MVN - Most Valuable Network

Hawks GM Candidates

Billy Knight, feeling pressure from the organization, resigned as Hawk’s GM starting July first. Now, the team has to find a new one to build on this year’s playoff berth.

According to Mark Stein of ESPN.com, they have four people in mind: Trail Blazers personnel scout John Gabriel, Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, Wizards vice president of basketball administration Tommy Sheppard, and Celtics assistant general manager Dave Wohl.

All four of these guys are fairly big names. Gabriel won the NBA executive of the year award as Magic GM before coming to Portland, obviously showing teams that he can get the job done.

Lindsey is a very important, high aid in San Antonio’s front office. They might not want to let him go, as their executives have understandably been taken in the past few years.
Sheppard is a high assistant to Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and was close to landing the GM job in Seattle. His stock his growing rapidly, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Atlanta get him.

Wohl helped Celtics GM Danny Ainge win executive of the year this season and has unmatchable experience, working as a coach and as an aid to minds such as Pat Riley.

Former sixers GM Billy King and assistant Cavilers GM Chris Grant, who has ties to Atlanta, will both be considered if they can’t get anyone on that list quickly.

Lindsey is clearly the frontrunner for the job, as they would love to get him into Atlanta. However, he might be tough to get, as he is already in a good situation. Plus, the Hawks job isn’t the most attractive, with a possible new coach coming in and Atlanta owernship often not allowing their GM’s to make the moves they want to.

Pistons Benefit From Series

The NBA team that is quietly enjoying this Cleveland-Boston series has to be the Pistons, who are already in the Eastern finals.

As we saw tonight, physical play has been common in the six games and is sure to be the case again in game seven. These two teams are beating up on each other, making them more vulnerable to the Pistons. This is all happening while Detroit sits and watches them, resting for whoever they face.

Also, Chauncey Billups is getting more time to get his strained right hamstring ready for action, as he won’t have to play until Tuesday. Billups is obviously the centerpiece of their offense, and therefore needs to be fully healthy.

So all in all, you should be happy if you’re a Pistons fan, because your team already has the edge over the Cavs or Celtics before the games have even begun. As if they even needed one with how they can play.

Celtics 0-6 On Road

Another road game, another L in the books for the Celtics. In the playoffs so far against the Cavs and Hawks, they are 0-6 away from Boston. Ouch, that is not what the best team in the NBA is supposed to do.

This was already discussed before the game began. Major questions will be asked about the Celtics now, as not being able to win one single road game with the veteran leadership they have is abysmal.

You could expect the youngsters, especially Rajon Rondo, to struggle. That is understandable. However, the veterans lost their poise and made mistakes that they haven’t made in Boston as well.

Paul Pierce had six turnovers. Many misses by the Cavs weren’t properly boxed out on by the Celtics, creating offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities which were the deciding factor in the game. This won’t work, as good teams like the Pistons and any team from the West will eventually win a game in Boston.

The fact is that nobody, including coach Doc Rivers, knows why the Celtics are so bad on the road in the playoffs so far after doing fine in the regular season. They better get their act together, though, or this great season could quickly turn into a bad one.

Cavs Win 74-69

Well, we had an offensive struggle tonight in Cleveland as the Cavaliers won 74-69, forcing a game seven against the Celtics in Boston.

Both sides were excellent defensively in this game, with both teams shooting under 40%. The Celtics forced LeBron James to pass to his teammates, who couldn’t get the job done. The Cavs had a lot of defensive intensity, and used it to crowd the ball handler and then recover nicely.

A very bad day for the Celtics offense. Kevin Garnett was really the only bright spot for them, getting twenty-five points. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, two guys who were needed, particularly Allen, combined for Garnett’s total. That isn’t very good. At this point, Allen might not even deserve to be included in the big three, as he has done nothing in the playoffs.

