Thursday, April 19, 2007
Rollin' on Dubs
I love my Tivo. From the moment I met it and brought it home to live with me, I've been in love. It makes me laugh. It makes me sad. Its always there for me, even when I neglect it. But there is one thing about my Tivo that I don't like.
It makes me a worse sports fan.
(As an aside, the above one sentence paragraph is a total sportswriter thing to do, and it drives me crazy. Does anyone else hate those one sentence paragraphs? EJ, BBD, do they teach you that in J-School? Either way, I can't stand them.)
I didn't realize that Tivo would make me a worse sports fan. If anything, Tivo can be used to tape games that you won't be able to watch (which I do for some NFL and NCAA hoops games, the occasional boxing match on HBO, and events like th Olympics and World Cup). But Tivo eliminates the channel surfing which often led to sports viewing. I used to park on the couch flipping through the main channels, and I'd stop and watch a few minutes whenever I came across a decent NBA or MLB game. That doesn't happen anymore. Now, I have my Daily Show, Sopranos or Top Chef (don't ask) ready when I am. And there is always more to watch, so no reason to randomly surf to see what is on.
I say this because the NBA playoffs are starting, and I've probably watched a grand total of about one hour of nationally televised NBA games. I know less about the league this year than I have in each of the last 21 years or so. The lone exception to this is the Warriors. I've made a point to tune in to a couple of their games throughout the year.
Which all brings me to the point of the post. Don't sleep on Golden State. I know, this is becoming a somewhat popular sentiment (one that the Sports Guy has been recently pushing), but it is true. These aren't the '94 Nuggets. Their starting five each scored at least 16 per game (Jason Richardson is the low scorer of the starting five) and are all a threat for 25 on any night. Of their top three reserves, two have had 30-point efforts this season (Matt Barnes and Andres Biedrins) and the third has ten 20-point games.
Can they play defense, you ask? Well, no. They can't (see left). But more importantly, they don't want to. This is Nellie-ball baby, and energy spent on defense is wasted energy. Boxing out saps energy from your legs, energy that is needed to launch those critical threes (to which team are those three pointers critical? That's up for debate).
I kid (somewhat) about the defense. The fact is that the current incarnation of this team has been good. "Current incarnation" means post-Pacers robbery and healthy Richardson and Davis. After suffering through a miserable 6 game losing streak that dropped their record to 26-35(by an average margin of 15 points per game), Baron Davis returned from injury and the Dubs won 16 of their final 21. Among those beaten during this final quarter of the season were Detroit, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston and Utah (with an average margin of victory in those 6 games of 15 points - closest of the six was a 5 point win over the Suns). Not coincidentally, that 21-game stretch represents the only 21 games where the full Warrior lineup (with Jackson, Harrington, Davis and Richardson) has been in place.
Am I saying that the Warriors, when healthy, are a team that would win over 75% of their games? No. But they'd win well over 50%. At the rate their playing, I'd say that only the West's Big Three are better (and put the Warriors right there with the Rockets and Jazz). Plus, they have the only Patriot League alum in the NBA (magna cum laude, no less).
What's more, the Warriors have the Mavs' number. Sure, in Monday's game the Mavs sat Nowitzki, Dampier, Howard and Stackhouse, but the Warriors swept the three Dallas games that year, and have won 5 straight going back to last year. The Warriors (with Al Harrington at the 5 and Stephen Jackson at the 4) are playing a similar lineup to the one that the Mavs used successfully in last year's playoffs (when they used Nowitzki as a center for long stretches). And finally, there is just no pressure on the Warriors. They are the 8 seed. Happy to be here. Haven't been in 12 years (which is an utter disgrace in the NBA). The Mavs, meanwhile, have a ton of pressure. 6th best record ever. Expected MVP leading them. Playing against former coach. I'm not saying that the Warriors will win, but I would be shocked if they don't take 2 from the Mavs.
Final Thunder-prediction: Mavs in 7.
It makes me a worse sports fan.
(As an aside, the above one sentence paragraph is a total sportswriter thing to do, and it drives me crazy. Does anyone else hate those one sentence paragraphs? EJ, BBD, do they teach you that in J-School? Either way, I can't stand them.)
I didn't realize that Tivo would make me a worse sports fan. If anything, Tivo can be used to tape games that you won't be able to watch (which I do for some NFL and NCAA hoops games, the occasional boxing match on HBO, and events like th Olympics and World Cup). But Tivo eliminates the channel surfing which often led to sports viewing. I used to park on the couch flipping through the main channels, and I'd stop and watch a few minutes whenever I came across a decent NBA or MLB game. That doesn't happen anymore. Now, I have my Daily Show, Sopranos or Top Chef (don't ask) ready when I am. And there is always more to watch, so no reason to randomly surf to see what is on.
