Is LeBron James afraid of “the moment”? Is Kobe Bryant no longer the poster boy of clutch? Does Dwyane Wade remember how to close? What does clutch even mean?  Join the HoopSmack crew as we discuss what it means to be clutch and if any players today fit the description on Episode 51 of the HoopSmack Podcast!!!

 Recorded: Thursday night 5/17

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The Sixers showed that they are an actual NBA team.  Finally playing like a real team, the Sixers were able to mount a big comeback against the Celtics and win 92-83.  The Celtics jumped out to a 20-5 lead at the start of the game.  The halftime lead was 46-31, with the Celtics being led by Brandon Bass and Paul Pierce who each had 13 and 12 points.  The Celtics looked like they were ready to end the series and take the commanding lead 3 games to 1.  But then the 3^rd quarter happened, and just like game 2 things just fell apart.  Kevin Garnett wasn’t able to continue his stellar play.  He struggled shooting the ball going 3-12 and scoring only 9 points.  But he did pull down 11 rebounds and had 3 blocks, but turned over the ball 7 times.  Rajon Rondo had a pretty good game 15 points and 15 rebounds.  But he didn’t come through in the 3^rd when things were going terrible for the Celtics.  He didn’t execute the offense or get guys reset and it lost them the lead and game.  Ray Allen continues to struggle and be a nonfactor.  Pierce did his best to carry the team with his 24 points, but he ran out of gas in the end.  You got to give credit to the Sixers for not rolling over and quitting.  They easily could’ve folded.  If not for the crowd, they probably don’t make the comeback and win the game.  The crowd was loud and active, even though they booed the Sixers at the end of the half.  But it was warranted because the Sixers looked like trash.

Nobody in particular was dominant for the Sixers.  But they did have 5 players score in double figures, with Evan Turner and Andre Iguodala both scoring 16 and Lou Williams adding 15.  This was a total team effort by Philadelphia.  They really buckled down and played very tough defense in the 3^rd quarter against the Celtics.  The Celtics couldn’t make a shot and the Sixers defense didn’t make it easy.  It was a really bad performance by the Celtics in the quarter.  Sloppy passes, poorball control, and where was Bass?  Coach Doc Rivers went with a small lineup and it might’ve cost them the game.  Thaddeus Young was able to grab 5 offensive rebounds, 9 total.  Even with Boston’s horrible 3^rd quarter, the Sixers were fantastic on the offensive end.  They used their defense to speed up the game.  They moved without the ball and made the extra pass that led to easy buckets near the hoop.  Just like every other game going on right now, the home team got some home cooking with the refs.  The Sixers outshot the Celtics 36 to 19.  The Celtics got into foul trouble and had to sit key players.  The Sixers took advantage and kept attacking the hoop for cheap free throws.  I’m seriously getting disgusted with the huge disparities in free throws.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

So what happens now?  After going on record and saying this series was over in 6, now I’m not so sure.  The Celtics are the better team.  But for whatever reasons, after building leads at the half they come out flat and can’t make anything.  With a opportunity to take a 3-1 lead and potentially gain a lot of rest for the Conference Finals, they choked it away.  Now the Sixers have won on the road and at home.  They know they can beat the Celtics and won’t back down.  When they play like a team and not a collection of individuals, they’re actually not that bad.  But when Lou Williams decides to take matters into his own hands or Iguodala disappears they are awful to watch.  I’m still hoping the Celtics can win the next 2 games and can sit back and watch the Heat and Pacers go 7 games.  The old guys need all the rest they can get.

When push comes to shove: The Indiana Pacers showed just how dangerous a Larry Bird constructed team can be.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

When Larry Bird came into the league in 1980, he was expected to be an exceptional player that might provide a much needed scoring boost for the struggling Boston Celtics. Many established players in the league at the time viewed him as another case of great white hype and already had plans to put this rookie in his place. Bird surprised everyone when he showed that he was not only incredible talented, but he was also tough as nails and did not take kindly to disrespect. He was known to fight even the other team’s biggest player with no hesitation. This level of toughness and intensity not only instilled confidence in his teammates, but it also intimidated the other team.

