NBA Playoffs 2011: Rock Songs as Playoff Storylines
People use music to express themselves every day. So why can't music be used to express the storylines for the NBA playoffs? There are so many stories being told, and the foreseeable future of the NBA is being laid out in the next few weeks.
Can the Heat actually pull off a championship? If so, how many other stars will try to do the same thing? In five years, will we have every star on six different teams and the rest of the league won't matter? Can the Grizzlies knock off the best old team in the conference and then proceed to knock off the best young team? Will the Bulls' score-first guard bring them a seventh championship trophy? Can the Lakers pull it together and rebound in Dallas?
I could keep going, so I think I will.
Blister in the Sun: Violent Femmes
1 of 10
Dwight Howard, four time defensive MVP, is arguably the most dominant player in the NBA today. Where will he be playing tomorrow? His Orlando Magic failed again at reaching the finals after being knocked out in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks. The Magic are in serious trouble both talent-wise and financially.
The Magic made moves to try and surround Howard with shooters and solid role players, but instead the shooters can't shoot and the role players can't fill in the rest of the team. Gilbert Arenas was brought in and has been a huge disappointment. Hedo Turkoglu came back hopeful to regain his Orlando form of a few years ago and failed.
Now this cash-strapped franchise has an even bigger problem—can they keep Howard from jumping ship once his contract option comes up after next season? There are only a handful of teams that wouldn't give everyone on their roster to bring him on board.
Will Howard choose to play with other stars and form his own team much like Wade, James and Bosh did this past season with Chris Paul, Deron Williams or even Blake Griffin? Will he join a young team that already has all the pieces aside from a dominant center to put them over the top like the Bulls, Thunder, or (shudder) the Heat?
He could always choose to stay in Orlando with the team that drafted him. But if this past season has taught us anything about professional basketball players...
Welcome Home: Coheed and Cambria
2 of 10
Carmelo Anthony: one of the most interesting (or annoying) storylines of this season. His much publicized desire to play at Madison Square Garden 41 games a year caused an irreparable rift with his Denver Nuggets teammates and management. Here's where it gets interesting, The Nuggets were one of the best teams after they rid themselves of Anthony. The New York Knicks did not improve once he got home to MSG and were subsequently swept in the first round by the rival Boston Celtics.
At times it seemed him and Amare Stoudemire could not coexist. His lack of defense was not a surprise to anyone, and it perplexes me how a person his size playing forward for 10 minutes a game can average less than eight rebounds a game. Eight rebounds in 40 minutes, really? Unattainable? That's one board every five minutes. It all boils down to effort.
If Anthony redefines his effort on defense and hustle play, the Knicks have a shot to make some noise next season. If he doesn't, the Knicks will just be the Nuggets of the East; a high scoring team that will win between 40-50 games a year and never really be a threat to make the finals.
So far, past results indicate the Knicks will be average at best for many years to come, but at least Anthony will be able to play in a stadium he wants to.
Wont Get Fooled Again: The Who
3 of 10
The Memphis Grizzlies won their franchise's first playoff game and series in historic fashion, becoming only the fourth eight-seed to be a top seeded team in NBA history. The Grizzlies dominated the San Antonio Spurs in the paint and made them look very slow. Duncan was less than effective in each game and the Spurs actually needed two miracle shots to extend the series to six games before falling.
The next question is, do teams look at the Grizzlies as a fluke or do they take them seriously and try to emulate their success? Finding one good big man is tough, but the Grizzlies have found two very capable big guys to patrol the paint. Zach Randolph has played like a man possessed this season and has even rebounded and played some decent defense. Marc Gasol is playing excellent defense and is a very tough man to muscle around.
The Pau Gasol trade of a few years ago isn't looking as lopsided after this postseason. Marc is outplaying his older brother in every facet of the game and making the Grizzlies a team to reckon with for the foreseeable future.
Memphis plays solid defense and has excellent rebounding. If Rudy Gay comes back healthy next year to add a little more offensive ability, there is no reason this team can't take another step and host their first ever playoff game next season.
I Will Not Bow: Breaking Benjamin
4 of 10
The Celtics ended the reign of "The King" in last season's playoffs leading to the whole "taking my talents to South Beach" debacle. Now, down 0-2 to LeBron James' Heat, the Celtics need to prove it's still not his time to be crowned.
