Runnin - n - Gunnin

NBA Playoffs Round 1 Round-Up: San Antonio Spurs (1) defeat the Utah Jazz (8) 4-0

And here we have our second sweep of the year!  I personally would have thought that this would have ended in a gentleman’s sweep (4-1) because Utah is unreal when they play at home, but this Spurs team is just too damn good. 

But let me rant a little about the Jazz.  I’ve never really liked the Utah Jazz.  Even back with Malone and Stockton, then eventually the mix with Williams, AK47, and Boozer, I just found myself always rooting against them.  Throw in that crazy home crowd, and the boos start rolling out from me.  Nothing against each of those individual players — they’re all great and I love each of their games individually — but add the Jazz name and I cringe.  

But this 2012 Utah Jazz team was a different story for me.  They have a great starting frontline with Millsap and Jefferson.  Devin Harris is good again.  Gordon Hayward is a great wing player to watch — he shoots the ball well, is athletic, and plays defense by going for blocks.  Derrick Favors is showing that he was a great pick (granted, by the Nets…) at #3 back in 2010.  They have a great young core that can grow together.  I just can’t see myself liking any of those older players like I do with this group, and it’s fun.

So why couldn’t the Jazz squeak out even a single win?  The Spurs are just too damn good.  It took until Game 4 for Ty Corbin to use the big lineup, starting Millsap at the 3 and Favors at the 4, and it worked… for the 1st quarter.  Here’s why Greg Popovich won coach of the year.  He adapts well in these situations and knows how to attack each team where it would hurt.  Yes, the Jazz started playing well, but the Spurs just played better when Pop countered their bigs with a small lineup.  

Quick rant about the Spurs too: I’ve always thought they were an incredibly boring team.  Especially as a casual fan, I could never put my finger on as to why I hated watching them.  As this shortened season went on and I started watching basketball more closely, the Spurs have actually become one the more fun teams to watch, and now I regret blowing them off as boring in seasons past.  Their ball movement and the players feel for each other is actually quite amazing; I don’t think there’s any other team that plays to the same page as these Spurs do.  And that’s why they’re favorite to make it to the Finals out of nowhere.  

And here I leave you with a quote from Jazz Center Al Jefferson, before Game 4 (via_):

“I just think we’re playing against a team that is at its peak, I don’t see nobody beating them.”

And now the Spurs have somewhere between 3-7 days to rest and get ready for either the Clippers or Grizzlies.  Let’s see if Big Al is right.

R-n-G Award Picks: Coach of the Year - Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs; Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls

Yes, I know it’s a cop out choosing two coaches to win, but it’s also happening everywhere else.  There are great reasons why either coach should win this award, so why not push for a tie?  

Gregg Popovich has done an amazing job giving his San Antonio Spurs 50 wins in a 66 game season.  Those 50 wins include three different double-digit win streaks with a lot of new players to the roster like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Cory Joseph, Patty Mills, and as well as rejuvenating both Boris Diaw’s and Stephen Jackson’s seasons.  Pop still had his main guys Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker, but Tim was playing a career low 28.2 minutes per game, while also sitting out 8 games (DND - Old) and Manu missed several games with a broken hand.  

Most impressively, though, Popovich was able to turn his slow paced, defensive minded Spurs team into an offensive powerhouse that can run the floor. The Spurs ended the season #1 offensive efficiency with 108.5 and #7 in pace at 95.1.  

With Tom Thibodeau, you can argue that he had an easier time with very few roster changes.  Rose, Noah, Deng, Brewer, Boozer, Korver, Watson, Gibson, and Asik all returned from the prior season, with the biggest change being Keith Bogans getting replaced by Rip Hamilton — a big improvement.  So why does Thibodeau get the other half of this award?  Some of his best players missed many games due to injury.  Derrick Rose, Rip Hamilton, C.J. Watson, and Luol Deng all missed a total of 94 games.  In that time, some new guys like John Lucas III and Jimmy Butler were able to show that they are able players in the NBA, and Thibodeau was able to lead the Bulls to another 50 win season.  

The Bulls are also more in sync with each other this season, which relies both on having the team together for another year, and that the players all listen to Thibodeau and have his back.  They are #1 in deffensive efficiency once again with 95.3, and that’s credited to the coach having the players play team defense.  

Here’s Manu Ginobili’s amazing pass to Matt Bonner during last night’s Lakers vs. Spurs game.  I don’t think I’ve been this excited over a pass since… well, Ricky Rubio.  You can’t deny Manu’s sheer skill though.  It’s like he was aiming for a bat.

Still think the Spurs are a boring team?  

In honor of Bruce Bowen’s Jersey retirement

2010-2011 Bold Statements: Western Conference Standings

I doubt anyone will agree with these standings.

• Thunder (1) vs. Nuggets (8)
• Mavericks (2) vs. Spurs (7) 
• Lakers (3) vs. Blazers (6)
• Grizzlies (4) vs. Clippers (5)

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be amazing this year.  All of their main players will be back: Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha, Maynor, Collison, and Cook.  A full year and training camp with Perkins will also be really beneficial to their success.  There won’t be a problem with Westbrook taking too many shots this season and Durant will be a top consideration for MVP.  This team has it.

