NEW YORK — After Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin fouled out of Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers, a third-string center was needed to match up against Roy Hibbert. Mike Woodson had two at his disposal, Marcus Camby and Amar’e Stoudemire, — or three if you count Earl Barron, who was signed as an insurance policy in case the Knicks needed a center at a moment of desperation. But the call went to rookie Chris Copeland, who turned out to be a
Some quick thoughts on the New York Knicks’ loss to the Indiana Pacers, who are going to give the Miami Heat some problems but will lose the Eastern Conference finals if they shoot free throws and have as many unforced turnovers as they did against the Knicks. First of all, Carmelo Anthony will not live this one down for a long time. He was 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter with two turnovers before making his first shot of the final period.
Words to live by: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Surely Sam Presti and Clay Bennett of the Oklahoma City Thunder have heard that expression, as both are smart, successful businessmen with good educational backgrounds, although they are a generation apart in age. Presti is the wise child who built the Oklahoma City Thunder from scratch, taking over at age 30 on June 7, 2007, prior to the team’s final season in Seattle, renting a small apartment with his then-girlfriend near
Y’all remember “Flash” don’t you? That was Dwyane Wade’s nickname back when he entered the NBA, and it was appropriate for two reasons: Few players entered the league with as much flash and flair as Wade, and no player had a nickname that rhymed so perfectly with what could have been his second nickname — “Crash.” [Read more…]
Well, we have one series tied at 2-2, and if the basketball gods smile on us we are on our way to four Game 7s. We can’t all be that lucky, can we? But we can hope. (Note to self: Powerball reminder). But if we are going to get to four Game 7s, we are going to need to see some improvement from at least one player on each trailing team (plus the Warriors, who are tied 2-2 but are at
You can certainly make that argument, though a lot remains to be determined over the rest of the second round. But this much we know: The Thunder are a shell of the tam that went to the NBA Finals last season, and they have nobody who can stop Mike Conley (and, to a lesser degree, Marc Gasol). The Golden State Warriors are green, as they showed at the end of Game 1, and the San Antonio Spurs are going against an
Can we settle on this factoid after the first 4 days of the second round of the NBA Playoffs? The Golden State Warrors are now America’s team — unless, of course, you live in San Antonio and spend your days sticking needles into Joey Crawford voodoo dolls. Or you are Spike Lee. [Read more…]
