The Boston Globe (Tim Povtak) reports: Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick is mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his life – making three of his last 25 shots – so the advice he received from coach Stan Van Gundy during his off day was a little surprising. Van Gundy told Redick not to come near the practice floor Friday. “He told me not to touch the ball,” Redick said after a light practice yesterday. “Usually, throughout the playoffs, I’ve been taking extra shooting practice. This time I did nothing but watch some film. Maybe that will work.”
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Useful playoff stats and info
This will be the Lakers 46th Game 6. The Lakers are 26-19 in Game 6 (any round) all-time. In series that go at least six games, the Lakers are 33-12 all-time (28-12 Los Angeles, 5-0 Minneapolis). When winning Game 6, the Lakers are 23-3 all-time (20-3 Los Angeles, 3-0 Minneapolis). When losing Game 6, the Lakers are 10-9 all-time (8-9 Los Angeles, 2-0 Minneapolis). When leading a series 3-2, the Lakers are 30-4 (any round) all-time (25-4 Los Angeles, 5-0 Minneapolis).
So far, there have been 14 playoff games decided by three or fewer points. All time, the most games decided by three points or less in an entire postseason were 19 in 2006.
Boston’s Glen Davis is averaging 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 37.8 minutes during the playoffs after averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 21.5 minutes during the regular season’
The Nuggets have advanced to the Western Conference finals for the third time in franchise history and the first time since 1985.
Chauncey Billups is going to the conference finals for the seventh consecutive postseason. Only four other players since 1970 have advanced to seven or more consecutive conference finals (Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kurt Rambis — all Lakers). He is 17-4 all-time in close-out games in his career.
Dirk Nowitzki finished the series with Denver averaging 34.4 points, 11.6 rebounds and shot 53.4 percent from the floor. He is the fifth player since the merger (1976-77) to average 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and shoot 50-plus percent and lose a best-of-7 series.
In Houston’s two playoff series, the team that has led after the first quarter has now won all 11 games.
Cleveland is 8-0 this postseason, winning every game by at least 10 in sweeping both the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. The only other team to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs since the NBA went to an opening best-of-seven format in 2003 is the 2005 Miami Heat. The Cavs have also won each of their eight games by 10 or more points, setting the NBA postseason record for consecutive playoff wins by double digits, surpassing the 2004 Indiana Pacers streak of six games. The Cavaliers have outrebounded their playoff opponents in every game, have never trailed at halftime and have not surrendered 100 points yet in the postseason.
–NBA News
History favors Lakers, Celtics tonight
With history’s good angel perched comfortably on their shoulders, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have to feel pretty good about their chances of advancing to the conference finals as they enjoy 3-2 series leads.
The Celtics can close out their series tonight in Orlando against the Magic (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), while the Lakers look to advance in the second game as they visit the Houston Rockets (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
All time in best-of-sevens, the team with a 3-2 series lead is 122-102 (.545) in Game 6. Overall, the team with a 3-2 lead is 192-32 (.857) in those series.
The last team to advance after trailing a series 3-2 was the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s Playoffs. The Spurs were down to the New Orleans Hornets 3-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals before winning Game 6 at home and clinching on the road.
The Celtics are a perfect 32-0 in series in which they’ve led 3-2. Since the assemblage of the Big Three in Boston, the Celtics have posted a 2-3 record in Game 6s, going 2-2 in last season’s run to banner No. 17. Both Game 6 setbacks, however, came on the road: at Atlanta, 103-100, in the first round; and at Cleveland, 74-69, in the conference semis.
The Lakers, for their part, have had recent success in these types of situations, winning their last four “close-out” games in the playoffs, and 15 times in their last 17 opportunities dating back to 2001. Overall, under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are now 20-10 in close-out games. The Lakers have won 25 of their last 26 series when holding the opportunity to close out at any point. Their last series loss when having a close-out game came in 2006 when the Lakers squandered a 3-1 series lead against the Phoenix Suns. Prior to that, the Lakers had not lost a series when having a close-out game since the 1993 First Round vs. Phoenix in which they led 2-0 before losing the next three.
