But When Did He Prepare For The Game?

Cavs' color man Austin Carr, talking about Donyell Marshall, during tonight's Cavs-Wizards game.

Donyell must have felt he was gonna get in the game. Because before the game, he did a lot of preparation before the game.

Hyperbole Schmyperbole!

Brian Windhorst wrote this article after Sasha Pavlovic's game-clinching three pointer in Game 3 versus the Washington Wizards.

Pavlovic was perhaps the Cavaliers' most impressive player in the last quarter of the regular season, establishing himself as a starter and becoming a reliable offensive option in every game.

I like Sasha as much as anyone. His improvement this year has been great, and his presence in the starting line-up makes the Cavs much more dangerous on offense. However, let's compare Sasha to some dude named Lebron over the "last quarter of the regular season."

Sasha: 19 games/14.1/2.1/2.9/51%/77%
Lebron: 19 games/27.1/6.6/6.8/46%/75%

Has Sasha been a breath of fresh air? Yes. Has he been "perhaps the Cavaliers' most impressive player?" I think I'm going to stick with Lebron on that one.

The Bulls Are So Lucky

Shaquille O'Neal in 2003:

I don’t care about my [free throw shooting] percentages. I keep telling everyone
that I make them when they count.

Shaq's career FT% -- 52.5%
Shaq's 2007 round one FT% -- 33.3% (including 0 for 9 in the elimination game)

It's easy to see who deserves all of the blame for the Heat's series loss to the Chicago Bulls - Shaq's teammates. They should have been fully aware that free throws don't count until the NBA Finals. Shaq can't be bothered to make even his career percentage of free throws in a meaningless first round playoff series. I know that. You know that. Now why in the fuck didn't D-Wade, Posey, and Fatoine Walker know that, too? Oh well, there's always next year, Heat fans.

Actually I Think D-Wade IS The Problem

Michael Wallace, of the Miami Herald, in his latest article had this to say about the potential close-out game in the Heat-Bulls series.

It's really not about slowing down Heat guard Dwyane Wade. And it has very little to do with containing center Shaquille O'Neal. No, the Bulls must fight another formidable foe as they attempt to complete a four-game sweep: themselves.

It's really not about slowing down Heat Guard Dwyane Wade. You're sure about this? Winning today's game isn't about stopping one of the top 5 players in the League? It's more about stopping the Bulls from fighting themselves? Okay, moving on.

Although no team in NBA history has lost a series after winning the first three games, the Bulls insist they're not just happy with a comfortable cushion. They crave to close the deal.

Yet they have to worry about "fighting themselves?" The Heat's role players have proven themselves to be shells of their former selves. Outside of Wade and Shaq, they're only getting a contribution from James Posey. The series has been a complete mismatch from the start. What are the Bulls worried about? Oh yeah, that Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich will begin fighting at half court. Gotcha, Mikey.

Kevin Durant = Jesus Come Back To Earth?

At least that's what a couple of ESPN NBA analysts would have us believe. Today in his chat, David Thorpe (not usually one for hyperbole) agreed with a comment Chad Ford made about Kevin Durant's potential. Below are Ford's original comment and Thorpe's reply.

Chad Ford: Personally ... I believe Durant has a chance to be better than all of those guys. If all of those guys were in the draft today ... here's how I'd rank them from a potential standpoint ...

1. Durant
2. Wade
3. LeBron
4. Oden
5. Howard
6. Bosh
7. Carmelo

...

Kris, India: David, Chad Ford answered in one of his chats that he would take Durant over Lebron, Wade, Bosh, DHoward and Oden. You agree? If not, what order would you pick them?

David Thorpe: Based on when they came out, he is exactly right.

I realize KD is a special talent, but please give me a break. Here is a comparison of KD and LBJ at the same age.

KD: 25.8/11.1/1.3/47%/81%
LBJ: 20.9/5.5/5.9/42%/75%

Well, actually, now that I see the numbers in front of me, I guess an argument could be made for KD over LBJ. Hold on, I just got a call. [Takes call: What's that? Are you sure? You're positive? OK, thanks. That changes things.] Sorry, had to take that...so apparently KD put those numbers up in something called the Big 12 while Lebron did it in the Eastern Fucking Conference of the National Basketball Association. You know what, on second thought, I think you'd have to be god-damn insane to draft the waifish KD over LBJ and his linebacker, NBA-ready body.

Of course I don't agree with the Wade over LBJ thing either, but I'll leave that for another post for another day.

Simmons Clone (Not A Good Thing)

From David Thorpe's chat today.

Zach (Dayton, OH): I laid a (pretend) $5 bet down to win an (imaginary) $200 if the Rockets face the Bulls in the finals. Any chance in the world this happens?

David Thorpe: Little.

Zach from Dayton, if you're going to steal jokes from people, stay away from Bill Simmons' extremely lame over-used snoozers. We get it. Gambling is illegal, and yet you're not afraid to gamble it up. Live the dream, bra!

Oh Magic...

Magic Johnson on how this year's Nuggets team is different from past teams:

They're running Nene at Tim Duncan. Then you can run Camby at Tim Duncan. And then you can even bring Narado [sic] in to play him as well.

I assume he meant Eduardo Najera. Glad to have that wordsmith Magic back in my life. NBA Playoffs baby!

Guess What? Jay Mariotti Sucks

Jay Mariotti has this gem about the upcoming Bulls playoff run.

Pretty standard Mariotti drivel, but a few things to note:

Or will they fail to back up their bold words about the Miami Heat -- I'm confident Kirk Hinrich made the comments, despite his claims otherwise

I'm confident Kirk Hinrich made the comments = I have an axe to grind with Kirk Hinrich and require no factual support for what I write.

I would like answers, just as Shaquille O'Neal would like answers.

And gall-durnit, Jay Mariotti deserves answers!

Until now, the biggest controversy involving Hinrich was his post-college haircut, a modified Rock Chalk Jayhawk mop that flopped in the big city and required him to spend more than $8.95 at SuperCuts.

"Hahaha," laughs JM, "...SuperCuts!...You have neither the staunch or sophistication of Jay Mariotti [I assume he refers to himself in the third person.]"

All I know is, the city is tired of waiting for them, despite league-leading attendance figures.

The fact that they lead the league in attendance might refute your claim, but of course I'm not Jay Mariotti. Why let numbers get in the way of a good "rip the hometown team" article?

Not A Sportswriter, But...

This dude is (obviously) not a sportswriter, but I think this ridiculous post deserves a mention.

stallionhorse (4/20/2007 at 4:11 PM)
Also agree with JMRock22...Lebron is already a star and is expected to perform like one throughout the playoffs this year. I see where they're coming from, though. Lebron still has a lot to prove, and hasn't really broken out in the playoffs yet. Let's see if he can lead the Cavs through a deep run (which should be MUCH easier now that they earned the 2nd seed and potential opponents like the gutted Wiz and the weak Nets).

Dear Stallion (Do you mind if I call you Stallion?),

LeBron hasn't broken out in the playoffs yet? How many game winning shots do you need to hit in one playoff series before you have "broken out"? Is two enough? Keep in mind, Mr. Horse, you only have to win 4 games to advance. So he hit the game winner in 50% of the games (trying to keep the math simple for you). But you're right, he does need to break out. He only put his team on his back and pushed his next series to 7 games against the defending Eastern Conference Champs (without home court advantage). But yeah, he hasn't broken out. Please let me know when he does.

Sincerely,
BD