Larry Bird assembled this Indiana Pacers team in his own image, and what they may have lacked in star power, they made up for in will power. Shortly after winning the executive of the year award, his Pacers were set to play the Heat in a pivotal Game 3. With series against Miami tied at 1-1, the highly favored Heat squad needed a big win in Indiana to regain momentum after a tough loss at Miami. The confident Heat team strutted onto the court against an energized Indiana crowd and expected to walk out of there with an easy win. They soon found themselves in an ugly dog fight with the rough and physical play of the Pacers. Dwayne Wade had one of his worst playoff performances ever and LeBron James settled for outside shots and was often not involved in the offense at all. The Heat’s frustration was most evident when Dwayne Wade and head coach Erik Spoelstra got into a very concerning verbal altercation during a timeout. The Pacers out hustled and out-muscled the Heat en route to a 19 point blow out.

A defining moment for the Heat was a sequence where superstar LeBron James was elbowed in the face and thrown to the ground by David West, followed by Danny Granger getting in James’ face after a foul call. Both incidences James did nothing. I immediately thought of what Larry Bird would’ve done in that situation. It would not have been pretty. Bird often won games by mental intimidation and the Pacers have adopted the same philosophy.

The Miami Heat, who were favored to come out of the east and possibly win it all, find themselves down 2-1 in the second round of the playoffs. It’s going to be interesting to see if the Heat can overcome this. A coach can’t teach toughness and unless we see some major mental changes by James and Wade in the next two games, the Miami Heat will lose this series.

I had an ulterior motive going into this series. I wasn’t rooting for the Lakers to win, because I dislike Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, and the general stench of reality-warped Laker fans. I wasn’t supporting the Thunder, for more than obvious reasons. What I did envision was the numerous amount of star-gazing Laker fans, specifically those that I know personally, react to the Thunder beating the Lakers, by either:

A) Stomping a mud-hole in them and walking it dry (shout-out to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin).

B) Seeing Kobe attempt a game winning shot and the Lakers come up short (for once in his life).

Game 1 was fulfilling, but Game 2′s gut-wrenching 77-75 Oklahoma City victory was a gift-wrapped experience like no other. I sent out an actual text to the HoopSmack squad at exactly 9:00 PM PST with the message, “LA is about to win.” Why? Because Andrew Bynum had just put Los Angeles up 75-68, with 2:09 remaining in the game, on a hook shot. And it looked like Los Angeles had finally began to wear down the Thunder. What proceeded to happen after OKC Head Coach Scott Brooks called an emergency timeout is the stuff NBA playoff basketball is made of:

1. James Harden drove into the teeth of L.A.’s defense converting a layup. 77-70 Lakers, 1:59 remaining

2. Kevin Durant‘s length finally gave Kobe issues by tipping away a pass, which he converted into a right-hand dunk. 77-72 Lakers, 1:45 remaining

3. Russell Westbrook forces Steve Blake into a sideline pass to Bryant. Harden makes a huge defense play on Kobe, blocking his jumper and turning it into a transition layup on the other end. 75-74 Lakers, 0:56 remaining

4. Bryant misses another 3-pointer and on the ensuing possession, KD drives right, around Bynum and throws up a runner over Pau Gasol. 76-75 Thunder, 0:18 remaining

Add in Durant’s one made free throw with 0.3 on the clock and you have a 9-0 run to end this game, along with a Laker Nation that must be mortified. Like watching a horror film, you don’t want to see it, but you can’t look away.

How Oklahoma City Won The Game:

Heart: Now this is how a “Big Three” is supposed to perform in crunch time (zing!). Durant, Westbrook, and Harden’s fingers were all over the last two minutes of this game. Don’t fool yourself, the last two minutes were how this game was won (or brutally lost if you are a Laker fan).

Honestly, there isn’t much that OKC did right, up until that point. The Thunder had more turnovers (8) than field goals made (7) in the second half. In the first 7  1/2 minutes of the 3rd quarter the Thunder only made two field goals.

Durant spent much of the game being too passive (he took only 4 shots in the first half, while Westbrook had 10), especially given that he was successful off of  isolations and pick-and-rolls, specifically against Metta World Peace. A few times MWP could be seen grabbing him because he was out of position to defend correctly.

