Somebody, Please Win A Road Game
It's about time somebody does something about the ridiculous failures of road teams in the conference semifinals. If these are supposed to be the best teams still playing, then why can't they do better than 1-20 on the road in the second round?
Oh, goodness. I can't wait to get back home. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The San Antonio Spurs hammered the New Orleans Hornets - and not just when Robert Horry dropped David West with a double-elbow pop to the back - during a 99-80 victory that continued one of the most incredible examples of homecourt "advantage" ever witnessed in a playoff series. So far, the home team has won all six of those games by double digits and they have been decided by an average of 18.2 points.
This type of homecourt dominance in the conference semifinals is unprecedented. And it has to cease for us to take these teams seriously. The worst part about this is that players are openly talking about how difficult it is to win on the road because the home crowds are so loud; as if thundersticks and rally towels are akin to voodoo hexes and black cats.
Great teams don't care where they play, and it's not like this is the EuroLeague where the teams sit under protective shields so that they won't get hit with flying objects. They aren't in any real danger. I know fans make tacky signs and make even tackier and classless chants - c'mon San Antonio, you have four championships in nine years, was it necessary to chant "Horry, Horry" after he decked West? And please tell me that some Jazz fans really didn't scream "Cancer" at Derek Fisher, whose daughter is battling a rare form of eye cancer? - but that shouldn't rattle teams the way they have this postseason.
Oh, you Celtics thought LeBron was tough? What about rally towels! (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
Right now, it's pretty obvious that there isn't a clear-cut favorite to the win the championship, because championship teams historically have won on the road. The defending champion Spurs haven't had a clue in New Orleans, Boston couldn't even beat a 37-win Hawks on the road. At least the Lakers can blame Kobe's bad back for losing their overtime contest in Utah on Sunday and the Hornets can blame, I don't know, inexperience. The Jazz and Cavaliers were terrible on the road all season.
Since the league expanded to this 16-team playoff field in 1984, the fewest road wins for an NBA champion was three, by the 1984 Celtics and 1988 Lakers. Orlando was the only NBA finalist with fewer than three road wins, as they had just two in 1995.
So if the road win magic number to win the title is three, then the only team that can scratch that off the list is Detroit, which is 3-2 on the road this postseason. The Pistons are the only team with a road win in the conference semifinals, but they had to overcome a 15-point second-half deficit and needed some last second heroics to win. I guess it really doesn't matter if you win. But the Pistons have been chilling since Tuesday because they handled their business.
Are those thundersticks? Please tell me those aren't thundersticks! (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
The remaining playoff teams break down like this: Lakers, 2-2; Utah, 2-3; Cleveland 2-3; New Orleans 1-3; San Antonio 1-3; and Boston 0-5.
How good are the Celtics if they cannot win a road playoff game? They are the top overall seed in the playoffs and were the most dominant road team in the regular season but they have looked atrocious away from home.
One of the main reasons has been the disappearance of the sharpshooter formerly known as Ray Allen. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett stepped up in Game 5, and Garnett has been the most consisent member of the so-called Big Three this round, but Allen has been absent with the exception of a cameo appearance in Game 2.
Maybe I'm not giving Wally Szczerbiak enough credit as a defender. Maybe Szczerbiak should be given consideration for the all-defensive team next season after his performances against Caron Butler and Allen in these playoffs. Or maybe Szczerbiak is simply kryptonite for former UConn Huskies (Better watch out Rip Hamilton, if Cleveland advances to the conference finals).
What? Are you saying I should be doing this more often? (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
I gave Butler a pass since he wasn't really at full strength with his hip and knee, but Butler still erupted for 32 in one game, and I'm not aware of any major injuries with Allen. I know Wally is big and does a decent job when he doesn't have to move laterally. But before these playoffs, I don't think anyone thought Szczerbiak was capable of shutting down Denzel Washington one-on-one, let alone his former "He Got Game" co-star. Yet, Allen is averaging just 10.4 points on 34 percent shooting in this series. He's missed 15 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc.
Somehow, Celtics Coach Doc Rivers has to come up with something to exploit that matchup to give his team a better chance of winning its first road game of the postseason.
With Daniel Gibson out the rest of the series with a shoulder injury, the Celtics really have no excuse for not closing out the Cavaliers tonight. I suppose you couldn't take anything away from them if they win a championship by winning all of their home games and losing all of their road games, but that would be pretty lame.
