The Bulls' thoroughly convincing 107-89 win over the Heat surely must have brought smiles to the faces of David Stern and his bean-counting buddies.
Why?
Because, with the impending usurpation of the reigning champions, the revolution is almost complete. A non-violent revolution wrought by the following not-so-subtle rule changes:
The legalization of zone defenses, which severely limited the effectiveness of powerhouse pivot scorers, while putting a premium on ball movement and perimeter shooting.
Chicago' P.J. Brown, left, blocks a shot attempt by Miami's Shaquille O'Neal during the third quarter of Game 2 on Tuesday. The Bulls lead 2-0. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
The ban against hands-on defense, which allowed cutters to move freely into and through the lane, both with and without the ball.
The overall effect of these recent legislations is that power has slowly become obsolete, and has been replaced by speed and quickness. So too have basic fundamental defensive principles been superceded by shot-blocking and double-teaming — both of which inevitably lead to breakaway dunks and/or acrobatic layups.
In other words, spectacular plays have become the norm, while smart, positional basketball has been virtually rendered extinct.
And that was the story of the Bulls' triumph.
Chicago's quick-hitting, high-energy game plan made the grind-it-out Heat look profoundly dinosuaric. Especially Shaquille O'Neal — who missed a dunk, four layups and two 5-foot gimmes.
O'Neal also slow-footed his way to seven turnovers.
Indeed, he was most effective when utilized in high screen/roll maneuvers. After setting the screens, Shaq plowed his way into the middle where he caught and shot before he could be double-teamed. Still, he only shot 6-for-14, and tallied a mere 17 points.
After Game 1, the Shaq publicly chastised the refs for being convinced by Ben Wallace's numerous flops. Indeed, Shaq certainly had a case, and the refs' responses in Game 2 were fascinating to behold.
On the Heat's initial possession of the game, Wallace attempted to block an attempted layup by Shaq and succeeded in tipping the ball free. There was absolutely no body contact on the play, but Wallace was tooted for the foul.
This was an inverse sign of things to come, because it's axiomatic that if the visiting team gets the benefit of questionable calls early in the game, they'll inevitably get shafted as the contest proceeds. And that's exactly what happened to Shaq.
NBA Playoff Roundup
Tuesday's action:
Bulls put champs in 2-0 hole
Raptors even series with Nets
Suns cruise to 2-0 lead over Lakers
Monday's action:
Pistons go up 2-0 on Magic
Rockets overcome Boozer, Jazz
Sunday's action:
Warriors defeat Mavs in Dallas
Nuggets shock Spurs in Game 1
Barbosa, Suns rally past Lakers
Cavs prevail, but LeBron turns ankle
Monday's games
Of the five subsequent whistles initiated by O'Neal's activities, only two were righteous:
A charge that resulted when Shaq turned to the basket and was too slow with his lead arm.
Another foul that resulted when he tried to block a layup by Tyrus Thomas, but couldn't move his feet quickly enough and was forced to reach out and blast the rookie. One call was only technically correct — a late first-quarter traveling violation. Yes, Shaq did shuffle his feet, but so do most 3-point shooters when they catch-and-shoot with no defenders in the neighborhood.
Why are the bigs penalized and not the smalls? Ask Emperor Stern.
Two calls on Shaq were strictly bogus: A third-quarter travel, and an all-ball foul when P.J. Brown literally jumped into Shaq's chest after the shot was blocked. To say nothing of the several times he was hit as he dribbled and/or shot.
It's interesting to note, that in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's declining years, the NBA powers-that-be grew so tired of his sky-hooks and flashing elbows that the refs began tooting him for maneuvers that he'd been permitted to execute with impunity for decades.
The same thing seems to be happening to Shaq.
Meanwhile, the Heat's lousy perimeter defense permitted the Bulls' guards to drive into the lane at will. When Miami's defense converged, kickouts led to uncontested shots — the Bulls were 11-for-17 from the outlands, and totaled an amazing 55.1 percent field goal accuracy overall.
While Dwyane Wade again showed flashes of his pre-injury brilliance — he made five impressive driving, spinning shots in the paint — he still lacks his former explosiveness.
Moreover, D-Wade's outside shot remains AWOL — he was 1-for-6 from long-range, and 2-for-4 from mid-range. Indeed, Flash was more like a dying ember.
Miami's only other speedster, Jason Williams, was incredibly passive — except for launching two horrible, rally-aborting shots midway through the fourth-quarter, and then netting a last-second 3-pointer that meant nothing.
Actually, the Heat played best when they went small. With both Shaq and Alonzo Mourning collecting splinters, Pat Riley went with Williams, Wade, James Posey, Udonis Haslem (who, by the way, is the Heat's only bona fide rebounder-in-a-crowd), and Antoine Walker (who, by the way, reverted to his familiar shot-forcing, no-defense mode).
The quicker, younger, more athletic Bulls jumped all over their offensive boards, and also beat the wheezing Heat to virtually every loose ball. Both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon curled off weak-side screens, drove to the hoop unafraid or simply stopped-and-popped with minimum resistance.
How bad was the Heat's perimeter defense?
On one second-quarter sequence, Posey rotated out to the 3-point line where Andres Nocioni had just received an out-pass from a driving Kirk Hinrich. Having done his duty, Posey then raced to the far wing to reconnect with Deng — leaving Nocioni completely unattended. Nocioni slightly shuffled his feet, then knocked down the 3-ball.
Ah, a 48-minute highlight exhibition of high-flyers, merry dunksters, lethal long-range bombers, and points galore. That's what the customers want! Or at least have been conditioned to want. And that's what they're getting.
Fundamentals? Discipline? Aggressive defense? Dreadnaught pivotal scorers?
Fuggedaboudit!
The only acceptable bigs are guys like Dirk Nowitzki — who plays like an outsized wingman — and the exotic Yao Ming, who's basically a turn-around jump shooter.
All that counts in the Park Avenue penthouses is that the NBA is buffo both at the box office, as well as in the living rooms of Sports America.
Long live the revolution! |
