I don't usually highlight pieces, but the Spurs stuff is bolded in this one.
Injuries rob playoffs of some luster
Ian Thomsen
While the Bulls and Celtics choreograph a series that mauls on and on like a Rocky Balboa fight, the rest of the playoffs have played out in the shadows by rote.
Of course, there have been some surprises -- such as the Mavericks' easy advancement as a No. 6 seed, which no one would have anticipated earlier this season when they were foundering. But let's be straight: Those weren't the real San Antonio Spurs who lost to Dallas in five games. With Manu Ginobili in slacks and Tim Duncan limping, the diminished Spurs turned into Tony Parker and a company of role players. Unless you're a fan with an emotional stake in either team, there was little reason to care about a series like Dallas-San Antonio once the Spurs became irrelevant to the championship race.
You have to go back two decades to the days of Magic's Lakers, Larry's Celtics, Moses' 76ers and Isiah's Pistons to find another era when you knew -- you just knew -- which teams were going to wind up meeting in the NBA Finals. It's as if the Lakers and Cavaliers already know they're going to win their respective primaries and are now preparing for the general election in June.
The point is that one player can make all the difference in this postseason. Try to imagine how much stronger the playoffs would be if all of these stars were healthy and productive:
• Jameer Nelson, Magic: Orlando's two losses to Philadelphia came by two points each. Don't you think Nelson would have erased that deficit in one or both of those games? Before his February shoulder injury, Nelson was an All-Star point guard shooting 50.3 percent and managing the pick-and-roll in the half court, a staple Orlando would have exploited throughout this series. Topping all else would have been Nelson's leadership. He was the leader of the Magic, and his absence has forced Dwight Howard to grow into that role. Which isn't altogether bad, because in the long term the Magic may appreciate the leadership opportunities created for Howard. But for now, they're suffering without Nelson to show them the way.
• Tyson Chandler, Hornets: He's back on the floor after missing 38 regular-season games, but New Orleans' lone 7-footer is providing a scant 23.5 minutes and 5.3 rebounds. The Hornets were a thin team already, and now, without a healthy Chandler (not to mention the back injury plaguing Peja Stojakovic), they have no chance against the ambitious Nuggets. The 58-point home loss Monday was a seminal catastrophe for the Hornets, who can't afford to strengthen their rotation as they slash payroll this summer to avoid the luxury tax next season. Chris Paul and David West look stranded, their future together discouraging.
• Kevin Garnett, Celtics: The most important event of this season wasn't a trade or free-agent signing; it was the midseason knee injury to Garnett, which has taken the Celtics out of le contention and severely diminished the championship race.
For starters, if a healthy Garnett were on the floor this week, then Derrick Rose's lanes to the basket would be cut off and the Celtics would be getting back on defense, simply because Garnett has the power to demand such effort from his teammates. In the bigger picture, the Cavaliers would go from the prohibitive Eastern favorites they are today to a 50-50 choice to win the conference finals. Their home-court advantage would be offset by the championship confidence of the Celtics, turning an eventual Boston-Cleveland series into a last-minute-of-Game-7 toss-up. Meanwhile, the Lakers spent all summer and much of this season gearing up for a potential rematch with the Celtics, and now it will not come to be.
For all the excitement of the Chicago-Boston series, there's been an artificial quality to it because of Garnett's absence. In the bigger picture, it would be far more satisfying to watch a healthy Celtics team crush these Bulls in the first round to move closer to a thrilling rematch with the Cavaliers.
• Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, Spurs: Ginobili surely could have driven the Spurs past Dallas, and a second-round matchup with the hot Nuggets would have been fascinating. Could the Spurs ultimately have challenged the Lakers in the conference finals? Only if Duncan were healthy, too. No good team burdens three players more than the Spurs, who rely on the trio of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. But now that two of them are on the wrong side of 30 and wearing down, the prospects of another le run have dimmed. Our loss, because they set a standard of commitment and discipline that elevates the entire league.
• Dwyane Wade, Heat: In Games 2 and 3, Wade totaled 62 points in Miami's victories against Atlanta. Then back spasms helped limit him to 22 points (on 26 shots) in an 81-71 home loss to the Hawks. So it's a simple formula: If he's healthy and productive, the Heat should win. He looks like the only player on either team who believes his side should and will prevail. Health permitting, of course.
• Tracy McGrady, Rockets: The blue-collar Rockets have pushed Portland around for much of this series, leaving Houston on the verge of its first series win in a dozen years. Next up would be the Lakers in a second-round meeting, which the Rockets couldn't survive. They would defend and push for easy baskets, but they wouldn't have enough half-court scoring to beat L.A.
The version of McGrady whose injured knee kept him playing below the rim this season wouldn't be of any help. But the T-Mac of previous years, who was capable of exploding for 30, surely would put a scare into the Lakers. If McGrady makes a full recovery by next season, it is going to be interesting to see if he can make the transition that Paul Pierce and Ray Allen completed last year in adapting their games to fit the larger needs of a championship team. In McGrady's case, that's going to require effort defensively and a willingness to play without the ball, as the Rockets attack the open court via their young point guards. Those are a lot of ifs, but they have major implications for the Rockets and McGrady next year.
