The Grip - FRI 5.11.18

Ben Simmons needs to try more

May 11, 2018

5.11.18

S.E.: You ever wonder why Golden State isn't just called Oakland?  J.S.: .....S.E.: Oh, that’s right. Our lead designer took a two-week vacation in the middle of May. Looks like it’s just me and you, Pat.P.T.: Let's do it up! Scroll down for Pat vs. The House No. 2.  

Written while listening to Biggie Smalls' Ready To Die [

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  We're not mad, Ben, we're just disappointed 

Hall of Fame resumes are not made or ruined in the second round of a series in a rookie season. Ben Simmons, despite the lumps he’ll take over the next few months, is likely to start the all-star game next year, win an MVP at some point, and become a top-50 player ever.But he had a team-low minus-13 for the game on Wednesday. For the playoffs, he had a 108.9 defensive rating (118th of players in the postseason) and a minus-4.5 net rating. (Marcus Smart: a 102 defensive rating and a minus-.4 net rating.)An alibi: He picked up his fifth foul of the game with 1:40 left.  An anti-alibi: Wouldn’t you rather risk fouling out than blowing two vital defensive assignments? 

In the most important possession of the season up to that point, Simmons pulled off the rare blow by-no box out combo. All while managing to maintain his 16-year-old-who-loves-not-to-know demeanor. Surely, he figured it out, though, right?Watch Simmons a few times. On the essential play of the game, he lost the Celtics’ best scorer, then nonchalantly let him lay up the winner when he had a clear angle to block the ball or at least foul. Simmons is, in basketball form, the kid in English class who knows the answer to the question the teacher just asked him. Rather than answer it, though, he drops the joke du jour to a raucous reaction from his friends. Or maybe he's Cady Heron, purposely getting answers wrong to look cool in front of Aaron Samuels. Mean Girls, anyone?

Eastern Conference

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 4 Cleveland

Game 1: Cavs @ Celtics, Sunday, 3:30 EST

[READ: These Celtics Might Be the Best Challengers to LeBron’s Throne Yet]The case for the Celtics: This is not your 2016-17 team that got wiped off the floor by the Cavaliers. Al Horford and Marcus Smart are the same, for the most part, and Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier are much better than they were last season. Those are the only four returners. Brad Stevens has an obvious advantage over Ty Lue, and both Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving have been cancelled out. The Celtics on defense are a pack of 6-foot-8 dogs who swarmed the 76ers off the 3-point line last series -- a prerequisite for a great defense in this era. Who can stop LeBron? No one, dummy. [READ: How the King is settling the GOAT debate]Who can stop Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson, and the gang? Anyone not named the tail-tucked Toronto Raptors. The Pacers did a lot of things right in their near-win over the Cavs. They let Lebron get his 34.4 points per game. The next four leading scorers combined for 34.6. They contested 3-pointers and forced the Cavs into 31 percent from deep. Why can’t the Celtics do that? They built a f*cking wall around Ben Simmons, let Joel Embiid get his high-volume scoring, and kept the 76ers at 30.8 percent from three. [WATCH: Boston’s defensive highlights from game three](Watch Al Horford and Aron Baynes collapse as soon as Simmons get the ball.)The case for the Cavs: LeBrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrron James.And don't sleep on Tristan Thompson. Any good Celtics fan remembers how his offensive rebounding torched Boston in that dreadful 2015 first round series. 

Western Conference

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 2 Golden State

Game 1: Warriors @ Rockets, Monday, 9 EST, TNT

The Rockets are the team that made isolation ball sexy again. Houston scored 1.12 points per iso-possession this season -- the highest mark in the NBA in 14 years. (The league average is half that.) The Warriors are the team with dozens of ball movement compilations on YouTube. The Rockers are second-to-last in the playoffs in passes per game, with 227.5. The Warriors, of course, are first, with 323.2 exchanges a game. That’s more than 100 more passes a game! Just from an opposite-end-of-the-spectrum standpoint, this will be a fascinating series to watch, and while you do, look out for this discrepancy. It’ll make the game more interesting. In the era of pace-and-space and sharing, the Rockets are trying to win as non-conformists.Now that’s something worth rooting for, even if watching James Harden and Chris Paul pound the rock for 20 seconds then drive and shoot, lob, or kick to the corner isn't the most aesthetically pleasing thing. (Look at all that standing around. Not fun. But if it works, it works.)But after a season spent on snooze, the Warriors are back to the same heights they reached last year; a transcendent group of unselfish stars who have no business being on the same team. To the people tired of watching the Warriors win -- tired of watching Draymond Green splay-kick, Steph Curry do weird dances or Kevin Durant be a phony -- just click this link and remember the good times. 

What else happened?

Pat vs. The House

From the mean streets of Prospect Hill to a gentrified loft in South Boston, friend of the Grip Pat Tracy has always held one thing near and dear to his heart: His bookie. Welcome to the second segment of Pat vs. The House, a betting column every Friday where Pat will share who he’s picking -- and why -- for upcoming games. 

Golden State Warriors (-1.5) at Houston Rockets (+1.5) Western Conference Finals - Game 1 – May 14 - 9:00 PM ET

P.T.: Talk about a fun series to bet on. You could have fun by betting on Chris Paul to finally make it to the NBA finals (that’s never happened before). You could bet on the team with four all-stars (which is always fun). Or, you could just bet on over 224 points being scored. That way, you can celebrate each absurd 3-pointer that Steph Curry hits just as much as you celebrate every inspiring bucket that Chris Paul (who has never been in the NBA Finals) makes. That being said, I’ll take the four all-stars.Warriors - 135 Rockets - 130.

Pat’s Pick --> WARRIORS -1.5

Odds to win series: Warriors (-200) Rockets (+160)

Cleveland Cavaliers (-1) at Boston Celtics (+1) Eastern Conference Finals - Game 1 – May 13 – 3:30 PM ET

P.T.: My following opinions are made up of the following:75 percent -- Objective thoughts, based on sufficient evidence.20 percent -- My intense bias against LeBron James.5 percent -- Just kinda like…this feeling I have.The hottest selling new jersey, Drew Bledsoe, made The Garden go berserk at the end of game five. I think the Celtics homecourt advantage is worth ~five points. Fun Stat: The Celtics have lost zero percent of their home playoff games this year. That being said, the man most likely to make me lose my money is Kevin Love. The X-Factor. If Kevin Love has a great game, I predict three things will happen:1. The Cavs will win by 10-plus 2. I will lose ~one month’s rent2a. I will punch a hole in my wall

Pat’s Pick --> Celtics +1

Odds to win series:  LeBron James (-280) Celtics (+230)

Pat’s $20 ParlayCeltics +1 (-110)Warriors +105WINS $58

Courtesy of Sports Illustrated