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Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Wow
It is 1:12 a.m. Your correspondent has been watching the Lakers and Blazers play an epic game containing all of the elements that led me to wish beyond hope that the Wolves could avoid having the Lake Show in their "pod."
Sacramento has lost. The Lakers bench and, for that matter, the Blazers crowd react visibly.
Time winds down in regulation, Blazers up by three. Kobe throws a three point shot in that any trick-shot artist or Stanford Cardinal would be proud of.
Time winds down in the first overtime, game tied, and Shaq fouls Theo Ratliff before the ball is inbounded. Automatic free throws, right? Well, that is the rule -- but not if you're a Laker. Let's just take no time off the clock and "reinbound."
Hunh?
Time winds down in the second overtime, Blazers up by two. Derek Fisher throws up a prayer that bounds away, but... but... are you serious? A loose ball foul?
Timeout. Time in. Inbounded. Kobe. Ball game. As the Lakers announcer said (with Mychal Thompson at his side inexplicably quiet):
"You have GOT to be kidding me."
Better than that, the Blazers' radio broadcast, which I was privileged to be listening to courtesy of Sirius satellite radio said nothing. Nothing. For eight, I counted eight seconds. After an absolutely scintillating game, they come back after eight seconds and say:
"He made it. Unbelievable."
So, why am I so amped? Because the Wolves went out and kicked some backside and this year, as opposed to last, it paid off. Let's look at the Wolves' side of the bracket:
Wolves v. Denver
Sacramento v. Dallas
And the other?
Lakers v. Houston
San Antonio v. Memphis
Wolves against their own bracket? 8-4... Okay, they're 10-6 against the other, but I will be drinking it in when the Lakers and Spurs face each other in the the second round and the Wolves have home court against quite possible the poorest road team amongst Western Conference foes -- Sacramento.
I know. Let's not get past ourselves here. But the Wolves have a path to the Western Conference finals and thanks to Kobe, it's paved in purple... not gold.
I still don't like the guy.
It is 1:12 a.m. Your correspondent has been watching the Lakers and Blazers play an epic game containing all of the elements that led me to wish beyond hope that the Wolves could avoid having the Lake Show in their "pod."
Sacramento has lost. The Lakers bench and, for that matter, the Blazers crowd react visibly.
Time winds down in regulation, Blazers up by three. Kobe throws a three point shot in that any trick-shot artist or Stanford Cardinal would be proud of.
Time winds down in the first overtime, game tied, and Shaq fouls Theo Ratliff before the ball is inbounded. Automatic free throws, right? Well, that is the rule -- but not if you're a Laker. Let's just take no time off the clock and "reinbound."
Hunh?
Time winds down in the second overtime, Blazers up by two. Derek Fisher throws up a prayer that bounds away, but... but... are you serious? A loose ball foul?
Timeout. Time in. Inbounded. Kobe. Ball game. As the Lakers announcer said (with Mychal Thompson at his side inexplicably quiet):
"You have GOT to be kidding me."
Better than that, the Blazers' radio broadcast, which I was privileged to be listening to courtesy of Sirius satellite radio said nothing. Nothing. For eight, I counted eight seconds. After an absolutely scintillating game, they come back after eight seconds and say:
"He made it. Unbelievable."
So, why am I so amped? Because the Wolves went out and kicked some backside and this year, as opposed to last, it paid off. Let's look at the Wolves' side of the bracket:
Wolves v. Denver
Sacramento v. Dallas
And the other?
Lakers v. Houston
San Antonio v. Memphis
Wolves against their own bracket? 8-4... Okay, they're 10-6 against the other, but I will be drinking it in when the Lakers and Spurs face each other in the the second round and the Wolves have home court against quite possible the poorest road team amongst Western Conference foes -- Sacramento.
I know. Let's not get past ourselves here. But the Wolves have a path to the Western Conference finals and thanks to Kobe, it's paved in purple... not gold.
I still don't like the guy.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Who Controls Their Own Destiny?
That's right, Wolves' fans, the answer might surprise you.
First, a quick note from "the more things change, the more they stay the same" department.
Last year, on the final day of the season -- also a Wednesday evening -- the Wolves had to defeat Hubie Brown's Grizzlies in Memphis to clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They did so, but things fell out in other games not as expected and, suddenly, rather than heading to Dallas as the #6 seed, the Wolves seemingly got a worse draw having to host the Lakers. Why? Because they beat the Grizz.
This year? If the Wolves win tomorrow, they will, in all likelihood defeat the Denver Nuggets in the first-round of the playoffs. Who will await? The Lakers. Not for certain, at least not mathematically, but anyone who knows basketball knows that the Kings will probably defeat the Warriors and, in the playoffs, the Lakers have the edge on the Mavs in Round One.
So, what am I saying?
