Celtics vs Knicks Game 2 Reaction

Injuries for the Knicks: Injuries really hurt the Knicks in game two. Chauncey Billups had a strained left knee and had to miss game two. Billup's replacement at point guard, Toney Douglas, struggled shooting during the game. He was just 5 for 16 from the floor and finished the game with 14 points. The Knicks also lost their star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire in the second quarter due to back spasms. Stoudemire said, "I could hardly move. I was trying to play through it. Once I felt that sharp pain, I couldn't take it... I felt it really get tight one me. I've never had back spasms before."

Doc Rivers does it again: Doc Rivers has pressed all the right buttons at the end of the Celtic's first two playoff games. In game 2, with his team down by 1 point with 19 seconds remaining in the game, Doc drew up a play to get KG the ball down in the post. Although Garnett had struggled up to that point in the game, only making 5 of his 15 shot attempts, Rivers thought that the 6'11 Garnett could shot over Jared Jeffries. Kevin hit a hook shot over his left shoulder to give the Celtics a one point lead with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Jeffries said, "It was a tough shot. We wanted to send him middle and not give him his baseline shot, which is his bread-and-butter shot, and he made it. When he went middle, he made a tough, contested shot." Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, "KG struggled a little bit offensively, but like I said the other day with Ray, we trust all of our guys," coach Doc Rivers said. "We drew up the play and it was for Kevin or Paul. If they tried to deny the ball to Paul, I told Rondo that means that Kevin has to be open because there's only a certain amount of bodies on the floor.
"And they did try to deny Paul, which allowed us to get a deep post for Kevin. Rondo made a great cut so they couldn't double team; he was the only guy under the basket. They double-teamed and he was sitting there by himself. And we put Delonte [West] on the floor so we had more shooting. And it was a great shot for [Garnett]." Paul Pierce said about the decisive offensive play, "I think Kevin is the first option when he comes and down-screens for me. If he's open, Coach wants me to give it to him. And then, if not, that's where I get the ball up top for a pick-and-roll. The execution was key. Fortunately that was a play we drew up this morning. That's all about paying attention to the X's and O's and concentrating on executing down the stretch." 

Knicks final possession: In a possession where the Knicks needed to score, they left Jared Jeffries on the floor, who is not very skilled on the offensive side of the ball. Carmelo Anthony got the ball on the right wing with 9 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Big Baby Glen Davis once again left Jeffries, as he was constantly doing during the fourth quarter, to double team Melo. Melo gave the ball to Jeffries who was wide open under the hoop. However, instead of laying the ball up. Jeffries turned the other way to try and make a pass to Bill Walker but the ball was stolen. Jeffries said about the play, "Looking at the tape, I should have shot it. I felt like KG was coming down. I tried to dump the ball off to Bill [Walker], and KG had his hand down. So when I tried to pass the ball to Bill cutting to the rim, he got a hand on it."

Last few seconds of the game: After the madness with the Jeffries play, many people forget the let down on the other end of the floor by the Knicks. With 4.1 seconds remaining in the game, the Knicks let the Celtics kill the clock until there was only 0.6 seconds remaining in the game. Although Anthony had a spectacular game with 42 points, he had a mental lapse on the final play. Delonte West pushed off Anthony and then sprinted into the backcourt. However, Anthony didn't follow him and West was in the backcourt all alone and was able to burn nearly the entire clock. Melo said, “I couldn’t get out there, I couldn’t get out there. I don’t want to fall flat now. I think Doc Rivers drew up a hell of a play though, man. A lot of us thought that the ball was coming in the front court, he threw it in the back court, it took a lot of time off the clock. You’ve got to take your hat off to Doc for drawing up a hell of a play like that.” Mike D'Antoni said that, "He [Anthony] was tired," which is no excuse for not running after your men to foul him as quickly as possible, so you have more time for a final shot. Also, the Knicks couldn't bring their final shot up to half court because D'Antoni didn't save any timeouts. 

