Kleeman's Jumphook: Eight Early Lessons From The 2009 Playoffs

Most of my articles pertain to the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks because, well, I live in Texas, and I watch them a lot.

I decided to take a break from the specialized team writing to share a few of my other thoughts after a busy, newsworthy week of playoff basketball.

None of the items in this piece on the Texas teams deserved separate articles, so I bunched my collection of thoughts together in one hell of a hodge-podge.

Brevity is not a forte of mine, so bare with me. Or, just stop reading the moment you get nauseous from the text overload.

I also want to make it clear that I am no better than any of you, with the exception a certain infamous poster who thinks he "exposed" me. Trust me when I say that you do not want me exposed.

I'm not photogenic when I'm naked.

Now, onto the basketball.

1. Anybody can lose to anybody, given the right circumstance

The Celtics stellar defensive numbers dipped in Kevin Garnett's absence during the stretch run. The vaunted Boston defense surrendered seven to nine more points a game and allowed opponents to shoot close to 45 percent from the field.

The offensive efficiency also plummeted.

Still, how many people gave the jumpshooting, sub-.500 Chicago Bulls any chance to win game one in Boston and almost steal game two?

If so, did you predict the Bulls would do it by scoring 105 and 115 points on the best defensive team and eventual champion from last year's playoffs?

Two things are obvious if you have watched even two minutes of a game in this series.

First, the Celtics miss Garnett in more ways than a box score could ever quantify.

Second, the wrong injury can make any team vulnerable, even the one with the latest Larry O' Brien trophy.

The NBA is a convoluted mess of matchups, and a bad one coupled with misfortune can sting anyone.

Just ask Orlando, San Antonio and Portland, who all handed over home court advantage with game one losses.

The Celtics won game two 118-115 but needed a ridiculous, well-guarded three-pointer from Ray Allen to do it.

With Joakim Noah in his grille, Allen stepped back and created just enough space to fire off the shot. Good thing the Bulls were out of timeouts, with no time to get Ben Gordon another shot. He scored 40 points in the game effortlessly.

Sure, the Bulls drained a number of contested jumpers that should not fall consistently four games in a series. Sure, the Celtics are still the defending champs.

For the wounded Celtics and nothing-to-lose Bulls, however, confidence means everything. Boston looks like an absurd impersonation of its former self with its defensive leader in street clothes, and Chicago looks primed for an upset. Add this to the Celtics injury misery: key reserve forward Leon Powe will miss the rest of the playoffs with a torn ACL in his left knee.

No one anticipated that Orlando, Boston and San Antonio could all lose in the first round. Don't be surprised if it does.

In a league where the great coaches and players accept no excuses, sometimes the injury bug butts in and makes an asterisk inevitable.

The Spurs already come-and-go offensive firepower will struggle to score points without Manu Ginobili. He scored the final eight points in the Spurs' 117-115 double overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns in the 2008 first round.

With a healthy Ginobili, the Spurs were a serious title contender. Scoring droughts and depleted athleticism might have eventually sunk them in a series with the Lakers, but they deserved a chance to try.

Since Jameer Nelson has amassed no notable playoff accomplishments, the impact of his injury is harder to gauge. Still, it's clear the Magic miss him, especially when 4-for-13 Rafer Alston goes 4-for-13.

Of these three limping animals, the Magic have the best chance at survival, with a matchup against the halfcourt-allergic Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics and Spurs boast the moxie to beat the Bulls and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, but whether they have the firepower or depth remains to be seen.

2. It's good to be on the road again...not so great to be home

Remember last year when it seemed like no one could win on the road in the playoffs?

In the second round alone, teams emerged with wins away from home just three times.

The Detroit Pistons won in Orlando, the Lakers knocked off the Jazz in Salt Lake City, and the Spurs wrestled away game seven in New Orleans.

Only two teams have won both home games in the last half-week. Anyone surprised it's the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers?

