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One night, both of last year’s NBA Finalists competing, both NBA Finalists going down.
The Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers turned in two of the top performances of the young 2012-13 NBA season, as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat by 10 and 7 points, respectively, though the point differential isn’t an indicator of how well either team played:
Most of the NBA world is still reeling from the Knicks’ decision not to match Jeremy Lin’s offer sheet with the Rockets, and the parts that aren’t are focused mainly on the potential for Dwight Howard to head west to wear purple and gold for the Lakers. We’ve got some more post-Linsanity hangover pieces, and a thorough recap of everything going on with Dwight Howard, as well as all the rest of the news from everywhere in the NBA.
Be sure to check out our extensive Olympic basketball coverage as well, starting with Chris Sheridan’s pieces about how Team USA may be in trouble and an in-depth look at how coach Mike Krzyzewski will be setting up the rotation in London.
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made it a habit to rest his veteran stars this season, come what may. Up until Game 3, the Coach of the Year had been treating the playoffs much the same way.
Tim Duncan played 35 minutes in San Antonio’s 102-90 Game 3 victory Saturday night, and Tony Parker played 40. But during the first two games against the Utah Jazz, the only Spur to play more than 31 minutes was Parker, who logged 37 in the opener. That number wasn’t lost on Popovich, who has been managing his roster’s minutes all season.
In the third quarter of San Antonio’s blowout win in Game 2, TNT’s microphones picked up this exchange between Popovich and Parker.
Popovich: “If you play the whole quarter, it will be 29 minutes.”
Parker: “That was my point. I didn’t play for three days, Pop. I’m 29 years old.”
Parker didn’t play the entire period, subbing out with 2:05 remaining and never returning. He played a mere 28 minutes, a luxury for the Spurs now that the postseason has begun.
“He wanted to get the whole quarter, but we compromised and got two more minutes,” Popovich said. “He’s been special for us all year, obviously. We got to keep him ready to go.”
Compare Parker’s workload to Kevin Durant (41.8 minutes), Paul Pierce (44.3), Carmelo Anthony (40.7) and Joe Johnson (40.7). Even Miami’s LeBron James is averaging 36.3 minutes despite two blowouts and foul trouble.
For Parker, winning a pair of games by a combined 46 points certainly helps. However, Popovich also is willing to rest Parker and fellow veteran stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili longer than other coaches sit their stars because he spent the entire season doing just that while developing confidence and trust in his young players and the veteran reserves general manager R.C. Buford added in late March.
Two of those players are rookie Kawhi Leonard and castoff Danny Green, who are not only playing, but starting. And they are not only starting, they are contributing.
“They don’t just play guys,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin noted. “The guys they put on the floor are very effective in what they are trying to do and they do a great job of executing the offense. On defense, they’re all aggressive on what they’re trying to do.”
Leonard has assumed the starting small forward slot since Richard Jefferson was shipped to Golden State at the trading deadline. His athleticism allows Stephen Jackson to come off the bench and use his veteran savvy and toughness against overmatched reserves.
After a relatively quiet Game 1 in which he scored six points, Leonard broke out in Game 2 with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers.
Even though the Spurs dealt George Hill to Indiana to snare Leonard with the 15th pick, Popovich wasn’t quite sure about how the 20-year-old would fit in with San Antonio’s strait-laced operation.
“I guess it’s fair to say (he) surprised us because you don’t really know when you draft someone,” the coach said. “You do your best job to research it and when that player comes in that’s when you really learn about him. In Kawhi’s case, he’s absorbed information really well. He performs his role, he plays defense, he runs down the floor and he’s got a way about him where he’s not so anxious to show us that he has every move in the world or that he’s so good at offense, you should go to me more.
“He’s level-headed and takes things when they come. This is great because he blends in with everybody else. Like I said, he plays his role and a lot of rookies can’t do that and he’s been really good at it.”
Green was a 2009 second-round pick who was waived by Cleveland in October 2010 prior to his second season and signed and waived by San Antonio a month later. Popovich revealed that Green didn’t have the required toughness until he returned four months later.
“He came into training camp (this season) and played great,” Popovich said. “He was aggressive, he was physical and he was determined. Some of that had been lacking in the past, where he was maybe a little lackadaisical. He has gone through some tough times or some situations where he’s been cut a couple times with us. This time it clicked with him.”
While unemployed, Green got a friendly nudge in the right direction from Roy Williams, his coach for four years at North Carolina.
“Coach Williams did a good job of helping him understand,” Popovich said. “It’s a great example of a college coach sticking with a player well beyond the college days. He tried to help him be successful. I think that his respect for coach Roy Williams was such that he kept hammering away and he came back to us, as I said, very aggressive.”
