NBA Playoffs News, Notes and Observations: April 21, 2009

We are only three days into the 2009 NBA Playoffs and already we've seen historic performances, nail-biting finishes, and unexpected results.

There's a well-regarded belief in professional sports that says a series doesn't start until a road team wins a game. If that's the case, then four series have started.

I couldn't think of a better time for a round of news, notes, and observations. I've been really busy so I've got a number of links to share. I'll try to get at least two of these up each week and I'll spread the links out.

Without further ado...

BREAKING NEWS: LEON POWE OUT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON

Leon Powe has torn his ACL and meniscus and will miss the rest of the season. More heartbreaking news for the Celtics.

This is horrible news for Powe and the Celtics. From a long-term perspective it's not bad for the Celtics. Powe loses whatever market value he had as a free agent this off-season but it increases the likelihood that the Celtics will keep both Powe and Glen Davis since they can't afford to begin next season without both.

Powe has already had two reconstructive knee surgeries. Anybody who knows the story of Powe's childhood and him growing up homeless can't help but root for this guy to get back healthy.

Air Gordon?

It's amazing how one performance can change the market value of a player. Shannon Brown, Trevor Ariza, Glen Davis, Hedo Turkoglu, Anderson Varejao, Ron Artest, Kyle Korver, Mike Bibby, Dahntay Jones, Jamario Moon, Andre Miller, and Brandon Bass are just a few of the upcoming free agents who can greatly increase their value during these playoffs.

Turkoglu and Korver have Early Termination Options and Turkoglu told the Orlando Sentinel that he's leaning towards opting out.

Right now it's Gordon who is looking like he might benefit the most after his 42-point performance in Boston on Monday night. For two years the Bulls and Gordon have failed to come to an agreement on an extension and now it looks like Gordon made the right choice by not accepting what he felt was too low of an offer.

If the Bulls decide to re-sign Gordon then they might have no choice but to move Kirk Hinrich. By trading Andres Nocioni to Sacramento for Brad Miller and John Salmons the Bulls immediately made themselves players in the free agent market of 2010 when Miller's contract expires.

Now the Bulls need to decide which of the two guards is in their long-term plans to play alongside Derrick Rose. For a team that hasn't had a dominant low-post player since they traded Elton Brand to the Clippers for Tyson Chandler the Bulls can't afford to spend so much money on their backcourt.

Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are both emerging defensive players but the Bulls won't be able to make the jump to the next level without a low-post offensive weapon in their frontcourt.

Denver Brewers?

I will never defend any spectator who interferes with a game. I think that it was disgusting that some idiot fan in Denver threw a bottle of beer onto the court during the last few minutes of the Nuggets' Game One victory over the Hornets on Sunday.

But why is it that no writer mentions that the bottle was plastic? Here's Jimmy Smith's blog posting from the New Orleans Times Picayune:

"With about 40 seconds remaining in the game, a bottle full of beer flew past the New Orleans bench and landed on the floor, the second incident of an object being thrown at the Hornets during the game."

Don't you think anyone who read that without seeing the incident would immediately think that fans were throwing glass bottles onto the court?

The same thing happened back in 2004 when Milton Bradley, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers, threw an empty plastic water bottle at the foot of a fan.

Because of Bradley's reputation, writers knew it would make for a better story by leaving out the fact that it was an empty plastic bottle.

Here's a quote from Aaron J. Lopez's story on INDenverTimes.com:

"One person who threw a plastic beer bottle on the court in the fourth quarter and another who threw a towel at Hornets guard Chris Paul at halftime both face a one-year ban from the Pepsi Center."

I just think it's funny that the New Orleans paper doesn't mention it and the Denver one does.

Not Opting Out?

Rick Reilly wrote a cool little story on ESPN.com about Kobe Bryant's game-day routine. Reilly mentions something in the article that hasn't really received too much attention. He writes:

"He has no plans to opt out of his contract at the end of this season, but "you can never absolutely say no, right?""

