Spurs NBA Champs, How to fix the NBA Playoffs?

Have to admit, I knew San Antonio was a better team, but I didn't think they'd sweep. But, I'm glad they did. Being a huge basketball fan, I watched every game I could even though my beloved Pistons weren't part of the finals, but besides me and some people in San Antonio, I don't think anyone else really watched the Finals. That begs the question, what can the NBA do to make the Playoffs more entertaining and a bigger draw to all the markets?

First, the obvious answer: Reseed the teams in each conference after each round.
The reason they would want to do this is that it would mostly solve the problem of the best two teams in the conference playing each other before the conference finals. Think about it, in the West, after the first round, you had the following seeds playing each other: 3 vs. 2 and 5 vs. 8.
Hence San Antonio's domination in the Conference Finals over a promising Utah team. But, if they reseeded after each round, you would have had the Suns vs. the Warriors (WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE THAT?) and the Spurs vs. Utah, with the promise of Spurs/Suns to come. It would have provided a much larger stage for the league to screw the Suns with, that's for sure. But it also would have helped build things up a bit better. In the East you had 1 vs. 4, and 2 vs. 6. At the very least, a Detroit/New Jersey warmup to the winner of the Bulls/Cavs would have been great, and I'm sure the conference finals would have been much better with the correct buildup. Reseeding each conference after each round would also make the regular season that much more important. The top teams will be beating the crap out of each other that much more to get the easiest path to the conference or NBA finals.

Here's another answer that would never happen, and I'm sure I'll get flamed all over again (see my Pistons wishlist), but it's something that would create instant intrigue in the league because no one else does it:

Do away with the conferences, and reseed after each round.
Think of it...they're trying to get to be a more global league anyway. Do away with Eastern vs. Western Conference. Let everyone play everyone. Playoffs would include the top 16 teams after an 82 game season, regardless of zip code. Sure, it would enrage those in the Eastern conference, just like it would have enraged the Western Conference 15 years ago, but it would definitely add another dimension to the regular season. The Pistons wouldn't be able to slide into the #1 seed winning a paltry 54 games anymore. Also, reseed after each round again...except over the entire playoffs. You wouldn't have two brackets anymore, you'd just have one gigantic bracket. That would guarantee that the best two teams in the league have the easiest path to the Finals. Of course that would make it incredibly difficult for a Cinderella to break through at all, but meh.

Like I said, I don't think that would ever happen, but dang it would be interesting. One things for sure, something needs to be tweaked yet again, so the best two teams in the playoffs (Spurs/Suns or Spurs/Mavs) don't meet in the 2nd round again next year.

Any other ideas that would make the playoffs more exciting? Leave 'em in the comments!

The Cure for what ails the Pistons...

What happened Tuesday night was kind of a travesty...if you're a Pistons fan.

If it continues, it could be looked back on history as 2 things:

1) The startling and abrupt crumbling of the Pistons Big Game mystique.
and
2) The annointment of King James and his Roundtable into instant Title Contenders.

And nothing would make the media happier.

After the Cavs pushed the Pistons to 7 last year, and tired them to the point where they never recovered against the Heat, many were ready to put James and his Merry Band of miscreants into the Title picture. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if 7 out of 10 sportswriters picked the Cavs to take the #1 seed by 5+ games this year.

Alas, the Cavs stumbled. Unfortunately, in the East, stumbling equals the #2 seed in the conference, and because of a freak Gilbert Arenas injury (and to a lesser extent Vince Carter again crumbling in crunch time), the Cavs had the easiest path to the conference finals that any team has ever had.

I thought for sure that the Pistons, after sweeping a tough Magic team, and playing well for most of the 2nd round, would be better off when it came time for them to face the Cavs. I thought the Cavs would be full of themselves, while the Pistons had been somewhat humbled by Chicago's sudden turnaround to make Round 2 a series.

Boy, was I wrong.

What have I been treated to since this round began?

The Cavs have outplayed the Pistons every single game. What's scary is that even holding James to under 20 points, the Cavs had more than enough chances to win the two games at the Palace. Chauncey Billups' well documented troubles with the Cavs came back, and he's just not looking like the same player I've come to know and love over these last couple of years.

