Rose leads Bulls past Hawks 95-83
The Chicago Bulls were looking for someone, anyone, to provide a spark, and it figured that Derrick Rose would.
It was no shocker, either that Taj Gibson provided one, too.
Rose scored 33 points, Gibson scored all of his 11 in the fourth quarter, and the Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead.
Luol Deng added 23 points and Chicago let out a big sigh of relief.
"It's definitely fun playing against a good team," Rose said. "Coach always said we're going to have to walk through the fire together. Every series has tested us in every way, but I think that we're sticking together."
Game 6 is Thursday in Atlanta, and a win would put Chicago in the conference finals for the first time since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen wrapped up their second championship three-peat in 1998. They are in this position after dominating Atlanta in the fourth quarter 26-15, with Rose matching Gibson's 11 points.
Rose showed why he is the league's youngest MVP, hitting 11 of 24 shots and finishing with nine assists. It was a big improvement over Game 4 when he needed 32 shots to score 34 points, and he was particularly effective down the stretch, attacking the rim.
"It forces the defense to collapse, leads to easy opportunities for others, it leads to some second shots," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We want to be inside-out so I thought it was huge."
Atlanta's Jeff Teague came up big again filling in for the injured Kirk Hinrich, scoring 21 for the third time in this series, but the Hawks came up short in the end.
Josh Smith contributed 16 points. Joe Johnson 15, Zaza Pachulia 13 and Al Horford added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"We were playing for everything," Horford said. "We have to regroup again and get ready for Thursday."
It hasn't been an easy postseason for the Bulls after they stormed to a league-leading 62 wins, with Indiana pushing them in the first round and the Hawks doing the same. Even so, they are poised to advance.
The Bulls led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter but were trailing 70-69 early in the fourth when they went on a 9-0 run.
Rose started it when he drove to his left for a layup, fed Gibson a no-look pass in transition for a three-point play and added a layup that made it 78-70.
Then, midway through the fourth, he drove for a three-point play that made it 85-76. Fans were screeching "MVP! MVP!" as he buried the free throw, and after Atlanta pulled within six, Chicago reeled eight straight to make it 93-79, with six points coming from Gibson.
"Taj is a good player," Rose said. "I think he really doesn't know how good he is."
The fourth quarter aside, it wasn't an easy night for the Bulls.
Considering Chicago got 15 points each from Rose and Deng in the first half and led by as many as 15, the Hawks were probably glad to be trailing 48-42 at halftime. They kept coming at the Bulls in the third quarter.
Things got particularly tense after a two-handed dunk by Smith cut Chicago's lead to 61-60 with just over 4 minutes left in the period. He hung on the rim and Carlos Boozer gave him a forearm to the face, leading to a retaliatory shove from Smith and technical fouls for both players.
"I dunked the basketball and I go to turn and he just cleared me with an elbow to the jaw," Smith said. "Nobody is going to do that to me. I don't care who you are. I'm a man first."
Smith gave the Hawks their first lead of the game when he nailed a jumper that made it 64-63 with 1:45 remaining. Deng answered with a jumper and hit two free throws after Horford scored to make it 67-66.
Pachulia then hit an 11-footer with 9.8 seconds left before Gibson drove upcourt and fed Ronnie Brewer to give Chicago a 69-68 lead going into the fourth. Then, after a layup by Teague, Rose went off. So did Gibson, and the Bulls prevailed.
"The series is not over with," Smith said. "We have to go and play with a ton of energy on Thursday. We have to do a better job of keeping Derrick Rose out of our paint. If we do that we should be coming back here to play a Game 7."
Notes: The Hawks went big again, with coach Larry Drew sticking with the lineup that helped them win Game 4. Jason Collins starting at center, Horford at power forward and Smith at small forward, with Marvin Williams in a reserve role. ... Keith Bogans, who sprained his right ankle in Game 4, scored 11 for Chicago after being limited to free throws at the morning shootaround. ... Boozer finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls.
NBA Playoffs 2011: Chris Bosh Quickly Becoming Miami Heat's Forgotten Star
If LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are Miami Heat's Batman and Robin, Chris Bosh is quickly becoming their Alfred Pennyworth.
