Empty the Bench

For a split second, Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell was tempted to just raise his middle finger and grin at the camera. Okay, not really, but he’d certainly have grounds to. As the guy who was once voted the NBA’s worst head coach in an informal player poll, Mitchell’s redemption in the eyes of his peers was fully realized this afternoon when he was named the 2007 recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the Association’s top coach.

Though there were plenty of worthy candidates (Avery Johnson, Don Nelson, Old Man Sloan), Mitchell’s part in turning around the long-struggling Toronto franchise could not go ignored. A year after finishing with a .313 winning percentage, the Raptors made a 20-game swing to win the Atlantic Division with a 47-35 record that was good for the East’s three seed (they’re currently down to the Nets 1-0 in the first round). Naturally, his players are happy for him.

“We recognized him for it this morning, ” forward Chris Bosh said. “But the thing I love about him is he said it was a team effort.”

“From the summer, after I signed, his focus was trying to get us all in and get the chemistry going early,” guard Anthony Parker said. “Throughout the course of the season we seemed to come together pretty nicely. Sam obviously was a huge part of that.”

“He’s done a great job with the ball club,” forward Morris Peterson said Monday. “He’s really grown a lot over his first couple of years coaching. If anybody in the NBA deserves it, it’s him. He’s proved a lot of people wrong.”

Guard T.J. Ford said Mitchell puts his faith in the players. “He’s going to give us the structure offensively and defensively, but it’s up to us to go out there execute,” he said. “He puts it in our hands and lets us control it. He’s been great in that aspect.”

So, congratulations, Mr. Mitchell, on a job well done. We’re not so sure, however, whether to congratulate him on a rumor in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune, or just tell him to run far, far away from anything Indiana Pacers. With the team expected to can head coach Rick Carlisle any minute now–and with Mitchell’s contract expiring this summer–there are rumblings that Larry Bird may have a man-crush on Mitchell:

Bird declined to talk about Carlisle, though local media reports indicate he’ll be out. Around the NBA, the talk is the Pacers will come hard after Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, whose contract expires after this season. Mitchell played three seasons in Indiana, and his hard-nosed, direct style was admired by management. He’s the kind of leader they’d like to rebuild with.

And though Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo has said the right things about supporting and bringing back Mitchell, the belief is he remains uncomfortable with Mitchell, whom he did not hire. Also, it was no secret Colangelo was forceful in getting Mitchell to accept and play rookie Andrea Bargnani. There appears to be something of a power struggle going on with President Richard Peddie openly supporting Mitchell’s return, apparently to push Colangelo.

Mitchell will obviously be in high demand if Colangelo doesn’t bring him back next season. That said, the Pacers franchise is in utter disarray, and we’d hate to see the Raps coach end up in the thick of it.

It wasn’t much–two singles in four at bats with an RBI–but for new Detroit Tigers DH Gary Sheffield, his performance last night in Los Angeles against the Angels left him hopeful that his dreadful start to the season could soon be a thing of the past.

After the Yankees sent him to Detroit for a package of minor-league prospects (headlined by pitcher Humberto Sanchez, who is now out for the year and will require Tommy John surgery), Sheffield was cited as the power hitter that would make Jim Leyland’s dangerous lineup even deadlier. Like proven sluggers around the league, however, the vet hasn’t gotten off to the kind of start fans were hoping for; going into tonight’s game, he’s batting a paltry .143 with 1 HR, 6 RBI, and a .206 SLG. In a word, ugh.

He’s repeatedly insisted that his slow start has nothing to do with the injured wrist that kept him on the sideline for most of the 2006 season in New York, and that it’s “all between the ears.” Leyland, Sheffield, and his teammates think he’s about to turn a corner:

“I felt like myself,” he announced, after his 2-for-4 night. “When I feel like this, I feel like there are big things to come.”

