[SAS/NOH] - who will Bowen injure now ?

[Superman]

I saw last night something I have never seen before. Peja almost went into the crowd hustling for a lose ball!!

Almost.

As soon as it happened, my jaw hit the floor and I said: "Did Peja just dive into the stands for a loose ball?" So I hit rewind on the DVR and looked at it again. He did hustle and land out of bounds throwing the ball in, but he didn't quite get into the crowd. I said: "Ah. That's more like it."

 

[vj9999]

Very touching story

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/paul_will_honor_a_boy_whose_wi.html

Paul will honor boy whose wish to see the Hornets went unfulfilled
by Katy Reckdahl, The Times-Picayune
Wednesday May 07, 2008, 10:07 PM

Before tonight's playoff game, the New Orleans Hornets' superstar point guard Chris Paul will write the name "Brian" on his shoes, paying tribute to an 8-year-old fan who died Monday night before he could meet his basketball hero.

Brian, who had cancer, wore his Chris Paul jersey nonstop, said Michael McMyne, president of A Child's Wish of Greater New Orleans, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps fulfill the wishes of about 100 critically ill Louisiana children each year. McMyne asked that Brian's last name not be used to respect the privacy of the grieving family.

Brian's wish was simple: He wanted to go to a Hornets game.

So McMyne got him tickets to Monday night's playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs.

But at the last minute, a friend of Brian's family called to cancel. The boy had been rushed to the hospital with a high fever, she said. He died hours later.

In his final weeks, Brian told his family that he knew he was going to heaven and that he wanted to meet Jesus wearing his Chris Paul jersey.

Someone within the Hornets organization sent around an e-mail telling Brian's story. It caught the eye of Paul and Hornets owner George Shinn. Both cried.

"It was very touching to me. Tears welled up in my eyes," said Shinn, who sent flowers and a letter to the family and offered to help with funeral costs. The family, overwhelmed with grief, was touched by his kindness but declined. The location and time of the funeral also are private.

Shinn and his wife hoped to attend the funeral with Paul and his parents. But the team will be on road at the time, so that isn't possible, Shinn said. The family plans to bury Brian in his favorite jersey, as he requested...

 

[tradepeja]

wow DFish 2004 WCF flash back just now

from the same exact spot on the court, by the guy who was defending fish. just with twice the time. still impressive.

 

[Superman]

The Spurs are giving Chris Paul the "Steve Nash Treatment" so far in this game, trying to close off passing lanes and force him to beat them himself. He's responding so far, plus David West can score on his own, so that might not work.

This third quarter is going to be telling. The Hornets have outscored the Spurs by 30 points combined in the third quarter of the first two games. If the Spurs are close going into the fourth, it's going to be a good finish.

 

[tradepeja]

Wow, this reffing is atrocious. For both sides for once though.

Although the Tim Duncan hook with the off-arm, take the shot 2 seconds later, get the call not on in but against him and the continuation takes the cake.

 

[VF21]

My respect for Chris Paul, the Hornets AND Byron Scott continues to grow. And my disdain for the whining of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan is also beginning to approach new heights.

GO HORNETS!!!!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

This game is outstanding.

So far the Spurs have been involved in, in my opinion, the two best games of the playoffs this season. And I don't think that's coincidence.

Go Spurs!

 

[VF21]

So far the Spurs have been involved in, in my opinion, the two best games of the playoffs this season. And I don't think that's coincidence.

While I don't disagree that the Spurs are playing some of the best post-season ball in these playoffs, I think there are teams out there who are fully capable of beating them. Unfortunately, it could be the experience of the battle-tested Spurs that makes the difference in this round. And quite frankly, if that happens I'll most likely not even watch the WCF. I have no desire whatsoever to watch a Spurs-Lakers series. I would much rather see the Hornets-Lakers, and that is, in fact, what I'm holding out for. And then, of course, I hope the Hornets knock the Lakers off their pedestal ... or if that doesn't happen, the Lakers would head to the big show to be beaten by my first favorite NBA team, the Boston Celtics.

 

[piksi]

Toughest thing in basketball is winning 5 on 8 but it was expected.

 

[Superman]

Toughest thing in basketball is winning 5 on 8 but it was expected.

The Hornets have gotten more than their fair share of calls so far in this game.

