a lot of pro’s in this one.
BM
Good Ass Game of the week
Barkley Doin’ Work
Carolina wins it all if……..
The wait is over for Carolina fans. After coming up “one rebound away” from a national title, Tar Heels fans are hoping this year’s team will follow in the footsteps of the 1982 and 2017 championship squads, who returned to the national title game and won, after losing the previous year.
Carolina is bringing back 4 of their 5 starters from last season, as well as 2 key reserve players. According to NCAA Reference, 82.7 % of the minutes played, and 79.4% of their scoring returns from last year’s roster. All that being said, this is a totally different team without star forward Brady Manek. Northwestern transfer Pete Nance (yes from the Nance family) replaces Manek at the power forward spot, and much like a Jazz group replacing their bassist, the song may be the same, but the essence has certainly changed.
Nance’s game is quite different from the catch and shoot style of Manek’s stretch game. Pete can put it on the floor and has more of a face up game. It will be tough to replace Manek’s production. Not only was he a deadly outside shooter, but he was excellent playing off the ball, making good cuts to the basket at precisely the right time–in addition to having superb court vision as a high level passer. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that with Nance, the Carolina front line will be rock solid on defense with 6’11 Nance (a big who can guard on the interior and perimeter), 7 footer, and POY front runner Armando Bacot, and 6’8 small forward, Leaky Black (one of the best one on one defenders in the country). With a stout front line and probably the best backcourt in the nation, it is no surprise that UNC was ranked #1 in the pre-season polls. But there are many factors to all championship runs, and the most talented team does not always win the NCAA tournament–in fact, they usually don’t. A few things need to go right for Tar Heel nation to hang another banner up at the Dean Dome. Here’s what needs to happen for Carolina to be the last team standing:
Bench Production
The Tar Heels need a lot of luck. Many a championship has been derailed by a bad bounce, a tweaked ankle, broken bones, or ruptured ligaments. The Tar Heels will need to be both good and lucky for the team to hoist one up after a victory on the first weekend of April. There is no need for an Iron 5 to carry the load, as the Tar Heels are wildly talented across the board, but most of their talent on the bench is unproven. Small forward, Puff Johnson played well in the tournament, but has endured a great deal of injuries throughout his college career. He is already dealing with knee soreness that has kept him from playing the first two games of the season. Next off the bench out of Kinston, NC, is Dontrez Styles (if the city sounds familiar, its the hometown of both Brandon Ingraham and Jerry Stackhouse).
Dontrez was the only other bench player getting light to mid-heavy minutes in last year’s tournament run. So far, forward Tyler Nickel, a freshman, freshman guard, Seth Trimble, and Sophomore guard Demarco Dunn make up the remaining players to get minutes this season. The bench won’t have to put in too much work, but they will have to make an impact when they do play in order for Carolina to maximize its talent. Besides, Bacot, I think an injury to Pete Nance would be the only injury they could not absorb for a long (or key) period of time because not only will they be short a big man, but no backup will be available to spot Bacot.
The depleted Tar Heels just may have snuck by the Kansas Jayhawks (clearly the better and deeper team. Kansas needed to play poorly and Tar Heels needed to play near perfectly for the game to even be close) had Bacot not suffered the twisted ankle against Duke in the semi-finals. All the other positions have bodies that coach Hubert Davis can throw out for an extended period of time (which would only benefit these young cats as the season’s stakes get higher). Their front line on paper is stout, but no one is mistaking this for Dean Smith’s 93 championship team, with 7 footers just hanging out on the end of the bench, waiting to spell Eric Montross.
Who will get Brady Manek’s points?
Having a deadly shooter like Brady Manek really opens up the floor for easy baskets, both outside and in the paint. Manek barely got more than a dozen touches, but if you blinked you would miss a barrage of points in a matter of minutes. Having a catch and shoot big man to throw at defenders really opens up the floor, and allows the guards to handle the ball knowing there is a scorer who doesn’t need the ball in his hands all the time. I think this will be the biggest adjustment stylistically. From what I’ve seen so far in pre-season and the first 2 games, there is a lot of dribbling going on (they only had 4 assists as a team in the first game against UNC Wilmington). It would be nice to see some action from the big men out of the high low sets or just some straight up entry passes down on the block to Armando.