In Saturday’s road win, Leonard was quiet with two points but Green contributed 14. Parker had to play 40 minutes but helped move the Spurs one win away from a sweep, which will provide rest for everyone on the roster.
“I think that’s what I like the most about our team this year from last year,” Parker said. “We are a lot deeper, everyone is healthy and fresher. It makes a big difference.”
TRIVIA: Name the six players in Lakers history who have had playoff triple-doubles. Answer below.
THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: At the Heat’s postseason opener, all fans sitting courtside at American Airlines Arena, where the seats cost a mere $7,000, received a pair of Nike sneakers — the model being worn by LeBron James during the playoffs. God forbid we give a pair of $170 kicks to someone who can’t afford them.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks, remembering his days in the CBA when his roommate was Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle: “He was a good roommate. He didn’t snore. That’s all it takes. Buy me a meal every now and then and not snore, you’re a perfect roommate.”
LINE OF THE WEEK: Paul Pierce, Boston at Atlanta, 44 minutes, 12-26 FGs, 1-5 3-pointers, 11-13 FTs, 14 rebounds, four assists, eight turnovers, 36 points in an 87-80 win. With teammates Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen on the sidelines, Pierce singlehandedly helped Boston avoid an 0-2 
deficit. He scored the Celtics’ first nine points to give them belief, then outscored the Hawks, 18-15, over the final 15 minutes as the C’s erased an 11-point deficit. “The only way we were going to win a game like that without Ray and Rondo was if Paul had a game like this,” coach Doc Rivers said.
LINE OF THE WEAK: New York Knicks, May 3 vs. Miami, second half: 120 minutes, 8-33 FGs, 2-10 3-pointers, 12-18 FTs, two assists, 11 turnovers, 30 points in an 87-70 loss. In a must-win game, the Knicks squandered an 11-point lead late in the first half with an absolutely awful offensive performance after halftime that included basket droughts of 3:15, 6:59 and 4:29.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Memphis at LA Clippers, Monday, May 7. During the season, the Grizzlies were 6-2 in games decided by three points or less and 3-0 in one-point games. But both of their losses to the Clippers have been by one point following fourth-quarter collapses. They need a win to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole.
TRILLION WATCH: The biggest non-effort of the week belonged to Boston Celtics center Ryan Hollins, who had a 4 trillion in Friday’s home win over Atlanta. Utah’s Blake Ahearn and Jeremy Evans and the Lakers’ Andrew Goudelock all had 2 trillions Sunday.
TWO MINUTES: Scottie Pippen’s open letter to the Bulls tried to draw a parallel between the current squad, which will have to make the rest of its playoff run without injured superstar Derrick Rose, and his 1993-94 club, which was without retired superstar Michael Jordan. Pippen noted “that there was never a moment where we felt sorry for ourselves or let anyone push us into any self-doubt. We stayed positive and believed that if we stuck together and played good, hard defense, we could beat any team out there.” Pippen’s letter conveniently overlooked the fact that he sat out the final 1.8 seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. New York in an egotistical hissy fit, upset that coach Phil Jackson was not drawing up a final play for him, opting instead for Toni Kukoc. So in truth, back in 1994 Pippen was “feeling sorry for himself” while not “staying positive” and “sticking together.” Maybe I’m too much of a cynic or a historian, but I find it beyond odd that not one major media outlet even mentioned Pippen’s selfish actions in that series in their stories about his letter. … Here’s how hard Atlanta’s frontcourt has been hit by the injuries to centers Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia and forward Josh Smith: Veteran center Erick Dampier, signed to help plug the holes, scored two points in 83 minutes over 15 games during the regular season. He scored six points in 23 minutes in Friday’s loss at Boston. … The Clippers began the postseason with four rotation players – Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Randy Foye and Eric Bledsoe – making their playoff debuts. That does not include deep reserve Ryan Gomes, who also is in his first playoff after seven seasons; Nick Young, who had played in four postseason games; and Bobby Simmons, who had played in five. “It is definitely a learning experience,” Jordan admitted. “Only three or four people have been to the playoffs on this team, and the rest of us have just been home in April. We are still getting used to it.” … In case you were wondering, the Grizzlies lost by an average of 13.0 points during their 12-game playoff losing streak from 2004-06. The Knicks have lost by an average of 12.0 points during their record 13-game skid, which began in 2001. … Think Ray Allen lost his legs while missing nearly a month with bone spurs? In his first game back Friday, he was 0-of-4 on 3-pointers and 1-of-3 from the line. During the season, his worst oh-fer from the arc was 0-of-2, and he missed two free throws in the same game once. … In the Knicks-Heat 