I think alot of this has to do with the Cavs Defense, which I just don't think has been given enough credit. The Cavs are swarming, giving the Pistons different looks, trapping the easiest plays that the Pistons obviously have taken for granted. Billups is rushing, which for him, is never a good thing. I haven't seen him this screwed up since the first half of 2004 when Larry Brown was in his head on every possession.

What remains is a best of 3, with the Pistons still holding home court. If the Pistons lose tomorrow at the Palace, the series may not be over...but I'd put the Cavs' chances at better than 75% that they finish the Pistons in 6.

What needs to be done to take the Pistons into the Finals for the 3rd time in 4 years?
1) Chauncey needs to slow down and breathe.
He is rushing, making bone-headed plays at the end of games. He needs to just relax. Not push, and let the game come to him.

2) Sheed needs to maintain his cool.
For God's sake, he needs to calm down. I've been ultra-impressed with him this postseason, and he needs to continue to play up to this new standard.

3) Rip needs to be involved the whole game.
For the most part, he's been involved in the 1st quarter, and then I barely notice he's on the court until 2 minutes left in the game. If he's on the floor, start running more staggered screens to get him open for shots.

4) Play CWebb and Hunter/Delfino in the 4th.
Look, I know McDyess is better than CWebb defensively. But, maybe, to open the 4th for maybe the first 5 or 6 minutes, put in Hunter or Delfino (to throw a wrench against Lebron/Gibson/Hughes) and put CWebb in to help facilitate the offense more. In the 4th, the Cavs have clamped down, and Billups just hasn't been able to break their traps for the most part. Put CWebb at the elbow, let Hunter or Delfino and /Prince/Rip run cuts trying to get easy access to the hoop. I think it would give the Cavs a different look they haven't seen for the most part that they wouldn't be able to clamp down on.

Here's hoping there's still baskball for Deeeeeeeetroit fans after this weekend....

NBA Referee's Racist?

Everyone's a rittle bit lacist...even NBA Refs.

I have to say, I’m surprised Mark Cuban probably didn’t already know this when he did all of his deconstructing of the referees a couple of years back. It is kinda funny that he owns one of the first teams to really diversify itself with players from many many different countries.

Regardless, I started reading this this morning on the Detroit News website, where I go first thing every morning to read everything I can about the Pistons. There it was, quoted from the NY Times original article:

“An academic study of the National Basketball Association, whose playoffs continue tonight, suggests that a racial bias found in other parts of American society has existed on the basketball court as well.

A coming paper by a University of Pennsylvania professor and a Cornell University graduate student says that, during the 13 seasons from 1991 through 2004, white referees called fouls at a greater rate against black players than against white players.

Justin Wolfers, an assistant professor of business and public policy at the Wharton School, and Joseph Price, a Cornell graduate student in economics, found a corresponding bias in which black officials called fouls more frequently against white players, though that tendency was not as strong.“

The article goes onto state that the “different rates at which fouls are called ‘is large enough that the probability of a team winning is noticeably affected by the racial composition of the refereeing crew assigned to the game.’”

Crazy. David Stern must have seen this and flipped.

Truth be told, I agree with David Berri when he’s quoted saying ““I would be more surprised if it didn’t exist,” Mr. Ayres said of an implicit association bias in the N.B.A. ‘There’s a growing consensus that a large proportion of racialized decisions is not driven by any conscious race discrimination, but that it is often just driven by unconscious, or subconscious, attitudes. When you force people to make snap decisions, they often can’t keep themselves from subconsciously treating blacks different than whites, men different from women.’”

They re-ran the numbers, doing multiple different reports, but kept coming up with the same results. What’s the NBA to do besides vehemently deny? Most likely, nothing. There’s nothing you can do, as long as you have live people refereeing your games. It’s just going to happen. Still, this is just another public relations black eye for the NBA referees, most recently and notably the Joey Crawford blowup with Tim Duncan.

Are These Two Ref'd Differently?

