Wilbon: Caps Chances, NBA Playoffs, Favre, Dave Bing, More

Welcome to another edition of The Chat House, where Post columnist Michael Wilbon was online Monday, May 11 at 1:15 p.m. ET to discuss the latest sports news, his columns and anything else that's topical.

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Capitol Hill: I'm loving the Rockets-Lakers series! It's just so fascinating to see the Lakers struggling to keep up with a Rockets team that plays harder and smarter. I suspect the Lakers will win in 7, but it's fun while it lasts. And if the Lakers make the finals, I have trouble seeing how they win a single game against a Cavs team that plays hard every game.

Michael Wilbon: Hi Everybody...I'm in Los Angeles for tomorrow's Game 6 of Rockets-Lakers, so this is a great question to begin with...We'll hit the NBA playoffs, the Capitals on the verge of being knocked out of the playoffs, some baseball...I must admit, I didn't think this Rockets-Lakers series was going to be tied, 2-2, after Yao Ming's injury at the end of Game 3. And while I don't think the Rockets can win the series, or either of the next two games, this has become fascinating in part because the Lakers suddenly seem very flawed. And maybe the Rockets will win back at home in Game 6 to force a Game 7 Sunday...That shouldn't happen, as good as the Lakers are, and with Houston playing without T-Mac, Yao and Dikembe Mutomobo...but the Lakers don't play with the urgency of a champion. The Cavaliers do. The Lakers, not so much. Thing is, the Lakers play when they have to...I've been of the opinion for weeks that the Lakers would beat the Cavs in what has seemed like an inevitable NBA Finals series. BUT, the Lakers might be vulnerable against Denver and Cleveland looks like the better team now.

BUT

Let me caution you. Last year the Celtics were 12-8 going into the Finals and had struggled through two 7 game series while the Lakers were 12-3 going into the Finals...But the Celtics thoroughly outplayed the Lakers for the championship. AND, the Cavaliers' opponents these first two rounds (Detroit and Atlanta) are downright inferior compared to the Lakers first two opponents this post-season (Utah and Houston)...Don't jump to too many conclusions.

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Greensboro, N.C.: Why does Mark Cuban continue to get away with acting like an idiot? There aren't too many other owners in sports who storm across the court after a bad call and act like a kid. I guess I am just tired of his whole act.

Michael Wilbon: Get away with? He's been fined more than a million dollars because of those actions. I understand why he was upset after that game because the difference between being down 2-1 and 3-0 is enormous. That series is over, if for no reason other than Denver now has zero pressure and when the Nuggets can play freely they're as good as anybody in the league today. Problem is, as I was reminded by Jon Barry and Magic over and over again, the Mavericks didn't do their job in that situation. The player has to gell the official, "Mark, We have a foul to use (before reaching the penalty, resulting in free throws) and before the guy can shoot, I'm going to foul whoever gets it. I'm going to foul, so look for it." Magic and JB say to not to that is inexcusable...And in his post-game remarks, Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle said they "presumed" the referee knew the Mavs had a foul to give. Presume? You can't do that. Youhave to tell him during the timeout, "We're going to foul." No excuse. Dallas blew it. The league acknowledged that a foul should have been called, but the Mavs controlled that situation and didn't handle it as they should have.

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Herndon, Va.: Magic Johnson is my favorite player of all-time, and I love open-court, fastbreak basketball. Thusly, I didn't merely hate the Bad Boy Pistons, I loathed them. But I always considered Chuck Daly to be a classy individual. (as well as one smooth dresser.) Everything I've heard about the man since that era only further enhances my view that he was an absolute gentleman. A great coach, and (in my mind) a great color analyst. He will be missed.

Michael Wilbon: Yes, Chuck Daly was everything you said, a great coach and a complete gentleman. I wrote a column that appeared in Sunday's newspaper, quoting Charles Barkley as saying essentially, "I couldn't believe a man as nice as Chuck Daly coached the Bad Boy Pistons." He managed to stay above the mess, above the flagrant fouls, the reputation for mayhem earned by Bill Laimbeer and (to a lesser extent) Rick Mahorn. Nothing touched Chuck because in any and all personal and professional interaction he was just a remarkable gentleman. The very guys muscled by his teams--Larry Bird, Magic, Michael Jordan--loved Chuck and all talked about it over the weekend. Magic was scheduled to fly tomorrow morn to Orlando to, along with Olympic officials, award Chuck Daly a gold medal for coaching the 1992 Dream Team. Any greater gesture than that?

