Thursday Night Review

A few comments on last night's games:

Reggie Miller must've read Bill Simmons' "Reggie was never a superstar" column on espn.com. I didn't get to see the game (how is it that the NBA can spread out the first round for over two weeks, and still not get all the games on national TV?), but he's playing as well as he ever has. He may never have been on the level of Jordan or Isiah, but he's proving that, at 39, he's still got something in the tank. If he had played as well throughout the entire season as he did after the All-Star break, he would've been an MVP candidate.

The Nets gave the Heat a great run last night, but ran out of gas. They looked tired in the overtime period, with Vince Carter and Jason Kidd settling for too many contested jumpers. They lacked energy and were outhustled in the overtime periods, highlighted by Alonzo Mourning winning a key offensive rebound off a missed free throw and Udonis Haslem going to the floor on the other end. Those of us Bulls fans who hoped the Nets might upset the Heat or at least tire them out a bit before the next round are disappointed to see Miami on the verge of a sweep and some rest for the banged-up Shaq. By the way, Vince's ridiculous shot to send the game to overtime notwithstanding, he forced a lot of shots down the stretch and just took too many shots, period. Reminded me a bit of Antoine Walker circa 2002.

Houston really went through the motions last night. So close to taking a surprising 3-0 series lead, they relaxed and let Dallas go on an 18-0 run. The Mavs are too talented a team to let your guard down against, as they proved last night. T-Mac, who's looked like he's finally taking it to the next level recently, settled a bit and faded back to his old, lazier self for a few minutes. My question is, why didn't Jeff Van Gundy make any moves during that run, aside from wear a very annoyed look on his face? When players seem to be phoning it in, he should stick some new guys in there for energy, but instead he just let it play out. The Rockets finally woke up, but it was too late. Hopefully, they'll be able to recover Saturday and keep control of the series.

I've been thinking this for a while now. Mark Cuban looks ridiculous out there. He's like a little kid, sitting on the bench with the team, jumping up and down, rocking Mavs warmups or Dirk football jerseys. He might be the coolest owner, but he's definitely also the goofiest. He also might be too close to his players, making it tough to make sound business decisions (though he did let Steve Nash go last year). It's his team, so I suppose he can do what he wants with it. Nonetheless, the Maloof brothers are active owners, yet maintain a necessary separation and dignity. Then there's Cuban, high-fiving the players, arguing with the refs, getting fined by the league. Take it down a notch, bro, you look silly.

Comments and responses welcome.