Paul Jones

Paul Jones is the voice of the Raptors on the FAN 590 and writes regularly for Sportsnet.ca.

Just a few things that have caught my attention since the start of the playoffs and yes, I am ticked off that I'm watching at home and not working but then again, such is life.

Funny how Stu Jackson and the folks in the league office are getting touchy with what everyone is saying these days. In the last couple of weeks $35,000 fines are being thrown down the way Dwight Howard drops dunks.

Here's your recent list of contributors to the leagues "you can't say that so now you have to pay up" fine container. Phil Jackson, Rasheed Wallace, Stan Van Gundy, and Matt Barnes have all recently made, ahem, donations. But you know what? In some cases these guys are just telling the truth. In the case of Rasheed Wallace, and if there is a guy who is officiated more by his personality than another player in the league, please let me know, some might say he speaks the truth about TV ratings having an influence on results. Tim Donaghy, the shamed official, said it and whether you believe him, Wallace or neither, do you not think league officials want to have the marquee names advancing? In truth it doesn't matter because those names are on good enough teams that its going to happen at least in the first round, but, the NBA has never been shy about pushing the entertainment side of the game.

While the commissioner talks about coaches publicly working the officials and "eroding" fan confidence, it would help if stars weren't given the calls all the time and the mantra of a "foul is foul" was always followed without looking at the number or name on the front and back of the jersey.

But have no fear because Milwaukee, Miami, Oklahoma City, Charlotte and Chicago are all in trouble if past history holds true in the NBA playoffs. One of them has a slim chance of making past the first round. In the history of seven game series in the NBA, and there have been 223 of them, when a team takes a 2-0 lead they win the series an astonishing 93.7% of the time. Of course there are other statistical ghosts at work that will haunt teams that have fallen down 2-0 like the Celtics being 43-1 all time when up by that margin, or Phil Jackson's team never losing a series after winning Game 1.

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OK, I can hear some of you saying Miami has done this before and yes it happened in the 2006 Finals but that is the only time in their history they have come back after falling behind by a couple of games. What's Miami going to need? First off they can't afford to have droughts where they go eight minutes without a score. And more Dwyane Wade may not be the answer as "Flash" is already hitting at a 61% clip from the floor having scored about 35% of the Heats' points. It's the rest of his teammates that need to start playing. If you take Wade out of the equation, the rest of the squad is shooting a meager 32% including Jermaine O'Neal who is a combined 4/24 (16.7%) in the first two games. True, some of it is Boston's defence but Miami has to give Wade more help by making shots.

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The Charlotte Bobcats are another team that need to find a way to score. Much of the talk going into the post-season was how the Bobcats defence, best in the league in opponents scoring, would help them. But that stat is a function of style as well as good fundamental defence by the Bobcats. Yes, they have held the score down against Orlando but their 83 point per game in the first two contests, a decline of 12 over the regular season, is not going to ever get it done against the Magic. Orlando, in the event your were wondering, was the league's best team in opponents field goal percentage during the regular season and it has been their defence and three point shooting that have hurt Charlotte. The Magic are outscoring Charlotte 69-18 from beyond the arc in the first two games. Is it me or does Gerald Wallace have "Anderson Varajao disease?" You know, a guy that is rough and tumble at the offensive end but then flops and looks for a call when an opponent does the same thing on the other end. Just asking?

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Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant did a nice job of guarding Kobe Bryant in the Thunder's Game 3 win. His length was an issue for Bryant but you are only going to catch Bryant and head coach Phil Jackson by surprise once using a different tactic. Expect Bryant to be more mobile and make Durrant chase him if the youngster is going to be guarding him again in Game 4.