Two things. First, the only team who truly controls their own destiny is the Memphis Grizzlies, and they are proving as wily as their head coach. It is clear, having watched the first half of tonight's encounter against the Mavericks, that the Grizzlies want to lose this game. You see, the Grizz want nothing to do with the likely #4 seed Los Angeles, and who can blame them? So, you lose to Dallas and claim #6, who will be either San Antonio or Minnesota. Now, I don't want to play down the way the Wolves had played this season, but I would venture to guess that Hubie Brown would rather face the Wolves than Spurs. The matchups are better, the intangibles (i.e., defending champs vs. no playoff series wins) are better, and the Spurs are simply destroying people since March 15 or so.
So, Memphis loses tonight (Tuesday), wins Wednesday at home against the Wolves, and they have the matchup they want. Simple as that.
But wait a minute, isn't that also the matchup the Wolves want?
Hear me out. If the Wolves lose, and assuming (maybe poorly) that the Kings do in fact beat the Warriors in Oakland, here's the Wolves' path to the Western Conference Finals:
Home vs. Memphis, Home vs. either Sacramento or Houston
Hmm... Compare that to:
Home vs. Denver, Home vs. either Los Angeles or Dallas
I'm sorry, folks. I'll take the former, even if it means a possible Western Conference Finals matchup with the Spurs holding home court.
I know, I know. Nay, nay, nay. The Grizzlies will have just beat the Wolves and that does matter psychologically. I know also that the Wolves will have to beat either the Spurs or Lakers to get through it, and doing so at home does provide an advantage.
But, let's look at this logically. Who amongst the "Big Four" is truly struggling right now? Sacramento. Who amongst the Big Four does Minnesota absolutely know how to beat? Sacramento. They beat them twice in Arco and crushed them at Target in February employing a simple philosophy of defense first. I don't care where you play San Antonio or Los Angeles, the Timberwolves WILL be the Vegas underdog. Do you REALLY want to have to possibly play them both? Does home-court matter that much, especially when because the NBA seeds only hold for one round, the Wolves would only cede home-court in the Conference Finals, which is really a long, long way from where we are right now?
Alright, cynicism aside, having the Wolves finish the season winning nine in a row and clinching home-court through the Western Conference playoffs is more than we ever could have imagined coming in. Congrats boys, and if you go out there and beat Memphis to top off this run and incredibly hold off the Spurs, I absolutely commend you.
It just strikes me as dumb luck for the second year in a row for a franchise that luck has never shined upon. Go Warriors.
That's right, Wolves' fans, the answer might surprise you.
First, a quick note from "the more things change, the more they stay the same" department.
Last year, on the final day of the season -- also a Wednesday evening -- the Wolves had to defeat Hubie Brown's Grizzlies in Memphis to clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They did so, but things fell out in other games not as expected and, suddenly, rather than heading to Dallas as the #6 seed, the Wolves seemingly got a worse draw having to host the Lakers. Why? Because they beat the Grizz.
This year? If the Wolves win tomorrow, they will, in all likelihood defeat the Denver Nuggets in the first-round of the playoffs. Who will await? The Lakers. Not for certain, at least not mathematically, but anyone who knows basketball knows that the Kings will probably defeat the Warriors and, in the playoffs, the Lakers have the edge on the Mavs in Round One.
So, what am I saying?
Two things. First, the only team who truly controls their own destiny is the Memphis Grizzlies, and they are proving as wily as their head coach. It is clear, having watched the first half of tonight's encounter against the Mavericks, that the Grizzlies want to lose this game. You see, the Grizz want nothing to do with the likely #4 seed Los Angeles, and who can blame them? So, you lose to Dallas and claim #6, who will be either San Antonio or Minnesota. Now, I don't want to play down the way the Wolves had played this season, but I would venture to guess that Hubie Brown would rather face the Wolves than Spurs. The matchups are better, the intangibles (i.e., defending champs vs. no playoff series wins) are better, and the Spurs are simply destroying people since March 15 or so.
So, Memphis loses tonight (Tuesday), wins Wednesday at home against the Wolves, and they have the matchup they want. Simple as that.
But wait a minute, isn't that also the matchup the Wolves want?
Hear me out. If the Wolves lose, and assuming (maybe poorly) that the Kings do in fact beat the Warriors in Oakland, here's the Wolves' path to the Western Conference Finals:
Home vs. Memphis, Home vs. either Sacramento or Houston
Hmm... Compare that to:
Home vs. Denver, Home vs. either Los Angeles or Dallas
I'm sorry, folks. I'll take the former, even if it means a possible Western Conference Finals matchup with the Spurs holding home court.
I know, I know. Nay, nay, nay. The Grizzlies will have just beat the Wolves and that does matter psychologically. I know also that the Wolves will have to beat either the Spurs or Lakers to get through it, and doing so at home does provide an advantage.
But, let's look at this logically. Who amongst the "Big Four" is truly struggling right now? Sacramento. Who amongst the Big Four does Minnesota absolutely know how to beat? Sacramento. They beat them twice in Arco and crushed them at Target in February employing a simple philosophy of defense first. I don't care where you play San Antonio or Los Angeles, the Timberwolves WILL be the Vegas underdog. Do you REALLY want to have to possibly play them both? Does home-court matter that much, especially when because the NBA seeds only hold for one round, the Wolves would only cede home-court in the Conference Finals, which is really a long, long way from where we are right now?