Games and Events to Watch

Note: All Times are Eastern


Games to Watch in the MLB Today
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (11-6, tied for 1st in the AL West) - Jered Weaver at Texas Rangers (11-6, tied for 1st in the AL West) - Matt Harrison at 8:05 PM
Cleveland Indians (12-5, 1st in the AL Central) - Justin Masterson at Kansas City Royals (11-6, 2nd in the AL Central) - Luke Hochevar at 8:10 PM
Milwaukee Brewers (9-8, tied for 1st in the NL Central) - Chris Narveson at Philadelphia Phillies (10-6, 1st in the NL East) - Cliff Lee at 1:05 PM
San Francisco Giants (10-7, 2nd in the NL West) - Matt Cain vs Colorado Rockies (12-5, 2st in the NL West) - Jorge De La Rose at 3:10 PM

Games to Watch in the NBA Today
5. Denver Nuggets at 4. Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:00 PM - Game Two (Thunder lead series 1-0)
8. Memphis Grizzlies at 1. San Antonio Spurs at 8:30 PM - Game Two (Grizzlies lead series 1-0)
7. New Orleans Hornets at 2. Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 PM - Game Two (Hornets lead series 1-0)

Games to Watch in the NHL Today
Eastern Conference First Round:
1. Washington Capitals at 8. New York Rangers at 7:00 PM - Game Four (Capitals lead series 2-1)
4. Pittsbrugh Penguins at 5. Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:00 PM - Game Four (Penguins lead series 2-1)
2. Philadelphia Flyers at 7. Buffalo Sabres at 7:30 PM - Game Four (Flyers lead series 2-1)
Western Conference First Round:
4. Anaheim Ducks at 5. Nashville Preadators at 8:30 PM - Game Four (Preadators lead series 2-1)
3. Detroit Red Wings at 6. Phoenix Coyotes at 10:30 PM - Game Four (Red Wings lead series 3-0)

Games to Watch in Soccer Today
CONCACAF Champions League Final:
Real Salt Lake at Monterrey at 10:00 PM - First Leg
Barclays Premier League: 
Birmingham (8-14-10, 38 points, 14th in the EPL) at Chelsea (18-7-7, 61 points, 1st in the EPL) at 2:45 PM
Arsenal (18-9-5, 63 points, 2nd in the EPL) at Tottenham Hotspur (14-11-6, 53 points, 5th in the EPL) at 2:45 PM
Scottish Premier League:
Celtic (24-4-3, 76 points, 2nd in the SPL) at Kilmarnock (13-8-11, 47 points, 5th in the SPL) at 2:30 PM
Spanish Copa del Rey Final:
Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Estadio Mestalla at 3:30 PM
Italian Coppa Italia Semifinals:
Palermo at AC Milan at 2:45
French Coupe de France Semifinals:
Angers vs Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Jean-Bouin at 2:45 PM

Matches to Watch on the ATP Tour Today
Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Second Round:
4. David Ferrer (ranked 6 in the world) vs Carlos Berlocq (ranked 72 in the world) - the 2nd match on Pista Central Court
1. Rafael Nadal (ranked 1 in the world) vs Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ranked 60 in the world) - the 3rd match on Pista Central Court
6. Jurgen Melzer (ranked 8 in the world) vs Marcel Granollers (ranked 52 in the world)
3. Robin Soderling (ranked 5 in the world) vs Ivan Dodig (ranked 56 in the world) - the 5th match on Pista Central Court

Matches to Watch on the WTA Tour Today
Porsche Tennis Grand Priz at Stuttgart Second Round:
2. Vera Zvonareva (ranked 3 in the world) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ranked 21 in the world) - the 1st match on Center Court
3. Francesca Schiavone (ranked 4 in the world) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (ranked 14 in the world) - the 2nd match on Center Court
7. Jelena Jankovic (ranked 8 in the world) vs Andrea Petkovic (ranked 19 in the world) - the 5th match on Center Court

Video: TJ Sahi dunks over a Mumbai Taxi

Blake Griffin was not the first person to dunk over a car. But when the 'Blake Show' took off to slam it in over a Kia during the 2011 Slam Dunk competition, it was the first time an "over-the-car" dunk was done on such a big stage. I was there in person, and I was impressed. Half of me was impressed because it was a pretty good dunk, and the other half of me was impressed because of a combination of entertaining things that took place along with the dunk - The Gospel Choir, "I Believe I can Fly", the Staples Center home crowd cheering him on, and did I mention, it was the friggin NBA Slam Dunk Competition?

But strip the dunk bare of all the side-shows and what you're left with is a 6 foot 10 NBA player dunking over a short car.

Forward another couple of months. The scene is drastically different. It's a slam dunk competition all right, but one being held far from the glitz, glamour, and indoor-court comforts of Los Angeles/Staples Center. This dunk contest was being held at the first ever Indian All Star Weekend in Mumbai. The court was the Mastan YMCA, in Nagpada, which in most terms is the exact opposite of LA glamour. Nagpada is known for its kebabs, its crowds, its chawls, and its basketball.

