Despite trading away Rudy Gay last season, the Memphis Grizzlies remained a very good team in the Western Conference this season. Their record of 50-32 didn’t quite measure up to that of recent years, but that could be attributed to missing Marc Gasol for a quarter of the season due to a knee injury. Bottom line, though, is that they were out after the first round of the playoffs after taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games. They would have
For the Brooklyn Nets, the postseason came to a much earlier conclusion than they would have liked on Wednesday against the Miami Heat. It was a bitter end for the collection of veteran players who expected a lot from themselves, but for rookie Mason Plumlee, the 2013-2014 season was one to remember. Brooklyn didn’t expect much from the center when they drafted him with the 22nd overall pick in the NBA Draft, but he came onto the scene strong and was
It has been a tough couple of seasons for the 34-year-old Al Harrington, who has rarely played in stints with the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards due to various knee injuries and subsequent surgeries. He played just 10 games for the Magic last season, and managed to play 34 games for the Wizards this season. The veteran forward has played sparingly in the playoffs, but did the most he could when called upon. In Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers, Harrington
All along, Stephen Curry wanted the Golden State Warriors to keep Mark Jackson – a man he absolutely loves as a coach, a friend and a mentor in life. He blossomed into a borderline superstar in two seasons under Jackson and went to the playoffs both times after failing to do so in his first three seasons. There was simply too much drama surrounding Jackson and the front office, though, and the coach had to be fired against the wishes of
The Golden State Warriors believed they had little chance of acquiring Steve Kerr as their next head coach, so they went after Stan Van Gundy. After talks broke down with the former coach, who eventually decided to sign a massive deal with the Detroit Pistons, they decided to go after Kerr a little harder despite knowing the deep talks he was already in with the New York Knicks. On Wednesday, Golden State swayed Kerr enough and surprisingly, agreed to a huge
When the game is on the line, you can always count on Jesus to bail you out. Jesus Shuttlesworth, that is. Ray Allen had taken six 3-point attempts in Game 5 against the Brooklyn Nets and simply couldn’t get one to drop all game long. However, he saw one more opportunity when it mattered the most. With the Miami Heat down one point with 32 seconds left in the game, Mario Chalmers found an open Allen in the corner. The sharp-shooter then
John Wall’s shooting in the playoffs has badly been exposed since the first round of the playoffs, and things had gotten worse in the second round against the Indiana Pacers – the best defensive team during the regular season. The point guard hasn’t been able to hit the side of a barn, averaging just 11.5 points on a paltry 31.3 percent from the field (16-of-51 shooting), including just one-of-11 from the 3-point line in the first four games. His production has
It was never Eric Gordon’s initial choice to remain with the New Orleans Pelicans when his rookie contract expired, and his time with the team since signing the big contract back in 2012 has been tumultuous at best. Gordon made it clear that he wanted out of New Orleans when he signed a four-year, $58 million contract with the Phoenix Suns, only to have it matched by the team that traded away Chris Paul to attain him. In hindsight, it may have been