Westbrook was too aggressive, overcompensating too many times in the first half and clearly trying to go for the jugular. The only thing Westbrook did well was physically, mentally, psychologically, emotionally, and everything-else-ally shut down Ramon Sessions. He couldn’t even convert a breakaway dunk (he thought he could hear Westbrook’s footsteps behind him) and looked like a deer caught in headlights with the ball in his hands.

Harden on the other hand, who was saddled with early foul trouble, failed to produce that needed spark off the bench, until his resurgence in the 4th quarter.

When it came down to it, Durant captured the idea of what it means to seize the moment (*ahem* unlike the 4th quarter mental seizures a certain South Beach King suffers *ahem*) and responded accordingly.

How Los Angeles Lost The Game:

Kobe Bryant: He was 4 for 11 from the field at halftime, displayed minimal lift throughout the game, and gave us the Kobe face at the end of the game for not being fed the ball with 0.3 on the clock, it instead going to Steve Blake (I do want to vouch for MWP, Kobe was pretty well covered and Durant’s Stretch Armstrong length wasn’t helping the matter). Add those issues to the fact that the man that went off on a tangent about not taking charges yesterday, actually tried to take one on Harden but was called for a block.

Now those things may be arbitrary to L.A.’s failure, but these next things are not. What made Bryant’s late game performance such a menu for criticism was the fact that the Lakers main advantage in this game was feeding the duo of Bynum and Gasol. Yet, late in the 4th quarter, all of their offensive possessions ended with a shot at least 15 feet away from the rim.

In the last 6 minutes of the game, after being utterly ineffective all evening, the stubbornness of hero ball reared it’s ugly head. Maybe it was anxiety or fear, but Kobe was 0-5 from the field, 0-2 from three, committed a foul, turned the ball over on a inbounds pass that led directly to the aforementioned Durant dunk, and had another tipped pass go out of bounds off of his arm. That’s a very odd and LeBron James-centric turn of events. The problem is, Kobe has followed this trend (though not as extreme as this case) over the past few years.

ESPN scribe J.A. Adande pointed out this nugget in today’s Daily Dime regarding Kobe’s clutch performances:

This wasn’t a case of Bryant playing his gastroenteritis-drained guts out and his teammates failing to match him, like Game 6 in Denver. This was a collective effort putting the Lakers in position to get the victory in Oklahoma City they need to win the series, and Kobe bobbling it away.

Kobe’s past performances prohibit us from saying he never comes through in the clutch. But his recent history tells us it’s been four years since he hit a game-winning shot in the playoffs, and the ledger is starting to pile up on the negative side.

That’s an alarming piece of information. This isn’t to say the fault rested solely Kobe’s shoulders, there is one other player that with an average performance could of made this a blowout. But when you take the offensive gameplan away from what is working and dilute it with jump shots and hero ball that essentially loses you the game, the responsibility for the loss does fall to you.

Roman Sessions: Now usually I don’t present specific players as the reason that a team loses, but in this game, Bryant wasn’t the only reason the Lakers acted the part of step-ladder and hoisted the Thunder to victory. Sessions had a +/- of -12, scored 2 points, and failed to record an assist. He was outplayed by Derek Fisher. Go ahead and read that again Lakers fans.

Even a mediocre performance could have taken L.A.’s great defensive scheme, which consisted of trapping Westbrook, double-teaming Durant, challenging those wide open mid-range jumpers from Game 1, being physically, disrupting the passing lanes, holding the Thunder to 16 free throws and 42% shooting, and general bulling OKC in the paint (46-34 advantage), and used it to reap the benefits of a comfortable 1-1 series split.