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Alma, Mich.: Which current or former Piston should be Dave Bing's vice mayor?

Michael Wilbon: Ha! Good question. It would need to be somebody with a great eye for detail, who could provide some back-room muscle and influence...Rick Mahorn...Unless you want that mayor to have some comic relief, and in that case John Salley.

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Fairfax, Va.: Hello Michael,

Do you think Tiger and Phil are in a decline, or a new group of players are on the rise (or both)? Thanks for these chats.

Michael Wilbon: It's golf. Not professional football. It's not decided in some grand, overstated way every single week. There's an arc to the spring/summer. Tiger's going to win five or six times (he's already won once) and Phil's going to win, say, three times. Nothing's changed. Not yet.

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New Orleans: If your the Vikings owner, GM, and coach, why would you want Favre on your team?

Michael Wilbon: Given the team's depth chart as it concerns QB, yeah, I'd want Favre...I think Favre should play, but stop the drama, stop the matyrdom and just play already. I'm tired of his act...But yeah, if I'm the Vikings I'd want him if his arm checks out.

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washingtonpost.com: Wilbon on Daly: Daly's Ability to Coach The Greats Made Him One (Post, May 10)

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Baltimore: Hey Mike, thank you for doing the chats. In your article today, Barkley said Daly called him the second best player in the world. Who did Daly think was the best?

washingtonpost.com: Daly's Ability to Coach The Greats Made Him One (Post, May 10)

Michael Wilbon: You have to ask? Familiar with a guy who wore No. 23?

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Throwing Stuff on the Ice: Hey Wilbon,

Permit me a rant, please. To all those who think it's ok to throw items onto the ice after the Caps loss on Saturday, please get a life. No matter what you think you are owed by the players playing the game, or how much you supposedly suffer because you are a delusional fan, it is not ok to throw objects onto a field of play. It's not ok when you are 5, or when you are 55 (with the brain of a 5 year old). To claim you are a long-suffering fan so it's ok is just assanine. I know this happens in various sports and in many cities, but it happened here on Saturday and it needs to stop. Thanks for letting me rant. there are a lot of good fans in this area, but the nutballs and zealots are getting a little to out-of-hand lately.

Michael Wilbon: Thank you, thank you, thank you...I was in Bristol, Conn. at the ESPN headquarters so I couldn't see the aftermath of Game 5, but you are absolutely corret. There's no other position to take. Thanks.

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Corsicana, Tex.: Hey Michael!! You are one of my favorite writers!! I think the way Denver is playing that they could beat the Lakers or Cavs, what about you?

Michael Wilbon: Thanks...Well, the way Denver is playing and the way the Lakers are playing makes it closer to even than I would have thought two weeks ago. The Lakers goof around too much, act too entitled. The Lakers have all the talent in the world, but they don't have a second SOB kind of player who can slam some guys into a locker after practice. And Denver, if the Nuggests get up in a game or a series, try to run you into the ground. And they're impossibly confident now. That could be a great series...

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Baltimore: At the risk of sounding like an idiot. I'm throwing this out there. LeBron is as good as Jordan. There, I feel better.

Michael Wilbon: There are reasons to expect that can be the case in the future, but not yet, not when the count is 6 titles to zero. But you look at LeBron now and you have to think (as Magic suggested yesterday), that this kid has everything, physically and mentally, to be the best ever...But he's got to win, say, 4 championships to even make the discussion work.

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NHL Playoff Hate: There's nothing like a great series to produce passionate feelings of love and hate. Who could predict that Washingtonians would be hating on Brooks Orpik ? I love it.

Michael Wilbon: That's the allure of baseball, basketball and hockey: resolution over as many as seven games. It's wonderful...just as single elimination is in a completely different way.

