “stuck in the mud.” The Rockets may as well have played without sneakers, because there was no ball movement, no cutting, no sharp screens, and no hustle outside of Dwight Howard (22 / 10 / 5 blocks) and Trevor Ariza.

Austin Rivers didn’t have to replace Chris Paul, so much as hit a few corner three-pointers, play decent defense and try not to turn the ball over when it was actually in his hands.

Blake was Superman while Dwight Howard was left on an Island by his teammates

Blake Griffin (26 points, 8-10 free-throws / 14 boards / 13 assists) was spectacular in distributing again, as he has been throughout the playoffs, with the exception of a few late-game lapses against San Antonio. Griffin and the surprising Matt Barnes (20 points on 11 shots! / 4 steals / 2 blocks) more than rose to the occasion as the Rockets looked shocked that they weren’t blowing the CP3-less Clippers out.

Here’s a question that goes beyond Xs and Os but to the heart of the difference between these two teams: one of them has incredible talent as well as heart, while the other has swagger and talent.

Is Kevin McHale to blame for the Rockets playing with such little motivation? Or is it impossible to keep the fire lit in the bellies of James Harden (6 free-throw attempts and 9 turnovers) and Josh Smith (3 of 12 and only 5 boards in 29 minutes)?

PSYCH 101

This was a psychological test for Houston, and they failed miserably.

Why was it psychological?

1. No Chris Paul for the Clippers invites a let down from the opponent.

2. Gear Shift. Dallas defense is much like regular season defense. Houston barely turned the ball over against such sad attempts at deterrence. The way the Clippers have been playing defense is nothing like what they faced for the first five games of the playoffs. This was like driving on a flat, straight country road and suddenly facing rush hour traffic in mid-town Manhattan. In the second-half, once the Clippers found their second wind (remember, they just finished a brutal 7-game series with the Spurs and were without Chris Paul), the Rockets simply couldn’t match them. They were not mentally ready.

Kevin McHale has always seemed like a nice guy. I like Kevin McHale. He let his team get too high on themselves. It was a problem on Monday. Wednesday will be different, but the home court they worked for all season is gone.

Third quarter scoring: Clippers 37, Houston 27 (Blake Griffin collects 6 dimes)

Fourth quarter scoring: Clippers 34, Houston 24 (Blake Griffin with 4 more assists)

In the second round of the playoffs, well-rested, playing at home, against a team that was without it’s maestro at the point, the Rockets gave up 71 points in the second half. Wow. Blake Griffin as distributor. Austin Rivers and Matt Barnes filling in. Unexpected.

24 (Slightly Absurd) NBA Certainties for the 2014-15 Season

The following twenty-four NBA-related events will most certainly occur over the course of the next eight months. 

1. On October 30, Blake Griffin “retaliates” against Serge Ibaka‘s third take-down of the game by blowing him kisses. Later in the game, Glen Davis crushes Ibaka and then pins him to the court in a wrestling maneuver. Davis is suspended for five games, but coach Doc Rivers buys Davis a new Tesla for his troubles.

2. The Minnesota Timberwolves will not be all that exciting in general, but Ricky Rubio to Andrew Wiggins and Rubio to Zach LaVine lob passes will be a nice distraction from the standings. Coach Flip Saunders gives Rubio an ultimatum in mid-November: “Get to the free-throw more or we’ll all start calling you, “Marco.”

3. Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd comes out of retirement in late-November because he wants to, “Teach Jabari the pick-and-roll.” Jabari Parker continues to pick-and-pop but refuses to “roll.”

4. Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob introduces pre-game three-point contests involving Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and new coach Steve Kerr. The Warriors start selling tickets for the pre-game event only.

December

5. Philadelphia 76ers second round pick K.J. McDaniels becomes first NBA player to have a 10 block, 10 turnover game against the downtrodden Orlando Magic.

6. Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau embraces the fact he finally has a deep bench and plays everyone 25 minutes per game, saving them for the playoffs. Derrick Rose will play the entire season.

