Eastern Conf. Finals: Miami Heat vs Indiana Pacers

I’m glad fate has allowed the Heat and Pacers series to be tied 1-1 before I had a chance to share my thoughts on what many thought would be an easy trip to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat. I’m glad because when I told many it would be closer than most expected they laughed. It’s common for many to spend hours making predictions and share opinions about matchups and then end with a comment that basically states it's up to LeBron James whether the Heat win or lose. The unfortunate thing about those types of closing statements is that it makes everything leading up to that statement irrelevant. Let’s not kid ourselves either, the Heat made a complete 180 degree turn since LeBron joined the roster. However the often criticized bench are the ones doing the little things that make LeBron’s greatness shine through even brighter or cause his efforts to be completely futile.

Aside from the Pacers’ coach Frank Vogel’s questionable decision to sit Roy Hibbert allowing James to score a Game 1 winning layup, fans, haters and everyone in between are about to learn that Indiana is as balanced an Eastern Conference team anyone could have asked for this post season.

Numbers don’t lie: Since the Voltron like formation of the Miami Heat trio, there has been no question they are the faces at the forefront of every victory. However there is more to it than just James, Wade and Bosh showing up to the gym and walking out with wins. During the Miami Heat’s 2010-2011 playoff run that ended with a Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat’s big 3 averaged 66.8 points while the rest of the team earned 36.7. In their 2011-2012 championship run James, Wade and Bosh scored 67.1 points with the remaining 39.9 coming from the rest of the team. Too small a margin to be noteworthy? Well consider this year’s stats which has the Heat trio averaging 53.2 points with the rest of the team chipping in with their highest output since 2010 with 49.3 points. From a team perspective and considering who makes up the remaining roster that is a huge improvement. That statistic could end up being the difference maker allowing the 3 Amigos an opportunity to rest longer than usual and perform at their highest level.

The Indiana Pacers on the other hand are the complete opposite in terms of how the team is built and performs. During this Pacers’ postseason Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert and George Hill are averaging 66.4 points while the while their teammates do their share with 33.2 points. If you throw in the Pacers’ 78% Free Throw shooting versus the Heat’s 66.6% over the last 2 games, you begin to see that this series is far from over. Another noteworthy statistic is the Pacers ability to out rebounded the Heat so far 71 to 68 which plays a huge part when you consider both games were won by an average of 2.5 points. The Heat should consider themselves lucky in this category when you realize the Pacers were ranked 1st in rebounds compared to the last place Heat during the regular season.

Bottom Line: Whatever theories that exist about this series the truth is that both games were extremely close and one should expect this trend to continue. With most NBA teams top heavy it’s often easier for the Heat to wear out their opponents. In the case of the Pacers where there are far more players in need of wearing out, we could see ourselves with a Game 7 or even a first time Finals appearance since 2000 for the Indiana Pacers.

Western Conf. Finals: Grizzlies vs Spurs

It has come down to this: the Memphis Grizzlies or the San Antonio Spurs are headed to the 2013 NBA finals. Whether advertisers are concerned about low ratings or conspiracy theorists believing the NBA matrix will somehow force the Miami Heat through to appease the masses is irrelevant. The bottom line is that everyone is in for some team basketball at its best. I’m in no way trying to downplay the leaders of either team which are comprised of champions, Finals MVPs, All-Stars and NBA award winners. I’m simply trying to highlight the fact that these teams continue to be successful without playing the now often preferred and very popular 'hero' type basketball.

The above may come off as me speaking as a bitter fan born in the 80s. Perhaps. Although I wouldn’t use the word bitter. I prefer the term nostalgic, as I am a fan of the tough team concept basketball I watched growing up as a kid. Believe me, witnessing Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Kevin Durant among other players have outstanding single performances is fantastic and is needed in all sports. I simply feel it unfairly sheds a light on individual success and overshadows what allows that success to exist. In the case of the Grizzlies and Spurs both the teams' stars are well known; not popular by mainstream standards, but extremely successful and the biggest threat to whichever team makes it out of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Numbers Don’t Lie:

The Grizzlies averaged 93.4 points which was 26th in the NBA this season. The Grizzlies beat both the Clippers who average 101.1 ppg at the 8th spot and the Thunder with 105.7ppg who owned 3rd place in the NBA scoring category. How did this happen you ask? Simple. The Grizzlies defence only allowed opponents to average 89.3 points per game in the regular season. Yes, you guessed it. They were 1st in the NBA in that category.