If this was the game that turned Sheffield from ice-cold into about-to-get-red-hot, there’s nothing that could be more important for the Tigers. “He’s one of those guys that when he gets going, watch out,” said Sean Casey. “He’ll get 20 hits in 25 at-bats, and they’ll all be scud rockets.”

Manager Jim Leyland saw it in batting practice, and again when Sheffield went up the middle with every swing in Monday’s game. Everyone noticed the second-inning laser Sheffield hit, the one that fortunately didn’t hit anyone on its way to center field. “He’s getting real close,” Leyland said. “You can tell. He’s almost there. He’s going to break loose. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

MLB fantasy players out there would be foolish to give up on Sheffield this early. Sure, he’s no young buck anymore, but we’re talking about a guy who hit 34 HRs, 123 RBIs, and batted .291 just two short years ago. Once he figures out his swing and settles into his role as the designated hitter, there’s going to be ample opportunities for offensive production in his three or four slot in the lineup. Remember, he’s batting behind rising-star Curtis Granderson (.307, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .342 OBP) and early AL-batting title contender Placido Polanco (.358, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .391 OBP). Now’s a great time to float some lowball trade offers while his value is the lowest it’ll be all season.

‘Twas the first Monday night of the 2007 NBA playoffs, and…

Detroit 98, Orlando 90: ‘Sheed Wallace banked in a fadeaway, one-handed three-pointer as the shot clock expired late in the fourth quarter, and got a few chances to use his famous catchphrase (“Ball don’t lie!”) en route to a double-double. Nobody threw any baseball bats at Darko Milicic, and the home team yawned their way to a deceptively easy 98-90 victory over the visiting Magic.

The series shifts to Orlando for Games Two and Three on Thursday and Saturday afternoon. Down 2-0 games, and with their monster talent Dwight Howard really struggling through his first playoffs thus far, the Magic will have to get much better efforts from Howard (who reportedly played through a stomach illness), Jameer Nelson, and just about everyone on the bench if they want to extend the series past four.

Nelson has just looked just plain bad during most of this series, shooting a combined 7-21 FG for 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. He’s a nice enough player, but I still don’t think he’s Orlando’s long-term answer for the starting point guard spot. Outside of Milicic’s 14-point effort on Saturday, coach Brian Hill has gotten very little from his bench. Tonight the lone bright spots were Hedo Turkoglu, who started the game 7-7 from the field and finished 10-14 for 22 points, and Grant Hill, who went for 21 points. The score would have been much more lopsided without them. For Detroit, business as usual. Nothing especially spectacular about their effort, but they got the job done and were in firm control of the game from start to finish, despite again letting the Magic hang around longer than they should have. Chauncey Billups finished with 21 points and 8 assists, while Tayshaun Prince notched 18 points and 6 boards.

Houston 98, Utah 90: On TNT’s pre-game show, Charles Barkley and the rest of the crew had a few good laughs at Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko’s expense after AK-47 suffered a mini-breakdown at practice the other day. Upset with only logging 15 minutes during the Jazz’s loss Saturday night, not to mention his minutes and play for the season in general, the Russian was so exasperated that he started tearing up and looked like he was about to bawl. Puzzling, because this guy has a ton of talent and he’s proven that he can be a top-level NBA player. You gotta hate seeing him twist in the wind and putting himself out like this, but he hasn’t helped the situation with his play on the court, either. We’re hoping he can clear his mind and still make an impact this series against Houston.

Tonight wasn’t his night, however. Kirilenko started but accomplished little else, logging 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 turnovers in just 17 minutes of action. I don’t think it’s personal with coach Jerry Sloan; he has no choice but to play the guys who give his team the best chance to win. Right now, that’s Matt Harpring at the small forward spot.

