Davis and Goliath and Other Tales from the NBA [OC]
There has been a running theme across the majority of the match-ups in the first round of the playoffs - a toughness, scrappiness and grit that is often absent in the regular season - in short it’s playoff basketball. This has been carried out most successfully by the Memphis Grizzlies (which is no surprise as this rougher approach is their regular season calling card) and the Washington Wizards, who have come up with two road wins in Toronto. For a more even display of this style look no further than the Spurs and Clippers who have taken one game apiece in two savage encounters, each as emotionally draining as the last. It has also been utilised by three underdogs hoping they aren’t halfway through their playoff experience; the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks.
Not always the prettiest of basketball for the spectator, this time around it has provided entertaining series that bookmakers and common sense would tell us are one sided, yet the tenacity can evoke something in the fans that gives hope and keeps the games interesting. Common sense and the bookies have of course been correct so far as the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls through their regular season performance have earned their favourite status and have followed through with two home wins each in these early playoff games.
The hallmark of this tougher basketball is defence. And all three of the Celtics, Pelicans and Bucks have defended their opponents excellently for the most part. However the problem of playing like this is that these teams can lack the offense to capitalise on their solid defense. Blocks and steals are great but only half as useful without the conversion on the other end. While the Grizzlies have run a clinic on the walking hospital that is the Trail Blazers by crushing their offense and following up by having their own way in the Portland paint, and uncharacteristically for the Memphis side, from beyond the three point line too. Boston, New Orleans and Milwaukee as dark horses all have a ton of offensive potential but up until this point it's been too inconsistent, when it’s good it’s great, but when it’s not, it’s likely to make Shaqtin’ a fool.
Thomas the Anti-tank Engine
The Boston Celtics and coach extraordinaire Brad Stevens have put it to the Cavaliers on their home court outscoring Cleveland in three of the eight quarters. Their resilience in the match up is really something. So far they’ve done the predictable thing of putting it to the Cavs in the early quarters, but when they don’t build a significant lead, Cleveland have no trouble staying in the game and eventually passing the young Boston side with the firepower of Lebron, Love, Irving and Mozgov at their disposal. Even with this offense firing all cylinders the Celtics don’t reel in the second and third quarters before falling away, but hang on constantly clawing at any lead the Cavaliers build until fatigue gives way in the late minutes of the fourth. A significant factor in this is that the Celtics are getting killed in the size war with the combination of LeBron, Love, Mozgov and Thompson scooping up rebounds with only really Evan Turner and to a lesser extent Tyler Zeller to combat them, which looks like an absolutely exhausting experience. Tristan Thompson played 26 minutes in game two and took no shots, but made 2 assists, 1 steal and 11 rebounds, meaning his sole purpose on the floor was to collect rebounds. So while this works for Cleveland, Boston’s hodgepodge of players can't really afford this kind of specialisation and has to really pool it’s resources to combat the size difference.
Where Boston really shines is it's depth, they have one of the top benches in the league which is where the majority of their scoring comes from in the form of 5'7'' Isaiah Thomas plaguing the Cavaliers any chance he gets making off balance shots and Jae Crowder melting through the Cavaliers defence.
For them to make a statement against the Cavs though they really need more than this and need one of their starters to have a big game or two giving the bench something to build on.
Davis and Goliath
The New Orleans Pelicans are exposing some of the holes in the 67 win Golden State Warriors and while not winning, they are losing by not all that much, with a roster that isn’t exactly peaking in terms of health. Tyreke Evans has played in both games despite a knee injury, playing only 11 minutes in the first, but in the second game, playing no less than 40 minutes and putting up 16 points, claiming 10 rebounds and making seven assists, not the most efficient game with low percentage shooting but it’s not half bad for having a pronounced knee injury. Off the bench the Pelicans could do better but Norris Cole has had a big impact in both games when arriving in the game by bringing in pace when it’s needed and slowing it down when it’s not. The issue with Norris is that as long as the rest of the bench is lacklustre and Holiday is out, the former Heat man will see a lot of minutes and he has tended to peak earlier and is more prone to mistakes the longer he stays on the floor.
