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National duty worth the price
This Blog is returning briefly from its summer slumber, and cricket and golf duties for Her Majesty’s BBC, to thank the Chicago Bulls for making Luol Deng a very rich man, so soon. Not that Jerry Reinsdorf needs additional gratitude. Not in Chicago. However, barring some insurance issues, it has cleared the Sudan-born Londoner to turn out for Great Britain in this summer’s European Championships qualifiers, an important step on the path to 2012.
It is an oft fraught conflict between the NBA and the international game. He who pays the piper normally plays the tune. Except, so important is national team competition that – for prestige, patriotic pride or just self-improvement – it has become nigh impossible to stop highly-paid players from turning out for their countries, despite the inherent risks which come from throwing their bodies into the line of fire during what their employers (laughably) refer to as the off-season.
The risk must be managed. That is why Deng started GB training camp watching from the sidelines until clearance came through. And why his Bulls team-mate Ben Gordon has not yet linked up with the squad; until his contract situation is resolved, it is too large a gamble for him to risk securing his future with a long-term NBA deal for the sake of representing the country of his birth.
"We understand Ben's position and he has been consistent and up front with us about it all year,” said GB coach Chris Finch. "But when our training camp moves to Belgium later this month, we need him with us if he is going to play. That would give him nearly two weeks of practice before we open our group games against Israel and a player of his quality could easily integrate into our team in that time."
Unless he signs a new agreement soon, you can forget him appearing in a British vest this year. There will be undoubtedly be a few anxious GMs watching the Olympic Games, fingers crossed in the hope that their stars are not tripped up by a flag. San Antonio were not keen on Manu Ginobili’s participation – qué sera, for them. The Lakers will want Pau Gasol back unscathed and Memphis likewise for Marc. Even those Star Spangled execs cheering on the Redeem Team would rather their representatives return intact than capturing gold.
I’m looking forward to Beijing, to the sub-plot of whether LeBron James can make good on his promise of American gold. Will they ever learn?
Me? I’m backing Spain for glory. Roll on four years time though.
PS. This one’s for Steve, Billy, Rob, Mo and Mau – cheers fellas.
Posted by Mark Woods on August 8th 2008, 12:00 p.m. ET
Famine over as Celtics return to the top
Boston, you’re being greedy.
Firstly, you try to monopolise Super Bowl, thwarted only by our very favourite Scottish kicker (OK, Eli you played your part too). Then you snaffle up the World Series (which, incidentally, should follow the NBA’s lead and start referring to itself instead as the Major League Championship’).
And now you want the NBA title as well? For the Celtics? Who have been so estranged from their relationship with the Larry O’Brien Trophy that any sane judge would have waved through a decree absolut without a moment’s deliberation.
Like I said, just plain greedy.
When I visited Boston a few months ago, there wasn’t so much a buzz about the C’s, more still a murmur. In the sports bars, there were plenty of Patriots flags fluttering and jerseys sported (it was only two weeks after they’d lost in Super Bowl), plenty of photos of Tom Brady and Giselle on the front pages, and more in-depth chat about videography than you’d get down the local branch of Jessop’s.
The prospects of the Sox were dissected in a similar fashion: could they repeat? Would they trade? And just as important, would they be able to take a crafty swipe at the Yankees en route. Winning matters. Poking New York in the ribs is a welcome bonus.
Chat about the Celtics remained in short supply, even as they sat atop the league standings, even with a line-up which was promising to deliver something which hadn’t been savoured here for an entire generation. Few were sporting green in both tribute and support on the paths through Boston Common. When I’d first come here, 15 years before, shamrocks were the accessories of choice. No longer. Basketball was relegated to third place. That’s what losing does. Eventually, it wears you down to the point when the only way to numb the pain is to surgically remove the source from view.
Now Bostonians have a hoops squad to be proud of again. One which the new generation can reminisce over when times, as they inevitably do, get tough again. They no longer have to tune into historical accounts of the feats of Bird and Russell while wondering how men played with such ferocity while sporting moustaches, growing long hair and wearing shorts which lived up to the name.
(As an inside here, I recently tried on my university team shorts for the first time in a long while. On the plus side, they still fit. However, I do wonder how they didn’t impact on fertility. I digress.)
It was like when youthful Manchester United fans had to sustain themselves for a quarter-century with grainy footage of Best, Law and Charlton. That was all they had. A glorious past replaced by a mediocre present. Until the wee mon from Govan came along to cast his spell.
Now, in Beantown, they can go green without re-cycling used material. They can wax lyrical about Kevin Garnett and recount how he screamed ‘top of the world’ at the top of his voice. Tell folk about the way in which Ray Allen survived a poke in the eye to deliver a right hook to the Lakers’ ribs. And when Paul Pierce made himself irrevocably a Celtics immortal by stepping up when it mattered most, a Most Valuable Player without a price tag.
Not to mention, how much they appreciated the work of Rajon, Leon et al. And even the cheerleading of Brian Scalabrine. (As an additional aside, is there an argument for the twelfth man in a Finals series just to be handed a pair of pom-poms? ‘Ra-ra-Rondo’?)
Why, B-Scal asked, would anyone think his minimalist role was a chore? “I'll tell you,” he said, “it's not that difficult to do, because guess what, maybe now you could say I didn't play a second, but in five years, you guys are going to forget. In ten years I'll still be a champion. In 20 years I'll tell my kids I probably started, and in 30 years I'll probably tell them I got the MVP. So I'm probably not too worried about it.” He was grinning as he said it. From ear to ear. As Barry Norman used to say (OK, only his Spitting Image), And why not? Memories are short on detail and long on sentiment.
This might not be the best Boston Celtics team ever. Far from it. They had too many flaws. Suffered too many meltdowns. And they were facing a Los Angeles Lakers crew which was one-dimensional in the extreme. 4-2 was a fair result. And on the west coast, there is the prospect of better to come next season. The Lakers weren’t meant to be this good, this fast. But they’ll need to improve themselves to take the next step.
In Game 6, however, this Boston team proved itself a champion. It demonstrated the guts and guile of its fearsome antecedents. For a short while, at least, Beantown is C-Town again.
Who’d have thought that 12 months ago? The appetite for the Celtics is back.
Greed, in this case, is all good.
Posted by Mark Woods on June 19, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
1 down, or 2 to go?
Onward Boston ho. Not for a Tea Party but, the denizens of Beantown hope, a C Party. One out of two will suffice and although the Los Angeles Lakers had a terrific defensive performance in Game 5, there was not enough to suggest they can make history by coming from 3-1 down to lift the NBA title.
As I wrote in my column in The Guardian, this is not going to be a series which lives long in the memory for the quality of the basketball. There hasn’t (yet) been any of the level of drama of that served up by Rocco Mediate and my very distant cousin Tiger over the last few days.
But there could be. And what better place than the Garden, not the old one which was laced with ghosts of brilliant pasts, but the new one which must, sooner or later, create its own spectre of accomplishment?
You think, sooner or later, that Kobe Bryant must do what few can do, namely torch an opponent. Anyone but me, he admits. Boston has done an excellent job of letting the rest of the Lakers try to beat them. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom managed to step on Sunday but such contributions have been rarer of late than hits from pre-game anthem singer Ashanti.
Yet it ain’t over. This is not the Boston of the sixties or the eighties, teams that would strangle you once they had a grip. You think Larry Bird and Kevin McHale wouldn’t have pounced on LA when they displayed weakness? Then again, they would never have allowed the Lakers to surge so far ahead before they woke up from their inert state.
Anything can still happen. “We know that we are two wins away from winning a Championship,” said Gasol. “But without the first one, we are not getting to the second one. We’re focusing on Game 6 because it’s going to be super hard to get that one.”
But not impossible. It’s not time to start the party yet not, when the fat lady hasn’t yet sung her piece
Posted by Mark Woods on June 16, 2008, 5:00 p.m. ET
Sleep for wimps to keep pace with LA nightlife
Jet lag sucks.
Not knowing what time zone your body’s supposed to be in.
That fatigue that accompanies the odd sensation of being awake when you should be fast asleep.
The horrible sensation when the eyes begin to shut involuntarily and you can’t find the match sticks to prop ‘em open.
Yup, it’s no fun having jet lag.
And I’m not even in LA.
It’s a peculiar fascination, watching the NBA Finals from eight time zones removed. It takes a heightened level of concentration, dedication and an almost perverse willingness to push yourself to the limits of endurance. Big Brother contestants? Wimps!
You have to be prepared. You need to bring your A-Game. My buddy Scott came over to watch Part Deux of Celtics-Lakers the other morning. He’s a tough-talking, hard-nosed, long-haired Australian, who wouldn’t think twice about ripping the head off a rattlesnake if it was threatening his beer. That’s kind of approach is mandatory here. Without it, we’d never have made it all the way to the start of the fourth quarter without the regenerative power of coffee. The SAS got nothing on us.
