Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons in the NBA
5/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 3, 2011
By Currie McFayden
PF/C Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Despite the top-seeded Spurs getting upset by the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, the veteran Duncan shined individually. Duncan had five double-doubles in six opportunities during the series, averaging 12.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He grabbed a series-high 13 boards in Game 1 as the Spurs fell just short, 101-98, despite having home-court advantage. Duncan struck back in Game 2, however, recording 16 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks to power San Antonio to a 93-87 victory. Ultimately, the Spurs were upset in six games by the eighth-seeded Grizzlies. Following Golden State's upset of Dallas in 2007, this is just the second time a top seed has been defeated in the first round since the NBA switched to a seven-game series. This year also marked the 14th straight season in which San Antonio has reached the playoffs, the longest active streak in the NBA. The Spurs have never been a lottery team during the Duncan Era, which began with the 1997-98 season.
PG Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
The young point guard, in his sixth year in the league, played some of the finest basketball of his career in the Hornets' opening round matchup against the Lakers. Despite Paul's heroics, the seventh-seeded Hornets eventually succumbed to the defending champs in six games. Paul led his team in a major upset in Game 1, matching his season-high with 33 points while also dealing 14 assists and grabbing seven rebounds en route to a 109-100 victory in Los Angeles. After falling behind in the series, 2-1, Paul led another charge at home in Game 4 by notching the second triple-double of his career in the playoffs. Behind his 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, the Hornets evened the series with a 93-88 win. However, the Lakers took each of the next two games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. With a depleted roster that was missing top scorer David West, Paul was the unquestioned leader of the team that pushed Los Angeles much harder than many people anticipated.
PG Ishmael Smith, Memphis Grizzlies
The rookie point guard played limited minutes off the bench while backing up Mike Conley and Greivis Vasquez in Memphis' opening round upset of top-seeded San Antonio. His most extensive action came in Game 4 of the series as he scored four points, dealt an assist and grabbed a rebound in just three minutes of court time. Ironically, Smith's trade at the deadline sent him from Houston, the first team left out of the playoffs in the Western Conference, to Memphis, who was the final team to secure a playoff spot. The upstart Grizzlies have also grabbed a 1-0 series lead over Oklahoma City in their second round matchup after winning a tough road game, 114-101.
PF/C Darius Songaila, Philadelphia 76ers
Songaila maintained his role from the regular season as a reserve player in Philadelphia's clash with the Heat in the first round. He did not see any playing time in the five-game series, but the 76ers managed to avoid a sweep by taking Game 4 at home, 86-82. While Philadelphia put up a better than expected showing, the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh proved to be too much in the end, as the Heat advanced to face the Celtics in the second round.
PG Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks
In what proved to be one of the best matchups of the first round, Teague and the Hawks took down the No. 4 seed Magic in six games. The second-year point guard played in just two of the six showdowns, with his best showing coming in Game 5, a 101-76 loss, when he had five points and two assists while backing up starter Kirk Hinrich. Four of the six games in the series were decided by six points or less, including an 84-81 victory by Atlanta to seal the series in Game 6. The Hawks moved on to face the top-seeded Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but they are doin so without Hinrich who will miss the series with a severe hamstring strain. With Teague as the starting point guard, the Hawks pulled off a Game 1 upset of the Bulls with a 103-95 win on Monday in Chicago. Teague played 45 minutes and finished with 10 points and five assists going up against NBA MVP Derrick Rose.