Saying that I could watch Cole's assists to AD all day.
One of the best stories of this first round is the recognition of Anthony Davis’ play and how he is picking apart the Warriors, almost single handedly at times. It is just a joy to watch the agile moves he pulls off against the defense of the top team in the NBA. This beautiful ‘what if’ moment captured the series and gave a twisted David and Goliath moment that encapsulates the attitude of these three young sides.
http://i.imgur.com/kiEsA6i.webm
Aside from Davis the only other consistent for New Orleans has been Eric Gordon. The Pelicans need to someone else to hit their groove when they play at home tonight.
Giannis and the Beanstalk
The Milwaukee Bucks are igniting a rivalry along the I94 with the Chicago Bulls. Tempers flared several times on the court if not in the stands, with some minor scuffles between players in the series getting chippy. As mentioned earlier what’s really letting the Bucks down is their lack of offense, with Khris Middleton being the only go to guy in both games. Holding Derrick Rose to 28.6% shooting in the second game is fantastic but can only take the Bucks so far if they don’t follow it up on the other end of the court. And leaves them in danger of things like six point swings if their defense lapses after a miss. The Bucks defense was so good in the early quarters that the Bulls committed 10 turnovers in the first half, but as the Bucks tired or the Bulls regained their composure or a combination of both the Chicago side only made three more for the remainder of the game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and all his potential is going to be thrilling to watch over the coming years and hopefully will work out, but for now he seems to lack confidence as he sometimes veers off at the first sign of a challenge in the paint.
Giannis with a reliable jumper would make this series all that more exciting. But for now it’s unrealistic to expect that kind of confidence to appear overnight so we’ll have to settle for when he does things like this.
Aside from Giannis their bench is as impactful as that of the Bulls with similar stat lines and similar energy. OJ Mayo, Bayless and Henson are all providing a ton of energy and some scoring coming off the sidelines to that of Brooks, Mirotic and Gibson.
Big Bad Wolves
These teams have already met most expectations and will hopefully begin to exceed them. They’ve made mistakes and their weaknesses have been glaring and show how far they have to go in some cases. But they also show a lot of hope for the future and seem to have been plain unlucky like the case of the Pelicans with injuries. Unfortunately for them they are playing against three teams that will punish them for any error they make and every gap in their lineup, whether it's due to injury or size. And for all the defense and ferocity they’ve shown thus far, when you’re against the best in the business, no matter what you do, plays like this,
this,
For all three scrappy underdog sides hope is not lost as they have something over their higher seeded opponents in an age advantage. The average age of these sides is significantly lower than their adversaries. Whilst this is a disadvantage in terms of veteran presence and leadership, if the playoffs series drag on and they snag a win or two their younger bodies should hold out better (in theory anyway) over the course of a series.
The Bill Simmons School of Basketball Philosophy would also celebrate the experience these guys are getting in the playoffs. A disputed factor but forgetting magical playoff experience, just more games together as a young group is certainly a positive especially in terms of gelling together and bonding through a difficult experience in facing the top tier of the league.
All three go to war on their home courts this evening, and despite all three coming back from their two road games winless they can all hold their heads high having stepped to the bigger competition in their own house. Any of these teams are capable of pulling off a couple of wins in this series and should any of them not manage it and get swept, the 4-0 series scoreline won’t do the battle they’ve fought against tougher competition justice.
Cheers for reading, if you got this far I hope you enjoyed it, any feedback is appreciated!
As usual you can view the piece with better formatting on my blog: http://gameatatime.com/davis-and-goliath-and-other-tales-from-the-nba/
A couple of my posts from earlier in the season:
Posted Apr 23, 2015, 5:34 PM UTC
Good lookin' OC, props. I'm not gonna read all that but I see you put a lot of work into it, keep it up!
Ha ty, I can't hold that against you, it's a tad on the long side alright!