• Andrew Bynum, Lakers: He has been in and out of focus while working his way back from a midseason knee injury. The Lakers can survive the next two rounds without their young center, but they may need Bynum in a Finals against LeBron's tall Cavaliers. Bynum's progress will be watched closely in the month ahead.
Hahaha these spurm fans are Lame!!
Let's see:
- Magic about to advance withour Jameer Nelson
- Wade injured all season long and still in the fight
- Celtics just one win away from the second round without their best player
- Rockets without McGrady and one win away from the second round!
Cry me a river es, you are not the only ones with injuries, other teams are also injured but fighting.
I'm glad you are DEAD...
lol
Love that, makes it seem like the series didn't count.
Eh, enjoy it mav fans, your mediocre run will end against the Nuggets..
Try not to get blow about by 58..
Oh, if you take any offense to this, instead of replying to me you should be looking to
to prowl on your next opponents board..
Or is there nowhere else for you to go?
Lame ass spurm fan, enjoy that 1-4lol
Love that, makes it seem like the series didn't count.
Eh, enjoy it mav fans, your mediocre run will end against the Nuggets..
Try not to get blow about by 58..
Oh, if you take any offense to this, instead of replying to me you should be looking to
to prowl on your next opponents board..
Or is there nowhere else for you to go?
Your team sucks and is in decline!
So Louis, are you planning on picking another troll name anytime soon, since the Suns are more "done" than the spurs.
Your obsession for the Spurs is pretty alarming....
What's wrong, you're mommy didn't hug you enough when you were a kid?
Nah, but seriously.. Get a ing life..
Do something, get a hobby, "try" and be more sociable and find your first friend.
I would say get a girlfriend, but that would be a stretch.
Remember, letfy and right will always be there for you, but not too much otherwise you might go cross-eyed.
The Mavs dont want to hear any of this injury mess from the Spurs. Dallas has had to fight through injuries all season long.
Josh Howard missed 30 games during the season, and was playing in the Spurs series with a messed up ankle. Then you have Jason Terry, who missed almost 4 weeks, and Stackhouse who missed the entire season. George was one of their better defensive players, and they lost him for the season also.
Injuries were the main reason why the Mavs were so up and down during the season. The Mavs surely would have had a better record and a better seed if not for their injury problems and if Howard didnt miss 30 games.
However, it doesnt matter because that is the NBA. A lot of teams have had injuries. It's part of it...but it seems the Spurs are the only team people like making excuses for.
The NBA needs to go to the 50 game regular season.
This is not the 1970s anymore where most revenue is from gate receipts.
If the top players are almost all healthy (like in college basketball), then the playoffs will be a bigger TV draw.
The regular season will be a bigger TV draw as well (like the NFL), as each game will actually mean something.
It will also pretty much get rid of sandbagging during the regular season.
This would also lead to longer, more healthy-free careers for star players.
Making 10-year vets over 30 years old play 82 games, plus the playoffs, is a joke.
I also favoring tinkering with how the playoffs are conducted.
Good thing Josh Howard is 100% and has been all season...not
I don't think the author was suggesting the Spurs are the only team to suffer from injuries. He's saying this year's playoffs kind of sucks ass because so many teams are injured, the ones who advance only do so out of luck - who's injured less and at more convenient times.
Yeah, some fans just react without comrehending. Timing when a player gets injured is critical.
josh howard smokes weed come on...thats his life saver....100% plz lol
How is your team doing headGet over it already you bitter fukk SA knocked your team out enough for you not to be here even talking trash, yet you stay here like it's 07?He was out there playing and did very well, atleast you had him out there doing well. Ginobili was in street clothes and that hurt, ALOT. No denying Howard was banged up most of the year, but he is getting healthy now and playing great, thats key.
1. Jameer Nelson is nowhere near the playoff performer Ginobili is.
2. Is Wade so injured that he can't play? Obviously not. Think before you speak.
3. Not much argument from me here.
4. Rockets play better without McGrady, especially in the playoffs. They have so much more chemistry without him.
That being said, the season should be shortened to 70 games or something. Like the original article said, injuries are really hurting the playoffs. Celtics, Magic, and Spurs would all be completely different teams if they had Garnett, Nelson, and Ginobili, respectively. These were the only 3 teams that had a shot of ruining the Cavs-Lakers matchup.
The league has really become an offense-oriented league that favors athletic players, meaning younger teams. NBA has really disappointed me with their pussy calls. It's so rare to see a charging foul nowadays. LeBron, Kobe, and Wade can LITERALLY do whatever they want in the paint.
Care to read the subject again?
So Troll Ho, How are the Suns doing so far in the playoffs?
Spurs got demolished in this series. Idk why people continue to act as if having Ginobli would have suddenly made this vast difference. If anything having another scorer like Ginobli would have just made Parker less aggressive.
They still would have sucked on defense.
The bench would have still been terrible aside from Manu, if he didn't start.
Duncan would have still been slow and unable to defend the paint.
Um Manu is a top three player on this team and huge in the clutch, I would say they would have made it more than 5 with him, maybe 7???????? You are selling Manu short and what he means to this team when he is healthy, wihtout him in 05 and 07 they DO NOT win the le. Think what you want to think but Manu is huge to this team, check the record with and without him this year, thats says it all.
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