Posts Tagged ‘bryant’
On the same day that the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement was ratified, Commissioner David Stern has already overstepped the authority that the document allowed. Harmony between the league and the players’ association was expected, but that harmony didn’t even last 24 hours.
In a move yesterday, the Charlotte Hornets agreed to trade point guard Chris Paul in a three-team deal. The move seemingly would alleviate the risk of loosing Paul for nothing next summer; and would also avoid the cloud of drama that we saw engulf the Denver Nuggets last year with Carmelo Anthony.
Two of basketball’s perennial superpowers are starting not to look so super. Both the Lakers and Celtics now find themselves in unfamiliar positions: in a 0-2 hole in the playoffs. I do not think this is something anyone could have predicted. Has age finally caught up to the Celtics? Will Phil Jackson’s swan song be never reach more than the level of a hum? Perhaps, we will look at each team individually.With the Celtics a big part of the problem is offensively. First and foremost, they need better production from their bigs (specifically Kevin Garnett). Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal have combined to shoot 16-42 and that’s just not going to cut it at this time of year. They need to post up and take higher percentage shots as opposed to settling for jumpers. Rajon Rondo needs to also focus on better distribution, as he seemed to never recover after getting in early foul-trouble in game 2. I don’t even think the Celtics look old, they were running a lot in game 2 and had more fast-break points than the Heat. They should steer clear of this. They need to slow it down. They are built to be a half-court team and would be better served trying to make the Heat play their game instead of playing Miami’s. They also need to limit Wade and James more than they have, as the two have combined for 123 points. They were effective on the 2 in the regular season and can be again, but so far they have looked terrible. This should get a boost with the return of Shaq in game 3. The big guy’s familiarity with both, immovable frame, and defensive prowess; should limit their production. If they can limit the 2 big threats to 35 ppg combined, they should be able to win on any given night.