Exposed is a nasty little word in basketball and no one likes to be it or get called it.
Exposed is an especially harsh word in the NBA because pro players have spent most of their lives doing the exposing. But once we get into the playoffs, everyone is fair game – even the stars.
That's always one of the best parts of the postseason: Finding out which players rise, which players fall and which players are what they are.
Sometimes in the playoffs you find out your favorite player isn't quite as good as you thought he was or that guy you really liked in mid-January can't quite it get it done when the games turn meaningful.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Michael Finley turned 36 last week, and it shows. For a year-and-a-half now, he's looked like a parody of his old self, a half-substantiated ghost of the glory years fighting through screens and breaking off jab steps for the Nellietastic Mavericks.
The Rotation is a weekly study on the NBA by one of our All-Star voices. In rotation this week is Brett Edwards.
The playoff series between the Hornets and the Spurs has been consistently one-sided so far -- the home side. The local team has won each of the six games by at least 11 points, the first time such a statistical anomaly has occurred in NBA history. I think that's likely to change tonight though, because for all of the Hornets talent, the Spurs' collective experience is likely to be the deciding factor.
It's been argued that experience is overrated in the NBA playoffs, and Chris Paul was used as the poster boy and case study to prove the argument to be true. But playing well individually and winning home games is one thing.
The Hornets have really been the better team this entire series. They've largely stuck to what has worked for them all season, while the Spurs have had to make some substantial adjustments from game to game. But now the Hornets will have to prove they can evolve: For an upstart team to eliminate a team with a ring in a Game 7 -- even in your own building -- is something else entirely.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a week daily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee Joe Smith simply won't go away. Not that we necessarily want him to ... it's just that he doesn't seem to every become totally irrelevant. 12 years in the L after being a first overall pick and once the single handed destruction of the Minnesota T-wolve franchise, Smith has been getting kinda warm again. For December he had 10 double digit scoring games and averaged over 10 points a game and in 2008 he's over 20 per game. Granted it's only two outings, but hey, it does not make it untrue. Don't think it's going to last that long -- regardless of who is running the Bulls rotation and offensive schemes you can expect Tyrus Thomas to emerge sooner than later as the starting power forward -- so Smith is a prime sell high right now. Just make sure the commissioner knows about it.
Hot Cakes "Kid Delicious" Kevin Durant returned from a one game finger injury absence on Thursday and scored 28 points with seven boards against the Suns. Everybody breathe. Durant appears to be fine (11 of 24 certainly isn't horrible) and remains a nice buy if his owner is struggling in the field goal percentage cat and you have some room to spare.
Travis Outlaw scored 21 on a disappointing 19 shots but there's nothing boring about 38 minutes of playing time, especially when the Blazers win. Outlaw outplayed (again) Martell Webster, but it looks like Webster might continue starting, although Outlaw will continue to get the majority of the PT, with the Blazers deferring to the classic "hot hand" occasionally. Outlaw's the guy you want.
Speaking of older doods, Michael Finley kept up his recent hot streak as the Spurs toppled the Nuggets, scoring 18 points with eight boards in 38 minutes of court time. That's nine straight games in double digits and his scoring has obviously boosted with Manu Ginobili out. Ginobili's missed four games and is nearing a return, making Finley an obvious sell high. He's going to see a drop in time and scoring clearly, but he should still start, which is a crucial point to use when trying to package him as part of a deal.
So remember a few days back, when I posted about Cuban's overtures toward Michael Finley? I went a little overboard, but so did the commenters who insisted this was just kind words from Cubes.
Here's the Star-Telegram with an update on that harmless little remark:
The NBA is looking into a comment Mavericks owner Mark Cuban made Tuesday about Spurs guard Michael Finley as a possible tampering offense.
[...]
"It was just meant to be a compliment to Mike and to surprise people that I was rooting for the Spurs," Cuban said Wednesday. "We can't sign him for a while due to the amnesty provision, which to me meant tampering couldn't be an issue."
Cuban does have a legitimate point; it's not like the Mavs have an imminent shot at signing Finley. Still, the league is not messing around, and with the NBA taking its rules more literally than ever ... let's just say that Cuban could have been a little more careful than he was.
For the record, I'm sure nothing will come of this. I just think it's funny that, like me, the league took the comment somewhat seriously.
Michael Finley is likely headed for the NBA Finals. He's getting paid by two teams at once. And he's secured a place on this era's great dynasty. So obviously, now's the time for Mark Cuban to invite him back to the Mavericks.
"I would hope that after his contract is over in San Antone, he would consider the Mavs as an option," Cuban said Monday. "I don't know that he would, but our entire organization has that much respect for him."
Did I mention that the Mavs gave Finley $17.3 million this season, and will fork over a cool $18.6 mill in '07-08? Of course, that's in addition to the three million or so the Spurs pay him for the opportunity he has there. Even if it's not about the money, Finley was unceremoniously exiled from Dallas. He gave some of his best years to that team, and they cast him out before they should have.
