So we're finally back to where we started, with the Heat and Spurs preparing for a rematch of last year's final series. As the playoffs have gone on, there has been less and less drama. There were 12 games in the two conference semi-finals, and only three of them were decided by less than nine points.
The most excitement in the semi-finals was whether Russell Westbrook would take more shots than Kevin Durant. It was close, but in overtime at home -- with the Thunder facing elimination -- Westbrook went 1-7, while Durant could only go 0-3. So Westbrook finished with 123 shots in the series, while Durant took 122.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Indiana 2- 4 Miami (2)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) San Antonio 4 - 2 Oklahoma City (2)
Meanwhile, James Harden averaged 25.4 points per game for Houston, and it looks more and more as though OKC's decision to trade him ranks as one of the worst moves in NBA history.
It turns out that a friend of mine here in Madisonville--he does radio broadcasts for various sports events at Mortons Gap Hopkins County Central--might be as much of a sports geek as I am. We had a big conversation about electric football the other night, and the other night we got into a big conversation about how big a deal Bobby Dandridge was in the 1978 playoffs for the Bullets. Then this guy got into a big thing about watching the AFL in the 1960s (he's 7 or 8 years older than me). He said that it was hit or miss whether you could pick up the Nashville CBS affiliate in Madisonville, so he got more into the AFL games on NBC than the NFL on CBS. He got into a big thing about how great Al DeRogatis was on doing color commentary.
ReplyDeleteAl DeRogatis did the commentary for Super Bowl VII, so if you can find that game on the Internet, you can hear him for yourself. He quit doing color commentary after the 1975 season, and I don't know why -- he lived for another 20 years.
ReplyDeleteAlthough if they had kept Harden they would have had to lose Ibaka so who knows.
ReplyDeleteThe Spurs won!
ReplyDeleteNBATV is currently rebroadcasting TNT's coverage of the 1998 draft. There's no Tim Duncan available in this draft, Ernie Johnson says; Rick Majerus (rest in peace) likes Paul Pierce as a good choice beyond the "big five." I'm unsure right now who is among the big five.
ReplyDeleteAnd now here's TNT Sports' Glenn "Doc" Rivers from Los Angeles to discuss what the Clippers might be doing with the first-overall choice. He says Michael Olowokandi from the University of Pacific might be a reach at No. 1 overall. "He's definitely a project," Rivers says.
Hubie Brown cites Olowokandi's triple jump, long jump, 40-yard dash and benchpressing and says the Clippers' new center "has nothing but upside."
ReplyDeleteCraig Sager wonders if Los Angeles is big enough for both "Shaq" and "The Kandi Man."
ReplyDeleteAnd now here's Doc Rivers talking with Elgin Baylor.
ReplyDeleteBaylor: "I just think his upside is good as or better than anyone in the league."
Rivers: "OK, Ernie, back to you guys."
The Vancouver Grizzlies take Mike Bibby from the University of Arizona. I have a lot of Henry Bibby basketball cards from the 1970s and '80s, but I have no recollection of ever watching Mike Bibby play a minute of basketball. I really checked out of college basketball once UK had its problems in the mid 1980s, and I pretty much quit following the NBA once Michael Jordan finally retired for good (apparently). I've come back solidly to college basketball with the move back to Kentucky, and now John Wall is getting me interested again in the Bullets.
ReplyDeleteOK, the Golden State Warriors take Vince Carter of the University of North Carolina with the fifth pick. I guess the "big five" is off the board. I'll have to see who the two picks were that I missed.
ReplyDeleteYes, Antawn Jamison of UNC was one of the picks, too. This guy played for the Bullets during my dark-side-of-the-moon days with the Bullets. The Toronto Raptors picked Jamison, but now they've traded him to Vancouver for Vince Carter and cash.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the Dallas Mavericks have picked Robert "Tractor" Traylor of the University of Michigan.
This is sweet. Here's Traylor's mom, thanking Jesus for protecting her and her son. She says she encouraged Robert to lose weight between the end of Michigan's season and his draft workouts. She's so thrilled that it worked out.
DeletePaul Pierce of the University of Kansas goes to the Boston Celtics with the 10th choice. "He's been sitting around back there in the green room longer than a lot of people thought he would," says Ernie Johnson.
ReplyDeleteCraig Sager says he thought Pierce might go No. 2 overall. "A lot of people back in Boston are ecstatic that he was still available at No. 10."
Shocking.