And it was in this setting that, in an outdoor court, with a temporary rollover surface over the concrete court, and where the crowd had free entry to come and watch India's best dunkers exhibit their stuff, that TJ Sahi created history. If you don't know, Sahi is perhaps the most explosive dunker in India: the six foot tall Punjabi point guard, nicknamed 'Air India', has reached cult status for his athletic ability, and has been a main feature in several dunk competitions held in the country over the last few years. You can check out more of his videos on his YouTube channel.

During the Friday night events of the Indian All Star Weekend about two weeks ago, Sahi did his usual in the dunk contest - wowing audiences with his leaping ability. But he saved the best for last, taking a page out of Blake Griffin's book, and then topping him. Sahi dunked over a Mumbai kali-peeli (Black & Yellow) taxi on-court - a car with greater height than the Kia Griffin dunked on. Watch the video of some of Sahi's best dunking highlights below (over bikes, kids, etc, etc), and it ends with this famous over-the-taxi dunk. (Warning: loud Punjabi music to be expected).



Here is a complete list of ways in which this dunk was more awesome than Blake Griffin's:

1. The kali-peeli taxi, an icon of all things Mumbai, was higher than Blake's Kia.

2. Sahi is about 10 inches shorter than Griffin.

3. If you don't know, these outdoor Indian courts aren't exactly best-suited for basketball athleticism. The court is uneven, with bumps, unlike the comfortable NBA floors which are obviously much easier on the dunker's knees.

4. Don't know if Griffin practiced, but Sahi later confirmed to me that he didn't. "I just had a gut feeling I could do it," he said.

5. Sahi had to figure out a way to cover the meter and the sharp edges on the front of the taxi with a mattress, because a single misstep could've brought a whole lotta pain to his nether-regions.

6. The taxi driver and a bunch of kids sat inside the car to watch him leap over it. R. Kelly was replaced from the soundtrack in favour of some Punjabi music. Now THAT'S entertainment!

Once again, I count myself lucky to witness this first-hand, right behind the basket. Thanks TJ, for another historical moment - we'll be waiting to see what else you have in store for us.

The Key To The Cleveland Indians Quick Start: Pitching

The Cleveland Indians don't by any stretch of the imagination have any big name pitchers on their staff. Their rotation of Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, and Mitch Talbot isn't exactly eye popping. The Indians, one year removed from a 93 loss season, have begun their 2011 campaign winning 12 of their first 16 games, largely due to the consistency of their pitching.

The Indians lead the league with 13 quality starts. They rank 1st in WHIP at 1.10 and in opponents batting average at .214. The Indians also rank 5th in ERA at 3.13. Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin have been the pleasant surprises of the staff.

Justin Masterson is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three starts this year. He didn't get his third win last season until July 1st on his 16th start of the season. A big reason behind Masterson's early season success is his control. Justin has 12 strikeouts and has only allowed 4 walks, which is the fewest of any starter on the Indians staff, through three starts. Indians pitching coach Tim Belcher told Masterson "to throw that little white thing over that larger white thing as much as you can." He added, "If he [Justin] does that, his stuff is so sick. If he throws strikes over the plate, he's going to give us a chance to win." In his first two starts combined, Justin threw 137 of 209 pitches for strikes. After Masterson's first start of the season against the White Sox, where he let up 1 run in 7 innings, his manager Manny Acta said when asked what he liked about Justin's performance, "Strike one. He threw plenty of them. I believe 17 of 29 first-pitch strikes." In his third start against the Orioles, Masterson threw 66 of 90 pitches for strikes. That includes throwing first pitch strikes to 20 of the 26 batters. Justin said, "Throwing that first pitch in there allows you to expand the zone a little, which is great with the stuff that I have. It's been very simple, subtle stuff but I've done it enough to just go out and pitch and gain confidence with what I have." Masterson's improved slider and change-up have been able to compliment his fastball and his nasty slider. Masterson got 12 of 21 hitters on the Orioles out on ground balls, mainly using his off speed pitches. After the Indians played the Orioles, Indiana manager Manny Acta said, "Justin had good velocity and a good sinker. All they could do was beat the ball into the ground."