The Rockets, after trailing most of the first half, outplayed the Jazz after the break and took a 2-0 series advantage with a solid eight-point win at home. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming combined to score 23 of the Rockets’ 39 first-half points, and McGrady finished off with 31 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists, though he did shoot a pretty low percentage from the field (9-29). Utah’s 2007 All-Star Mehmet Okur suffered through one of his worst games of the season at an extremely inopportune time. He didn’t drain his first bucket until early in the fourth quarter, going 2-14 FG for 6 points and 9 rebounds on the night. Carlos Boozer, on the other hand, was dazzling, keeping the Jazz in the game until almost the very end with 41 points (tying his career high), 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Rockets seem to be settled in and over their opening-night jitters, which is bad news for the struggling Jazz. This could end up being a surprisingly short series.

Man up, big man. Your team was beaten by the better team Saturday afternoon, so what are you going to do about it? Are you going to be the fearless leader you’re often praised as, and put your team on your back and get the Heat back in the series? Or are you going to piss and moan and blame the Game One loss against Ben Wallace and the Bulls on the officials? Unfortunately, it sounds like Shaquille O’Neal is taking the latter approach at the moment:

Shaquille O’Neal’s words were sharp and pointed and aimed straight at his target, like those passes he whips to cutters when he is double-teamed. “My intention was to come out and be myself, until Eddie Rush derailed me,” O’Neal said after fouling out. He also accused the Bulls of flopping. “It’s just unfortunate that people fall for that,” he said. “I’m used to just outplaying somebody and just playing hard, but I guess that’s what you got to do to stop Shaq.”

Boo hoo. Everyone understands that post-game comments like this are often just positioning to get a few more calls go your way next time. A lot of players do it, but more often than not those players (or coaches) are also levied with a fine for criticizing the officials. It will be interesting to see if David Stern follows prior precedents and asks Shaq for a little pocket change for his comments.

Even more interesting, however, will be how O’Neal and his teammates respond Tuesday night in Chicago. O’Neal was 9-14 from the field for 19 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out, while the other half of Miami’s superstar tandem, Dwayne Wade, went for 21 points on 7-16 shooting, though he was often torched by Luol Deng. He, too, was making excuse overtures after the game, citing his less-than-peak physical condition following his return from a separated shoulder. It’s only one game of a series they’re more than capable of winning, but right now the Heat are looking and acting like anything but a respected group of defending NBA champions.

On the heels of a game-changing performance on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, in which at one point he scored 15 straight en route to a 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals effort, Phoenix Suns backup guard Leandro Barbosa was named winner of the NBA’s Sixth Man Award. Perhaps more importantly, however, Barbosa anchored my fantasy team to a first-place finish last week, but I won’t bore you with the details of that triumph.

The fourth-year guard from Brazil received 101 of a possible 127 first-place votes and 578 points from a media panel. San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili was second with 269 points and Dallas guard Jerry Stackhouse was third with 210.

Honestly, I would have picked Detroit Pistons forward Antonio McDyess over Stack for the third place finish, but then it doesn’t really matter now, does it. Barbosa would likely be putting up All-Star stats as a starter on most teams, but for now he’s making the most of his opportunities behind Steve Nash (who we’re hoping doesn’t become the second Sun to earn a certain postseason honor in the near future).

And so youse don’t embarass yourself while chatting about the Sixth Man winner around your office’s water cooler, ESPN has graciously added this line to Barbosa’s player bio: “Pronounced: lee-AN-dro BAR-bow-sa.” You got that? The emphasis is on the second syllable in his first name, but on the first syllable of his last name. I know, it’s a lot to remember, but I know you can do it.

Just in case you weren’t paying attention, we were treated to a pretty solid batch of games on Saturday and Sunday to kick off ye olde playoffs.

New Jersey 96, Toronto 91: The point guards hold the keys to this series; whichever team figures out how to stop their opponent will win it. On Saturday afternoon, give the nod to Jason Kidd and the Nets. Kidd put up 8 assists in the first 10 minutes, finishing just shy of a triple-double with 8 points, 15 feeds, and 10 assists. His size advantage on T.J. Ford is a huge bonus for the Nets. Even though we were already reminded about 15 times during the game, be ready to hear the announcers say “Jason Kidd can be the best player on the court without scoring a point” at least a dozen more times. T Ford kept the Raps in the game while they waited for Chris Bosh to loosen up; Ford had a nice day from the field, but 2 assists will not cut it. The Raptors need a win tomorrow to avoid going to New Jersey down 2-0.