 

[VF21]

I guess the whole Tim Donaghy thing has kept me watching the officials more than I used to, but I certainly saw at least three calls that were pivotal in turning the tide against the Hornets. I am not by any means a conspiracy theorist but I found one of them - at least - to be a little troubling. The Wright three that was waived away because of a three-second violation sure looked questionable.

I hope the Hornets can keep the next game out of reach of the Spurs, to prevent the conspiracy theorists from getting out their aluminum foil hats.

 

[piksi]

The Hornets have gotten more than their fair share of calls so far in this game.

only in the first half

I mean - TC is always in foul trouble while Duncan gets away with everything. Duncan has one foul. You have got to be kidding me.Traveling isn't called in the NBA anyways.

 

[vj9999]

Was Parker MVP of the finals last year? I missed it first 65 times they mentioned it.

 

[piksi]

commentary was neutrally in spurs favor. Little objectivity would have been nice. Hell, even Fratello wasn't rooting this bad for the Hawks. Well, yes he was

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

While I don't disagree that the Spurs are playing some of the best post-season ball in these playoffs, I think there are teams out there who are fully capable of beating them. Unfortunately, it could be the experience of the battle-tested Spurs that makes the difference in this round. And quite frankly, if that happens I'll most likely not even watch the WCF. I have no desire whatsoever to watch a Spurs-Lakers series. I would much rather see the Hornets-Lakers, and that is, in fact, what I'm holding out for. And then, of course, I hope the Hornets knock the Lakers off their pedestal ... or head to the big show to be beaten by my first favorite NBA team, the Boston Celtics.

I never said I don't think that any team can beat the Spurs. Hell, I think that the Hornets can beat the Spurs... I just really, really don't want them to. The only thing that I have said is that the Spurs are the only team in the west that can beat the lakers, which isn't the same by half as saying that the Spurs can't get beat.

I like Paul and Chandler, but I range between indifferent and hostile towards the rest of the Hornets. Not only that, but I've made no secret in the last three or four years that I am a huge, HUGE advocate of seeing players paying their dues, so to speak. Think whatever you want to about my position but, basically, I don't ever like to see players win championships early in their career: I don't like that Kareem did it, I don't like that Magic did it, I don't like that Bird did it, I don't like that Wade did it. Frankly, I don't like that Duncan and Parker did it, but they were playing with Robinson, whom I felt had paid his dues, and whom I personally felt was still the star of the team until after the 1999 season. I personally consider Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson to be the two greatest players of all time, and I also look to them as the standard for how long it should take a player to win a championship: Jordan played seven years before he won his first championship, Robertson played eleven.

Look, I recognize that I have an unconventional point of view on this subject, and I don't expect anybody to agree with me on it, or even think of me as anything other than a loon, but I feel how I feel. My personal feeling is that no star player should ever win their first-ever playoff series, no star should ever advance to the Finals from their first trip to the conference finals. I like to know, when I see a star lead his team to the championship, that he paid his dues through years of playoff disappointments. I'm the type of guy that, if the players haven't had to deal with the frustration of being put out of the playoffs, I can't get behind them or appreciate their success. Please don't ask me to explain my feelings, because I can't, and I probably couldn't defend them, either. I like Chris Paul and I like Dwight Howard, I like them a lot as players, but the thought that either of them could conceivably win a championship before either Grant Hill or Tracy McGrady ever even get out of the first round upsets me.

So, quite aside from the fact that I'm rooting for the Spurs because I actually like the Spurs, I'm also rooting for the Spurs to preserve my sense of what the status quo should be.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

I personally don't care who advances anymore, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show. And CP3 and Mr. Longoria put on a hell of a display of pyrotechnics tonight.

 

[coolhandluke]

It's a pleasure to watch the high caliber basketball played by both teams tonight. The Spurs fed off the home court energy and maintained their fervor throughout the game. The two day rest sure did help them. As expected, Spurs made the switch with Bowen owning Peja and even outscoring him with his own long rang barrage. Hornets ran out of gas towards the end -- they were genuinely taxed on the defensive end and their team play on offense became predictable.

Anyway, the series ain't over and the Hornets are ready for the battle. Btw, this Chris Paul guy doesn't seem bad.