If it goes seven, we’re ready. Bring it on, I say. If the early bird catches the worm, then he’s lucky our diet is crisps and energy bars. Otherwise, there could be some early day scrapping. Jack Nicholson might be smirking away in his courtside seat. But his days of staying up til 5am and remaining coherent are done. We’re still standing when lesser men and women would have nodded off. We’re the real Hollywood heroes of the piece.
It can get surreal. I was sure I’d had a brief snoozy flurry during Game 3 and had a mad flashback dream that PJ Brown and Sam Cassell scored consecutive baskets. And that Kojak was sucking on a lollipop behind the Lakers bench. It was all so very Life on Mars. Except turns out the Celtics vets (I’m being kind) had dipped back to their youth and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was doing his best Telly Savalas impression. Who loves ya baby?
At least, I never nodded off in front of a world-wide audience (unlike one unfortunate member of the Chinese media who decided to grab 40 winks at a game I covered earlier this season and woke up to find himself surrounded by bank of cameras). There were plenty of moments on Tuesday night when it looked like both Boston and LA were in a state of semi-consciousness as a result of the move from east coast to west. Early on, the C’s went over five minutes without a field goal before Ray Allen provided a wake-up call with a timely three. The hosts then took their turn to go to sleep. The nightmares continued with only Kobe Bryant – with 19 in the first half, more than the Big Green 3 combined – evading the wave of insomnia.
Up 43-37 at halftime, it was the Lakers’ turn to go to sleep. And for Kevin Garnett to burst into life. A 14-2 run in the third from Boston overturned the deficit with KG heading the charge. If the momentum was all in LA’s favour early in, it had passed to Celtics. Even Eddie House was getting in on the act. Incensed, Phil Jackson looked like he wanted to go around every member of his squad and give them a good shake. It was like that scene in ‘Shaun of the Dead’ when after a brief flurry of activity, the alive turn into the waking dead. Only Lamar Odom playing the role of a zombie was not the script that Jackson had written.
It was so bad that even Sylvester Stallone and Eddie Murphy, sitting courtside together, would have disowned it. But as Jackson himself noted at the outset of the fourth: “this game’s going down the stretch.” With Steven Spielberg in close vicinity, you felt it would be worth pushing through the inner cry for duvet and pillow to catch an action-packed ending.
Like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the plot didn’t always make sense. Odom failing, time and again, to recognise the defence in his path. Pau Gasol looking more a barn door than a matador. The Celtics, in unison, not finding a way to re-ignite Paul Pierce’s shooting streak once more before he picked up his fifth foul with eight minutes remaining.
At that point just two points separated these age-old rivals. If one had truly awoken from their coma and burst into life, it could have been so much more. But, by now, there was no danger of drifting off (except for a certain former NBA player who messaged me to say he was heading to bed before the finish – I won’t name names to spare his wife the embarrassment). Not with so much at stake. Not with Jeff Van Gundy having a rant on camera about baldness and cheap haircuts. You’ll be having nightmares about that one for months.
Boston will have more of them about Sasha Vujacic for at least the next 48 hours. With matters still evenly poised, they left the Slovene Machine open too often, and paid the price. The opportunity to take a 3-0 lead slipped through his fingers as the Celtics’ challenge slipped away as LA seized a 87-81 win.
The Series is alive. Beware the waking giant now. We have ourselves a Finals. To hell with jet lag. Coffee at the ready. Roll on Game 4.
- Good to hear that British Bulls star Luol Deng is working out in Florida ahead of national team training camp, and ahead of July 1’s open season on contract talks with Chicago and elsewhere. However, to the delight of those of us who have signed up to the ‘BG4GB campaign’, he has been putting the pressure on team-mate Ben Gordon to commit to playing for the land of his birthplace in this summer’s European Championship qualifiers.
“I have spoken to BG two weeks ago and he sounded like he really wanted to be a part of it,” revealed Deng in a conference call with journalists. “He said the most important thing right now is for him to sort out his contract with the Bulls. But even if he doesn't play this summer, I really believe Ben Gordon will play soon for the GB team.
“It will be great for us if he could make it this summer, but I also understand that he has never played for GB before and he might just be a little bit worried about his contract and taking care of that first. But whether he plays or not this summer, he told me he'll be in England when we play and that he'll be there.”
It will be interesting, however, to see what Deng and Gordon think of the unexpected appointment of Vinnie Del Negro as Bulls coach when it comes to deciding on their future.
Posted by Mark Woods on June 11, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
D remains key for Celtics
Apparently, one or two NBA teams have considered Boston Celtics’ assistant Tom Thibodeau for their head coaching vacancy.
Apparently, one or two NBA teams aren’t prepared to wait until the end of the Finals to give Thibodeau a decent look at their jobs.
Apparently, one or two NBA teams are nuts.
The C’s haven’t just contained the Los Angeles Lakers in the first two games of this season’s finals. For long, critical stretches, they’ve owned them. And it is Thibodeau, the in-house Minister of Defence on the home bench, who has funnelled Boston into a lean, mean, green fighting machine.
It was no accident that Doc Rivers tabbed the highly touted coaching lifer to join his bench this season after he lost his job in Houston as a consequence of Jeff Van Gundy’s axing. While with the Rockets, he helped fashion the Other Tenacious D from players best known from their ‘O’, working closely with Yao Ming to turn him from a defensive liability to at least neutral.
Rivers has a huge admiration for his newest cohort. “That's all Tom wants to do, every day - coach defense,” he told the Boston Globe. “He lives it, breathes it. He has an energy. We haven't changed a lot of our coverages, but we have more detail to them. Tom pays a greater attention to detail. And it was needed."
Bringing Kevin Garnett to Boston was always going to make the Celtics a more parsimonious outfit. However Thibodeau’s myriad experience around the league, first with Minnesota, then with Seattle, San Antonio, Philadelphia, New York, and latterly Houston, means he has a tight an insight as any into what might happen, when and where.
It has been the Celtics’ secret weapon, and nowhere has it been more potent than in the past four days. In Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers struggled to recreate the offensive rhythm that had been music to the ears of Phil Jackson in these playoffs. Plenty of movement, on and off the ball. The triangle offense executed seamlessly. Diligence on duty.
A plan torn up because of the way in which the hosts of these opening two encounters have devised a plan to nullify the Lakers and, in particular, Kobe Bryant. Denied any space to attack like humanity’s answer to the Black Mamba, denied outlets to share the load, denied any opportunity to settle comfortably into their habitual system, the Lakers star has been a huge disappointment so far.
This was tagged as a series between Boston’s defensive power and the scoring potency of LA. How Phil Jackson must wish he had some of Thibodeau’s savvy sitting to his left. The Lakers have been positively lethargic in trying to halt Boston’s forays, too many shots unchallenged, too many rebounds presented on a plate.
It’s an energy thing. Endeavour at one end of the court powering industry at the other. Having short-circuited the Lakers for three quarters of Game 2 and the final period of Game 1, it is no wonder that the momentum is undeniably in the favour of Rivers’ men as the Finals jet West for Game 3.
No wonder Bryant was fuming on the bench with Lakers down 81-59 late in third. Boston had been allowed to embark on a 13-0 run.
Unforgivable. But hardly a surprise given what had gone before. Bryant was as culpable as his colleagues. But the Celtics had squashed their heart and their life. Defibrillators were at the ready until complacency sunk in.
If this series is to go the distance, Jackson has to find a consistent way through Thibodeau’s plotting – and soon. Doing it for 12 minutes a night will not suffice. He must find a way to get Bryant open for more good shots, rather than be forced to settle for some of the absurdities thrown up in Beantown. And to restore the fluidity which carried the Lakers, so ominously past San Antonio in the Conference finals. It is not over yet. But it is now a hugely awkward road back into contention.
In the fourth stanza on Sunday, there was a stinging demonstration of what LA is capable of when Boston let their guard down. Too little, too late, ultimately, despite a three-point barrage which made Beantown sweat before the 108-102 win was sealed. But to reference the great gridiron coach, Vince Lombardi, offense may win games but defence wins championships.
Despite a mighty scare caused by the 31-9 run which brought the Lakers within two points late on, Boston is now but two victories away from their nadir. Defence has got them there. For the mastermind, it’s an easy verdict so far.
Nice job.
Posted by Mark Woods on June 6, 2008, 10:30 a.m. ET
Energy lost and found in Game 1
There was that incredible moment in the Garden, midway through the third quarter, when Paul Pierce emerged from the tunnel. The noise levels accelerated, a wave of green and white arose, and – five minutes after he had been carried gingerly off the famous parquet - hearts beat that bit easier as fears that the Celtics’ captain might have seen his NBA Finals ended almost before it began were alleviated. When Pierce then drained back to back three-pointers in the third quarter, it all exploded to the max. ‘Beat LA’ they chanted. We have ourselves a rivalry folks. And what a Finals it promises to be, based on the evidence presented in the first three quarters of Game 1. It wasn’t quite Willis Reed. But the emotion clearly turned the tie in the favour of the hosts, en route to a 98-88 victory. (Although, at this point, I’ll like to thank my cable company’s recording system for cutting off the recording of the game with five minutes left – never trusting that again!).
