Bleacher Report - Articles by Josh Saifie

Orlando Have the Finals in Sight: LeBron Can't Do It All

Josh Saifie — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:38:12 -0400

As the fourth quarter buzzer sounded in the packed Amway Arena, the Orlando Magic took a big sigh of relief.

The "masters of panic" had held on to another valuable playoff lead, but it wasn't Hedo Turkgolu's stellar shooting or Rashard Lewis being lights out from the three that helped them cling onto the lead.

Howard's free-throw shooting had saved the day for the Magic. A rare occurrence to say the least, Howard, notorious for clanking a mere 60 percent at the line, made 14-of-19 Sunday night. Just like that, Magic have a controlling lead in this series.

But have the Magic been lucky with their route to the Eastern Conference finals?

They dominated the 76ers early on with Howard being paired against the unworthy Dalembert. A down to the wire series against a KG-less Celtics team, who Orlando should have dealt with earlier.

Now they face a Cavs team who have no answer for Howard's inside presence and they put immense pressure on LeBron's ability to get to the basket with Howard, Lewis, and Turkgolu all standing at 6' 10" or taller.

Throughout all of Game Three, Orlando seemed in control as they took an early lead and didn't seem to lose their heads when Cleveland took a narrow lead halfway through the game.

Their calm collected play brought victory as they controlled the tempo of the game and seemed to outsmart the Cavalier's with their inside-outside game. The Cavaliers never seemed in the game offensively, seeming to throw all their energy into preventing Howard from scoring at the basket although he was only on for 25 minutes of the game. He still stuffed the stat sheet, yet again, with 24 points and nine rebounds.

The Amway Arena crowed seemed surprisingly pumped giving the Magic that extra edge over the cold shooting Cavs.

There was a confidence about the Magic—they knew who they were up against and they weren't scared.

LeBron scored 41 points in Game Three and is filling up the stat sheet every night as well as sending a last second dagger through the heart's of every Magic fan in the world, but he is by no means dominating this series.

Orlando accepts that there is no way you can stop LeBron in the playoffs—he can score at will, but what James can't do is score all his teams points and this is where the Magic have the edge.

They let LeBron work, but they limit his teammates.

This plan seemed evident on Sunday night as the Magic upped the defensive pressure forcing the Cavs to shoot just 19 percent from beyond the arc. Mo Williams, the Cav's second highest scorer, went on the night with 15 shots, and just 5-of-16 from the field. Magic limited Big Z to just 3-of-10, and Cleveland had no other major contributors outside of LeBron.

Game One saw normal production from the Cav's role players.

Game Two showed slightly less contribution.

Game Three saw almost no stat help for LeBron. The other four starters had 40 points combined and LeBron added another 41 to that score.

Magic have found the Cav's weakness and if they continue to constantly pressure and dominate the Cav's role players with athletic defenders such as Courtney Lee and Mikael Pietrus, shutting down the likes of Mo Williams and Delonte West this series will be done in six games, and the Magic will roll onto the finals.

Although, watching Stan Van Gundy in the press conference after the game there was a sense that Van Gundy knows his team got lucky and have been lucky. The Magic are shooting well with fantastic ball movement leading to open shots, but if the Cavs adjust their defensive plan of throwing bodies at Howard when he gets the ball those open looks will disappear and the Magic's sizzling shooting streak could come to an abrupt end.

Howard won't score 14-of-19 free throws every night.

That said, Turkgolu shot a terrible 1-of-11, yet players such as Alston stepped up giving a solid 15-point game. Orlando have an abundance of players ready to step up and contribute.

Mikael Pietrus is a prime example of this. Throughout every series, he has contributed off the bench especially Game Seven of the Boston series bringing athleticism on both the offensive and defensive end and on Sunday throwing in 16 points.

The term "Title Contender" is used loosely on teams we expect to give in during the conference finals such as the Cavs against the mighty Celtics last year. Yet in both the Eastern and Western finals, we are seeing "Title Contenders" surprising the teams we expect to win the championship.