7. ESPN.com crashes for several days in mid-December due to advanced metrics malfunctioning and causing panic.

8. In a New Year’s Eve special, longtime TNT commentator Marv Albert has a breakdown. After months of rotating broadcast partners, Albert retires mid-season, forcing Ernie Johnson into an awkward play-by-play role. Back in the studio, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal won’t listen to Kenny Smith. Shaq keeps shouting, “Barbecued Chicken!” The ratings have never been better.

January

9.  The Boston Celtics take a league-record 53 three-pointers in a game against the Toronto Raptors, including 19 by Jared Sullinger. They make only 7. Sullinger finishes the game with 18 offensive rebounds.

10. LeBron James tells Dion Waiters that Waiters won’t be joining the Cleveland Cavs on their ten-day road trip in January, because he will be enrolled in anger management classes. Coach David Blatt simply nods in the background.

11. ESPN declares they will air every Cavs game from February 1 until the end of the season.

February

12. At the All-Star Break, the NBA announces the details of its new television deal on the salary cap, but the cap number keeps increasing every week, like it does with the Mega Millions. By June, the number is $140 million. Every team will have an inordinate amount of cap space and twelve assistant GMs will quit right before free agency begins in July, 2016.

13. The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-92. Only two Rockets score points in the game. James Harden gets 58. Dwight Howard scores 46. Kobe Bryant scores 31 points, taking 57 shots, in the least-efficient performance in league history. Lakers guard Jeremy Lin finally complains to the media about Kobe’s selfish ways. Rookie Julius Randle gets a DNP-CD from coach Byron Scott because he accidentally took a corner three-pointer the previous game. Phil Jackson‘s laughter can be heard from coast-to-coast.

14. The Indiana Pacers, who are averaging 64 points per game, trade away Roy Hibbert and David West to the Sacramento Kings for Ben McLemore and a future second-round pick. Larry Bird goes AWOL as soon as the season ends.

15. The Boston Celtics do not trade Rajon Rondo. Bill Simmons yells at Celtics GM Danny Ainge on The Grantland Basketball Hour. At 25-29, the Celtics make a run at the 8th seed in the weak Eastern Conference. In an ironic twist, the Celtics and Nets will fight it out for the final spot.

April

16. The Philadelphia 76ers play a regular season game in which the arena is completely empty. The television commentators leave the booth in protest early in the second quarter. The Sixers forfeit their final five home games, but refuse to refund those tickets to the 43 remaining season ticket holders. Instead, they barter with those fans, hoping to secure second round picks. Sixers GM Sam Hinkie sits down with SI’s Lee Jenkins in April, at the end of the Sixers 6-76 (fitting, isn’t it?) season. The tell-all essay is titled, “Vision 2020.” Sixers fans organize an event where they set fire to a pile of this issue of Sports Illustrated. Joel Embiid is asked to stop using Twitter by commissioner Adam Silver.

17. The Sacramento Kings win 44 games but finish 10th in the Western Conference. Owner Vivek Ranadive petitions for Sacramento to move to the Eastern Conference, but commissioner Silver stops answering Vivek’s texts. A blog is created: http://www.vivekstexts.com

18. The Memphis Grizzlies finish 6th in the West and end up taking the 3rd-seed San Antonio Spurs to Game 7, before losing the final game on two Zach Randolph missed free-throws.

May

19. After much debate, Seattle doesn’t get a franchise but they do get a new Chipotle restaurant.

20. In the middle of the Western Conference Semis between San Antonio and Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant announces he’s moving 5,000 of his closest friends and family to a newly built community outside of Oklahoma City. The rumors that he’s headed to Washington, D.C. persist anyway, because the NBA gossip bubble in the age of Twitter expands like a piece of Bubblicious.

21. The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets finish 4th and 5th in the East. Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson become involved in a staring match that lasts for 45 minutes at center court after the final buzzer of Game 1. Whichever team wins the evenly-matched series loses in 5 games to the Bulls in the East Semis.

22. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers meet in the Western Conference Semis. Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers both agree to do color commentary and let their assistants coach during the second quarter of each game.

23. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavs in 6 games. Jimmy Butler does such a ridiculous job defending Kyrie Irving (holding him to 13% shooting for the series) that he is named series MVP.

June

24. The Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Finals in 7 games. Five of the games come down to the wire. Chris Paul retires (temporarily) out of frustration. Tom Thibodeau is named MVP, due to the fact that every member of the Bulls contributes roughly the same amount to the wins, and the voting ends in a seven-way tie.

***

Western Conference Playoff Insanity: Reggie Jackson, Troy Daniels, Wesley Mathews, and Accidental Cardio

As you may have noticed, the NBA Playoffs have been proper mental/downright insane/absolutely ridiculous/completely awesome so far. As an NBA obsessive, this is both an awesome and overwhelming time.

Attention: Adam Silver

After you do everything in your power to suspend Clippers “owner” Donald Sterling, please leave the conferences exactly as they are. The absurd imbalance that occurred this year has resulted in the most exciting first round of playoff basketball in the NBA’s history. The West is so good that all eight teams fully deserve to be here, and all four Western Conference series are must-watch basketball.

Oklahoma City-Memphis (2-2), Game 5 in OKC, Tuesday

Reggie Jackson saved the Thunder from a 3-1 deficit with his heroic Game 4. Watching Kevin Durant embrace Reggie Jackson after the game, it was telling just how thankful KD and coach Scott Brooks must have been. No offense to Russell Westbrook, but instead of running directly over the Reggie Jackson, Westbrook had the ball in his hand, screaming with happiness toward the Memphis fans. It was a telling moment. Jackson is the unheralded hero of this Thunder season. Westbrook can be pure joy to watch with his relentless attack on the rim, but the future of this team should be Durant and Reggie Jackson. Westbrook is often maligned for his unorthodox play. He is an undeniable force, worthy of leading a team by himself, but it should be clear by now that he doesn’t mesh very well. He doesn’t manage the game, possession-by-possession.

Kevin Durant embraces Thunder teammate Reggie Jackson during Game 4.

Some put the onus on Coach Scott Brooks to find a way to use the two players more cohesively, and to run more sets and less isolation. This is a valid argument, but I wonder how much Westbrook listens to any coach, or any teammate. He doesn’t show the ability to pick his spots, to take care of the ball when it matters most, or to defer to Durant in key situations. Though it is unlikely Westbrook would ever accept the role, he would be ideally suited to becoming the best 6th man in the NBA, an even more explosive offensive weapon than Jamal Crawford or Manu Ginobili. Instead, his ego may force GM Sam Presti to make a deal down the road. Tony Allen’s instincts remain unparalleled. The man plays with an inner drive that is just insane. He refuses to let anyone pick him. Some of OKC’s offensive struggles rest solely on Durant’s inability to extricate himself from Allen.

***

Houston-Portland (Blazers lead 3-1), Game 5 in Houston, Wednesday

Troy Daniels won’t turn 23 until July. He went to Virginia Commonwealth and set the Atlantic 10 Conference record for made three-pointers in a season in 2013. The following June, he was not drafted. At 6’4″ and 204 pounds, he doesn’t have much height, length, or strength, said the NBA scouts.

He was signed by the Charlotte Bobcats in September and waived in October. Think the Bobcats are scratching at themselves for missing on that one? A week later, he was signed by Houston. One week after that, he was again waived. He went to the D-League and continued to rain threes upon the heads of opponents.

On February 21, the Rockets signed him again, then sent him back to the D-League. On March 5, he made his NBA debut, playing all of 92 seconds. In a blowout win two nights later, he made his first NBA three-pointer and played 6 minutes. He went back to the D-League. Fast-forward one month. On April 9, against Denver, Daniels got 11 minutes of run, and connected on 4 of 6 from deep. Three nights later, he played 13 minutes, going 1 of 5 from deep. In the regular season finale, Daniels got free reign, playing 44 minutes, and made the most of it, going 6 of 11 from distance, scoring 22 points and dishing out 5 assists.

He wasn’t expected to make any noise in the playoffs. In total, he’d played 76 minutes in the NBA, 44 of those minutes in an entirely meaningless regular season game.