Josh Tomlin is also 3-0 and has an ERA of 2.75. Tomlin has the best WHIP of any Indians starter at .92 and he has only allowed 12 hits in 19.2 innings. Tomlin doesn't strike out many guys, as he doesn't have overpowering stuff. However, Manny Acta has praised Tomlin for "making pitches he has to" and for having good "damage control" skills. Josh has minimized the damage in all of his starts, not allowing more than 3 runs in any games he has pitched thus far. After Tomlin's first start against the Red Sox, where he pitched 7 innings and allowed only 1 run, Manny Acta described his pitcher best when he said, “Tomlin did a fantastic job out there tonight. He especially did good against left-handed batters, getting 13-of-15 out. He used his change-up to keep them off balance, then when they were looking for the change-up he would sneak in that cutter... and that pitch gets in on the batters quickly.” Acta continued by saying, "He throws a lot of strikes. They are either going to him him or he's going to get them out. He'll be out [of the game] after 70 to 80 pitches because he pitches to contact." Tomlin uttered his manager's words by saying, "I try to get the ball in play. Those guys behind me get paid millions of dollars to do what they do... and they do a great job."

Games and Events to Watch

Note: All Times are Eastern

Games to Watch in the MLB Today

Milwaukee Brewers (8-8, tied for 2nd in the NL Central) - Randy Wolf at Philadelphia Phillies (10-5, 1st in the NL East) - Roy Halladay at 7:05 PM

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (10-6, 2nd in the AL West) - Matt Palmer at Texas Rangers (11-5, 1st in the AL West) - Colby Lewis at 8:05 PM

Cleveland Indians (12-4, 1st in the AL Central) - Jeanmar Gomez at Kansas City Royals (10-6, 2nd in the AL Central) - Bruce Chen at 8:10 PM

San Francisco Giants (9-7, 2nd in the NL West) - Jonathan Sanchez at Colorado Rockies (12-4, 1st in the NL West) - Ubaldo Jimenez at 8:40 PM

Atlanta Braves (7-10, 4th in the NL East) - Brandon Beachy at Los Angeles Dodgers (8-9, 3rd in the NL West) - Hiroki Kuroda at 10:10 PM

Games to Watch in the NBA Today

Eastern Conference First Round:

6. New York Knicks at 3. Boston Celtics at 7:00 PM (Celtics lead series 1-0)

5. Atlanta Hawks at 4. Orlando Magic at 7:30 PM (Hawks lead series 1-0)

Western Conference First Round:

6. Portland Trail Blazers vs 3. Dallas Mavericks at 9:30 PM (Mavericks lead series 1-0)

Games to Watch in the NHL Today

Western Conference First Round:

1. Vancouver Canucks at 8. Chiacgo Blackhawks at 8:00 PM (Canucks lead series 3-0)

2. San Jose Sharks at 7. Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 PM (series tied 1-1)

Games to Watch in Soccer Today

Barclays Premier League:

Manchester United (20-9-3, 69 points, 1st in the Premier League) at Newcastle United (10-9-13, 39 points, 10th in the Premier League) at 2:45 PM

Scottish Premier League:

Rangers (25-2-5, 77 points, 1st in Scottish Premier League) at Dundee United (14-10-8, 52 points, 4th in the Scottish Premier League) at 2:45 PM

Italian Coppa Italia Semifinals:

AS Roma vs Inter Milan at the Stadio Olimpico at 2:45 PM

French Coupe de France Semifinals:

Lille vs Nice at the Municipal du Ray Stadium at 2:30 PM

Matches to Watch on the ATP Tour Today

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell First Round:

9. Richard Gasquet (ranked 17 in the world) vs Juan Ignacio Chela (ranked 40 in the world) - the 2nd match on Pista Court 1

15. Milos Raonic (ranked 28 in the world) vs Radek Stepanek (ranked 68 in the world) - the 4th match on Pista Court 1

10. Alexandr Dolgopolov (ranked 20 in the world) vs Nikolay Davydenko (ranked 39 in the world) - the 5th match on Pista Central Court

Matches to Watch on the WTA Tour Today

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at Stuttgart First Round:

5. Samantha Stosur (ranked 7 in the world) vs Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (ranked 29 in the world) - the 1st match on Center Court

7. Jelena Jankovic (ranked 8 in the world) vs Beatriz Garcia Vidagany (ranked 183 in the world) - the 5th match on Center Court

D12 is thrice the best on D

Most people who know my basketball opinions know that I'm somewhat of a Dwight Howard critic. I call him out on his lack of focus during clutch moments and important games. I call him out for not being the best floor leader that he should be for the Magic. I call him out for his lack of polished offensive moves, and for the fact that he just doesn't seem to be taking the competition as seriously as other elite players in the league. For long, I have maintained that the reason the man known as Superman/D12 is the best Center in the league is because there are very few Centers in the league to come in his way.