Don't be surprised to see the Nuggets or Magic lift the trophy next month.

Is the San Antonio Spurs' Run Coming to an End?

Josh Saifie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:48:03 -0400

In 1997, the San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan, and things just got better from then on.

Duncan exploded onto the NBA scene with 21 points and 11 rebounds per game in his rookie season, proving to be an excellent compliment to the Admiral, David Robinson.

The following season Duncan and Robinson led the Spurs to an NBA championship, and the rising star Duncan won Finals MVP.

The Spurs failed to win another championship until the 2002-2003 season—which was a fitting end to David Robinson's phenomenal career, as he retired after winning the title.

But Robinson's retirement didn't left the Spurs completely diminished, they had managed to add pieces around Duncan. Ginobili and Parker blossomed into stars, and before they knew it, the Spurs had a big three.

Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan pushed the Spurs to win the 2005 and 2007 titles. Four championships in eight years—the Spurs were and still are established winners.

But Manu Ginobili is now 31, and Tim Duncan is 32. The Spurs have possibly the oldest team in the NBA, with players such as Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley filling out the roster. The only young stud the Spurs have is Tony Parker.

So where will this leave the Spurs in five years? Can they win another championship in that time?

Now, although 32 may sound old for a big guy—Shaq is 36 and way past his prime—Timmy D has a completely different style of play that won't be affected much by age. He is considered to be the best power forward to ever play, and his ability to score the basketball in the simplest of ways shall continue to thrive for at least another three years.

Duncan doesn't need athleticism to play—only his shooting touch. I predict Duncan will finish his career with the Spurs, as long as he continues to contribute.

However, Ginobili plays at shooting guard—a position that requires a bit more athleticism and speed something that age takes from players.

Manu is a natural scorer, with an arsenal of moves to get to the basket. He shows fantastic offensive awareness and is a fighter on the defensive end—but as he ages, can we expect to see the same skills from the Argentine?

For now, Ginobili will remain effective for the Spurs—but don't expect him to improve much more. He's almost at his peak, and unlike Duncan, he wont plateau slowly—his effectiveness will decline. His future with the Spurs is less certain than Duncan's, and in years to come he will be a player that is likely to be traded.

Finley, Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Horry are past their primes and on the brink of retirement. Give it four years and all of them will be enjoying life away from the league. So with a bulk of the roster on their way out, how will the Spurs manage to maintain a high level of play?

Trading players is an option—but I wouldn't expect the Spurs to make a bold move for now. However, they do need to look for players to build a team around Tony Parker, who is most likely to become their franchise player once Duncan's days are over.

Manu is the most expendable out of the big three. In three years, Manu won't be nearly as productive as he is now—and at that point the Spurs can try and make a move for a young player such as Rudy Gay.

The next two years are the Spurs' last chance for a run at a title. With teams like the Hornet and Magic developing players like Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, the Spurs will fall behind the youth of the league.

There is a fine line between experienced and old—and at this moment in time, the Spurs are an experienced team. If the Spurs make the right moves over the next five years, they can maintain their elite status. But until then, we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out.

Stephon Marbury's Future Not So Bright

Josh Saifie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:18:42 -0400

To understand Stephon Marbury's, we have to revisit the path that got him to the point where he seems to be staring down the barrel of a gun.

Stephon was selected fourth overall by the Bucks in the 1996 draft, but was immediately traded to the T-Wolves, who happened to have a young blossoming star in Kevin Garnett. Marbury and Garnett had been good friends since high school, as they were both selected to play in the 1995 McDonald's All-American team.

Marbury had everything he needed in Minnesota, he was playing well (averaging 17.7 ppg and 8.6 apg) and excelling alongside Kevin Garnett. The T-Wolves made the playoffs in 1997 and 1998, and the team seemed to be showing promise.

