The Heat and Thunder tip off for Game 3 at 8:07 EDT, so if you’re looking for your NBA news fix until then, here’s the latest from around the NBA. Be sure to also check out Chris Bernucca’s column from earlier today on how Kevin Durant is the ideal NBA superstar and Chris Perkins’ Five Observations from Games 1 and 2 as well. Andre Iguodala is once again rumored to be on the move this summer, says Chad Ford in his ESPN
Wednesday was my 16th wedding anniversary. It also was the 30th anniversary of one of the most anticipated playoff games in NBA history – Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. The rivals met in the conference finals in three consecutive years from 1980-82. In 1981, the Sixers opened a 3-1 lead before the Celtics won the next three games by a combined five points. The following year, the Sixers again opened a 3-1
If you win Defensive Player of the Year, you should probably be on the All-Defensive First Team, right? Wrong. New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, who won Defensive Player of the Year honors this season, was bumped to the Second Team. The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard was the center on the First Team. Defensive Player of the Year voting was done by a media panel, while the All-Defensive Teams were chosen by the NBA’s 30 coaches, who could not vote for players on
In the biggest game of the season for the Boston Celtics, the Big Four took a back seat to the Other One. All of the attention in Boston rightfully goes to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. They are the only four players remaining from the team’s last championship in 2008 and comprise perhaps the best quartet in the NBA. They are the reason the Celtics are still in the title hunt when most felt their window of
The Eastern Conference semifinals are interesting. The Western Conference semfinals are not — unless the Lakers make them so tonight. One night after the Clippers were swept out of the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers are one game away from losing their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers will look to extend their season in Game 5 while the Boston Celtics hope to regain control against the Philadelphia 76ers in the two games slated for Monday
PHILADELPHIA — This was like spotting Tom Brady and the Patriots two quick touchdowns in the opening minutes, then spending the rest of the half doing everything else wrong. You just don’t recover from something like that. Unless, apparently, you’re the Philadelphia 76ers and the game is basketball rather than football. And your opponent isn’t Bill Belichick’s team, but Massachusetts’ other fabled team, the Celtics; a franchise that used to define winning. My, how times have changed. Yes, the Celtics are still proud,
My dad likes to turn off the TV when a game is not going the way he wants. He does this all the time with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Green Bay Packers, his teams, and when he is feeling a little extra bold he will keep the game on the screen but mute the sound. Friday night was a lesson in how you don’t want to be like my dad. If you are a Lakers fan, you might have said “I
Before the start of the conference semifinals, some have considered the possibility of an NBA Finals rematch between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. Both teams will have to start playing much better for that to happen, especially for the Lakers, who have become serious underdogs against the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting blown out by 29 points in Game 1. Two games are slated for tonight on TNT, where silly contests happen. Boston (1-1) at Philadelphia (1-1): The long-time rivals have, predictably,