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Congress Heights, DC: Where does Dave Bing rank on the list of greatest DC-born athletes of all time? And do you think he will be as successful of a politician as another former DC ahtlete, Heath Shuler?

Michael Wilbon: Is Shuler that "successful?" I must admit I don't exactly follow his political career so closely that I know the reviews, accomplishments, setbacks...Anyway, Bing has to be on the short list, with Elgin Baylor, NFL Hall of Famer Willie Wood, Adrian Dantley...D.C. has produced far, far more great basketball players than football. Nick Lowrey, who went to St. Albans and played in the NFL for about 18 years, is a D.C. product. But the list of great, great football players is relatively short. Basketball is much longer. Baylor, then Dantley would be the top of my list, if we're talking players. If the measure is contribution, then it becomes Red Auerbach, John Thompson, Baylor, Bing, Ray Leonard...

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Washington, D.C.: What's your view on the future of sports on TV? As a relatively young man, I get most of my programming from either Netflix or Hulu. The only reason I maintain cable is to watch live sports. But I am only going to pay $100 a month for so long before I really start to question why sports leagues aren't offering their content online for a small fee. How long do you see the current system of sports leagues only offering their content through television networks maintaining itself?

Michael Wilbon: This is a great question, but you're asking a man who doesn't have that kind of vision. I don't see around the corner, technologically...I didn't see newspapers dying so early in the 21st century either...I don't want to deal with streaming on-line. I like satellite. It comes into my home, everything, and I don't want to manage it. I want the easiest consumption possible. You sound much more industrious than I am, which is why you're thinking about the least expensive way to access the greatest amount of content. Me? I want the clicker.

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Washington, D.C.: "The player has to gell the official, 'Mark, We have a foul to use (before reaching the penalty, resulting in free throws) and before the guy can shoot, I'm going to foul whoever gets it. I'm going to foul, so look for it.' "

Of course, this is why so many people can't stand the NBA's and its officials. You shouldn't have to tell the official you are going to foul someone and to look for it. It is so simple; if they see a foul, they should call it. It's really hard to watch the NBA anymore when fouls are determined more by WHO and WHEN, than to whether someone was actually fouled.

Michael Wilbon: Your interpretation speaks to your personal bias in regard to basketball. In pro football, you watch every week the coach tell the official, "When the kicker steps to the ball, I'm going to call timeout." What's the difference. Players tell officials what's coming in football...I don't know if there's a situation in hockey that warrants it. You feel the same way about football referees?

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Middletown, N.J.: What do you think of the play of the young Houston point guard Aaron Brooks? Was losing Rafer Alston good for the Rockets?

Michael Wilbon: Well, clearing some playing time was great for the Rockets. Brooks is going to be a better player. Remember, Alston is a 38 percent career shooter. The Lakers don't really have anybody who can guard Brooks now. He causes them big problems. Now, Brooks won't play that way on the road, here in L.A. tomorrow night...But he might do that again at home...

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Austin, Tex.: Aaron Brooks drops a career high against the Lakers...and he thinks he can wear a red blazer to the press conference. What did you think of blazer, bow tie combo?

Michael Wilbon: Loved it. Shane Battier wore the red blazer for quite a few weeks earlier in the season, including to the Rockets game in Washington...

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Washington, DC: If the worst happens tonight or Wednesday and the Caps lose and are knocked out of the playoffs, how would you evaluate their season? Did they perform up to expectations or will there be grumbling that they did not go further?

Michael Wilbon: There's already grumbling when the local team is so close to reaching another round, and in this case it would be justifiable. Barry Melrose, the ESPN analyst extraordinaire, says the Caps aren't playing as hard as the Pens, which isn't good...The defense has been lacking, which is why both OT games--4 and 5--were lost (defensemen errors)...Ovechkin is playing great, but Green and Semin haven't done much...I don't see the Caps coming back with a W tonight. It's been a nice season, very nice...But how badly do those players want to win? With a 2-0 lead you should win the series...

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New York, N.Y.: If Brett Favre really does retire, I mean actually retire, you think he could coach or work for ESPN as an analyst?

