Daily Madden: Intensity Of NBA Playoffs Makes It A Different Game
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — The Golden State Warriors got Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in foul trouble to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-105 on Saturday in their playoff opener.
"You watch them during the season and you think they are playing pretty hard, I mean I always have, but then you just see toward the end of the season, when they are going for the seed and all that stuff, maybe a little more. And then geez, when they get in the playoffs, it's a totally different game," Madden said.
Daily Madden: Intensity Of NBA Playoffs Makes It A Different Game
He thought the Warriors played great and never felt they were in too much jeopardy.
"I know that, in the NBA, you never know what's going to go down until the end but, to be honest, I never felt that that was going to go all the way to the end...I felt the Warriors had control of it the whole time."
Madden noted the missed free throws by both teams, including the Clipper's Chris Paul, who is one the best foul shooters in the NBA.
"If you can watch that as a coach and say, 'what are the things that we can do better?' I still think it's free throws. And maybe, it's free-throw shooting under some tough conditions," he said.
Madden made a comparison to golf.
"If you practice, you don't practice with the same intensity on the putting green as you do on the driving range—I don't think. I think that's human nature and I don't know that a player would practice with the same intensity on the foul line because there are no distractions as he does hitting three pointers from the spot."
The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, who survived a calamitous end to the regular season and but still managed to claim the East's top seed, gave away their home court advantage with a loss to the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks Saturday.
After the game, Basketball analyst Charles Barkley, who claims he is a fan of the Indiana, said they played like "flat wussies."
Madden thinks Barkley's comments are an overreaction.
"I think that's one thing in a playoff series like this. You have to watch out that you don't overreact to winning and thinking, 'We got this now.' It's just one game and conversely, on the other side, losing. Don't you overreact to it," coach said. "I know (Barkley) was adding the end of the season too and the start of the playoffs but you let something like that play out a little."