By the way, the Times talked to Cuban, “We’re all human. We all have our own prejudice. That’s the point of doing statistical analysis. It bears it out in this application, as in a thousand others.” That’s one of the fun things about being in statistical analysis, the data doesn’t lie.

I always did think it was kinda funny to have a bunch of mostly middle-aged old white guys “policing” a mostly black league though…maybe it’s time to diversify more with the refs. Of course, if most of the players weren’t spoiled whiny brats on the court too, that would help as well. I think there’s a middle ground there somewhere, but I don’t see them getting to it anytime soon. Watch though, this won’t be the last time the refs will be called into question in these playoffs. Heck, I remember the firestorm last year dealing with Dwayne Wade getting every single call in the playoffs.

Just makes me want to watch something more noble as a sport, like Hockey…or even Professional Wrestling.

Wind Turbines on the Highways, The Invisible, and the NBA Playoffs.

Clogged highways and frustratingly waiting while your gas needle plummets to empty usually doesn't conjure up thoughts of green, but it seems like these very roads could become the source of a lot more energy. Several recent student designs have proposed that major roadways be retrofitted with various forms of wind energy collection devices...
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Saw this on Digg…had to blog it. I specifically remember driving over the mountains from Vegas to the OC with the Girlfriend and the Kitten and thinking “Why aren’t these mountains covered in windmills to capture energy from the winds this high up?” I’ve been positively amazed with the lack of such innovation since moving here, especially since I work for the power company, and the threat of brown-outs year after year. So, here’s hoping that this design gains steam and some state gets smart and realizes that this could help. At the very least, tax dollars could be used to fund it, and then the state could sell the energy back to the consumer resulting in yet more money for the government. Places like MI (if you could make all weather turbines), really need more money for their government.

Got a chance to check out The Invisible this weekend…I’d recommend it to rent or go to for a dollar show or something, that’s about it. It wasn’t that the movie wasn’t bad, it looked like they had re-cut some or changed the movie a bit, as the part in the commercial with the old guy talking about “solving the mystery of your own death” was no-where to be found. That’s a pet peeve of mine. The leads were ok, the whole premise of falling in love with a ghost is kinda…I don’t know, doesn’t seem plausible enough even for a movie. The main character, I could care less about before he got “killed” anyway. Not a bad ending though.

HOW BOUT THEM PISTONS AND BULLS!

I have to admit, I haven’t had a chance to watch my taped Pistons – Magic game 4 yet, but those Bulls are going to provide the Pistons with everything they can take in the 2nd round. It just reminds me of the Spurs – Mavericks series of last year, the unofficial Conference finals, unless they beat the crap out of each other so bad that they’re too tired after this round. Whichever team wins (Pistons) is my pick to win the whole shebang though.

Oh, and go WARRIORS! I love watching top seeds sweat (especially when it’s not my team!) The only thing that would make this series better would be if Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison were on the Warriors, then it would be all of Cuban’s castoffs coming back to haunt him. Regardless of what happens, this series has definitely provided some entertaining basketball. Hopefully the Warriors won’t get full of themselves (ala the Magic of 2003) and start looking ahead. The Pistons (from 2003 vs. the Magic) and the Suns (last year versus the Lakers) came back from similar deficits.

4 MORE DAYS TILL SPIDER-MAN!

Dan Majerle's Remarkable Shots - FULL VIDEO YouTube and No Edits. Amazing.

Thunder Dan Majerle is just remarkable. No edits. No cuts. Before the Suns Lakers game. MUST WATCH.

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Continuing the basketball theme of this week…I heard about this and had to seek it out. Kudos to barrett90 from YouTube to loading it up from PTI (which I can’t watch anymore, but I listen to the podcast every morning!). Those of you who don’t know, Dan Majerle was a college basketball star for CMU from Traverse City, MI, and played his best ball with the Phoenix Suns (back when they had Barkley and challenged Jordan’s Bulls in the playoffs), and Miami Heat. Here he shows he’s still got it with some half court shots, in his suit no less, before a game. Awesome. Back in the day, I didn’t want to be like Mike, I wanted to be like Dan…all tan and with a hot wife. Can you imagine how great “Thunder” Dan would be now-a-days with the new rules?

