The Microscope is your recurring look at the NBA's small-scale developments—the rotational curiosities, skill showcases, coaching decisions, notable performances and changes in approach that make the league go 'round.
Amar'e Stoudemire Somehow Makes Life Both Easier and More Difficult for Mike Woodson
For those who still haven't heard the latest bit of NBA absurdity: A fire extinguisher in the New York Knicks locker room apparently looked at Amar'e Stoudemire funny, and in his agitated post-game state, Stoudemire decided to retaliate by either punching the extinguisher itself or its metal casing.
As a result, Stoudemire is reportedly "almost certain" to miss Game 3 (per ESPN New York, via PBT) if not the entire series, all because he let his frustrations get the best of him.
It's cool, though; he got that fire extinguisher good.
For better or worse, Stoudemire changed the Knicks' entire series in a single, thoughtless moment. But even after all of the analysis on the subject, it's hard to pinpoint exactly how the Knicks might respond to Stoudemire's potential absence.
We know the basics.
Amar'e's injury opens the opportunity for Mike Woodson to again play Anthony as the nominal 4. His actions deprive his team of a potentially valuable source of scoring against an elite defense. His absence opens up the lane for Tyson Chandler to again act as a consistent pick-and-roll threat.
And yet, ultimately, the Game 1 injury of Iman Shumpert closes the possibility of seeing the Knicks' familiar "small ball" lineup.
If New York again chooses to shift Anthony up and fill in the primary lineup with another wing player, it will likely be either Steve Novak or J.R. Smith—two decent offensive options, but slightly problematic defensive ones given the players they'd be all but forced to match up with.
Woodson can do his best to scramble the assignments and hide his more vulnerable defenders, but losing Shumpert was a pretty startling blow to the Knicks' small-ball efforts.
New York wasn't in any kind of preferable position before, and honestly, we can't be entirely sure that Stoudemire's injury won't revert this Knicks team to their most recent offensive efficacy. But regardless of the result, this was a baffling bit of NBA news, and a strange, self-inflicted addition to the ranks of the league's wounded.
Kendrick Perkins and Doing What Works
In Games 1 and 2, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks has put a tremendous amount of faith in Kendrick Perkins. On the most basic level imaginable, Perkins is a good interior defender and correlates with positive defensive mojo.
And yet, in the context of this particular matchup with Dallas, Perk may be no more comfortable or useful than he was last year, when the Mavericks were able to render him functionally irrelevant with their offensive flow.
Dallas' performance hasn't been quite so crisp this time around, but the nature of its lineups still has a way of pitting Perkins against opponents that aren't a good match for his skill set.
Brooks' small lineups on Monday night often forced Perkins to defend Dirk Nowitzki, and while it's one thing for Perk to try to push Nowitzki off the block, the Mavericks did exactly what they should do in that situation: involve Perkins in as many pick-and-rolls as possible and get Nowitzki on the move for either layup opportunities or open jumpers.
Nowitzki got both, and that OKC was ultimately able to weather that particular aspect of Dallas' offense doesn't provide sufficient justification for utilizing Perkins in ill-fitting situations.
Brooks and the Thunder have dodged a bullet so far with the looks they've conceded to Nowitzki and the Mavs, especially when considering how needless that concession really is. Brooks isn't lacking in more capable defenders to throw Nowitzki's way.
Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison are both more suited to keep pace with Dirk as he works the two-man game, and yet Perkins was Brooks' choice for the final five-and-a-half minutes of a deadlocked game. It worked well enough to get the Thunder the win, but that doesn't make it the right play.
LeBron James, an Unheralded Champion of Finesse
On Monday night, LeBron James registered five "and ones"—instances where a made bucket coincided with a shooting foul.
James was understandably compared to a freight train as a result, but that kind of imagery—while suited to James' raw power—does a disservice to the grace and touch of a great player.
It's true that much of what allows James to propel himself through and over opponents is a momentum befitting a steam engine, but what allows him to actually finish those same plays are his body control and impossible finesse. The idea that power and polish are in any way mutually exclusive is asinine, as James stands as a shining example of the virtues of both camps.
James' game has always been one built on fusion, and yet the delicate drop of his finger-rolls oddly (and sadly) don't seem to captivate all that many with their contrast.
His drives are so powerful that we inevitably wait for the built-in drama of a particularly violent finish, all while perhaps not giving quite enough credit to James for his mastery of anticlimax.
Few finish after contact so consistently, and though it's easy to see how James' frame alone would aid in his efforts to maintain shooting balance, that the touch on his layups and runners remains silky in spite of the hits he takes is nothing short of astounding.
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