Cherry Picking recaps yesterday's actionI guess seeding isn't that important, after all. Of the four games on Saturday, the Cavaliers were the only home team who actually managed to protect their home court as the No. 7 seed Bulls, No. 6 Mavs and No. 5 Rockets all won on the road.
There's no use reading too much into Dallas and Houston's Game 1 wins -- the Western Conference was so tight all year long that everyone knew those matchups would be a battle, even if the first games weren't particularly close. But Chicago nullifying home court advantage from the Celtics? That's huge.
Boston finished 21 games better than Chicago in the standings, and yet all the Bulls need to do from this point on is win at home and they can end this thing in six.
Will it happen? If Derrick Rose truly is the second coming of CP3 (more on that in a moment) and Tyrus Thomas the next Antonio McDyess (where did that midrange jumper come from?), well, anything is possible.
Boston held their own without Kevin Garnett in the regular season but looked downright lost on defense on Saturday. From the Boston Globe:
"To think that we worked on transition 'D' for two days and the first play of the game [Joakim] Noah gets a dunk - now, that was extremely disappointing," said Rivers. "You'd think, first playoff game, you'd be ready and up. And I just thought we kind of showed up and played the game. And then all of a sudden we got into a fight. And one thing I'd say about our guys, they join in. But at home, you're supposed to start it."If Boston can't straighten things out and start the fight in Game 2, I'm ready to hand the series to the Bulls. Yes, the Celtics are the reigning world champs and should never be counted out, but Garnett's status has become a constant distraction, and his absence has clearly shaken this team's confidence.
Doing Lines
Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose! Oh, and Derrick Rose.
Long before a certain Chicago rookie point guard even approached Lew Alcindor's mark for most points scored by a rookie in the playoffs, thousands of viewers at home likely uttered the phrase "broken record" -- Jon Barry and Nancy Lieberman could barely go 30 seconds without uttering Derrick Rose's name ... over ... and over ... and over.
It was certainly repetitive, but I'll give them a pass: Rose truly did put up a performance for the ages, finishing with 36 points (on 19 shots!), 11 assists, four boards and a steal. It was the best playoff debut by a point guard since, well, Chris Paul last year. If you recall, Paul scored 35 and 10 in his debut before exploding for 32 and 17 in an encore performance three days later. Your move, rook.
(Oddly enough, as exciting as Rose is on the court, he's just as boring off -- at least if you're holding a live mic in your hand. I mentioned this last night on Twitter: he's a nice kid, polite and gracious as all get-out with the media, but he's not much of a talker. And that's fine, not everyone is, especially at 20 years old. But for the sake of reporters everywhere trying to coax an interesting answer out of him for the next decade and a half, here's to hoping he's a fast learner.)
Watching Film
I realize that if you own a TV you've probably already seen this a hundred times, but here it is again. It's not quite a halfcourt shot -- he took off a full stride past the midcourt line -- but it's close enough to make your jaw drop (or, if you're a fan of the Detroit Pistons, your heart sink). LeBron did just about everything on Saturday but entertain the crowd at halftime -- but that's not to say he won't before the series is over.
On the Blockquote
The Dream Shake on Houston's efficiency:
We were so efficient that Morey probably wet himself. How's this for a stat-geek's dream? We scored 108 points on 65 shots. Portland scored 81 points on 84 shots. That's insane!Pippen Ain't Easy on Tyrus Thomas showing more than flashy dunks and blocks:
How many no/yes shots did Tyrus Thomas have? Those are when you see him taking the shot you scream "No!" and then when it remarkably goes in you yell "Yes!". I counted at least 3. He drained 3 jumpers in OT ...Kevin Arnovitz on True Hoop:
Chicago's fast-paced offense isn't the result of collective quicks so much as it is about Rose's alertness. Rose is more than happy to manufacture good looks in a halfcourt set, but he has the intrinsic ability to find early stuff before the defense can set. This isn't part of the program, it's just plain old opportunism by a gifted point guard.Mark Cuban on Twitter, encouraging you to draw your own conclusions:
notice the 1 team that puts their hand over their heart for the AnthemBrian Windhorst on Detroit's chances (or lack thereof):
The Pistons didn't get inside and score on the Cavs much and they didn't shoot well from 3-point range but still shot 46 percent. That is their game, they shoot mid-range jumpers. And they made a lot of them and still lost by 18 points. What this hints is the Pistons aren't just going to have to play well to win, the Cavs are going to have to play poorly.
A Picture is Worth 140 Characters of Less
Put this one in the "how-can-a-player-who-shows-no-emotion-look-so-freaky" file. Tweet your best captions to @NBAFanHouse and I'll update this post throughout the day.
