The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the less glamorous teams in the postseason party. They shoot 3-pointers about as poorly as any team in the NBA. They don’t have many high flyers offering up highlight-reel dunks a la Blake Griffin. They have not one but two ground-bound post players in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. The Grizzlies simply defend like mad, play through their big men and try to make hay in transition and at the free-throw line. And for the last
The Coach of the Year was announced Tuesday, with Gregg Popovich coming out on top by a wide margin. It was certainly well-deserved, but there were plenty of other coaches that warranted attention as well. Thirteen coaches received votes, including Frank Vogel, Lionel Hollins, Tyrone Corbin, Stan Van Gundy and Vinny Del Negro – mid-season crisis and all. The work of these fine coaches will be on display tonight as we look into the preview of three playoff games on Wednesday night. Utah (0-1) at
Shame on you if you turned off the television early last night. (Or the night before, for that matter). If you did, you missed one of the most epic comebacks in the history of the NBA playoffs. And you also missed a chance to see an example of just why Chris Paul is indeed worthy of MVP consideration (even though it seems like a foregone conclusion that LeBron James is going to get the award.) The Clippers were down 24 points early
NEWS Chicago Bulls PG Derrick Rose has torn ACL and MCL in left knee, will miss remainder of playoffs – @NBCMiami Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen is still not sure if he’ll be able to play in the playoff opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. The New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in April. All-Star point guard Deron Williams wants to have a new
There’s still time to enter a special Freeroll that covers today’s games and Sunday’s. It closes at 1:00 Eastern, so enter there first, then come back here. There’s no entry fee and $250 cash in prizes, not to mention bragging rights for beating me and Chris Sheridan. I’m in a 12-team Sheridan Fantasy league at the Fantasy Postseason site. Drafting sixth, I picked Russell Westbrook over Tony Parker. When my next turn came, Serge Ibaka was still there, then the pickings
Just like the old days, I conducted a live chat with my readers Friday afternoon to preview the upcoming NBA playoffs — and to defend my vote of Chris Paul for MVP. For more on that you can read this column. We will have more chats throughout the course of the playoffs, which I will alert you to through Twitter and Facebook. Thanks to all those who have been visiting the site, please check back every day, and much gratitude for your
I always use “valuable” as the operative word when voting for the Most Valuable Player, and that is the reason why I have cast my ballot this season for Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. It came down to a decision between Paul and LeBron James, and as impressed as I have been with LeBron’s focus, determination and across-the-board improvement in every statistical category except assists, I do not see him as a valuable closer when he is paired with
For the first time in their franchise’s 17-year history, the Memphis Grizzlies have earned homecourt advantage in a playoff series. That said, simply having a deciding game in their building probably won’t get them any closer to victory without taking these factors into consideration: THE HEALTH FACTOR: Zach Randolph was the catalyst for the Memphis Grizzlies’ improbable upset of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in last year’s NBA playoffs. After missing 38 games this season, he seems to be rounding into