1) Holy Pacquiao! Things got phys-i-cal! Flagrante! Miami measured Indiana for about 20 minutes, then blew their doors off to go up 3-2. Indiana coach Frank Vogel, a proven liar, has spent the entire series claiming the Heat are "floppers" - code for "soft." But Miami wasn't soft tonight, and they weren't flopping - they were hitting! Let's go!
2) Things got real at the beginning of the second quarter when Dwyane Wade drove to the rim, hung in the air, and Pacers power forward Tyler Hanbrough essentially punched him in the face, splitting Dwyane's eyebrow open. It was borderline ejectable - the referees didn't eject him, gave him a Flagrant 1, which is two shots and the ball. I think it was the correct call - I think context counts. Hansbrough is rough and somewhat spastic, but not dirty. The foul was too hard, but I think it fell shy of ejectable...Moments later, Hansbrough caught a ball on the wing, took one dribble to the rim, elevated, and Udonis Haslem leaped into the air and swung an overhanded double-karate chop at Hansbrough's face, sending him flying back to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was absolutely ejectable - it was stunning that three referees could watch that play, talk it about it, and then decide, "ehh - I guess that's okay." Again, context had to have saved him - since Hansbrough had just punched someone in the face trying a layup, I guess the refs decided to allow a little street justice - Flagrant 1 for UD...In the third quarter, KJ James drove to the rim and S.G. (Studio Gangster) Danny Granger grabbed him at the foul line by the arm and inexplicably spun him all the way around; a while later KJ drove and S.G. David West gave him an intentional shot in the head - no flagrants on either of those. Welcome to KJ's life...Later, Mario Chalmers, of all people, gave a barely non-flagrant shot to Paul George on a dunk try, swinging an arm up high on George, which didn't get to George's face only because he blocked it with his arms...The knockout blow came in the fourth quarter, during garbage time, when Lance Stephenson, who has annoyed the Heat with his series-long yapping from the bench (where he is anchored), and who aggravated hackneyed sportswriters everywhere who demand players "show class" when he gave KJ James a "choke" signal (hands around the throat) during a Pacer win, ran down the lane to chase a rebound and 300 lb Heat scrub Dexter Pittman took two steps and drilled him in the throat with an elbow (appropriately). That's about as hard as you can hit someone on a basketball court...In summary: no way Hansbrough gets suspended, he doesn't deserve it. UD probably gets one game - he deserves it. I understand he was protecting Dwyane, and Dwyane will absolutely pay UD's fine, but there's no argument to say he shouldn't be suspended. Pittman has to get multiple games - that's more than fair - but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Stephenson went looking for trouble, and he found it. Crazy how that works sometimes. Also, note that when the proceedings got especially physical, Danny Granger removed himself for the rest of the game with what he claimed was a sprained ankle. Actual fighting broke out in this game, not just fake fighting, and Danny Granger was nowhere to be found. I didn't notice either Granger or West go looking for UD during the rest of the game, and UD was out there quite a bit. Funny, that. Going to be tough in Indiana Thursday without UD and Bosh, though...Here's UD's foul:
And Pittman's on Stephenson - notice at the very end of the clip, in the aftermath, Pittman winks at a teammate, I'm guessing Juward Howard (who has had multiple run-ins with Stephenson this season). I'm sure that's going to go over great at the league office!
3) Shane Battier was great in this game. Came in 2-19, or something absurd like that, from the floor in the series, and knocked down the first two shots of the game, both triples, to get Miami off quickly. Made 4-5 on the night and scored 13 points. Also took David West defensively and held him to a 5-13 for 10 points and 4 rebounds in 32 minutes, even though he is giving up 40 pounds to West. And, by the way, at least two of those hoops weren't on Battier, they came while he was on the bench. Just as importantly, the fact he takes West allows KJ to take an easier assignment defensively, and preserve his energy for other tasks.
4) KJ and Wade were both great - let's not lose sight of that. 30 on 12-19 for KJ with 10 rebounds and 8 assists, including one where he caught a bizarre hit-ahead curveball from Mario "Emcee" Chalmers, who bizarrely had 11 rebounds in the game, after Turiaf blocked a Hibbert layup. Chalmers' pass was sailing into the sideline stands when KJ reached back, cupped it with one hand, then in the same motion blazed a Justin Verlander fastball to a sprinting Dwyane Wade for the dunk (M.Minutos loves it when you mix sports metaphors). Dwyane pounded the paint - if he hadn't missed 6 free throws, he would have scored more than 28 on 10-17. Tonight those two got out in transition for buckets, and got in the lane in the halfcourt - when that happens, even without Bosh there, the team can score enough to win.