Instead the Lakers have to wonder if they just gave their best effort….and still couldn’t get things to go their way. And with a 0-2 deficit and a heartbreaking loss, they may never see it.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The Big 3 finally came through for the Celtics in a rout of the Sixers 107-91, but this time instead of the Hall of Fame trio Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett it was Rajon Rondo subbing for Allen.  In the first 2 games Rondo wasn’t his usual assertive self.  This time he was in full attack mode.  He was in complete command of what he wanted to do on offense.  Games like these are why you have to place Rondo in the upper echelon of point guards in the NBA.  I honestly don’t know who I would rather have Chris Paul or Rondo?  Due to consistency I would give the slight edge to Paul.  But Rondo does amazing things all without a jumper.  Rondo’s final numbers were 41 minutes 23 points 14 assists and 6 rebounds.  Allen struggled big time and was a non-factor.  Luckily Mickael Pietrus picked up the slack scoring 13 points, hitting 3 three’s.  The other Big 2 were not too shabby either.  Struggling from the effects of a sprained knee Pierce finally looked like his usual self scoring 24 points grabbing 12 rebounds and going to the line 14 times.  He was back to his attacking self; let’s see how long he can keep it up.  Garnett continues to show life from his trip to the Lazarus Pit.  His jumper is probably better than it’s ever been or now he’s willing to unleash it.  Garnett continues to put up fantastic numbers, tonight he had 27 points and 13 rebounds.  The offensive foul call at the end of game 2 that probably lost the game for the Celtics had to just eat away at Garnett.  Tonight he made sure that it wouldn’t get that close.  The Celtics were all over the place.  The Sixers had no shot today.

The leading scorer for the 76ers was Thaddeus Young who had 22 points.  Everyone else was pretty much missing.  The Sixers scored only 16 and 17 points in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters.  Andre Igoudala 10 points on 3-6 shooting in 32 minutes.  Elton Brand in 15 minutes of work produced 3 points was 1-6 from the field.  That’s what $30.5 million buys you in the Playoffs.  Jrue Holiday had 15 quiet points.  The Sixers couldn’t get much going on offense and they’re defense wasn’t all that great either.  The Celtics shot 51.9% from the field while the Sixers were 40.7%.  They were outrebounded 44-37.  I’m not sure if anyone outside of Philly expects the Sixers to win this series.  Really the Celtics should be up 3-0 right now, if it weren’t for a horrible 3^rd quarter in game 2.  The Celtics are the better defensive team, the more experienced team, and the better coached team.  The Sixers have some talent on the team.  But they’re not in the same class as Boston.  This series could be over in 5.

The Spurs have been one of the NBA’s best run franchises of the last twenty years. The Clippers have been one of the NBA’s worst run franchises. Perennial contenders vs. consistent losers; experience vs. talent.

The Spurs have been boringly good over the last twenty years, making the playoffs in 19 of the last 20 years. The only time they didn’t make the playoffs, they drafted Tim Duncan and he has won them 4 titles, helped them make the playoffs in each of his 15 years and cemented his legacy as the best power forward of all time. Greg Popovich has proved to be one of the best GMs and coaches in the NBA, winning the NBA coach of the year award this year.

The Clippers are consistently in the lottery over the last twenty years. This is only the 5th time they’ve been in the playoffs in the last 20 years and are coming off just the second series that they’ve won during that time. Every year, it seemed that the Clippers found a way to completely destroy their young nucleus, alienate their fan base and rebuild again and again. Helmed by Elgin Baylor as an inept GM and multiple coaches that always seemed to convince fans that they needed to be fired (see Dunleavy, Mike, Del Negro, Vinnie, etc.), the Clippers always seemed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory enough for Donald Sterling not to have to pay anyone.

Until this year, when they won the Chris Paul sweepstakes and were transformed by his leadership, clutch play and sheer force of will to win. The Clippers are contenders, but they are limping to the finish line. They survived a 7 game brawl of a series with the Grizzlies to make it to the 2nd round. Chris Paul has a groin injury, Blake Griffin is hampered by a left knee, Caron Butler has a broken left hand, the Clippers look like they haven’t been here before. Because they haven’t.

The Spurs planned to be here. All the way through the regular season, they were playing for a title because they expect one. Anything less would be uncivilized.  They had the best record in the West despite multiple DNPs – OLD  for their big 3 and having just swept the Jazz. Fully rested, prepared and experienced, the Spurs look to be the better team.

So who will win?

The Clippers will win if…

1) Chris Paul miraculously recovers and eviscerates Tony Parker. Even though he’s been playing at an MVP level all year, he needs to complete destroy the guywho actually ended up 3rd in the MVP voting this year, lead his team to a higher level every game, and completely shut down the most efficient scoring point guard in the league.

