Well, they’re in. The Philadelphia 76ers are in the playoffs. They might not be there very long, and once they exit, their leading scorer might be leaving as well. But for now, all is well in the City of Brotherly Love. The Sixers won a game they were supposed to win, had to win, needed to win, pulling away for a 105-87 road victory over the shorthanded New Jersey Nets that clinched their second playoff berth in as many years under coach
Despite a near catastrophic meltdown over the last two months, the Philadelphia 76ers have done just enough – winning the last two games against Indiana and Cleveland – for a comfortable three-game lead for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. A win against New Jersey or loss by Milwaukee tonight would secure the Sixers a playoff berth, and they are just a half-game behind the New York Knicks for the seventh seed. The Sixers (33-30) look for their third
What are you going to do, Stu? All eyes in Los Angeles and around the NBA will be on Olympic Tower in New York today, wondering how long Metta World Peace will be suspended for after he struck James Harden behind the ear with a vicious elbow that knocked the likely Sixth Man of the Year to the floor for a full minute. The initial guess here was 2 games, one of which would be a playoff game since the Lakers only have
The Magic are pretty much locked in as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference; but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for. Sitting two games behind the Atlanta Hawks with three games remaining, and leading the Knicks and Philadelphia by three games, one would assume they finish as the sixth seed, barring a a crazy turn of events. But the Magic need to not only prove to the world they can win without Dwight Howard, but to themselves. Howard
It took awhile, but the Nuggets finally clinched the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season. But just because they are in, that doesn’t mean George Karl is about to rest his players. Quite the contrary actually; Following the win, Karl said “We have three games left, and we are going to try to win all three of them. There won’t be any rest going on here.” It only makes sense. The Nuggets still have a chance to catch the Mavericks (who lost
As we all saw coming, it looks as if the race for the last seeds in the West may very well come to the final game of the season. The benefits of winning this game vary for both teams, however. Denver (34-28), 1 1/2 games ahead of the Suns (33-30), could clinch a playoff berth with a win. They would seal the 7th seed, leaving the Utah Jazz (33-30) and Phoenix Suns to fight for the last spot. If the Suns win,
After trouncing the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s return, the San Antonio Spurs are in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the West. They have four games left, and they only need to win three to be the West’s No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season. If they win all four, they could finish with the best record in the entire NBA. As for the Lakers, they may need to win out in their final two games against
The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers did not play each other one single time in December, January, February or March. They’ve played twice in April, and strangely have blown each other out on the other’s home court. The series will get even more interesting as Kobe Bryant is set to return for the Lakers (40-23) from a seven-game absence to face the Spurs for the first time this season in Friday’s best game. Bryant leads the league in scoring with 28.1 points