Tag: Monta Ellis

NBA Playoffs to be Overshadowed No Longer

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

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                     So far, the 2014 NBA Playoffs have been nothing short of spectacular.  There have been 8 overtime games (including 4 in a row in the Memphis Grizzlies/Oklahoma City Thunder Series), and we still haven’t gotten out of the 1st round.  More importantly, The Los Angeles Clippers and their fans showed up for Game 5 last night in L.A. and showed their support for the team.  The Clippers held off the Golden State Warriors, winning the game 113-103 and now have a 3 games to 2 lead in this best of 7 series.  As I mentioned earlier, The Grizzlies and Thunder did what they do, and played a 4th consecutive overtime game.  The Grizzlies eked out a 100-99 victory over The Thunder to take a 3 games to 2 lead in that series as well.  Another series concluded last night with The Washington Wizards defeating The Chicago Bulls and advancing to their first 2nd round appearance since 2005.  Behind the youth of John Wall and Bradley Beal and the leadership of Nene, the Wizards will look to continue their run through the playoffs against the winner of the Atlanta Hawks/Indiana Pacers series.  Side note: Roy Hibbert, why are you terrible at basketball?  Anyway, outside of the Wizards series and the Miami Heat/Charlotte Bobcats series (that has been over for some time now), every other series has been ultra competitive and every game has been fun to watch.  The biggest surprise of the 1st round has to be The Dallas Mavericks hanging in there with the battled tested San Antonio Spurs.  And even though there have been 8 overtime games, I personally believe the best game so far has come from that series as well.  Vince Carter’s buzzer-beater in Game 3 on Saturday was just the icing on the cake of an exhilarating final minutes of a great basketball game.  In the final Minute and forty-six seconds The Mavericks and Spurs went a combined 7 for 8 from the field.  Monta Ellis put forth an outstanding effort (scoring 29 points on 12-22 shooting), singlehandedly keeping his team in the game.  And despite Manu Ginobli and Boris Diaw’s best efforts, Vince Carter put the nail in the coffin of Game 3 with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner.  This series is now tied 2-2, and Game 5 will be played tonight in San Antonio.

                    Another important news story that has been completely overshadowed thanks to Donald Sterling, is the passing of Dr. Jack Ramsay.  It’s a shame that a story as pathetic as Donald Sterling’s can overshadow the remembrance of one of the greatest NBA coaches of all-time.  But, let’s see if we can pay the proper respects to a man who was so vital to the progress of the NBA.  Dr. Jack Ramsay coached in the NBA for 20 years, and is currently 13th on the all-time wins list.  He won an NBA Championship in 1967 as the General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and also won a Championship in 1977 as the Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.  After retiring from coaching in 1988, Ramsay got into Broadcasting where he did play-by-play for The Philadelphia 76ers and The Miami Heat for 9 years.  Ramsay was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 capping off a truly memorable career. 

 

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Brooklyn’s Finest

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

If you missed that game in Brooklyn last night, you missed a thriller. The Brooklyn Nets pulled out an overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks thanks to Joe Johnson’s heroics. Let us rewind to the last two minutes of regulation. The score had been stuck on 101-100 (Milwaukee) since there was two minutes and nine seconds left in the 4th quarter. With just under thirty seconds left, Deron Williams drove to his left, drew two defenders at about five feet from the basket, and found Andray Blatche under the hoop. Blatche threw two pump fakes up before he got fouled going up to the basket. Blatche stepped to the free throw line and knocked down both free throws, giving New Jersey a 102-101 lead with twenty seconds left (Blatche came up huge in the 4th quarter scoring 10 points). Coming out of a twenty second timeout, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings (Jennings had a great game with 34 points) took the ball to the basket and missed a right handed lay-up, but Larry Sanders was there for the put back right at the rim. This gave Milwaukee a 103-102 lead with ten seconds left. After a twenty second timeout, the Nets inbounded to Deron Williams at half court. The ball was inbounded off a defenders leg and should have been a kick ball, however it went unnoticed. With Monta Ellis well within Williams’ three feet of personal space, Williams swung the ball past Ellis’ face and inadvertently struck him in the jaw with his elbow. The referee made an insanely late call, not blowing the whistle until Williams had passed the three point line. Now, I am in the minority that believes that fouls are fouls no matter when they occur. A foul in the first ten seconds of a game should also be a foul in the last ten seconds of the game. However, this call on Williams was a HORRIBLE CALL!! And on top of it, the call was made two hours late. This gave Milwaukee two early Christmas Presents, ahem, I mean free throws. Ellis knocked down both free throws, and put the Bucks up 105-102 with six seconds left. After another twenty second timeout by the Nets, the ball was advanced to half court. They inbounded to Deron Williams who quickly swung the ball to Joe Johnson at the top of the key, who caught the ball in stride, stepped up, and knocked down a three with one second left on the clock!! The crowd in the Barclays Center erupted!! With the Nets in celebration mode, the Bucks inbounded the ball and heaved up a three-quarter court shot that banged off the side of the rim nearly stealing an improbable victory. Off to overtime they went. It was a back and forth overtime, and Keith Bogans of the Nets kept them in the game with two huge three pointers in the extra frame. We’ll fast forward to a tie ball game (111-111) with five seconds left. Even though everyone and their mother knew Joe Johnson was going to take the last shot, the Bucks still allowed him to get the ball off the inbounds. Johnson drove the ball to the right, put a crossover through his legs back to the left, and off of one dribble he rose from 17 feet and drained a jumper right at the buzzer!! The crowd went wild, and the New Jersey Nets won a thriller over the Milwaukee Bucks 113-111.