The first round of the playoffs are seemingly coming to a quicker close than many may have anticipated. The Mavericks and Jazz have already been swept out, and one of the remaining teams in each series is on the brink of elimination. Four teams will try to extend their postseason on Tuesday night as they head into their series down 3-1, but history is not on their side, as only eight teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit. The
If there was one lesson Danny Granger learned earlier this season about saying something to fire up the other team (he did it after losing two straight games to the Knicks), it was this: Don’t. Yet, that’s exactly what Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo did in his recent interview after his one-game suspension. “The end result is all that matters,” Rondo said. “If there had been a different result, it would have been very difficult. But since we won, it felt like we
The travails of the Sixers have been well-chronicled here, partly because we have a big Sixers fan on the staff, partly because everyone likes to watch a train wreck. The Bulls, meanwhile, have been at the top or near the top of Sheridan’s Power Rankings and Heisler’s Power Rankings since this truncated season began on Christmas Day, and no number of injuries could knock them from their perch. Five things to watch for in the first-round playoff series between the
April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball. The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too. With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve. For the Chicago Bulls, the team with
The Wizards ended a nine-game streak in which they allowed less than 100 points, however they have only gone 2-7 during that stretch. Brandon Jennings had 19 points and 7 assists. Jordan Crawford lead the Wizards with 23 points. Kyle Lowry missed his 14th straight game, and Kevin Martin missed his 12th straight for the Rockets. The Bulls went 13-3 in March, but are now 0-2 in April. The Rockets are 20-8 at home this season, and 9-17 on the road. Carlos Boozer had 16 points,
If recent history is of any indication, tonight’s matchup between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference promises to be a close contest filled with intensity and playoff atmosphere. The two rivals meet in another rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals as the two-time MVP LeBron James and the Miami Heat visit the reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, and the Chicago Bulls in tonight’s best game. Last season, Chicago took all three meetings between the teams in the regular season
Two days after having their eight-game winning streak snapped, the Chicago Bulls host the Utah Jazz tonight in a game that should feature a lot of hard drives to the rim. Derrick Rose, one of the most athletic guards in the league, is mired in a mini-shooting slump in his last two games and may be feeling the burn of the lockout-shortened season. That, or being a part-time member of an injury-riddled backcourt. Rose shot just 6-for-22 against in a 99-94 loss to