I know Game 7 is usually what defines a great playoff series, but isn't also humdrum to have every home team except (Orlando) win this round. It's up to the Celtics and/or Lakers to break up the monotony and end their conference semifinals tonight. But I'm not banking on it.
By Michael Lee |
May 16, 2008; 3:55 PM ET
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Posted by: | May 16, 2008 4:06 PM
ray allen isnt playing well at all..but after watching this past E:60 on ESPN, there could be some emotional toll still left over after his stepfather's assassin has finally been put behind bars. His mind may not be totally set and things could still be roaming around in his head that have led to his dismal performance. Either way, I expect him to step up in order to knock the Traveliers out of the playoffs tonight.
Posted by: Chamillitary | May 16, 2008 4:22 PM
It's hard to won on my home court when you're the visiting team...I play on that Prison Yard!
Posted by: Prison Balls | May 16, 2008 4:29 PM
I think the home team success is part of a David Stern initiative to make sure all ticket buying fans go home happy. For some reason that didn't apply to Wizards fans.
Wally is playing pretty good defense because he usually has two good bigs behind him, so he can crowd his man on the outside, and if he blows by him, the bigs can cover for him. Neither Caron and now Ray Allen really wanted/wants to drive. They would prefer to shoot pretty jumpers, so that played into Wally's hands.
Posted by: | May 16, 2008 4:52 PM
The home-court dominance is pretty easy to explain: the teams are very even. In the West, you have a 57-win Lakers team going against a 54-win Jazz team with a strong point differential in one semifinal. In the other, you have two 56-win teams.
The Celtics are mystifying, sure, but they were barely over .500 in the regular season on the road against +.500 teams. The Cavaliers are also playing much better than a 45-win team.
Something like the home-court advantage can be a huge difference when the teams are so even in quality like they are this year.
Posted by: Pradamaster | May 16, 2008 7:50 PM
fake prison balls @ 4:29 PM.
Posted by: | May 16, 2008 10:31 PM
how about those cavs..they keep playing and competing while the wizards play golf or whatever..always a backhanded slap at the cavs..hopefully they will have the chance to send home the wizards again next year...and i am sure they will...
The celtics have 3 "stars" with no real playoff successes....Allen is a joke..Pierce just piles on in games they are winning..KG is the only gamer...
i havent heard so many stupid homer hard feelings / opinions from beat writers ever. Almost as bad as the wizards in the post season....
Posted by: yikes | May 16, 2008 11:23 PM
how about those cavs..they keep playing and competing while the wizards play golf or whatever..always a backhanded slap at the cavs..hopefully they will have the chance to send home the wizards again next year...and i am sure they will...
The celtics have 3 "stars" with no real playoff successes....Allen is a joke..Pierce just piles on in games they are winning..KG is the only gamer...
i havent heard so many stupid homer hard feelings / opinions from beat writers ever. Almost as bad as the wizards in the post season....
Posted by: yikes | May 16, 2008 11:27 PM
yikes, what are you talking about?
Posted by: | May 16, 2008 11:42 PM
hey yikes....letravel will be joining arenas & company in a few days my friend so no worries about that
good effort to take it to 7 games though.....to bad NO ONE will remember how far the cavs got before they lost in 5 years...only cav fans of course, as they know EVERYTHING about the fine art of CHOKING
...please let ur city win a titl in ANY sport then come and bash our beat writers & team
Posted by: UR_RIVER_IS_ON_FIRE!!! | May 17, 2008 2:17 AM
hey yikes....letravel will be joining arenas & company in a few days my friend so no worries about that
good effort to take it to 7 games though.....to bad NO ONE will remember how far the cavs got before they lost in 5 years...only cav fans of course, as they know EVERYTHING about the fine art of CHOKING
...please let ur city win a titl in ANY sport then come and bash our beat writers & team
Posted by: UR_RIVER_IS_ON_FIRE!!! | May 17, 2008 2:18 AM
I see that those Cleveland trolls don't have any respect for the Celtics either. Look for Boston to send them and LeBaby home crying on Sunday, though.
Posted by: Ike Austin | May 17, 2008 8:07 AM
Everyone always wants to look for the difficult answer. Is anyone watching the games? The refs, more then ever and that's a hard thing to say, are allowing the home court fans to influence their judgements at every turn. Every home court flop is rewarded, every questionable call goes the home team's way. The league is fixed, which is exactly why David Stern was making the rounds in interviews on Friday. Hell, he was actually trying to explain there was no issue with having Joey Crawford assigned to the NO - San An game.
