2012 Playoffs | Hoop Diary

MIA @ IND – Game 4

All people are going to talk about after this game is Lebron James and that is 100% warranted after an historic output when his team most needed him. If Miami were to lose this game their season would essentially have been over, so Lebron put the team on his 6’8″ shoulders and scored 40 points, muscled inside for 18 rebounds and got his teammates going with 9 assists as the Heat won 101-93. All this plus some strong team defense and Wade getting back to doing Wade things saw Miami pull out what has to be considered a mini-upset over an Indiana team who has had all the answers against a Heat squad missing its third pillar (the injured Chris Bosh did not make the trip, staying in South Beach for treatment to his strained abdominal muscle).

Lebron James reacts after getting the dunk and foul

Lebron looked primed for business early when he posterised Danny Granger off a nice pass from Mario Chalmers half way through the first and he never let up. It wasn’t all the Heat’s way however, as despite the show Lebron was putting on, Indiana still held a 10 point lead and commanding position in the third quarter. Then Wade got untracked and the one-two punch was too much for Indiana to handle.

Game 5 is back in Miami and if Lebron and Wade don’t leave their mojo in Indiana, then we have a real series on our hands. This has been a back and forward series so it’s hard to predict what will happen in game 5. Coming in it seemed like the series would be decided by whichever coach was able to put the right lineup on the court to exploit mismatches, but so far it’s come down to which team has the greater will to win. Game 5 will show us a lot about both of these teams.

OKC @ LAL – Game 4

The Lakers looked set to do what was required on their home court and bring the second round series back to even but Oklahoma City had different ideas. The Lakers had a ten point lead for much of the game but saw that evaporate in the final quarter the Thunder got their transition game going while Kobe went 2-10. The Lakers will be livid at this loss as they did everything required to win for three and a half quarters except put the Thunder away.

Westbrook was fantastic, scoring 37 points and exploiting whoever the Lakers had guard him; Durant had 31 and was fantastic in the final quarter with his pivotal steal to set up his go-ahead dagger 3. From the Lakers side, almost everything went to plan as Kobe did typical Kobe things, scoring 38 points with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, before disappearing late. Bynum again played large with 18 points, 9 rebounds and three blocks and World Peace had a strong outing with 14 points and a solid defensive effort.

Russell Westbrook scored 10 4th quarter points to rally OKC to the win

Mike Brown will have Los Angeles reviewing film of the final quarter over and over to see the multitude of things they did wrong including, but certainly not limited to, letting OKC control the tempo, grow lax on the defensive boards and fail to move a defender in help on Westbrook’s penetration.

For game 5 the series goes back to Oklahoma City as the Thunder look to close to series out and advance to the conference finals. The Lakers now know what they need to do to consistently beat OKC but the intrigue remains, do they have the talent to execute that game plan? OKC survived on a day where they got very little production from anyone not named Kevin or Russell, so the Lakers will have to play hard for a full 48 minutes if they want to stay alive because today’s 42 just wasn’t enough.

IND @ MIA – Game 2

Miami looked to have game 2 well in control until Danny Granger started to assert control late in the third quarter, much of it against Lebron James. The easy and dismissive story is to say Lebron was tired from playing big minutes to cover the absence of the injured Chris Bosh, but that would be giving short shrift to Granger who was aggressive at both ends and outplayed the MVP when it mattered.

The twitterverse of course started up the chorus of “zomg Lebron chokes again”, but the missed free throws in the fourth quarter were quite obviously a result of fatigue as ‘bron has lead the league in final stanza scoring. Similarly Dwyane Wade’s missed (albeit very tough) open layup was a result of fatigue and very good defense from Indiana. No one can take away this win from them.

Eric Spoelstra may have been distracted for Game 2. Who can blame him?

This was ultimately an example of Miami completely relying on two superstars and having not a single other person on the roster step up offensively. Lebron (28) and Wade (24) carried the burden almost entirely, as the rest of the team only managed 23 points, with no other individual chipping in more than 5 points.