I believe Leaky Black is going to step up his offensive production. He seems more confident in his shot, and if he can be a reliable 3 and D wing, this will allow Nance to just get in where he fits in. Of course, Love and Davis, can get 30 on any given night. I think we will see a different hero depending on the opposing coaches’ “pick your poison” strategy. Carolina has 3 different starters who can take over offensively, and a monster on the glass in Armando Bacot. It will be interesting to see what actually works in real time against the Tar Heels.
Play Hard. Play Smart. Play Together
Everyone must improve upon last season.- Armando Bacot needs an effective jumper to open up the floor. Caleb Love needs to learn to value possessions and pick his spots of when to take over. Leaky Black will be needed for his defense and as a perimeter threat for this offense to run at its finest. Pete Nance has to find his niche within the offense and be a constant contributor on defense and on the boards. All the bench players have to maximize their time on the floor, and find ways to contribute in any way they can. Even the training staff and game managers need to be on point.
Lastly, Coach Davis needs to really find out who can he count on when its time for a role player to make a play (or just hold a lead). There are no guarantees in a basketball season, but I like the Tar Heels’ championship chances a lot more if the team is fresh going into late March. Its really important that everyone contributes and that Coach Davis can keep the starters’ minutes down to healthy number. No more Iron 5. The key to a lengthy post season run will be balance.
Dean Smith used to say that there are 3 seasons in college ball: the ACC regular season, the ACC tournament, and the NCAA tournament. For a lot of people (UNC players are already on record saying its championship or bust), there will be great deal of disappointment if North Carolina isn’t the last team standing. However, when you consider the breaks that Carolina caught on their way to the Final Four, you realize just how hard it is to win six games in a row against the best teams in the country.
Last March, UNC played three #1 seed teams, and a # 2 seed on their way to the title game. They caught the number 1 seeded Baylor Bears on an off afternoon and won a game they had no business winning. After that, they were playing with house money. The UCLA game (# 2 seed) could’ve easily gone either way, but Caleb Love got hot in the second half.
Carolina caught a tiny break when Purdue (who would’ve been a nightmare matchup for UNC with their frontcourt depth), got caught slipping against St. Peters. The Duke game was a classic, but could’ve easily gone the other way on a different night. And despite the close score, I feel the Kansas game was the perfect storm, Bill Self’s squad would’ve won easily in a best of seven series, but happened to play one of their worst halves of the season, and Carolina played a near flawless one.
But this goes to show just how fickle the hoop gods are. Tar Heels are a 1000-to-1 odds on to win this year, but if you’re not a betting person, and just a Carolina fan, my advice is just enjoy the ride, no matter how it ends. Last year’s run was my favorite tournament run since the Roy Williams’ 2003 Kansas undermanned team made it to the title game. And though neither team won its the final game, it was easy to appreciate just how hard both teams fought and clawed their way to the final stage on Monday night, with an entertaining and fun cast of characters on the court.
Every year the underdogs are celebrated, as they should be, but there is something to be said about a good team, overachieving to the point where they look like a great team. In the tournament, as well as in life, sometimes you come up short. It doesn’t mean you didn’t have a special season. I just hope the Carolina players and fans enjoy each step of the journey, no matter where it takes them.
Good Ass Games of the Week
Tuesday: : Duke vs Kansas
Neutral court. Nap town. Blue Bloods. Top ten. Nuff said. This game has a little bit of star power too. Its like a McDonald’s All American game.
Wednesday: Gonzaga vs Texas
Zags’ Drew Timme better not stray too far from Moody Arena if he knows what’s good for his mustache. Those Eastside hipsters’ facial hair will put his to shame. Timme will be digging for his clippers before the plane ride home. I hope the atmosphere in the new arena is electric, but you never know with Longhorns fans. As a rule of thumb, they tend to be more about pigskin than peach baskets, but they have been known to come through when a top 5 team rolls into town. Plus, the Longhorns are ranked very high at the beginning of the season. Might be worth checking out. Besides, its not like there is anything else to do on a Wednesday night. Enjoy the games this week.
Bob E. Freeman
Bob E. Freeman is a part time teacher, part time writer, and full time basketball junky. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, you can find him banging his head on the keyboard, and trying to finish his backlog of writing projects. For booking inquiries or content proposals, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com
Clicks to Pick Week of 3/5/18
Monday
Milwaukee at Indiana
Tuesday
Houston at Oklahoma City
Wednesday
Utah at Indiana
Thursday
San Antonio at Golden State
Friday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Saturday
San Antonio at Oklahoma City
Sunday
Indiana at Boston
Utah at New Orleans (Good Ass Game of The Week)
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com
Clicks to Pick Week of 12/18/17
Due to winter break, there will be no audio this week. I promise, however; to never leave you hanging. Here are this week’s clicks to pick. Enjoy this week’s slate of games and happy Holidays to all you full, half, and quarter sassers.