Plainly put, the Celtics have looked old. Garnett has been ineffective, Pierce has shot poorly and acted worse. Oddly enough, Ray Allen has been the best looking of the "Big Three" making Game 1 look more competitive than it really was after his five three-pointers. Rondo is playing well, but it seems the Heat's gameplan is letting Rondo do what he wants and take Pierce and Garnett out of their games. Regardless, whatever the actual gameplan is, it's working.
James and Dwyane Wade are flying all over the court, making fast breaks look easy, throwing alley-oops and letting James Jones take a nap before a defender is close enough to contest his shot.
Here's why the Celtics aren't done yet:
It's only two games, both on the road. If the Celtics win both, no one will even talk about the panic of this past week. They are the defending conference champs, have been together for multiple years, and therefore can deal with this type of scrutiny and adversity.
Still, the Celtics need to put together better efforts for the remaining five games or they will be at home watching the Heat from their couches.
Calm Like a Bomb: Rage Against the Machine
5 of 10
Calm Like a Bomb: Rage Against the Machine - Battle of Los Angeles 1996
The Oklahoma City Thunder is such a young and talented team, never having a negative storyline all season. Actually, the acquisition of Kendrick Perkins from the Celtics was widely regarded as a theft and therefore a positive one for them. Suddenly, after a couple losses in these playoffs, they have seemingly pitted NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant against his shooting guard-turned-point guard, Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook, on multiple occasions, has taken more shots than Durant with much less successful results, including many questionable game-ending shots in a Game 4 loss to the Nuggets. In that game, Durant scored 31 points on 8-18 shooting while Westbrook scored 30, taking 30 shots including 0-7 from beyond the arc.
So far, this hasn't manifested into anything substantial but, if things get tough in this series against the Grizzlies, will they band together or will they blow up at each other? Will Durant freeze out Westbrook if he starts taking dumb shots? Will coach Scott Brooks bench him if he doesn't get the rest of the team involved?
For this team, whose coming-out party was in last season's playoffs, losing before the conference championship would be a huge disappointment. If they come together as a team during adversity, this team could easily win the west. If they start infighting and blow up, the Grizzlies will be the first eight-seeded team to make the conference championship since the '94 Knicks (in a strike-shortened season).
Californication: Red Hot Chili Peppers
6 of 10
Do you want the good news or the bad news first, Laker fans?
Here's the bad news.
The Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble. They have to win at least two of three games in Dallas to advance to the conference finals. That's the bad news.
Here's the good news.
They are the defending champions, they have the best closer in the league in Kobe Bryant, and they have the most successful coach ever.
The Lakers have either been very frustrated in their games against the Dallas Mavericks or they have been completely disinterested. Either way, they need to regain composure or focus if they want to advance. Their best course of attack is to get Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood into foul trouble to open up the inside for Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Lakers need both of those guys if they are going to win a championship, let alone this series.
Oh, and one last piece of bad news:
The Lakers got absolutely torched by Chris Paul, and are now being schooled by J.J. Barea. What kind of success can they have against Russell Westbrook in the next round or Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or even Mike Conley? Clearly Derek Fisher and Steve Blake can't guard anyone. So where is Matt Barnes to guard the two and have Kobe cover the ball-handler? I mean, isn't that what a good closer would do?
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: AC/DC
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Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 1976
The Dallas Mavericks, everyone's chic pick to be upset in the first round against the Portland Trail Blazers, have the Los Angeles Lakers on the ropes and we aren't even past Game 3 yet. The Lakers coughed up a fifteen point lead in Game 1 and did not seem interested in the second half of a Game 2 loss.
So maybe the song I chose was more sarcastic than serious, but Tyson Chandler has to be given a ton of credit for the Mavs' success so far. Chandler, who finished third in defensive MVP voting, makes it so difficult to score inside that to begin the second half of Game 2, the Lakers decided they would fire up any half-open jumper they saw.
Needless to say, the Lakers scored 32 points the rest of the game and were easily defeated. Chandler and, to a lesser extent, his strong and stout teammate Brendan Haywood, are owning the paint in these playoffs.