Indiana came into this game as an underdog, but they are back in the game and all the adjustments need to be made by a Miami who have now lost home court advantage.

Round 2 Preview – Indiana vs. Miami

The Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat match up has everything a basketball fan could hope for with intriguing match-ups, contrasting styles and methodologies and even the story line of South Beach glitz vs. Indiana grit. Let’s break down the individual match-ups to try and get a head start on what will happen when the ball goes up.

Point Guard - Mario Chalmers vs. George Hill

George Hill has supplanted Darren Collison has the starter, and Indiana are reaping the benefits. Hill has helped the Pacers defensively as he allows them to switch on the perimeter much easier, leaving Collison free to cause havoc with the second unit. For the Heat, Mario Chalmers always seems to be a different player in the postseason, and this year is no different as he has raised his game, bringing defensive intensity and clutch three point shooting without the multitude of bonehead mistakes that so often comes as part of the Chalmers package. The defensive presence at the 1 and a deep option on kickouts are really the only two things the Heat need from the point guard position.

Of course any discussion about point guards and the Heat needs to acknowledge that the Heat play large stretches without a traditional point guard, going big on the perimeter with either Shane Battier or Mike Miller, while Lebron controls the offense. For the purposes of this review, we will look at the likely starters, although the way the team finishes games might be quite different.

Outcome: Even

Note: When comparing Chalmers and Hill, it’s a draw. Including the two team’s ability to change things up at PG gives a significant advantage to the Heat both defensively and offensively.

Shooting Guard – Dwyane Wade vs. Paul George

Any discussion which compares shooting guards where Dwyane Wade is featured is likely going to be a mismatch. He of the Beatles names, Paul George, is going to be a fine NBA player, but he can’t hold a candle to the best two guard in the league at the moment. George has fantastic size for a two and moves very well laterally, with nice defensive instincts, but he will struggle against Wade due to the extremely high work rate that Wade puts in, as well as the savvy ability of Wade to understand the moment and what his team needs. George typically has an advantage against other wing players due to his extreme size for the position (6’8″ 215lbs), but while Wade gives up 4 inches in height, he has a strength advantage and the smarts and hops to negate any potential physical advantage from the younger player.

Outcome - Advantage Miami

Small Forward – Lebron James vs. Danny Granger

I’m tempted to just write “Advantage Miami” straight away, but we should explore the match-up as Danny Granger brings a lot to the Indiana Pacers and is almost All-Star quality in his own right. He just pales in comparison to the best player in the league. The spotlight is always shining on Lebron James and everyone has a pretty solid understanding of what he does well (everything on a basketball court) and not so well (the mental approach), but Danny Granger is also a skilled, big small forward who provides many things to his team. While Granger isn’t in the same ball park as a passer, he does shoot the long ball better and at a much higher clip than James. His defensive value through rebounding, blocks and steals as well as defensive positioning and ability to guard multiple positions all pale in comparison to James however.

Outcome – Big advantage Miami

Power Forward – Chris Bosh vs. David West

Chris Bosh is definitely the bigger name in this comparison, but both players do very similar things on the court for their teams. Unfortunately for Indiana, Chris Bosh just does them much better. Both are mostly pick and pop weapons, although Bosh is at his best when being aggressive and attacking off the dribble from the high left post, something he rarely does in Miami, he has a deadly jump shot out to 18 feet. West made his name as Chris Paul’s sidekick in New Orleans, hitting mid-range jumpers off Paul’s penetration, but he is not the same player anymore as he recovers from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He is in many ways the veteran leader of this Pacers squad and the catalyst behind their strong showing this season, but he is not as effective as he was in the Big Easy. While it’s true that both players tend to operate from the mid-post area and are predominantly jump shooters, in the four games against each other this year, Bosh shot 39% from his favoured spot against West, whereas West was at 27% against Bosh (stats courtesy of the NBA Advanced Stats Tool). This equates to Miami wanting to force West to

