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April 20, 2009
Game 1 has come and gone in all eight NBA playoff series. Here’s a quick look at how the former Jayhawks playing in the postseason impacted the openers.
The Boston Celtics are in trouble. They looked completely lost on offense and seemed to be leaning on Paul Pierce way too much. Pierce looked a step slow, a little older than last season and often settled for fade-away jumpers from 20+ instead of stroking in rhythm or driving to the rim.
At least in this case, where there's bad news (Pierce) there's also good news in the form of Kirk Hinrich. In watching his Bulls take a 1-0 lead against Pierce’s Celtics, Hinrich scored just three points and grabbed three rebounds in 23 minutes. His numbers don’t tell the full story. When the Bulls built their big first-half lead, Hinrich was instrumental in spelling rookie sensation Derrick Rose so that Rose could remain fresh for the second half and overtime. Speaking of Rose.... Wow!!!! That has to be up there with the all-time great playoff debuts. Rose became only the second player in NBA history to have 35 points and 10 assists in his first career playoff game. Rose actually had 36 and 11. New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul was the other (35-10). The 36 points also tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points in a playoff debut.
Not a bad day. And from the looks of it, there’s more where that came from.
In the Dallas-San Antonio series, Drew Gooden was nearly a non-factor against the Mavericks and the Spurs seem to be showing their age, too. Although this one was close most of the way, the Mavs youth and energy seemed to push them past the Spurs when it really counted. Gooden tallied 8 points and 4 boards in 18 minutes off the bench. It’s possible that Spurs coach Greg Popovich isn’t yet comfortable with Gooden’s knowledge of the Spurs’ system, but if they want to get by the Mavs, they have to get Gooden more involved. If they don’t, you can expect more outbursts from Josh Howard (25 points) and Dirk Nowitzki (19 points, 8 boards) the rest of the way. In a side note, Jacque Vaughn received the dreaded DNP in Game 1. And if it’s old age that’s costing San Antonio, Vaughn might not see much action going forward.
Speaking of limited action, so much for Darnell Jackson's big finish. Jackson logged just one minute in the Cavs' blowout win over Detroit, failing to record a single stat. If he doesn’t play in that game, which the Cavs won by 18, he probably shouldn’t expect to play much from here on out.
Same goes for Julian Wright, who didn’t receive any playing time until the New Orleans Hornets trailed the Denver Nuggets, 97-69 midway through the fourth quarter of a blowout loss. He did have a sweet dunk with two minutes to play, but somehow I don't think that will endear him to coach Byron Scott any more.
Lastly, Mario Chalmers might have gotten the best of Derrick Rose in last year’s NCAA title game but Mario has nothing on Rose in this year’s NBA playoffs. Mario’s postseason career started with a minor thud, as he scored just 8 points (3-of-10 shooting) in 34 minutes in Miami’s 90-64 loss at Atlanta. Before the series began, Heat captains Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem made it known that they would enforce a team curfew andd that the trip to Atlanta was about business and that all club-going clothes should be left in South Florida. After that showing, let’s hope the Heat spent the off day shopping and hitting the clubs.
TOP GAME 1 PERFORMANCES
1. Derrick Rose -- 36 points, 11 assists in a win at Boston. That’s unheard of for a rookie.
2. Chauncey Billups -- How about 36 points on 8-of-9 three-point shooting in a blowout win by Denver. Looks like “Mr. Big Shot” is feeling it. Oh yeah, he also had 8 assists.
3. Andre Igoudala -- 20 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and the game-winner in a 100-98 win by Phily at Orlando.
4. Dwight Howard -- 31 points, 16 rebounds 11-of-13 shooting in a losing effort for Orlando. Seems like “Superman” should’ve had a few more touches.
5. Trevor Ariza -- 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting for the Lakers in their win against the Jazz. Nights like that will make Kobe completely content to have a night like he had — 24 points, 8 assists.
Comments
d_prowess (anonymous) says...
The Bulls - Celtics series sure has gotten a lot more interesting after game 1!
April 20, 2009 at 3:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
matt_tait (Matt Tait) says...
Interesting to say the least... I gotta think the Celts are HOPING it goes 7 now.
I know it's never wise to go wild with predictions after just one game... but the way those two teams looked in that one, I think this is gonna be a dog fight.
Of course, Boston could still win in five and make us all look silly for fussing.
Doubt it, though.
April 20, 2009 at 3:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
esorrentino (Eric Sorrentino) says...
Heck of a Boston-Chicago game tonight. That was fun watching Ben Gordon and Ray Allen go at it. Sick shot at the end by Allen.
Tait, love the shopping and hitting the clubs comment. I didn't understand why that was such a big NBA storyline going into Game 1. Shouldn't all players lay off the heavy sauce the night before a game? Seems like common sense to me.
And it's only the third quarter, but Tony Parker is not making my night off from work too much fun right now...
April 20, 2009 at 10:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
matt_tait (Matt Tait) says...
Seriously...
Game 1 = Rondo vs. Derrick Rose.
Game 2 = Ray Allen vs. Ben Gordon (who was filthy good on Monday)
Question is: Where has Paul Pierce been?
Tough loss for your Mavs, Eric. Got the split they needed, though. Just looked pretty awful in Game 2, though. Same question as above might be good to ask concerning Dirk Nowitzki.
April 21, 2009 at 12:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
esorrentino (Eric Sorrentino) says...
Couldn't agree more on Dirk. The offense didn't go through him nearly enough last night. Shots were rushed and ill-advised. Seemed like they were content with their split and didn't care, which was awful to watch. Ex-Jay Drew Gooden did look very solid last night, though, which was nice to see since he didn't have much impact in Game 1.
April 21, 2009 at 11:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
d_prowess (anonymous) says...
Two comments I loved from the Celtics-Bulls last night:
1. Kevin Harlan's call of Kirk hitting a 3 over Pierce, "One Jayhawk over another!" (Does anyone but me wish that Harlan did every basketball game I ever watch?)
2. The comment that Allen was able to get some space off a pick to hit a three down the stretch, when in reality, there was absolutely no space and the replay just proved that Ray has one of the quickest shots in the game!
April 21, 2009 at 12:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Whetter (anonymous) says...
d_prowess...I was thinking the same thing when Harlan made that call on the Kirk three. He does a great play-by-play job, and it's made even better when he adds some KU background every now and then.
April 21, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )