Decided to write this thread for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who chose to respond with such heartfelt kindness to my apology following our loss on Sunday. Overwhelmed would be an understatement as to how you made this oldman feel. There are no words, even for me, that can express to each of you how grateful and appreciative I am for your words. Second, I decided to share my thoughts with you on tonight's Minnesota/Sacramento game as well as tomorrow's Detroit/New Jersey game. I decided to do this strictly in an effort to provide additional thoughts that might help you.
Before getting started, I wanted to let you know that I have reviewed both games and neither warrant a release and therefore I will be passing on both games and will await the start of the Conference Finals. Like last night's game, these two games are difficult to call, and in last night's game the difference between winning and losing was two missed free throws at the end by Ron Artest. So here are some thoughts to consider.
Although these games are a bit different in style, there are some situation similiarities worth noting. First, both these games will be the deciding Game 7 of each series. I'm sure most of you have heard about the home team having such an advantage in a game with the winning percentages bearing this out to be true. That being said however, in these particular match-ups, these teams have proven to be resilient against each other and won away from home in each series. The lines on the sides for these games are about right as after six games, these teams seem very evenly matched. In the Minnesota/Sacramento series we have a couple of new wrinkles however. The loss of Anthony Peeler to the Kings rotation should not be understated as this really shortens a bench that already was lean to begin with. Also, the affect of the last couple of days on Kevin Garnett, should not be dismissed either. KG has always appeared to me to be a kind and thoughtful individual and the league has often indicated as much. The events following his statement and subsequent apology could possibly take a little bit of that burning desire and edge from Kevin. I'm sure he'll be fine as the game develops, but on the outset, some of his aggression could be slightly compromised for a short period. Just a possibility. Tough to call. In the Detroit/New Jersey series, we now have a final game with 4 days of preparation. Which team might that benefit? The time certainly should help Rasheed Wallace and Chauncy Billups heal a bit. The rest should also help what appeared to be a very tired Nets team as well. Might coaching experience make the difference with the added time for preparation or team experience being together in situations like this be the determinant? Tough to call. As you can see, an argument can be made for both sides, so is taking the points in a Game 7 with evenly matched teams the proper play? Once again, Game 7 is a different animal and these particular games are too tough to call for this oldman.
That being said, the totals intrigue me a bit. Scores in the Minnesota/Sacrameto series were as follows;
Game 1: Sacramento 104-98
Game 2: Minnesota 94-89
Game 3: Minnesota 114-113 (OT) (104-104 REG)
Game 4: Sacramento 87-81
Game 5: Minnesota 86-74
Game 6: Sacramento 104-87
What I am looking at is how they played in Minnesota as the series moved on and particularly Game 5, which is often said to be the precursor to what would happen in a Game 7. But more importantly, also noticed that Minnesota is basically scoring in and around the mid 80's the last three games. Feeling here is that due to the magnitude of the game, many possessions will be worked and time on the clock used to get a good shot and wouldn't be surprised to see this game in the 80's for both teams. Minnesota can play defense and even the Kings can as well. Neither are staunch, but capable. Expect that too happen tonight with everything on the line.
Scores in the Detroit/New Jersey series were as follows:
Game 1: Detroit 78-56
Game 2: Detroit 95-80
Game 3: New Jersey 82-64
Game 4: New Jersey 94-79
Game 5: New Jersey 127-120 (3OT) (88-88 REG)
Game 6: Detroit 81-75
Once again, in this series, we can look at the games played in Detroit as well for any type of consistency in defense. With the current line, this one is a little bit more difficult, but one must believe that defense will be the order of the day, as it has been through much of this series and particularly with additional days of preparation. The number reflects this already however, so a tough call.
Well, those are my thoughts. Hope they are of some value to you and want to wish each of you the best of luck tonight and tomorrow. I'll be back on Friday with a thread on the Conference Finals matchups versus regular season performance as I did in the first two rounds.
As painful as it is, posted below is my updated record following Sunday's 3* loss.
