Last season, the creaky Boston Celtics entered the Eastern Conference playoffs as the fourth seed, having gone 39-27 over the NBA’s lockout truncated season. They ended up just three games better than the 36-30 New York Knicks, who ended up the conference’s seventh seed. [Read more…]
Is it even worth bringing up Derrick Rose’s name? To quote the man himself: “Only God knows.” Heaven forbid we should get some clarity out of the former MVP, who has been practicing with the team for more than a month and keeping everyone on edge – to the point of frustration – with the waiting game surrounding his return. If he decides to give it a go in Game 1, it will be the one-year anniversary of the very same game
The Golden State Warriors are one of the surprise playoffs teams out of the Western Conference this season. Expected in the preseason to make noise if – and only if – Andrew Bogut stayed healthy, the team appeared destined for a rough start when it was reported that Bogut could miss a big chunk of the season – and he did – due to an unstable ankle that needed more time to heal than expected. Despite his absence, however, the Warriors found
At long last, the NBA playoff matchups are set in stone, and as always, the Western Conference figures to hit the ground running with the better entertainment. All four West first-round matches should provide excellent entertainment, and it would be especially surprising if the 4-5 matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies proved an exception. With that series kicking off Saturday night at Staples Center in LA, here are five issues to be mindful of once the ball is jumped.
The Bucks are going to sweep the Heat. OK, I’ve gotten your attention. I am only joking. This series should be a joke in and of itself, with the best team in the entire NBA taking on the team that finished with the 18th-best record in the league. [Read more…]
It took every available day of the regular season and meant wounds both self- and externally inflicted, but the Lakers managed to qualify for the playoffs Wednesday night. They even avoided the high-powered Oklahoma City Thunder in the process. And while the San Antonio Spurs, winners of 58 games and featuring the best power forward in history along with the league’s best coach can hardly be considered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is certainly a
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) Honestly, it’s nearly impossible to list just five reasons to feel positive about the NBA champion Miami Heat. The “Big Three” could take up three spots by themselves, and the fact that
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) For fans of Golden State Warriors, the “We Believe” playoff run seems like it happened about 12 years ago and not five. One of the biggest upsets in NBA history against the