Empty the Bench

Since posting our Round Two previews last week, your good, good friends at Empty the Bench have failed to post any updates since the action has gotten underway. For that, we do sincerely apologize, but hope you will restore us to your good graces after this quick appraisal of what we’ve been treated to thus far (mmmmm, treats).

Detroit 2, Chicago 0: So much for those upstart Bulls making the Pistons look old, eh? Chicago came into this series huffing and puffing from the considerable weight of their bandwagon, of which tickets were being sold to anyone and everyone who levied an exaggerated amount of stock in their opening-round sweep of the Heat. ‘Twas an impressive feat, without question, but it’s surprising that so many underestimated this focused Pistons squad and failed to acknowledge the considerable matchup problems the Bulls would be faced with. So far, Scott Skiles and his staff have not concocted an answer to Rasheed Wallace and Chris Webber’s length and post presence, Tayshaun Prince’s defense that leads to offense, or the starting guard’s considerable size advantage over Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon.

Games 1 and 2 were basically over after the first quarter, which was nothing less than shocking. We had the Pistons winning this series in six games, but had no delusions of two blowouts to kick things off. Sure, the Bulls made a mini-charge in the second half of Game 2, but when Tyrus Thomas–who we’ve been told is “athletic” about 100 times already–is leading the way, and Ben Wallace is your leading scorer in the first half, the final outcome can never truly be considered in doubt. Right now the Bulls look dazed and confused, almost like they believed their own hype. Having said that, a win tonight at home will get them right back in the series, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Pistons are focused enough to put their boots firmly on the Bulls’ throats and basically put the series away with a 3-0 advantage.

Cleveland 2, New Jersey 0: Honestly, we’re finding it incredibly difficult to feign more than a passing interest in this series so far. As well as the Cavaliers have played on paper, they basically lined up against a lottery team in the first round, and have eeked out two victories at home against a New Jersey team that’s fielding a laughable frontline outside of Richard Jefferson and getting piss-poor shooting performances from its other two stars, Jason Kidd and (especially) Vince Carter. Cleveland fans will not appreciate or agree with that assessment, but it is what it is.

Lebron James, however, does deserve mention for his herculean effort in Game 2, where he rebounded from a poor shooting night in Game 1 to finish up with 36 points on 12-24 FG and 9-13 FT, along with 12 assists and 3 steals (but just 1 rebound). He also appeased the major networks, who are sweating profusely over their perceived lack of star power left in the postseason, with that fast-becoming-legendary story about telling coach Mike Brown to stop coaching and just give him the ball. For New Jersey to get back in this series, they’ll need to remember that rebounding is a key part of winning basketball games and hope a return home rejuvenates their Big Three. They need to shoot better, cut down on the turnovers, and contain James. Hooplah Nation also has 10 reasons the Nets are down. Emerging victorious in Games 3 and 4 is essential.

Utah 2, Golden State 0: As True Hoop said this morning, shame on you if you’ve missed the first two games of this series. Coming in, everyone knew the entertainment factor would be off the scales, but lawdy lawdy have the expectations been exceeded! Let’s see, here’s a few highlights:

- Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown” was Andrei Kirilenko’s soundtrack in Round 1 against the Rockets, but against the Warriors so far, Moistboyz’s “I’m Gonna Kick Your Ass” would be entirely appropriate. Despite being saddled with one of the dorkiest hairdos in the NBA, AK-47 has been a monster for the Jazz: folks, he’s averaging 6.5 blocks over the first two games! Hustling, scoring, rebounding, feeding his teammates… something tells us Masha is pleased.

- Derek Fisher’s heart-wrenching postgame interview with Pam Oliver last night was something else. In case you missed it, he was absent for Game 1 and for the first half of Game 2 to be with his wife and daughter in New York as she underwent emergency surgery for a rare case of cancer (retinoblastoma). With all that emotion inside, from the game and probably more so from the ordeal in New York, he still thought to speak to parents and warn them to have their children checked for this life-threatening affliction. Our thoughts go out to him and his family.

- Baron Davis is still a joy to watch. Hands down, our favorite player to eyeball thus far in the Western Conference bracket.

- Rookie Dee Brown filling in for the absent Fisher as the backup to Deron Williams (who himself is having a highlight-reel series) before succumbing to a scary neck injury last night. Watching him walk off the court, arms shaking, looking disoriented and glassy-eyed, was a scary, scary thing, but apparently he’s okay. Whew, that could have been bad.

- Al Harrington shooting the lights out from beyond the arc. Andris Biedrins making free throws (no small task). Stephen Jackson still having the gumption to keep shooting despite a poor night from the field. Matt Barnes just ballin’. Jason Richardson in vintage J-Rich form. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it all hasn’t added up to a win… yet. Patience, GS fans, it’s coming.

- The first overtime game of the postseason, in which Utah absolutely dominated. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

San Antonio 1, Phoenix 1: The enduring image of this series thus far is, without question, copious amounts of blood gushing from Steve Nash’s gashed nose in the waning moments of the fourth quarter in Game 1. Seriously, can you recall more disgusting close-ups of a man bleeding live on national television in recent sports history? There’s been some doozies, but that was not for the squemish. In fact, my poor ETB associate Andrew had to leave the room, run cold water on his neck, eat spoonfuls of pare-flavored baby food, and read the back page of Tweener Magazine to get himself right again. Unfortunately for the Suns, stopping the bleeding was too daunting a task and his absence was definitely a factor in the Spurs’ Game 1 win.

Game 2 was a totally different story. Close throughout the first half, the Suns broke it open in the second and pulled out a blowout 20-point victory. They did it with defense, they did it with gritty play from Kurt Thomas on Tim(e) Duncan, and they did it with a balanced offensive attack that found five players score in double digits. Steve Nash chipped in 16 assists, and Amare Stoudamire finally slammed home the Suns’ first dunk of the series after the team was shut out in Game 1. Nice show of support by Phoenix fans in sporting band-aids on their noses in honor of Nash, but I can’t help but say it looked really, really silly in practice.

Tonight
Detroit at Chicago, 9pm, ESPN: If the Pistons win tonight in what’s sure to be a bonkers atmosphere, you can stick a fork in the Bulls. The pressure is squarely on the young home team, so it’ll be advantageous to get off to a good start and get the crowd behind them. If Game 3 replicates the start of the previous two, with Detroit landing one haymaker after another, it will be very difficult for this team to clear the mental hurdle.