2) The bench plays out of their mind defense for four games. They outscored the starters in the 4th quarter of the crucial Game 7 in Memphis.

3) Blake Griffin gets healthy, grows four inches and is somehow able to guard Tim Duncan.

4) DeAndre Jordan decides to show up for the 2012 NBA playoffs.

The Spurs will win if…

1) Everyone does their job. They were built for this. Despite popular opinion, and Popovich’s jokes, the Spurs actually have a younger team on average than the
Clippers:  They have efficient scorers in Parker, Manu Ginobili and Duncan and have the best offensive efficiency in the NBA this season.  They’re going against the team with the worst defensive efficiency remaining in the playoffs.

2) Duncan holds down the fort on D, DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter rebound, Kawhi Leonard locks down the opposition’s best perimeter player. Danny Green, Steven Jackson and Matt Bonner knock down 3s. Everyone does their job. They know how to do this.

This Spurs team may be the most complete team in the league and look to be on to the next one.

Prediction: Spurs in 5

Wait a minute I think we’ve seen this movie before, let me know if it sounds familiar: within the last 2 minutes of the game Miami struggles to identify a closer, both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James seem confused and disinterested. They both combine for 0 points in the last few minutes of the game as each fail to connect on all field goal & free throw attempts. If this were a Hollywood production, this recurring theme would provide more sequels than the SAW series. It’s as if Miami has no idea how to execute in these situations. It’s almost comical in a way that a team that possesses 2 off the top 10 players in the world can’t find a solution to this persistent problem. Before we join the bevy of folks who will critique the conclusion of this game, let’s hit the rewind button to see how Miami ended up in this situation.

Why the Pacers Won…

With the loss of Chris Bosh looming over the Heat, there was a sense of skepticism about who would step up in his absence. Miami had a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series and could not afford to lose home court advantage to a Pacers team that was looking to capitalize on the void in Miami’s frontcourt. Both teams began the game shooting terribly, Indiana tried to slow down the tempo of the game by forcing the heat to play a half court game. David West and Roy Hibbert were focal points on offense but they struggled to score in the first half. The Heat rode their 2 horses as expected, both James and Wade supplied most of the offensive punch in the first half as the heat seized a 5 point lead at halftime.

The 3rd quarter was a different story, the Pacers came out with more focus and energy as they outscored Miami by 14 points in the quarter. The guard play for the Pacers was exceptional. Paul George finally showed up in the postseason as he hit some key shots to shift the momentum towards Indiana’s way.  Leandro Barbosa and George Hill also help contribute offensively, Hill had his best game of the series scoring 15 points and hitting 6 of the 7 free throws he attempted. Danny Granger continued to struggle but was effective on the defensive end of the floor. David West recovered his shooting touch and had a strong 2nd half as well. The Pacers finished the game shooting 37% from the field.

Why the Heat Lost…

Of all the words in the English language, only one comes to mind when thinking of the Heat’s supporting cast and that word is USELESS. Check out these stat lines below:

Shane “WASHED UP” Battier - 33 mins 5 points 1-2 shooting
Mike “CLANK CLANK” Miller - 17 mins 0-3 shooting 0 points
Mario “UNDERACHIEVER” Chalmers - 23 mins 2-10 shooting 5 points
Joel “CONVICT MUZIK” Anthony - 35 mins 0 points

I mean what is this? Aren’t these professionals who have played the sport for most of their lives? Can’t they supply some sort of offensive punch to help relieve James and Wade? The answer has been a resounding NO! Miami’s bench is a joke, a waste of money in my opinion & there’s no way the Heat will even smell the Eastern Conference Finals let alone the NBA Finals if they continue to get absolutely nothing from their bench. The Heat shot 6% as a team from the 3 point line for the second game in a row, a first in NBA playoff history. D-Wade had another poor shooting game (35% for the series).  He seems a bit slower and somehow his shot selection continues to get worse as he gains more playoff experience…in other words its going backwards. Wade ended up with 24 points.  To his credit he did remain aggressive throughout the game and drew foul after foul which resulted in 10 free throw attempts. Despite the critical missed free throws, Lebron James played really well.  He finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals in the loss. He also did a decent job of defending Pacers forward David West but ultimately he will have to deal with all the negative criticism for missing those 2 free throws.The Heat shot 34% in the loss and they will try to recover in a not so hostile environment in Indiana in Game 3.