BM
Monday
Boston at Indiana
Portland at Minnesota
Tuesday
Cleveland at Milwaukee (Good Ass Game of the Week)
Wednesday
San Antonio at Portland
Thursday
Boston at New York
Friday
New York at Detroit
Saturday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Sunday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Clicks to Pick Week of 10/15/17
*Illustration by Louis Eastman
Monday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Tuesday
Boston at Cleveland
Houston at Golden State
Wednesday
Philadelphia at Washington
Thursday
Clippers vs Lakers
Friday
Cleveland at Milwaukee
Boston at Philadelphia
Saturday
No Good Ass Games Scheduled
Sunday
Minnesota at Oklahoma City (Good Ass Game of The Week)
Bobby Mickey is the alter ego of writer and poet Edward Austin Robertson. When he isn’t involved in some basketball related activity, actively looking for parties to deejay or venues to perform comedy, he can be found recording podcasts with Craig Stein at Fullsass Studios. Follow him on twitter @goodassgame. For booking inquiries, send contact info to thisagoodassgame@gmail.com.
Believeland Pt. 3 : The Cleveland Curse Has Lifted
We finally got the #Goodassgame we all deserved. With so much history on the line, game 7 of this year’s NBA Finals felt like an NCAA title game on steroids. Conventional NBA wisdom states that the home team usually wins because role players don’t travel. Well this was not the case last night. Everyone who played chipped in for Cleveland.
Kevin Love got 7 rebounds in the first quarter alone, pulling in 14 total for the game. J.R. Smith, who’d been playing solid defense all series, played 38 minutes and threw in 12 points on offense. Kyrie Irving started out slow, but picked it up in the second half, scoring whenever the Cavs needed an answer on the court.
Tyron Lue shortened his bench to an 8 man rotation, with Mo Williams logging a team low 4:45. Lebron an ironman with an iron will logged a team high 46 minutes and 49 seconds. The man looked absolutely gassed during one TV timeout and yet still, he managed to pull off one of the sickest chase down blocks in playoff history.
Say what you will about Lebron James (and I have–he’ll never live down lobbying for suspensions of both Steph Curry and Draymond Green #fuckboishit), but you can’t ever say he never shows up for big games. After logging another triple double (don’t get too hung up on the 9/24 shooting) to put the Kyrie in a position to hit the game winning three pointer, with less than a minute left, Lebron won what should have been his second of back-to-back Finals MVP’s.
All that being said, the Warriors should not have let the game get this close. They threw away possessions, they couldn’t squeeze the 50-50 balls, they had turnover after turnover during fast breaks where they had numbers, and gave the Cavs too many extra possessions. Golden State had been playing with fire all post season, and it finally caught up to them. I just had this feeling the whole game that if the Warriors were not leading by at least 5 baskets during crunch time, that the Cavs were going to find a way to win.
While Tyronn Lue wasn’t exactly Coach of the Year material, he did enough to give Cleveland a chance to win this thing. You could tell around game 3 that he finally figured out how to use his chess pieces. Shortening his bench was a very smart move, Matthew Dellavadova was a liability every time he was on the court. Channing Frye gave up more backdoor than–never mind that’s just too easy of a joke to make.
Keeping Tristan Thompson on the floor kept the Warriors from going small, and when Andre Bogut got hurt (an underrated passer in addition to his defense and rebounding), it spelled trouble for the Warriors. Festus Ezeli is a much better player when he can just catch lobs, and any time Anderson Verajao touched the ball for more than a second, a disaster occurred.
The lack of contribution of the role players in the last two series really surprised me this post season. All season long, this was Golden State’s biggest advantage over teams, and for whatever reason, they showed up to the party without even bringing a case of beer. Harrison Barnes stunk up the joint, and probably played his last game in a Golden State uniform (Kevin Durant to the Warriors may not be as far-fetched as it originally sounded–he was exactly what they needed against Cleveland. There would have been no answer for that puzzle piece).
