Man oh Man! That Rockets-Mavericks game was a ball to watch last night. I can't remember being that into a first round playoff game that didn't involve the Magic since high school. It's not that the game had earth shattering implications to it (though the Mavs have made it VERY hard on themselves now), it was more that both teams were playing at a very high level of intensity AND offensive efficiency. Not exactly a common combination in the NBA these days. Shit, the score at the end of the 3rd quarter was 88-84 which is more than the finals of a ton of playoff games from recent years. The fourth quarter didn't dissapoint as Nowitzki broke out of a two game slump to knock down some big shots and give the Mavs a chance to win. They would've too, if Tracy McGrady hadn't drilled and 18 footer with two seconds left. Totally clutch, as he had been all game. I almost forgot how unbelievably talented McGrady is and how much he can dominate a game when he plays with passion and a purpose. I guess I shouldn't have forgotten how supremely talented he is but can you really blame me? It has been over almost three years since he's displayed any sort of competitive fire.
One last thing: I really like when coaches let their guys go ahead and bring the ball down (without calling a timeout) for the last shot. If you have a point guard or a wing who can handle and shoot it, you should always do this. By not calling a timeout not only are you not allowing the defense to setup but you are also creating a situation that is tantamount to a pickup game atmosphere where a player can simply go down with a head of steam and create a shot (for him or a teammate) by going one-on-one. Great move by Jeff Van Gundy to have the confidence in McGrady's ability to let go and not overcoach the situation.
After last night, I am truly pumped for the rest of the playoffs, though none of tonight's games do much for me. It's looking like a Pedro-Smoltz kind of night at the Home of the Musing's.
The NFL Draft had plenty to talk about so in the interest of wasting as little time as possible I'll go ahead and give you my thoughts in a random ramble that everyone can enjoy:
- I'm not afraid to say that Romeo Crennel is just plain old cute. Did you see him smile when he was being interviewed by Berman? The man is like a human teddy bear. My friend John Van Vleet thinks that we should make up orange shirts that have a huge picture of a smiling Crennel on them (similar to the shirt worn by PacMan Jones) with the words "Teddy Bear" on the back and sell them in Cleveland. I'm slightly ashamed to says this but...I agree.
-Everytime that the ESPN cameras showed Mike Williams on saturday he was yelling and gesturing at unseen people. What was he doing while waiting to be selected, trading commodities on the Tokyo exchange? I still don't know what he was doing during these live look-ins but once he was drafted, he was immediately surrounded by a plethora of school children during his interview with ESPN. So my guess is that Mike is involved in the enslaving and selling of young school aged children. He had to pay the bills somehow over the last year, I guess.
- My highlight of the day may have been the selection of Adam "Pac-Man' Jones by the Titans. Not only was he wearing a shirt with a picture of himself but he was also sporting a diamond and platinum Pac-Man charm. To top it off, it also appeared as if Mr. Jones had rented out a nightclub for his draft party. I like that, don't invite everybody over to your Mom's house on saturday morning, just have the party at a nightclub and you can sleep their the night before the draft. No fuss, no muss.
- Both of the University of Florida players who were slected in the first four rounds went far lower than their talent would indicate but I suspect that both will (eventually) be very pleased with where they landed. Channing Crowder will step right into Morlon Greenwood's vacated WLB spot while learning his craft from two future hall-of-famers in Junior Seau and Zach Thomas. If Crowder can just soak up all their knowledge and stay healthy he has a chance to be a perennial Pro Bowl player in that system. As for Ciatrick Fason, he got absolutely screwed by the NFL's obsession with measureables and ended up going about two rounds lower than he deserved. This is a guy who led the SEC in rushing despite averaging less than 20 carries a game. I don't care how you slice those numbers, that is impressive. Yet, he too should be happy about landing in Minnesota, a place where there is no consensus #1 back. My prediction for Fason is that he is starting by mid season and will universally be regarded as one of the steals of the entire 2005 Draft.
Speaking of stealing, the staff here at the stadium has a free dinner scheduled at Outback tonight and I am already late so I am gonna cut this review short and finish the rest up tommorrow morning.
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