Empty the Bench

Last night, in the NBA Playoffs, as the world turns…

San Antonio 96, Denver 89: Big Shot Rob Horry nailed a three-pointer from the corner with about 30 ticks left in the game, and an efficient 29-point performance from Carmelo Anthony wasn’t enough to get his team back in the series as the Spurs head back to San Antonio to likely close it out tomorrow night. Fresh off his recognition as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Camby had a strong night with 10 points, 17 boards, and 4 blocks, while A.I. chipped in 22 points and 7 assists while struggling through a 9-25 FG night. Tim Duncan turned in a typically solid, uninspiring night of 22 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting Spurs.

With the Miami Heat licking their wounds on the beach and out of the playoff picture, the Spurs are hands down the hardest team left in the postseason to watch or root for. When the Spurs don’t get the whistle, when they miss a shot, or have the ball stolen, they make sure the refs know it. How many times last night did you see Tim Duncan mysteriously fall to the court and roll around, or miss an easy layup in the post then stand there and stare at the official, totally incredulous that a foul wasn’t called?

From Duncan on down to Manu Ginobli, Bruce Bowen, and Tony Parker, this team gets a free pass on being one of the Association’s biggest group of flops, whiners, and complainers. That’s not taking anything away from their ability–the Spurs are a very, very legitimate contender to win it all. Their veteran poise is unflappable, their individual talents mesh incredibly well together, and they have a knack for stepping up in crunch time (see Horry, Ginobli, Michael Finley, etc). They’re led by a head coach in Gregg Popovich who will likely end up in the Hall of Fame. Still, for all their accolades, the Spurs gripe and bitch and moan more than most teams, and somehow, they get away with it.

Cleveland 97, Washington 90: And so the series that few outside of Ohio had any passing interest in comes to a quiet close. The Cavaliers franchise notched their first-ever postseason sweep by taking the broom to a Washington Wizards squad that’s no better than the Charlotte Bobcats without Gilbert Arenas or Caron Butler in the lineup. Lebron James had a monster night, putting up 31 points on 8-22 FG and 14-17 FT along with 11 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Big Z also recorded one of his better overall games of the playoffs, much less the regular season, with 20 points, 19 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 9-16 shooting. As he did all series, Antawn Jamison kept his team in the game with 31 points.

The Cavaliers did well in eliminating their far inferior opponent in the minimum number of games possible. In Round Two, they’ll likely face a much tougher team in the New Jersey Nets who, unlike the Wizards, have a healthy Big Three in Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson who are all playoff tested and playing at a high level. As for Washington, they were mostly happy to simply hang onto a playoff berth after losing Butler and Arenas, and they’ll regroup this summer and hope their two stars come back fully healed for the 2007-08 season.

Speaking of Agent Zero, we all know that Gilbert always comes first in Gilbert’s life, and for the better part of the year most people–including myself–viewed his various antics as entertaining, good for the game, etc. As the season wore on, however, his desperate need for attention became more and more grating, capped off by the selfish, unamusing press conference he called to happily announce to the world that he would grace the cover of NBA Live ’08 . He did this as his teammates were getting thumped on national television and on their way to being swept out of the playoffs. In addition to a healthy knee, here’s hoping Arenas returns to the hardwood next year with a little more maturity to boot.

Houston 96, Utah 92: All it took to shake the Rockets’ out of their shooting doldrums was a return to Houston, as the team shot 47% from the field and actually had more than four guys score a bucket (gasp!). Led by double-doubles from their two marquee stars– Tracy McGrady put up 26 points and a career-best 16 assists, while Yao Ming went for 21 points and 15 boards–the Rockets made the big plays down the stretch when they needed them, withstanding a semi-furious comeback attempt by the Jazz that ended with Deron Williams’ prayer three-pointer. Carlos Boozer carried the load again for Utah, scoring 26 points on 12-23 shooting with 8 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

Neither team has won an away game yet, and we expect that trend to continue when the series shifts back to Salt Lake City for Game Six Thursday night. The Jazz are very difficult to beat at home as it is, and you can bet they’ll do everything they can to ensure their season doesn’t end in front of their fans. This one is going seven games, and in the end, the home-court advantage for Houston should prove to be the deciding factor.

Tonight:

New Jersey at Toronto, 7pm: Rumor is that Raptors fans have recanted their hatred for Vince Carter, and instead of booing him incessantly tonight they’ll shower him with rose petals and $10 bills. Yep, the crowd is gonna make it rain all over VC.

Golden State at Dallas, 9:30pm: If the Mavericks lose tonight (let’s go Baron, let’s go! Let’s go Baron, let’s go!), don’t be surprised if Mark Cuban sells the team this summer. Seriously.

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