 

[Warhawk]

Unfortunately, it could be the experience of the battle-tested Spurs that makes the difference in this round. And quite frankly, if that happens I'll most likely not even watch the WCF. I have no desire whatsoever to watch a Spurs-Lakers series. I would much rather see the Hornets-Lakers, and that is, in fact, what I'm holding out for. And then, of course, I hope the Hornets knock the Lakers off their pedestal ... or if that doesn't happen, the Lakers would head to the big show to be beaten by my first favorite NBA team, the Boston Celtics.

Agreed.

I'd like to see the Hornets knock off both the Lakers and the Spurs.

Another Spurs-Lakers series? Ugh.

 

[coolhandluke]

So far the Spurs have been involved in, in my opinion, the two best games of the playoffs this season. And I don't think that's coincidence.

Right on. This game and the first game of the Suns-Spurs series have been the best so far. Both games exemplified the fighting spirit and will of the champions.

 

[Bricklayer]

I don't think the Spurs could possibly have played any better really. It was a gutcheck game. But if I were a fan of theirs I would be sweating bricks, because they were brilliant and the Hornets did not go away until the final quarter. Even just a good effort on their part would not have got it done. And this was at home in a desperation game.

There are shades of '02 Lakers/Kings here. The Spurs are clearly almost done. This year, next year. And the young challenger isn't blinking and doesn't want to wait -- that Hornets team is madly competitive. And given some of the traditionally passive sorts who populate it, you have to credit a lot of that to their superstar driving them the way Jordan used to drive his guys. He's blown the need playoff experience thing right out the window and then some. Parker matched him for a night but you aren't going to get that every night out of him. Game 4 will be very interesting.

 

[Superman]

I guess the whole Tim Donaghy thing has kept me watching the officials more than I used to, but I certainly saw at least three calls that were pivotal in turning the tide against the Hornets. I am not by any means a conspiracy theorist but I found one of them - at least - to be a little troubling. The Wright three that was waived away because of a three-second violation sure looked questionable.

I hope the Hornets can keep the next game out of reach of the Spurs, to prevent the conspiracy theorists from getting out their aluminum foil hats.

No, the three second violation was good. It was a "black and white" type of call that didn't really need to be made, since Ely wasn't fighting for position or camping out, and he was right there on the edge of the lane, but he was in there, and for longer than three seconds actually.

There were a lot of questionable calls, and there have been in a lot of these playoff games. I'm frustrated by the inconsistency myself. There's a lot of fighting and pushing and shoving around the rim, especially on contested shots, but then they're calling touch falls away from the ball that have no impact on the play.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You think that's the best the Spurs could play, really? Hell, they played better than that a week ago.

 

[BMiller52]

My respect for Chris Paul, the Hornets AND Byron Scott continues to grow. And my disdain for the whining of Tony Parker and Tim Duncan is also beginning to approach new heights.

GO HORNETS!!!!

Yeah I agree. Paul is amazing, absolutely amazing. He's becoming maybe my favorite non King. Oh and I agree with Parker and Duncan thing too. THey are both cry babies and I have said it for the last 3 or so years, but everyone tells me they're ridiculously tough minded and would never whine. It's ridiculous.

 

[Bricklayer]

You think that's the best the Spurs could play, really? Hell, they played better than that a week ago.

A week ago they were not facing any resistance. I scored a dozen points on the Suns in that series from my couch. Tonight they got into a heavyweight brawl with a team every bit their equal and answered every challenge. It was brillaint, and exhausting, and probably not something they can duplicate. Great job rising to the challenge, but if New Orleans does not step off the gas here, the next misstep by the Spurs will be the series.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... Tonight they got into a heavyweight brawl with a team every bit their equal and answered every challenge. It was brillaint, and exhausting, and probably not something they can duplicate...

Why not? It'd be one thing if there were back-to-backs in the playoffs, but there aren't. They're a well-coached, well-oiled team, whose three best players are still in their respective primes (the rumors of Tim Duncan's decline are GREATLY exaggerated), and whose role players are mostly old, but don't rely on athleticism to any significant degree. They play outstanding team defense, and run a precision offense. The only player on the Spurs that's not playing up to his expected level is Damon Stoudamire, and Pop has quietly eased him out of the rotation.

You say that Parker can't play like that again, but the Spurs' last five playoff series would seem to contradict that statement. So, again, why can't they?