Michael Wilbon: He can do anything he wants. He's Brett Favre. You think they would tell him, "No, bro...we don't need you." He could work with whatever broadcast partner wants him, and there are plenty.

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Kansas City, Mo.: What do you think of ESPN's Bill Simmons's seemingly serious push to try and be the GM of the T'Wolves? Do you think he deserves an interview or just to be dismissed as it appears has happened?

washingtonpost.com: Bill Simmons for Minnesota Timberwolves GM

Michael Wilbon: I don't know anything about this...Gotta read it after we get done. But without reading it, I'm still going to say, "You're kidding me, right?"

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Middletown, NJ: Did you hear Stan Van Gundy taking responsibility for Glen Davis's game-winning shot? I've heard you and Tony Kornheiser talking about how quick Van Gundy is to place blame on his team. What do you think of this change of attitude from coach Van Gundy?

Michael Wilbon: It seems like nonsense to me. It wasn't a bad call by VanGundy. It was the right call. Take the ball out of Paul Pierce's hands and make a lesser player risk taking a shot he's not accustomed to taking. Boom! The Magic carried out EXACTLY the defensive assignment they should have. And they did it well. And Big Baby, who wouldn't even be on the floor in that situation if KG and Leon Powe were healthy, hits hit first game winner of any significance. It was the right play and I have ZERO idea what Van Gundy is talking about.

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Oakton, VA: Mike,

As a St. Albans alumnus, you forgot Jonathan Ogden. So that begs the question, who had the better career, Nick Lowery or Jonathon Ogden?

Michael Wilbon: Ooooh, thanks for that. I've known J.O. (because his dad, Tiny, covered high schools sports for The Post for years)since he was about four years old. He's a Hall of Famer, in my book. Nick's a close friend. I can't be objective...Kickers and tackles are so different, in terms of what they do, they can't be compared. J.O. should go to The Hall.

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Mavs got it wrong: I agree, the Mavs got it wrong. But you didn't give them the correct language. What you say is, "Look, Mark, 2-1 is a lot different from 3-0. What are the networks going to show if Denver sweeps? Do you REALLY want to explain to Commissioner Stern why you didn't call a foul and let Denver go up 3-0? Exactly."

Michael Wilbon: Ha! Whatever...Tell him something, whatever you gotta tell him to get him to call a foul there.

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Baltimore: We've heard a lot about the Pistons, Suns, and maybe even the Spurs being "blown up." But if the Mavs go out in four, might it be time for some major reconstruction there, too? Seems like they've gone as far as they can go with that group.

Michael Wilbon: I'm totally with you on that. Dirk isn't a No. 1 player anymore. He's a co-No. 1 or a No. 2. But they'd have to get another studly player from somewhere, maybe another guy with a ton to prove...And don't tell me A.I. because that ship has sailed (to Charlotte, to be exact)...Rip Hamilton maybe?

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Valencia, CA: Hey Wilbon. Now that Manny is out until July, where do you see the power shifting in the MLB. I hate to say it, being a diehard Dodger fan, but they look very beatable right now. Thanks for the chat.

Michael Wilbon: Of course they look beatable. The guys in that clubhouse adore Manny, look up to him, play off of him...I'm not playing close enough attention to baseball now to pontificate about the shifting of power. Baseball seasons are marathons and (like golf) we shouldn't be judging them like it's an NFL season...We'll see.

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Hyde Park , Chicago: Greetings from the South Side, Michael. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on Selena Roberts' A-Rod excerpt in SI last week. To me - and I'm no big fan of the guy - it seemed like much ado about nothing (or not much). The pitch tipping stuff came from an anonymous source, which immediately makes it suspect, and the rest of the stuff seemed pretty tame. Do you get the sense that the guy's been criticized whatever he does, even before the steroid test surfaced?

Michael Wilbon: I know Selena and have liked her and respected her work for years, especially when she was writing a column at The New York Times. But nothing I've heard that's in that book interests me in the least. None of it. Much of it makes me say, "So what, who cares?" And I've read quite a few people in my fraternity (like Jason Whitlock and her former NYT co-worker Murray Chass) shoot holes legitimately in the reporting...It's not something I'm going to read. I just don't care enough about the subject matter.

