Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
The Bruins’ 2011 Cup victory over Vancouver was a glorious triumph of will over skill, the likes of which is rarely seen in the NBA. As great as the Celtics were in the Larry Bird era, many league observers view their 1984 Finals win over the Lakers as one of the few hoop examples of a lesser team winning out. (The C’s were the much better team in the 1986 playoffs, but were subsequently derailed by injuries to, first, Kevin McHale, then Bird as LA won three of the next four titles after ’84.)
Right now, Cleveland is LeBron James, a star-studded injured list and a bunch of guys who’ve been readily available in the NBA marketplace. The Warriors are the Showtime Lakers, albeit not with the ability to match up player-for-player. Yet with the exception of most of Game 3’s fourth quarter and other selected stretches, they have been taken out of their freewheeling comfort zone. By slowing the pace, the Cavs have made the Golden State offense a muddle of conscious thought rather than flowing instinct.
This lack of flow created a severe tightening in the collars of the Golden State uniforms, at least until Steph Curry found the scissors in the last quarter Tuesday. In our pre-Finals keys, we looked at Curry and Klay Thompson and noted that “smooth shooting strokes have been known to get a little strained when the postseason reaches this level.”
Remember that image of the Bruins’ Brad Marchand repeatedly punching the Canucks’ Daniel Sedin in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals? That is happening to the Warriors. The Cavs are just pushing them around (with suffocating defense, not cheap shots) and they are taking it.
It was nice to hear Draymond Green publicly acknowledge the lack of heart and hustle by his teammates. It doesn’t compare to Larry Bird saying his team played like a bunch of sissies in the 84 Finals but it’s a start.
I’m not asking for Andrew Bogut to come out and clothesline Matthew Dellavedova on the fast break. As Steve Bulpett points out in his column, the Warriors need to respond with better movement and passing on offense.
I was afraid the Warriors lack of deep postseason experience would catch up to the them in the Finals. How many young teams (81 Celtics aside) win a championship in their first year of greatness? We’ve seen many great teams take their lumps. Heck, LeBron has lost in the Finals 3 times.
Don’t let us down, Steph. Remember, ABC. Anybody but Cleveland.
On Page 2, the Celtics workout Arlington native Pat Connaughton.
As a senior, the 6-foot-5 Connaughton averaged 12.5 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds primarily playing out of position at power forward.
For those who weren’t sure how he was able to be such a successful rebounder at the position, he put the entire basketball world on notice at the pre-draft combine in Chicago last month when he posted a 44-inch maximum vertical leap which was tops among all players at the combine.
Connaughton acknowledged his vertical leap caught many by surprise.
“People that have grown up with me, closest to me know I have that athleticism,” Connaughton said. “But one thing that made us at Notre Dame so great was how efficient we were on offense. You didn’t see me necessarily driving the lane and throwing down hammer dunks on people besides Jabari Parker – sorry Jabari – but it’s just because I wasn’t asked to do it. I was 100 percent willing to sacrifice that to find ways to win games whether it was to play the 4 (power forward) to do it.”
Anyone who shoots 42% from 3 and can jump 44-inch has a place on my team. It might be my summer league team, but still.
The rest of the links
Herald – Connaughton puts hoops first | CSNNE – Johnson hopes experience at UK gets him drafted | Globe – Johnson shows Celtics what he can do |
