Man up (or woman up)
I believe I’ve made it clear I am tired of coaches and players blaming officials for a loss. The latest to receive my stamp of criticism is Pacer Paul George.  George said. “You can’t tell me we’re not aggressive. Maybe we’re too aggressive. We’re just as aggressive as they are attacking the basket and making plays at the rim. Maybe this was just home cooking.” Just in case you missed his point the “The home cooking” reference was related to the officiating. We must assume game officials aided the Heat to create 14 Pacer turnovers. Wade didn’t have a particularly good shooting game however Bosh stepped up in his place. After virtually disappearing in the first three games Bosh contributed 25 points to his teams win. As for the Pacers Roy Hibbert he disappeared once again when he was vitally needed.  Hibbert’s total 0 points, 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot for a 7-2 center. 
*Sports Illustrated

“Deja vu all over again”
If you are old enough or a sports history buff you might be familiar with the above quote. For others it became noteworthy having been uttered by former Yankee great Yogi Berra. History repeated itself in a sense on Sunday night, Willis Reed the heart and soul of the Knicks was injured and expected to miss game seven of the 1970 NBA Championship. The Lakers and Knicks were warming up prior to the start and the injured Reed emerged from the tunnel with a slight limp to a thunderous MSG crowd. The game would begin and Reed would hit the first two shots he took. He would only score four points and played little in the game however Reed’s inspired effort propelled his Knicks team to the 1970 NBA Championship.

The 2014 series between the Thunder and Spurs wasn’t quite as dramatic, it wouldn’t decide an NBA Championship however game three was critical for the Thunder. The Thunder returned to Oklahoma City down 0-2 and Serge Ibaka sidelined. Reports indicated Ibaka would “miss” the balance of the series. Saturday prior to the Sunday game reports circulated Ibaka would play. The 6-10 245 pound Ibaka was in the starting lineup same as Reed in 1970. He would provide his team the same inspiration however his game was much better than Reed. Ibaka was 6 for 7 from the field scoring 15 points and snatched 7 rebounds down while blocking 4 shots. Ibaka spent 30 minutes on the floor defending and scoring against the Spurs. I forget to mention, Ibaka managed to provide inspiration to a downtrodden Thunder team.

A dispute 
This one doesn’t involve embattled Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is the culprit this time and it began with a radio interview. During a portion of the broadcast Gilbert said; “They (Pistons owner) should take Detroit off the front of the jerseys, the team plays 30 miles away.” Gilbert is correct as far as the distance from Detroit; his statement caused a response from new Coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy said; “Gilbert needs to take care of business with his team.” In this instance both parties are partially correct allow me to briefly explain. As most of you are aware the Pistons haven’t seen downtown Detroit since like forever. I’ll fast forward through history and provide a few details, the Pistons moved from downtown Cobo Arena in 1978 to the Pontiac Silverdome some 30 miles away. Seating galore existed in the Silverdome because this was a football stadium reconfigured to accommodate basketball.

The Pistons were to remain in Pontiac (MI) for the next 10 years. After the Palace of Auburn Hills was built in 1988 then owner Bill Davidson moved his Pistons to the privately funded arena where they have remained since that time. Gilbert was voicing his opinion but it wasn’t totally without merit. Gilbert grew up in Detroit even attended Wayne State University in the city. As for the distance issue The Palace of Auburn Hills was constructed during a period arenas and stadiums were built on the fringes of metro areas. At some point in 90’s we began to see a shift in arena and stadium construction as they return to downtown locations. The Pistons are probably one of the few teams left with an arena outside the downtown area. The City of Detroit’s current economic status makes it unlikely a downtown arena is built soon unless owner Tom Gores decides to spearhead an effort.

Not surprising
I don’t know about you but I wasn’t surprised at Kevin Ollie’s move. A large number of head coaching positions are open in the NBA and there is a desire by management to fill them. Ollie probably hinted he would like an NBA job but as somebody said “he’s King of Connecticut, why go to the NBA?” Ollie coming off an NCAA Championship signed a 5-year contract which should keep him in Storrs (CT) for the immediate future.