Posted by: KD_Kingpin | May 17, 2008 8:41 AM
NBA Requiem...from an ex-fan.
I just can't stomach it anymore. The Emperor has no clothes and no one seems to care. The NBA is fast becoming the WWE, where the actual "sport" is secondary to the posing, flexing, grimacing, and fawning over diva-like superstars. Everything from the telecast to the atrocious officiating is slanted toward whoever the biggest star in the game happens to be (and whether they play at home). Everyone from the coaches to the players to the fans to the commentators seems to accept the fact that when an anointed star has the ball in his hands, he's going to receive favortism. Can you imagine what baseball would be like if the umpire decided to suddenly (and obviously)shrink the strike zone when Albert Pujols came to bat? Or if NFL refs starting calling an inordinate amount of unnecessary roughness penalties on tacklers simply because it was LaDanian Tomlinson running with the ball? And yet this is exactly how the NBA runs. Put the ball in your "star's" hand at crunch-time, not just because he's talented but because everyone knows that he's likely to "get the call". The stars play the most minutes of anyone on the court and rarely get in foul trouble - much less actually foul out. Of course in NBA culture it's because they've somehow "earned" the status of favortism - earned it through getting the most Gatorade and Nike commercials.
This league and game is a total joke.
Oh, by the way, the Feds are saying Tim Donaghy bet on over 100 games he officiated...
Posted by: p1funk | May 17, 2008 10:37 AM
get rid of dedouche desuckishim.
get rid of gilturd.
Posted by: | May 17, 2008 2:42 PM
eddie jordan is an asscrumb.
Posted by: | May 17, 2008 2:55 PM
Posted by: Prison Balls | May 16, 2008 4:29 PM
You mean Prison Boules
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 8:38 AM
I agree it has become the WWF. I can't watch anymore either. I got a call last week about my season tickets from the team. I told them I do not plan to renew and it wasn't the team, but the association. I don't think it will ever change; they are making too much money. And most of the fans don't seem to care. The Wiz were clearly punished for not having their superstar on the floor. The outcome was decided long before they tossed the ball up in that series. I'm done, so I guess its back to the NCAA for me...
Posted by: oddjob | May 18, 2008 9:05 AM
This is why Gilbert is our only chance to win a championship. This is how Gilbert's blogging and showmanship makes us "better". The more publicity he brings, the more calls we'll get.
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 9:50 AM
This is why PGA golf, is the only true barometer of competitive integrity. No referees to impart their or the powers of the sports biases.
I love the NBA, but this season and the playoffs are embarrassing. The calls and non calls scream of protection and lack of credibility.
It has been building for many years, but it is now laughable.
The entire integrity of the game is on the line, and Stern and his ilk should be forced to choose money vs integrity of their sport.
Posted by: mricklen | May 18, 2008 10:22 AM
Thank you Boston.
Cleveland still sucks.
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 6:51 PM
"A LeBron James Team Is Never Desperate" - Lebron James, May 15th.
So, I guess that wasn't a "desperaton" 3-pointer he clanked off the rim with 7 seconds left and the Cavaliers down by 5....?????
(also really sweet that he missed that free throw at the end, too. Choke much?)
Posted by: Rook | May 18, 2008 7:04 PM
I was more than glad to see the Cavs lose. Unfortunatley, though, Lebron is a heckuva a player. If the Wiz have to play them again in the playoffs next year, I hope it is after the first round this time.
Posted by: Tim | May 18, 2008 7:31 PM
Are there any Cleveland fans still trolling these boards? If so, I have a message for you:
You still suck.
Posted by: Tim | May 18, 2008 9:12 PM
"This is why Gilbert is our only chance to win a championship. This is how Gilbert's blogging and showmanship makes us "better". The more publicity he brings, the more calls we'll get.
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 9:50 AM "
Very true.
Hype always wins over actually putting the ball into the basket and/or playing defense.
Proof is in the pudding b/c of the many times we've been to the conference and NBA finals since the Wiz have welcomed Gilby onto the team. Gilby's hype really helped us with the refs 3 seasons in a row against the Cavs in the playoffs.
We're all so so lucky.
LMAO!
Posted by: DC Man88 | May 18, 2008 9:16 PM
Yeah - You're right DCman88 - the Proof IS in the pudding.
That no-account scumbag Arenas. Look where the Wizards were before he poisoned this team with that damned winning attitude.
