Well yeah, we know it happens, but the point is that that lopsided stat is meaningless with respect to determining which team will eventually win a 7 game series. I suspect the stat is hauled out to attempt to drum up fan interest in game 1. If anyone ever drills down into the numbers, I doubt we'd ever hear the stat repeated again. The only difference winning game 1 makes is that one team has one loss and the other has one win. That sets up the first game of any real importance, game 2.
You have to win the next 2 at home. Not impossible but not real likely either from what I've seen so far. But if you do, it is a whole new 3 game series and you're faced with the same situation; you have to protect your home court and win just one on the road. The Thunder's bench really isn't all it has been touted to be. This was true during the Lakers' series too, but we couldn't score enough points to take advantage of it. In fact, there is hardly any bench there at all. Harden is actually a starter who just doesn't come into the game until midway through the first quarter. Unless the Thunder are running and getting easy buckets for guys like Sefalosia and Ibacka, they can really struggle to score. The Thunder so far, are getting exposed by the Spurs. I like the Thunder in game 3, then we'll see about game 4.
Ahh, lights. Power. Nothing like a little blackout to spare you from the fall. Sob. These things happen when you're playing the Borg. Miami only had to deal with the eastern conference. They don't have a prayer.
I'm not completely sold on the Spurs...yet. They have played two inferior teams, the Clips and Jazz, and one team who appears to have match-up problems. We'll see about them. It really is all about match-ups. I actually think the Lakers are a better match for the Spurs than the Thunder are. If we had lost a few more regular seaon games we might have played the Spurs in round two. I think we may have eliminated them. But then we would have gotten the Thunder in the next round, against whom the Lakers have the match up problems. The Thunder would likely now be up 2-0 heading (eventually) to the Finals. Such is the way of NBA basketball.
No, the Lakers wouldn't have eliminated them. The Thunder won't eliminate them and Miami is in for one hell of a shock. This Spurs team is absolutely the real deal in every way.
Hulk SMASH! That's the way Rondo played in a tough loss tonight. Maybe Boston will force 5 games out of this series. Love 'em or hate 'em, they have heart and resolve. And what a foul disparity to boot.
It's hard for the Celtics to win when they're playing both the Heat and the refs. So, is anyone else not surprised that the Hornets got the #1 draft pick? The lottery is so rigged.
Celts ALWAYS blame the refs or injuries or the moon being in the 7th house or something, when they lose. I would like to disagree with you but after having witnessed the CP3 to the Lakers fiasco followed by the Chauncey Billips-to-the-Clips-so-the-Clips-will-trade-Eric Gordon-to-the-Hornets fiasco, you may just be right. The long suffering Bobcats who tanked an entire season for the first pick certainly deserved better. Go Heat!
The team with the worst record almost never gets it. But the claims that it was rigged has gone back to Ewing going to the Knicks in the first ever draft lottery.
I have to wonder what the Celtic mindset will be today. To play that well for whatever reason, to have such a tremendous performance as Rondo's, to come that close.... and still lose being down 0-2. Wow......
It isn't the mind set that's the problem--it's the "body set". Age and injuries will inevitably be their undoing, not pride or confidence.
Yeah, you're right. Garnett, Pierce, and Allen have been around long enough that they can handle it from a mental standpoint. That performance last night is what I had been expecting in Game 1. And when you consider how their depth has been shredded, Game 2 is even more impressive... not that it mattes much since it's still a loss. The Heat did show me some poise and resilience last night, though. Boston had a good lead and played well, but the Heat did come back on them.
I know the game didn't hinge on it, but if you're tied 105-105 in overtime, and your star gets whacked upside the head driving to the hoop with a no call, there's something about the timing of that non-call that's upsetting of you're a Celtics fan. But then again, that's all part of the game... I've always felt as long as the refs distribute their incompetence fairly, no problem. We'll see what how the calls go next game in Boston, I guess.
Suck for Luck, anyone? That would be one argument in favor of a draft lottery. They just need to make it more transparent and show the balls being selected. The way the NBA does it fully lends itself to the conspiracy theories.
Yes, the original intent of the lottery was to take away the guarantee of the first pick if you finished with the worst record. But some owners are dumb and will tank games just for evan a small percentage chance of getting the number 1 pick. It must be pretty tempting. You're going nowhere anyway so why not "rest" your one and only "star" at the end of the season when no one is looking. Look what tanking games did for the Spurs back in the late 90's. They got Tim Duncan and a decade and a half of being a contender more times than not. Look what it got Cleaveland...well maybe we shouldn't go there. I just think the league has shot itself in the foot in terms of their credibility with some of the shennanigans we saw after the owners ended their strike this season. I never thought the lottery might not be altogether honest until this most recent one.
Me too... the adrenaline high combined with a team barely of drinking age will be too much, especially if they jump out early.