Bosh has simply been keeping up night-to-night operations, applying the polish to the franchise's slickest machines and proving a loyal confidant.
Bosh has been, to date, unremarkable this postseason.
But, he arguably hasn't played a bad game.
His poorest return was a seven-point, three of 10 shooting effort in Game 1 against the Celtics. Even then he got the better of Kevin Garnett, pulling down 12 rebounds and keeping KG to just six points in 37 minutes.
It seems Bosh is now more comfortable than ever with his role on the Heat.
It's seldom possible for three players to dominate a ball-game simultaneously, and the interchangeable offense coach Spo has the Heat playing is keeping defenses guessing.
Through the latter stages of the Philly series it was Dwyane Wade with first billing. Game 1 against the Celtics, James Jones was the star. And Game 2, it was back to LeBron James.
Before long it may again be Bosh's turn to gain the ascendancy.
But until then, he appears content to battle on the glass and provide an option at the elbow.
It seems Bosh is finally ready to get physical down low. The Heat power forward is pulling down an additional 1.4 rebounds a night in the postseason. While second-chance points are at a premium, Bosh has upped his output to 2.6 offensive boards a game.
If Bosh can continue to break even with Garnett, the Heat will power through the remainder of the series.
Wade and James' output should continue to outweigh that of the injured Paul Pierce and aging Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo is strling to have an influence and those at the respective 5 position cancel each other out.
Bosh is yet to star. And he doesn't need to.
Celtics' coach Doc Rivers wants Garnett to take 20 shots a night. For now, Bosh just needs to make sure he earns every one of them.
NFL Lockout Appeal to Be Heard June 3
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday granted the NFL's request for an expedited hearing, NFL.com reported.
The Eighth Circuit will hear the appeal June 3.
On Friday, the three-judge panel voted 2-1 to grant a temporary stay, reinstating the league-imposed lockout. A federal judge had lifted the lockout last week.
The Eight Circuit in St. Louis has not ruled if it will extend the hold on the lockout, pending the appeals process. A decision on that is likely to be made in the coming days, according to the report.
Should the panel vote to deny the extended stay, the NFL would be forced to reopen its doors to players until the appeals process is concluded. The league also would be forced to begin the league year, opening the door for free-agent signings and trades.
The league has until May 9 to hand in its appeal brief, with the players having until May 20 to issue a reply.
Judge Susan Nelson granted the players' request for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout April 25, ending a 45-day standoff between the league and the players.
Hockey coach talks mission
Within just five minutes, Guy Gadowsky was caught in Joe Battista’s spell.
When Battista, Penn State’s associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey development, spoke with the newly appointed Penn State men’s hockey head coach this past weekend, he found that the two prominent hockey figures were already seeing eye to eye.
Gadowsky, the former Princeton men’s hockey coach, was formally introduced by Penn State Director of Athletics Tim Curley on Monday at a press conference in Beaver Stadium. The Edmonton, Canada, native was able to meet the people of Happy Valley for the first time as the town continues its rapid transition to Hockey Valley.
“I saw the plans and spent two minutes with Joe and I said I want to be on board,” Gadowsky said. “Right away, I was caught in Battista’s spell.”
The former 2008 Inside College Hockey Coach of the Year said the past week was an emotional roller coaster.
“Everything happened so quickly and I still haven’t swallowed it yet,” said Gadowsky, the architect behind the Tigers’ rise to the top of the Eastern College Athletic Conference. “[Sunday] I had to tell my team that I’ve been with for seven years that I wasn’t coming back. When I told them it was a train wreck. I was more emotional than I have ever been in my entire life.”
After Curley and Gadowsky fielded questions from the media for 15 minutes, Battista began handing out customized white T-shirts with the slogan “Guy’s our Guy” across the front, printed in the Lions’ signature navy blue.
Naming the men’s varsity hockey coach was the latest step in Penn State’s transition to Division I hockey, which began in mid-September after an $88 million donation from alumnus Terrence M. Pegula and his wife, Kim.
Curley said he’s confident the right man has been placed in charge to finish putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“There’s been a lot of question marks up until now, but we have our coach,” Curley said. “We know what direction we’re headed and Guy is already starting to put the pieces together. I think between now and a couple of months, you’ll see more progress made and Guy is starting to put his fingerprints on the plan.”