As I write this, Denver and New Orleans are in a tight contest. If the Hornets pull out a tough win, every series except the Cavs and Pistons and Lakers and Jazz will be knotted at one game a piece.

Opening game blowouts have not mattered.

The Rockets spanked the Portland Trail Blazers 108-81 Saturday night. The Blazers responded with a hard-fought 107-103 victory Tuesday night.

The Atlanta Hawks slammed the Miami Heat 90-64 at Phillips Arena on Sunday and seemed in command of the series. The Heat returned the favor tonight with a 108-93 rout.

This trend should drive home the point that great teams know how to win on the road.

The Spurs and Celtics will have to respond in hostile environments against teams that believe they boast superior athletes.

The young Blazers must reverse a recent history of dispassionate performances in Houston if they hope to meet the Lakers in the next round.

Home court ain't what it used to be...for now.

3. Two-faced Lakers will be tested in Utah

The Jazz sputtered and lost their way into a first round death trap against Kobe Bryant.

I say Bryant, and not the Lakers, because he's too determined to let a team full of softies who hate each other (see next item) oust him from a title bid.

Still, the best team in the Western Conference has demonstrated a continued propensity to lose focus and an inability to dominate the inferior Jazz from start to finish.

Phil Jackson should chew on these numbers and hope his team can spit them out.

After all that talk about becoming a better defensive unit, the Jazz have scored 100 and 109 points in two games. The Jazz shot 49 percent in game two.

If you want a detailed, spectacular analysis of the Lakers' flaw, read Charley Rosen's piece on game one.

As Rosen notes, and anyone else can see, the Lakers started both contests at Staples Center in complete control. They denied penetration, forced hurried jumpshots and moved the ball like poetry in motion.

Bryant looked to distribute and create swell shots for his teammates, and Jackson's bunch made a concerted effort to involve Pau Gasol.

These are the Lakers that most favor to win the trophy in June.

Then, when the lead swelled to higher than 20, they stopped giving a damn, and the other guys made an appearance.

Bryant started making poor decisions, Gasol stopped touching the ball and the role players invented their own plays. Such selfishness usually resulted in scores of bad shots and lost momentum.

The focused, improved defense? It went down the crapper, too.

When the Jazz cut the lead to nine points twice in game one, they did it with easy buckets. If Deron Williams could not score, he found teammates who could.

These were layups and dunks, not contested jumpshots.

Anytime Utah threatened to make it a game, the championship-level Lakers returned. Kobe did whatever he wanted and the defense tightened.

Does anyone else find this series to be a carbon copy of last year's second round joust?

The Jazz have enough offensive weapons to drop 100 points on the Lakers on the road but not enough defense to ever make the reigning conference champs sweat.

If the Lakers keep up these spotty efforts, there is no reason why Utah cannot steal two or even all three games at Energy Solutions Arena.

The problem, of course, is the Jazz have no chance in hell of ever winning a game at the Staples Center.

4. Cacophonous Jazz?

"We're not a nasty team," Coach Jerry Sloan said of his slumping Jazz after a game one loss.

They may not be nasty on the court, but off it, it looks like they want to kill each other.

San Antonio Express-News Spurs beat reporter Jeff McDonald said insiders have told him the Jazz players hate each other.

With a 7-11 record to finish out the season, consistent lethargy on the road and the distraction created by Carlos Boozer's "will he opt out" debacle, is it hard to believe?

The conflict in a nutshell: the euros hate the Americans and vice-versa, and everyone hates Boozer.

If you read the Salt Lake Tribune and Jazz.com forums, the fans seem to see this, too.

When an ABC camera zoomed in on Deron Williams before game one, his face looked more like that of an axe murderer than a basketball star.

Williams might be the only Jazz player who has shown up every night in the last two months. He has every right to be pissed about it.

So, the question becomes this: do the Jazz go for broke and try to win the next two at home and give the fans something to cheer about?

Though doing this will prolong the series, it will also prolong the obvious misery.

