Basketball

The San Antonio Spurs are in Memphis for Game 3 already up 2-0 on the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals. This thing’s a lock right? Because … oh wait, last season happened, didn’t it? In Episode 61, Andrew McNeill and I talk about the differences between this year and last, and how the Spurs should feel good about their positioning despite the nearly epic collapse in Game 2. We also talk about Zach Randolph, country music and All-NBA teams, so it’s all there for your listening pleasure just hours before the Spurs and Grizzlies tip off at the ‘Grindhouse.’ (By the way, we’re having issues getting this podcast to upload on iTunes. Not sure what the deal is, but we’re working on it I guess. Let us know what you think!)

Today the prolific Howard Megdal made the reasonable case that but-for injuries to J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and probably Tyson Chandler, the Knicks wouldn’t be far off from the Pacers or Heat, and thusthe best course would be to get everyone right and grow from within. I can’t feel the slippage in ‘Melo’s shoulder, or the stiffness in Smith’s knee, but I can tell you that I’m hesitant to chalk up their playoff inadequacies merely to injury. As Chris Herring points out, Anthony’s production historically plummets in the playoffs. Not because he’s a choker, but because he’s forced to carry his team against top-tier defenses. In fact, this year, his shooting percentage suffered roughly as much as it does on average over the course of his career (numbers courtesy of Basketball Reference): Regular Season FG%: Playoff FG %: As for Smith – who, incidentally, could make use of a good excuse as an unrestricted free agent coming off a historically terrible playoff performance – the fluid buildup in his knee should not have prevented him from (a) getting it drained (recall Melo missed 6 days after such a procedure*), or (b) shooting less! The latter option would have been particularly obvious. I mean if you know you have an injury and you know it’s affecting your play, stop affirmatively hurting the team by using so many possessions! All of this is to say, really, nothing. That’s because the premise of Megdal’s piece is that the Knicks’ best course may very well be to stand pat. But without getting creative, that may also be the Knicks only option barring some tinkering except around the edges. I’m just inclined to be a little less generous regarding the Knicks’ playoff flame-out after their most successful season in an era. ~~~ *Someone remind me how many days separated games 1 and 3 against the Pacers.

Video courtesy of ESPN Boston Terrence Williams, who we know is fighting accusations of gun possession and domestic violence returned to Boston to work out with the Celtics.  Williams has not officially been charged with anything, as prosecutors delayed filing so they could gather more evidence. Today, Williams candidly addressed his legal issues. It’s very frustrating because I was there. I know what happened. I know what didn’t happen. To anybody reading, and to anybody writing stories, they’re making me out to be this bandit. Whatever that guy’s name was in Public Enemy No. 1 a long time ago? John Dillinger. They made me out to be like I was there. But all you can do is pray and move forward, and that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. Williams stressed “there are two sides to every story”… and railed against people who took the story of his legal issues and ran with them. He also said he talked to Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers. What they talked about with me stays with me, but they talked about the future and I was part of that. Everything else is between us. It was very encouraging, because everyone writes a million stories as if I’m this horrible person. But I’ve been used to that for 25 years. As I’ve said all along, if this turns out to be nothing, the Celtics will very likely turn the page on it, keep Williams, and give him a shot to earn the back-up point guard spot.  As Williams stressed, he is not charged with anything at the moment (though, he could be in the future), so there’s no restriction on him being in Boston and staying here to work out with the team. The Celtics have until June 30 to make a decision on Williams before $200,000 of his upcoming salary becomes guaranteed.

There's been a couple of discussions about twitter recently, and I've followed a few of you through signatures, and random mentions. I'd like to put together a Canis Hoopus list with all of you that are on twitter, whether you tweet about basketball or not. If your account is entirely intended for private conversations with people you know IRL, to use the parlance of our times, then feel free to ignore this post. Also, since I have more characters and no way to elaborate on the previous paragraph, where do you currently reside? I know most of you are probably in Minnesota, but there seems to be a large out of state contingent here, including myself. I'm in Irvine, California right now, about to begin a Masters in Teaching. Where I'll be in the fall of 2014, after I (hopefully) complete that degree, with a lot more debt, I do not know. There's been a couple of discussions about twitter recently, and I've followed a few of you through signatures, and random mentions. I'd like to put together a Canis Hoopus list with all of you that are on twitter, whether you tweet about basketball or not. If your account is entirely intended for private conversations with people you know IRL, to use the parlance of our times, then feel free to ignore this post. Also, since I have more characters and no way to elaborate on the previous paragraph, where do you currently reside? I know most of you are probably in Minnesota, but there seems to be a large out of state contingent here, including myself. I'm in Irvine, California right now, about to begin a Masters in Teaching. Where I'll be in the fall of 2014, after I (hopefully) complete that degree, with a lot more debt, I do not know.