5) Play of the game: easily, when in the third quarter, with the Heat starting to pull away from the Pacers, the barely ambulatory Mike Miller somehow lost a shoe on a defensive rebound. As the Heat drove it upcourt, Miller, instead of quickly putting it back on - heck, sit down if you have to and do it quick - tossed it into the crowd. The Heat didn't take a timeout, and the Pacers came back down the court after a Heat miss. They immediately cleared out a side so that Leandro Barbosa, who is Miller's primary cover during Miller's minutes in this series, and who has scored approximately every time he's had the ball in space against Mike (Barbosa's too quick), looked at him, and immediately passed the ball back out top to George Hill! I DIDN'T THINK SO, LEANDRO BARBOSA! Hill dribbled for about 8 seconds, looked back at Barbosa, like, "what the hell is wrong with you - you're being covered by a guy with a broken back, no thumbs, and one shoe," and tossed it back to him, whereupon Barbosa held it for a few seconds, and then launched up a long three pointer which missed badly and the Heat rebounded. That's one stop for Mike Mil-lar! TNT color commentator Steve Kerr, watching the replay, correctly pointed out that Miller should have tried to put the shoe back on instead of throwing into the crowd, but incorrectly mused that "playing in a sock is a recipe for an injury." For most people, yes. But as we've seen, Mike Mil-lar is indestructible - he could play in no shoes, on a bed of nails and broken glass, and he wouldn't get injured...Play of the game, runner-up: definitely in the first quarter when Roy Hibbert got fouled while attempting to score. As Hibbert's first free throw dropped through, play-by-play man Marv Albert advised us that Hibbert shoots 71% from the free throw line. "I would have guessed higher," I told M.Minutos. "A lot higher. He really has a nice stroke, it's smooth, he puts a nice backspin on the ball - it's really one of the softer releases I've seen in recent memory, it's like a cotton ball being gently tossed into a bird's nes"--anddddd, clank!!! One stop for Dos Minutos!
6) One of my favorite things about the NBA playoffs: the commercials. I rarely get to see commercials at any other time during the year – like most people who don’t live in the Midwest, most shows I watch are on disc or dvr’d, and I speed right through the ads. Even basketball games –especially basketball games. Live timeouts at the end of a late-night, West Coast game? Killers. But, generally, M.Minutos and I watch the playoffs live, just for the fun of it. And one of the best parts of doing that is getting to see all the new ads. This year I definitely have a favorite, and it’s a subtle, but powerful, spot: The KFC Fully Maxed meal ad – watch it here:
I love this ad for several reasons. First of all, it looks like a really nice party – they are a group of diverse, well-dressed people, and the weather outside appears lovely. I also love any outdoor party with round tables scattered around the yard as they are in this party – that’s a great party to me, I love to walk around from table to table, hassle a person here, compliment a stranger’s beard there, you know. It is odd that they have a magician at a party with only adults, but maybe it is ironic, maybe the magician isn’t in on the joke. In any case, I like how the magician plays it – he’s aggravated that he’s losing the attention of the people at the party, but he doesn’t blow his top, or anything. He just goes to his homerun trick – levitation – way before he probably intended to. I mean, levitation – that has to be his show-closer, right? But all that pales in comparison to the guy actually eating the chicken. He’s a very handsome man, and, believe me, when you are watching a commercial over and over during the playoffs, that’s not unimportant. Great hair. Probably would be even better-looking with a beard, but, honestly, he’s such a good-looking, all-American guy that I’m not even sure he needs one. Love how he’s dressed: crisp, properly-fitting shirt, un-tucked– in fact, this is how I would try to dress if I were going to this party, which I wouldn’t be, because no one ever invites me to a party this cool. Ultimately, though, it’s his performance that wins me over. He’s enjoying the chicken, obviously - who wouldn’t? He doesn’t mean to be disruptive, he’s clearly not the kind of guy who goes out of his way to take the piss out of an un-ironic adult magician, but he is also self-aware enough to know, at a certain point, that he has disrupted the show. Watch the ad again: check out that sheepish head nod right at the end when they start clapping for him. It says a lot. It says, “Hey, I didn’t mean to disrupt the show, but I gotta tell ya – this chicken is great. Thanks for the applause – I’ll accept it humbly and graciously, because I am a high-level consumer of chicken: I found a great, value-laden, delicious meal, and I went for it. But let’s also give the lion’s share of credit where it’s due: to Kentucky Fried Chicken. They made the chicken, they put the value deal together – I’ll accept this applause, but just know that, in large part, I’m accepting it on KFC’s behalf.” That’s a lot for one nod. How many guys in Hollywood pull off that nod? Gosling – yes, of course, he’d kill this role. I think Pitt could do it. Clooney would probably play it a little broader, bigger smile, maybe some mock-arrogance – it’d be good, but a totally different commercial. Anyways, I told The Captain that I go hire this guy first if I’m ever asked to cast an hour-long, prime-time network drama. “I don’t think that’s likely to happen,” pointed out The Captain. Ah, well…
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Elimination game Thurday night in Indiana - that's a brutally tough game, on the road with no frontcourt players capable of scoring a basket outside of two feet, but I'll guess we'll see what happens. If you need me before then, I'll be scarfng down Kentucky Fried Chicken like I was, well, like I was a person from Indiana! By the way, for my free soda? I'll have a Dr. Pepper, please!
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