Chicago 96, Miami 91: Luol Deng has officially arrived. This kid knows both his strengths (mid-range jump shots, getting to the hole) and his weaknesses (three-point shooting), and seems to never play outside of what he’s capable of. Deng poured in 33 points on 14-22 shooting (no threes, and by the way, he only attempted seven all year) with 8 boards, 100% FT, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. The Bulls needed that monster game from Deng, as well as a solid 24 points from Ben Gordon, to mask the uncharacteristically poor effort from Kirk Heinrich, who played only 19 minutes because of foul trouble and finished just 1-7 for 2 points and 4 turnovers. The Bulls cannot win this series if he has a repeat performance.

Detroit 100, Orlando 93: Boy, that Dwight Howard is resembling a young Shaq more and more every day, isn’t he? Massive frame, monster dunker, nearly unstoppable in the paint, and can’t make a free throw if his life depended on it. The Pistons made a concerted effort to limit Howard’s freebies, giving him hard fouls and forcing him to earn his points from the charity stripe. Nice strategy. Howard was an anemic 3-11, and overall the Magic were just 18-36 as a team. Yuck. They also turned the ball over 20 times as the Pistons mostly toyed with them from the opening tip. Rasheed Wallace was huge in the first quarter, Carlos Delfino made his presence felt off the bench, and Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton combined for 44 points and 15 assists.

Houston 84, Utah 75: Tracy McGrady is feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, having still never won a playoff series. In fact, he’s said it’s “on me” if the Rockets don’t advance, and apparently, he was sweating on his way to the arena. His jitters showed, scoring only 1 point in the first half before settling down and finishing with 16. McGrady needs to loosen up and understand that what happened in the past is history, and that this is a team game and the series will be decided by how well each team plays. Yes, he’s the Rockets’ star perimeter player and needs to produce, but if he goes off and Yao struggles, it won’t matter. This has the look of a long series.

Cleveland 97, Washington 82: Lebron suffered a sprained left ankle, but did not come out of the game. “”I had no intention of not coming back,” he said. “First game of the playoffs, we’ve got to set a tone. If I was able to limp on it, I was going to be in there.” Other than that, YAWN. I still don’t think this team is good enough to sweep anybody–even the Wizards, who without Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas are basically a lottery team–but I’d be shocked if this goes longer than five. Enjoy it, Cleveland, because if the Nets advance you’re going to be in a fight for your playoff life that I can’t see you winning.

Phoenix 95, Los Angeles 87: Same old story for the Lakers: very, very little behind Kobe. Phil Jackson’s squad represented themselves admirably during the first half, holding a 9-point lead at the break, but 35 third-quarter points from the Suns erased the deficit, and a balanced attack led by Brazilian Thunder, Leandro Barbosa (26 points, 5 boards) and Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire (39 points, 28 rebounds, 4 steals combined) pushed the Suns over the top. Other than perhaps Lamar Odom, the Lakers not named Kobe look scared shitless to shoot the ball. Sasha Vujacic is awful.

Denver 95, San Antonio 89: Well, well, well… the first upset of the weekend (unless you count New Jersey, which I don’t), one which very few pundits would have predicted. Coming into a hostile environment against the league’s top defensive team, the upstart Nuggets weren’t the least bit fazed. This is what their opponents in the West fear the most, a night when Allen Iverson (31 points) and Carmelo Anthony (30 points) both look unstoppable at times and the rest of the team chips in solid, disciplined efforts. Nene was particularly key, finishing with 13 points, 12 boards, and 2 steals. The Nuggs aren’t about to get ahead of themselves, though. “The guys who were here two years ago know we were in the same situation last time,” Denver center Marcus Camby said. “They ran off and won four straight. That’s why no one is really happy. We came out to get Game 1 but we also want to get Game 2.” ETB is pulling for Denver all the way.