The role players who seemed to make the most impact didn’t get much run. Leandro Barbosa (+5), Shaun Livingston (+8), and Mo Speights (+3) only played a combined 20 minutes; with Livingston getting 16 of them. I ride for Steve Kerr. He possesses one of the most intelligent basketball minds in the game today, but he made some head scratching decisions down the stretch–mainly playing Ezeli, Verajo and Barnes too much, when it was clear they weren’t going to get it done.
For my money, the turning point in that game was when Festus Ezeli got caught on a switch, and bit on the Lebron James pump fake (way out on the perimeter) that netted James three free throw attempts. Lebron hit all three, the Warriors failed to score the next time down, and then Cleveland scored with a Kyrie Irving bucket to tie it on the next possession. That was the last time in the game that Golden State had command, as things got tight for both teams for a 4 minute scoreless stretch. The Warriors quit passing, and quit moving without the ball, and became a jump shooting team that couldn’t get shots to fall. Which again, maybe the bench guys should have played more, because you know, starters get tired in these type of games.
This was akin to the Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl 2 years ago, where Seattle should have blown New England out, but the minor details allowed Tom Brady and company to hang in there long enough to figure out a way to win.
It is hard to feel sorry for Golden State. I can see why they were becoming so hated outside of Dub Nation. The bandwagon fandom surrounding their hype machine was getting tiresome (half of them Lakers fans wanting to latch onto a winner). They were depending on Andrew Bogut to remain healthy for 2 years in a row, with a front court that even the ’93 Suns would think was suspect. Their owner went on the New York Times bragging about how their organization was “light years ahead of everyone else”, and even hinted about a menage a trois with last year’s Finals Trophy (and to think people put their lips on that thing). Their star guard kept tempting the basketball gods with his circus plays and trick shots, haughtily laughing every time he ripped out the hearts of teams and fan bases alike. To be up 3-1, and to lose in this matter, is the most excruciatingly extreme serving of humble pie that can ever be served to a team. The Warriors got what they deserved, and if there is anybody I do feel for, it is the true blue fans who were coming to the games even when they sucked–the ones who seemed crazy for believing that they could beat the #1 seeded Mavericks in 2007.
I’ll be the first to say that the Draymond Green suspension was horseshit. How Dellavadova’s nutshot constituted a common foul and Draymond’s incidental contact merited a flagrant foul is beyond me. We can say that is why they lost, but there is a reason teams employ the “next man up” philosophy (NFL careers were birthed from this philosophy at the “U”). Golden State just wasn’t as good as we (or they) thought they were.
You have to give credit where credit is due. Cleveland stepped up their game when they needed to,and the Warriors played as if they were still facing the Blazers (no disrespect). Years from now, we will remember that Lebron James took a shoot first, one assist having ass point guard, an embarrassingly bad, and one-dimensional power forward, J.R. “You trying to get the pipe” Smith (someone who Chauncey Billups once famously asked George Karl to “get him the fuck out of the game”) –the textbook definition of an NBA knucklehead, Richard Jefferson’s honeycomb eating looking ass, and a bunch of other nobodies, and won a championship for one of the most cursed sports cities in the history of cursed sports cities.
If Lebron retired tomorrow, this would be enough to get him in the Hall of Fame. Last year, Lebron was John Henry, this year he is Paul Bunyan. Even a hater like me has to respect that. This man has not missed an NBA Finals since 2010, and guess what people? Barring a seismic shift in the east, he’ll probably be back next year. I would not be surprised if it is against Golden State again either. But that is for an NBA Preview to be written later.
Despite all the hullabaloo about Cleveland and Lebron and curses, let us not forget who the real winner was last night: Oscar Robertson. To borrow a phrase from Jason Whitlock, he was probably “watching last night’s game, cackling while rolling up a blunt.” Cleveland’s perimeter defense smothered the Splash Brothers by getting up in them and picking them up at half court–exactly the type of defense Robertson said was needed to contain those beige muthafuckas. Respect to the “Big O” and his hating ass.
Since we are at it, the biggest L goes to Under Armour, whose poster boys, Cam Newton and Steph Curry could not get it done this year when it counted the most. To quote Mars Blackmon, “is it the shoes?”
All jokes aside, this has been year 3 of this blog, and thanks to all of you who take the time to read this bullshit. This was easily the least work, and most fun of all the seasons of writing this. I may actually be getting the hang of this. Also big ups to my podcast partner, Craig Stein for starting the FullSass Podcast with me. It has been both a fun and invigorating project, and I look forward to stepping up the sass level to something fuller next season. One last shout out goes out to the PDXPats crew for all the inspiration and competition. I look forward to being on the show again, and I promise we won’t write anymore diss records if you don’t give us a reason to.