Overall Unit Record YTD: (183-150.8)(+32.2) 5*(1-0)(+5.0) 3*(10-7)(+6.9) 1*(148-115-7)(+20.3)
Overall W/L Record YTD: (159-122-7) 56.58%
NBA Regular Season Final Record YTD: (17-12-2)(+5.8)
NBA Playoff Record YTD: (9-8-2)(-2.0)
Plays are rated 1*-5*
Good Luck All.
Before getting started, I wanted to let you know that I have reviewed both games and neither warrant a release and therefore I will be passing on both games and will await the start of the Conference Finals. Like last night's game, these two games are difficult to call, and in last night's game the difference between winning and losing was two missed free throws at the end by Ron Artest. So here are some thoughts to consider.
Although these games are a bit different in style, there are some situation similiarities worth noting. First, both these games will be the deciding Game 7 of each series. I'm sure most of you have heard about the home team having such an advantage in a game with the winning percentages bearing this out to be true. That being said however, in these particular match-ups, these teams have proven to be resilient against each other and won away from home in each series. The lines on the sides for these games are about right as after six games, these teams seem very evenly matched. In the Minnesota/Sacramento series we have a couple of new wrinkles however. The loss of Anthony Peeler to the Kings rotation should not be understated as this really shortens a bench that already was lean to begin with. Also, the affect of the last couple of days on Kevin Garnett, should not be dismissed either. KG has always appeared to me to be a kind and thoughtful individual and the league has often indicated as much. The events following his statement and subsequent apology could possibly take a little bit of that burning desire and edge from Kevin. I'm sure he'll be fine as the game develops, but on the outset, some of his aggression could be slightly compromised for a short period. Just a possibility. Tough to call. In the Detroit/New Jersey series, we now have a final game with 4 days of preparation. Which team might that benefit? The time certainly should help Rasheed Wallace and Chauncy Billups heal a bit. The rest should also help what appeared to be a very tired Nets team as well. Might coaching experience make the difference with the added time for preparation or team experience being together in situations like this be the determinant? Tough to call. As you can see, an argument can be made for both sides, so is taking the points in a Game 7 with evenly matched teams the proper play? Once again, Game 7 is a different animal and these particular games are too tough to call for this oldman.
That being said, the totals intrigue me a bit. Scores in the Minnesota/Sacrameto series were as follows;
Game 1: Sacramento 104-98
Game 2: Minnesota 94-89
Game 3: Minnesota 114-113 (OT) (104-104 REG)
Game 4: Sacramento 87-81
Game 5: Minnesota 86-74
Game 6: Sacramento 104-87
What I am looking at is how they played in Minnesota as the series moved on and particularly Game 5, which is often said to be the precursor to what would happen in a Game 7. But more importantly, also noticed that Minnesota is basically scoring in and around the mid 80's the last three games. Feeling here is that due to the magnitude of the game, many possessions will be worked and time on the clock used to get a good shot and wouldn't be surprised to see this game in the 80's for both teams. Minnesota can play defense and even the Kings can as well. Neither are staunch, but capable. Expect that too happen tonight with everything on the line.
Scores in the Detroit/New Jersey series were as follows:
Game 1: Detroit 78-56
Game 2: Detroit 95-80
Game 3: New Jersey 82-64
Game 4: New Jersey 94-79
Game 5: New Jersey 127-120 (3OT) (88-88 REG)
Game 6: Detroit 81-75
Once again, in this series, we can look at the games played in Detroit as well for any type of consistency in defense. With the current line, this one is a little bit more difficult, but one must believe that defense will be the order of the day, as it has been through much of this series and particularly with additional days of preparation. The number reflects this already however, so a tough call.
Well, those are my thoughts. Hope they are of some value to you and want to wish each of you the best of luck tonight and tomorrow. I'll be back on Friday with a thread on the Conference Finals matchups versus regular season performance as I did in the first two rounds.
As painful as it is, posted below is my updated record following Sunday's 3* loss.
Overall Unit Record YTD: (183-150.8)(+32.2) 5*(1-0)(+5.0) 3*(10-7)(+6.9) 1*(148-115-7)(+20.3)
Overall W/L Record YTD: (159-122-7) 56.58%
NBA Regular Season Final Record YTD: (17-12-2)(+5.8)
NBA Playoff Record YTD: (9-8-2)(-2.0)
Plays are rated 1*-5*
Good Luck All.