But the honeymoon will not last long.
Gadowsky will leave today with Battista and Icers’ head coach Scott Balboni for a coaches convention for the remainder of the week. During this time frame, Curley said his staff will take a quick breather before they look to announce the coach for the women’s side.
Gadowsky, who was chosen from an original list of more than 100 candidates, said pride and school spirit is what makes Penn State unique — it’s something future recruits will get to enjoy.
“I got a chance to meet coach Jay Paterno and I look behind him and see a drawing of a football player from one of his children with ‘We Are Penn State’ above him,” Gadowsky said. “Right away, I thought, that’s exactly what I want for my family.”
The 15-year coach will spend the next year working on-hand with Balboni and Icers’ assistant coach Josh Hand in helping develop the current ACHA club team, easing the transition to Division I in 2012-13.
Eventually, Gadowsky and the rest of his team will make the jump from independent to the Big Ten conference in 2013-14 — also the inaugural season of the Pegula Ice Arena.
The coach said he expects some tough times ahead, as Penn State is already playing “catch up” with the other five schools in the conference. But, he confidently said his conference foes should enjoy the initial “shellacking” before the Lions make their charge.
“They’re going to have to enjoy it,” Gadowsky said. “Because they’ll know payback is going to be coming.”
NFL Draft 2011: Cleveland Browns First Round Big Board
"If we end up staying at where we’re picking, we are going to get a good football player. There are six guys and we are going to get a good football player.” – Tom Heckert, Browns GM
It’s a beautiful feeling to finally trust your favorite team’s general manager. The résumé Tom Heckert built in Philadelphia and the 2010 draft should provide Browns fans a confidence that could not be sniffed with Eric Mangini, Phil Savage, Butch Davis and Carmen Policy running the show.
I still see red when I think about Phil Savage giving up Haloti Ngata for Kamerion Wimbley and a sixth round pick (Babatunde Oshinowo). It takes a lot to upset an 18-year-old college kid on a Saturday morning with no responsibilities other than finishing a fresh hot pizza and some cold beers. Yet Phil Savage managed to mortify me.
On the other hand, I cannot help but feel giddy whenever I think of the draft selection of T.J. Ward. With sports media pundits and self-proclaimed draftniks railing the pick as the worst selection of the draft, Heckert did not care one iota because he did his homework and “liked” the guy. After a stellar rookie year, Ward looks to be a staple of the organization for years to come.
Yet, despite my admiration for the new Browns GM, I will still share my own thoughts regarding the upcoming draft.
This is not a mock draft. This is not who Todd McShay or Mel Kiper like the most. This is not who I believe the Browns like the most. Just my own personal opinion based off of years of watching college football, reading scouting reports and scouring YouTube highlights.
My big board is specific to the Browns. If I believe that one guy will be a 97 in Madden down the road, and another guy a 95, if the 95 plays a position of high need he will be higher on my board. It’s a balance.
So you will not find any quarterbacks on this board because I am a huge homer and do not think it is a position of need. I am eager to see how Colt McCoy progresses as he moves to the west coast offense. Plus, one of his biggest attributes is his leadership ability. If the Browns draft a first round QB, a mute auditioning for American Idol would have more confidence than McCoy next season. It would be counter-productive.
(But for the record, while I think Cam Newton is the most intriguing player in this draft with the highest potential ceiling, I have a feeling Ryan Mallet—assuming he doesn’t get too into coke—will be the best QB of this class. And I think he will go in the first 15 picks. The man has a trebuchet attached to his right shoulder. Just saying.)
Alright, enough. Without further ado, my big board:
1) Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
“But we drafted Joe Haden last year!” I don’t care. Really. I could care less.
As Tom Heckert pointed out in his press conference, you need three good cornerbacks in this league to succeed. The Browns only had three cornerbacks total on their roster last year. In the 2010 season, they had a future star in Joe Haden, a serviceable veteran in Sheldon Brown and an abomination in Eric Wright. (Mike Adams filled in at the nickel from time to time, but he is a safety).
With Brown getting up there in age, pairing Haden with Peterson would immediately create one of the more dynamic cornerback tandems in the league.