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DC: Michael, if given the option would you want Tracy McGrady on the Bulls next season?

Michael Wilbon: maybe...Depends on his health. That particular knee surgery has put people down for a lot longer than a year.

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Kane, Pa.: Thanks for the great write-up on Chuck Daly. He went to high school with my grandmothers and never forgot where he came from. When I was a kid, he welcomed my cousins and I into the Pistons' locker room after our first NBA game (at the Capital Center). Then he went out for dinner with the adults, while us kids watched highlights in his hotel suite.

From then on, we were hooked. Years later, he was the commencement speaker for my cousin's high school graduation. Overall, a great guy, and a phenomenally successful coach, who I've always felt was under-appreciated for getting what he did out of those Pistons' teams in the late-'80s into the early '90s.

Since then, we've seen the kind of headcases that Isiah and Rodman were, but he got what he needed to out of those guys and won titles, despite probably not having the top talent.

Michael Wilbon: Thanks for that. I'll disagree with you on one thing: The Pistons had amazing talent, which Chuck would be the first to say. Isiah Thomas is the greatest 6-foot player who ever played the game, and Rodman was great elsewhere...You don't have to disparage the Pitsons talent to offer justfiable praise for Chuck Daly. As you stated so fondly, he was a gentleman and a great coach. It's a players' league and nobody knew that better than Chuck Daly or used it more effectively.

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Annapolis, Md.: Can you stand more on race and hockey?

The NFL and NBA got rid of fighting because they were afraid of losing sponsors - especially the high-dollar upper-class sponsors, companies run by white people. The NHL hasn't done that because it isn't worried about its sponsors -- and also because there's little chance of interracial violence in the NHL. I think fighting also has more to do with the concepts of manliness and toughness and Canadianness that go into hockey. White Europeans play a skill game and get ragged for it.

So I think race is there but there are other things going on too.

Michael Wilbon: I agree largely with that assessment. Thank you for it...Did you see the Bruins player at the end of yesterday's game get his eye socket broken by the Carolina player? For what? How does that serve the NHL? To have a player injured and out now for a playoff game? Who does that help? Does it highlight the skill of NHL players, which is considerable? Does it help prove his own toughness? Does it send the right message to the kids in attendance? WHO DOES IT SERVE? Nobody, of course. I'm suspicious of anybody who defends this stuff, hockey fan or not.

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Manassas, Virginia: Hey, Mike, you've been defending Tiger for the past few weeks, saying his balky putter let him down. And yet, yesterday as his playing partner melted under the Sunday pressure, Tiger couldn't hit a fairway. To start the round, he hit four of the worst shots he has hit in some time. The tournament was his for the taking, but he seemed to be fighting his swing all day. Still think he will win 6 tournaments?

Michael Wilbon: What do you think happens every year when Tiger wins six-nine tournaments? You think he doesn't have stinkers in those seasons. You must be another one of those NFL fanatics who week to week checks which way the wind is blowing and says, "Yeah, he stinks!" Or "That guy's the greatest!" Pay attention. If Tiger wins 8 times in a year--which is a great season--he "loses" a dozen times...This year he's finished in the top 10 in all stroke play events and won one of five. Anybody else got that winning percentage. He played badly this past weekend. So what? That's golf. It's going to happen again this season. It does to everybody, every year. Open your eyes.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: What do you think of Bill Simmons in general? Are you a fan? Do you know him at all?

Michael Wilbon: Met him a couple of times. Passionate about hoops, which I love. Smart about hoops usually, which I love. I can't say I know him well or that I read him all the time, but I do sometimes...GM? I don't see it at all, which seems to be the discussion point suddenly. BUT, Marty Hurney, who was a sportswriter for The Washington Times and a damn good one at that, is GM of the Carolina Panthers...So...maybe...

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LeBron vs MJ: Not a Cav's fan, but do you think that LeBron's supporting cast is as good as MJ's was?

