Through his very last timeout huddle with his team, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks said all the right things. “We’re gonna treat them like they’re the champions,” Brooks instructed his club. “After this game, we’re gonna walk and shake their hands and acknowledge all of them. They beat us fair and square. However hard that hurts, they beat us fair and square. Give them credit.” Yes, Brooks said all the right things. It would have been nice if he had done all
The two best words in sports are Game Seven. When it comes to the NBA Finals, Game 5 isn’t too bad, either. Either one team has a 3-1 lead, which means the trailing team will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to stay win. Or the teams are tied 2-2, which means both teams will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to win. Our collection of the best Game Five showdowns of the David Stern Era includes three in which the series was
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
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
It is Chris Bosh’s lot in life to be the third member of the “Big Three.” In the Heat heirarchy, he always is placed behind LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, whose games are more captivating and awe-inspiring. He was mocked last season for crying after a string of tough losses. In this postseason, his nine-game absence due to an abdominal strain was somewhat minimized when James and Wade snapped out of their doldrums and put together an awesome two-pronged attack that obliterated
Break up the Big Three? Maybe down in Miami, where the trio of so-called superstars have the collective toughness of your average 9-year-old girl. But not in Boston, where the Celtics are on the verge of a huge postseason upset, and Kevin Garnett looks like he is about to hand previously undefeated Father Time his first career loss. You don’t have to like Garnett. You don’t have to like the stream of R-rated language that comes from his mouth after every good play.
There was a lot of talk about conspiracy theories this week. Seven years ago, the New Orleans Hornets’ outdated arena was underwater following Hurricane Katrina. They played two seasons in Oklahoma City, then returned to a city whose population had been dissipated and disenfranchised. Already one of the NBA’s smaller markets, they struggled to rebuild a consistent fan base. Their owner put the team up for sale, and the idea of relocation became a very real possibility. So the NBA gave New
Yesterday, we ran down the top 20 unrestricted free agents. Today, we look at the top 10 restricted free agents, which is a little trickier. By and large, restricted free agents are all on their rookie contract, which provides guaranteed money that can establish the starting point for negotiations. And that’s where it gets tricky. JaVale McGee made $2.46 million this season and has a qualifying offer for $3.49 million next season. Both figures are well below what starting centers receive. But how