opener, LeBron James scored 32 points while New York’s starters managed just 30. Since the NBA began recording starting lineups in 1970, it was just the second time a player outscored the opposing starters in a playoff game. The first time was on May 16, 2001, when Philadelphia’s Allen Iverson scored 52 points vs. Toronto, whose starters managed 50. … After the Grizzlies blew a 24-point lead with under eight minutes to play on their home floor in their playoff opener, coach Lionel Hollins was given an accidental motivational tool for Game 2 – his 1977 championship ring as a player with the Portland Trail Blazers. “I lost it, and I just found it,” he said. “It was brought to me at the game. I didn’t find it. Somebody else found it and brought it to the game, so that’s why I wore it.” The Grizzlies never trailed over the final 30-plus minutes of Game 2 and evened the series. … Carmelo Anthony’s all-time record in playoff games is 16-36, the worst of any player who has played at least 50 postseason games. His teams are just 9-13 at home in those games. The only time he has advanced past the first round was 2009, when the Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals. He is 0-7 with the Knicks and on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs for the third time overall. … This is the 11th time the Hawks and Celtics have met in the playoffs, with Boston winning nine of the previous 10, including all six since the Hawks moved from St. Louis to Atlanta. The only time the Hawks have beaten the Celtics in a postseason series was the 1958 Finals, which they won in six games and interrupted what would have been 10 straight titles by Boston. … Interesting logic from Sixers coach Doug Collins, who doesn’t want his limited number of scorers to shy away from attacking just because they miss a shot or three. “As a player, I was a shooter,,” Collins said. “I live by the adage of ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, who was a hero of mine. He said if you are a 50 percent shooter and you miss 10 in a row, it means that sometime you are going to make 10 in a row.”
Trivia Answer: Magic Johnson has 30, Elgin Baylor has four, and Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, James Worthy and Andrew Bynum have one each. … Happy 26th Birthday, Goran Dragic. … In Amar’e Stoudemire’s thesaurus, “great chance” and “doubtful” are synonyms.
Chris Bernucca is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Wednesday and Sunday. You can follow him on Twitter.
The other day, I was stuck behind the Boston Celtics on the highway.
I was in the left lane and I wanted to go considerably faster than the car in front of me, who was doing about 60. Against my better judgment, I got up on his tail and applied some pressure, but he refused to go any faster or move into the right lane.
Somewhat annoyed, I drove right behind him for about a quarter-mile before a gap opened in the right lane. As I went around the slower car, I took a peek into its front seat and saw a driver considerably older than the speed limit, tenaciously clutching the steering wheel, looking only straight ahead.
This is who the Celtics have become.
In a league that quickly is becoming no country for old men, they are too something – determined, proud, stubborn, entitled – to simply move aside and let the young whippersnappers blow past them. Instead, they are trying to get everyone else to slow the heck down so they can keep up.
You know that old adage about enjoying the journey? That’s not the Celtics, who are just trying to survive the trek in one piece and get to their destination. They don’t give a rat’s asterisk whom they inconvenience, annoy or aggravate along the way.
And you know what? They’re pretty good at it. But you have to wonder how long they can keep it up.
The Celtics are nearing the end of an unforgiving road trip – 13 days, eight games, four time zones, three back-to-backs – that has clearly illustrated how they must play to be successful. When they are able to keep the tempo at a manageable speed, they can beat nearly anybody. When the opponent is able to push the pace, they look older than platform shoes.
Boston is 3-3 on its trip. Wins over the LA Clippers and Atlanta were grinders, with plenty of chippy play and all the flow of tree sap. In losses to Sacramento and Denver, the Celtics looked like the Red Auerbach statue in Faneuil Hall.
“I don’t know why we look like we’re running in mud these days,” Kevin Garnett said. “But our fight’s there, man.”
During Monday’s win over Atlanta, Celtics analyst Donny Marshall stopped gushing and cheerleading long enough to make an interesting point: The Celtics seem to have an easier time keeping their focus and executing better on both ends when the pace is slower. When the game quickens, they give away possessions on offense and let down their guard on defense, mistakenly believing that the increased number of opportunities will allow them to make up for their miscues.
After the 25-point loss at Sacramento, Pierce admitted, “We got caught up in what they like to do, the running game.”
Tempering the tempo doesn’t assure victory for the Celtics, as they found out with a last-minute loss to the LA Lakers that opened the trip. Conversely, playing at pace isn’t necessarily a recipe for failure, either, as a last-second win over ADD-afflicated Golden State three nights later proved.
