In Sketches, we'll be taking you on a quick trip through the NBA blogosphere to get our finger on the pulse of all of the key happenings and storylines in the L today.
CHICAGO BULLS REPORT: Rose, the favorite to win the MVP award, gives his team confidence even when he isn't playing well, as was the case in Game 3. "Right now, he is the best closer in the world," Bulls guard Kyle Korver said. "He wants the ball. He knows he can get a shot off. It doesn't matter what has happened the whole game. Great players are able to do that, come through when the team really needs you. And he's done that all year. He's hit so many big shots this year ... He's 22 years old. It's pretty special. I'm definitely glad he's on my team."
EIGHT POINTS, NINE SECONDS: He [Danny Granger] was stellar throughout the fourth quarter and did enough to keep his team in a position to win. In the regular season, much like he did tonight, he hits the shots that he should make. But he never has been, nor will he ever be, a guy you can give the ball to and say “score.” He is gritty, confident and willing. He is a cocky guy who will never doubt his ability to be a top-line scorer in this league. Making something happen when there is nothing there, however, is simply not his forte as a basketball player. He does many very-good things on offense, but that is just not one of them. And that’s OK. But for this team, one that has no reliable post game and no reliable penetrators and no reliable offensive sets when points are their most difficult to find, Granger is going to take the rap for not getting a better shot on that final Pacers set. I’m sure he’s fine with this. It’s his team and he, therefore, should and will take a lot of the blame for not being something he isn’t.
HOT HOT HOOPS: LeBron James recorded 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field to go along with 15 boards, six assists and just one turnover. He connected with Wade for two spectacular finishes: in the second quarter, he launched a pass from beyond half-court to Wade, who received the football pass and made an and-one at the rim (no, it wasn’t as pretty as the Wade-to-James alley-oop pass in Indiana); then in the third quarter, James dribbled the ball behind his back to freeze the Sixers transition defense before finding Wade for a two-handed flush. That last play even drew “oohs” from the Philly crowd.
LIBERTY BALLERS: The Heat jumped out early in the second half going on a 6-0 run within the first minute. At the time, I thought it was about that time where the Heat took over the game. To my surprise, the Sixers answered right back going a big time 12-0 run that I honestly didn't think they had in them. Within that time, Elton continued to add on to this total point tally from the same areas he was hitting from in the second quarter. With a Louis Williams brilliant drive towards the end of the quarter, the Sixers took a 2 point lead into the fourth. Could they really stick with these guys and snag a game to hang tight in the series?
The simple answer; no.
THE OREGONIAN: The Rose Garden was rocking before the tip and it never stopped, thanks in part to an incredible start by the Blazers, who jumped to a 10-2 lead. Matthews was drawing nothing but net while scoring 14 of the Blazers' first 18 points. He tied a franchise playoff mark with four three-pointers in a quarter, making four in the opening six minutes. "We couldn't overcome our bad start," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Their aggression put us on our heels."
MAVS MONEYBALL: Despite Rich Carlisle preaching for the exact opposite, the Blazers got off to a blazing hot start. They were up 10-2 on the Mavericks within a few minutes. As the quarter wore on, it was Wesley Matthews hitting 6/6 from the field, including four threes, for 16 points who stepped it up. Only 10 first quarter points by Jason Terry kept the Mavericks close.
ESPN BOSTON: Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal joined his teammates for Thursday's flight to New York in advance of Friday's Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the New York Knicks. The entire roster of the Celtics, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-0, made the trip. During Wednesday's practice at the Sports Authority Training Center in Waltham, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that O'Neal's ability to travel would suggest he might be able to play again as early as Sunday's Game 4 in New York.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: Neither Amar'e Stoudemire nor Chauncey Billups practiced Thursday and Mike D'Antoni says he is optimistic that Stoudemire will be available for Game 3 on Friday and less optimistic that Billups will play.
A WOLF AMONG WOLVES: As you all know, Love didn’t just stuff the traditional per game box score stats either. His PER is up from 20.7 in ’09/’10 to 24.3 this year. He grabbed 23.6% of all available rebounds, up from 21.5% last year. Most impressively, his true shooting percentage jumped from .549 to .593 this season. So he Improved a lot. As if that weren’t enough, according to Dave Berri and the Wages of Wins, Love actually led the league in Wins Produced this year, the irony of which is hilarious if you think about it for a second. Love’s story is easily the happiest aspect of an unhappy season. But with the Wolves every silver lining has its cloud. And here it is: nobody knows what the next CBA will bring, but it seems almost certain that in order to keep Love, by far the team’s best and most popular player since KG, in the fold, they’ll have to offer him a max extension in the next year.
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