Are you not entertained? Thoughts from Game 1 of Brooklyn-Toronto and LA-Golden State

Bangkok, Thailand – ‘Gladiator’ will forever remain my favorite movie of all time. Besides incredible fighting scenes, an amazing story of retribution for the main character (Russell Crowe), teary-eyed moments, stupendous cinematography, and other underrated aspects, the film also produced one of the most exquisite statements in modern film history:

 

“ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”

The 2013-2014 NBA Regular Season was underwhelming, in my opinion. Besides a profusion of injuries, the league also witnessed contests decided by a variety of bad calls from the referees – has anyone taken note of the number of times the NBA League Office admitted that their officials made mistakes in close-game situations? Some bad schedule making featuring way too many horrible teams on National TV (too many Lakers games, to be honest) was present as well, and a lot of other reasons that made the recent NBA year quite forgettable.

Though, after the first two days of the 2014 postseason, I can only imagine new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver standing in the middle of a battlefield, wearing Roman war attire (okay, maybe not this) and screaming to us all, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”
While that would be a very extraordinary happening (and can you just visualize David Stern somehow being in this mix?), I doubt Silver is prepping for war, and is rather somewhere on a nice shiny throne, drinking some fancy scotch, and embracing the ambiance produced by the first two days of his debut NBA postseason. And honestly, who can blame him.

For me, these past two days have, by some means, allowed me to fall in love with the NBA again. The regular season was way too dragging, with too many teams opting to go the way of the tank rather than actually competing. 82 games were far too long, and some of those contests became way too meaningless even for contenders (I’m looking at you, Miami Heat). But now that the road to the final dance has begun, every match turns out to be more consequential, with the physicality increasing a notch higher. But most of all, the first eight games of the 2014 NBA Playoffs have become unpredictable, making watching the game of basketball a hundred times more enjoyable.

Five of the eight road teams escaped the collection of Game 1s with victories at hand, and none of those games were decided until some time in the fourth quarter. We’ve also had big-time playoff performers shine under the spotlight once again, while some newcomers made noticeable debuts in their first tour of postseason duty. Let’s take a look at two of the series that have transpired so far and analyze how it affects its respective series moving forward.

The opening show was between Brooklyn and Toronto, and the amount of heat between both clubs entering their first joust was not lacking. Prior to Game 1, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri decided to, uhm, inspire the citizens of Toronto by screaming “F*** Brooklyn!” in a pre-game gathering not far away from the Air Canada Centre. A few hours later, though, it was Paul Pierce and his Nets that had the last laugh after stealing homecourt advantage from Toronto thanks to The Truth’s fourth quarter heroics.

As we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, Pierce hit tough shot after tough shot to lead his team. But overall, the Raps’ defense was good, forcing the Jason Kidd-coached club to only 42.5% shooting from the field, including a pedestrian 17% clip from downtown. Had Toronto gotten enough on offense, they would have likely run away with a win in Game 1.

Playoff newcomer DeMar DeRozan had a forgettable afternoon, going 3-of-13 from the field. He wasn’t as passive as critics are making him out to be, but his shot selection was pretty barbaric. Possession after possession, the first-time All-Star settled for tough, contested fadeaway jumpers, and was forcing the issue rather than letting the game come to him.

Furthermore, Dwayne Casey will have to urge his guys to go more inside. Jonas Valanciunas, a second-year man out of Lithuania, absolutely dominated Kevin Garnett for 17 points and 18 rebounds. Playing small is BKN’s specialty, and if Toronto forces the issue from the perimeter again in Game 2, the long-armed defenders of Jason Kidd will have another field day. In Game 1, Brooklyn obtained 17 Toronto turnovers, while only committing eight of their own. That allowed Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, 24 markers each, to get easy scoring opportunities.

Almost everyone that picked the Nets cited the team’s playoff experience as the x-factor that will ultimately decide the series, myself included. What I didn’t predict, however, was that the disparity would already be so evident from the opening tip. While Brooklyn performed with incredible precision late in the game, the Raps struggled immensely, unable to get to their sets. Of course, the technical difficulties in the arena might have had something to do with TOR’s inability to perform well in offense, but this is the Playoffs, and excuses are unacceptable.

Sometimes statistics can be misleading, which is the case for the Los Angeles Clippers’ defense.