If not, is it fair to downgrade LeBron when trying to compare him to MJ?

Michael Wilbon: Where did you read a downgrade? Do people read anymore, or just look at a couple of words and make up the rest of the words in a sentence. What I said was, MJ has six championships, LeBron zero. That's not a downgrade. It's a fact. He has to win championships, mutiple championships, or he's not going to be compared favorably to Jordan. I didn't even say he needs to win seven...or six...I said four gets him in a favorable conversation. And NO, his supporting cast isn't as good...not yet. But there's time. He's 24. He's got 10 years, I would think...

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Columbia, Md.: Mike, Why isn't Ryan Zimmerman getting any national pub for his 28 game hitting streak.. Is it because he plays for those NATINALS?

Michael Wilbon: Yes.

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Greatest D.C.-born athletes: He's not quite there yet, but I imagine in, say, 3-5 years, Kevin Durant's name will right near the top of this list.

Michael Wilbon: No, 3-5 doesn't get you near the top. In 3-5 all he'll have done is lead the league in scoring. You think he'll be an all-time NBA player by then? No, he won't. He might not even have won a playoff series by then. In 12 years he might be near the top because, yes, he has that kind of talent. And he's on a really young team that if it stays together and healthy it might be able to do something by the time he's, say, 26 or 27 years old. This stuff isn't instant/just add water. Elgin Baylor NEVER won a title, but played in the Finals a bunch of times. A.D. NEVER won a title, though he would have if the Pistons hadn't dumped him so unfairly. I don't think Bing won a title either, did he? Or am I forgetting a stop where he did. Not with the Pistons, I know that. Durant doesn't need to win a title. But longevity counts and 3-5 more makes him what he is now, a baby. Check with me in 2020.

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Arlington VA: Did Bill Plaschke ever respond to your challenge of taking a 2x4 to his knees?

Michael Wilbon: I love Plaschke. I'll see him tomorrow at the game. But oh, how big a "faker" is Yao, having played a half on a broken foot.

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Tennessee: Why the American Idol Hate? It seems like it would be just your thing.

Michael Wilbon: I don't like judges in my sports, or in anything else outside a court room. And I hate Simon...Hate him and everything about him and his smugness and sneering and in-your-face insulting that's become all too big a part of today's popular culture. I find nothing appealing about it. Sorry.

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Washington DC: Do you have any interest in moving out of the studio show and into the broadcast booth for the NBA?

Michael Wilbon: None whatsoever...and I can't imagine anybody having any interest in me doing that either.

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Roseburg, Ore.: Tiger once had it all. When Nike started making clubs and Tiger switched from the Titelist driver that he was blistering down the middle long 75 percent of the time and started using the Nike Driver that he hits down the middle about twice a round. Who knows how many more major's he would have right now if he had stuck with the Titelist driver?

Michael Wilbon: I know, poor Tiger. His career has suffered so. Imagine, if he had the right driver he might have won the U.S. Open on one leg last summer. Oh, wait...

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Vienna, Va.: Michael,

Watching Shane Battier play in the LA-Houston series, I'm thinking that this is what Tyler Hansbrough can achieve. Not an all-star, but a player that any team would kill to have in its lineup.

Michael Wilbon: Hansbrough isn't one-third the athlete Shane Battier is. Battier can actually move around a basketball court well enough to attempt to shadow Kobe Bryant. Are you kidding me? Hansbrough can't do that in his wildest fantasies. I get what you're saying about hustling and playing hard and studying...but Battier is a great athlete who does all those things. Hansbrough...I can't see it.

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Corsicana, Tex.: Hey Michael!! You are one of my favorite writers. How do you think your Cubs will fare this despite all the injuries?

Michael Wilbon: I'm trying to be patient and calm about the Cubbies, since they're over .500 even with injuries to Rammy and D.Lee and Ryan Dempster is struggling...It's a long season and I'm trying to be reasonable...Fast starts haven't paid off, so maybe hitting stride in August/Sept. will.

Okay, I gotta run and prepare for PTI...But I'll chat next week, probably from Bristol during the Western Conference Finals...Thanks everybody...MW

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