Weekend update

A few observations from the opening games

The 2002 NBA Playoffs have officially begun, and other than all those empty seats in Charlotte and New Jersey, it was a good weekend for the league.

Three games went down to the wire, the Pacers upset the top-seeded Nets, and there was only one screw-up by a timekeeper (fortunately, it didn’t affect the outcome of Dallas’ victory over Minnesota). Now if the league could just do something about Mark Cuban’s sunglasses.

Anyway, Game 1 is in the books, which means we’re about to start hearing ad nauseum about "adjustments." Each of the teams facing an 0-1 deficit thinks all it needs to do is make a few tweaks here and there to get back in the series. For example, here are some "adjustments" each of the losers needs to make for Game 2:

Nets: Quit playing like a bunch of scared puppies.
Jazz: Keep Scott Padgett off the floor in the closing seconds.
Sonics: Show Gary Payton (19 points, two assists) a stat sheet.
Magic: Get a good chiropractor for Tracy McGrady.
Sixers: Make an open jump shot… any jump shot.
T’wolves: Let Kevin Garnett touch the ball once or twice in crunch time.
Blazers: Convince Arvydas Sabonis to come out of retirement.
Raptors: Activate Vince…. Oops, never mind.

All Kidd-ing aside, the Nets really do need to get over their deer-in-headlights trance before Monday night’s Game 2. New Jersey’s Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn looked especially timid, though Kittles was battling a stomach virus. Even Jason Kidd said he thought his team seemed a bit jittery.

Also, New Jersey needs to do a better job pushing the tempo. The Nets are simply not as good in the half court, mainly because neither Van Horn nor center Todd MacCulloch can get it done consistently in the low post. Defensively, they need to come quicker on the double teams when Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal (30 points in Game 1) catches it on the blocks. The good news for New Jersey is that the Pacers are due to lose a game after six straight victories.

Also, they have a history of fast fades. Last year they upset the Sixers in Game 1 of the first round, but Philly came back to win the series and make it to the Finals.

What was he thinking?

Not to pick on Padgett, who according to the Jazz media guide overcame academic troubles early in his college career at Kentucky to post a 4.0 GPA, but what in the name of Joe B. Hall was he thinking when he decided to try to put back John Stockton’s potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer of his team’s 86-83 loss to the Kings? Padgett was called for goaltending, thereby negating any chance the Jazz had to tie the game. Whether the shot, which bounced high in the air, would have come down in the basket is irrelevant. It would have only counted for two points anyway.

Padgett wasn’t the only player on the court who has a famous late-game blunder on his resume. Kings forward Chris Webber, of course, once called a timeout which his Michigan team didn’t have in the closing seconds of the NCAA title game. Webber, ironically, blocked Padgett’s 3-point shot to set up the final Stockton attempt.

Making the old neighborhood proud

It was a great weekend for L.A., and not just because the Lakers defeated the Blazers in Game 1. Two Southern Cal natives, Boston’s Paul Pierce and Charlotte’s Baron Davis, came up huge over the weekend, leading their respective teams to Game 1 victories. Davis had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and made the decisive play of the game by stripping Orlando’s Tracy McGrady on a drive to the basket in the closing seconds. Meanwhile, Pierce had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Celtics past the Sixers.

Pierce and Davis played youth ball together in the L.A. area growing up. Davis likes to tell stories about how Pierce was once a pudgy kid who could usually be found at a local McDonald’s. Pierce responds by telling how Baron was a pesky little squirt who always needed somebody to drive him to the games. They could meet again in the Eastern Conference finals.

Point guards make solid debuts

So far so good for those inexperienced point guards making their playoff debuts. In Game 1, at least, three young points played extremely well in leading their teams to victories. San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Indiana’s Jamaal Tinsley and Sacramento’s Mike Bibby all played for the most part like seasoned vets.

Parker’s performance was particularly remarkable, in that he had to go up against Payton, one of the game’s top defenders. The 19-year-old Frenchman scored 21 points, including 10 during the decisive third quarter in which San Antonio outscored Seattle 38-13. Although most of Parker's points came as a result of double-teams on Tim Duncan, it should be noted that he was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown while committing just one turnover in 27 minutes.

Bibby played his usual solid all-around game for Sacramento, registering 20 points, four rebounds and six assists. Meanwhile, Tinsley had eight points and seven assists with just two turnovers in 29 minutes for the Pacers.

Tinsley did make one big mistake, however, when he passed up an open 3-pointer late in the game and swung the ball to Reggie Miller instead. Miller, forced to shoot an errant 3-pointer with one second left on the shot clock, gave his young point guard an earful on the court.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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