These are not the superstars we've come to know. These are not two of the best ball-handlers in the NBA, two of the most creative offensive players of the past decade, two of the most entertaining players to hit the hardwood.
Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are lost. And they're running out of time.
Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers fell behind early Thursday and never recovered, losing 105-88 to the San Antonio Spurs, who seized a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference second-round series. That blowout was preceded by the Indiana Pacers' demolition of Wade and the Miami Heat, a 94-75 snoozefest that was over early in the second half and gave Indiana a 2-1 series lead.
Paul and Wade were stars in the regular season, which is what we expect of them. But they were burnouts Thursday. Paul finished with 10 points, five assists and eight turnovers, and the Clippers were minus 22 with him on the court. Wade was worse, shooting 2-for-13 to finish with five points and five turnovers, while his team was minus 25 in his 37 minutes.
Here's what we know: Paul has a strained right hip flexor, which doesn't sound like a good thing. He's noticeably lost a step for the series, and "Lob City" has suffered as a result. The Clippers have played better in both games of this series with Eric Bledsoe and Mo Williams, two shoot-first guards who can't hold a candle to a healthy Paul, running the point.
Here's what we don't know: Wade's health is a mystery. He denies being injured but said Thursday, "End of the season, no one's a hundred percent." He was excellent in the first round against the New York Knicks, averaging 21 points and shooting 50.6% from the field. But he's at 31% against the Pacers. Wade plays well off Chris Bosh, the Heat forward who went down in the middle of Game 1 with an abdominal strain. Wade's made few excuses, but he's not himself, and he's even getting into fights with his coach now.
Paul and Wade have proven over the years the ability to carry their teams in the playoffs. Last season, Paul put fear into the Lakers in the first round, carrying an otherwise horrible New Orleans Hornets team to two wins by averaging 22 points, 11.5 assists and 6.7 rebounds a game while shooting 54.5% from the field, 47.4% from three and 79.6% from the line. And no one will forget Wade's efforts in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Paul and Wade are professionals. Professional superstars, even. They'll rebound, perhaps not in these playoffs but by next season. Each has a history of injuries, though. Each plays a game reliant on quickness and body control. Each takes a beating on charges in the lane. And now, each has put his team in a poor position.
Other winners and losers from Thursday's NBA action:
Winners
Tim Duncan: Duncan and Kevin Garnett had the best rivalry of the 2000s. Now, the 36-year-old power forwards are trying to one-up each other every night in these playoffs. Duncan had 26 points, 10 rebounds and was plus 26 in 35 minutes on court Thursday, a day after Garnett posted 27 points and 13 rebounds in a Boston Celtics win. Here's how good Duncan is right now: The Spurs are 29-3 this season when he plays at least 30 minutes. Duncan makes everything look effortless. But you don't win four rings with effortlessness, Vince.
Roy Hibbert: The Pacers center is a Duncan-style player. He won't make the highlight reels, but he'll quietly take over a game. He had 12 points and 10 rebounds by halftime and finished with 19 and 18 in 33 minutes, blocking five shots.
The Clippers' bench: This unit appears to have been put together by the same people responsible for the 2000-01 Sacramento Kings and the cast of NewsRadio. There's a subtle kind of genius. williams, Bledsoe and Nick Young are the gunslingers, streaky shooters who can singlehandedly bury a team, even if that team occasionally is the Clippers. And Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans are scrappers who aren't afraid to do the dirty work, or the really, really, really dirty work.
Mario Chalmers: After missing the big shot in Game 2, the Heat point guard responded with perhaps the best game of his career. That his 25 points, six rebounds and five assists on 10-for-15 shooting came in a blowout loss must be noted. But he was the only reason the Heat stayed in the game early.
Caron Butler: The Clippers forward is playing with a broken hand and scored nine points and had this sweet dunk on Duncan. We repeat: He's playing with a broken hand. As in, his hand is broken. A bone in his hand is falling apart.
The corner three: Have you watched the Spurs play? It's considered the most efficient shot in basketball for a reason, and San Antonio uses it better than anyone.
Matt Bonner haircuts: AWesome.
Losers
Eric Spoelstra: The Heat coach got into it with the face of his franchise (sorry, LeBron James, but the people love Wade) and made the perplexing decision to start Dexter Pittman, who hadn't played in weeks, at center. Pittman played three minutes and made obvious that Spoelstra was just doing anything he could to stir up something that wasn't there for his team.
Blake Griffin: The star Clippers forward is playing with a sprained left knee, so cut him some slack. But his 20 points came on 7-for-16 shooting, he grabbed only one rebound and his defense on pick and rolls was horrendous. And the Spurs run a lot of pick and rolls. On the plus side, we don't agree with his attempted block of Tony Parker being called a flagrant foul.
Shane Battier: Wasn't this guy a good shooter? The Heat forward finished 0-for-7 from the field, including six three-point tries. At some point, even a no-stats all-star has to produce in the box score. Oh, and he's a Duke Blue Devil. I know you were thinking it.
DeAndre Jordan: The Spurs' primary post players, Duncan, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter, shot 20-for-27 from the field. We know Griffin is a weak defender, but Jordan, the Clippers' starting center, is in there mostly for his ability on that end.
By Adi Joseph, USA TODAY
These are not the superstars we've come to know. These are not two of the best ballhandlers in the NBA, two of the most creative offensive players of the past decade, two of the most entertaining players to hit the hardwood.
Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade are lost. And they're running out of time.
Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers fell behind early Thursday and never recovered, losing 105-88 to the San Antonio Spurs, who seized a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference second-round series. That blowout was preceded by the Indiana Pacers' demolition of Wade and the Miami Heat, a 94-75 snoozefest that was over early in the second half and gave Indiana a 2-1 series lead.
Paul and Wade were stars in the regular season, which is what we expect of them. But they were burnouts Thursday. Paul finished with 10 points, five assists and eight turnovers, and the Clippers were minus 22 with him on the court. Wade was worse, shooting 2-for-13 to finish with five points and five turnovers, while his team was minus 25 in his 37 minutes.
Here's what we know: Paul has a strained right hip flexor, which doesn't sound like a good thing. He's noticeably lost a step for the series, and "Lob City" has suffered as a result. The Clippers have played better in both games of this series with Eric Bledsoe and Mo Williams, two shoot-first guards who can't hold a candle to a healthy Paul, running the point.
Here's what we don't know: Wade's health is a mystery. He denies being injured but said Thursday, "End of the season, no one's a hundred percent." He was excellent in the first round against the New York Knicks, averaging 21 points and shooting 50.6% from the field. But he's at 31% against the Pacers. Wade plays well off Chris Bosh, the Heat forward who went down in the middle of Game 1 with an abdominal strain. Wade's made few excuses, but he's not himself, and he's even getting into fights with his coach now. And his team is falling apart around him.
Paul and Wade have proven over the years the ability to carry their teams in the playoffs. Last season, Paul put fear into the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, carrying an otherwise horrible New Orleans Hornets team to two wins by averaging 22 points, 11.5 assists and 6.7 rebounds a game while shooting 54.5% from the field, 47.4% from three and 79.6% from the line. And no one will forget Wade's efforts in the 2006 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Paul and Wade are professionals. Professional superstars, even. They'll rebound, perhaps not in these playoffs but by next season. Each has a history of injuries, though. Each plays a game reliant on quickness and body control. Each takes a beating on charges in the lane. And now, each has put his team in a poor position.
Other winners and losers from Thursday's NBA action:
Winners
Tim Duncan: Duncan and Kevin Garnett had the best rivalry of the 2000s. Now, the 36-year-old power forwards are trying to one-up each other every night in these playoffs. Duncan had 18 points and five rebounds and was plus 23 in 33 minutes on court Thursday, a day after Garnett posted 27 points and 13 rebounds in a Boston Celtics win. Here's how good Duncan is right now: The Spurs are 29-3 this season when he plays at least 30 minutes. Duncan makes everything look effortless. But you don't win four rings with effortlessness, Vince.
Roy Hibbert: The Pacers center is a Duncan-style player. He won't make the highlight reels, but he'll quietly take over a game. He had 12 points and 10 rebounds by halftime and finished with 19 and 18 in 33 minutes, blocking five shots.
Pacers fans: The word "swagger" is abused these days, but we really liked the yellow-out approach and the boisterous presence.
The Clippers' bench: This unit appears to have been put together by the same people responsible for the 2000-01 Sacramento Kings and the cast of NewsRadio. There's a subtle kind of genius. Williams, Bledsoe and Nick Young are the gunslingers, streaky shooters who can singlehandedly bury a team, even if that team occasionally is the Clippers. And Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans are scrappers who aren't afraid to do the dirty work, or the really, really, really dirty work.
Mario Chalmers: After missing the big shot in Game 2, the Heat point guard responded with perhaps the best game of his career. That his 25 points, six rebounds and five assists on 10-for-15 shooting came in a blowout loss must be noted. But he was the only reason the Heat stayed in the game early.
Caron Butler: The Clippers forward is playing with a broken hand and scored nine points and had this sweet dunk on Duncan. We repeat: He's playing with a broken hand. As in, his hand is broken. A bone in his hand is falling apart.
The corner three: Have you watched the Spurs play? It's considered the most efficient shot in basketball for a reason, and San Antonio uses it better than anyone.
Matt Bonner haircuts:Â This. Is. Awesome.
Losers
Eric Spoelstra: The Heat coach got into it with the face of his franchise (sorry, LeBron James, but the people love Wade) and made the perplexing decision to start Dexter Pittman, who hadn't played in weeks, at center. Pittman played three minutes and made obvious that Spoelstra was just doing anything he could to stir up something that wasn't there for his team.
Blake Griffin: The star Clippers forward is playing with a sprained left knee, so cut him some slack. But his 20 points came on 7-for-16 shooting, he grabbed only one rebound and his defense on pick-and-rolls was horrendous. And the Spurs run a lot of pick-and-rolls. On the plus side, we don't agree with his attempted block of Tony Parker being called a flagrant foul.
Shane Battier: Wasn't this guy a good shooter? The Heat forward finished 0-for-7 from the field, including six three-point tries. At some point, even a no-stats all-star has to produce in the box score. Oh, and he's a Duke Blue Devil. I know you were thinking it.
DeAndre Jordan: The Spurs' primary post players, Duncan, Boris Diaw and Tiago Splitter, shot 20-for-27 from the field. We know Griffin is a weak defender, but Jordan, the Clippers' starting center, is in there mostly for his ability on that end.
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