Outcome – Advantage Miami

Centre - Udonis Haslem vs. Roy Hibbert

Udonis Haslem is a fine player and he tries hard against bigger players but one of the few obvious weaknesses of this Miami team is the lack of a big body to throw against opposing centres. Haslem gives up 6 inches and 30 pounds to Roy Hibbert, so in addition to having a number of fine post moves, the big Indiana centre will have the advantage of seeing straight over defenders to find open shooters on double teams. If Hibbert buys into the game plan effectively then he could average 5 assists in this series and cause Miami some real issues. Given this, expect Eric Spoelstra to go small and attempt to use Miami’s advantage at the other positions to get the ball out of Hibbert’s hands. The forecast in Miami is for full court ball pressure, playing the passing lanes and strong double teams to disrupt any flow inside for the big man, but the advantage is here for Indiana if they are able to exploit it.

Outcome – Big advantage Indiana

Bench

Last year any discussion about a bench in Miami was typically a short one as there wasn’t one. This year with the return of a healthy Mike Miller, Joel Anthony returning to a bench role (allowing Spoelstra to play him only when he provides a genuine advantage) and newcomer Shane Battier the Heat actually have something that can be called a bench. James Jones and rookie Norris Cole may also see some minutes in this series depending on match-ups, although they are probably best referred to as fringe chances.

Indiana on the other hand has a fantastic and varied bench which allows them to play fast or slow, big or small. Darren Collison and Leandro Barbosa are two exceptionally quick guards who can change the tempo quickly, Jeff Foster and Tyler Hansbrough are rugged and energetic bigs who can dirty up the game and get very physical and even fringe players like Dahntay Jones and Lance Stephenson could see spot minutes depending on foul issues and match-up issues if the Heat indeed go with a bigger lineup.

Overall – Nil advantage.

Note: While Indiana clearly has the better bench, the Heat advantage will be in not having to use theirs. The more they can keep their key starters on the bench, the better off they will be.

Series Prediction

Miami should win this series in 5 games, however at least three are going to come down to the wire. Indiana are a fantastic team and will be a force to be reckoned with next year with a full training camp behind them. Miami’s huge advantage at three positions will be too much for the Pacers to overcome, as will the positional advantage of the big no PG lineup which ironically is the one lineup strategy the flexible Indiana bench can’t match-up against.

NYK @ MIA – Game 5

The Miami Heat did exactly what was expected of them and advanced past the New York Knicks into the second round. New York played tough and brought everything they could, but with all the injuries, a late season coaching change and Amare punching walls, they just didn’t have the personnel they needed to combat a Miami team who believe they will win the Championship. Game 5 was the ultimate proof of that as Miami just stuck to their game play and pushed aside New York and proved they are ready to face their second round foe, Indiana.

Melo brought his A game to Game 5 and did everything in his power to get the Knicks a chance to go back home. He scored 35 points on nearly 50% shooting with 8 rebounds, but he had little enough support. Amare came well short of his Game 4 numbers with just 14 points and 4 rebounds, but even those meager numbers don’t do justice to how little impact Stoudemire had on the game.

Game 5 was one of the rare occasions where all of the Heat’s “big three” showed up offensively in the same game, LeBron with 29 points while Bosh and Wade both had 19. Further evidence that the Heat are starting to get ready for the playoffs was that the they went with just eight players, cutting Norris Cole and James Jones from the rotation. Time will tell if those guys will see some burn in the second round, but Eric Spoelstra appears to be gearing up to play the stars bigger minutes and cut the role players out. That’s bad news for the rest of the league.

Even though they lost, the Knicks have proved a lot to themselves in this series. That Melo and Amare can play together (although they didn’t show it all series, but rather in bursts), that they can steal a game off the title favourites even though they are ravaged by injury and that Mike Woodson appears to be the right coach to lead this team next season. It would indeed be ironic if Steve Nash became a Knick just after Mike D’antoni’s tenure with the club comes to an end however.

