...and everything changes.
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First of all, this is a matchup of the two best coaches in the postseason thus far. I happened to see Mike D'Antoni interviewed the day after the controversial last-second loss to the Lakers (Nash fouled then stripped as he tried to call a timeout) sent Phoenix down 3-1 and the guy just exuded calm confidence. Right then I knew that Phoenix had a decent chance to get to the second round. The other thing you have to admire about D'Antoni is that he plays unlike anybody in the league and goes out and gets parts to fit his system. Boris Diaw was obviously the main coup this year, but the acquisitions of Raja Bell and Tim Thomas weren't too shabby either. Granted that's the GM (now toiling in Toronto) but D'Antoni was obviously consulted and made it work. And flipping Barbosa over to the two-guard was a bold and savvy stroke that is all D'Antoni. This is a team that has won the divisional title and reached the Conference Finals two years in a row playing without a center, in constant transition. They're just a hell of a lot of fun. And the brains behind it all on the sidelines fades into the woodwork as much as he can.
As for Avery Johnson, well, I am now munching on my vote for Flip Saunders as coach of the year after AJ's insertion of Devon Harris at the point totally flummoxed the Spurs and literally changed the equation of how the entire second round series would be played.
More >>1. No substitute for watching
Right after I posted my series pick of Pistons in 6, three respondents quickly chimed in to rebut me. The difference? They'd obviously been watching a lot more of the Pistons-Cavs series than I did. (For the record, I didn't see any of the games end-to-end, and missed two of the three Cavs wins entirely.) I did watch most of Game 7, particularly in the second half when that famed Pistons D came back into vogue, and figured they'd merely been coasting in their losses. And I'd seen enough of the Heat in the first two rounds to discern what I thought would be their weaknesses versus Detroit (and may still be).
The team with all the depth has had all the rest, while the squad who only goes seven deep was pushed to seven games in the previous round. With Shaq, Mourning, Haslem and even veteran banger Michael Doleac, the Miami Heat have the beef to bully the Detroit Pistons underneath. And with a surfeit of graybeard vets who probably just have this last legitimate shot at a ring--Shaq, Mourning, Payton, 'Toine Walker, and coach Pat Riley--there is motivation aplenty for Miami to will themselves to the NBA Finals.
Detroit in 6.
The top three reasons I like the Pistons.
1) Miami doesn't have a good answer for Chauncey Billups.
Not being an international financier, however, I was unqualified to participate in any of these lucrative transactions. And so I considered myself duly fortunate finally to receive a solicitation in an area of my own interest: The World Cup. The fact that this business proposal involved Africa's greatest statesman and moral beacon? Well, you can imagine that the thrill was greater than scoring a goal in Germany 2006 with my own left foot.
DESK OF CHAIRMANMore >>
Sub-Committee on Finance
South African World Cup bid 2010
24 Steven Bikko Blvrd Pretoria,
Republic Of South Africa.
Email: REDACTED
Attn: Ceo,Greetings you must be aware now that my country The Republic of South Africa won the bid to host the world cup by 2010, prior to this bid my committee was mandated to lobby the members of board of Federation International Football Association (FIFA) on selection of the country to host the world, the bidding was intensive but at the end we got the hosting right.
My committee was given the sum of $29 million dollars to lobby the members of the FIFA ruling body to make sure that we win the hosting right considering he gain that comes with the hosting right like South Africa's economy will receive a massive direct boost from hosting the 2010 World Cup, financial impact report for South Africa's World Cup bid committee shows that the 2010 World Cup will pump R21.3-billion into South Africa's economy, and creating an estimated 159 000 new jobs.
Okay folks, sorry I don't have time for analysis right now, but I do want to open this thread for anyone who wants to talk about the second-round of the series. Hopefully I'll elaborate later, but here are my picks:
Miami over New Jersey in 6.
Detroit over Cleveland in 5.
Clippers over Phoenix in 6.
San Antonio over Dallas in 6. (No way to prove it, but this was my pick even before the Spurs triumphed this afternoon. For that matter, barring injuries or as of now unforeseen circumstances, I think San Antonio will again beat the Pistons and repeat as champs. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.)
Other permissible comment topics: The Phoenix comeback (otherwise known as the Kwame-Smush el foldo); the little white guy winning his second straight undeserved MVP; rethinking coach of the year and MVP by including playoffs in the context; and the extracurricular activities on the court (from Reggie Evans's nut grab to Raja Bell's clothesline to Udonis Haslem's mouthpiece toss).
Twins of 2006 starting to look just like the Twins of 2005
Going into tonight's game at the Dome, there's plenty of hand-wringing--in the daily newspapers, at least--about whether the Twins can overcome their 33-1 drubbing at the hands of Detroit last weekend. I'll humbly offer that that is the wrong question to consider.
We're one month into the season, a time when we can really take stock of this year's Twinkies. The real question is, now that the pitching is relatively back on track, are the Twins going to revert all the way back to 2005 form? If so, that's a shame, because that will make it hard to write off the team entirely.
More >>The redoubtable Garwood B. Jones, best known for his Wolves-related commentary in this spot, has sent forth some lengthy, informative (and undoubtedly misguided) commentary on Saturday's race. Because it's difficult to post links in the comments section (and because he sucked up to me by making an informed comment about poor Frankie Hejduk), I'm posting it as a separate item. Keep those comments coming! Soon I will post my superfecta pick so that all can be sufficiently warned away from those poor, doomed beasts.
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