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“It bears mentioning that Kobe jogged back on D on *the first play of the game*”

That little gem is what John Hollinger, ESPN stat guru, the inventor of the heralded PER advanced statistic, tweeted last night, around 10:00 PM PST. And it pretty much can sum up the collective effort that the Lakers showed last night in Game 1′s old-fashioned-beat-you-like-you-stole-something119-90 loss against a confident and determined Oklahoma City Thunder team.

It also confirmed exactly what every Laker fan should fear going into this series: The Thunder are indeed for real and the Lakers are tired and two steps too slow. This wasn’t an entirely compelling game, as a matter of fact it wasn’t a game that you can take a whole lot of new information from regarding this series. Almost everyone knew that the Lakers could possibly come out slow and tired. And that’s exactly what they did. Those same folks (including myself) “predicted” that the Thunder would come out brash, hot and ready to play. And they proceed to blow the Lakers out of the building.

Honestly if this Game 1 did anything, it showed that the Thunder are one of the top 3 teams in the league (if not the best) and the Lakers are capable of getting swept if they are not careful. Again all things we probably all could guess before this series began.

How Oklahoma City Won The Game:

Mid-range effectiveness: I don’t think I have ever seen Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook hit some many wide open mid-range jumpers in any game this season. I mean seriously Lakers? Westbrook had 3 shots at the rim (missing 2) and one basket from 3 (which he made), everything else? Mid-range. He was 10-15 from the field, constantly using Kobe Bryant and the virtually invisible Roman Sessions. KD shot a comparable 8-16 from the field, with 50% of his attempts coming from mid-range. It was an even performance that set the tone from the tip.

Taking care of the ball: As I noted in my review, OKC is the most turnover prone team in the NBA. And of course they proceed to turn the ball over an amazing four times. Yes, four. The Lakers had no chance. They only gave up one forced turnover with a Metta World Peace steal, but otherwise they were smart and efficient with the ball. The aforementioned mid-range display by KD and Westbrook helped eliminate any opportunities the Lakers had to create havoc in the passing lanes or get cheap steals in the paints on over-aggressive Westbrook passes.

Getting to the Free Throw line: Led by James Harden‘s 9-10 shooting from the line, the Thunder got the line 29 times, by consistently taking advantage of the Lakers slower-than-usual reaction times and lackadaisical defense. The 29 was a high for the Thunder against the Lakers this season, and three above their season average.

How Los Angeles Lost The Game:

Not showing up: This is the playoffs, is it not? Yet, the Lakers clearly treated this like a regular season game. Signs of wear and tear over the course of these playoffs have been very evident from more than a few teams, but when with the “I refuse to let my team lose” Kobe Bryant at the helm, shouldn’t your team be a little more fired up? Just a little?

Given that every fan and critic this side of the hemisphere knew there was a chance that the Lakers would be fatigued, wouldn’t the ultra-competitive Kobe, pull out one of his 30-point near-win masterpieces, he cranks out, as he deems necessary? As it went even Kobe seemed to be content coasting through this game.

No gameplan: What exactly was the gameplan for the Lakers? Feed Andrew Bynum (who was wildly effective, especially being guarded one-on-one) the ball occasionally and let Kobe dictate when to take his two-hands-in-the-face jumpers? I’m sorely disappointed for Lakers’ Head Coach Mike Brown ability to not only seem unwilling to make adjustments (except for taking the ball out of Sessions hands and letting Pau Gasol facilitate), but leaving his starters in the game in the 4th quarter.

Turnovers: 22 points off of 15 turnovers. Well I guess if you’ll let the team with the highest turnover rate in the league have a career day, you might as well cough up the ball and let them have a field day on the other end, right? I understand the OKC defense was at the top of it’s game, but many of these turnovers we’re just bad passes proceeded by bad decisions.

Someone wake me up when this series actually starts. With a the majority of the 4th quarter and a full day of rest, the Lakers should be more than ready to actually make this series interesting in Game 2. Or they can do what they did against the Dallas Mavericks last year and lay a collective egg in the next three games. I don’t think it will surprise many of us either way.