The Heat, well they have nothing, and yet everything to prove. There is no doubting they are an elite club and the class of the league, but until they perform to the point of winning four games in the Finals series, they won’t have proved what matters most. They only way to do that is to go through Indiana and just keep on doing what they are doing.

BOS @ ATL – Game 5

If the return of Al Horford from injury has changed the complexion of this series, his joining the starting lineup has turned it on its head. Horford provided all the Hawks could want and it proved enough for the Hawks to fight back and make this a legit series. Boston had better hope they can close the series out in Game 6 in Boston, because if the series comes back to Atlanta for a Game 7, Boston’s old legs will be in some trouble.

Horford was amazing in just his second game back from a torn pectoral muscle that saw him miss every game since January 11 with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Larry Drew had promised he would limit Horford’s minutes as he eased him back, but that was out the window in this must-win game as Horford played all but 7 minutes of the game. Not only were his stats needed, but when he got them was just as important in assuring the Hawks of a Game 5 win. Horford scored points late and bottled up Rajon Rondo on the game deciding broken final play. Rondo secured a last second steal and streaked up court, but on a switch Horford was faced with the daunting task of containing the agile PG, but in a similar play to the 4th quarter of last nights Clippers/Memphis game with Chris Paul, Rondo was unable to make a move and uncharacteristically threw the ball away against fantastic defense from a big.

The other significant producer for Atlanta was Josh Smith who stepped up his game when it mattered with 13 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, while keeping the Atlanta offense running when it appeared they were going to get run out of the gym early. With a dose of Smith early and Horford late, Atlanta live to fight another day.

Will it be enough to even the series in Boston in two days time?

MEM @ LAC – Game 4

The Grizzlies came into Staples Center needing to get a win to even up the series. They were unable to get their offense on track in Game 4 and as a result are now facing elimination on their home floor in Game 5.

Game 4 was an ugly game with no flow. The Grizzlies uglied it up with plenty of fouls (34) and turnovers (16), while the Clippers brought their own brand of ugly with ineffectual rebounding and free throw shooting. To add insult in injury, Chris Webber brought his own ugly brand of commentary to the game to cap a pretty forgettable experience.

In the end, Chris Paul was the difference as he just refused to lose. He also refused to give the ball up at the end of the game, clearly not trusting any of this teammates to make a play. (Sidenote: That is the biggest weakness of the Clippers, all of their bigs are terrible foul shooters who can’t be trusted late.) Paul scored 8 points in the overtime, using his quickness to generate space then showcasing his incredible step-back jumper.

Reggie Evans was again prominent late and generated second chance points which really hurt the Grizzlies, supposedly the team with all the attitude and heart. Interesting to note that DeAndre Jordan has been all but forgotten in the closing minutes of each game this series with a total of 4 minutes in fourth quarters and overtimes.

This game 3 win essentially puts the lid on the Grizzlies hopes of advancing to the second round, but there is always hope if they make a few changes. For Memphis to be successful going forward they need to capitalise on the Clippers shortcomings and work on getting Rudy Gay isolated against someone other than Caron Butler who has done a surprisingly good job. Only Gay and Kenyon Martin have any hope of containing Gay, yet Lionel Hollins has not seemed to figure this out yet.

For the Clippers, CP3 has been incredible when used in pick and rolls, but when left alone on an isolation, Tony Allen can bottle him up. There is no shame in that, Allen is the best perimeter defender in the League. When the screener can be finishers Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan, the basketball watching public is begging Vinny Del Negro to read Basketball For Dummies and run some high pick and rolls.

MEM @ LAC – Game 3

It was a frantic finish and the Clippers did all they could to lose in the final seconds, but somehow the Clippers took a 2-1 lead after Game 3. Rudy Gay hit two deep desperation threes with a minute to go to bring the Grizzlies back in it, but missed a difficult game winning attempt as time expired.