Yes, it was harsh, but it was also stupid. The Spurs are arguably the best-run organzation in the NBA. The Mavs, on the other hand, let Nash and Finley go due to mismanagement. Finley's contract was too big, but he still had value. Nash, as we all know, is getting less than the max to win multiple MVP's. By opening his mouth about this, Cuban just makes us realize all the reasons someone would want to avoid the Mavs.
Spurs fans can't figure out why people despise their team so. It's not like they're arrogant, or lazy, or anything else that's supposed to turn us against athletes. All they day is play hard, play smart, and win like crazy.
Maybe they should try looking within. Today in the San Antonio Express-News, Buck Harvey has some advice for Carmelo Anthony: young man, hope you grow up to be like Michael Finley. Here's an excerpt:
Finley called Carmelo "a beast," and after the game, Finley hugged Carmelo at mid-court and said more. Finley had just set a Spurs playoff record with eight 3-pointers - he had just outscored Carmelo - and Finley was the one doing the complimenting.
"I told him the truth," Finley said. "He was a very tough matchup for me. The sky is the limit for him."
This is how secure people act, as well as those who get out of the first round. Over a stretch of seven seasons in Dallas, with a jumper that Carmelo would appreciate, Finley averaged more than 20 points. He was a two-time All-Star who now has more than 15,000 points to his name, and this native of Chicago hung with a resident of Chicago, Michael Jordan.
See, Finley was a two-time All-Star, he has his head together, and he has a good attitude. Oh, and "hung with" Michael Jordan. He's faded, but had a big night when things mattered. Maybe, maybe Carmelo Anthony will be this lucky when he's "graying."
Playoff Revelations honors playoff players without big names, but who are having a big impact in the postseason.
There was a time when Michael Finley would've rightfully insulted to be included in the Playoff Revelations ... he was once too big a star to be included with the likes of Thabo Sefolosha, Michael Pietrus, and Dirk Nowitzki Matt Barnes.
These days, though, he's a role player ... and last night, he was the world's greatest role player. Shooting 8-of-9 from three-point land can do that for a guy. The cool thing about Finley is that he's aware of his role, and embraces it.
"I'm blessed to be playing with some tremendous basketball players, guys like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Those guys attract a lot of attention and I'm just out there doing my job and knocking down shots off of things they create for me."
Yeah, pretty much. I say that with no disrespect to Michael Finley ... for a guy who was once a star, it's no small thing to make the mental adjustment to being a role player.
And here's the most important aspect of a player like Finley ... if a team doesn't have someone in that role, the work of the stars can often be wasted. Stars can always create, but the defense can do things to make it difficult to finish ... and in that case, you need someone else to do the finishing for you. Ask Denver. They know all about that.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Playing The Role Of Robert Horry Tonight... Michael Finley. The Lakers swarmed Tim Duncan like a pack of swarming... um... professional basketball players, so Finley found the ball with the game on the line and calmly nailed a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in OT to give the Spurs the improbable 96-94 victory. (See: photo above.) I say "improbable," because the Spurs somehow managed to win despite shooting a season-low 33.7 percent. T-Dunc was just one assist shy of a triple-double, which Jason Kidd would've made sure to get.
Let Flip Eat Cake. Rasheed Webber and Chris Wallace -- tee-hee -- combined for 37 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks (!) to help Pistons coach Flip Saunders pick up his 500th career cigar with a 95-87 win over the Pacers. Saunders seemed ecstatic by the milestone post-game: "It's great, I guess. I'll have a piece of cake somewhere tonight."
Introducing Your Next All-Star Saturday Night Event. Knicks' Nate Robinson nailed two half-court shots at some buzzers in a 107-105 loss to the Bucks, and Sonics' reserve Mike Wilks' 31-footer at the end of the third quarter drew the largest cheers of the night in a 98-76 loss to the Clippers.
Look Up. The high-octane Suns -- I love saying that -- extended their winning streak to 17 games -- the NBA's longest in seven years -- by beating the underachieving Cavaliers 115-100 on Sunday afternoon. Your liveblogging insight train starts here. Meanwhile, in the East, the Wizards moved a half-game ahead of the Pistons and into first place in the conference with a 105-91 win over the Green and Crap. (The Celtics have lost 11 straight.)
Exposed is a nasty little word in basketball and no one likes to be it or get called it.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
B-Ball, B-Fast is a week daily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. 
So remember a few days back, when I posted about 
Michael Finley is likely headed for the NBA Finals. He's getting paid by two teams at once. And he's secured a place on this era's great dynasty. So obviously, now's the time for Mark Cuban to invite him back to the Mavericks. 
Spurs fans can't figure out why people despise their team so. It's not like they're arrogant, or lazy, or anything else that's supposed to turn us against athletes. All they day is play hard, play smart, and win like crazy. 
