Mark Bradley

Derrick Rose was lost in the very first game of this postseason. Thus was a tone set. (AP photo)

On Feb. 21, San Antonio saw an 11-game winning streak end at Portland by the score of 137-97. But the resounding part wasn’t the 40-point margin: It was the message sent. The Spurs hadn’t used their two best players, and Tim Duncan and Tony Parker weren’t hurt.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters: “I can’t run our guys into the ground.”

Then this: “That’s what’s going to happen if you want to put some money in the bank for later.”

We know now that the NBA’s post-lockout regular season, in which 66 games were jammed into four months, served to make a mess of this postseason. Should it come as a coincidence that Popovich’s team has sailed unbeaten through two rounds, while the Chicago Bulls, who tied San Antonio for the regular season’s best record, were gone after six games? Should we be surprised that all that seems to matter in these playoffs is health, or the lack …

Continue reading These NBA playoffs: Less about excellence than about health »

OK, so it isn't football, but it's still an off-tackle dive play. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)

Let’s be clear: The ACC has work to do. But that’s not nearly the same as being doomed, which is how some have characterized the conference after the double hit of Florida State’s (apparently overstated) flirtation with the Big 12 and the announcement of the SEC/Big 12 New Year’s Day bowl. As a public service, we attempt to distinguish flaming hyperbole from colder reality.

The ACC needs to tie itself to a big new bowl. This part is true. Indeed, this is essential. The chance of the champions from the SEC and the Big 12 being omitted from the presumptive four-team BCS playoff is small; the chance of an ACC titlist not making the final cut is rather larger. (No ACC team has played for the BCS title since Florida State in 2000, which was so long ago that Mark Richt was the Seminoles’ offensive coordinator.)

To be considered viable, the ACC cannot have its champ landing in, say, the …

Continue reading Is the ACC doomed? Hardly, and here are the reasons why »

Continue reading Video: On the SEC, the Big 12 and their confusing bowl game »

A kick of the leg, a flip of the wrist … but what's the xFIP? (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

In the light of Mike Minor’s latest strange outing — he yielded five hits in six innings, but four were home runs — I thought I’d pass along some data presented by Red Reporter in its preview of the Reds-Braves series. (Warning: If your eyes glaze over at the mention of sabermetrics, cease and desist reading.) My two favorites:

That Minor has a left-on-base percentage that’s off the charts, and not in a good way.

That Minor, who now carries an ERA of 6.97, has, at least according to one key stat-geek metric, pitched almost as well as Brandon Beachy, whose 1.33 ERA leads the majors.

The metric in question is xFIP, and it stands for expected fielding independent pitching. Here’s the simple definition — actually, it’s not all that simple — from the really useful site FanGraphs: “ Fielding Independent Pitching measures what a player’s ERA should have looked like over a given time period, …

Continue reading Numbers suggest Minor hasn’t been quite as bad as all that »

In other news, Herschel Walker just dared Mike Rozier to arm-wrestle him. (AJC special photo)

Beginning in 2014, the champions of the SEC and the Big 12 will meet annually in a New Year’s Day bowl. That’s provided both champions are available, which neither figures to be. Which is why I’m a little confused about just how big this Big Game really is.

I’m less confused about the motivations for such a move. They are, as ever, money and power. Even if the actual conference champions won’t be playing in this game, it will still bear the imprint of the SEC, which in college football has become the only league that matters, and the Big 12, which by pairing with the almighty SEC is hoping that some of the glow is transferable.

If you’re the Big 12 and you were losing high-profile schools teams left and right — Colorado to the Pac-12, Nebraska to the Big Ten, Texas A&M and Missouri to the, er, SEC — that’s a major consideration. Recent rumblings about Florida State considering a move …

Continue reading The SEC’s new bowl with the Big 12? It mightn’t be so big »

"Run the play where we shoot a jump shot. That'll work." (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)

The Atlanta Hawks could have changed a lot this offseason without doing very much. They could have said goodbye to both general manager Rick Sund and coach Larry Drew without having to buy either out. By announcing Friday that they’ve chosen to keep Drew another season, the Hawks have again sent the message that they regard being pretty good as good enough.