Or, do they give up and avoid a delay of the inevitable? The Lakers will win this series, even if it comes to a seventh game. That unanimous sentiment is as rock solid as Stonehenge.

5. Put him "on his back" at your own peril

A day after Tony Parker torched the Mavericks leaky defense for 38 points, most of them on layups, and propelled his ailing Spurs to a 105-84 win, Erick Dampier made a promise.

"Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back,” Dampier told the Dallas Morning News. “The first foul has to tell him he's in for a long night. My first foul Thursday night is going to put him on his back. I guarantee it.”

The NBA office said those comments are "under review." That should not concern Dampier or his coach Rick Carlisle. Hey, hard fouls happen in the playoffs. Let them.

What should cause worry is the fallacy of the "hard foul." It is understandable that Mavs players are frustrated after an indefensible Parker ran amok and led the Spurs to a thorough beatdown.

How many times have you watched a player go off on your team and said, "somebody knock him on his (butt)?"

While the promise of a hard foul sounds nice and macho, what does it accomplish?

Parker is a three-time champion and former Finals MVP. He has been through many long nights. Shaquille O' Neal leveled him twice in the Spurs-Suns series last year, and it did not deter him from attacking the basket.

Knock down fouls may work against role players like J.J. Barea or even a talented rookie but not against superstars who have proven they will bombard the rim at all costs.

Dampier might be Dallas' best interior defender. Can the Mavericks afford to have him incessantly hack Parker and go to bench with early foul trouble?

Every foul committed in the act of shooting results in two free throws.

If Parker has to score 38 more points all from the free throw line, he'll do it.

What Dampier should do is worry about his own production and keeping his big body on the floor. The Mavs have no answer for Parker. A few tough fouls will not change that.

In fact, they will force the best post defenders to the pine and allow Parker to score at will against less adept bench players.

Not smart.

I'll make the remaining items quick.

6. Support players help you 'role' in big road wins

Nothing enhances a team's chances in a road playoff game like an unexpected or star caliber game from a supporting cast member.

The front office pays these guys to do the behind the scenes work, but sometimes, they rise to the ocassion and outshine their All-Star teammates.

A few such performances worthy of recognition:

• Former D-Leaguer/Rockets guard Von Wafer dumped 21 points on the Blazers Tuesday night in a close loss.
• Mavericks forward Brandon Bass and guard J.J. Barea combined for a not-so-quiet 27 points in a game one road victory.
• Budding Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas poured in 16 huge points in an overtime victory at Boston.
• Heat marksman Daequan Cook delivered 20 points in a win at Atlanta.
• Even though they did it in the comforts of home, Trevor Ariza's 27 points and Shannon Brown's steady contributions deserve mention.

7. But, stars matter most

Role players are paid lesser money because they are backups. Von Wafer will not score 20 points in every game of that series. If the Rockets expect him to do it, they have no business winning.

Stars carry you in the playoffs, not role players. The reserves fill in the gaps and juice up the defense and offense when All-Stars are off in a game.

For any team to win, the All-Stars still have to be All-Stars the rest of the time.

That's why Yao Ming, Paul Pierce/Ray Allen, Brandon Roy, Tony Parker/Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade and the other elite ballers must play well for their teams to have any chance of seeing the next round.

8. Free Throws hack jobs prove costly

When Joakim Noah fouled Paul Pierce at the end of regulation in Saturday's Bulls-Celtics game one, the crowd at TD Banknorth Garden erupted.

A clutch shooter was going to the line to win the game, they thought.

Instead, Pierce tied the game and missed the second. The Celtics lost the game and maybe any chance of bullying the Bulls into submission.

We fans and analysts talk about so many complicated facets of the game after barn burners. We could stand to talk more about shoddy free throw shooting. It matters.

The Rockets jumped from the bottom of the league to top five in free throw shooting percentage this season. They were awful in game two at the Rose Garden, making only 68 percent of their 32 free throws.

Did 10 missed free throws make any difference in a four-point loss? You think!

Remember, it's only a free point if you make the shot.