Maximalist v. Minamilist, or Why I'm Rooting for the Grizz

Today's post is a celebration of a very entertaining and hard fought G6 between OKC and Memphis - as well as a preview of what's ahead.

Maximalist v. Minamilist, or Why I'm Rooting for the Grizz.  When I was growing up, my older brother and I spent hours playing a primitive, stats-heavy computer baseball game.  I created these elaborate, 12-team leagues full of scrappy players (defensive specialists, good speed guys, a strong bullpen and at most one or two HR hitters) and enjoyed "managing" these teams to 4-2 or 3-1 wins.  By contrast, my brother stacked his teams with greats from throughout baseball history (e.g. Ruth would play with Roger Maris, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax and Jim Palmer) and cruised to 12-3 victories.  When we played each other, his team would crush mine.  I call this the "maximalist" (my brother) versus "minamlist" (me) approach, and it's informing my attitude towards the NBA playoffs.  I'm enjoying teams like the Grizz that are overcoming their inherent limitations, playing well despite obvious deficiencies (such as the Grizz's inability to make perimeter shots).  The good news about these playoff is that almost every team can be described in a minimalist fashion.  The Bulls lack consistency from their supporting cast, OKC has big lapses of concentration, Dallas is an aging team riding a wave of good play, and even the Heat have major problems after their big two and a half.  I suspect my writing partner (actually, I know this) is a minimalist as well.  Good for us but maybe bad for the SBC and the maximalists out there.

Hidden History:  It's easy to forget quiet mistakes made by the winning team, because it falls out of the narrative of the game itself.  That's a mistake, and probably the kind of thing that keeps coaches up at night.  One example: the Grizz starting off Q4 with a ton of momentum and yet . . . scoring 2 points and not executing their offense for several minutes, which allowed OKC to stay in the game.  One consequence of this sequence is that while individual bench players have played very well (Battier comes immediately to mind, as does Darrell Arthur at times), the Grizz can't really afford to play their full second team for more than a few minutes in G7.  Here's an example of history that probably WILL get talked about but would have been forgotten if OKC has managed to pull out the game: Scott Brooks taking out Durant in the first quarter after his second foul, halting early OKC momentum and making it harder for Durant to get into his game.  Good job by Van Gunday and Mark Jackson highlighting the significance of that decision. 

Game Seven Preview:  This is going to be an epic showdown.  The obvious big question is what OKC does to slow down Z-Dog.  Even after expending a lot of resources in G6 (such as Collinson giving up on defensive rebounds just to keep Randolph from getting in position under the basket), they couldn't stop him.  I wouldn't be suprised if they asked Ibaka, Perkins, and Collinson to sacrifice their games completely to stop Z-Dog.  Get those elbows flying!  For the Grizz, the big questions I have are whether Conley can make his jump shots and how many minutes Gasol and Randolph are on the floor.  I'd put the over/under on them at 43 minutes.

Economic Injustice of the Day:  Nick Collison makes $13 million a year.  Westbrook?  4 million.  Durant?  6 million.  It's hard to call any guy making a lot more than his two best teammates an intangibles guy, as much as he may deserve it for his play.

Unsung Hero.  As good as Z-Dog played, he wasn't the best entertainer at the game.  That award goes to Jeff Van Gundy for his excellent G6 performance.  Here are the highlights:

--"I would do that (keep a player on the floor with two early fouls) with a guy like Allen Houston because - and I hope he's listening - he didn't guard enough to pick up that third foul."

--"If I'm Tony Allen, I'm upset about being called a Volkswagon.  I'm at least a Lexus."  (In response to a Mark Jackson comment about a Tony Allen - O.J. Mayo fast break.)

--"Sam Young has the premiere shot fake in the NBA."  (Just after saying this, Young gave three head fakes and then threw the ball out of bounces.) 

--"The ref should be able to stare you down after that, (saying) like, what kind of basketball play is that?"  (Referring to a bad play by Tony Allen)

--"It really doesn't have a great flow right now . . . (long pause) . . . Really that was such as stupid comment."  (Mike Breen: "You Mean Me?")  "No, me!"  (Mark Jackson after a pause: "I like the fact that you let it hang around, let it marinate, then you commented.  Good job.")

Bonus Unfortunate Fan Sign of the Night:  "G7 ESPN 7:30 PM."  As Mike Breen pointed out, the game's on ABC - and is at 3:30.