Typically, the spark wasn’t so much lit under the C’s offense. It keyed a D which held the Lakers to just 37 points in the second half. More critically still, they did a masterful job in holding Kobe Bryant in check. Just 24 points overall, 9 for 26 (including for 1 for 6 in the fourth), almost a non-factor at the very point when everyone might have expected him to seize control. "I had some great looks," Bryant said. "They just didn't stay down. I'll just have to pile it in with the other bad shooting games I've had and flush it and come back Game 2 and hopefully I get the same looks.” Strangely, he may have pre-empted his own struggles. Jeff Van Gundy made a good point in the television commentary about Bryant’s new-found approach as he passed up a jump shot in favour of passing to Pau Gasol in the lane. That was not necessarily a sign of extreme selflessness. What you have to remember, said JVG, was that “a year ago, he had Kwame Brown there.” Much missed, no doubt. But like any other player, you need to shoot in order to warm up your shot. Bryant’s hot hand is the Lakers’ principal weapon in this series. Game 2 in the Garden will see the same energy within. For LA to threaten, they’ll need to bring some of their own or face a hobble back home.
Posted by Mark Woods on June 6, 2008, 10:30 a.m. ET
Finals focus must be on present, not past
Growing up, it always had to be Celtics-Lakers. Not on screen, you understand. Those were the days of just four channels, when Internet was confined to top-secret US military bases (the ones where they kept the aliens, so I believe), and the concept of hopping over to watch a game as far-fetched as a conservative leading the Labour Party.
It was such a long, long time ago. And although those of my generation (whatever that is) will feel a nostalgic glow that the NBA’s two storied clubs are reuniting for the first time in 21 years in the Finals, no-one should overlook the fascination of the present by focusing their attentions, misty-eyed, on the past.
Make no mistake, while Kobe Bryant is a student of what has gone before, he is intent on placing this Lakers squad, his Lakers team, on the same pedestal as those of the recent and far-flung past. And for all the time that Kevin Garnett has spent lately shooting the breeze with Bill Russell and inhaling war stories from the living archives, history will provide no solace if his Celtics come up short. That’s how the Finals should be. Life in the present. Leaving it on the court. One game at a game. Clichés each but not without their subtle truths. Lose today, at least from Game Four onwards, and there may be no second chances tomorrow. Save energy, and there could be no outlet to set it free again.
The promise of a ticker tape parade. The intoxication of picking up the bauble. Many have hoped for it. Many greats have gone without. Dominique Wilkins never came so close. Charles Barkley never had another shot. Their solo records count for much but as an ensemble, they could never top the charts. What would they give for the tag of champion? Barkley, despite his recent pledge to refrain from wagers, would – you suspect - stake a lot on that gambit.
Look down the roster lists, and those who have supped the champagne before are in short supply. James Posey, a champ with Miami two years ago, may bring out his commemorative ring to show his Bostonian team-mates what four more victories might bring. As Magic and Larry said, just this week, the fact that Bryant – along with Derek Fisher - has raised the banner three times before will do the Lakers no harm at all.
Those who have not, thus, are in the majority. Garnett, a lion in this den, has waited 13 years for such an opportunity. No-one in the modern era has accomplished so much but earned so little. He lacks flash, the spark which delivers seconds of brilliance which sit long in the memory. Defence, intensity, selflessness are noble traits but they do not burn themselves indelibly. Being a victor on this grand stage is what will punch his ticket to the immortality which his talent merits.
Likewise for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, stars of the modern day who will forever sparkle, in Boston at least, should they restore lustre to the Green and the original Pride to Beantown. Right down to the end of the bench, they might never buy a drink again should Number 17 be captured.
Ditto for the Lakers in the chic boutique bars of Rodeo Drive. Luke Walton, a die-hard Celt on his youth, will be forever LA. Lamar Odom will be forgiven his foibles. Few will recall that Pau Gasol was ever a Grizzly (although, to be fair, it escaped many). Vladimir Radmanovic can do what Vlade Divac never managed. Spain and Serbia expect. While Bryant – now indisputably the finest of his epoque - will have no Shaq-sized spoils to share this time around.
He can divide the credit, though. "My teammates have done a great job of elevating their games. I shouldn't even call them team-mates. We're like brothers because we're all that close. So nothing else matters right now.” The past, as he underlines, is the past.
It will take their all. Gasol will need to produce the kind of super-human form he brings to Spain to deny Garnett. Radmanovic, similarly, to thwart Pierce, and Odom to repel Kendrick Perkins. Somehow, in unison, Boston must limit Bryant as best they can. Doing so will impact hugely on whether they can have a genuine shot at coming out on top.
That it is Lakers-Celtics, Boston versus LA, will only fuel the fires which surround this volcanic eruption. But not on the floor. There is ignition enough there, given the competitive fires which burn fiercely on both sides.
Michael Cooper, the Lakers forward of that eighties era, was asked once to define the Celtics. He told The LA Times: “They were the Muhammed Alis of basketball.”
This time, it is Ali against Ali, two heavy-weight sluggers ready for the scrap. The bell is ready to go. Celtic-Lakers, as it ever was.
Entirely new legends, however, are waiting to be written for the last men standing.
Posted by Mark Woods on June 4, 2008, 5:00 p.m. ET
Honesty pays off in the long run
So it WAS a foul! When Derek Fisher bumped Brent Barry amid his last-gasp game leveller in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, there was a momentary protest from San Antonio but then resignation. These things happen all the time, and they can go either way.
But then, surprise, the league turned round and declared it should have been a whistle, giving Barry – an ace free throw shooter – the opportunity to force OT and potentially see the Spurs escape the 3-1 deficit they now rest in. "With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul call should have been made," league spokesman Tim Frank said.
What I like about what has transpired is two-fold.
One: The NBA’s referees still have an honesty issue for well-known reasons. If they had blown up for a foul on Fisher, there would inevitably have been some folk out there wondering if, just maybe, there was something untoward. Not that it should have stopped them making a decision but the last thing the league really needs this season is an end of game, decisive, official conspiracy.
Two: There was a mistake, and it was admitted to. Now I’ve watched the incident a bunch of times and I don’t think the contact affected Barry’s shot attempt, which should really predicate whether it was an irrefutable foul or not. To the letter of the law, it was. The NBA’s overlords agree. But in confirming their fallibility, it means there can be no gripes or moans. C’est la vie.
The Spurs are down 3-1. And it’s not because of a whistle. As Barry affirmed: "That play was not where the game was lost." No crying foul, it was because the champs were simply out-played.
Posted by Mark Woods on May 29, 2008, 11:00 a.m. ET
The Spurs need an X (or Oz) Factor
My buddy Scott is Australia’s answer to Manu Ginobili. At least, he tries his best. Whether darting for Darroch, or bruising for the Basketeers, he doesn’t mind hurling himself into traffic to the aid of the cause. Maybe it’s just because he’s ‘Stralian. After all, if you lived in a country with the ten deadliest species on the planet (ish), you’d probably be ready to move pretty darn fast at a second’s notice. Unless your name is Andrew Bogut, of course.
The San Antonio Spurs need a large slice of that Antipodean spirit at the moment. Not just a dash of Manu Mayhem. But from every single guy on their roster if they want to dig themselves out of a 3-1 hole to the Lakers. It’s not that the Alamo’s finest are letting standards slip, or that the ageing process has taken an inevitable hold. It’s just that, dare say it, their well-oiled magnificence has become just a tad predictable. And the new kids on the Los Angeles Block have duly capitalised, knowing exactly what to expect.
That’s what happens when you’re as good as the Spurs have been, for so long. They’ve been gold standard of consistency for so long that when they slip – as has happened more than once in these playoffs – it becomes all the more noteworthy. But more than a regression in their play, could it be that their opponents have simply debunked the mythology?
Tony Parker has been copping much of the blame. But if you look at his statistics, the 2007 Finals MVP has been better in this post-season than ever before. Scoring (22.8) up. Assists (6.2) up. Field goal percentage (.496) up. All career highs. Likewise, for his Argentine cohort, he is scoring more (a whole 3.5 ppg higher than any previous campaign) while averaging more rebounds and assists. They are still vying with Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton for the title of the best backcourt in the biz. Of the Big Three, Tim Duncan is the only one whose numbers have dipped but anyone notching over 19 points and 11 boards can hardly be described as ebbing away. Statistics matter only so much.
It just seems as though the gap between the Spurs and the rest has narrowed. The Lakers, with their acutely precise passing and movement, and their tireless work ethic and hunger, replicate so much of their rivals’ formula for success. Despite the individual brio of Kobe Bryant, has any Phil Jackson squad ever been so unified?
However, it would be dangerous to hand the Lakers the West crown just yet. San Antonio’s gunslingers will have a few bullets still in reserve. All they need is to shake it up and inject a touch of the unexpected. Which, as my Aussie chum might say, would make it a fair go.
- Don’t forget you can now get daily video highlights of the play-offs, via the BBC Sport website while every game of the Finals will be screened live on Five. Plus you can read my regular NBA column at The Guardian.