Every time I watched an LSU game, Peterson jumped off the screen. He looked like a five-star high school recruit playing against a bunch of guys whose only connection to football in the last ten years would be wearing their letterman's jacket to the bar. But he was playing against other Division 1 SEC athletes. It was ridiculous.
This isn’t a position of need as high as defensive line or receiver, I know. But again, I don’t care. He has All-Pro written all over him and is rated as the top prospect by most scouting services, yet seems to go No. 7 to San Francisco in just about every mock draft.
If he is there, I would not be surprised AT ALL if the following happens: Browns pick Peterson, Heckert goes to the press conference and simply states, “Guys, he was the highest rated player on just about every board out there. Our second cornerback is 32 and our third CB was lit up more than my hippie cousin on 4/20. Really? None of you saw this coming?”
2) Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama
Speaking of positions of need, I will argue that the Browns highest position of need has to be defensive line. Athyba Rubin is our only surefire starter next season. I like him a lot, but Rubin is a sixth round pick that only really set himself apart last season. Not exactly someone you can pencil in for the Pro Bowl.
The defensive line is riddled with players who were brought in to play the 3-4, and our GM even admitted that the best pass-rusher on the team last year was Jayme Mitchell. Yeah. The same guy who did not play a snap last year.
Marcell Dareus would be a huge bolster to the line next to Rubin. He’s a big boy at 6’33 320 lbs. What I like about him is that he is a run-stuffer but can also penetrate into the pocket and get to the passer.
He wouldn’t be the sexy pick, but he would be as smart a pick as they come.
3) Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M
This is another guy who transcends positional need due to his sheer talent. Our linebacking crew is actually pretty serviceable with Scott Fujita, Jason Trusnik, D’Qwell Jackson and Chris Gocong, but none of those guys are on the same level as Miller.
Besides having one of the coolest names in the draft, Von Miller can get to the quarterback better than anyone else in this draft—a skill the Browns so desperately need.
4) A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
This is where my board gets murky. I could waver between A.J. Green and Nick Fairley daily. Today, I’m going with Green.
He may not have wowed anyone at the NFL combine and there may be a number of receivers in the draft who could beat him in a footrace. But there are not that many players who could get open as naturally as Green. Nor do they have his hands. The guy could catch a cold near the equator.
And, boy, could the Browns use help at receiver. If defensive line is the number one need for the Browns, receiver is No. 1a. I believe both Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi can develop into very effective NFL players—as number three receivers. Josh Cribbs is the team’s most dangerous offensive weapon but I think he is best utilized as an extension of the offensive coordinator’s creative genius—someone who could go all over the field. Not as a true receiver.
Green is as talented as they come and plays a position of need. The only reason I do not have him higher is because I think there are different avenues that could be used to improve the position.
In free agency, whenever it happens, you could potentially find the following players: Malcolm Floyd, Vincent Jackson, Sydney Rice, Steve Smith (NYG), Steve Breaston, Santonio Holmes, Mark Clayton or Braylon Edwards! (Too soon?)
They could also draft a receiver in the later rounds. Two players I really like and want to keep an eye on are Titus Young and Leonard Hankerson. Young reminds me of a slightly poor man’s Desean Jackson and Hankerson broke Michael Irving’s touchdown record at the University of Miami, which has to speak for something.
5) Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn
Nick Fairly epitomizes the mayhem that is the draft process. It will never cease to amaze me how much players will rise and fall without ever playing in a football game. While he still had confetti in his hair after winning the national championship, Fairley seemed to be written in pen as a top two selection. Then he went to the combine and killed the drills. But now he is penciled in on most drafts as the Tennessee Titans selection at No. 8. What happened? It inexplicably happens to someone every year and I will never have any idea why.
The only reason I have him rated behind as the second DT is because Dareus decided to eat a few more cheeseburgers at Alabama and I like my defensive tackles to stuff the run and eat up blockers.
6) Julio Jones, WR, Alabama
I know I just sang A.J. Green’s praises, but I honestly do not have Julio Jones that far behind. Maybe it is just that I happened to watch more Alabama games the past few years, but I remember being in awe of Jones when he was just a freshman, thinking “this guy is going to be a stud in the NFL.” Then he had to go run a 4.34 40-yard dash on a broken foot and leave me with this weird man-crush thing I’ve got going on.