–NBA News
Brad Daugherty says old Cavs could beat current squad
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Mary Schmitt Boyer) reports: Former Cleveland center Brad Daugherty thinks his Cavs teams would beat the current edition. Writing on ESPN’s Media Zone Water Cooler, Daugherty, now an ESPN NASCAR analyst, said, “It’d be very difficult matching up and defending LeBron, much like the problems we had to guard Michael Jordan. LeBron continues to groom his outside shot, being able to make 15- to 18-footers, and that’s what’s making the difference in him being the player he is today as opposed to the player he was three years ago. “If we played them, and he started making 18-foot shots consistently, he’d be a problem. But I think we could have altered some of his shots, and we could have thrown a couple of really top-notch defenders at him. Larry Nance could guard out on the perimeter, he could guard a 3 or a 4, and Hot Rod Williams was an excellent defender. When you got past them to go to the basket, the game was still on because they could come from behind you and block your shot.”
Video spoof: Zach Randolph
As you know, the NBA has great commercials on “amazing,” and where it’ll happen. I like them.
Here’s a spoof of that, featuring Los Angeles Clippers forward Zach Randolph. This footage is from when he was still on the Knicks.
Joakim Noah not satisfied with first round loss
The Chicago Sun-Times (Brian Hanley) reports: ”It’s weird how everyone is so positive,” Noah said Sunday as the Bulls cleared their gear from the Berto Center. ”I went to breakfast this morning, and people started clapping in the restaurant. It was crazy. I was like, ‘Man, we lost in the first round.’ ”You’ve got to be really mentally strong in the playoffs and take away the distractions. This is a great learning experience, and I’ll remember these moments for my whole life. But as a team, we’ve got to be hungry for more.”
Danilo Gallinaro raves about Tel Aviv arena
The New York Post reports: Of his rookie season, Danilo Gallinari said, “It was a positive, great experience. Even if I didn’t didn’t play a whole season it was great to play, great staying in this city.” Gallinari, in his last season in the Italian League in 2006-2007, lost twice to Maccabi. He raved about playing in the Tel Aviv arena. “The Maccabi gym is incredible, if you have a chance, you should go,” Gallinari said. “You go into that gym, it’s an incredible atmosphere. Everyone’s wearing yellow T-shirts. It is crazy. It’s beautiful.”
Pistons may overhaul team this summer
The Detroit Free Press (Vince Ellis) reports: The Pistons will likely undergo a major roster overhaul in the off-season. Besides Antonio McDyess, Rasheed Wallace, Kwame Brown and Allen Iverson are unrestricted free agents. Iverson is gone, Wallace is likely to leave and McDyess is a question mark. It’s Brown’s option whether he will stay or not, but with a $4-million contract guaranteed, it’s hard to see him finding that kind of deal anywhere else. Walter Herrmann and Will Bynum are restricted free agents. It’s hard to see Herrmann back, but it’s the team’s option on Bynum and he’s expected to return. As for Michael Curry, it appears he will return for a second season. He has two years left on the $2.5-million-a-year deal he signed last year.
Adam Morrison and Sasha vujacic get testy
The Los Angeles Times (Bill Plaschke) reports: Sasha Vujacic grabbed. Adam Morrison screamed. Vujacic grabbed harder, playing defense with handfuls of jersey. Morrison screamed louder, warning Vujacic to keep his hands to himself. Vujacic shrugged. Morrison surged. The team converged. The men were separated. During this final scrimmage of a Friday afternoon practice at EnergySolutions Arena, some Lakers were wincing. Sitting on the baseline, Kobe Bryant was smiling. “I wasn’t even going to move,” he said later. “A lot of meowing going on out there. The claws coming out. A good thing.”
The Orange County Register (Kevin Ding) reports (via blog): Vujacic and Morrison were guarding each other in the Lakers’ 4-on-4 halfcourt practice, and Morrison loudly and angrily told Vujacic that he was sick of Vujacic’s grabs and elbows. Vujacic argued that Morrison was the one who initiated the problem by wrongly using his knee. The two argued for several minutes despite teammates and coaches trying to intervene, and when play resumed the two continued to go at each other with Morrison grabbing Vujacic’s jersey and the arguments sparking anew several times later.
Michael Redd says he still has game
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The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Charles F. Gardner) reports: Michael Redd wants to dispel any doubts as he makes the long comeback from surgery on his left knee. The Milwaukee Bucks guard is already three weeks ahead of schedule, according to team doctors, and Redd is keeping his customary positive outlook as he enters the offseason and prepares to spend time at home in Columbus, Ohio. After all, it doesn’t do much good to dwell on the two freak incidents that limited him to 33 games during the season. “The one thing I get out of it, I land on Luke’s foot and twist my knee, and Nate Robinson jumps on my ankle,” Redd said. “My body’s not breaking down. I just had these freak accidents, man.” … Redd said he was not worried about any long-term effects when he returns for his 10th pro season, all with the Bucks, next fall.