1) Well, I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed that. You could see the blowout coming, you could feel it building ever since the late game meltdown Tuesday night in Miami, but it didn't make it any more enjoyable. How un-enjoyable was it? I couldn't even enjoy Mario "Emcee" Chalmers' big-time night. He kick-started the offense early, and scored a playoff career-high 25 points on 10-15 shooting, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and waiiiitttt for it: zero turnovers! And I couldn't even enjoy it. Okay - I enjoyed it a little. But the game as a whole, not so much...Up against it a little now, boy! Let's go!
2) Micro-problems: Dwyane Wade and shooting. Dwyane Wade played, maybe, the worst game of his career. Certainly the worst game of his career when the team really, really needed him to play a good game. He was 2-13 from the floor for 5 points, and was credited with 5 turnovers, although I can list 6 off the top of my head (I'll spare you). He also lacked energy defensively - it was an all-around desultory effort. His "highlight" came halfway through the third quarter when he got into a screaming match with Coach Spo on the Heat bench and players had to step in between them to ease the situation. I can understand both of their frustration. He simply has to play better - some people are theorizing he must be dinged up, or have migraines (which he gets from time to time), but he looked to be moving fluidly to me. Who knows?...The shooting, again, was atrocious: 4-20 from three point land (check this out: that raised their three point percentage for the series!), and 37% overall - and that's with Emcee Chalmers going 10-15. And, unlike the first two games in this series, they got open shots. The whole production got out of hand late, but for most of the night, Miami played well, generated open looks...and then fired blanks. Ballgame.
3) Macro-problems: personnel. Okay, Chris Bosh is out and, yes, now we can all see the specific ways in which he helps the offense. He's the best pure mid-range shooter on the team, and he is always the fulcrum around which the offense revolves - have to be honest, not sure that was correct, not sure things revolve around a fulcrum. Not even sure what a fulcrum is. But, come on, he's still only the third best player on the team, and other guys simply have to contribute in different ways. So what's the problem? One, the primary guy that should be replacing a little bit of what Bosh does and eating those minutes is Udonis Haslem. Give Spo credit - he's realized he can't put him out there anymore. Didn't start him tonight, and he only played 7 first half minutes. Didn't see him in the second half. He was 0-2 from the floor, both on shots around the rim, and he wasn't particularly sharp defensively. If he was the old UD, he'd stand in Bosh's spot at the elbow and knock down jumpers. He's not that guy anymore, and maybe the foot injury he suffered last year and age will prevent him from ever being that guy again. Since they can't play him, Spo gave Dexter Pittman a whirl - predictably, this is too high a level for him. He played three minutes, only, and his highlight was probably when he spun baseline to the basket and stuffed himself on the bottom of the rim. That means Battier should play more - but while his work defensively has been terrific in the series (the two guys he covers, Granger and West, were 11-28), he was 0-6 tonight on 6 wide open three pointers, and 0-7 overall. So anything he's gaining on the defensive end, he's giving back offensively. Turiaf is limited - though he did have 8 rebounds in 17 minutes tonight. You'd like to play Mike Mil-lar more - he made 2-3 triples in 17 minutes - but, of course, he's completely banged up again. His back looks gone, and it seems like his hernia and groin are bothering him again - he can't move (speaking of hernias - guaranteed, Bosh is going to end up having hernia surgery in the offseason, right? "strained ab," my booty). So while we went into this season thinking that the depth would be better, right now we are in the same place we were in last year with Miller severely limited, and UD a non-factor; except now, we've traded Bosh for Battier (and worst of all: NO MIKE BIBBY!). Grim - it's not enough productive NBA-level two-way players right now. It's KJ and Dwyane, and sometimes Chalmers. Wade was bad tonight, and this is what happens. That's a macro roster problem. Don't know how it's going to get solved between now and Sunday.
