Column: Huge Balls

     by Rob Stiller

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

Of the two conference semi-finals series that went seven games, neither had inspired a lot of hope for a well-played, closely contested series finale. After all, each game in the Spurs-Hornets series had been decided by double digits, and watching the first six games of Celtics-Cavs had simply been nausea-inducing on more than one occasion. But to the delight of myself and countless other fans, both games met, and, in the case of LeBron v. Paul Pierce, exceeded any realistic expectations for a Game 7.

Rave
LeBron v. Pierce

The NBA could have hoped for nothing better than the epic battle staged between LeBron James and Paul Pierce Sunday afternoon. It was a win-win situation for the league, at least for the guy responsible for the Eastern Conference Finals ad campaign. You either have LeBron versus the Pistons, in which case you show clip after clip of LeBron’s 48 Special from last year’s game five, or you have Celtics-Pistons, in which you incite memories of the glory days of the late eighties and Joe Dumars and Larry Bird. But even for the rest of us, the game was still a treat to watch, and will probably be remembered as the best mano-a-mano game of the season.

As good as the game was, though, it’s a bit unsettling how eager the media is to liken games such as this to some of the most historically significant in NBA history. Outside of LeBron and Pierce, everyone else on the court was wildly unimpressive. And despite the fact that Pierce and Bron defended one another for most of the game, there were very few sequences in which the two players traded multiple baskets. Compare that with the Bird-Wilkens 1988 Game 7, in which the fourth quarter was a blitzkrieg of back-and-forth baskets between the two. That’s not to say LeBron and Paul Pierce shouldn’t be lauded for their consistently great performances throughout the game, but as far as ESPN Classic is concerned, a more concentrated fourth quarter scoring battle would certainly elicit more excitement from the viewer.

Rant
LeBron’s 3-Point Shooting

One must tread carefully when speaking unfavorably about King James, just ask DeSean Stevenson, but I just can’t get past LeBron’s insistence on shooting far more three pointers than is advisable for a 31% shooter. In Sunday’s Game 7, James shot 14 of 29 from the field, including 3 of 11 from three. Now, I’m not a math major, but I am a math minor, so I know that that means he shot 11 of 18 from inside the arc, or 61%. So, with those extra 11 shots, James earned 9 points. If instead he had taken those shots inside the arc and scored with that same 61% regularity, he would have scored between 6 and 7 baskets, or 12-14 points. And that’s neglecting the potential foul calls that come with taking the ball to the basket. Toward the end of this season, rookie Kevin Durant’s late flourish was credited to his increasing reluctance to settle for three’s. I just don’t see why a talent like James wouldn’t benefit from a similar reformation.

Rant
The Spurs are in the Conference Finals again

It’s not nearly as easy to hype the Western Conference Finals as it is the East, even though it will almost certainly be more entertaining to watch. I can see it now… “The NBA: Where Lakers-Spurs Happens. Again. And again.” Except instead of Shaq we have Pau Gasol. I’m not compelled. Sure, I’ll watch, but who wouldn’t prefer to see the up and coming Chris Paul or Deron Williams, rather than being reminded of 1999-2005, when your team never even had a chance.

½ Rave, ½ Rant
Jannero Pargo, the rest of the Hornets

Despite pulling a Roy Hobbs and no-showing through the first six games of the series, Jannero Pargo was working his nutsack off in the fourth quarter to try and drag his team back into the game. On literally every San Antonio miss, Pargo was pushing the ball upcourt, attacking the basket to try to get an easy score in transition or a quick foul. Unfortunately, all of his teammates completely sandbagged his efforts by leisurely making their way all the way back down to the offensive end at their own pace. As much as I’ve loved watching the Hornets play this postseason, I was disappointed not to see more urgency than I did, that is, until they somehow found themselves only down five with about four minutes to play. Had New Orleans been able to complete the comeback, 90% of the credit would have been owed to Pargo and his fourth quarter effort.

Conference Finals Predictions
Pistons def. Celtics 4-3
Lakers def. Spurs 4-2