If there was one lesson Danny Granger learned earlier this season about saying something to fire up the other team (he did it after losing two straight games to the Knicks), it was this: Don’t. Yet, that’s exactly what Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo did in his recent interview after his one-game suspension. “The end result is all that matters,” Rondo said. “If there had been a different result, it would have been very difficult. But since we won, it felt like we
Many predictions were made going into these playoffs. Some people were apparently smoking crack and boldly predicted a series victory for the New York Knicks over the Miami Heat. Others One columnist who has had doubts about the Oklahoma City Thunder since early in the season predicted a victory for the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. What the postseason has proven so far in regards to these predictions is that they are nothing but a fancy term for “guessing.” The teams mentioned above are set to
The Coach of the Year was announced Tuesday, with Gregg Popovich coming out on top by a wide margin. It was certainly well-deserved, but there were plenty of other coaches that warranted attention as well. Thirteen coaches received votes, including Frank Vogel, Lionel Hollins, Tyrone Corbin, Stan Van Gundy and Vinny Del Negro – mid-season crisis and all. The work of these fine coaches will be on display tonight as we look into the preview of three playoff games on Wednesday night. Utah (0-1) at
Is it safe to say that NBA teams always enjoy home court advantage? It may actually be an understatement when it comes to home court in this postseason. All but two games in the playoffs so far have been won by the home team, and the lone two teams that won on the road basically needed to pull off miracles to get their victories. Of course, there’s the simple fact that the home teams are also generally the better teams, which is why
Game One of the NBA Playoffs is in the books for all 16 teams. And we saw just about everything from flopping to bad officiating to devastating injuries to, blowouts, comebacks and game-winners. As anyone can tell you, though, and some may need reminding, it was only one game. A script can easily flip in the postseason. So we move on in the playoffs, with six Game 2s Monday night. New York (0-1) at Miami (1-0): Things could not have gone any worse for the
So the playoffs began on Saturday afternoon, and they could not have gotten off to a worse start. A much anticipated day of postseason action turned absolutely tragic when two key players for the Bulls and the Knicks – Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert – each suffered devastating knee injuries – a torn ACL. Chicago was well on its way to the first postseason win of the season. Then, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the reigning MVP jumped up
After 66 games of the wildest schedule the league has ever seen, the lockout shortened regular season has finally come to a close. No more four games in five nights or back-to-back-to-backs. The demanding schedule saw many key players suffer devastating and nagging injuries throughout the season. The Hawks and the Clippers will surely feel those losses as they head into the playoffs without Al Horford and Chauncey Billups, respectively. Without a real training camp and preseason, teams with new coaches and players were
You can watch paint dry, or you could watch every single second of this series. OK, that’s a little harsh. But the star power that this series would have had is gone with Dwight Howard out with season-ending back surgery, and you have to wonder whether the Magic are kicking themselves for not trading him to the Lakers when they had the chance. It has been a soap opera season for the Magic, and soap operas usually have tragic ends,