Wasn't going to do a write-up on this game because I'm not sure I will play the sides. There might be a few of you out there that this might be useful to, so here goes.
When Larry Bird took over Ind, Reggie Miller had retired. Larry called Reggie and told him (Reggie) that he needed him to stay. He also told him that they would play for the championship in 4 years. Four years later Larry announces his retirement and they play for the championship. How did Larry predict that. He's the greatest coach of all time, he has a crystal ball, he knew something others didn't know. Take you pick. The NBA needed Bird. Mike had retired and there were no valid super-stars. Reggie was as close as they had at that time to keep the public interested. The way I see it, that shot at a championship was Larry and Reggie's payback for years of helping the NBA.
What does this have to do with tonight's game? The fans in NJ are on fire for the first time in years. NJ getting past Ind would be good for the NBA. They won't give this series to NJ but they will make sure they have every opportunity to play their way through it. I expect the refs to be fairly neutral tonight and not play home court adv. By the way, wasn't Ind in foul trouble early on in the last game? Didn't surprise me that two key players were taken out of the game early. That won't happen tonight.
I think in game one, Ind came out and jumped on NJ and caught them flat-footed. The only NJ player to respond for the positive was the veteran Jason Kidd. The younger players never got over the first half. But in game two they were well prepared which speaks well for the coaching staff of NJ. A couple of examples were O'neal and Miller (Tinsley was frustrated from the start by the pressure and calls). Let's look at O'neal and that pretty well tells the story of the two games and what to look for tonight. In game one he looked like all world. He shot 9 shots more than his ave and a better per centage. But he was only fouled 2 times. Now this tells me that nobody was playing d on him. In game two NJ denied him the ball (only got 11 shots as opposed to 23) and got up on him when he did get the ball. He was fouled 4 times or four times as many fouls per shot as game one. It appeared that NJ intended for somebody else to beat them and if
Reggie hadn't shot 75% (which he won't do tonight) it would have been worse than the 16 points they lost by.
Running out of time so will try to shorten this. Let's say that everyone on Ind's team plays up to their season ave, that gives them another 10 - 12 points. That won't get it done. Only Kidd has played up to his ave so far and I look for some of the others to step up tonight also. Ind has to find some way to get O'neal shots. They didn't do it at halftime in the last game and I don't look for them to do it tonight. Will play the over, not sure about the sides.
When Larry Bird took over Ind, Reggie Miller had retired. Larry called Reggie and told him (Reggie) that he needed him to stay. He also told him that they would play for the championship in 4 years. Four years later Larry announces his retirement and they play for the championship. How did Larry predict that. He's the greatest coach of all time, he has a crystal ball, he knew something others didn't know. Take you pick. The NBA needed Bird. Mike had retired and there were no valid super-stars. Reggie was as close as they had at that time to keep the public interested. The way I see it, that shot at a championship was Larry and Reggie's payback for years of helping the NBA.
What does this have to do with tonight's game? The fans in NJ are on fire for the first time in years. NJ getting past Ind would be good for the NBA. They won't give this series to NJ but they will make sure they have every opportunity to play their way through it. I expect the refs to be fairly neutral tonight and not play home court adv. By the way, wasn't Ind in foul trouble early on in the last game? Didn't surprise me that two key players were taken out of the game early. That won't happen tonight.
I think in game one, Ind came out and jumped on NJ and caught them flat-footed. The only NJ player to respond for the positive was the veteran Jason Kidd. The younger players never got over the first half. But in game two they were well prepared which speaks well for the coaching staff of NJ. A couple of examples were O'neal and Miller (Tinsley was frustrated from the start by the pressure and calls). Let's look at O'neal and that pretty well tells the story of the two games and what to look for tonight. In game one he looked like all world. He shot 9 shots more than his ave and a better per centage. But he was only fouled 2 times. Now this tells me that nobody was playing d on him. In game two NJ denied him the ball (only got 11 shots as opposed to 23) and got up on him when he did get the ball. He was fouled 4 times or four times as many fouls per shot as game one. It appeared that NJ intended for somebody else to beat them and if
Reggie hadn't shot 75% (which he won't do tonight) it would have been worse than the 16 points they lost by.
Running out of time so will try to shorten this. Let's say that everyone on Ind's team plays up to their season ave, that gives them another 10 - 12 points. That won't get it done. Only Kidd has played up to his ave so far and I look for some of the others to step up tonight also. Ind has to find some way to get O'neal shots. They didn't do it at halftime in the last game and I don't look for them to do it tonight. Will play the over, not sure about the sides.