A lot of fans might be disappointed getting the “second best” at receiver, but I really do believe they are 1a and 1b. His biggest knock is apparently drops, and maybe this is because I watched too few Alabama games, but I never noticed that. He just seemed like a playmaker to me. Simple as that.
Welp, those are my top six guys. But guess what? I’m going to keep going!
Trading Down
I originally wanted to put the option somewhere in my big board, but it is impossible to rate the deal until you know what spot you are trading down to and what the other team gives up. For example, if we were to pull a Lions-Browns trade and move down one spot, pick up an additional second rounder and draft the player we originally wanted? That would be VERY appealing.
On the other hand, what if we were to pull a 2009 Browns and trade down four times, only netting a Jets pu pu platter, David Veikune and some fourth rounders here and there? That would be very UNappealing.
But I think it is reasonable to trade down a few notches, pick up an additional second rounder or future pick and still nab a player who wouldn’t rate far behind the players above. Here are some players who would fit that bill (in order of my preference):
Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
This is a player who I cannot make up my mind about. He led the nation in sacks, has all the physical tools you could ask for, but that knee. It scares the bejeezus out of me.
What is hard for me to understand, though, is how differing the reports are about its severity. World renowned arthroscopic surgeon Dr. James Andrews was quoted as saying he would “be able to resume his professional football career without any problems” and that he has a “good prognosis for his career.” Tom Heckert claimed that the team doctors gave his knee the OK. Yet Brian Billick wrote that he had sources proclaiming that Bowers’ knee may only have a shelf life of as short as three years.
If he was 100 percent healthy, he would probably be the second player on my board. If his knee really only has a shelf life of three years, I am simply not picking him and begrudging the fact that a better team will have the luxury of getting a great pass-rusher for the next few seasons.
Robert Quinn, DE, UNC
The story of his comeback from a brain tumor in high school is truly inspirational. But it is a little scary, too. The fact that he lied to NCAA investigators and has not played a contact sport in over a year also has me very wary to pick him.
Yet the three-time state wrestling champ was still an elite pass-rusher when he played. Part of me is worried that a majority of his sacks came against cupcake teams, but part of me also realizes that every other team also plays the same level of cupcakes and hardly anyone matched his production.
Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
I actually really like Prince Amukamara. Here is another guy whose fantastic name matches his level of play.
Some think that he is not a playmaker because he only recorded five interceptions in his career at Nebraska, but that is because no one threw the ball to his side! If a corner can shut down a receiver, or bat a ball away, he has done his job as far as I’m concerned. An interception and return ability is not even the icing; it’s just the cherry on top.
J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
Corn fed white boy can get the quarterback and play the run. Is it racist to compare his ceiling to Jared Allen? What if he grew a mullet?
Cameron Jordan, DE, California
By all accounts, this guy utterly dominated the Senior Bowl when he went up against other premier college talents under the scouts’ microscope. That says something to me.
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Bottom line: There are at least six impact players in this draft and, after Thursday night, you can be sure the Cleveland Browns will end the day a better football team.
Kentucky basketball heads to SEC with NCAA on mind
LEXINGTON, Ky. —There are games to be played, and so the University of Kentucky basketball team wants to win them.
But as the Wildcats (22-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) head to this week’s SEC Tournament in Atlanta, it’s with an ulterior motive in mind.
“Yeah, we’d like to win it, obviously,” UK coach John Calipari said Tuesday. “But it’s for (NCAA Tournament) seed more than anything else. This tournament is to prepare us to play well that following week.”
The Cats will open SEC Tournament play at the Georgia Dome on Friday, facing the winner of Thursday’s South Carolina-Mississippi game.
And after finishing second in the SEC East, UK players said they’d like to bring home a postseason trophy before the NCAA Tournament begins. The primary focus, though, is NCAA Tournament positioning.
The Cats currently are projected as a No. 4 seed by ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi. Calipari still sees room to improve.
UK has won three straight games and five of its last six and closed its season with wins against SEC regular-season champion Florida, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
“(The NCAA seed) depends on how we play here,” Calipari said of the SEC Tournament. “It depends on what happens around us. I don’t know where we’re seeded right now, but where it was 10 days ago, we’ve gone up a line, maybe two. Had to, what we did.”