I say this because the NBA playoffs are starting, and I've probably watched a grand total of about one hour of nationally televised NBA games. I know less about the league this year than I have in each of the last 21 years or so. The lone exception to this is the Warriors. I've made a point to tune in to a couple of their games throughout the year.
Which all brings me to the point of the post. Don't sleep on Golden State. I know, this is becoming a somewhat popular sentiment (one that the Sports Guy has been recently pushing), but it is true. These aren't the '94 Nuggets. Their starting five each scored at least 16 per game (Jason Richardson is the low scorer of the starting five) and are all a threat for 25 on any night. Of their top three reserves, two have had 30-point efforts this season (Matt Barnes and Andres Biedrins) and the third has ten 20-point games.
Can they play defense, you ask? Well, no. They can't (see left). But more importantly, they don't want to. This is Nellie-ball baby, and energy spent on defense is wasted energy. Boxing out saps energy from your legs, energy that is needed to launch those critical threes (to which team are those three pointers critical? That's up for debate).I kid (somewhat) about the defense. The fact is that the current incarnation of this team has been good. "Current incarnation" means post-Pacers robbery and healthy Richardson and Davis. After suffering through a miserable 6 game losing streak that dropped their record to 26-35(by an average margin of 15 points per game), Baron Davis returned from injury and the Dubs won 16 of their final 21. Among those beaten during this final quarter of the season were Detroit, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston and Utah (with an average margin of victory in those 6 games of 15 points - closest of the six was a 5 point win over the Suns). Not coincidentally, that 21-game stretch represents the only 21 games where the full Warrior lineup (with Jackson, Harrington, Davis and Richardson) has been in place.
Am I saying that the Warriors, when healthy, are a team that would win over 75% of their games? No. But they'd win well over 50%. At the rate their playing, I'd say that only the West's Big Three are better (and put the Warriors right there with the Rockets and Jazz). Plus, they have the only Patriot League alum in the NBA (magna cum laude, no less).What's more, the Warriors have the Mavs' number. Sure, in Monday's game the Mavs sat Nowitzki, Dampier, Howard and Stackhouse, but the Warriors swept the three Dallas games that year, and have won 5 straight going back to last year. The Warriors (with Al Harrington at the 5 and Stephen Jackson at the 4) are playing a similar lineup to the one that the Mavs used successfully in last year's playoffs (when they used Nowitzki as a center for long stretches). And finally, there is just no pressure on the Warriors. They are the 8 seed. Happy to be here. Haven't been in 12 years (which is an utter disgrace in the NBA). The Mavs, meanwhile, have a ton of pressure. 6th best record ever. Expected MVP leading them. Playing against former coach. I'm not saying that the Warriors will win, but I would be shocked if they don't take 2 from the Mavs.
Final Thunder-prediction: Mavs in 7.
Labels: Adonal Foyle, Mavericks, NBA, Playoffs Basketball, Tivo, Warriors
# posted by Big Thunder @ 12:55 PM 
Comments:
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I kind of agree on the one-sentence paragraph, but I did have a few professors in J-School who were big proponents, and all my editors have loved them. Basically, all newspaper people (NY Times, WSJ, LA Times excepted) root for short stories, short paragraphs and big photos. Read an AP story -- it's all one-line grafs.
Anyway, I'm actually excited for the NBA playoffs. I watched some Bulls-Heat on Saturday and the end of the Nuggets-Spurs yesterday (the Spurs just look like every recent rule change has hurt them).
First of all, your column is looking mighty smart after last night, but I do think the Mavs will come through -- I'd say in 6 games.
As to the other first-rounders, I'll go as follows:
Pistons in 5
Cavs in 4 (poor Bullets)
Raptors in 7
Bulls in 6
Mavs in 6
Suns in 5
Spurs in 7
Rockets in 5
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Anyway, I'm actually excited for the NBA playoffs. I watched some Bulls-Heat on Saturday and the end of the Nuggets-Spurs yesterday (the Spurs just look like every recent rule change has hurt them).
First of all, your column is looking mighty smart after last night, but I do think the Mavs will come through -- I'd say in 6 games.
As to the other first-rounders, I'll go as follows:
Pistons in 5
Cavs in 4 (poor Bullets)
Raptors in 7
Bulls in 6
Mavs in 6
Suns in 5
Spurs in 7
Rockets in 5
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