Posted by Mark Woods on May 28, 2008, 11:00 a.m. ET
Now not the time for Celtics to splinter
Testing times in Beantown.
Ray Allen is slumping. Kevin Garnett is on unfamiliar ground. Paul Pierce is experiencing déjà vue. What hope for the Celtics? Having climbed from the troughs to the peaks in just 12 months, it has almost been over-looked that this particular crew remains in its infancy, still developing its identity, still proving its mettle – not just to us, but also to each other.
We saw that in Game 7 against Atlanta, where a wobble became concrete. So too, against Cleveland where the jitters turned to stone cold assassination. From adversity comes strength in numbers, and such escapades will only have forged the Bostonian bond.
But here sit the Celtics of 2008 with huge expectation but also immense uncertainty. Yet to win on the road in these playoffs, what accomplishments were accrued in the regular season now mean very little. Like Rangers, edged out within a week in the Uefa Cup and SPL, merely coming close to greatness isn’t quite enough. It ain’t how you start, it’s how you finish, and Doc Rivers’ men will claim little credit if they fall to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Dropping Game 2 at the Garden has done their chances no good whatsoever. It was an uncertain showing, mistakes were made, and fallibility proven. Rivers is in virgin territory too and he will have to earn every bit of his corn not that the Celtics’ plans to become the first team to reach an NBA Finals without a road win is no longer an advantageous pursuit. Allen, so reliable for his entire career, has suddenly misplaced his aim. A shooter without it is damaged goods. Confidence seeps away with every miss.
Garnett has much to prove, if only to himself. There is a legacy at stake here, one which will tag him as a winner, as well as the great player he undoubtedly is. Having toiled for 12 years in Minnesota, this is his time. The clock ticks.
Pierce is in a similar position but without the burden of the past. We already know he cannot carry an entire roster on his back. Now, he shouldn’t have to anyway. He is playing his part in the ensemble.
But if there is one key trait of (cue The Palace’s PA announcer) Dee-troit basketball, it is that familiarity breeds not contempt, but unity. Against such singular foes, now is not the time for Boston to stand still.
It is about taking strides forward while hope still very much remains.
Posted by Mark Woods on May 23, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
Where will D’Antoni’s chips fall?
Two teams. One dice.
High stakes are at play on the tables which are seeing Mike D’Antoni roll from the Phoenix Suns to the New York Knicks to become the head coach of the most dysfunctional franchise since … erm, the Flint Tropics.
It’s a gamble from Suns General Manager, Steve Kerr, just one year removed from his switch from television booth to front office. More even than his mid-season trade for Shaquille O’Neal, which failed to pay dividends as his side rolled out of the playoffs at the hands of San Antonio.
Here is a coach who, by common consent, shook up the accepted practice of the post-millennium NBA and thrilled not only its own fans but also admirers around the world with a frenetic brand of basketball. Eight Seconds Or Less … but More. It failed to win a championship but the former Milan playcaller won hearts by maximising his offense, even if it left gaps at the other end.
That was, reportedly, a dichotomy which drove a wedge between him and Kerr. Hence why, despite going 253-136 with the Suns over 4+ years (the fourth-best winning percentage in the league over that time span), a parting of the ways has been facilitated.
New York, eager to re-build in the post-Isiah era, was only too glad to snap him up.
Yet they are hedging their bets too. The Knicks, downtrodden and forgotten, need to re-tool to restore some lustre to the Garden. D’Antoni has players in situ who can run the floor but to take NYC’s finest to the only place that counts, the Finals, he will need to slowly build more with less than he had when he stepped up to the lead chair in Phoenix.
Donnie Walsh, the new Knicks GM, will somehow need to dig his club out from under the financial millstone left by his predecessors and find a way to start anew.
Whether D’Antoni can be the man for all those seasons is yet to be proven. For him, the move is a gamble too, despite the hefty paycheque for his services. An international reputation as one of the best comes with him. Many, though, have travelled with high hopes to New York, only to find their dreams and ambitions shattered in Gotham’s unforgiving light.
Playoff thoughts
Just how good is Chris Paul? Even though Gregg Popovich’s tactical adjustments may yet see San Antonio nudge past New Orleans and return, once again, to the Western Conference Finals, there is no doubt that Paul has become a genuine star in the league. Any second thoughts about him being on the USA Olympic squad should surely be dismissed tout de suite.
How fragile are the Celtics? Unable to win on the road this post-season, a touch of mental fallibility has appeared. The best of the regular season suddenly looks beatable by a Cleveland side that is, once again, overcoming its deficiencies to excel when it matters.
How crafty are the Pistons? Orlando are not near ready to compete for a title but Detroit are shaping up to make a run all the way to the very end by playing hard every night.
And just how good a series is the Lakers-Jazz? I still believe Utah will prevail in seven but with Kobe upholding his MVP tag (take a lesson, Dirk), it is going to be a fascinating duel to the finish.
Posted by Mark Woods on May 13, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
Don’t miss CP3-oh!
Do you remember that incredible move that Chris Paul made in the post-season, 12 months ago, when he swept past three opponents, took the ball to the hole, and then drove his team to yet another emphatic victory?
Of course, you didn’t. Never happened.
Do you recall that moment in CP3’s rookie year when he tore up the league and anointed himself the MVP-in-waiting, earning the affection of Moms and their daughters across America with his easy charm?
Me neither. But you might be able to put that one down to the amnesiacal effects of the ageing process.
The truth is, before this campaign, we didn’t really know much about the New Orleans playmaker par excellence, even if we’d gained a certain appreciation of just how good he’d already become.
Those days are over. Anonymity, no more.
Paul, my choice for the MVP bauble this season, was only just denied by a superlative campaign from Kobe Bryant (an overdue victor of the prize, in any case). But if there has been a better performer, night after night, in the past six months, then I’ve not noticed him. The 2007-08 campaign has, in every season, been Paul’s coming out party. And the good news is that the festivities have only just begun.
The inexorable rise of Number Three is all the more remarkable because we really didn’t see it coming. We knew LeBron would be good. Really good. We were fairly certain Yao would make his mark, one way or the other. Paul snuck up on us when we weren’t looking like a friendly sprite bearing gifts. And surprises are always more fun than the fully expected.
(OK, there’s the small matter of Darko Milicic and Andrew Bogut, but it would be no fun if GMs didn’t get it wrong occasionally.)
What has propelled Paul into centre stage from off-Broadway as an over (82) night success, is his accessibility. He’s not that much taller than your average bear. He’s erudite. There’s a ready smile. And when the All-Star Game came to the Big Easy in February, he understand the importance of his role as host and point man.
No wonder that when opponents come to town, they’re often to be found at his pad, hanging out, shooting the breeze, putting their Size 26 feet up. He is the all-inclusive guy in a way that Bryant, James and their Millionaire Boys Club can never be. Like Dwight Howard, he is just what the league needs to maintain its return to the mainstream. If only the Hornets were coming to London, rather than the Nets. Cheap flights to Barcelona, anyone?
But don’t like Paul’s warm ‘n’ fuzzy exterior be confused with fallibility on court. If you’ve seen any of the opening two games of the Western Conference semi-finals with San Antonio, you’ll have witnessed a young man on a mission. Dallas were cast aside, despite the forecasts of the so-called experts (mea culpa). And against the Spurs, there’s a real danger that not only will the defending champs be sent packed but that the most breath-taking performer on the floor won’t be a certain Argentine Duracell Bunny.
Having broken the genie out of the bottle, there’s no putting it back in now. Mere statistics don’t quite suffice to show basketball has a new superstar in its midst. He might be as close as you’ll get to an ordinary guy among the elite.
But once you’ve seen what he can do, you’ll not forget it in a hurry.
Euro thoughts
With CSKA Moscow picking up the Euroleague title in Madrid last weekend, the most significant news was the NBA prospects of two of those involved.
The news that Ettore Messina had rebuffed an offer from Barcelona to remain as the Russians’ coach was a blow for those who hoped he might try his luck in the NBA. However, David Anderson could be bound for the States in the summer and he is, undoubtedly, capable of making an impact.
London has been tabbed as a likely host of the Euro Final Four in 2010 or 2011, something which could pave the way for a NBA regular season game ahead of the Olympic Games. The 02 Arena, sources within British basketball tell me, is to host GB against Czech Republic later this year in the Eurobasket qualifiers. All of which is building momentum with Ben Gordon’s availability for Britain becoming ever more probable.
Posted by Mark Woods on May 9, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
Awards choices are no-brainer
It's awards season in the NBA with the ballots cast and the envelopes now sealed. Having marked my crosses in the relevant boxes last weekend, I've made up my mind who I think deserves to pick up a gong and who should go home with just a goodie bag.My column in The Guardian from today sets out my choices for the prizes. If you agree or disagree, feel free to comment.
