Archive for May 3rd, 2013

WATERCOOLER CHAT: BULLS BE AFRAID, WARRIORS MOVE ON, FLIP TO TURN TEAM

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls had a chance to close out their series against the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago.  They’re the lower seed in this series, so that is a big deal.  The Nets are an interesting team, however.  When there are no stakes on the line, the Nets tend to cruise.  But since their back has been against the wall, their raw athleticism and talent has really shown.  It’s like they sometimes forget just how loaded they are (Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez).  Thursday night, they came to play again, refusing to have their season end on the road.  It was a close battle, but the Nets snuck out of Chicago with the win, and force a Game 7 back in Brooklyn.  Now the Bulls better be afraid.  Brooklyn 95, Chicago 92

Next up, it was Golden State’s turn to try and close out the series on THEIR home floor against the Denver Nuggets.  The Nuggets are another team that knows if they can just get back home for Game 7, their crowd would give them the extra boost they need to win this thing.  But the Warriors are red hot this post season behind Stephan Curry.  He is simply playing out of his mind.  It’s reminiscent of his dominant performance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament where he came out of nowhere and absolutely nobody could stop him.  Thursday night he had 22 points and 8 assists as the Warriors got the win they needed and the confetti fell.  They will take on the San Antonio Spurs in Round 2.  Golden State 92, Denver 88.

Finally, in Minnesota, the Timberwolves had high hopes for the playoffs this season boasting a loaded roster of up-and-coming talent (Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Peckovic), but injuries plagued them and they simply didn’t go anywhere.  This would be ok if it didn’t happen almost each and every season.  Now, their president David Kahn has been excused of his duties with the team.  After all, this is the guy who passed on Stephan Curry in favor of Johnny Flynn (who is no longer in the league).  He also traded away Ty Lawson as a draft pick for practically nothing.  They could have a dominant team right now.  Instead, they sit home every post season.  Kahn is out.  His replacement… Flip Saunders, who coached the team from 1996 to 2005 when they had some relatively good seasons while Kevin Garnett was their star.  Flip will hopefully turn that team around and get turn them into a playoff caliber team.

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