LAC was ranked top 10 in defensive efficiency during the regular season, but most of their success on that side of the floor was yielded from their blowout wins against non-playoff teams who weren’t very good on offense. Against the best scorers in the association, though, Los Angeles’ defense has been weak and often taken advantage of.

That’s why GSW managed to snag Game 1 despite the absence of Bogut.

In the regular season, the Chris Paul-led team was 3-6 against the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and Golden State Warriors, all three of which have incredible pick-and-roll ball-handlers and an arsenal of outside shooters.

The secret to beating LAC is now common, and no team is equipped to do the necessary objectives of doing so more than the Warriors. Doc Rivers instructs his defenders to almost always trap the ball-handler on defense with hard double teams, leaving another man surely wide open. A series of passes later, an outside shooter is going to be open to fire most of the time, and leaving Golden State’s snipers free to attack is less than ideal.

Take a look:

Stephen Curry, facing a double-team after getting a screen, passes the handle to a wide open Jermaine O’Neal, whose man, DeAndre Jordan, went to guard Curry after the pick.

The Clippers defense then excessively crash on O’Neal, leaving him the option to pass to either an open Klay Thompson, or Harrison Barnes, who has all day to shoot, and ends up making the three, giving his team a two-point lead.

The Miami Heat defend similarly, but their small-ball scheme allows them to contest open shooters quicker because of their speedy and shorter lineups. Ditto for the Thunder, when they go small by playing either Ibaka or Durant at the center position together with lengthy and athletic guys like Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefalosha, Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, and Reggie Jackson.

The Clips aren’t as effective in their pick-and-roll defense as the two aforementioned clubs, and it’s not because of their lack of athleticism. Jordan, though a phenomenal shot-blocker and rim-protector, is often slow with his rotations. In the picture above, Barnes, who made the shot, was supposed to be Jordan’s man, but his lack of awareness led to him to guarding O’Neal, who is less of a threat, and was already manned by JJ Reddick. O’Neal obviously has the size advantage over the former Dukie, but Jordan should have concluded that putting faith on his teammate to stop O’Neal is better than leaving Barnes as open as the Skyway going to Alabang at three in the morning.

Los Angeles has been making these kinds of mistakes all season long, and I thought they would clean up their act once the Playoffs commenced. Maybe they will after Game 1, but if they don’t, suddenly a Warriors upset doesn’t look so impossible.

Of course, Golden State won’t be as accurate from three-point range in every game moving forward, and Blake Griffin won’t only play 19 minutes again due to foul trouble. Likewise for Andre Iguodala, who was limited thanks to excessive fouling.
The good news for Lob City: They still had a chance to snag the game late, despite letting GSW attack them from every angle on defense. And had Chris Paul – not a superstar, sorry – made his two late free throws, who knows what could have happened? Nevertheless, many predicted this matchup to be the most exciting in the first round, and it looks poised to live up to its expectations.

If the first two days is any indication, the postseason is polishing to be a really fun ride. Needless to say, we’re in for one hell of a ride.

More notes:

The Grizzlies, down by double digits in the first half, cut OKC’s lead to two in the second half. What happened? Tayshaun Prince left the game due to an illness. It’s nice to have two worthy defenders in Prince and Tony Allen when you have to defend Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but doing so means you play three-on-five on offense. Memphis has to choose one of the two, and roll with Mike Miller and his shooting expertise in Game 2.

With the way Roy Hibbert is playing lately, comparing him to Kwame Brown would be an insult to the latter. Oh, and shoutout to Jeff Teague, who always takes his game up a notch in the Playoffs.

You can look at Dallas’ late collapse in two ways: they proved they won’t be a pushover against San Antonio and has a chance of winning the series with how they kept at par with San Antonio in Game 1; or the team just wasted any chance at an upset by squandering a 10-point lead in the fourth period. I mean, knowing the Spurs, any chance they trail by double digits in the fourth quarters of this series again?

Poor Al Jefferson. If he has to miss time because of the Plantar Fasciitis he suffered in Game 1, that would really, really suck. No post player is as good as Big Al in the NBA today.

Hustle, determination, and will are great. But sometimes, you need firepower, too. The Bulls desperately need some if they want to get far in the Playoffs.

LaMarcus Aldridge is really good. Damian Lillard is really clutch. Houston’s late-game offense where they melt the shot clock and rely on James Harden isolations is not nice. Stop “hack-a-whoever” – it’s not fun to watch a free throw shootout in the Playoffs. – Rappler.com