Because the NBA is such a showcase for amazing athleticism, it’s easy to believe that success in the sport is only a physical thing.
As the first weekend of playoff basketball showed, that’s not entirely true. There is a reason that coaches talk a great deal about the mental game. This might seem a bit surprising. After all, basketball isn’t exactly chess. A guy who is really tall and fast and can hit a jump shot should be able to succeed. Right? Not necessarily.
Think of the most difficult exercise you can do for an hour. Imagine that after an hour you are really beat. You’re ready to sleep. Now imagine that someone says you need to do it again, for another hour.
What makes you continue? Your body is exhausted. Your muscles are aching. Only your mind can make you keep going. This last weekend, several NBA games showed the importance of the mental game. In Denver, point guard Chauncey Billups had an amazing game. He hit 8 of his 9 three-point shots and took New Orleans completely out of their game He made all-world point guard Chris Paul seem like the second-best point guard in the game.
This was no accident. Billups is a heady, experienced player. Coming into the game, he obviously had a plan. He is playing with a Denver squad that does not have much experience with playoff success. Billups regularly went to the finals in past years with Detroit. He won a world championship with them in 2004 and was the Finals MVP.
Billups isn’t faster than Chris Paul. He may not be a better shooter. But he is certainly more experienced. In this series, it looks like he plans to use that experience to his advantage.
Another player who came out with mental determination is Derrick Rose. Some analysts doubted the rookie’s ability to keep the team focused against an experienced Boston team. Rose not only kept focus, he put on a dominating display. He shot 12-19 from the field and 12-12 from the free-throw line for 36 points. He also pulled down 4 rebounds and handed out 11 assists.
He did all of this in his first playoff game. As it headed into overtime, there is little doubt Rose was fairly well worn out. He played a total of 50 minutes. At some point, a little voice inside him probably said, “It’s time to ignore the fatigue and keep pushing.” That’s the mental edge.
The negatives of a poor mental mindset were evident on Boston’s side of the ball, as well. They clearly miss their physical and spiritual leader, Kevin Garnett. Watching them in the first game, it was clear they didn’t have their usual mental focus. Ray Allen had only 4 points on 1-12 shooting. Paul Pierce missed a crucial free throw that could have won the game at the end of regulation.
What was supposed to be an exciting match-up between the 4th-seeded Portland Trailblazers and the 5th-seeded Houston Rockets turned into a surprisingly easy win for Houston. Portland has talent and size. They are also the youngest team in the NBA, with little playoff experience from any player. They went up against a Houston team that has had its own problems mentally. Ron Artest has been great for Houston this year. He is a defensive stopper and an excellent offensive force. But he can also lose track of the game and hoist up shots that make coach Rick Adelman groan.
But in this game, it was Portland coach Nate McMillan who must have been doing the groaning. He knows that the best way to slow Houston’s offense is to keep Yao Ming away from the basket by fronting him. That’s no doubt what he told his team before the game began. But once it started, Portland seemed to lose all memory of what they were supposed to be doing. Yao made all of his shots, going 9-9 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line. He did all that with little resistance from Portland. The rest of this series will test whether the young Trailblazers can get their mental game back together and bring Yao back to Earth, or as close as he gets.