Pistons…and what Ails Them.

I told ya I have something cooking on the Pistons…and it makes more sense to me now more than ever before. Here the Pistons sit, up 2-0 in their series against the Orlando Magic. Yet people are still dissing them in a sense…because of what separates them from the “Great” teams of our time. If you were watching last night’s game on TNT, you probably heard what I did. Charles Barkley talking about how Detroit just seems to lack that killer instinct…how they don’t just stomp out teams…they have a tendency to let teams hang around. In this current case, that’s a dangerous thing. The only thing separating a Young Team that Challenges, and a Young Team that Wins, is confidence. Allowing the Magic to stay in games will only give them more confidence…which will eventually turn these games from 8 point Detroit wins, to close losses, which in turn will just keep the series going longer than it should ala the Detroit/Cleveland series of last year. That was the series that took the Pistons out of it. By the time they got to Miami, they were too tired to really turn it on. I know they haven’t lost many tangible things since Ben Wallace left, but they have lost a certain intensity.

Now…I’ve thought for a long time that the Pistons should do what they need to do to rid themselves of Rasheed Wallace. Heck, I hoisted his head up on a platter in an earlier blarticle for them to trade him and parts to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett…one of the most intense players in the league. I’m going back on that.
A couple of weeks ago, it clicked for me. I’ve never been a big ‘Sheed fan. I thought that, while he’s very talented, he wasn’t worth the distraction. Then I sat down and watched disc 1 of the Detroit Pistons NBA Detroit Pistons 1989 Champions – Born to Be Bad series. It was Game 1 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Finals with Detroit vs. Chicago.

Well…about two minutes into that game…Bill Laimbeer gets a tech for arguing a call. And…that’s where it clicked. ‘Sheed is just like Laimbeer. He’s a nightmare matchup for any team. He can hit the inside shot, the mid range, and the 3-pointer. And he’s got a crazy intensity about him that just works with the Pistons. Unfortunately, he’s been on cruise control much of the year, promising that he’d get it going for the Playoffs. And so far, he has.

So, don’t get rid of ‘Sheed…unless you really do have a shot at Garnett. What Detroit really needs to do is go out and find a center in the offseason that is as intense as Ben was. Not an easy task. I’ll address that later after the playoffs what I think Detroit should do in the offseason, needless to say it doesn’t include Webber. He’s playing great now, but he’s not a long term fix.

NBA Playoff Predictions...

Well, I’ve got something else baking dealing with the Pistons going into Playoff time…hopefully I can drop that blarticle over the weekend, until then, here are my predictions for the NBA Playoffs!

Western Conference:

(1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (8) Golden State Warriors
Some are actually calling this an upset in the making. I’m not, though I think it’s going to be a lot harder than most think. Golden State is going to make the Mavs sweat. The Warriors will steal one of the first two at Dallas before going back to “The City” and dropping one there to give the home court advantage back to Dallas. Dallas wins decisively (think last years Game 7 of Detroit whupping Cleveland) at home to move on.

(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
Again, another one that’s going to be closer than you think. Kobe averages 45+ for the series, but gets no help from his bigs. Marion and Stoudemire go off after Kwame Brown goes down in the 2nd game. Marion averages 25 and Stoudemire averages 25+ to more than cancel out Kobe’s 45 per. Suns win in 6.

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Denver Nuggets
Ah San Anton…good old Spurs…the Pistons of the West. You know, Denver’s close. If they had D’Antoni as their coach, they’d be a better version of the Suns. Unfortunately, they don’t and they aren’t. Denver could win if they attacked Duncan with Nene and got Duncan in some foul trouble…unfortunately to do that, Carmelo “I’m so glad you’re not a Piston” Anthony and AI would have to give up some shots…not gonna happen. Spurs in 5.

(4) Houston Rockets vs. (5) Utah Jazz
Old Skool Basketball rules as Sloan orders Mehmet Okur to foul Yao hard in the first game. Yao takes a tumble, and sits out the rest of the game, with Utah taking the home court away in the first game. Unfortunately for Utah, that foul awakens something evil in Yao, and he instantly develops the killer instinct that has so far kept him from being considered the best center in the game. Yao averages 35+ and 15 boards the rest of the series, and the Rockets take 4 straight from Utah to put them out in 5 games.


