It's amazing when one watches it. Here we are about halfway through the NBA playoffs, and supposedly the remaining teams constitute the elite of the league. After all, they've slogged through an 82 game regular season to qualify, and survived the first round of the playoffs.
This is professional basketball at its highest levels. Along the way, all these teams have had countless practices, shoot-arounds, and watched film. Their coaches have taught them various offensive plays to run and how to be cohesive as a team defense. Besides the games themselves -- certainly hundreds, if not thousands of hours have been logged behind the scenes to get these guys to play like the professionals they are. Besides the obvious talent, it's about discipline, and maximizing the team effort. No one guy, no matter how good he is, can win a championship all by himself. Ask Lebron about his Cleveland days.
So why is it some of the current playoff teams will play like the pros they are for the first half -- then in the second half, all that training goes out the window, and they revert back to the playground?
Consider the recently concluded LA Clippers/Okla City game. Granted, the Thunder have two legitimate super-stars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant was having a bad shooting night, like 3 for 17, so when they got behind in the second half, Westbrook decided he was going to be a one man show, similar to what Kobe Bryant used to do on occasion. He forgot all about his teammates and kept trying to make one spectacular play after another. Sometimes it works here and there, but not in the long haul. The other three guys are on the court for a reason. Westbrook seemed to have blinders on. It was him and his best moves against the entire Clipper team. One on five is usually a bad idea. Over and over, he'd drive to the basket, and if he couldn't make the shot, at least hope he was fouled. If not that, Durant was jacking up 30-some foot bombs, when it was apparent his shooting touch was off. In the meantime, their teammates on the court may as well have been on the bench, because they weren't going to get to touch the ball anyway.
Miraculously, Okla City came back and won the game at the end. How? Because point guard Chris Paul of the Clippers, decided he wanted to be a one man show as well. With the Clips clinging to a 2 point lead with only several seconds left in the game -- Paul fouled Westbrook on a 3 point shot attempt. A cardinal sin. Westbrook hit all 3 free-throws, and the Clips got the ball back with a chance to win in the waning seconds. So what does Chris Paul do? While ignoring other teammates that would have had a wide-open shot, he tries to be a hero and drives to the basket. He's stripped of the ball. Game over. Thunder wins.
In the end, Clippers' coach Doc Rivers was still ranting about a previous call that went against his team. Nevermind that particular play had been thoroughly reviewed by the officials, and the original call upheld, Doc still wanted to whine.
NBA coaches are supposed to be above this. They might not agree with a particular call, but there's a window to protest, and then they're supposed to get over it. The game goes on.
Incredibly, even play-by-play announcer Marv Albert -- who can repeatedly sound orgasmic over something as routine as a lay-up -- seemed to have a couple somber moments towards the end of the game. Though it's a stretch to be sure -- the man almost came across as being thoughtful and objective.
Funny what sort of effects the second halves of NBA playoff games seem to have on so many people...
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