San Antonio Spurs All-Star Tim Duncan is getting divorced.

The San Antonio Spurs are on the road now with a 2-0 series lead and all the momentum in their series with the Memphis Grizzlies. Spurs star point guard Tony Parker wanted a bite to eat, and headed to the Restaurant Iris, which is run by acclaimed chef Kelly English. Parker is an international NBA star, a food connoisseur and now he can relate to the many people who haven’t been able to get into a restaurant after being turned away from Iris. Confirmed MT @memphisacp: Tony Parker tried to eat dinner @restaurantiris and was denied service by @kelly_english. Can you confirm or deny? — Kelly English (@kelly_english) May 25, 2013 English then tried to justify why Parker was turned away from a restaurant in the rival city, and then tried to explain to the world that it wasn’t done on purpose. We have a thirteen table restaurant. There have been times I couldn’t get my wife or parents in. I can’t create a table, Tony Parker or not. — Kelly English (@kelly_english) May 25, 2013 Iris coincidentally doesn’t have any tables available for Parker until after the series returns back to San Antonio. The restaurant, seeing that a storm was brewing, released a statement on the treatment given to Parker. At Restaurant Iris we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our guests. From the moment you make a reservation, to when you walk out of our door, it’s our job to ensure you experience both incredible food and service. That experience begins with a reservation. Due to the size of our restaurant, there is currently a two week delay for a weekend reservation. We would not cancel a reservation that a guest made-and waited two weeks for- in order to make room for someone else without a reservation- celebrity or not. We respect our guests and their time, and appreciate their choice to dine with us. [via The Big Lead] The post Tony Parker Was Denied Service Restaurant In Memphis appeared first on FootBasket.

Looking back at the regular season we only had 10 20 point per game scorers, the lowest in decades. Looking at the playoffs this year, team's that have relied on iso performances struggled this postseason. Namely Melo, Durant, CP3 and now potentially Lebron. If Lebron has to score 30+ ppg for the Heat to compete, then it's going to be a quick series. Even though LBJ shoots the ball better than the aforementioned, the loss last night has displayed a consistent pattern these playoffs concerning letting 1 player get their points, and to guard everyone else. The average NBA player's height is 6'7", so I can't help but think that the added length on the court has made the game smaller to a degree. Yet it also makes those guys that scored over 20+ ppg that much more impressive. How does this affect Kyrie Irving? A primarily iso player on a struggling team and one of those who scored over 20ppg. Is an iso offense effective in the modern NBA? Will Mike Brown run iso after iso with Kyrie much like LBJ? Thoughts? Looking back at the regular season we only had 10 20 point per game scorers, the lowest in decades. Looking at the playoffs this year, team's that have relied on iso performances struggled this postseason. Namely Melo, Durant, CP3 and now potentially Lebron. If Lebron has to score 30+ ppg for the Heat to compete, then it's going to be a quick series. Even though LBJ shoots the ball better than the aforementioned, the loss last night has displayed a consistent pattern these playoffs concerning letting 1 player get their points, and to guard everyone else. The average NBA player's height is 6'7", so I can't help but think that the added length on the court has made the game smaller to a degree. Yet it also makes those guys that scored over 20+ ppg that much more impressive. How does this affect Kyrie Irving? A primarily iso player on a struggling team and one of those who scored over 20ppg. Is an iso offense effective in the modern NBA? Will Mike Brown run iso after iso with Kyrie much like LBJ? Thoughts?

The Grizzlies want to make sure everyone knows that just because Tony Allen was fined $5,000 for flopping by the NBA, it doesn't mean the key foul he drew in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals wasn't a flagrant.