Alright, cynicism aside, having the Wolves finish the season winning nine in a row and clinching home-court through the Western Conference playoffs is more than we ever could have imagined coming in. Congrats boys, and if you go out there and beat Memphis to top off this run and incredibly hold off the Spurs, I absolutely commend you.
It just strikes me as dumb luck for the second year in a row for a franchise that luck has never shined upon. Go Warriors.
Friday, April 09, 2004
A Little Down
Once upon a time WolvesGeek and TwinsGeek were paired at the hip. I'll never pretend to have had the crowd that John drew, but the seasons are, for the most part, mutually exclusive so I like to think we had a whole lot of crossover fans and shared readership.
John is all grown up. TwinsGeek has gone mainstream. Not in content, of course, but in format. No more referring pages, no more teasers.
I'm on my own... and, frankly, it scares me. Not because I think I can't draw a crowd. I know I can't. The Wolves can, however, and that would be enough. It scares me because I'm busy and I can't write this thing every day.
You see, if the Godfather of Geeks taught me anything, anything at all, it's that you need a lil' sumthin-sumthin every day to build a readership. Sorry, folks, with 100,000 frequent flier miles a year, that ain't happenin'.
So, I'll chime in when I can and here's what I have to say. It's real simple.
I don't care if the Wolves finish first, I don't care if they finish fourth. Okay -- I'm lying a little bit -- finishing first would be unbelievable, but the NBA, unlike the NHL, runs a pod system in the playoffs. What that means is seeds 1,4,5, and 8 are in one half of the bracket and 2,3,6,7 are in the other.
So what do we want to see? We want to see Sacramento in our pod and the Lakers and Spurs in the other. Period.
Right now? We're "podded" up with the Lakers. Bad news.
So, how do we get what we want? Simple. The Wolves, Lakers and Spurs win out (this column was written with the Warriors and Wolves tied at 40 in the 2nd). Okay, I'm not really rooting for the Spurs to win out -- I'd like to see the Blazers beat 'em in Portland and give the Wolves a breather -- but if that happens, we've got this: 1) Wolves, 2) Lakers, 3) Spurs, 4) Kings.
Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. How wonderful will it be to watch the Wolves open at home to the Kings in round two while the Lakers and Spurs may have to do battle? To be honest, the Wolves would have just as good of a chance to face the five seed, whether Memphis or Dallas, than the sputtering Kings (who also trail Phoenix at the moment).
So that's what you root for. Go Wolves, Go Lakers... Oh, and you root for a little luck -- like Pau Gasol being out for the rest of the regular season. Right where we want him, sitting with me on the couch.
There is, after all, a space empty now. A space that was always reserved for John. I wish him all the best on his new couch -- and I hope Mauer, Hunter, and Lecroy get off it as soon as possible.
Once upon a time WolvesGeek and TwinsGeek were paired at the hip. I'll never pretend to have had the crowd that John drew, but the seasons are, for the most part, mutually exclusive so I like to think we had a whole lot of crossover fans and shared readership.
John is all grown up. TwinsGeek has gone mainstream. Not in content, of course, but in format. No more referring pages, no more teasers.
I'm on my own... and, frankly, it scares me. Not because I think I can't draw a crowd. I know I can't. The Wolves can, however, and that would be enough. It scares me because I'm busy and I can't write this thing every day.
You see, if the Godfather of Geeks taught me anything, anything at all, it's that you need a lil' sumthin-sumthin every day to build a readership. Sorry, folks, with 100,000 frequent flier miles a year, that ain't happenin'.
So, I'll chime in when I can and here's what I have to say. It's real simple.
I don't care if the Wolves finish first, I don't care if they finish fourth. Okay -- I'm lying a little bit -- finishing first would be unbelievable, but the NBA, unlike the NHL, runs a pod system in the playoffs. What that means is seeds 1,4,5, and 8 are in one half of the bracket and 2,3,6,7 are in the other.
So what do we want to see? We want to see Sacramento in our pod and the Lakers and Spurs in the other. Period.
Right now? We're "podded" up with the Lakers. Bad news.
So, how do we get what we want? Simple. The Wolves, Lakers and Spurs win out (this column was written with the Warriors and Wolves tied at 40 in the 2nd). Okay, I'm not really rooting for the Spurs to win out -- I'd like to see the Blazers beat 'em in Portland and give the Wolves a breather -- but if that happens, we've got this: 1) Wolves, 2) Lakers, 3) Spurs, 4) Kings.
Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. How wonderful will it be to watch the Wolves open at home to the Kings in round two while the Lakers and Spurs may have to do battle? To be honest, the Wolves would have just as good of a chance to face the five seed, whether Memphis or Dallas, than the sputtering Kings (who also trail Phoenix at the moment).
So that's what you root for. Go Wolves, Go Lakers... Oh, and you root for a little luck -- like Pau Gasol being out for the rest of the regular season. Right where we want him, sitting with me on the couch.
There is, after all, a space empty now. A space that was always reserved for John. I wish him all the best on his new couch -- and I hope Mauer, Hunter, and Lecroy get off it as soon as possible.