 

[VF21]

I never said I don't think that any team can beat the Spurs. Hell, I think that the Hornets can beat the Spurs... I just really, really don't want them to. The only thing that I have said is that the Spurs are the only team in the west that can beat the lakers, which isn't the same by half as saying that the Spurs can't get beat.

I like Paul and Chandler, but I range between indifferent and hostile towards the rest of the Hornets. Not only that, but I've made no secret in the last three or four years that I am a huge, HUGE advocate of seeing players paying their dues, so to speak. Think whatever you want to about my position but, basically, I don't ever like to see players win championships early in their career: I don't like that Kareem did it, I don't like that Magic did it, I don't like that Bird did it, I don't like that Wade did it. Frankly, I don't like that Duncan and Parker did it, but they were playing with Robinson, whom I felt had paid his dues, and whom I personally felt was still the star of the team until after the 1999 season. I personally consider Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson to be the two greatest players of all time, and I also look to them as the standard for how long it should take a player to win a championship: Jordan played seven years before he won his first championship, Robertson played eleven.

Look, I recognize that I have an unconventional point of view on this subject, and I don't expect anybody to agree with me on it, or even think of me as anything other than a loon, but I feel how I feel. My personal feeling is that no star player should ever win their first-ever playoff series, no star should ever advance to the Finals from their first trip to the conference finals. I like to know, when I see a star lead his team to the championship, that he paid his dues through years of playoff disappointments. I'm the type of guy that, if the players haven't had to deal with the frustration of being put out of the playoffs, I can't get behind them or appreciate their success. Please don't ask me to explain my feelings, because I can't, and I probably couldn't defend them, either. I like Chris Paul and I like Dwight Howard, I like them a lot as players, but the thought that either of them could conceivably win a championship before either Grant Hill or Tracy McGrady ever even get out of the first round upsets me.

So, quite aside from the fact that I'm rooting for the Spurs because I actually like the Spurs, I'm also rooting for the Spurs to preserve my sense of what the status quo should be.

We will agree to disagree. I don't care so much about players "paying their dues," especially since with the advent of free agency there is so much movement of players...

I wasn't talking about that, though, as it never entered my mind. I was simply stating a fact - I do not want to see the Spurs win again, especially if it leads to a Spurs-Lakers WCF.

 

[VF21]

No, the three second violation was good. It was a "black and white" type of call that didn't really need to be made, since Ely wasn't fighting for position or camping out, and he was right there on the edge of the lane, but he was in there, and for longer than three seconds actually.

There were a lot of questionable calls, and there have been in a lot of these playoff games. I'm frustrated by the inconsistency myself. There's a lot of fighting and pushing and shoving around the rim, especially on contested shots, but then they're calling touch falls away from the ball that have no impact on the play.

My frustration, I think, was because this was, as you pointed out, a "call that didn't really need to be made."

Those ticky-tac calls destroy the flow of the game, IMHO, and I hate to see them no matter who they're called against.

 

[Bricklayer]

Why not? It'd be one thing if there were back-to-backs in the playoffs, but there aren't. They're a well-coached, well-oiled team, whose three best players are still in their respective primes (the rumors of Tim Duncan's decline are GREATLY exaggerated), and whose role players are mostly old, but don't rely on athleticism to any significant degree. They play outstanding team defense, and run a precision offense. The only player on the Spurs that's not playing up to his expected level is Damon Stoudamire, and Pop has quietly eased him out of the rotation.

You say that Parker can't play like that again, but the Spurs' last five playoff series would seem to contradict that statement. So, again, why can't they?

Must have missed the memo about T.P. averaging 30-10 last year (he averaged 21 and 6).

More to the point do you know how many times this season Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili boht went for 30+ points?

Zero. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.

Do you know how often the Spurs topped 110 points this year? 10 times, including the playoffs. Do you know how often they did it against a team that actually plays respectable defense (i.e., not Phoenix, Golden State, Milwaulkee, Seattle etc.)? Twice (or thrice with this last one). Once vs. Orlando and once vs. Cleveland.

This was a rare performance. If that is what it is going to take to defeat New Orleans, and it certainly looked like they needed every bit of it, this will be another even numbered year no title for the Spurs. The difference this time being that the team that beats them is going to be there, and likely better, for a long time. The Spurs always have the experience thing going, but they don't always win because of it. And this will be the first time that it will be a young sustainably great team that knocks them off -- they will come back next year, and the wall will still be there, except they will be a year older. You can feel the times a changing whether the Spurs somehow manage to sneak away with this series or not.

