Pete’s Podium 5-12-09
The Los Angeles Lakers have their critics after an extremely poor performance on Sunday when the Yaoless and Tracy McGradyless Houston Rockets put them in their places with a 99-87 game four win to knot the series up at two. There is a split decision in the nation on this one, with most of the public saying it’s just the Lakers being the Lakers, taking their normal off game in the series and they will be fine. But the other portion of the public thinks its more of an ultimate judge of their character and toughness, and that it will eventually lead to their undoing.
If any team remaining in the playoffs could afford a loss and performance like this, it’s the LA Lakers. They are the best overall squad in the playoffs and have the ultimate edge in the coaching and intangible categories. The Lakers will take it to the Rockets at the Staples Center in Game 5 and close it out in Houston to advance to the Western Conference Finals. But all do respect to the Rockets for gutting this series out and proving what hard work and a team mentality can do for an NBA side missing its two best players. Shane Battier just might be the most underrated player in the NBA and Aaron Brooks has proven he can handle the starting point guard position with his electricity and offensive explosiveness.
The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their impressive run by completing their second consecutive sweep with a 4-0 series win over Atlanta. The Cavs have won all eight of their games by double digits and have still yet to yield over 85 points. They have cruised into the Eastern Conference Finals and have their confidence at a season high. It is going to be tough for either Boston or Orlando to challenge this deep, rolling, rested Cavs team that will be prepared and motivated to reach the Finals. But with all that being said lets also take into account the two teams they have played so far in this playoffs. Detroit was clearly not the Pistons of old, and Atlanta is an awful road team that was battling numerous injuries that clearly affected their teams play. But will the Celtics without Kevin Garnett be able to really threaten Cleveland? Or will the Magic be able to put a scare in the Cavs with no closer in the big moments of the big games? These questions are still left to be unanswered.
The Nuggets- Mavs series has taken a bit of a crazy turn, as after jumping to a rather comfortable 2-0 lead in Denver the Nuggets won Game 3 in rather controversial fashion. So much that the NBA found it necessary to issue an immediate apology for a supposed botched call in Game 3. After all the awful calls and series deciding decisions the NBA and its refs have fouled up over the years, they decide to submit an immediate apology for a call that seemed to be correct in my opinion, crazy how that works. Wright clearly wasn’t physical enough in his foul attempt on Carmelo Anthony. He should have wrapped him up or at least made some body contact. On top of that he threw his hands in the air to indicate that he hadn’t fouled Melo. To add on to the blame Coach Carlisle should definitely have alerted the referee on the immediate foul attempt plans. Instead Melo shook off the weak reach in that got contact with the ball and banged the game winning three pointer. Dirk did manage to land the Mavs a Game 4 win to prevent the sweep with a gutsy 44-point showing. Game 5 is on Wednesday night.
The Mark Cuban-Kmart fiasco is something we all wish could be put to a complete halt. Mark Cuban is obviously at fault for saying anything unkind toward Kenyon Martin’s mom, especially because he was completely unprovoked by her. Cuban clearly was extremely frustrated but as the Dallas Mavericks’ owner he is expected to act like a professional and this is completely unacceptable. But lets also not get to carried away as all he really said was something to the effect of, “your son is a punk/thug.” Dumb and uncalled for, but nothing worth severe consequences. Cuban apologized to Martin and his mother in his blog and presented an offer to help make up for his mistake, but Kmart obviously still felt it necessary to throw some harsh words Cuban’s way after a Game 4 ejection. Unfortunately Martin didn’t take the high road on this one, but this should also signify the end of this verbal tussle, as both men said what they felt needed to be said.
Big Baby made the right decision to issue an apology for his accidental contact with a young boy after hitting his buzzer beating shot to win Game 4 on Sunday. Many may have thought the apology was unnecessary after the boy’s father sent an angry email, but Davis showed that he is a sincere man who can acknowledge an innocent fans well-being no matter what his father might have said. Way to go Glen Davis.
Roger Clemens decided to get himself back in the news as he felt it necessary to appear on ESPN to continue to praise his innocence and deny basically the majority of all things written about his PED usage in a newly released book. Sad to say it but the more I see of this alleged “Drug Cheat” the more sickened I am about him and all the baseball I have watched in my entire life. He is just another Rafael Palmeiro pointing his finger at us and pushing us his lies till he thinks he can force us to believe them, but I’m not hypnotized by his ignorance and I hope none of you guys are either.
The Penguins-Capitals series is headed for a big Game 7 after a crucial overtime victory for the Caps kept their season alive. This is the dream scenario for the NHL as a league, but too bad this exciting Game 7 will be televised on Versus. Hey Ill still be watching, but the rest of the sports nation needs to be spectating also, and with no ESPN or NBC to put this on the proper stage they most likely wont be.
The match up is sure to please as Ovechkin and Crosby have lived up to the hype and have both provided the fans with plenty to be in awe of. These superstars have led their teams and have been a constant threat to score every time they touch the puck. This rivalry has finally begun to get to an extremely tense level and will be sure to continue in the many years to come. I look for the Caps to take Game 7 at home behind the strength and skill of number 8. He will finally get some help from some of his underachieving teammates (Green), and Varlamov will continue to look sharp between the pipes. Many may say Pittsburgh have completely outplayed Washington in the last three games, but I still see them as rather fortunate after watching their two rather lucky overtime deflection goals that both came off Capital defensemen.
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