The Washington Wizards on Wednesday acquired center Emeka Okafor and forward Trevor Ariza from the New Orleans Hornets for forward Rashard Lewis and the 46th pick in next week’s draft. Trades usually aren’t made during the playoffs as teams are inclined to wait until the draft and free agency to start making moves in advance of next season. As far as postseason trades go, this is a pretty big one, rivaling the Chris Webber deal in May 1998. The Wizards were fleeced
If you’re looking for an illustration of why Celtics-Lakers is the best rivalry in the NBA – and perhaps the most enduring of any in the four major pro sports – then read the piece below. Before each game throughout the NBA Finals, we have been encapsulizing the top five Game 1s, Game 2s, etc. As the Thunder and Heat steel themselves for what should be a pretty intense Game 4 tonight, we offer you our top five Game 4 showdowns in
When we decided to flush out the five best NBA Finals games of the David Stern Era, we didn’t think we would have so much trouble with Game 3. Since Stern became commissioner in 1984, no Finals game number has had more duds than Game 3. While other games had seven and eight candidates for our top five list, we had issues coming up with five truly great Game 3 showdowns. Three of the games making our list took place in the
I will be the first one to admit I’m late to the party on Kevin Durant. I drink coffee, not Red Bull. My headphones are Sennheiser, not Beats or SkullCandy. I didn’t have a Twitter account until nine months ago. I still don’t have a Smartphone. So when some new phenomenon permeates basketball’s pop culture, I’m not exactly at the front of the line. In fact, I didn’t even attend the parties for Harold Miner, Derrick Coleman, Glenn Robinson, Joe Smith, Damon
In any seven-game series, the biggest adjustments by coaches are usually made between Games 1 and 2. Those adjustments – and a sense of urgency – have contributed to some of the best Game 2 showdowns in recent NBA Finals history. As we will do throughout the Finals, we have compiled a list of the five best Game 2’s since 1984, when David Stern became commissioner (and the playoffs went to a 16-team format). In all five games listed below, the team that
Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for not making himself available to the media following the team’s Game 7 loss at Miami on Saturday. The Celtics lost, 101-88, and were eliminated from the postseason, one win shy of the NBA Finals. Obviously upset with the loss, Garnett left the locker room without speaking with reporters. Garnett just completed his 17th season and is said to be considering retirement despite a renaissance in which he averaged
Right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to figure out how to get three more wins over the Miami Heat and claim the NBA championship. Whether they can do that remains to be seen. But once the Finals are over, the Thunder will have another issue on their hands – putting a coach in place for next season. Thunder coach Scott Brooks does not have a contract for next season. And while a trip to the NBA Finals makes it seem
csprtContainer(); The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the youngest teams in history to reach the NBA Finals, where historically young teams do not do very well. Hall of Fame NBA writer Mark Heisler references the 1995 Orlando Magic, who knocked off Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to reach the NBA Finals, only to be swept by the older Houston Rockets – who just happened to have the experience of being defending champions. Does Heisler believe the Thunder will crash and burn