Golden State 97, Dallas 85: It was amusing reading most predictions for this series leading up to Sunday night’s game in the Big D. Most were laughing off the Warriors’ regular season triumphs against the Mavs, scoffing at Don Nelson’s “small ball” lineup and how successful it has been to date, and generally writing this off as a sweep, or at the most a five-game series. We still think Dallas rights the ship and figures out how to solve the Warriors, but damn it if last night’s performance by Baron Davis and Co. wasn’t incredibly impressive.

ETB favorite Davis was sick, abusing the much smaller Jason Terry and Devin Harris–as well as the taller Devean George–to the tune of 33 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Lord have mercy! This team is playing with a great deal of confidence; they’re loose, they know no one thinks they can win it, and they don’t care. For his part, Dirk Nowitzki was very, very underwhelming, shooting just 4-16 from the field for 14 points and 12 boards. Avery Johnson adjusted his lineup, not the other way around, by starting Devean George. Game Two should be a good one.

Tonight:

Orlando at Detroit, 7pm: Darko Milicic scored 14 points on Saturday. Typically, he seemed pleased with himself despite the fact that his team lost. The boos don’t faze him, either: “I don’t really care,” he insisted. “Back home fans used to throw baseball (bats) at me. They used to try to kill me back home, that’s why I don’t even care.” BASEBALL BATS? Geez, Darko, did you kick the beloved town dog back home or something?

Utah at Houston, 9:30pm: To calm his team down and get them laughing, Houston head coach Jeff Van Gundy plans to loop Tony P’s rap video in the locker room.

Empty the Bench will be periodically posting live, in-game updates throughout the NBA playoffs. Hot diggity, the playoffs are finally here. Click here for in-depth analysis of this series.

First Half Impressions:

- Oh boy, what a treat. Here we go, Mike Breen is working the play-by-play duties. Ugh.

- You think Ben Wallace is getting tired of dealing with Shaq every year in the postseason? As good of a defense guy Big Ben is, he gives up a ton of girth in this matchup. O’Neal can get his shot whenever he wants when Wallace is checking him one-on-one.

- That wavy swath of hair atop Jason Williams’ head might be the worst haircut I’ve ever seen. Ever. Dude, take a walk down to SuperKuts or whatever and do something about that. He’s chopped it down a little, but not enough.

- Fantastic feed from Chris Duhon to Ben Wallace for a layup at the buzzer; Miami by 1 after one. I can’t see this series lasting less than six games, and it’ll more than likely go seven. (There’s something hilarious about these NBA Playoffs costumes they’ve dressed a bunch of trampy hooors the Pussycat Dolls up in. Someone needs to talk some sense into whomever’s in charge of choosing the musical “talent” for TNT and ABC’s commercial break leads.) The Bulls are a better team from top to bottom, but then so were the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks last year and the Heat dispatched of both. It’s important, but not vital, for the Bulls to win this first one.

- Three 3-pointers for Antoine Walker already? Every dog has his day, I suppose.

- Luol Deng is single-handedly keeping the Bulls in the game. With Kirk Heinrich on the bench with three fouls for most of the second quarter, all the third-year forward has done is go 7-11 from the field for 16 points already. His layup after an Eddie Jones flop just tied the game back up. Deng’s restraint to not shoot the three-ball–because he knows that’s not a part of his arsenal just yet–is amazing. He only attempted seven all year while playing 37:30 a night.

- Technical foul called on James Posey while he’s sitting on the bench. Posey is laughing, but there’s no indication yet whether Monty McCutchen wants to fight him.