Sund’s fate — his contract expires June 30 — is still unknown, but it seemed rather significant that he was the only one quoted in the we’re-keeping-Drew release. (Would a GM who’s actually leaving be allowed to vote yea or nay on a coach? These being the Hawks, maybe.) And if you wondered how long Sund would wait to invoke injuries as an excuse for remaining status quo, the answer was 25 words.

Then this: “The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to …

Continue reading The Hawks move to keep Larry Drew, and more hope fades »

"Good luck in your next job, Larry." "Same to you, Rick." (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

As sometimes happens in the fast-paced world of 21st Century sportswriting, events have intervened. The Hawks announced at 1:59 p.m. Friday that they have exercised their option to keep Larry Drew as head coach. A new post will be forthcoming, but I’m leaving this up as a reminder that … well, that it wasn’t MY idea.

The other day, someone who follows the Atlanta Hawks in a journalistic capacity asked: “Do you think Josh Smith really wants to be coached?” That’s not just a great metaphysical question — it’s the key to this offseason and the seasons to come.

After thinking a bit, I said: “I think he does.” And right there I had my blueprint. At this moment in their strange history, what do the Hawks need to do?

Keep Josh Smith but find him a coach.

There are three major variables: Smith has one season remaining on his contract and has made noises about wanting out of here; the club holds an …

Continue reading How the Hawks might get it right: Find a coach for Josh Smith »

Mike Minor in a start at Colorado earlier this month. It wasn't good, either. (AP photo)

Fredi Gonzalez said Wednesday night that he thought Mike Minor threw very well — for three innings. Which he did. Minor carried a no-hitter into the fourth. He was gone five outs later, having yielded seven base runners in the span of 10 Miami batters. For the fourth consecutive start, Minor was charged with at least six earned runs. His ERA rose to 7.09.

It’s clear that Minor is becoming a bit of a mess. After Wednesday’s game he said he let down his teammates, the organization and the fans. He said he didn’t want the other Braves looking at him wondering if this start was going to be as bad as last week’s, didn’t want them thinking they’d have to score a lot of runs to win — which had happened both at Colorado and St. Louis — just because Minor is pitching.

Minor is hard on himself, and you can see why. Last month he worked 7 1/3 one-hit innings against Milwaukee, which can hit, and …

Continue reading What do the Braves do with Minor? There aren’t many options »

"First place is over that way, I do believe." (AJC photo by Jason Getz)

(Updated to reflect Wednesday’s rather shabby outcome.)

Not so long ago, some believed the National League East had grown too tough for the local nine. Sports Illustrated even picked this club to finish fourth in a five-team division. And yet, with almost one-fourth of the six-month season gone, who awoke Wednesday holding first place?

Said Brian McCann, smiling: “Bravos.”

Yep. The team that didn’t spend big on free agents — unless you count paying Derek Lowe $10 million to leave — stood atop the division that has stamped itself as the NL’s best. OK, so it was only by a half-game over Washington, and so the skinny lead didn’t last the night. (The Nationals won at home and the Braves played horribly and lost to Miami here.) Still, let’s focus on the bigger picture:

The Braves were rather easy to forget amid the winter Eastern movement, and through 37 games they’d looked pretty darn good.

Granted, the 38th …

Continue reading The Braves were leading the NL East. They aren’t anymore »

This is Miami's Chris Bosh. Guess what? He's hurt. (AP photo)

As noted, the Hawks tripped over a splendid opportunity to reach the Eastern Conference finals. But, even had they gotten there, they wouldn’t have been expected to win the Eastern Conference finals. You had to figure Miami’s Big Three would have been too big.

Update: Miami’s Big Three is down to two, and the Heat just lost Game 2 at home to the Indiana Pacers. Meaning: The Hawks might have had a better chance in the ECF than we’d have thought.

Run the (depleted) numbers: In Round 1 the Hawks had the homecourt edge over Boston, which was without Ray Allen for Games 1 and 2 and Rajon Rondo for Game 2 and which saw Paul Pierce hurt himself in a shootaround before Game 4; in Round 2 they’d have faced eighth-seeded Philadelphia, which beat Chicago after Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah got hurt, and if they’d won Round 2 they would have faced either Miami, suddenly without Chris Bosh, or Indiana, which nobody really …

Continue reading We say it again: The Hawks really did flub a big fat chance »