The Spurs are dangerous in their own right as they don’t sacrifice scoring for defence and rank high in both categories. Spurs were 9th in points allowed with 96.6 and 4th in scoring with 103. The Spurs swept the Lakers who ranked 6th in the NBA by scoring 102.2 points on their opponents and allowed them to score 101 for the 21st spot in the NBA. If you add the Warriors to the mix, who were 7th in scoring during the regular season, with 101.2 allowing 100.3 at the 19th spot, then it's clear why all of the above happened. Oh, I’m sure you saw this coming. Here it comes! Defence wins championships, or the very least, gives you the best chance at winning one.

“With our powers combined”:

We know that the Spurs have their own big three with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, while the Grizzlies have a scary dynamic duo of their own in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. The key factor for both teams is often opposing defenders who keep forgetting to put pressure on lesser known players until it’s too late. So far in this post season, the Spurs have had five players averaging 10 or more points totaling 76.9 which is more than most teams can say. The Spurs' bench players refuse to ride the starters coattails scoring 31.1 points per game respectively with less than twenty minutes of playing time. Almost mirroring the Spurs, the Grizzlies have four players averaging double digits for a total of 66.7 points, with the bench chipping in with 39.7 in under twenty minutes as well.

Bottom Line:

Even with all the numbers in the world any player can get hot at any time just as they can get cold. As much as the “defence wins championships” is a beaten to death cliche, so is “key matchups”, and with the Grizzlies and Spurs so well balanced I’m guaranteed at least two more series of my preferred nostalgic, defensive, textbook basketball.

The Blake Show - Lob City

As of today, the Clippers are the best team in the NBA.

This is not my opinion but a fact. With the league’s best  record of 24-6 and currently riding a franchise record winning streak of 16 straight games the Clippers appear to be unstoppable.

Naysayers will understandably rush to check the Clippers’ schedule in hopes of derailing the “Lob City”  train with accusations of an easy schedule. Sadly they will be forced to find another way to stop this machine as wins against playoff bound teams such as the Grizzlies, Lakers, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Atlanta, Miami, Denver and Boston prove otherwise.

How did this happen you ask?

It all started with Blake Griffin getting drafted to the Clippers with the 1st overall pick in 2009 but who had to sit out his first year due to injury. The Clippers went 29-53 that season and finished outside the playoffs in the 12th spot near the bottom of the Western Conference. Griffin would be cleared to play in 2010-11 and shocked the world with his athletic dunks turning him into an instant All-Star and a household name around the world. That still wouldn’t be enough as the Clippers finished the year with only 3 more wins at 32-50 and even lower than the previous year at the 13th spot in the West to end the season.

As phenomenal as Blake was, he would need help and it came in the form of Chris Paul.

In several confusing hours that perhaps could only be explained with the help of X-Files FBI agent Fox Mulder, Chris Paul became a Los Angeles Clipper. The Clippers finished the 2011-12 season in 5th place with a 40-26 record, beat the Grizzlies in a 7 game 1st round playoff series but came up short getting swept in 4 games against the Spurs in the 2nd round.

With that we come full circle. The Clippers’ run and gun style known as “Lob City” are the new kings of L.A. even though 5 All-Stars make up the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup. To be fair, the Clippers bench is riddled with talent and arguably the best 12 man roster in the NBA. The Clippers bench plays just as intense as the starters and are capable of closing out games giving the stars a well deserved breather keeping their legs rested for the next game.

All this to say the Clippers deserve to be where they are and are have had fun getting here. They’re not only destined to make noise in the playoffs but if they can avoid their Kryptonite (Grizzlies and Spurs) who slow the pace of the game essentially shutting down “Lob City”, they could be headed to the NBA Finals. With a team history of no Division Titles, Conference Titles or Championships since the team was founded in 1970, even naysayers have to admit it would be fun to watch history made one lob at a time.

Lob City Rises

NBA Seasons:
--------------------------------------------------------------
2008-2009 : 14th (19-63)
2009-2010 : 12th (29-53)
2010-2011 : 13th (32-50) Enter Blake Griffin
2011-2012 : 5th (40-26) Enter Chris Paul