Posted by Mark Woods on April 22, 2008, 4:30 p.m. ET
First Round is The Other Lottery
The NBA - where amazing happens. Such as the Atlanta Hawks making the post-season while Golden State doesn't. Or that hideous Boston Celtics team, which was just beginning its summer holidays 12 months ago, turning into a contender. Or even where the Phoenix Suns are meeting the San Antonio Spurs again. The NBA - where nothing is impossible.So, with the caveat that predictions are thus rendered futile and open to later ridicule, here's my take on the first round of this year's Playoffs.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
L.A. Lakers vs. Denver
The Intrigue:The Lakers are back. The Nuggets are in… but only
just. There's no D in Denver (apart from the aforementioned one). But
there are two As in the re-crowned Kings of Hollywood. Kobe and Pau
trump AI and Melo. And no-one wants the possibility of a Celtics-Lakers
final spoiled this soon.
The Prediction: Lakers in 5
New Orleans vs. Dallas
The Intrigue:Everyone Loves Chris. And the Hornets. You bet
they're feeling grumpy in Charlotte now. Everybody's favourite other
side have put the good into feelgood but CP3 earning himself some MVP
love in the process. Countering that, Dirk's not been feeling the love.
He's not happy about it. And the Mavs are starting to look
wunderbar again.
The Prediction:Mavericks in 7
San Antonio vs. Phoenix
The Intrigue:Erm, have you forgotten 2007 already, when the Suns
felt they were the victims of the greatest
conspiracy since Watergate in the Conference semis? A fading Shaq
might just pull off one last hurrah but if he doesn't, can we finally
anoint Tim Duncan as the best BIG of this era? In that case, one SVP
(Series, etc..) to Shawn Marion.
The Prediction:Spurs in 6
Utah vs. Houston
The Intrigue: People forget how good the Jazz are. Carlos
Boozer's the only guy to go 20 and 10 over the past two seasons. Andrei
K (it rhymes) still has an All Star within. Deron Williams is the best
point not called Chris. Houston has no Yao. T-Mac still hasn't been out
of the first round. C'mon.
The Prediction:Jazz in 5
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston vs. Atlanta
The Intrigue:Erm, none. The Celtics are really good. The Hawks aren't. Unless you missed the past six months. It's about time they stopped allowing D-League teams into the Playoffs on the grounds of unnecessary cruelty.
The Prediction:Celtics in 4
Detroit vs. Philadelphia
The Intrigue:All credit to The Sixers for even being here. The
New AI has led an astonishing post-All Star run and shown just how good
a coach Mo Cheeks is. The Pistons never usually wake up until the
semi-finals at least but they better not sleep on Philly.
The Prediction:Pistons in 6
Orlando vs. Toronto
The Intrigue:The Magic have a nice unit, an awesome young
centre, a now-finally-appreciated coach, and they're making all the
right noises. All they need is a series win to validate some of the
heavy investments their owner, Rich DeVos, has made of late. Toronto
aren't as good as last year. Their Italian stallion has been a mare. But
can't wait for Bosh v Howard.
The Prediction:Magic in 7
Cleveland vs. Washington
The Intrigue:Washington (the dumbest team in the history of civilisation,
according to Charles Barkley) wanted the Cavs. And now they've got em,
again. Remember last year? Cleveland won. Yet the newly spirited
Wizards are suddenly looking all potent again with Gilbert The Grape as
their assassin off the bench. Suddenly, all those mid-season Cavs trades
look a bigger gamble than ever. Ben Wallace averaging ten boards a game?
He better.
The Prediction:LeBron in 6
PS. Farewell to the mighty Anaheim Arsenal after they just missed out on the D-League playoffs (OK, by a while). Never mind. Next year will be Arsenal's year. No, seriously. OK, maybe.
Posted by Mark Woods on April 18, 2008, 2:30 p.m. ET
Good no longer enough for transformed Lakers
When the Los Angeles Lakers brought Derek Fisher back to Holywood last summer, it was because they felt they needed an old hand on the tiller to push them from average to good.When Mitch Kupchak traded for Pau Gasol just before the trading deadline, it was because he felt they had a shot to be really good.
The question is, has the Lakers GM done enough to make them contenders, which only comes about with being great?
As the play-offs approach, the answer is possibly. Maybe. Arguably. But not definitely. Currently third in the Western Conference standings, with the joint best road record, and a legitimate shot at earning home court through the first couple of rounds, this edition of the Lakers might not yet be at the level of its immediate predecessor, the one which won three consecutive Finals and came up short in a fourth before being scattered to the wind in a Shaq-sized explosion.
There are glimpses, however, that the disparity between then and now is thinning all the time. With Kobe Bryant having his best ever campaign. With Gasol showing America (as in the large chunk outside Memphis) what we in Europe have known for years - that's he is a multi-faceted, hugely competitive star. With a roster which is working for each other under a head coach who has a fair idea of how to get everyone on the same page. And all this, with Andrew Bynum, their promising young big, sitting in street clothes, itching to return in time for the post-season push.
You can picture a Joker-esque grin on the face of Jack Nicholson right now. And of every Laker fan, each time Bryant jets down the court knowing he can probably do what he likes, no matter who is in his path. Omnipotence made all the more extraordinary by what went before. How easy it is to forget that, just 12 months ago, he was telling even the local kids that he wanted to be anywhere but there, reduced to a very public begging act for the only team he's ever known (save for 5 minutes in Charlotte) to shape up or ship him out.
Oh ye of little faith. But his lack of confidence was not singular. Back last autumn, my fellow NBA blogger and Lakers nut, Flea, begged for this: "I am always hoping that they will get better and make good decisions and tap into the magic at all costs." Hope springs eternal, my friend.
There was zero chance that Kobe was just going to sit and tolerate mediocrity while pouting like the kid who wasn't allowed that extra chocolate bar. Emotion has always been an inherent part of his game. It's been mainly hidden on the interior but no-one gets to be this good within a will to push themselves which is woven into their very DNA. Having tasted the good life, he was criticised for wanting to sip champagne again. And having talked the talk, he has made the necessary sacrifices to underline his own contribution. Two years ago, when the Lakers toiled to a 45-37 record, he put up over 27 shots again. Now it's down to a shade under 21. He's asked others to share his load. And in turn, they've earned his trust to bear it.
It's rarely been fashionable to like Bryant, just as LA's golden boys have always been a touch too chic to truly adore. It's getting easier, principally because they've earnt their place among the elite this time with graft, on and off the parquet. Fallibilities remain but it is an endearing trait.
NBA Championships don't come through pure grit and labour, however. It needs a splash of greatness in abundance, combined with a dash of fortune and a hint of savvy. Bryant and Gasol make up a bedrock of the first. To follow the rules of Gary Player, the Lakers have worked to make their own concoction of the second. And with Jackson and Fisher back in tandem, there is ample of the third.
This year might be soon for it all to come together in a genuine title tilt. San Antonio and Boston look just that little readier to make it all the way. Where is the future brightest, though? Having gone from average to extremely good in such a short space of time, Los Angeles could be forgiven if it experienced some dizziness. Whatever happens in the play-offs, there can be no talk of break-ups or bitterness, just the excitement of the greatness which lies close to hand.
- Speaking to Great Britain and Everton guard Richard Midgley on my new weekly Podcast reminded me of the impact some Brits have had, in their own individual ways in the USA. But as the Chicago Bulls season stutters to its conclusion, will it be the last time our two 'home' boys of Luol Deng and Ben Gordon play together in tandem? It could have huge benefits if both continue for club and country in tandem (if Gordon does commit to the land of his birth) but with both seeking new contracts this summer, the odds on that are long.
Posted by Mark Woods on April 11, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
All to play for in Wild n Wacky West
Having played 75 games this season, at a .693 clip, the San Antonio Spurs might have expected more. They've the best defence in the West (Boston and Detroit have a better average but let's be fair, they get to play Miami four times). The regular season is almost done. It can’t get much better.Mere statistics? Sure. But here's a better one. With just a handful of games left before the play-offs begin, the Spurs haven't clinched a division title yet. Neither, even, have the New Orleans Hornets, who narrowlysit on top of the Conference, having played once less. Over a frenetic weekend, six spots were all confirmed but there will be little time to catch a breath before the real competition begins. And that might just make be setting up the most open run to the Finals ever.
One team out in the Wild and Crazy West is going to be majorly disappointed in less than ten days from now. Only three clubs in the (L)East (Boston, Detroit and Orlando) are on pace for 50 or more wins while there could be one unlucky loser, a few time zones back, who hits the magic number and still ends up with an extended summer vacation. Right now, Atlanta, with a .468 record, could be playing in May. For years, David Stern has been predicting that the wheel will turn and parity restored. Don't ask him for your Lottery numbers. Never has the balance of power been so lop-sided.
Which takes us, enthusiastically, to the post-season. Home court may never be so valuable. Or count for so little. If today's seedings held, New Orleans, with zero play-off experience in recent times, would be up against Denver, who have a fine history of knocking off top seeds. San Antonio would meet Dallas, a Texan tussle which could fall either way. The Lakers, who have Pau Gasol back just in time and Andrew Bynum to follow, have become the fashionable pick for the lot. But who'd be loitering in wait? Perhaps those streaky Houston Rockets, who have to win in the first round sometime. And as for Utah against Phoenix, the Shaq factor can't be under-estimated, even if that's a trait which hangs around the Jazz like last night's chips in the bin.
