- Man, Pau Gasol had the easiest-looking 36 point game I've ever seen. I think I would have shot 50% on each of the shots Gasol made to rack up his total. Of course, he had to be in the right spot, and catch the passes, but it seems like the Nuggets decided to concentrate on Kobe, and are incapable of doing that and not give up lay-ups to the other players.
- Good to see the Sixers win, and it would be fun to have Sixers-Pistons as a rivalry again. I think the Pistons will utlimately win the series, but you never know.
- Hard to see Spurs-Suns not being the best first round match-up ever. I don't think the Spurs will win the title, but I don't think I would ever be comfortable betting against a team with Ginobli and Duncan.
While I'm here, whenever a team hits a tying three-pointer to win the game, the talking heads start complaining about the team that was ahead not fouling. A couple thoughts:
- Aesthetically, I would absolutely hate that play. It's bad enough that the leading team's final possessions consist of free throws; who wants to see the trailing team doing the same thing? If the NBA and NCAA are discouraging this practice behind the scenes, I'm all for it.
- It seems that fouling has risks, too, including:
- The fouled player getting a shot off and being awarded three free throws. For an 80% free throw shooter, that's a 51% chance of tying the game, which is probably better than whatever shot they could get off.
- You better be sure you can get the rebound on an intentionally missed second shot.
- You're extending the game when the clock is your friend.
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