NBA ROUNDUP: 5/16 - 5/22
May 22, 2009 by Andy Socrates
So the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t invincible after all. They definitely lost some of their luster in losing to the Orlando Magic 107-106 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James tapped his entire arsenal, scoring 49 points on 20-30 shooting from the field but could not come up during the clutch to win the game. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant is still the best closer in the game scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers over the Nuggets 105-103 in Game 1. Game 2 was a different story.
Bryant-Melo Share Friendly Rivalry
Bryant and Carmelo Anthony shared a tight bond during the 2008 Olympics and now have a friendly rivalry. Kobe was closest with Melo and they became like brothers. They are friends off court but clearly on the court they are taking it to one another.
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Instant Replay
Expansion of the instant replay for big calls would make players more hesitant to try to fool the referees who do not have the benefit of a DVR like most fans at home. It only makes sense to have it available only during the last minute of the game to decide on crucial calls.
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Howard Animation Breakdown
Free Darko and Adidas team up to create this wonderful animated commercial detailing the strengths of Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose. It provides great insight and a refreshing look at two of the NBA’s rising stars.
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Kobe-LeBron Puppets
Nike is salivating with a possible James-Kobe match-up by releasing a slew of funny puppet commercials. It’s good they are showing them now lest there is no match-up come Finals time because Orlando and Denver are playing so well right now.
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Van Gundy Never Freaked Out
Stan Van Gundy never panicked when his Magic were down by as many as 15 points. He knew his team was resilient and told them to keep fighting and that they did. The Magic ended up stealing Game 1 and homecourt advantage from the Cavs.
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Karl Needs to Coach Better
The Nuggets outplayed the Lakers for 46 minutes but failed to pull out with a victory. Karl made two crucial mistakes in the final moments of the game by using their final timeout with 30 seconds left to try to have two offensive possessions and put in defensive-minded Anthony Carter. He ended up throwing away a pass to Trevor Ariza, which sealed the game.
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Clippers Taking Griffin
The Los Angeles Clippers won the Blake Griffin lottery and has made it public that they will indeed take Griffin as the number one pick. Things are looking up for the organization that went 19-63 this season.
Kings Talk to Thibodeau
The Sacramento Kings get permission to talk to Tom Thibodeau, the architect of the Celtics defense that helped shut down Bryant and the Lakers on route to an NBA championship. Thibodeau will also be speaking to the 76ers about their head coaching job. Don’t expect him to return to the Celtics next year with an opportunity opening up to establish himself as a head coach.
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