- “Verrrrrrry niiice” says Borat about the finish for the Bulls in the first half. Three-point lead at the half, with Deng’s 16 points leading the way for Chicago and Shaq’s 17 for Miami. Thabo Sefolosha and his new ’70s stache had a nice impact during his 8 minutes on the court. Another close finish is coming up; let’s hope the referees let the players decide it.

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Empty the Bench will be periodically posting live, in-game updates throughout the NBA playoffs. Hot diggity, the playoffs are finally here. Click here for in-depth analysis of this series.

New Jersey Nets at Toronto Raptors

First Half Impressions:

- T.J. Ford’s speed is going to be a problem for the Nets, but Jason Kidd is an even bigger one for the Raptors. Ford scored 8 points in a row for his team at one point early in the first quarter, but Kidd countered with 8 assists of his own in the first 10 minutes of the game. Give him 11 for the half, and 14 points for Ford at the break.

- A few Raptors are playing tight, as is head coach Sam Mitchell. Anthony Parker just missed both free throws with 1.1 seconds left in the half, and has only 2 points thus far (averaged 12.5 per in the regular season). As for Mitchell, I understand that you cannot risk seeing Chris Bosh picking up a third foul in the first quarter and on into the first few minutes of the second. Still, Bosh sat *way* too much after being tagged with #2; he better play all 24 minutes of the second half, or the Raptors are going to be in big trouble.

- Richard Jefferson sure looks healthy, eh? 17 points, 80% FG, and a steal in the first half.

- Both teams are doing a good job of getting everyone involved on the court; nine Nets scored at least 2 points in the first half, while the Raptors had eight guys score. Boki Nachbar could push the Nets over the top if he plays up to his full potential. It’s important to know where he is on the court at all times.

- Nets carry a 10-point lead into the 3rd quarter, but I think this one’s going right down to the wire. I’m personally pulling for the Raps, but the Nets’ playoff experience will prove beneficial at crunch time today. I think Jersey takes this one, but this is going to be a long series no matter what.

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“We’re playing the world champs, we have homecourt,” Skiles said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

This is what the Bulls have been preparing for the last four years. After a testy six-game loss to the Heat last season, they will be more prepared this year. They finally have some of their lottery picks coming of age, they have the homecourt advantage and they intentionally overpaid for Ben Wallace this offseason to keep up with the Shaqs of the world in the playoffs.

It will be a hotly contested series, and it could ultimately come down to officiating like so many Miami Heat games do. ETB hopes it doesn’t, as the Chicago Bulls are an exciting young team that plays tough defense and has a dynamic scorer who would be fun to watch against the Detroit Pistons. Scott Skiles is an intense coach who preaches defense and a motion offense that will certainly test the injury depleted Heat, but Pat Riley is one of the all-time great playoff coaches who will have his team motivated and draw up excellent game plans himself.

Dwyane Wade made a controversial decision to forgo shoulder surgery in order for the Heat to defend their NBA title. We like the determination, but we question the long-term thinking involved. Everybody knows that Wade has a bright decade ahead of him in the league if he can stay healthy, but the nature of his shoulder injury was such that playing without surgery greatly increases the chances of chronic re-injury. To make matters worse, just as Wade comes back for this series Udonis Haslem is nursing a groin injury that’s sidelined him for three of four games. Gary Payton has a torn left calf muscle that’s should keep him inactive for three weeks, though he’s talking about being ready for the first round of the playoffs.

Payton’s absence has forced Wade to backup J-Will at the point. Then James Posey went down on Monday after a collision with Rajon Rondo, suffering a sprained left wrist and shoulder. Alonzo Mourning also sat out Monday to rest his knee, but should be good to go. You know everybody will want to get in on the action after what happened last year.

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The fact that these BoSox fans pulled this at an away game in Toronto is pretty amazing. Not quite as amazing, however, as the utter lack of hesitation by this young lady in deciding she’d had enough. Good stuff. Thanks to Deadspin for the find at The Tao of Stieb.