The Celtics aren’t done yet. Despite blowing a 20-point lead, Boston hung in there to pull out an OT win and send the series back to New York for Game 5.
The Bucks and Lakers, on the other hand, are done. The Lakers never had much of a chance without Kobe Bryant, and the Bucks got stuck by the wrecking ball known as the Heat.
Speaking of the Bucks, here’s a column from Chris Sheridan that questions whether Brandon Jennings is really more valuable than Nate Robinson. He doesn’t think so.
The other series that’s still 3-0 is Rockets-Thunder, and to this point it’s been way more competitive than that 3-0 indicates. But, as Keith Calkins writes, the Rockets still find themselves staring a sweep straight in the face.
Today’s blog is fairly playoff-centric, as is to be expected during the first round of the playoffs, but let’s kick things off with some news about a non-playoff team:
- There’s a couple names popping up in the Sixers’ coaching search. The first is current Hawks coach Larry Drew. John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes: “If the Atlanta Hawks part ways with coach Larry Drew when the Hawks are bumped from the NBA playoffs, Drew would be interested in coaching the 76ers, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Saturday. “Larry loves coaching, and he wants to continue as a head coach,” said the league source. “He’s in a difficult situation, and it’s hard to say what will happen in Atlanta.” The Sixers are looking for a replacement for Doug Collins, who resigned one day after the regular season ended earlier this month. Drew is in the final year of his contract. The Hawks hired Danny Ferry as the general manager last summer, and there has been speculation ever since that Ferry would look to hire his own coach.”
- Here’s another name in that search, courtesy of Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe: “A coaching search remains in Philadelphia after Doug Collins stepped down, and the 76ers are seeking a dynamic young replacement who could help upgrade a flawed roster. While Brian Shaw’s name has been mentioned, someone to watch is former assistant, and former 76er, Aaron McKie, who is familiar with the roster and is a Philadelphia native.”
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Dwight Howard is GONE, fishing in Houston. Sounds like Howard has made up his mind but won’t tell us until he gets free rehab.
The Big question will be whether Kobe is amnestied, in which case it would make sense for him to take the entire year off to recover (or retire), and return to Lakers in a year for Vet Min?
If Howard retires, the only way to get well under the cap is to Amnesty Kobe. Lakers could rebuild with the cap space, while they wait for Kobe to return in 1 year.