Now for the sarcastic part—Chandler is making over $12.5 million this season and Haywood is making just shy of $7 million. So they are doing the dirty deeds, and doing them well, but are also being compensated for said dirty work.
Savior: Rise Against
8 of 10
Anyone who knows anything about Chicago knows these things:
The Lake effect sucks.
No pizza compares to Chicago pizza, anywhere, ever.
Old Soldier Field looked much better.
No matter how many seasons the Cubs disappoint, they will still be the most important summer conversation.
Chicago had the greatest athlete in the history of sports and the most dominant dynasty in any sport since the Celtics decades prior and the John Wooden-led UCLA Bruins.
Of course, I am speaking of Michael Jordan, Chicago's "savior" of the 80s and 90s who brought six championships and more thrilling, jaw dropping, and flat out unbelievable moments to Chicago Stadium and the United Center than anyone has ever brought, anywhere.
Derrick Rose watched this unfold as he grew up in Chicago. Rose understands what Jordan meant to the city and has embraced it as perfectly as any superstar could have ever done. He plays hard at all times, doesn't complain, says all the right things, and is just a genuinely nice guy.
Here are the problems. Rose is a shoot-first point guard and, historically, those types of guards haven't had tremendous success in the playoffs. Rose doesn't have the greatest jumper, therefore he continually attacks the rim and takes hard fouls.
If Rose can stay healthy (or get healthy depending on how gimpy that ankle is) and get a decent jumper back before the end of this series with the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls will be in fine shape for a finals run. If he can't, he needs the rest of his cast, Carlos Boozer and luol Deng specifically, to step up and score some points to take the pressure off of him.
The Bulls have a championship-ready team right now, and for many years to come. If Rose keeps developing, there is no reason this team falls short of the title. They play the best defense in the league and, to borrow an old cliche, defense wins championships.
Another thing people know about Chicago:
Rose looks really good holding trophies.
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked: Cage the Elephant
9 of 10
The Miami Heat—the NBA's self-made villains. They have finished strong and have the defending conference champion Boston Celtics back on their heels.
This team started the season with no ability to shoot, no ability to defend the paint and very limited depth. James Jones fixed the shooting problem, becoming the de facto three-point specialist and is having a productive playoff so far. Joel Anthony has provided some defense and toughness in the paint, hiding Chris Bosh's inability to defend the post. All that remains is that pesky lack of depth.
If Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have good games shooting the basketball, this team is nearly impossible to beat. However, as their careers have shown, they struggle mightily at shooting and are both prone to settling for bad jumpers when they should be taking it to the rim especially in James' case. He has such an advantage in size, strength, and speed there is no reason for him to be launching shots from that far away. \
Both James and Wade shot 50 percent or better from the field. Wade shot under 31 percent from three and James had one of his better years at 33 percent. Don't expect the defense to get any easier either, with the Bulls most likely on deck following the Celtics, making it that much more difficult to succeed by chucking.
If the Heat continue to run and space the floor while playing solid defense, and Wade and James continually attack the rim for layups, free throws, and open shots for teammates, this team will not lose a series for the rest of the playoffs. If this team gets lazy and their cockiness takes over, they will fall and nearly every basketball fan will rejoice the Heat failing in their obnoxious claim to seven straight championships.
Waiting for the End: Linkin Park
10 of 10
I figured I would go current for the championship comments. This season, with its multitude of storylines, has reinvigorated the NBA. It's been like a soap opera. Villains (Heat), heroes (USA troops and NBA charities), people coming (Chandler), going (James), and even some staying (Nowitzki, Wade). Some stories are heartwarming and make you teary-eyed (Rose's speech).
Me, I'm just waiting for the end. I still have no idea who is going to win, and I'm quite excited to watch it unfold.
So I'll leave with this:
West Semifinals
Thunder over the Grizzlies in 6.
Mavericks over the Lakers in 6.
East Semifinals
Heat over the Celtics in 5.
Bulls over the Hawks in 5.
West Finals
Thunder over the Mavericks in 7.
East Finals
Bulls over the Heat in 6.
NBA Championship
Bulls over Thunder in 6
The hometown boy brings home the trophy to Chicago for the seventh time in history. What a speech that will be.