But now that my qualms about Dwight are out of the way, I can't help but maintain a grudging respect for his accomplishments. The NBA announced yesterday that Dwight Howard was named the 2010/11 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), and in the process, he becomes the first player in the history of the game (!!!) to be named DPOY for three consecutive seasons.

Yes! First. One. Ever. The DPOY award was introduced in 1982-83, and I have a feeling that if it was awarded earlier, a certain Bill Russell would've had his name scratched in every corner of the trophy. Nevertheless, since 83, the league has had several great defensive stalwarts (Sidney Moncrief of the Bucks won the award for the first two years), but none of them won it thrice in a row. Not Moncrief, not Michael Cooper, not Michael Jordan, not Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Dennis Rodman, Alonzo Mourning, Ben Wallace, or Kevin Garnett.

Dwight Howard!

The only people who have won the award more times are Mutombo and Ben Wallace, who each were named DPOY four times, but never more than twice in a row. Dwight won easily with 585 points, receiving 114 of the possible 120 first place votes! Kevin Garnett (77) points came second and Tyson Chandler (70) was third.

So congrats to D12 for making history. Despite the criticisms that many (including I) have been guilty of showering on him, he has continued to be the #1 in the NBA at the defensive end of the floor. Dwight led the league with 66 double-doubles this year, including six 20-20 games (!). He ranked second in rebounds and fourth in blocks. The Magic, behind Dwight, were the league's fourth best defensive team.

In a conversation that I had with my older brother just last night, we even came to the conclusion that Dwight may be the least-tradeable player in the league right now. Don't confuse that with "best player". There are few players as good as Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Dwyane Wade, but Dwight stands above all as a unique commodity in a small man's league, bringing with him the type of game-changing potential that few players in the league possess.

Still, without an MVP or a title to his name, Dwight will always have the reputation of being almost there, just not quite. Even in this season, which was Dwight's most valuable for his otherwise inconsistent side, the big man was overshadowed by the brilliance of Derrick Rose in Chicago, who will most-likely be named MVP in a week or so.

Now, Howard needs to back up this honour and save his side from a surprise upset. In Game 1 against the Hawks, Dwight was allowed to create havoc offensively, as he scored 46 points and brought down 19 rebounds. His team-mates, unfortunately, performed a disappearing act that would've made Houdini proud. The current Magic team will never be enough to take D12 over the hump; and I believe that Dwight alone will never be the leader in a sure-shot championship team. But once you find the right type of dominating perimeter leader to team up with Howard, his teams will surely become damn-near unstoppable.

Until then, congrats, Superman. And in his honour, here's the link to my article/interview with Dwight when he came to India last August. Enjoy!

Will Tyler Hansbrough Have A Repeat Performance in Game Two?

Tyler Hansbrough had a stretch during the season where he scored over 13 points in 13 straight games. He had his best stretch of games in that span since he was drafted in 2009.

In Tyler's first playoff game of his two year NBA career, Hansbrough may have had his best game in a Pacers uniform. Hansbrough scored 22 points on 10 of 19 shooting in 36 minutes of play. Tyler hit 8 jump shots all from about 20 foot and he was usually relentless self on the offensive end. When the Pacers were leading 91 to 88 with 4:35 remaining in the fourth quarter, Hansbrough scored 7 unanswered points on his own to give the Pacers a 98-88 lead. The Pacers were looking for him in the post in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Hansbrough anticipates that the Bulls will pay more attention to him after he torched them for 22 points in Game One. He said, "I think they'll put a little more pressure on me. I'm not sure what they will do, but they probably won't give me as many open looks. I think they're going to make some adjustments. I can't really tell you what it's going to be. I think they'll try to get Boozer move involved, to be honest with you. But they are going to change things up. Whenever you are playing a team like this, they are going to try to take advantage of their weapon." When Tyler was asked if he will repeat his Game One performance, Hansbrough said, "I don't know, I had a pretty good game. I would like to, but we will see what happens. Just going to come out here and try to win."

Boozer will definitely step out on Hansbrough and not let him take open jump shots from 20 feet. He will make Tyler put the ball on the floor rather than spot up for jumpers, which Tyler is so good at hitting.