If I had to rank the top four players in the NBA at the current moment, my system for ranking those players would look a little something like this: 1. LeBron James 2A. Kevin Durant 2B. Chris Paul 2C. Carmelo Anthony If any other team than the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Finals at this point it will seem like a big surprise across the league. They are the two teams with the most experience not only in the playoffs, but
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. For the Nets, a banged up Bulls team gave the Nets a chance to stay in this series. Thanks to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is still alive. Home playoff games afforded the Hawks the chance to reverse their fortunes, but how drastically it turned this series around is astounding. And who will get the opportunity to shine for the Thunder in Russell Westbrook’s absence? All this and more in today’s StatBox playoff breakdown. [Read more…]
HOUSTON — Mother Nature spent most of the Rockets do-or-die playoff Saturday drenching the Houston downtown area and beyond. And when it came time for the out-of-town Thunder to come down one final time inside the sold-out Toyota Center after blowing every last bit of a 26-point lead, the city’s hoopdom community was left high and first-round dry once again. Sure, it was a valiant spunky comeback from the Kiddie Corp. aiming for a sudden reversal of fortune against the resident Western Conference
There is an alternate universe somewhere in which the Lakers stayed healthy, and people still speak of them as Finals contenders. Must be a nice place. Friday night at Staples Center, the Lakers took the floor short Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Steve Blake, and Jodie Meeks, with Metta World Peace playing one-legged after having fluid drained from his surgically repaired left knee earlier that afternoon, and a starting backcourt consisting of a point guard who should have just finished his senior season
Just in the nick of time, Memphis found its elite defense on Thursday night. But where was it hiding? Should the Nets reconsider its contract extension of its general manager after its offensive performance against the Bulls? How can Brooklyn get back in this series? Is Milwaukee’s backcourt worth keeping? The answers to all these questions and a whole lot more in today’s StatBox breakdown. Milwaukee’s backcourt problems continue There are very few teams that could survive a poor night in the
The Los Angeles Lakers are running a lot of their offense through 7-footer Pau Gasol. Maybe they can have him bring the ball upcourt, too. The Lakers are running out of guards. Already without injured superstar Kobe Bryant, the seventh seed could also be without point guards Steve Nash and Steve Blake and shooting guard Jodie Meeks for Friday night’s Game 3 of their first-round series vs. the San Antonio Spurs. [Read more…]
If you enjoy the weekly StatBox column that analytically breaks down some of the NBA’s most pressing and important topic, you’re in luck. Every Tuesday through Thursday during the postseason, the StatBox is expanding into playoff game analysis. You’ll not only find out why each team won and lost, but how different statistical trends can play out over the course of the series and the playoffs as a whole. Today: Houston’s wasted opportunity, mistakes thwarting Atlanta’s chances at victory and one Laker star’s alarming
If you enjoy the weekly StatBox column that analytically breaks down some of the NBA’s most pressing and important topic, you’re in luck. Every Tuesday through Thursday during the postseason, the StatBox is expanding into playoff game analysis. You’ll not only find out why each team won and lost, but how different statistical trends can play out over the course of the series and the playoffs as a whole. Today: Milwaukee’s future, Boston’s age and Golden State’s shooting touch. Is This Milwaukee’s Best? The uncertainty of