標題: 2010季后赛带给我们的 top 10 [打印本頁] 作者: kingjames 時間: 2010-6-21 02:56 PM 標題: 2010季后赛带给我们的 top 10
10 things we learned in the playoffs 2010季后赛带给我们的 top 10
Kobe's a champ ... who knew?!Two months of NBA playoffs taught us a lot about certain players and teams. In some cases, we changed our minds based on fresh evidence. In others, our previous opinions were confirmed. Like that Kobe guy, we already knew he was pretty good. John Galinsky lists 10 things we learned.
The Lakers finished the regular season with the third-best record in the league. The Celtics tied three other teams for the ninth-best mark. Yet by the time the playoffs were over, it was clear they were the two best teams the NBA had to offer. Boston dispatched Cleveland and Orlando, the Nos. 1 and 2 regular-season teams, in six games each. L.A. went 12-4 in the West playoffs before needing seven games to survive the Finals. Both paced themselves through the first 82 games, the Celtics due to age and the Lakers to indifference. It cheapened the regular season, but it's hard to argue with the results.
A bunch of contenders added key players in the offseason and during the season in order to make a title run. Most were busts. For Cleveland, Shaquille O'Neal did more harm than good, while Antawn Jamison was awful against the Celtics. Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood didn't help the Mavs. Richard Jefferson never fit in with the Spurs. And Vince Carter choked in the playoffs, as usual, this time with the Magic.
A perennial All-Star with the Hawks, Johnson was set to cash in as a free agent this summer before the playoffs exposed him as a wannabe superstar. He was so bad against the Magic, just as he was against the Cavs last year, that teams with cap space should think long and hard before giving him the kind of money he wants. He still could be a great fit as a No. 2 option with a true superstar, but he won't be a savior for any franchise.
OK, this remains debatable considering Steve Nash is still thriving, Rajon Rondo's stock is rising and Chris Paul will be returning from injury. But Williams carried the injury-riddled Jazz past the Nuggets with a brilliant series in the first round, showing the complete game that the other points guards lack. Until Rondo can make a free throw, he's not part of this conversation.
In Dwight Howard's case, kryptonite comes in the form of foul trouble, free throws and frustration. At 24, his potential remains limitless. But he showed little progress from the year before in terms of skill development and overall maturity. The playoffs proved that as he spent much of the first round on the bench with fouls, then let the Celtics frustrate him in the first two games in Orlando. He bounced back to have a strong series, but failed to take the Magic back to the Finals. We'll see this summer how motivated he is to improve.
Yes, Artest was a square peg in the Triangle offense. Sure, he was inconsistent, erratic, unreliable and downright weird, even in the playoffs. And yes, the Lakers might have repeated as NBA champions without him. But just ask Kevin Durant and Paul Pierce if Artest didn't make L.A. a better team. His defense on those two potent scorers was a huge part of the Lakers' postseason success. And Ron-Ron's Game 7 performance -- not to mention his endearingly crazy postgame press conference -- will forever earn him a soft spot in the hearts of Lakers fans everywhere.
We counted them out countless times during the regular season. (That home loss to the Nets comes to mind.) We gave them no chance against the Cavs, then little chance against the Magic. We dismissed them after Game 1 against the Lakers, then again after Game 3 and Game 6. Now, after their valiant Game 7 effort came up just short, we're inclined to count them out again. After all, even if Ray Allen stays, they'll really be too old next year, right? Don't we ever learn?
Phoenix's surprising run to the Western Conference finals strengthened the argument for keeping Amar'e Stoudemire. After all, he was the West's dominant big man after the All-Star break and got the Suns pretty darn close to a championship. At the same time, the Lakers exposed Stoudemire's inadequacies as a rebounder and defender. Should Phoenix give him the max contract he's seeking as a free agent at the risk of killing their cap room for the foreseeable future? Or should they let him go and take a step backward before trying to rebuild?
Seemingly indestructible entering the playoffs, LeBron James had a chance to cement himself as the game's best player. But a bum elbow, a Game 5 clunker against the Celtics and Kobe's fifth title run changed the consensus opinion of NBA watchers. If anything, the perception of James has skewed too far in a negative direction. He's not a choker or loser. He's still great. He keeps getting better. And he's just 25. There's a good chance he'll still dominate the NBA. But not yet, and maybe not in Cleveland.
Pau Gasol isn't as dominant now as Shaquille O'Neal was during L.A.'s three-peat in 2000-02, but he doesn't have to be. Kobe's greater now than he was 10 years ago, so Gasol merely needs to be excellent, not dominant, for the Lakers to rule the league. Overshadowed by Kobe's remarkable playoff run was Gasol's 19.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in the postseason. They now have two titles and a runner-up finish in three playoffs together. But without the jealousies that sabotaged the Shaq-Kobe relationship, this pairing should have greater longevity and ultimately greater success.