It’s been real folks. Now go out there and get some sunshine and fresh air, and live like normal folk. #Ballislife, but there is also life outside of ball.
Peace,
BM
thisagoodassgame@gmail.com
Believeland Pt. 2
Yikes. This series has sucked. There has not been a close game yet; the best we’ve seen is a game 4 first half that ended in a 61-61 score. It has been a very intense series however, and thus highly illuminating. What have we learned?
- Cleveland fans deserve every horrible sports trauma that has come their way. These past two weeks every insufferable, pathetic schmuck I’ve come across from Cleveland made me wish that the city and all of its sports teams just fall into Lake Erie. One Cleveland ex pat had the gall to ask me if Chief Wahoo offended me because I was Native American. I responded “No it offends me because I’m a human being.” He didn’t get it. I hope that city never wins ANY kind of championship. I don’t care if its team ping-pong, curling, or MLS soccer.
- Lebron is a whiny bitch. How can a man so powerful and so great be such a fucking whiner? This guy steps over another player (one of the most disrespectful things to do to another person–just ask Lebron’s coach) and gets riled up when that player calls him a bitch. I’m not saying the (flick?) in the balls was justified, but compared to the ball slaps and “Mitch Cup Checks” that everyone else has endured, how can anyone with a straight face say that deserved a flagrant foul upgrade? If there was a pivotal point in the series, this was clearly the series turning event. Oh by the way, Lebron lobbied the league to suspend Draymond Green for 2 games for that little “flick of tha wrist.” Lebron is an incredible player, but I’ve lost all respect for him as a competitor. This, and the way he has been manhandling Steph Curry has shown me that the man has no sportsmanship. I won’t even go into how he should be called for an offensive foul every time he throws an elbow on the people guarding him. Seriously, fuck that guy.
- Golden State is not the best team of all time. This series should have been over in five games. The role players have disappeared time and time again the last 2 rounds. No one has consistently stepped up when the moment called for it. I expected Harrison Barnes to deliver in the clutch in game 5 when Green was suspended. Festus Ezeli has been terrible, and Speights has been non-existent. With Andrew Bogut out for the series, the Warriors desperately need the bigs to get BIG. If they don’t show up Sunday night, it’s going to be a shitty Father’s Day for the Dubs. They might get drove, because Tristan Thompson is not going to let up, and neither will “LeBitch” James. I think this has been the impetus for the Warriors not executing their offense. Their shots made from assists have gone drastically down, and Klay and Steph have been relegated to shooting contested three pointers. I think the trust factor is the reason they have been just chucking it up and running back on D, after Cleveland gets a rebound. That record-breaking Chicago team would’ve handled them in 6 games.
- The refs have been terrible all playoffs, but they have really outdone themselves in the Finals. This is the best the NBA could come up with? No one knows what a foul is from one play to another. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just keep the best crew on for the whole series? How about that for some much-needed consistency? I swear to God I will fucking throw my glass of ginger ale if this game 7 is decided by some shitty officiating.
- Lastly, if anyone is wondering what happened to the Warriors home court advantage, then I will direct them to Darren Rovell’s twitter account. These tickets are beyond Super Bowl prices, and the rich casual fans are ruining the atmosphere of what was once the hardest building for opposing teams to get a W. Sadly this is just a preview of what home games will be like when they move across to San Francisco. So techie bros, when you are asking how the NBA’s best regular season team of all time dropped 2 home games in the Finals (Frankly any team that does this deserves an L), just look in the mirror. All the real, and hard-core Dubs fans are not in the building. They are the ones who know how to affect the outcome of a game. The people in the stands were on pins and needles in game 5, and I’m convinced that nervous energy seeped onto the court.
Normally I would say game 7 favors the home team, but I am not as confident in the Warriors as I was 3 games ago. The only thing keeping me from picking Cleveland in game 7 is the fact that they rep Cleveland. What could be more Clevelandish than them going down 3-1, busting their asses to get a game 7, and then shitting the bed in the most heartbreaking way?
Quick story: During this year’s past football season, I was at a bar with some buddies watching the Browns-Ravens game on Monday night. It was an absolute travesty to watch, but I happened to be there for a hoops game, and decided to watch the 4th quarter. The game was terrible, and both teams were tied 27-27 (trust me, it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the score would indicate), but Cleveland lined up for a sure-fire game winning field goal as time expired.