I almost didn’t put the Dallas Mavericks this high because they are getting older and Jason Kidd will not be playing all 66 games this season. They also lost great pieces in JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, and defensive cornerstone Tyson Chandler.  The main reason why I have them this high is because they replaced those players with a lot of talent.  Delonte West, Vince Carter, and Lamar Odom are all great talents that will contribute a lot to this team.  Beaubois should also be back for a full season.  I have high hopes for this team.

The Los Angeles Lakers at the 3nd seed is a stretch to me.  They lost a lot of chemistry with the losses of Lamar Odom and Phil Jackson.  How Mike Brown’s system will work with this team is a total coin-flip.  With that said, this team still has too much talent that you cannot ignore.  Kobe is still Kobe and will score a lot of points.  Bynum will be really good this season (once he’s back from his suspension).  Josh McRoberts isn’t Lamar, but he will be a great player off the bench.  Devin Ebanks looks like he will break out this season.  The Lakers will still be really good. 

This is probably my most ridiculous prediction.  Yes, I think the Memphis Grizzlies will be good enough to take the #4 spot in the Western Conference.  Their young core of Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, Mike Conley, and OJ Mayo is still in tact.  I actually had this team up at #2 (huge stretch, but I believe), but once Darrell Arthur went down with an Achilles injury, my hopes dropped a bit.  

I’m surprised I don’t have this Los Angeles Clippers team higher.  I’ve given in to “Lob City” but you also have to remember that it’s only their first year together; they haven’t even had a full training camp together.  Their starting line-up is deadly, though, with CP3, Billups, Butler, Blake, and DeAndre, with a solid bench of Mo Williams, Foye, Gomes, and Reggie Evans.  If I’m so high on them, then why are they only the 5th seed?  Vinny Del Negro.

Like the Pacers, I’m probably a lot higher on this Portland Trailblazers team than many others.  Brandon Roy and Greg Oden being out will be a big blow, but you also have to take into account how neither of them were around a lot last season, and they still got the 6th seed.  They still need another big man to make up for Camby’s absence in the beginning of the season, but LaMarcus Aldridge’s due for a huge All-Star season.  Plus, with the addition of Jamal Crawford, they have a nice back court with Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton.

The San Antonio Spurs are in the same situation as the Boston Celtics: win enough games to make the playoffs.  Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili definitely won’t be playing 66 games each.  Antonio McDyess just retired and George Hill is now a Pacer.  That means players like Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, Gary Neal and Kawhi Leonard are going to have to step up more, but only to a low playoff seed.  The Spurs’ championship window is closing and sadly, this doesn’t look like their year.

There is no team more confusing than the Denver Nuggets this year.  They lost JR Smith, Wilson Chandler, and Kenyon Martin to the Chinese Basketball Association until March; two out of those three more than likely would have returned to Denver.  Nonetheless, they still have enough on their team to make the playoffs.  Both Nene and Arron Afflalo will be back and will have more touches.  Gallinari is due to step up his game, and Andre Miller and Ty Lawson will be a great point guard tandem.  Rudy Fernandez is also a really good pick-up from the Mavericks, and Kenneth Faried will be a really good rookie.  Now it’s just about George Karl putting this all together cohesively.

The Unfortunate Ones

• Houston Rockets
• Phoenix Suns
• Golden State Warriors
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Utah Jazz
• New Orleans Hornets
• Sacramento Kings

I feel bad for the Houston Rockets.  They are always stuck fighting for that 8th seed in the playoffs, but eventually falling just short.  Kevin McHale will be a good coach for this team (even Jordan Hill looked good during the preseason), but with a roster like this, one can only do so much.

10th seed seems a little high for the Phoenix Suns, but Steve Nash and Grant Hill have had a taste from the fountain of youth.  Nash is the kind of point guard that makes everyone around him better, and they’ll keep fighting to make that last playoff spot.

The Golden State Warriors’ success all depends on how the team responds to Mark Jackson’s devotion to team defense.  Also: Stephen Curry’s ankle.  With this roster, though, realistically I only see them around the 9th-12th seed.  That means that they don’t make the playoffs and they lose their top-7 protected 2012 draft pick that the Utah Jazz have.  Luck of the Warriors.

I am buying into the Minnesota Timberwolves this year.  They are no longer the worst team in the Western Conference with Kevin Love getting even better and the additions of Ricky Rubio, Derrick Williams, and JJ Barea.  Granted, they still won’t be good enough, mostly because Rubio and Williams have still yet to prove their worth.

I’m not nearly as high on the Utah Jazz as anyone else.  They lost too much talent with Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.  Though they have a great front line with Favors, Jefferson, Millsap, and Kanter, I just don’t see enough talent to push them back to relevance.  They can easily go up to 10th, though, but I doubt it.

What can I say about the New Orleans Hornets… I think Aminu’s, Gordon’s, and Kaman’s faces say it all.  At least Gordon can let loose and have an All-Star worthy year!

And that leaves the Sacramento Kings.  At first I didn’t want to put this team so low, but I couldn’t put myself to write them any higher.  They have a lot of solid players in Tyreke, Jimmer, Thornton, Salmons, Garcia, Honeycutt, Hickson, Cousins, Thompson, and Hayes… but honestly, how is Paul Westphal going to implement these players cohesively?