Kobe has two more seasons left on his current contract but he can opt out at season's end. It's hard to figure out which decision increases the likelihood that the Lakers re-sign Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, and Shannon Brown.

If Bryant opts out, he'd be eligible for a five-year extension for approximately $135 million.

One thing that will definitely increase the likelihood that the Lakers re-sign all three is winning the title.

One Laker player that doesn't appear to be in the team's long-term plans right now is Jordan Farmar. The point guard from UCLA is in his third year and eligible for an extension this summer that would go into effect the following season. But Farmar has taken a step back this season.

The Lakers have three picks in this summer's draft, their own two picks as well as the Bobcats second-round pick from the Kareem Rush trade. This particular draft has plenty of point guards and with next year's first-round pick headed to Memphis as part of the Pau Gasol trade the Lakers will probably use one of their three picks on a point guard and try to move Farmar.

The Lakers have already exercised their option on Farmar's contract for next year so if this year isn't his last as a Laker then next year will surely be.

Speaking of the Lakers

Darren Rovell of CNBC reported via his blog that Bodoglife.com was actually willing to reimburse bettors up to $50 if they bet on any other team but the Lakers to win the championship and lost.

With so many bettors wagering on the Lakers Bodog could actually save themselves money by discouraging their customers from betting on the Lakers by essentially bribing them not to.

The deal expired this past Saturday so don't waste your time trying to put money down now.

Stephen A. Smith Out at ESPN

In case you missed it, Stephen A. Smith and ESPN have decided to part ways when Smith's contract expires on May 1.

According to the NY Daily News, Smith and ESPN couldn't come to an agreement on an extension because Smith wasn't willing to take a pay cut.

Anybody who has read my N,N, and Os over the past two years knows that I'm not a big fan of Smith. Between his ridiculous mocking of the Portland Trailblazers at the 2007 NBA Draft or his completely made up story about Chris Bosh telling Bryan Colangelo that he wanted out of Toronto, I don't envision Smith landing on his feet any time soon.

It was less than four years ago that Smith was on top of the world. He had a radio show, a television talk show, a newspaper job at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and a feature story in Sports Illustrated.

It now appears that Smith no longer has any of those things. It'll be interesting to see what Smit's next career move will be.

My Favorite Marcin

Another overlooked item over the past few days has been the comments by Orlando Magic back-up center, Marcin Gortat, to a Polish newspaper regarding Stan Van Gundy.

In response to Shaquille O'Neal's comments that Van Gundy is the King of Panic, Gortat said (translation courtesy of HoopsHype.com):

"That's true, that's the nature of our coach, he panics very often during games. He's got some behaviour which is not good for us. With his gestures he makes us more nervous on the floor."

And that was before the Magic's Game One loss to the Sixers at home. Judging by the Magic's performance as well as the egg Miami laid in their game against the Hawks on Sunday, perhaps it's time for Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade to stop worrying about Charles Barkley's video game skills and start worrying about not getting knocked out in the first round.

What's There To Figure Out?

It's nice to see that the Nets appear intent on keeping Lawrence Frank around. I don't even know why there was even the chance that Frank would be let go?

Did ownership and management really believe the Nets should have been better than their 34-48 record? Why was this even being discussed?

With so many players in their first three years it's a miracle they even had a chance to make the playoffs.

Quick Links

Peter May wrote a great piece on his HoopsHype blog about basketball players and the demands made of them by friends and family once they start making NBA money.

Jonathan Abrams and Thayer Evans wrote an outstanding piece in the NY Times last month about the risks involved when underclassmen declare for the draft too early. They highlight the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan.

Sam Adams of INDenverTimes had a story yesterday about the ten-year anniversary of the Columbine massacre and the effect it had on the 1998-99 Nuggets.

How about the sad story of former NBA player Kirk Snyder and his fall from grace? Snyder was recently arrested for breaking into a neighbor's house. Snyder's attorney is claiming that Snyder is not guilty by reason of insanity and is unfit to stand trial. Snyder remains behind bars and will undergo a psychological evaluation.