4) Okay, we talked about this before: a lot of this series comes down to Indiana trying to pound Miami inside, primarily with Roy Hibbert, and Miami trying to take advantage of Hibbert's inability to defend pick-and-roll plays. If you only looked at the numbers, you'd say, "Oh, this went Indiana's way tonight." Hibbert was fantastic on offense with 19 points and 18 rebounds, 5 of them offensive. He also blocked 5 shots, an impressive number. But Miami definitely figured out how to create open shots against Indiana: they put Hibbert in pick-and-rolls over and over, and it worked pretty well. Miami got down 11-2 early, then Emcee Chalmers scored 4 consecutive baskets by getting a screen, driving at Hibbert who would immediately compensate for his lack of foot speed by sagging, and then Chalmers would make an easy 10 foot runner. KJ James had 16 in the first half using the exact same strategy. If Hibbert scored 19, he probably gave up about 30. In the second half, this strategy finally made Indiana change its defense - they had to leave shooters to come down and help in the lane. Miami found their guys - and they missed. Sometimes the game plan is right, the execution is good, and then you shoot like you're trying to drop a ping pong ball into a plastic cup from the top of a ferris wheel. And around a fulcrum.
5) Indiana deserves to be ahead in this series - they have played their butts off. It hasn't always been pretty, but they've gotten it done, and if they win at home Sunday, they'll have Miami on the ropes. I respect the effort. But David West and Danny Granger are, to borrow a phrase from UD, a pair of studio gangsters. They have a rep for it anyways, and this series has seen them ratchet it up to a new level. It's a punk move to go into someone's face in an NBA basketball game, and West and Granger keep doing it over and over. Tonight West took exception to Emcee Chalmers slapping the ball out of his hands on a possession, shoved Chalmers in the chest, and then went nose-to-nose with him, chirping. West is probably 6 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than Chalmers, first of all. Second of all, Chalmers can't haul off and punch West in the face - he knows he'll get ejected. And by the way, David West, Chalmers is standing right there in front of you, he didn't back down. If you really want a piece of him, go ahead and take it. West didn't take it - he just keeps running the fake tough guy act out there over and over. Granger, too - he grabbed KJ's jersey from behind on a runout to take a foul, then as he pulled himself by after the whistle, went up high with a forearm across KJ's chest, which KJ responded to by flaring an elbow, like a "get the f off me" elbow - didn't hit him with it, just showed it. Granger responded by wheeling and going chest-to-chest with KJ, who, as he always does, just shrugged him off. Again, KJ can't punch him. Miami can't afford to lose KJ for fighting; Indiana can afford to lose Granger for fighting - and even if they couldn't, it's a ridiculous act. Not sure I understand the point - what does it mean to get into someone's face like that? On the plus side, if they happen to win this series, oh my goodness: West and Granger against Garnett and Rondo! Studio Gangster-off!!! #Doucheball
By the way, I think that song was written by The Beatles - isn't it on the same album as The Taxman?...Anyways, then Naughton went on to star in the excellent film “American Werewolf in London,” directed by the hottest Hollywood director of the time, John Landis (before he killed a dude during the filming of “The Twilight Zone” movie). I was just a kid when the movie came out, but I think it is fair to say that my sleepy little town was abuzz with excitement. My parents took me to see it in the theater, and we hardly ever went to the movie theater, since we didn’t have a theater in my town and we had to drive allll the way back through Hartford to the excitement of East Hartford if we wanted to watch a film. Not sure exactly what year this was, but I am pretty positive that he won the Best Actor award at the Oscars, as far as you know. Probably the best werewolf movie ever – Van Pattinson, or whatever his name is, can’t hold a candle to David Naughton. Probably drinks Orange Crush, too…Personally, I don’t drink a ton of soda, but every once in a while I will kick back with a Dr. Pepper, sip it down slowly, and remember the good old days. And by “remembering the good old days,” I mean that I tell M.Minutos the exact same story, over and over, about how excited I was to go see David Naughton in “American Werewolf in London,” many, many moons ago. She absolutely loves hearing about it! You would think she would get tired of it, but, no, she never does!!! Also, she claims that I don’t even like Dr. Pepper – when I told this to The Captain today, he asked me if I really did like it, or if I just drink it to annoy M.Minutos, and I had to admit that, at this point, I honestly don’t even know. “I guess your loyalty stands in the way of your taste buds,” mused The Captain, and you know what? I think he may be right. Anyways, the point is that David Naughton is super-awesome and the best dude ever, just like everyone else from my town. The end.
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Next game is, of course, Sunday afternoon in Indiana. If we don't win that game, we are in huge trouble. It would be a disappointing season to go out in the second round, but at least this blog could go on vacation earlier - this is pretty much the time of year I am so sick of writing it that I pray for the sweet release of elimination! If you need me before then, I'll be guzzling Dr. Pepper while listening to Revolver. I'm a Pepper, jackapples!!!
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