(1) Dallas Mavericks vs. (4) Houston Rockets
Yao’s streak continues as the Rockets take the 2nd game from Dallas at Dallas. The Mavs never recover as the Rockets play suffocating defense shutting down 2 out of the 3 Mavs scorers on the floor at all times. Josh Howard’s defense can’t slow up T-Mac enough and he goes off for 45 in Game 6 as the Rockets move on.

(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs
The Suns have fits with the Spurs, until Boris Diaw finally shows up in this series. Phoenix drops a game at home to give up home court, but they win game 6 at San Antonio, and Raja Bell delivers 8 3’s in Game 7, including a game winning shot as time expires. Oh, and a dumb foul by Manu is the reason Phoenix has a chance in the 7th game as well.

(2) Phoenix Suns vs. (4) Houston Rockets
Yao keeps his average up, but Amare matches him. Each team holds home court, and in Game 7, Amare gets Yao in trouble, making Jeff Van Gundy have to resort to Mutumbo to slow down the Suns. Mutumbo trips over his walker, and the Suns win by 10 to go onto the NBA Finals.

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic
The Pistons lose the 2nd game at home by 20. Then they remember again who they are, and Chauncey averages 25 pts and 12 assists a game, schooling Jameer Nelson at every turn. Pistons roll in 5.

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Washington Wizards
Watch the Wiz steal the first game. Watch Lebron get so mad he smacks Drew Gooden upside the back of the head. Watch Drew play 4 straight games as a meaningful player as the Cavs roll in 5.

(3) Toronto Raptors vs. (6) New Jersey Nets
The Nets will steal a home game from the Raps. Then the Raps will steal one back, and then they’ll steal another and win in 6.

(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
I have no idea how this series rolls. My guess is Dwayne Wade goes off in the first game and the Heat win at Chicago. Then Nocioni comes in in the 2nd game and knocks Wade down. Unlike his commercial, he doesn’t pop right back up. And the Heat are done. Bulls in 6.


(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
I want this series to happen. How is it that the Pistons are the #1 Seed but they have the hardest road out of the East? Who cares, this series goes back and forth, each team stealing two games on the others’ court. Game 7 at the Palace. Ben Wallace comes up huge with 6 blocks and 22 rebounds. Unfortunately, he can’t score. Deng sweeps in for the game winning hook shot, over Tayshaun Prince, and Jason Maxiell rises above them all to block the shot. Maxiell roars at a fallen Deng as time expires. A new Defensive Beast is born.

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3) Toronto Raptors
Bosh averages 25+ a game, and the Raps good all around game gives the Cavs fits. Unfortunately, Rasho Nesterovic is no match for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Ilgauskas goes off for 25 and 10 in Game 6 as the Cavs win a close series over the upstart Raps.


(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers
The Pistons drop the first game at home, and again, wake up finally remembering who they are. They win the next 4 straight over the tired Cavs, and frustrate Lebron throwing a different defensive look at him every time down the floor. Pistons in 5.

NBA Finals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Phoenix Suns
Detroit continues its roll, winning the 1st game in Phoenix. Nash’s back goes out, and Chauncey posts Barbosa up 10 times a game. Chauncey averages 25 pts and 12 assists a game in the Finals. Phoenix pulls out the 2nd game, and the middle game of the 3 in Detroit after Nash comes back. The Pistons pull into Phoenix in Game 6, Webber pulls out a vintage performance in the biggest stage of his life. He and Sheed combine to score 40 to match Amare and Marion’s 40. Carlos Delfino comes up with a huge steal on Nash in the final minutes and finishes the break with a jam. Jalen Rose swears up and down that he really wanted to come to Detroit as the Pistons celebrate a series clinching win on Phoenix’s court by 5.

Finals MVP: Chauncey Billups. And with my luck, then he’ll sign a contract in the offseason with the Bucks. ^_^