The Heat's bench has gone from setting records for points in back-to-back playoff series, to struggling so impressively against the Pacers that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra summoned Joel Anthony and Mike Miller from the bench in the second quarter on Friday. Ray Allen, Shane Battier and Norris Cole are a combined 5 of 31 from the field in the Eastern Conference finals. Battier failed to score in Game 2 and was reduced to just 14 minutes of action. Allen had six points off the bench but went 0 of 2 from three-point range and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line. The Heat's bench had 19 points in Game 2, led by Chris Andersen, who was signed mostly for his defense. There's a growing since in the series that LeBron James is being asked to do too much. After giving the Heat a four-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 2 with a magnificent effort, James switched to David West defensively and seemed gassed by the last minute of the game. (Of course, the narrative would be much different today if James found Ray Allen for a game-winning three-pointer with eight seconds to play instead of committing a turnover.) Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who turned to Anthony and Miller in the second quarter, underscored after Friday's game that he's not prone to overreaction. "Everybody was raving about our depth last game and that we have an incredible amount of depth," Spoelstra said. "That's one of our major strengths. And we'll continue to go to it. And we have full confidence in those guys. "The storylines will change, but we know the deal. It's a very close series. We have to play well, we have to finish, we have to close out games. And we're hoping to do that in Game 3." Miller is an interesting option for Game 3. He was at his best at the end of the season in a substitute role for Dwyane Wade but then returned to the back of the bench when the playoffs began. Should Spoelstra try Miller over Ray Allen in Game 3 and how exactly would that affect the team's chemistry?

May 24, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talks with power forward Chris Andersen (11) , point guard Norris Cole (30) , small forward LeBron James (6) and small forward Shane Battier (31) in the third quarter of game two of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports No matter what the media says, the Miami Heat are still the better team in the Eastern Conference Finals and should be considered the favorites. The main issues for the Heat have not been size and rebounding like some analysts have preached. Yes, those are weaknesses for the Heat, but those were the same weaknesses the Heat had when they beat the Indiana Pacers in 6 games last season without Chris Bosh. With the Pacers being the bigger team, the Heat can basically concede the rebounding numbers, but they then need to step up the other aspects of their games. That was not the case in game two, as this screenshot shows: As the screenshot shows, the Heat lost the rebound battle by seven, but were still able to fire up seven more shots for the game. They actually only had one less offensive rebound than the Pacers, but that is something the media is unlikely to point out. Three bigger issues than the rebounding popped up from that screenshot that are bigger concerns for me going forward: Assists/Turnovers, Fast Break Points, and Scoring. May 24, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers power forward David West (21) goes after the ball in front of Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen (34) on a turnover by small forward LeBron James (not pictured) in the fourth quarter of game two of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Pacers won 97-93. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports Assists/Turnovers: Over 55% of the team’s baskets in the regular season were assisted, but they only had 41% of their shots assisted on in Friday night’s loss. The Heat had as many assists as turnovers in the game. The Heat averages 23 assists a game during the regular season and just 14 turnovers. The turnovers being down from game one were a good sign, but the team needs to up the assist totals in game three. Lebron on the game had three assists and five turnovers, two of which came late in the game and cost the Heat a chance to even the score. Those two turnovers will be over scrutinized due to point of the game which the occurred in, but the other three turnovers were just as costly. In game one, the Heat had 24 assists and 20 turnovers. Game three will need to be the correct mixture of games one and two for the Heat to come out on top on the road. Fast Break Points: The Miami Heat have scored just 19 points on fast breaks this series. That is a trend that does not bode well for Miami as this series continues. With Roy Hibbert clogging the paint and Dwyane Wade still struggling with injuries, the best chance for the Heat to score is going to be playing a fast paced game. After a monster game on Friday, the Heat realized they need to do a better job of taking Hibbert out of the game. The best way to do that would be to cause turnovers and pick up steals, something the Heat have done well since their coming together. Turnovers are also an issue the Pacers have struggled with, averaging close to 15 a game during the regular season. With game three being played in Indiana, where the Heat went 0-2 this season, the team will need to pick up as many turnovers as they can and convert on fast break opportunities. The Heat need to force the Pacers to make closer to the 20 turnovers they had in game one than the 13 they had in game two. Scoring: In the regular season, the Miami Heat paced the NBA shooting almost 50% from the field and were second in three point shooting percentage, shooting close to 40%. So far this series, the Heat have shot 47% from the field and just 30% from three. Ray Allen and Sha