Yeah - everyone remember that great Washington team in 2001-02 with Michael Jordan when they went 37-45 and missed the playoffs.... or the next year when they had Larry Hughes AND Michael Jordan and had an identical fabulous record of 37-45, and again just missed the playoffs by a hair (6-games). And both of those years were too good to get a decent lottery pick in the draft. Just good enough to suck. But they were close... real close..
Then the Wizards made that awful mistake of signing Arenas to a contract. OMG - he immediately went about putting his mark all over the team. Infusing them with that insideous winning attitude. Damn him and his winning ways... They went 45-37 in 2003-04 with that overblown, self promoting airbag.
The Wizards should just cut their losses..... I mean.... the Wizards should just cut their wins and let Gilby walk...
They should sign Sun Ming Ming, or Cobe Karl, or some d-leaguer to replace him.
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 11:08 PM
anon, it's no good...DCMan won't debate coherently, he'll just say "LOL" or some other stupid internet-lingo and completely ignore what you say if he has no comeback for it.
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 1:36 AM
how many conference finals have we been to before Gilbert? his emergence spurred the Wiz playoff streak. everything you said could be applied to Caron as well...and we all know how much you like to suck his dick. I don't agree with that other guy that says Gil is the ONLY chance to win a championship...but he is very much an integral part if he is able to improve in the areas that are obviously lacking, like decision making and defense. the same is true for Caron. right now, Caron does not have the lateral quickness to be a great defender, contrary to what alot of people say...a good defender, maybe, because of his tenacity, but not a great one. if Haywood could step up like he did this season/playoffs with the big 3, and get serviceable help from the rest of the bench, than this team will be alright. is anybody else as disappointed with the bench as I was this playoff series?
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 1:43 AM
"That no-account scumbag Arenas. Look where the Wizards were before he poisoned this team with that damned winning attitude.
Yeah - everyone remember that great Washington team in 2001-02 with Michael Jordan when they went 37-45 and missed the playoffs.... or the next year when they had Larry Hughes AND Michael Jordan and had an identical fabulous record of 37-45, and again just missed the playoffs by a hair (6-games). And both of those years were too good to get a decent lottery pick in the draft. Just good enough to suck. But they were close... real close..
Then the Wizards made that awful mistake of signing Arenas to a contract. OMG - he immediately went about putting his mark all over the team. Infusing them with that insideous winning attitude. Damn him and his winning ways... They went 45-37 in 2003-04 with that overblown, self promoting airbag.
The Wizards should just cut their losses..... I mean.... the Wizards should just cut their wins and let Gilby walk...
They should sign Sun Ming Ming, or Cobe Karl, or some d-leaguer to replace him.
Posted by: | May 18, 2008 11:08 PM "
Oh sure..maybe if Gilby writes for two blogs, then the Wiz could win two championships.
Posted by: DC Man88 | May 19, 2008 8:51 AM
"how many conference finals have we been to before Gilbert? his emergence spurred the Wiz playoff streak. everything you said could be applied to Caron as well...and we all know how much you like to suck his dick. I don't agree with that other guy that says Gil is the ONLY chance to win a championship...but he is very much an integral part if he is able to improve in the areas that are obviously lacking, like decision making and defense. the same is true for Caron. right now, Caron does not have the lateral quickness to be a great defender, contrary to what alot of people say...a good defender, maybe, because of his tenacity, but not a great one. if Haywood could step up like he did this season/playoffs with the big 3, and get serviceable help from the rest of the bench, than this team will be alright. is anybody else as disappointed with the bench as I was this playoff series?
Posted by: | May 19, 2008 1:43 AM "
We all know what you like to eat..and it's brown and smells..
BTW, nobody ever said Caron was the ticket for the Wiz to the promised land.
What Caron is to the Wiz is that he's their most complete player who brings it on both ends and is the leader of the team.
Will he take the Wiz to an NBA championship? Nobody knows, but there have been better players in this league who haven't either.
Posted by: DC Man88 | May 19, 2008 8:54 AM
BTW, it was funny on FCP how the sports people are resigned to the fact that the Wiz must trade or let Gilby go.
I like Wilbon's trade of Gilby for Baron Davis and Biedrens, assuming it works financially.
Another trade was Gilby for AI and Denver's #1 pick or AI and Camby, although both are old.
Posted by: DC Man88 | May 19, 2008 9:26 AM
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