Too close to call, too hard to predict, too enticing for words. And frustrating that, for once, 82 nights of endeavour will bring such a minimal reward. Sure, there'll be three shiny divisional banners to hang from the rafters. Woo-pee-do. It's all about the rings, and - disregarding the Nuggets - any seed from 1 through 7 is good enough to merit a place in the Finals come June.
Boston and Detroit might thrive if they were transplanted East. Orlando wouldn't even make the top eight. And when it comes to the ultimate showdown, only those big two - plus wildcard Cleveland - has a positive record against the big bad bullies from the opposing coast. If the regular season is, as someone once noted, the longest warm-up in memory, the West will be battle-tested by confronting quality opposition day after day. Squaring off with the Heat, is like Manchester United using Stevenage Borough as their tune-up for the Champions League final. Not much use.
It makes for a frenetic fortnight ahead and then two months of unpredictable, unmissable action. Worth a flutter on the Celtics to be there in the Finals? Absolutely. Forecasting their foe? Why try, right now, when your pick could still end up on the beach rather in the bracket?
- It was intriguing to note Ben Gordon's inclusion in the provisional Great Britain squad for the summer's Eurobasket qualifiers. Will BG pledge his future for the country of his birth and join Chicago Bulls team-mate Luol Deng in the mix? I suspect not, at least not yet. But good luck to the ambassadors from British Performance Basketball who, I'm told, will meet with him next week to twist his arm. Free fish n chips for life might just swing it.
PS. You can now get my weekly Basketball 24/7 Podcast on iTunes or online here.
Posted by Mark Woods on April 7, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
Heat might still scorch by London date
The worst kept secret since David Beckham was spotted waiting for a telegram from The Queen is out. It will be the Miami Heat squaring off with the New Jersey Nets at London's 02 Arena on October 12, the second successive year in which the UK will stage an exhibition game as part of the EA Europe Live tour.That inevitability was affirmed, as The Herald first revealed earlier this month, as a consequence of the positive reaction from British audiences to last year's encounter between Minnesota and Boston which drew a capacity crowd to the Docklands and to the strategic importance which the league is placing on a country which is home to both their European HQ and the 2012 Olympics.
"Our third consecutive year of NBA Europe Live is another step in our ongoing effort to bring the excitement of the NBA to our growing fan base," said NBA Commissioner David Stern. "Through the support of our partners, including EA Sports, the Heat, Nets, Hornets and Wizards will compete and extend our global commitment to community service in four European cities where basketball's popularity is increasing."
Hence in addition, there will, I understand, be a chance to get a slice of the NBA action around the UK during the summer months with a mini-tour in several major British cities. So there's no excuse to pass up on the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Association.
But what of the teams involved in the capital? Much like 12 months ago, there will be the odd moan and groan that these are not two line-ups who will be coming off glorious campaigns, filled with happy play-off memories. Both will be in prime re-building mode this summer, with Heat coach Pat Riley yet to absolutely affirm that he will be on the bench come the autumn, and the Nets likely to do some shaking up in the post-Kidd era.
Yet, as in politics, seven months is a long time in basketball. Sure I'm anticipating a jaunt to Berlin or Barcelona to have a peek at the Hornets and Wizards. However look back at the Celtics of 2007. Scrubs when their London date was booked, they could have been lined up for the West End and billed as overnight successes following the revamp of their cast. The UK had one of the first glimpses of what was to come.
Miami, bar something extraordinary, will bring D-Wade - likely Olympic medallist (no rash predictions of gold) and Euro jersey seller supreme. "I was glad to hear that London and Paris are involved and hopefully I will be able to visit such historic places like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower." Although, even basketballing royalty might struggle to get an invite for tea with HM.
The Nets might have Vince, who may even do a dunk in warm-up for old times sake. Who knows? The Heat may be trying to end an eleven game winning streak by then. What advice would Shaq have for that? Plus there's always some spice in pre-season contests overseas, even if the result is quickly forgotten when the real action begins.
Ok, it's not quite like a court-side seat at the Finals. But it beats watching it on TV. And there's a good chance the two combatants will be improved. At least, in the Heat's case, the only way is up.
Posted by Mark Woods on March 27, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
Supporting Arsenal is a Guilty D-Lite
The thing about covering basketball, or any sport, is that you - in
theory - duly cede your right to be a fan. Reporting on the game,
on a team, on an event, disqualifies you automatically from leaping up
and down like a loon, merrily quaffing pints of beer in your seat, or
rising to applaud at the merest sniff of excitement. Even if there are
dishonourable exceptions to every rule.
Which isn't to say, journalists aren't fanatics, that we don't revel in the highs and lows or those priceless moments of genius. Or that I've never sat in the press seats and felt euphoria after a basket or goal has hit the net. It's just that decorum dictates a professional detachment, or at least some discretion in savouring the occasion.
However at this juncture, I am - gladly, overtly and knowingly - going to wrap myself in the colours of my new favourite team (at least in North America … once a Star, always a Star). I'm going to proudly salute their every victory, moan in defeat, blame the refs and question the coach's sanity if we miss the play-offs. I've acquired the jersey and it will be worn with gusto in public places, pledging my allegiance without a hint of shame. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, shout it loud … "Up the Arsenal".
No, this slice of cyberpie hasn't suddenly jumped ship to talking about the Beautiful Game (even if there are few more scenic sights than Cesc Fabregas pass or the prospect of dumping Liverpool out of the Champions League). This die-hard Gooner has finally landed himself a club to root for across The Pond. And there will no bigger supporter of the mighty Anaheim Arsenal than I in the whole United Kingdom.
In truth, until I was wandering through the Jam Session ahead of last month's All Star Game in New Orleans, I was unaware that, in a parallel universe known as suburban LA, there existed a D-League delicacy that I could adopt as my very own. Sure, Great Britain assistant coach Nick Nurse is at the helm of the Iowa Energy and quasi-Brit Kelenna Azubuike paid his dues with the Forth Worth Flyers before earning the call-up to Golden State. But this seemed so … D-List. Until now.
Suddenly, the Anaheim Convention Center has become the Emirates of the West. I might even christen head coach Reggie Geary, The Professor. And it can only be a matter of time before the other Arsenal start snaffling up the best young French talent. They're already among the most international squads in the D-League with Japanese jersey-selling magnet Yuta Tabuse (think Gael Clichy), and Nigerian giant Ejike Ugboaja (California's answer to Emmanuel Abebayor … in that he seems to average about three shots a game, scoring one). There's even a reclamation project from Greece in Derrick Dial. Forget this nonsense about bringing through young prospects for the benefit of our three NBA affiliates Orlando, Atlanta and the LA Clippers. We want to win. And we want it now.
I'm going to analyse every move like it were Ashley Cole's social diary. Why did Mike Gansey only play 6:55 in our loss to the Sioux Falls Skyforce? He shot 3 for 5 for goodness sake!! What do you mean you've traded Ivan Johnson to Rio Grand Valley? Who the heck is Mike Efevberha? It feels like when Thierry went to Barca. Except, we all now how that's worked out. All we need now is ten wins from our last ten games and we sneak past the pesky Utah Flash. A run that would be just as welcome in the Premier League, if that's not being greedy.
How could you not fall for a competition that has teams nick-named Mad Ants, D-Fenders, Thunderbirds? They are Go, as far as I'm concerned. And I don't know what happened in Tulsa in '66 or Colorado in '14. But it's got to be more exciting than watching Derby County.
So, hoops-loving Gooners of the world (Luol Deng, included) unite and let's all sing 'Good ol' Arsenal'. And if you decide the D-League's not for you, there's always the option of supporting an NBA team. The one, of course, facing Spurs.
Posted by Mark Woods on March 18, 2008, 4:00 p.m. ET
For title hopefuls, Spurs the ultimate obstacle
We now have our first two confirmed play-off finalists in Boston and Detroit, and soon the trickle will become a torrent, particularly in the Eastern Conference. It shouldn't be long before Orlando joins this season's End of Year Club while the chances of Cleveland and Toronto breaking a sweat in stamping their card are as remote as Gordon Brown wearing a matching Dunfermline Athletic baseball cap and a scarf.In the West, it's a more complicated picture. Just eight victories separate the Los Angeles Lakers (45-19) in first place with the Denver Nuggets (37-26) in ninth. Sacramento, two places down, will probably be the next to be effectively eliminated from the chase toward the post-season and while Portland has shocked everyone, even themselves, it all looks to be a case of nine into eight not going.
But what of June? Three months hence, we will likely have arrived into the furnace of the NBA Finals. As we've seen in recent years, what happens in the regular campaign is no accurate barometer of how hot a team will be when temperatures rise and torching examinations are expected rather than intermittent.
Statistics, statistics and damn lies, they say, particularly when politicians are involved. But one thing looks certain. This year, as every time of late, there is one team which will have their say in the destination of the title. One team who know exactly what is required to lift that bauble and pop the champagne. And San Antonio are making everyone else feel twitchy, no matter where their rivals presently sit in the standings.