The playoffs started. LaMarcus Aldridge served the NBA a subpoena: I’m here. Terrence Jones can’t guard me. My Blazers aren’t going anywhere. The Blazers won both games in Houston. Troy Daniels watched from the bench, presumably happy to be there, wearing the uniform, feeling like he’d made it to an NBA roster, now getting a front row seat at the playoffs.

And then it happened. Coach Kevin McHale (perhaps with the prompting of Daryl Morey) called his number. Twenty minutes and 3 long-range swishes later, The Legend of Troy Daniels was being written. Down 2-0, Daniels helped the Rockets take a tumultuous must-win Game 3 in Portland. He followed it up with an impressive 4 of 5 shooting performance in 21 minutes last night, an overtime thriller that Wesley Mathews (among others) simply would not let the Blazers lose, with his gutsy defensive play. The most impressive moment for me, was at the free-throw line, after Daniels was fouled shooting from deep. Daniels, approached the line with poise and confidence. He calmly knocked all three down. The net barely moved they were so true.

Troy Daniels of the Rockets demands the attention of defenders and fans alike.

I love it when players come “out of nowhere” as they say, and impact big games. The reality is, they all come from somewhere, in this case Roanoke, Virginia. Daniels took the moment and seized it. Like Gary Neal in last year’s Spurs playoff run. Troy Daniels: shooter. Keep it going, young man.

The Blazers on Fire

I can’t write about this series without mentioning how much I love watching these Portland Trail Blazers. Every member of this team contributes something. Everyone has a role, and nobody demands the ball. The Blazers got this far by trusting each other, and by threatening to score from every spot on the floor. That spacing, in addition to a positional mis-match, allowed Aldridge to score 89 points in the first two games.

That spacing is what the Rockets wish they had. That spacing is what the 2011 Mavericks had. Coach Terry Stotts was on the Dallas bench, assisting Rick Carlisle. Spacing is what the Spurs and Heat have. It’s how you get open corner threes. It’s how you score in the playoffs. The opposite: take a look at the Chicago Bulls. The Wizards defense can collapse on Noah at the elbow, and Gibson on the block because other than Mike Dunleavy’s Game 3 heroics, the Bulls can’t space the floor.

Damian Lillard is a joy to watch. Completely confident without a hint of arrogance. He knows he belongs in these big games. Nicolas Batum is the same way. He has worked his way into becoming a reliable three-point shooter, which opens up his lanky drives and sweet pocket passes. Batum’s defense has stifled Chandler Parsons all series, occasionally making life hell for James Harden as well. Alridge is Aldridge. Unblockable with that high release. Rarely turning it over. Fierce on the glass, devouring rebounds. Cult hero Robin Lopez has made life messy for Houston’s bigs, altering shots in the paint and never fearing the mammoth Dwight Howard. In the fourth quarter, the Blazers were saved by a Mo Williams steal with 28 seconds left, followed by Mo’s 26-footer ten seconds later, giving Portland a 105-104 lead. They went on to win another epic in overtime. Three of the four games have included an overtime period. The cardiovascular couch workout is taking years off the lives of the good citizens of Houston and Portland.

Wes Mathews is keeping James Harden awake all night.

Wesley Mathews Wants It

Wesley Mathews…oh my. The man wants it! He wants it like Tony Allen and Draymond Green want it. He ripped the ball away from Dwight Howard in what was essentially a two-man wrestling match on the floor. I had to watch it again in slow-motion. 99 out of 100 NBA players wouldn’t have come up with that loose ball. Only Tony Allen, Draymond Green, Avery Bradley, Lance Stephenson and P.J. Tucker would have had a chance. Mathews came up with the ball, called a quick timeout, and let out a primal scream for the Moda Center fans. It was fitting that Mathews interrupted a would-be final shot attempt for the Rockets to seal the win. Mathews blitzed a pick all the way out at half-court and came up seizing that ball like he was going to deflate it.

Wesley Mathews is loving every minute of this. And guess what…Wesley Mathews went undrafted, too.