“He doesn’t start. I only fist-bump the starting five. I don’t fist-bump subs.” – Metta World Peace.

Shots fired. Let it be Derek Fisher returning to the team in Los Angeles that scorned him, trading him to the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline, where he was released and signed on with the Oklahoma City Thunder. You can point to the leagues two highest scorers in Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant, the latter of which sat out the last game of the season against the Sacramento Kings and wanted to let everyone know how unimportant the race was by stating the game before, “[It's] not very important, San Antonio was playing me single coverage yesterday, if it was important I would have gone for 50.”

Yet, the one storyline going into this 2nd round series, pitting the young, athletic Oklahoma City Thunder versus the experienced Los Angeles Lakers, is Elbowgate. Metta World Peace returning to the scene of the infamous elbow to the head of the newly minted Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden, in the last OKC-Lakers game of the season. The fire that the ex-Ron Artest is attempting to light under the feet of the Thunder may start a heated and physical series in this years playoffs.

As much as the Thunder are seen as the better team (and on paper they are) this may be a more evenly matched series than many think. The Lakers ranked 10th on offense and the Thunder ranked 9th on defense, on defense the Thunder were ranked 2nd and the Lakers ranked 13th.

How Los Angeles Can Win The Series:

On Offense: The Lakers must feed Andrew Bynum in the post. If Kendrick Perkins is not fully healthy following his hip strain in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks, then Bynum presents a huge strength for the Lakers. Perkins is one of the few players that can defend Bynum one-on-one. Bynum’s averaged 14.7 ppg on 42% shooting (per 36 minutes) when Bynum was on the court and 20.2 ppg on 50% shooting when he was off.

An inspired Bynum is discussed as possibly the best center in the league. The Lakers don’t have the weapons on the perimeter to force the Thunder’s “Big Three” in Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Harden to guard anyone, so they need to force the action in the paint (supplying a good dose of physicality) to free up their shooters.

Subsequently, the only improvement the Lakers made against the Thunder in their regular season matchups was making corner 3s at a higher rate (from 35% to 41%) than usual. If the Lakers can capitalize on this by stretching OKC’s defense, then they have a chance to keep things open down low.

On Defense: OKC  is the worst team in the NBA when it comes to taking care of the ball (ending possessions on turnovers almost 17% of the time). Can the Lakers take advantage of it? They Lakers were by far the NBA’s worst team at forcing turnovers (12%, over 2% worse than the next team). L.A. also doesn’t have the personnel to take advantage of transition opportunities outside of Roman Sessions. Easy baskets and turning defense-to-offense quickly is a necessity to winning this series.

Keeping with the theme on offense, the Lakers will need MWP to bump and push on Durant to keep him off his game without gifting him free throws. Easier said than done, but two years ago, this is what caused Durant to be a few notches below is usual effectiveness.

How Oklahoma City Can Win The Series:

On Offense: The Lakers are currently the best team in the league at avoiding fouls (opponents only get to the line 0.212 times per each field goal), while on the other end, the Thunder, are first in getting to the free throw line at a rate of 0.334. The issue the Thunder face is that they have fell more than 10% below their average when facing the Lakers in the regular season. If L.A. is as aggressive as they should be, the Thunder have to be ready to be match that aggression in a good way.

The other main component of the Thunder’s offense that they have to handle is forcing the tempo. The Lakers just came off a taxing seven game series against the thin air-Denver Nuggets, and now will have to play four games in six days. All against a Thunder team that has had eight days of rest. The Thunder’s youth will be much more equipped to deal with the back-to-back (even if it is in L.A.) this weekend than the Lakers.

Not to celebrate the injuries to that have occurred in these playoffs to key players, but if I am the Lakers I would be worried about the high minutes played this season by their key players (between 35-38 mpg for Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Bynum), and if I’m the Thunder, I take advantage of it by running frequently.