 

[tradepeja]

I never said I don't think that any team can beat the Spurs. Hell, I think that the Hornets can beat the Spurs... I just really, really don't want them to. The only thing that I have said is that the Spurs are the only team in the west that can beat the lakers, which isn't the same by half as saying that the Spurs can't get beat.

I like Paul and Chandler, but I range between indifferent and hostile towards the rest of the Hornets. Not only that, but I've made no secret in the last three or four years that I am a huge, HUGE advocate of seeing players paying their dues, so to speak. Think whatever you want to about my position but, basically, I don't ever like to see players win championships early in their career: I don't like that Kareem did it, I don't like that Magic did it, I don't like that Bird did it, I don't like that Wade did it. Frankly, I don't like that Duncan and Parker did it, but they were playing with Robinson, whom I felt had paid his dues, and whom I personally felt was still the star of the team until after the 1999 season. I personally consider Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson to be the two greatest players of all time, and I also look to them as the standard for how long it should take a player to win a championship: Jordan played seven years before he won his first championship, Robertson played eleven.

Look, I recognize that I have an unconventional point of view on this subject, and I don't expect anybody to agree with me on it, or even think of me as anything other than a loon, but I feel how I feel. My personal feeling is that no star player should ever win their first-ever playoff series, no star should ever advance to the Finals from their first trip to the conference finals. I like to know, when I see a star lead his team to the championship, that he paid his dues through years of playoff disappointments. I'm the type of guy that, if the players haven't had to deal with the frustration of being put out of the playoffs, I can't get behind them or appreciate their success. Please don't ask me to explain my feelings, because I can't, and I probably couldn't defend them, either. I like Chris Paul and I like Dwight Howard, I like them a lot as players, but the thought that either of them could conceivably win a championship before either Grant Hill or Tracy McGrady ever even get out of the first round upsets me.

So, quite aside from the fact that I'm rooting for the Spurs because I actually like the Spurs, I'm also rooting for the Spurs to preserve my sense of what the status quo should be.

So, you want the two guys who haven't paid their dues to lose to two guys who won when they hadn't paid their dues.

Nice job contradicting yourself. There is no "status quo." And you just proved it. Either you shouldn't respect Duncan and Parker for their early rings, or you should not dislike Paul & Co. for their lack of this elusive "due-paying." Whatever, now I've confused myself.

About the game, one thing I noticed. Every open 3 or long 2 the Spurs got, they made. Every. Single. One. You don't see that often. Usually theres a good 20-30% miss rate on even wide open shots. All of them were in, and they needed each one. I'm not sure if they can repeat that.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Must have missed the memo about T.P. averaging 30-10 last year (he averaged 21 and 6).

More to the point fo you know how many times this season Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili boht went for 30+ points?

Zero. Nada. Zippo. Zilch.

Do you know how often the Spurs topped 100 points this year? 10 times, including the playoffs. Do you know how often they did it against a team that actually plays respectable defense (i.e., not Phoenix, Golden State, Milwaulkee, Seattle etc.)? Twice (or thrice with this last one). Once vs. Orlando and once vs. Cleveland.

This was a rare performance. If that is what it is going to take to defeat New Orleans, and it certainly looked like they needed every bit of it, this will be another even numbered year no title for the Spurs...

I'm not buying that that's what it's going to take to beat New Orleans, but I guess we'll see in Game 4.

The difference this time being that the team that beats them is going to be there, and likely better, for a long time. The Spurs always have the experience thing going, but they don't always win because of it. And this will be the first time that it will be a young sustainably great team that knocks them off -- they will come back next year, and the wall will still be there, except they will be a year older. You can feel the times a changing whether the Spurs somehow manage to sneak away with this series or not.

Or maybe they Marino it up, and never get back again; it's not like they're the only up-and-coming team in the west.

You really think that Buford and Popovich are the type to ride it "'til the wheels fall of?" You don't think that they'll put another team that can win around Duncan while he can still go? This is the same organization that has proven, better than any other team this decade, that they know how to rebuild on the fly; you think that they're somehow just going to manage not to this time?