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Excerpts from: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2433185
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]2. Which team has been the most pleasant surprise? Most disappointing?[/FONT]
Broussard: The most pleasant surprise has been Chicago, because with their lack of power inside you'd have thought the Bulls would be dead men walking against Shaquille O'Neal. The biggest disappointment has been Phoenix. To get pounded inside by the likes of Kwame Brown is just unacceptable.
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Kenyon Martin didn't enjoy the view from the bench.
Bucher: Pleasant surprise? Lakers. Watching any team make itself greater than the sum of its parts is always captivating. The Lakers have done that. Most disappointing? Nuggets. Denver, conversely, has disintegrated before our very eyes, shredding reputations and damaging careers in the stroke of a single series.
Hollinger: Most pleasant surprise has been the Lakers, because they're playing much better defensively than I thought they could. The most disappointing has to be Denver -- they had chemistry problems, took terrible shots and completely gave up in Game 5.
Sheridan: Pleasant surprise is the Clippers, even to those who missed out on the bandwagon when I started it. Most disappointing is the Grizz. Throw a couple of games late in the season if it'll get you the train wreck Nuggets in the first round. There is no chivalry in being 0-12 in the postseason.
Stein: I heard (and cracked) lots of jokes about Ron Artest coexisting with Bonzi Wells when the Artest trade went down. So I'd have to say Ron-Ron and Bonzi emerging as the leadership tag-team behind Sacramento's bid to stun San Antonio has to be the most pleasant surprise. Denver is the easy answer when it comes to disappointments, because the Nuggets didn't even show up for the playoffs, but Memphis extending its streak of playoff futility to 0-12 was just as tough to watch.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]3. Which series other than Lakers-Suns has been most enjoyable to watch?[/FONT]
Broussard: Cleveland-Washington has been a blast because it's LeBron's postseason coming-out party, and he's in a shootout with Gilbert Arenas.
Bucher: Bulls-Heat. The two teams have such contrasting styles and personalities.
Hollinger: Cavs-Wizards has been great, especially yesterday's Game 5, but the others were hardly chopped liver either. The LeBron vs. Gilbert shootouts have been reminiscent of Bird vs. Dominique.
Sheridan: Wizards-Cavs, cuz it's fun to see two neophytes kill each other to earn the right to be swept by the Pistons.
Stein: Spurs-Kings. It's more competitive than expected, it's given us multiple great finishes already and it's posing an interesting question to take into the next round: Has Sacramento exposed unforeseen vulnerability with San Antonio or merely sharpened the Spurs up for Dallas? I'm leaning toward the latter.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]4. What's the best coaching move you've seen? And worst? [/FONT]
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Phil Jackson has been Zen masterful against Phoenix.
Broussard: Phil Jackson has been spectacular. His ability to convince Kobe to share the rock and forego his attempts at scoring 50 is the best coaching move. The worst? D'Antoni's failure to adjust and find a way to run against L.A. (until Game 5).
Bucher: Best? Posting up Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. Or, basically, everyone except Kobe. The Lakers' floor balance and the Suns' energy expended defending the paint has short-circuited Phoenix's vaunted offense and, for the most part, neutralized Shawn Marion. And worst? Alienating Kenyon Martin. Pushing K-Mart aside didn't galvanize Denver the way punishing Kwame did last year for the Wizards. As inconsistent as Kenyon has been this season, the Nuggets had little chance of winning without him, reflected in the multiple starting lineups in his absence.
Hollinger: Best? The play Gregg Popovich ran against Sacramento at the end of Game 2 -- it caught the Kings completely by surprise. The worst has to be Mike Brown's play-calling at the end of games -- completely, utterly predictable.
Sheridan: I'm biased in favor of Wiz-Cavs, cuz I've been covering it a lot, but the play the Cavs ran for LeBron at the end of OT in Game 5 couldn't have gone off better. So Mike Brown gets my vote. The worst is George Karl suspending Kenyon Martin. Why does Furious George always feud with guys?
Stein: Phil letting Kobe do whatever he felt necessary to get the Lakers to the playoffs and then getting total commitment and focus from Kobe -- and your Kwame Browns, Smush Parkers and Brian Cooks -- to buy into a totally new game plan for the playoffs. The worst would be an otherwise sharp Rick Adelman not subbing out Bonzi late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and then bringing Bonzi back when the Kings got the ball back in offense-defense mode. Instead he left Wells on Manu Ginobili to pick up his sixth foul when he didn't even need to be on the floor, forcing Wells to watch all of overtime from the bench in a game that, had Sacramento stolen it, might have had us talking about a historic upset.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]6. What's the most underreported story of the first round?[/FONT]
Broussard: Pat Riley's playoff struggles. First, few have mentioned that this potential debacle on South Beach is all Riley's doing (revamping the roster, replacing Stan Van Gundy). Then, Riley's last four playoff appearances entering this season ended with his Heat being beaten by lower seeds. What's it say about him if this year's star-studded club falls to a far inferior Chicago club?