Chris Paul was the difference between the two clubs, spending more time than usual looking for his own shot on a night when no one else could really get it going offensively. Griffin looked out of sorts as he has the whole series against the big Memphis front court, but fought hard and ended up scoring 17 points while helping put fouls on the opposing front line.

Both clubs had big men who toiled in obscurity tonight. Marc Gasol was dominant at times; while he didn’t make much of an impact with the scorers, his basketball IQ was important in the final quarter as he helped set screens and keep the ball alive, all while managing to not foul while at the brink with 5. For the Clippers, Reggie Evans once again made his impact felt in the Playoffs with 11 rebounds (3 offensive) and some strong defensive work.

The keys for the next game will be for Chris Paul to help someone else get going offensively. It appears that the Grizzlies have Griffin’s number, but if Randy Foye or Nick Young can step up and provide a consistent second option from deep, it may help to free up the very clogged interior for Griffin.

Game 4 is again in Los Angeles in two days as the Grizzlies try to ponder how they let this one get away from them.

LAL @ DEN – Game 3

A 19 to nothing run spanning the first and second quarters proved too hard for the Lakers to overcome in Game 3 of this first round series. The Lakers fought back to make a game of it in the final quarter, but a deep Denver squad had all the answers. Ty Lawson once again exposed the Lakers Achilles’ heel; a complete inadequacy to defend quick point guards, as his 25 points figured prominently in building the insurmountable lead. Lawson scored or assisted on 14 of the 19 points in the game deciding early run.

Kobe Bryant had been particularly protective of possession in the first two games with just three total turnovers, but the Nuggets pressured him into coughing the ball up six times in Game three. They also forced Bryant into a horrid shooting night (7/23fg’s), mostly by frustrating him with different defenders (Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer both spent time on him) and different defensive schemes.

On the Nuggets side there were plenty of heroes tonight but most deserving of praise were obviously Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee. Faried was infectious with his seemingly limitless energy, which saw him be a pest defensively and secure 15 rebounds. Similarly McGee grabbed 15 boards but also came up big with four blocks and many disruptions. He also showed some very nice post moves, and a few really ugly ones that still happened to go in, on his way to 16 points. The only real downside for the Nuggets was the presence of McGee’s mother who sat in the second row, glared at everyone and generally made people feel ill. She’s a spooky lady when riled up.

Positives for the Lakers were harder to come by, but they do exist. The Lakers were able to almost climb out of a 24 point hole, as they pulled the deficeit to 4 points in the third quarter with some solid play behind Bynum. Gasol also appears to have figured out how to mesh with the Bynum as he has taken his game further out on the perimeter.

The key for the Lakers for Game 4 is to match the energy that Denver will provide and find a way to punish the Nuggets when they play both Ty Lawson and Andre Miller at the same time. Similarly, the key for Denver will be to keep that significant advantage of hustle and limit Andrew Bynum’s effectiveness both as a scorer and a rebounder. If the Nuggets can be successful in limiting the Lakers to one shot attempt per possession again, they have a very good chance of taking Game 4 as well.

MIA @ NYK – Game 3 Preview

One plot line from Game 3 has already concluded, Chris Bosh has apparently made it back from Miami where he witnessed his wife give birth to their son who they named Jackson. Perhaps this is the shot of energy Bosh needed to finally become a factor in this series. It may not matter however as the Knicks have looked severely outclassed by the Miami Heat, being blown out by 33 and 10 points in the previous two games.

There are two elements which offer some insight that Game 3 might be a different occasion; the Knicks play at home for the first time in the series and Carmelo Anthony is likely to see extended run at power forward with Amar’e Stoudemire sidelined. No doubt the home crowd will be keen to give their team a jolt of much needed energy, but the more important of those two factoids is about Melo. This year when he’s been let loose at the four, he’s been amazing. Without both Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler blocking up all of his driving lanes, Anthony has been able to isolate on the perimeter and use all the same driving lanes he mastered in Denver. If Denver Melo turns up to game three, and JR Smith and Steve Novak are able to rain in a few threes, New York stands a punchers chance of stealing a game in this series.

