Game One of the NBA Playoffs is in the books for all 16 teams. And we saw just about everything from flopping to bad officiating to devastating injuries to, blowouts, comebacks and game-winners. As anyone can tell you, though, and some may need reminding, it was only one game. A script can easily flip in the postseason. So we move on in the playoffs, with six Game 2s Monday night. New York (0-1) at Miami (1-0): Things could not have gone any worse for the
After 66 games of the wildest schedule the league has ever seen, the lockout shortened regular season has finally come to a close. No more four games in five nights or back-to-back-to-backs. The demanding schedule saw many key players suffer devastating and nagging injuries throughout the season. The Hawks and the Clippers will surely feel those losses as they head into the playoffs without Al Horford and Chauncey Billups, respectively. Without a real training camp and preseason, teams with new coaches and players were
One of the NBA’s better rivalries of yesteryear will be renewed on Saturday when Carmelo Anthony’s New York Knicks take on LeBron James’ Miami Heat. If it goes to a seventh game, fasten your seat belts and prepare for some controversy. Remember, those who forget history are destined to repeat it. Is Bennett Salvatore working that game? Here are five factors that may determine the outcome of the series. THE HOMECOURT FACTOR: Those that have doubts about the Miami Heat’s championship
The New York Knicks looked to some like a team that may not be interested in facing the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs when they nearly let the Clippers come back from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit in last night’s 99-93 victory. After scoring 17 points, Carmelo Anthony sat out the entire fourth quarter, but he certainly did not seem concerned about who his team will face. ”Right now it really doesn’t matter,” Anthony said. ”Whoever we play, we’ll
Bouncing back from one lackluster game, Carmelo Anthony had 39 points and 10 rebounds, yet Amare Stoudemire still managed 22 & 12, and all the other Knicks starters scored in double figures. A lively Baron Davis (13 PTS, 10 AST) helped them pass this chemistry test. Tyson Chandler (rest) took the day off, so Landry Fields (18) started at SF as both teams went small. Josh Smith (14 PTS, 5 REB, 3 BLK) lined up at C for Atlanta, with
That was no playoff preview. Paul Pierce, expected to have a huge game as the de facto point guard, got the night off instead, as did Kevin Garnett. With Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo hurt, that was 80% of the Celtics’ familiar starting five on the sidelines. Red-hot Avery Bradley scored 28 to keep the makeshift lineup in the game, but the Hawks won, as Joe Johnson, who had been quiet for a while, exploded for 30 points. MEM @ CHA: I guessed
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
In a very intense game that featured trash-talking, scuffles, four technicals and an ejection, the Pacers won their seventh straight with George Hill (22 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB) as the starting PG. Danny Granger led all scorers with 29, and David West (21 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST) was excellent. The loss, Milwaukee’s third in a row, effectively ends their playoff bid. Brandon Jennings (27) and Mike Dunleavy (23) tried to spark a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short. What Else