Playoffs: Day Ten

A snapshot of each PG in each game of the 2008 NBA Playoffs

TOR @ ORL (GAME 5)
TJ Ford (TOR) – You know, he played exactly half the game (24 minutes) and produced 14/5/5; if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that’s a triple-dip pace… Ah, but stats don’t tell everything, he and Calderon were outplayed this series by Jameer Nelson, plain and simple… Will he be around? Or if he is, will he be starting? … Averaged 11 points this series (below his season average) and shot just 36% FG.
Jose Calderon (TOR) – Also did the “half-a-game” thing… 12/3/4, not bad, but like Ford, wasn’t the best at his position in this series… May be saying adios to his buddy Ford now… Although you get the feeling Toronto would much rather part with Ford than the budding Calderon, especially if Mike D’Antoni is in the pipeline.
Jameer Nelson (ORL) – Successfully made that two-headed point-guard dinosaur extinct… It wasn’t enough that he thoroughly beat CalderFord, but he also tacked seven extra points per game over his seasonal average (from 10 to 17) in this series… his 19 points came on 7-13 FG… Hit a huge three that ended things with roughly three minutes left… Great series considering expectations.
Keyon Dooling (ORL) – Nine valuable points in 17 bench minutes.

BOS @ ATL (GAME 4)
Rajon Rondo (BOS) – The only blemish on an otherwise fine night (14/3/12) was his 6-16 shooting… Was finally outscored – not sure if outplayed – by Mike Bibby… Always love to see how young PG’s respond to playoff pressure, well, he gets his chance in Game 5.
Sam Cassell (BOS) – Seven ineffective minutes for the 53-year old.
Mike Bibby (ATL) – Shot better than 50%? Outscored the guy he was going against? Hawks tie series? Am I making this up? … Finally showed up, and it helped his team tie the series… Look for another big game in Game 5; also look for him to make me look oh so smart and go 2-13.

LAL @ DEN (GAME 4)
Derek Fisher (LAL) – Tough game for Nostradamus… I guess his whole looking-ahead-to-Utah theory after Game 2 ain’t looking so cocky now… Had just seven points on 3-9 FG in 39 minutes… Pretty quiet series – just 8.5 points on 43% FG.
Jordan Farmar (LAL) – Six points in 13 minutes… Probably didn’t contribute as much as LA would’ve liked, but hey, they won 4-0 so what do I know?
Allen Iverson (DEN) – Unfortunately, having the biggest heart doesn’t equate to playoff advancement… The good news is he can now give his body a rest… Great season, barring his rookie year and the famed 2001 MVP campaign, my favorite Iverson season… still got it… had just 22 points in Game 5 on 10-22 FG… Averaged just 24.5 for the series, but had two 30-plus games in LA.
Anthony Carter (DEN) – All you need to know is that he had a hard time finding a suitable matchup, and was basically deemed useless or unusable (pick one) by George Karl… good year for AC though, may have found a home.