Right before the snap, my buddy says “You know what would be funny? If the Ravens blocked this kick and returned it for a touchdown.” I then said, ” Man that would be the most Cleveland-est way for them to lose the game.”
Guess what happened. Yep. Cleveland found a new way to blow a sure win. In the tradition of Earnest Byner, and Jose Mesa, someone on the Cavaliers is going to find a new way to break this fanbases heart, and I will be elated. My money is on Kevin Love or J.R. Smith. And if I’m wrong, and the Cavs win this series, then Lebron James is the greatest player we’ve ever “witnessed” play, AND I will buy a Lebron jersey to play pickup in–along with a headband accessory– for the rest of the year, until the next basketball season starts. But no matter what, I will forever in my heart feel that he pulled some bitch shit this series, and he will one day get his comeuppance. Schadenfreude can be so sweet if you open your heart to it. He won’t be the best player forever. Even Jordan got his ankles broken.
Enjoy the last game of the season.
BM
thisagoodassgame@gmail.com
REMATCH
Before I break down the NBA Finals rematch between the Cavs and the Warriors, I gotta give it up to the Oklahoma City Thunder. As busterish as they have become, they balled out this post-season.
Steven Adams may have been the biggest surprise. He went from role player to key player this year, and he may soon be the third most important player on this team. Like most people, it was easy to get blinded by the fast start of the Spurs and Warriors. Oklahoma City was a threat to both of those teams, but it was difficult to take the Thunder seriously because of the way they lost games to inferior teams in the regular season.
Even if Andre Roberson spends the summer taking 400 3 pointers a day, I don’t see him being more than a Thabo Sefalosha 2.0. They could use a consistent 3rd scorer, and they can bring Kanter and Waiters off the bench next year and be back in the Western Conference Finals next year (assuming Mike Conley doesn’t go to San Antonio). But for real, I got a little bit more respect for the Thunder after this post-season.
Good Ass Games of the Week:
Cleveland vs. Golden State Best of 7
Games 1,2,5,and 7 in Oakland
Games 3,4, and 6 in Cleveland
People are saying that these are the same teams from last year, except that Cleveland is healthy. This is true to some degree, but both teams are actually better than last year. Cleveland not only has a healthy Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, but they also have Channing Frye to bring off the bench as a 3 point threat. Now that Cleveland has these three weapons on offense, I’m going to ask this question: Who are they going to guard?
People assume that Game 1 of last year’s Finals would have automatically gone to Cleveland had Irving not been injured, but he was getting roasted on the other end of the court by Steph Curry. Kevin Love should send a Derek Jeter style gift basket to James Harden for taking attention away from his own poor defense. One could argue that they were better defensively up front last year when Love hurt his shoulder.
In order not to get swept in this series, Cleveland needs to do 3 basic things:
- Win the 3 point battle. Easier said than done right? Besides chasing the Dubs off the 3 point line and forcing them to take 2’s, Cleveland will need Channing Frye and J.R. Smith to stretch the Warrior D by continuing to hit from outside the arc. This would of course, open up the floor for Kyrie and Lebron to attack the rim and put the Warriors bigs in foul trouble.
- Force the Warriors to turn the ball over. The Cavs love to get out running in transition and get easy baskets (dunks). This is exactly how the Thunder pushed the Dubs to the brink of elimination. The Warriors can’t be casual with the ball like they were last round. Hopefully that was their wake up call.
- Get Big. Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love need to get double-digit boards every night if they hope to have a chance. Thompson’s effectiveness as a rim protector may be compromised if “Mo Buckets” Speights can get loose with his jump shot. I’m curious what counter will Tyronn Lue uses if this problem arises. Timofey Mosgov may or may not get some run this series.
I’m interested how the cupcake opponents and long layoff will affect the Cavaliers. It is hard to simulate the kind of intensity that the Warriors had to muster to come out of the last round. I would not be surprised if the first half is won easily by the Warriors. I don’t see Game 1 being an overtime thriller like last year (I’m also the same guy who said Warriors in 5 last round). Also would anyone be surprised if Kevin Love or Kyrie Irving got injured and missed a game or two this series?
I think the Warriors will in this in 5 games, and I’m only saying 5 out of respect for Lebron James. They’ll win at least one at home in Cleveland.