On Defense: Guarding Bryant will firstly fall to Thabo Shefolosha, secondly to Harden, and Durant or Westbrook will probably see time on Kobe as well. And that’s the way he should be defended by OKC. They shouldn’t look to be dependent on any one defender, and should throw a variety of looks at him. Thabo’s length and quickness has always caused Bryant issues, Harden has done well just by overworking him, and even Durant had improved as a perimeter defender length and growing defensive knowledge can frustrate Kobe.

You know that OKC will double L.A.’s bigs, as they should, and force L.A.’s other players (Sessions, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes) to make shots from the perimeter. Making the Lakers rely on those secondary players to come through is a recipe for victory.

The two OKC wins were reminiscent of similarities between the Thunder’s great scoring (46% shooting in both wins), specifically Westbrook’s and Durant’s dominant scoring, and even better defense on the Lakers (41% and 38% shooting from the field in both loses). I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the one game the Lakers won, that there were a lot of things that went their way. James Harden’s absence for part of it, late game mastery by Bryant, winning the offensive rebounding and second chance battle, and a career best performance by a bench player (Jordan Hill‘s 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks) to pull out a double overtime win.

None of those are assets you can depend on consistently enough to win 4 games out 7 in any series. Especially against one of the top three teams in the NBA.

Prediction: Oklahoma City in 5

The NBA wants the Knicks to be competitive. They desperately try to help the Knicks in any manner possible (1). As NBA bluebloods in a major market, they enjoy luxuries that smaller market teams do not.

Players want to play in New York for non-contract reasons. They’ll go there to: expand their appeal to non-basketball fans by hosting SNL, appearing on David Letterman, getting shout-outs from rappers, to “build their brand” and many other factors that don’t count against you on the salary cap.

The Knicks won their first playoff game in over 10 years on last Sunday. Why can they only win 1 playoff game with 3 Olympians (2)?

While the Knicks have, undoubtedly, been the worst run franchise in the NBA for the last 20 years, which is an achievement when Donald Sterling runs another NBA team, the answers may surprise you.

 1) Carmelo Anthony is not a leader.

He is the most efficient scorer in the NBA.  On the block, off the dribble, pull ups, free throws, 3 pointers . . . he is consistently in the best clutch performers in the league.  There is no one that I would want to take a shot to win the game more than Carmelo Anthony including Kobe. So why can’t he win?…

 Carmelo is a front runner.

You can see this in the difference in his attitude on the Olympic team and his attitude for his NBA teams. As long as Carmelo is with guys his level or above, he’s good. If not, he whines, doesn’t play defense, asks to be traded, clashes with coaches and . . . loses.

Carmelo is the best all around scorer in the NBA. He’s won a gold medal with Team USA, a NCAA title, and a state championship in high school. He’s one of the only current NBA players to be able to say that, but he will not win a NBA title until he becomes a leader and makes his teammates better. He may not be able to make jumpers for other guys, but he can become a leader. He needs a crash course, this ain’t high school.

 2) The Knicks don’t have a point guard.

Although Jeremy Lin and “Linsanity” captured the world’s attention, Lin’s play would not even get him on the All-Star team. Just look at the point guard crop in the Eastern Conference.  Admittedly weaker at PG than the Western Conference, its still nothing to scoff at.  Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holliday or Jameer Nelson would be better options than Jeremy Lin if you aren’t concerned about jersey sales. The West is even tougher. When an off night in the West means you have to face Steve Nash or Ricky Rubio, you have a tough job.

What better weapons could a PG want than:

• the best pure scorer in the league (sorry Kevin Durant)
• the best finishing power forward in the conference in Amar’e Stoudemire
• the three best 3 point shooter in the league in Steve Novak aka Discount Double Check
• the Defensive Player of the Year in Tyson Chandler

How can you average 6.4 turnovers per 48 minutes with those weapons?

Jeremy Lin is a 2 guard playing point because he can’t guard other NBA 2 guards. Baron Davis was out of shape before his injury.  Iman Shumpert has the same issue as Jeremy Lin and Mike Bibby is done.

With the best group of PGs in recent memory, you cannot win without a quality point guard. If you want to win in the NBA, you need a quality point guard or leader, preferably both. Look at what Chris Paul, aka Captain America, has done for the Clippers.

Until the Knicks get one or the other, they will implode in the playoffs. Here’s hoping its Steve Nash and/or Phil Jackson next year…