The first round of the 2014 playoffs has been remarkable for the many crazy story lines and the record number of both games and Game 7s. Usually the first round is a snoozer with two or three sweeps, and the only upsets are the No. 5 over No. 4 variety. But this year gave us so many thrills that we all got to witness so much more. We have all experienced great regular season games that have been played with “playoff
One of the consequences of the Donald Sterling scandal was that it delayed the official announcement of the Sixth Man Award winner. As the racism controversy was at its peak, the NBA postponed plans to present the award to Jamal Crawford, but news of the delay was reported far and wide. Today, there is enough calm in El Lay to finally make things official. Congratulations, J.Crossover. [Read more…]
Is Zeljko Obradovic too brash to coach in the NBA, or are some NBA players too self-centered to play for Obradovic? Yesterday, HoopsHype editor Jorge Sierra posted a poll amongst several players throughout Europe as to which coaches in Europe would make the best head coaches in the NBA. While the consensus top three of Ettore Messina, David Blatt and Zeljko Obradovic is pretty obvious, as all three coaches are clearly capable of running an NBA squad, the panel’s take on
Click on this banner to sign up for DraftStreet’s two-day NBA playoff fantasy leagues You knew Roy Hibbert was going to bust out at some point. What? You didn’t know that? OK, I guess a bust-out game from an All-Star did not seem to not be within the realm of possibility — even though I kept playing Hibbert from time to time in DraftStreet’s two-night fantasy contests. As I wrote yesterday, I couldn’t help myself. I put Hibbert on one of
When Roy Hibbert failed to record a single point or rebound in the first game against the Washington Wizards in Game 1 of the conference semi-finals, players around the league were heavily critical of the center’s poor play. Everything changed for Hibbert in Game 2, however, as the big man finally found his touch around the basket with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and nine rebounds. He, by far, was the biggest catalyst in helping the Indiana Pacers
Wednesday, May 7 was a night of redemption in the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Two higher-seeds bounced back from series-opening losses with impressive victories over their respective counterparts. One game came down to the wire, while the other ended in somewhat lopsided fashion. In the process, two embattled players quieted their critics with phenomenal performances in those wins. Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action. [Read more…]
There are plenty around the league who feel the firing of Mark Jackson was completely unjustified, given the fact that his team just came off a 51-win season. As most connected to the team in some way will tell you, however, it wasn’t just about the team’s record or what Jackson was able to do on the floor as the coach (which brought in mixed results, given the amount of talent on the team). There was an incredible amount of friction
The Indiana Pacers have been mired in all sorts of media controversy amidst their late-season swoon and subsequent first round playoff struggles. For all of the talk about Roy Hibbert and his personal struggles to score and rebound, there have been numerous theories as to the possible cause of both his loss of confidence and the team’s lack of chemistry and general malaise. One of the prevailing thoughts is that the mid-season additions of Andrew Bynum and Evan Turner may have