At one point during the first round of the NBA playoffs last week, I had to wonder if they got the right guys.
For instance, were the Sacramento Kings really an eighth seed after that 18-point hurt they put on the San Antonio Spurs last Sunday to even their series against the defending champions at two? Then in San Antonio on Tuesday, they overcame a 14-point deficit to tie the game with less than four minutes remaining. It seemed the logo on the jerseys was the only way to discern top seed from bottom in the West.
They certainly didn't get the right second seed. That was the Dallas Mavericks, but Commissioner David Stern's new playoff format confers upon divisional winners for artificial prominence. The top three conference seeds are reserved for each, regardless of record. Yet, an NBA division is no more than a collection of teams that share the same time zone. They face each other during the season only as frequently as they do most other teams in their conference. Stern's sudden reverence for divisional play each April runs contrary to his indifference throughout the other eleven months.
Artificial interference with a natural seeding order often produces bizarre results. Ask the Memphis Grizzlies, who definitely got the wrong guys. By virtue of beating out the Los Angeles Clippers for the West's fifth spot, they were paired with a second — make that fourth — seed in Dallas. Their postseason ended last Monday, a mere four games after it began. Later that same evening, the Clippers eliminated the third-seed divisional champion Denver Nuggets, who would have otherwise placed eighth.
Perhaps the most blatant case of mistaken identity was exposed at the Staples Center in last Sunday's Game 4 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the visiting Phoenix Suns. Suns point guard Steve Nash, who was awaiting his second consecutive Most Valuable Player trophy, lost the ball in the final seconds of both regulation and overtime. Kobe Bryant made him pay each time, nailing the game-tying and game-winning buckets that put the Suns in a 3-1 hole. Bryant, who led the league with 35.4 points per game and helped the Lakers improve by 11 wins over the course of the regular season, sealed the popular vote for MVP with his performance.
Regardless of any polling slight, the Lakers have to feel they got the right guy. After the 2004 season, it was clear that Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal could no longer coexist on the same roster. Bryant was a free agent. Shaq asked for a trade. One had to go, and that one was Shaq.
For a year, it looked like the Lakers' decision was the wrong one. Shaq took his new Miami Heat teammates to the seventh game of last season's Eastern finals while Bryant watched the playoffs at home and bolstered his reputation as a selfish and destructive player.
But the pendulum began to swing the other way during this year's first-round series. Bryant was learning how to become a teammate and extract the best from his supporting cast while Shaq looked aged and fatigued at times against the Chicago Bulls. After 27 points and 16 rebounds in a 37-minute Game 1 effort, his productivity and minutes dropped off in the next three as the Bulls pulled into a 2-2 tie.
By mid-week, there indeed seemed an abundant share of mistaken identities.
Ah, but the NBA allows for market corrections over a seven-game series. It may not possess that edge-of-seat finality of the NCAA's one-and-done format, nor is its system likely to produce a North Carolina State Wolfpack or Villanova Wildcats any time soon. Sacrificing such Cinderella storylines is the price these Royal Canadian Mounties of the hardwood must pay but in the end, they always get their guys.
True to form, the smoke of any would-be dramatics had cleared by Saturday night's final first-round contest.
The Miami Heat dispensed with the Bulls in convincing fashion over the week, taking the final two games by 14- and 17-point margins. Even better, the old Shaq reemerged. He posted double doubles in the back-to-back wins, including a vintage '90s 30-point, 20-rebound game in Thursday night's closer.
Likewise, the San Antonio Spurs proved worthy as defending champions. They outscored the Kings 14-4 over the final 3:36 in that pivotal fifth game in San Antonio, then closed out the Kings in Sacramento Friday and opened the second round with a win over Dallas Sunday.
Although Commissioner Stern's funky playoff structure may have brought us the Western Conference finals one series prematurely, market forces did restore some second-round order. The Clippers, early beneficiaries of that funk who came one Phoenix loss away from spending the second round entirely in their own gym, must now travel to Arizona.
The Suns were an unlikely second-round host last week. They were seemingly no match for Kobe's newfound concept of teamwork and were flying home demoralized after last Sunday's buzzer loss. Nonetheless, they stepped up their own team approach when they stepped off that plane.
No fewer than six different Suns contributed double-digit scoring production in each of the final three games under the direction of Steve Nash, who collected 26 assists over that improbable run. On the other bench, the Glitter resumed the form of the .500 pumpkin they were for most of the season. Bryant got ejected from Game 5, then regressed into his one-man team with 50 points in Thursday's loss. Saturday, the Lakers found themselves a no-man team while the Suns were anything but.
It may have been ironic that formal confirmation of Nash's MVP award should be announced over the weekend. It looks like they got the right guy for that honor, as well. Overcoming a 3-1 deficit takes an entire team effort. After all, it's only been done eight times in league history despite the plethora of superstars such as Bryant that have adorned NBA rosters. Catalyzing such an effort was Nash's job and he did it better than anyone in the league could.
As the second round takes flight this week, it looks like equilibrium has again been restored to the NBA. Like the Royal Canadian Mounties, they have their guys despite the Dudley Do-Right antics of David Stern. Perhaps next year, the Commissioner may try mounting the horse frontward to better anticipate approaching dangers.
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