BM
thisagoodassgame@gmail.com
Everything We Could Have Asked For
This Western Conference Finals has given us drama, great soundbites, and (what do you know?) great action on the basketball court. This series has been the saving grace for this year’s playoffs. The Spurs-Thunder and Blazers-Warriors rounds had their moments, but this year’s Western Conference Finals has lived up to the hype that was percolating even as far back as last year (before Kevin Durant hurt his foot up in Oakland on the last possession in the first half of a regular season matchup).
I’ve spent most of the season bashing the Thunder for their histrionics, style of play, and lack of depth (for good reason), but they have been nothing short of impressive this postseason.
To many Thunder fans, the team fell into what felt like a mid-season swoon. This organization faced some real life adversity;with deaths close to team members, front office heads and assistant coaches. Billy Donovan lost his best bench coach, Mo Cheeks (the Russ whisperer) to a hip surgery, during this difficult period (a lot of people are quick to praise Billy Donovan for making all the right moves. I agree that he has gotten better with his rotations and substitutions, but I also don’t think it is pure coincidence that Cheeks’ return had nothing to do with their success).
Oklahoma City’s role players have really stepped up their games. Enes Kanter and Anthony Morrow have been put into situations where they can succeed (a product of good coaching). Dion Waiters has cut down on his bone headed plays. Kyle Singler is sitting on the bench where his ass belongs. The biggest leap, however; is Steven Adams’ sudden ascension as the third member of OKC’s “Big 3”.
Adams’ impact on the game has been the most visible factor of this playoff run. Adams has influenced the rebound margins, defensive efficiency, and he is making a contribution on the offensive end; catching lobs, getting garbage buckets on offensive boards, and making nasty baseball passes for layups. When you think about all the front office moves made after the 2012 Finals run, (Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, Mitch McGary, Kevin Martin) it may not be a stretch to think that the Adams draft pick (acquired in the James Harden trade) may have saved GM Sam Presti’s job.
For the majority of this series, OKC has outplayed Golden State. Golden State’s role players have struggled this round–especially from the Oracle. The good news is that there is a game 7. Warriors blew game 1 with careless turnovers, and bad body language. People were shocked, but they deserved to lose that one. I didn’t care for their casual approach going into game 1, the way they played was disrespectful to the game, and the basketball gods made them pay for it.
The team returned to form in game 2, but they ran into a buzzsaw in games 3 and 4 (man those fans were loud).
The “Dray-gate” controversy and Warriors going back home with a 3-1 series deficit was exactly the type of drama this playoffs needed. Despite it being a “good ass game”, I knew there was no way they would lose in Oakland. 
Game 6 was going to be the true litmus test for both teams, with the Warriors facing an elimination game, on the road, in one of the most hostile environments in the NBA (Sorry Oakland, but the true Warriors fans have been consistently priced out ever since your team started winning again). Needless to say, game 6 delivered.
Klay Thompson put on one of the most memorable playoff performances I’ve seen that didn’t involve a certain young man from Akron, Ohio (no not Steph). The Warriors needed every one of the 41 points he put up, but the fact that he also played great defense, makes it even more impressive. He has been the playoff MVP for the Warriors this year.
The adage about road players not traveling well held true to form, as Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green did the heavy lifting. Andre Iguodala played timely defense, and had a clutch basketball to tie it up at 101-101. The reason I feel so confident about the Warriors wrapping it up tonight is that “No Buckets” Speights will turn into “Mo Buckets” Speights, Sean Livingston will contribute more offensively than he did on Saturday. I also think Harrison Barnes is going to show up. With the postseason Barnes is having, he may have cost his agent a family vacation in Rome this summer. I really thought he was going to make himself some money in April. I really wanted to see him take that leap this year (I’m sure I’m not the only one).
I think the game will be close until about the 4th quarter, and then the Warriors will go on a run to ice the game. I think the role players will be too much in this game. I knew the Thunder were in trouble during game 6 when they went to the half winning only by 5 points.
They’d dominated the entire half, and gotten the majority of the favorable calls, and still did not win. I would be incredibly shocked if the Warriors dropped this one tonight. Oklahoma City had their chance and they just couldn’t make it happen.
You can call it a meltdown, or you can say that Golden State was clutch. I’ll believe either narrative. No matter what happens tonight, I dare anyone to dispute that this series saved the NBA postseason this year.
FULLSASS Presents: THIS A GOOD ASS GAME 