Despite having all an NBA point guard can dream of beside him—Kevin Garnett, and a team of players that could one day win a championship—the mighty "Starbury" felt he was a little to big for the likes of KG and the T-Wolves. His agent David Faulk demanded a trade, and he was shipped off to the New Jersey Nets.

I have to give Marbury some credit for his work with the Nets, and later, the Suns. He averaged 23 ppg with the Nets in the 2000-01 season, which was his career high. Stephon became an All-Star, and led both New Jersey and Phoenix to the playoffs in his time there. Instead of taking matters into his own hands and demanding trades, he was shipped from the Nets to the Suns, and then finally to the Knicks.

This is the part where it all seems to go slightly wrong for Starbury—and by slightly, I mean insanely wrong.

Stephon's time with the Knicks started off strong—he got the Knicks straight to the playoffs and averaged 21.7 ppg in his second season with the now-disgraced franchise.

It's after this point where all the trouble began. Constant feuds with coach Larry Brown led to a decline in Marbury's performance. Some may say that Brown could be to blame for Marbury's behaviour—but regardless of the situation, an NBA player does not behave the way he did towards their coach. Reports say that Marbury came to blows with Brown in front of the rest of the team, and even attemped to blackmail his coach.

After Marbury essentially sabotaged the Knicks, Brown was fired, and the now NBA-pariah Isiah Thomas took over to add another bullet to the Knicks.

Marbury's relationship with Isiah was just as bad as the relationship he held with Brown. The two constantly argued, and eventually Isiah benched Stephon for a number of games. The Knicks' supposed franchise player had turned into one of the league's most disgraced players for his egotistical, selfish, arrogant, and disrespectful behaviour to those around him.

Now that Isiah is gone (just about), the team is in the hands of Donnie Walsh—a decent human being—and Marbury is regarded around the league as a complete disgrace.

So where does this leave "Starbury"? He has one more year on his $21 million contract with the Knicks—and then what? Who will take on the famous Marbury, and what moves will the Knicks make to try and get something in return for him?

The future seems inevitable—Marbury is leaving the Knicks. But before all you Knicks fans jump with joy, hold on a second. There are several possibilities as to where and how Stephon will leave.

Trade

By no means should Stephon Marbury be thought of as a tradable asset, but he is a player that needs to leave the Knicks ASAP. At some point this season—or most likely, next offseason, as this is the time when teams want to clear cap space—the Knicks could reach an agreement with a team such as Miami or Golden State to send Stephon away for some pieces.

The Heat would be a good suitor for Marbury. They're in rebuilding mode after an awful season, Pat Riley has a way with dealing with troublesome players, and the team is lacking a decent point guard to add to a core of Dwayne Wade, Shawn Marion, and Michael Beasley.

The possibility of such a deal hangs on how well Mario Chalmers plays during his rookie season. If Chalmers shows promise, the need for a point guard in Miami diminishes, and the Knicks have one less team to trade Stephon to.

Golden State is another option. The team is also in rebuilding mode, looking to build around a core of Monta Ellis and Andres Biedrins, and is still grieving form the sudden move of Baron Davis to the Clippers. They need a decent point guard—and as bad as Stephon may be off the court, the guy can play basketball at a respectable level.

Other teams—such as Charlotte, who are looking to move Raymond Felton—could be in play, but the Knicks would have to give up much more than just Marbury to get Charlotte's attention. The Knicks cant expect to acquire too much by trading Marbury—after all, if you try to sell a turd, you're not going to get much.

Free Agency

This is simple but more painful—let Marbury play one last season in New York, then acquire a bunch of cap room and let Marbury sabotage some other team. This would leave the Knicks with an opportunity to enter the 2010 season with some cap space, which happens to be when LeBron's contract runs out.

Wherever Stephon ends up, he's got a lot of work to do to redeem himself from the disaster he's created in New York—and until he does so, he shall remain a complete waste of talent to many.