Kudos to the Dallas Mavericks for their stirring comeback last night in the NBA Finals! I didn't watch it, since I really have no desire to see LeBron James play in an NBA Finals, but I understand it was really something to behold.
I received this email today from my friend Jeff Brown, who messages me every couple of days, and whose emails are usually relentlessly negative about the Indians or Cavaliers or Cleveland's population or what have you. This one is a bit unusual in its topic, and I found it interesting enough to paste it in its entirety:
I figured out why (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) hasn't been playing the NBA finals so far -- the Heat didn't even include him on the finals roster!Well, I would stop short of saying he "deserves" better. But it does seem a bit odd that the Heat would play Z all year and then leave him off the Finals roster. He also didn't play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Maybe fallen out of favor with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra for some reason. Regardless, Z would be the only reason I'd ever want the Heat to win a title. Now that he's not even on the roster, ... yeah, I hope they get creamed the rest of the way.
This isn't a very noble way for the big fella to end his NBA career -- his team, despite starting him for 51 games in the regular season, and 8 out of 9 games to begin the postseason, has eviscerated him from the roster altogether and he doesn't even get to wear his uniform to the game, much less get in and play.
This would have been Z's second trip to the NBA finals, and a chance for him to earn some redemption for losing in four straight to the Spurs a few years ago.
Now, even when he wins his ring, it will be a hollow victory because he's sitting on the sideline wearing a suit and tie, rather than a basketball uniform.
Doesn't Z deserve better, Steve?
1 comment:
Steve, it's hard to see how Z could have fallen out of favor with his coach.
After all, consider these facts:
* Z started the Heat's first eight playoff games this year (five against the 76ers, and the first three against the Celtics), and the Heat went 6-2 in those games.
* In the first three playoff games, when Z was getting decent minutes, here are his stat lines:
Game 1 vs. 76ers: 4-5 field goals, 6 rebounds, 8 points
Game 2 vs. 76ers: 2-2 field goals, 3-4 free throws, 6 rebounds, 7 points
Game 3 vs. 76ers: 5-9 field goals, 8 rebounds, 10 points
(and ALL EIGHT of his rebounds were offensive rebounds in Game 3!)
After that, his minutes tapered off, but you could hardly say that he wasn't contributing!
He was averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in those first three games... which, on that team, is a perfectly legitimate contribution.
How could a STARTER on a team, who isn't injured, who didn't do anything wrong, who was contributing in the playoffs, who has a TON of playoff experience and veteran leadership, be left completed off the roster in the finals?
I mean, I could understand if the coach wanted to shuffle the starting lineup or something like that... or even simply demote a starter into a role where he comes off the bench... but to eviscerate completely a starter from the roster for an entire series?
That's lunacy, Steve, and Big Z could be a contributing member of the soon-to-be world champion Miami LeBrons.
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