Rajon Rondo is the guy who really caused this poor night for the Celtics, in my opinion, continuing his bad play away from Boston. He took just four shots and only made one of them to get two measly points. He wasn’t pushing it, and was unable to get any separation and make things happen. This is a major concern for the Celtics, as if Rondo is struggling, their offense usually does poorly. Sam Cassell was brought in to fix a situation exactly like this, but he has been so bad that he didn’t even get one minute tonight.

For the Cavs, it was all about LeBron James and offensive rebounds.

James took control of their offense, as he usually does, getting thirty-two points. He wanted to pass it more, as the Celtics were forcing him to, but his teammates, especially Wally Szczerbiak, weren’t making any of their shots. They will need to do this in game seven.

James didn’t even need a good shooting night to get this done. He made up for it with thirteen made free throws, helping the Cavs to make ten more from the line than the Celtics, something which really affected the outcome.

Also, Cleveland relied heavily on offensive rebounds. This kept them in the game in the first quarter and helped them greatly in the second half. In total, they had sixteen of them while Boston had just seven. This is one of the ways the Cavs can win with a bad shooting night, and foul problems with Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins allowed it to happen. Plus, the crowds affected the intensity of the teams.

So overall, just a bad night for the Celtics. This wasn’t exactly the most exciting game in the world, but it had some tense and dramatic moments. Boston once again failed to win on the road, and will have to go back to their city to play in game seven. Cleveland has all the momentum now, so watch out.

Cavs 41, Celtics 33 At Halftime

At the end of the first half, the Cavs lead the Celtics 42-33.

This has obviously been a game dominated by defense, with the Celtics shooting just 37.8% and the Cavs 32.4%.

For the Celtics, it’s been all about stopping LeBron James. They’ve double teamed him and made others around him make shots. Nobody has really done that so far, though, making Boston’s defense very effective. Cleveland has made fifteen free throws, which has helped them a lot.

In the first quarter and for most of the second, their ten offensive rebounds and free throws kept them in the game, as they couldn’t make a shot. James couldn’t do anything, even though he was giving his teammates good looks.

At the end of the second half, though, the Cavs got going, closing out on a 12-0 run. James finally realized that he has to go to the basket and get fouled. All but four of his thirteen points have come that way. This won’t win them the game, however, and they will need to shoot the ball better with guys like Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West finding their touch.
The Celtics have been suffocated by the Cavs on offense. They are passing the ball around nicely, playing very unselfish basketball, but nobody can make a shot with the Cavs playing with lots of intensity.

In the second half, I would suggest just giving Kevin Garnett the ball. He has thirteen points, and is the only one really creating any offense for the Celtics.

In addition to just shooting better, Boston has to reduce their turnovers, already having nine.

So, a very good half for Cleveland considering how poorly they shot the ball. In the second half, they need to make shots when LeBron gives them the ball while also continuing to play good defense on the Celtics, recovering after double teams.

Boston needs to get going on the boards, as Cleveland can win by getting second chance opportunities. This could be quite tough with Glen Davis in foul trouble.  Other than that, I would pretty much keep doing what they’re doing with James, forcing others to beat them.

On offense, they might be better suited to play more selfishly. Rondo has attempted just two shots and missed both, but has had numerous scoring chances.

Right now, I would stick with my Boston win prediction, but we’ll see. This third quarter could be a decisive one.

Not exactly the most exciting game tonight with very little scoring, but it is still enjoyable. I can’t imagine another half like this one. The team that can actually make some shots might be the one to come out victorious.

Poll Question

I wanted to talk about the NBA Source’s poll question that is currently up. The debate was who is under the most pressure to win on the road tonight, the Celtics or Lakers. Readers voted for the Celtics by ten.

I would have to agree with this. They are supposedly the NBA’s best team and were expected to cruise through the weak East up until they face the Pistons. The best team shouldn’t lose every single road game in the first two rounds. If you saw my preview, I believe that Boston will pull off the win in Cleveland, but if they don’t, they could get bombed in the press.

The Lakers are going into Utah, the toughest place to play in the league. Combine that with the fact that they won two away games in the first round in Denver and they aren’t under the most pressure.