Bucher: How the Nuggets, eliminated in five games last year, went from a promising force to be reckoned with, to a team, eliminated in five games this year, that is poised to sink back into lottery hell. When a franchise's front office is in disarray, the trouble eventually will filter down to its team. This should be a cautionary tale for every NBA team -- and every organization of any kind. Underreported Story II: The conflict in the Kings' organization over acquiring Ron Artest and growing speculation that the Maloofs want to both re-make and relocate the franchise.
Hollinger: Dallas kicking the pants out of a very good Memphis team. We've reflexively made San Antonio the favorites in the West, but the Mavs played better than anybody else in Round 1.
Sheridan: Phil Jackson's game plan against the Suns, although I'll opine that underreported is too strong of a word. Is under-understood a word?
Stein: I'd still rather see best-of-fives in the first round. But for the first time since the NBA went to best-of-sevens from the start, nobody's complaining about how long the first round is. Because it's been so good.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]7. Two No. 7 seeds and a No. 8 seed are making serious challenges -- a sign of increasing parity or just a blip?[/FONT]
David Sherman/Getty Images
Bonzi Wells has the Kings thinking upset vs. the champs.
Broussard: Increasing parity wrought by injuries. Tim Duncan's not himself because of the plantar fasciitis, so S.A. is no longer invincible. Phoenix is without Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, and Miami's just never gelled and Shaq is aging fast.
Bucher: Fortuitous matchups. Low-seeded teams have been paired with teams they're ideally suited to create problems for. This year also points up the illusion a robust regular-season record can create.
Hollinger: Just a blip -- this has happened before. Three years ago San Antonio had the league's best record but was tied 2-2 after four games; so were the top-seeded Nets in the East. Of course, they both ended up in the Finals.
Sheridan: Blip. The Kings are good, period. They got an 8-seed cuz they stunk before they got Artest. Think they'd rather have him, or Peja Stojakovic and his mysterious swollen knee?
Stein: It's a sign of favorable matchups more than anything. The Lakers, Kings and Bulls have all found the favorites' flaws and (here's the rub) they're all exposing those flaws repeatedly.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]2. Which team has been the most pleasant surprise? Most disappointing?[/FONT]
Broussard: The most pleasant surprise has been Chicago, because with their lack of power inside you'd have thought the Bulls would be dead men walking against Shaquille O'Neal. The biggest disappointment has been Phoenix. To get pounded inside by the likes of Kwame Brown is just unacceptable.
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Kenyon Martin didn't enjoy the view from the bench.
Bucher: Pleasant surprise? Lakers. Watching any team make itself greater than the sum of its parts is always captivating. The Lakers have done that. Most disappointing? Nuggets. Denver, conversely, has disintegrated before our very eyes, shredding reputations and damaging careers in the stroke of a single series.
Hollinger: Most pleasant surprise has been the Lakers, because they're playing much better defensively than I thought they could. The most disappointing has to be Denver -- they had chemistry problems, took terrible shots and completely gave up in Game 5.
Sheridan: Pleasant surprise is the Clippers, even to those who missed out on the bandwagon when I started it. Most disappointing is the Grizz. Throw a couple of games late in the season if it'll get you the train wreck Nuggets in the first round. There is no chivalry in being 0-12 in the postseason.
Stein: I heard (and cracked) lots of jokes about Ron Artest coexisting with Bonzi Wells when the Artest trade went down. So I'd have to say Ron-Ron and Bonzi emerging as the leadership tag-team behind Sacramento's bid to stun San Antonio has to be the most pleasant surprise. Denver is the easy answer when it comes to disappointments, because the Nuggets didn't even show up for the playoffs, but Memphis extending its streak of playoff futility to 0-12 was just as tough to watch.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]3. Which series other than Lakers-Suns has been most enjoyable to watch?[/FONT]
Broussard: Cleveland-Washington has been a blast because it's LeBron's postseason coming-out party, and he's in a shootout with Gilbert Arenas.
Bucher: Bulls-Heat. The two teams have such contrasting styles and personalities.
Hollinger: Cavs-Wizards has been great, especially yesterday's Game 5, but the others were hardly chopped liver either. The LeBron vs. Gilbert shootouts have been reminiscent of Bird vs. Dominique.
Sheridan: Wizards-Cavs, cuz it's fun to see two neophytes kill each other to earn the right to be swept by the Pistons.