That doesn’t take into account the fact that both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both love playing in the Big Apple and the odds of at least one of them, if not both, showing up in a big way are very high. Miami are heavy favourites to win in New York (New York are paying $3.90 for the win), so the smart money is on New York as they have a chance of stealing this game, although that’s what it will be: Theft. Miami has this series in the bag, regardless of the outcome of today’s game.

BOS @ ATL – Game 2

The story before the game was the Celtics missing its starting back court; Rajon Rondo’s to suspension and Ray Allen to an ankle injury. Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley stood tall and made their own story in Game 2 as they controlled the offense and defense respectively.

Pierce toyed with defenders inside and from the perimeter on his way to a game high 36 points (12/16 FGs, 11/13 FTs) as well as coming up with 14 rebounds and perhaps most importantly, 4 assists to help offset Rondo’s absence. Kevin Garnett (14 points) and Avery Bradley (15 points) ably assisted Pierce in the scoring column for a team which appeared to be lacking offensive talent.

Second year guard Avery Bradley was arguably equally important as he, moreso than defensive stalwart Kevin Garnett, was the defensive catalyst who helped limit everything the Atlanta Hawks tried to do. Atlanta’s Jeff Teague still scored 18 points, but Bradley was most impactful in his rotations and disruption of everything else the Hawks wanted to achieve. Teague, Joe Johnson (22 points) and Josh Smith (16 points) paced the Hawks offensively, but everything they got was a result of second and third efforts and nothing came easy against a Bradley, Garnett and the stiff Boston schemes.

Boston all but booked themselves a second round appearance against either the Sixers or the Bulls with this win (and a fourth quarter injury to Josh Smith which may make this series somewhat easier for the Celts), but there is no doubt they will need Rondo and Allen back to advance much further. There isn’t a team on Earth who can succeed while giving extended minutes to Sasha Pavlovic.

NYK @ MIA – Game 2

Once again a non-basketball related incident has overshadowed a game result in these playoffs. This time it was New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire who caused a stir as he reportedly punched a fire extinguisher casing in frustration post-game, resulting in a laceration to his left hand. Medical staff were called in to assist Stoudemire who was photographed leaving American Airlines Arena with his hand bandaged and in a sling. Common theory is that Amar’e will miss at least Game 3 and maybe more. Not great news for Knicks fans as on their current form, may only have two more games remaining in their season.

The Miami Heat once again laid waste to the New York Knicks as they secured a 104-94 victory in front of just under 20,000 screaming fans. A ten point victory doesn’t sound dominant but the Heat won every period of this game and never really looked in any danger of losing. Miami got big performances from their “Big 3″ and solid output from second unit players Mike Miller and Shane Battier who both scored 11 points and hit a combined six triples.

Dwyane Wade was very active in this game and the Knicks were often caught ball-watching and more prominently LeBron-watching. This enabled Wade to get to the basket and do what he does best. He finished with 25 points on 11-18 shooting, while LeBron James contributed 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Chris Bosh completed the trifecta for Miami scoring 21 points on 7-12 shooting.

For the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with a game-high 30 points, while most of us were left wondering why Amar’e didn’t get more shots. Stoudemire finished with 18 points on only nine shots and obviously wasn’t happy after the game. The fire extinguisher wore the brunt of Stoudemire’s frustration and the Knicks return to New York in an 0-2 hole.

The silver lining in Amare’s outburst is the potential for Anthony to move to the four-spot in his absence. Melo he has looked very comfortable in previous games playing power forward and should be able to score freely again in Game 3. You can’t polish a turd though and right now the Knicks season appears on the verge of being flushed.

Off to New York we go!!

