10/28: World Series Shootout, Hawks opener, etc.

Aloha...

• Ok... Who had Giants 11, Rangers 7 in their office pool?... Cliff Lee got roughed up, Lincecum got roughed up (although less so), and the Ranger bullpen was the opposite of effective... It's surprising Lee is/has been as dominant as he's been in the playoffs without a performance like this... My mind immediately goes to Greg Maddux when I think of Lee (no, he's not as good as Maddux, but thanks for asking) in that he's a pure control pitcher.. you always hear the attage the "power" pitching wins in the playoffs... and Lee has bucked that, but if you have a control guy who is missing his spots (i.e. Wednesday night), it can get ugly in a hurry... Kind of a big blow to the Rangers who suddenly are in a hole and facing a better pitcher than the one they are trotting out in every game (save possibly game 4) from here out...
• The Hawks got a road win in their opener last night in Memphis... hurray for road wins!... Anyway, I plowed through this game on DVR at about 2 am, so forgive me... I have a few thoughts... 1) The offense was impressive... Joe Johnson was rhythmic offensively, the ball didn't bog down for long stretches, and the overall efficiency was nice to see (1.24 points per possession, which is outstanding)... 2) I'm already a little wary of Larry Drew's substitution patterns... he buried Al Horford in the first half with 2 fouls (Woodson-like), and came with Josh Powell early in the 2nd half despite ZaZa playing his best half of basketball in 2 years.... 3) Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford still can't defend... at all... Bibby puts out effort (FWIW) but he's dreadful... I love Mike Conley but he shouldn't be putting up 23 points on 15 shots and doing whatever he wants... and 4) If last night is any indication, Marvin Williams is in for a bounce-back this season...
• Box Score Check: Monta Ellis put up a 46-point effort in GS's opener... and no, that doesn't make him efficient or particularly good... Luis Scola is a beast... 36 and 16 (albeit against GS), and he's done work for 2 solid years... Reggie Evans had 15 boards last night... nothing to see here... Chris Paul is back! 17 points (on 11 shots), 16 dimes, only ONE turnover and a game-high +/-.... welcome back kid... Roy Hibbert for MIP? Lots of early buzz for him pre-season and he followed up with a 28 and 9... and of course, Blake Griffin debuts with 20 and 14 despite Vinny Del Negro (who still isn't a good basketball coach), and Baron Davis (who still makes bad decisions) conspiring to freeze him out in the 2nd half...
• The Heat won a game!...
  
• Boston goes down... in Cleveland?... Definitely the most surprising end result last night... typical Celtics though... 2nd night of a back-to-back... on the road, and the old guys come out an lay an egg... nothing to really take from it... except for the surprising fact that Antawn Jamison only got 21 minutes for Cleveland.. I had some illusions he was their #1 option offensively... is he just done?...
  
• Brett Favre... may play?... If there's one thing I'll never kill Favre on, it's this... the guy is legitimately tough... and that's probably the last nice thing I'll say about him...

What to watch for...

• World Series Game 2 - Wilson vs. Cain - 7:57 FOX - Big spot for CJ Wilson here... would be a big hole to get down 2-0, and Cain has been absolutely dealing...
• Wizards/Magic - 8:00 TNT - The debut of John Wall... but Washington is in a rough spot here... no Gilbert, and a serious mismatch up front....
• Suns/Jazz - 10:30 TNT - Can I get Al Jefferson to attempt more than the SIX shots he got in their opener?
• CFB - Florida State @ NC State - 7:30 ESPN - Tough spot on the road for FSU... worth watching just to see Russell Wilson play for NCSU...