The Spurs are at their utmost when the lights are on and the pace is down. When others legs slow up and the heart beats that bit faster. If Tim Duncan's face is all business and little pleasure, on the court at least, it reflects the approach of the reigning champions. All work, and great play, with just one focus in their minds.
Every year, by January, there are the doubters. San Antonio have rarely started as well as they finish. Slowly but surely, they make their march towards the top, and their recent 11 game winning run would have merited more mention if it were not for Houston's extraordinary 19-0 (and counting) spell.
But it should. Gregg Popovich has got the rest of the league where he wants them and the Lakers glancing nervously in their rear view mirror. Duncan is his usual consistent self. Tony Parker's form has been restored in parallel with his healthy. Manu Ginobili has forced himself into MVP consideration. And they are likely to gain extra help if, as expected, Brent Barry re-joins after clearing waivers.
It isn't as though a championship is pre-destined, not with the Celtics back on a roll with Kevin Garnett's return. According to Pop, speaking the wake of last week's ugly loss to the Nuggets, "even though we seem to be situated really well in the West, this team isn't as good as last year's team. As we've said before, we've got significant improvement we have to make, both physically and mentally, to contend for the championship."
Then again, the Spurs head coach has always been the last to talk up his club's chances. So let's do it for him. San Antonio remains the benchmark for all pretenders. And until someone wrestles the title out of their grip, they remain the one to beat.
Posted by Mark Woods on March 12, 2008, 10:00 a.m. ET
China, not Rockets, worrying most for Yao
Sorry, can't resist.Houston, we got a problem.
More than that, China has a problem. And when that happens, it's never good news.
Yao Ming's broken foot is horrendous news for the Rockets after the incredulous surge up the Western standings to within a Size 24 shoe's distance from toppling the Los Angeles Lakers at the summit. Suddenly, from being a team which was primed for another first round blow-out, after 12 consecutive victories they looked like a side which - despite the numerous in-Conference trades in recent weeks - could maybe contend for the title which their giant star has long coveted.
Now, it's all Tracy McGrady's show. Which, as history has demonstrated, is probably not going to see the Rockets unfurling another Championship banner come June time. While they're close to the top of the pile, they also sit perilously near to the point where play-off places ebb and flow with every defeat. And keeping that challenge going without a fulcrum who was averaging 22 points and 10.8 rebounds will be extraordinarily tough.
Last year, Houston reached the post-season with Ming troubled by a fractured tibia. The only problem? They lacked the necessary momentum to make any sustained push and coach Jeff Van Gundy paid the price. Now, under Rick Adelman, the elusive formula has been found - only for its key ingredient to disappear like a vapour up the funnel.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is confident his project will not simply fall off the rails. And looking at his club's schedule, they should still have enough in reserve to make the play-offs. Time will tell.
But what of Yao? It's likely he'll undergo surgery as soon as possible, which will involve four months on the sidelines. "We're hopeful that Yao Ming can represent his country in the Olympics," Morey said. "But at this point, all we can be is hopeful. We know it's important to Yao Ming and the Rockets that he can represent his country."
Important? Try vital. One thing is certain. If Yao can walk by August, he'll be on the court in Beijing for his nation's Olympiad. His entire NBA odyssey, the permission from the Chinese authorities to head Stateside to pursue a career in the land of capitalism, it was all to prepare him for the moment when he would walk out, in his homeland, as the symbol of a modern country, one able to match itself against the best of the rest of the world. It was his destiny. The grand plan. One which is now in jeopardy.
With Yao, China is a first round exit waiting to happen in the Games. It might still be with him on board. But being in America has toughened up the shy, introspective young men since he left Shanghai for Texas. Medal or not, this should have been his finest hour. On a personal basis, you know he'll be hurting, not just in his foot, but for those on both sides of the Pacific he'll feel he's letting down.
So Houston, yes, they got a problem.
But China has a disaster on its hands. And with a billion sets of hands holding their breath, the heat is on Yao to heal - and heal fast. Posted by Mark Woods on February 27, 2008, 10:55 a.m. ET
Rolling The Dice but who'll win out?
The bar has been raised. That much is certain.Trades have been made with success, not mediocrity, in mind. Take that as read.
Anything less than a Championship will leave several GMs and coaches - plus numerous fans - mightily disheartened. Bet your house on that.
Never before have so many dice been thrown in quick succession in a gambit to bring home the hardware in a frenetic fortnight's spell in which the West, at times, resembled a busy afternoon at Sotheby's.
"What will I get for Pau Gasol? "Any advance on Kwame Brown, Jarvis Crittenton and two first round picks?
"Going once. Going twice. Sold …. A pup to the Grizzlies."
Anyone who bought shares in telephone companies must be sitting on a bundle now, with lines burning hot in the NBA's version of Deal Or No Deal. There were more trades that went through than even speculation could have forecast, none longer than Jason Kidd to Dallas, the discussion for which may have begun shortly before he left the Mavs the first time, or so it seemed. Unlike most years however, few were made for long term gain. It's win or bust, now or never for so many of those who rang the changes, a chain reaction which started in LA and Memphis and eventually lit a match under several rosters considered in need of an urgent upgrade.
Will it pay off and make the GM concerned look like a genius? Or will it be a move which, for years to come, will have folks creasing with mirth and cursing the name of the dealer involved. Here's the gamble-ometer rating for all the major moves.
ATLANTA HAWKS
Heading out: Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Sheldon Williams, Lorenzen Wright, 2008 second-round pick.
Jetting in: Mike Bibby.
Risk Factor: Minimal. The Hawks are outside the play-off spots anyway so it's a win-win. Bibby may not have much in the tank, or might provide veteran leadership. Either way, Billy Knight is no more safe on the block than he was before.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Heading out: Primoz Brezec, Walter Herrmann.
Jetting in: Nazr Mohammed.
Risk Factor: Minimal. Michael Jordan makes a minor tweak. He takes on the huge contract of Mohammed and dumps two fringe players. His rep couldn't take another dip, could it?
CHICAGO BULLS
Heading out: Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Adrian Griffin, 2009 second- round draft pick.
Jetting in: Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown.
Risk Factor: Medium. The Wallace Project has been officially blown up with talk of the Bulls as contenders at an end. Big Ben's departure means we'll see if Joakim Noah is as good as he thinks he is while Gooden gives Chicago the low post force they've been looking for. Too late for this year and John Paxson's summer moves will establish how good this was.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Heading out: Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, Shannon Brown, Cedric Simmons.
Jetting in: Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Bulls' 2009 second-round pick.
Risk Factor: High. It's another run to the Finals or bust. But at least LeBron is happy. The issue is whether Wallace's loss of form - at a ridiculous cost - in Chicago was down to the circumstances or an irreversible decline? Szczerbiak should give the Cavs the reliable shooter they've lacked but the heat is on Mike Brown to make this work, quickly.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Heading out: Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Keith Van Horn, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, $3 million.
Jetting in: Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright, Malik Allen.
Risk Factor: High. This was the team with the best record in the league last year. Now you've got a verging on 35 year old point guard, at 10 million per, a few less energy guys in and around the side, and less flexibility to re-build if it all goes pear shaped. It's a roll worth taking if it can light a fire under a Dallas team which, of late, looked far too comfortable with being good but not great. If it fails, somebody'll be working down Dairy Queen.
DENVER NUGGETS
Heading out: Von Wafer.
Jetting in: Taurean Green.
Risk Factor: Minimal. I thought Von Wafer was a German ice cream biscuit and Taurean Green was brought to you by Dulux. No, seriously.
DETROIT PISTONS
Heading out: Nazr Mohammed, Primoz Brezec, cash.
Jetting in: Juan Dixon, Walter Herrmann.
Risk Factor: Zero. Mohammed had never really worked out in Detroit while Brezec made no real impact. Dixon will give the Pistons some energy off the bench while Hermann might yet prove he belongs in the NBA.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
Heading out: Bonzi Wells, Kirk Snyder, Mike James, 2010 second-round pick, cash.
Jetting in: Gerald Green, Bobby Jackson, Adam Haluska, draft rights to Sergei Lishouk, Charlotte's 2008 second-round pick.
Risk Factor: Minimal. The Rockets needed to keep up with the Jones - and while talent-wise, they might have got the lesser part of the deal, Wells and James weren't getting the PT either probably would be happy with. Green needs to show he's more substance than flash but Jackson is a veteran of Rick Adelman's schemes.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Heading out: Kwame Brown, Brian Cook, Maurice Evans, Aaron McKie, Javaris Crittenton, draft rights to Marc Gasol, 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks.
Jetting in: Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza and Memphis' 2010 second-round pick.
Risk Factor: Minimal. Maybe the best switcharoo of the month, given the Lakers virtual infallibility since Gasol (Pau that is) pitched up in La-la-land. There'll be no tears shed for Brown and suddenly, Showtime is back in earnest.
MIAMI HEAT
Heading out: Shaquille O'Neal.