BOS @ ATL – Game 1

Rajon Rondo may have caused the biggest stir yesterday when he (lightly) chest bumped a referee and got ejected from the game. But, the hardest blow was landed on the scoreboard, as the Atlanta Hawks took Game One of this opening round series 83-74.

The Celtics were lethargic throughout this game until they put together a 14-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to trail by only eight with 9:00 remaining. As with all Celtics teams of recent memory, one cannot count them out of games and they showed that quality again by chipping away at Atlanta, but just couldn’t get over the line.

Kevin Garnett was responsible for keeping the Celtics close in the fourth quarter, hitting a number of tough shots and getting to the free throw line. He and Rondo were strong for Boston, both finishing the game with 20 points each, while Paul Pierce was stifled by the defense of Joe Johnson.

Yes, you read that right, Joe Johnson.

Neither Pierce or Johnson (both team’s respective leading scorers) couldn’t hit the side of a barn in this game, combining for a dismal 8-34 from the field including 0-15 from downtown.

For Atlanta, their leading man on this night was Josh Smith with 22 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported well by the Hawks’ back-court duo of Jeff Teague and Kirk Hinrich who combined for 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The game was up for grabs in the final stages as Boston had clawed back to within five with just 3:30 remaining. A defensive error by Mickael Pietrus however left Jeff Teague open from range and the 23-year old from Wake Forest made no mistake. Rondo had come to the middle of the floor to help on Josh Smith. When Smith kicked the ball to Teague on the 45 degree angle, Pietrus stepped towards him and then retreated to his own man (Hinrich) in the corner. The result was Teague being given all the time in the world to splash what most thought was the game killing three.

As stated before though… never count Boston out.

Struggling massively on the offensive end and clearly free-styling at this point, Paul Pierce hit a tough baseline fadeaway to bring the Celtics back within four with just a minute remaining.

Then the craziness set in.

A broken play and subsequent loose ball saw bodies fly all over the floor, the whistle sounded and Rajon Rondo could be seen motioning to the referee for a jump ball. The same referee called a foul on Brandon Bass of the Celtics and Rondo lost his cool, getting a technical foul and then bumping the referee with his chest. Rondo was immediately ejected and the subsequent free throws took care of business for Atlanta. Here’s the play in question:

This left the Celtics down 0-1 in the series and potentially without Rondo for Game Two on Tuesday night US time. A tough one to swallow for Celtics fans and a solid sign of things to come for Atlanta.

It will be interesting to see how this series changes when Ray Allen returns to Boston’s line-up. It may need to be sooner rather than later now though, due to Rondo’s potential suspension.

DAL @ OKC – Game 1

It took a Kevin Durant jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining for OKC to prevail, but game one showed everything both sides had to give, with all the big names doing what they do best. Durant was the hero late, but he didn’t shoot well all game and was made to work hard for his 25 points by Shawn Marion and Vince Carter. Russell Westbrook was aggressive, perhaps a little too much so, with five turnovers versus only five assists. It was Serge Ibaka who dictated much of what Dallas were able to do as he swarmed all over the court, getting in passing lanes for deflections, blocking five shots and changing many more and being a general menace. It’s Ibaka and not Durant that Rick Carlisle will have to game plan for in game 2 and beyond.

Dallas will not sleep well as they know they have a slim margin for victory in this series and they let game one get away from them. They were in control of the game for the first 45 minutes until the Thunder, behind Ibaka, were able to use their young legs to out hustle the Mavericks. The film session will be a difficult one for the Mavs as they won’t find a lot of things they did wrong, and likely can’t play much better against the Thunder. No so for Oklahoma City who can make a few changes to significantly improve (mostly reducing Derek Fishers 16 minutes a game to somewhere around zero).

Game two is in Oklahoma City again, and it’s hard to see them playing this well again. This was their opportunity to influence the series positively, but that chance appears to have gone begging and it’s looking like a sweep.