What We Learned from the Heat vs. Pacers

Last night’s NBA action saw the renewal of the best, and possibly the only one worth mentioning, rivalry in the Eastern Conference.  The Pacers beat the Heat 84-83 in Indiana to pad their lead for the number one playoff seed.  These two teams will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals later this year.  Accordingly, the game received notable attention due to possible implications.

Among the plethora of story lines, two stand out from the rest of the pack.  The first is Miami’s last offensive possession.  Trailing by one with two seconds left LeBron James elected to pass to a wide open Chris Bosh rather than force a well-defended shot.  Bosh missed the potential game winning 22-footer.  Notably, there has been a lack of hand wringing over LeBron’s lack of “killer instinct.”  It seems that last season’s dominant playoff run has finally answered the, is James clutch enough debate.  Even LeBron’s harshest critics have conceded that the King will deliver in the clutch, albeit with a blend of Jordan’s grit and Magic’s Showtime.

The second note from last night’s tilt concerns Pacer Lance Stephenson.  After a shoving match with Dwayne Wade, and the resulting double technical, Stephenson failed to control himself later in the game.  He foolishly picked up his second technical foul by getting into Wade’s face after his dominate offensive finish at the rim.  His taunt resulted in his ouster.  Admittedly, Indiana won the game and perhaps Stephenson has learned his lesson.

            However, if Stephenson has not learned from this mistake, it could be the deciding factor for Indiana’s playoff fortunes.  Stephenson is a key member of the team.  His ample natural talent yields the occasional triple double and consistent energy for the club.  Losing him in the playoffs would limit an already limited offensive attack.  Stephenson campaigned via social media to be an All-Star this winter.  A player of his caliber must be on the court during the Eastern Conference Finals if Indiana is to have any chance to dethrone the King.  What are the chances that James passes to Bosh for a 22-foot game winner in the waning moments of game seven with the three-peat on the line?  The Pacers will need all hands on deck at that moment.

Michigan State has Quietly Secured the Future

Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio has received a contract extension, one additional year, and pay raise, from 682,905 dollars to two million dollars in base pay.  In typical Spartan fashion, the move received little notoriety despite the impact it carries.  Dantonio is the most underappreciated college coach of the last decade.  His work as the headman at Cincinnati and Michigan State is equal to any other coach during the same span, save perhaps Nick Saban.

Dantonio has resurrected a Michigan State program that was in shambles following the cartoonish reign of John L. Smith.  Sparty had regained his rightful perch in the national discussion under Saban but the program could not sustain Saban’s success.  Dantonio has righted the ship in East Lansing, which is easier said than done.  Michigan State possesses the resources to field a top ten-team year in and year out, however, the arms race that Michigan and Ohio State have embarked in can easily swallow a program no matter how prominent it is, that means you Penn State.

Rather than fixate on what he does not have Dantonio has recruited well and coached better.  The 2014 Spartans were a testament to this.  Darqueze Dennard, Max Bullough, and Connor Cook are talented players.  Yet anyone that watched Michigan State’s loss to Notre Dame knows that this team improved tremendously.  Michigan State was stagnate for stretches of that game and allowed the Irish to run the ball effectively during crucial stretches of the second half.  By the time Stanford faced Dantonio’s squad in the Rose Bowl, these fatal flaws no longer existed.

           Dantonio’s record at Michigan State is 64-29 with a 38-18 mark in Big Ten play.  In seven seasons in East Lansing Dantonio has averaged nine wins a year.  Michigan State has recognized the caliber of their coach wisely paid him accordingly.  ESPN did not trumpet this contract extension but they should have done so.  The landscape of the Big Ten is changing and Mark Dantonio is leading the way wearing Spartan green.