Jetting in: Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks.
Risk Factor: Minimal. So, you're giving up a £10 mill a year, injury-prone, edging towards the end of his career, centre for a something to prove, in his prime All Star, and a hungry young pip who has something to show. With Miami at rock bottom, the only risk is that Marion bolts in the summer. Bet he doesn't.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Heading out: Pau Gasol, Stromile Swift, draft rights to Sergei Lishouk, 2010 second-round draft pick.
Jetting in: Kwame Brown, Marcus Vinicius, Javaris Crittenton, Jason Collins, draft rights to Marc Gasol and Malick Badiane, Lakers 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks.
Risk Factor: Huge. The franchise guy has gone. You're already vying for next year's top Draft pick. And all that's decent to show for it are two choices from a team which figures to be really good for the foreseeable future. Oops.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Heading out: Gerald Green.
Jetting in: Kirk Snyder, Rockets' 2010 second-round pick, cash.
Risk Factor: Minimal. You're not very good anyway. The only trick now is to find someone else to enter next year's Slam Dunk Contest.
NEW JERSEY NETS
Heading out: Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, Antoine Wright, Jason Collins.
Jetting in: Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop, Keith Van Horn, Stromile Swift, 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, $3 million.
Risk Factor: Minimal. J-Kidd wanted out. Harris will want to show his worth. There are expiring contracts aplenty. It's re-building time for the Nets ahead of their move to Brooklyn. And, they managed to bring Keith Van Horn back into the NBA which is a remarkable achievement in itself.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Heading out: Bobby Jackson, Marcus Vinicius, Adam Haluska, 2008 second-round pick.
Jetting in: Bonzi Wells, Mike James.
Risk Factor: Medium. The Hornets now have a stronger bench to try and stay atop the West, even at a steep price. Wells, if motivated, can add to their threat while James will allow MVP candidate Chris Paul the odd breather.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Heading out: Trevor Ariza.
Jetting in: Maurice Evans, Brian Cook.
Risk Factor: Minimal. Not the trade the Magic wanted but they've done OK in landing two solid rotation players for someone who wasn't getting minutes.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Heading out: Taurean Green.
Jetting in: Von Wafer.
Risk Factor: None. See Denver.
PHOENIX SUNS
Heading out: Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks.
Jetting in: Shaquille O'Neal.
Risk Factor: Vast. Marion wasn't happy but he was effective. Sensing perhaps that Phoenix, in their present form, weren't quite good enough to win it all, Steve Kerr had to go for broke. In taking Shaq off Miami's hands, it'll either be boom or bust. Credit his cojones but this trade won't be easily forgotten if the Suns don't end up champs or if O'Neal breaks down.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Heading out: Kyle Korver.
Jetting in: Gordan Giricek, protected future first-round pick from Jazz.
Risk Factor: Minimal. Losing Korver's contract gives the Sixers flexibility to re-tool and although Giricek might be waived, another pick comes in useful for the future.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Heading out: Mike Bibby.
Jetting in: Sheldon Williams, Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright, Atlanta's 2008 second-round pick.
Risk Factor: Minimal. Bibby had reached the end of his shelf life in Sacto and it was time to move him on. What the Kings got back is questionable with no must-keeps in the cluster acquired from the Hawks but looking long term, it should pay off.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Heading out: Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, 2009 first-round draft pick.
Jetting in: Kurt Thomas.
Risk Factor: Medium. Financially it stakes up to ditch two contracts for one, while Thomas gives the Spurs the extra bulk they've lacked in the middle. But Barry can still shoot the lights out when he has a chance and they'll miss him in the locker room - if they can't re-sign him off waivers next month.
SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
Heading out: Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Kurt Thomas.
Jetting in: Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, Adrian Griffin, Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall, Spurs' 2009 first-round draft pick.
Risk Factor: None. The Sonics are all about winning in 2-3 years, not today. None of the guys who have departed figure to be part of that mix, nor those who have arrived, but the more Draft picks the better, say Seattle.
TORONTO RAPTORS
Heading out: Juan Dixon.
Jetting in: Primoz Brezec, cash.
Risk Factor: None. Dixon didn't want to be there. Brezec will fit into the Euro-exile environment. Cash on top. Job done.
UTAH JAZZ
Jetting in: Kyle Korver.
Heading out: Gordan Giricek, protected future first-round pick.
Risk Factor: None. Great move for the Jazz. Korver's been a big hit so far and, whisper it, might make Utah the team to beat out West. Giricek had been in the doghouse so long that they'd started feeding him Pedigree Chum.
Posted by Mark Woods on February 25, 2008, 10:55 a.m. ET
Big Easy was a Stellar All Star Host
Thanks, New Orleans. Thanks for putting on a show which left everyone jazzed. Thanks for accommodating the chaos, the carnival and the cameras which whizzed into town like a runaway rollercoaster with a turbo booster attached. And thanks for sharing.Based on past experience, I was never the biggest fan of the Big Easy. Too loud, too brash, too devoid of substance. But this was like those birthday surprises gifts when you open the box, brace yourself and get ready to smile profusely at the jumper in the wrong size. Only instead you got Armani, size medium, matches the new jacket. Everything seemed to fit.
Take the Day of Service. It could have merely been an overblown PR exercise. Yet it left a legacy behind, not due to the stars who pitched up for an hour and splashed on some paint. Certainly, not due to those - like myself – whose contribution was limited to pulling off a strip of masking tape and watching on with cynical eyes. What lingers is the result of an army of organisers and volunteers who genuinely made a contribution to restoring N'awlans to what it once was. The NBA as a catalyst. And a noble one too. So much so, that the scheme is now under consideration for every future All Star host city.
Take the All Star Saturday Night. Normally, I wish you would. Often, it represents too much of the lesser side of basketball: the needless tricks, the posturing, the polar opposite of what Dr. Naismith had in mind. But this was an evening which thrilled and chilled at a pace that kept the malaise away. And in Dwight Howard, a smile ever present upon his young face, there is a hero who might convince those who mutter about the way things were to return to the fold.
Take the All Star Game itself. A game, even in name this time. It was competitive but still celebratory, packed with those seconds of magic which will be replayed for years to come. It was fitting that the ultimate highlight, a dunk by LeBron James over Dirk Nowitzki, was rendered all the more spectacular because the German was actually attempting to defend. Get out of the way? Not in this house.
But if this weekend’s purpose was to help rejuvenate New Orleans, it has also helped in no small measure to put a spring back in the NBA’s step. As one veteran staffer remarked, “I’ve come to a lot of All Star Weekends and I’ve never been prouder than at the end of this one.” The debt of gratitude paid in full.
Posted by Mark Woods on February 18, 2008, 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday Night's all right
It's All Star Saturday Nite (brought to you by Sprite, which rhymes neatly) in Nawlans and although much of the focus has been on getting tickets for the best parties in town (you mean you thought this Blog was about the players?), time to see who can do something sleek with a ball - and who is as wooden as Arnie (who we're told is in the building).First up is the Shooting Stars. Four teams in the hunt. Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit and someone else who was introduced when Germany's finest NBA writer called Jan we was organising the betting pool. No dollars involved, in case any kids are reading. My money's on Detroit.
Sadly, my money is wasted. San Antonio - comprising Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon are the shock victors. TD - who surely has only been picked because Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have fled the country - has never looked this happy on the sideline before. Then again, he's never sat beside anyone there who looked like Becky.
Next It's the Playstation Skills Challenge. Which is kind of like an obstacle course for basketballers. After fine performances from DeRon Williams and Chris Paul, D-Wade and J-Kidd crashed out in the first round.
So it's DeRon against CP30. Somewhere Coach K and Jerry Colangelo are watching - could this decide who gets to back up Kidd for Team USA in Beijing. This place goes nuts if the hometown boy doesn't win.
The thing about this is when they have to dribble around all the player-shaped cut outs on the floor, if they hit one, is it called a charge? Or is Paul favoured by the hometown tyres (or is that tires?) that he has to bounce pass through?
The answer is clearly not, as the Jazz man (appropriately in the Big Easy) wins in a new record time. Paul is clearly devastated. Actually, made that up. DeRon picks up his trophy - and a ticket to China, maybe.
Follow that. Well the NBA will, with Footlocker Three Point Shoot Out. Which, as the esteemed Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports notes, is kind of like watching a penalty kick contest. Yahoo indeed.
Frankly, it's a poor show from Steve Nash. Maybe it's because his shoes are rubbish. Literally. They're made of recycled material which, for Nashy's sake, I hope didn't include that bunch of papers I threw out the other week. Rip and Peja bail too, leaving the Diggler, Damon Gibson and reigning champ Jason Kapono in the final. Slick as you like, Kapono ties Craig Hodge's record of 25 points set in 1996 to make it a two-peat. And he gets a standing ovation from his peers, including LeBron James (who, incidentally, is sporting a James Bond-esque spy jacket). We get the score sheet, which looks like one of those cards from the firing range. I wonder if there's someone at the NBA charged with coming up with this stuff. And I hope it's all recycled.
Final showcase of the night i