But to a man, the Celtics know they are better off when they are dictating speed and flow. It is evident in their half-court offense, where they run their sets to precision and almost always make the extra pass. It is even more obvious in their defense, which blitzes, fronts, chips, jams, grabs – anything to make things miserable for their foes.
“We have to understand who we are – we’re a defensive group,” Paul Pierce said.
The conventional numbers bear that out. The Celtics are 26th in scoring at just 91.1 points per game. Only Toronto, Detroit, New Orleans and Charlotte – combined star players: zero – average less.
Part of the issue is Boston’s inability to get to the line. The Celtics rank 27th at 20.1 free throws per game, and Pierce (5.7) is their only player in the top 50.
And with a pace ranking 22nd in the league, Boston appears to be maximizing its touches. Despite their low scoring average, the Celtics are seventh in shooting (.455), eighth in 3-point shooting (.364) and second in assists (23.3). So when they have the ball, they know what to do to get it in the basket.
But it’s that whole “having the ball” thing that is presenting problems.
Boston is dead last in the NBA at 38.1 rebounds per game. More meaningful is rebound percentage, and the Celtics are 24th defensively, last offensively and 29th overall, ahead of only league-worst Charlotte.
Rebounding completes stops and offers the opportunity to run. The Celtics are wasting valuable energy making multiple stops while being unable to get easy transition baskets or second-chance points.
This extra expenditure of effort is taking its toll on the current rotation. Even at full strength, no 
one would describe the Celtics as spry. Without big men Jeff Green, Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox, the effect on the rotation is evident. Boston is 1-7 when the second of back-to-back games is on the road.
Garnett is playing out of position at center and is being spelled by rookie Greg Stiemsma, a shaky postseason notion. Pierce and Mickael Pietrus are taking occasional turns at power forward because Rivers has only three bigs he truly trusts. Backup guards Keyon Dooling and Avery Bradley are good defenders but don’t contribute at the other end.
There has been a lot of talk about Boston adding a big man released or bought out by Friday’s deadline. But former Celtic stringbean Chris Johnson already has been waived by Portland and claimed by New Orleans. Ronny Turiaf is taking his talents to South Beach. J.J. Hickson went to Portland. Boris Diaw may be headed to San Antonio. And Ryan Hollins doesn’t have the defensive discipline.
Also keep in mind that the Celtics already have 15 players and would have to cut a guaranteed contract to add a player. When your payroll is a league-high $87 million –$17 million above the projected luxury tax threshold, adding salary is cause for pause.
In other words, Robert Parish is not walking through that door.
Boston’s trip mercifully ends this week with huge back-to-back games at Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The Celts are three games ahead of the surging Bucks and 1 1/2 behind the scrappy Sixers, who ran them out of the Broad Street gym the last time Gang Green started sniffing around first place.
And just in case you were wondering, these are Boston’s first seven games in April, played over 11 days with three back-to-backs: vs. Miami, vs. San Antonio, at Chicago, at Indiana, vs. Philadelphia, at Miami, vs. Atlanta. That is followed by three road games in three nights, a day off, and a visit to New York.
As Tony Montana once said, that’s no duckwalk.
The Celtics believe they can be a factor in the postseason, and anyone who dismisses an experienced team with a strong championship pedigree is kidding themselves. But they have to get there first, and it appears the only way is under the caution flag. Any faster and they might lose control and crash.
Or as Rivers put it, “I’m trying to get our team to understand we don’t have a margin for error.”
Chris Bernucca is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear every Wednesday and Sunday. You can follow him on Twitter.
Another big man is on the market, although he isn’t all that good.
Ryan Hollins was waived today by the cleveland Cavaliers, who apparently saw enough good things out of rookie Tristan Thompson in his two starts at center to deem the 7-foot Hollins expendable.
Hollins is the second player waived by the Cavs in the past few days. They also released shooter Jason Kapono, who was acquired from the Los Angles Lakers in the Ramon Sessions deal.
Players now dangling on the waiver wire also include J.J. Hickson, who was let go by the Sacramento Kings after they surrendered a past No. 1 pick (Omri Casspi) and a future No. 1 pick to acquire him, Ronny Turiaf, who was cut loose by Denver following the Nene-JaVale McGee trade, and Derek Fisher, who was bought out by the Houston Rockets after they acquired him in the trade that sent Jordan Hill to the Lakers for a No. 1 draft pick.
Hollins, 27, averaged 3.7 points on 50 percent shooting and 2.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes over 24 games (seven starts) this season. He has career averages of 4.2 points on .554 shooting and 2.3 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game in 299 games (54 starts). Hollins, an athletic big man, was unable to give enough consistent output to warrant regular playing time.
Thompson had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs in their 105-100 victory over New Jersey on Monday night.