Stein: Spurs-Kings. It's more competitive than expected, it's given us multiple great finishes already and it's posing an interesting question to take into the next round: Has Sacramento exposed unforeseen vulnerability with San Antonio or merely sharpened the Spurs up for Dallas? I'm leaning toward the latter.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]4. What's the best coaching move you've seen? And worst? [/FONT]
Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
Phil Jackson has been Zen masterful against Phoenix.
Broussard: Phil Jackson has been spectacular. His ability to convince Kobe to share the rock and forego his attempts at scoring 50 is the best coaching move. The worst? D'Antoni's failure to adjust and find a way to run against L.A. (until Game 5).
Bucher: Best? Posting up Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown. Or, basically, everyone except Kobe. The Lakers' floor balance and the Suns' energy expended defending the paint has short-circuited Phoenix's vaunted offense and, for the most part, neutralized Shawn Marion. And worst? Alienating Kenyon Martin. Pushing K-Mart aside didn't galvanize Denver the way punishing Kwame did last year for the Wizards. As inconsistent as Kenyon has been this season, the Nuggets had little chance of winning without him, reflected in the multiple starting lineups in his absence.
Hollinger: Best? The play Gregg Popovich ran against Sacramento at the end of Game 2 -- it caught the Kings completely by surprise. The worst has to be Mike Brown's play-calling at the end of games -- completely, utterly predictable.
Sheridan: I'm biased in favor of Wiz-Cavs, cuz I've been covering it a lot, but the play the Cavs ran for LeBron at the end of OT in Game 5 couldn't have gone off better. So Mike Brown gets my vote. The worst is George Karl suspending Kenyon Martin. Why does Furious George always feud with guys?
Stein: Phil letting Kobe do whatever he felt necessary to get the Lakers to the playoffs and then getting total commitment and focus from Kobe -- and your Kwame Browns, Smush Parkers and Brian Cooks -- to buy into a totally new game plan for the playoffs. The worst would be an otherwise sharp Rick Adelman not subbing out Bonzi late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and then bringing Bonzi back when the Kings got the ball back in offense-defense mode. Instead he left Wells on Manu Ginobili to pick up his sixth foul when he didn't even need to be on the floor, forcing Wells to watch all of overtime from the bench in a game that, had Sacramento stolen it, might have had us talking about a historic upset.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]6. What's the most underreported story of the first round?[/FONT]
Broussard: Pat Riley's playoff struggles. First, few have mentioned that this potential debacle on South Beach is all Riley's doing (revamping the roster, replacing Stan Van Gundy). Then, Riley's last four playoff appearances entering this season ended with his Heat being beaten by lower seeds. What's it say about him if this year's star-studded club falls to a far inferior Chicago club?
Bucher: How the Nuggets, eliminated in five games last year, went from a promising force to be reckoned with, to a team, eliminated in five games this year, that is poised to sink back into lottery hell. When a franchise's front office is in disarray, the trouble eventually will filter down to its team. This should be a cautionary tale for every NBA team -- and every organization of any kind. Underreported Story II: The conflict in the Kings' organization over acquiring Ron Artest and growing speculation that the Maloofs want to both re-make and relocate the franchise.
Hollinger: Dallas kicking the pants out of a very good Memphis team. We've reflexively made San Antonio the favorites in the West, but the Mavs played better than anybody else in Round 1.
Sheridan: Phil Jackson's game plan against the Suns, although I'll opine that underreported is too strong of a word. Is under-understood a word?
Stein: I'd still rather see best-of-fives in the first round. But for the first time since the NBA went to best-of-sevens from the start, nobody's complaining about how long the first round is. Because it's been so good.
[FONT=Arial,Hevetica,sans-serif]7. Two No. 7 seeds and a No. 8 seed are making serious challenges -- a sign of increasing parity or just a blip?[/FONT]
David Sherman/Getty Images
Bonzi Wells has the Kings thinking upset vs. the champs.
Broussard: Increasing parity wrought by injuries. Tim Duncan's not himself because of the plantar fasciitis, so S.A. is no longer invincible. Phoenix is without Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, and Miami's just never gelled and Shaq is aging fast.
Bucher: Fortuitous matchups. Low-seeded teams have been paired with teams they're ideally suited to create problems for. This year also points up the illusion a robust regular-season record can create.
Hollinger: Just a blip -- this has happened before. Three years ago San Antonio had the league's best record but was tied 2-2 after four games; so were the top-seeded Nets in the East. Of course, they both ended up in the Finals.
Sheridan: Blip. The Kings are good, period. They got an 8-seed cuz they stunk before they got Artest. Think they'd rather have him, or Peja Stojakovic and his mysterious swollen knee?
Stein: It's a sign of favorable matchups more than anything. The Lakers, Kings and Bulls have all found the favorites' flaws and (here's the rub) they're all exposing those flaws repeatedly.
Dance, monkey...Dance!
