The sun came up the East today in Cleveland, but the gloom did not burn off like the morning fog. No Friday has ever felt like the one the poor folks in Cleveland had to endure. After being one shot away from a Game 1 victory, after watching Kyrie Irving do a little of everything — nothing bigger than his block of Stephen Curry’s layup attempt with 25 seconds left in regulation — after getting almost nothing from their bench yet
You don’t need to look at the MRI on Kyrie Irving’s knee to know the Cleveland Cavaliers are in trouble. Just look at the boxscore. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Irving was better than anyone could have imagined. Bothered by a nagging sore left knee since Cleveland’s first-round series win over Boston, Irving clearly benefited from the eight-day layoff following the conference finals and rediscovered his All-Star form. Irving collected 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists in nearly 44 minutes,
After a one-week wait, the NBA Finals are here. But that’s nowhere near as long as these teams have been waiting for a championship. For the Golden State Warriors, it has been 40 years since Rick Barry led them to what many believe is the greatest upset in NBA Finals history, a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets in 1975. For the Cleveland Cavaliers, it has been, well, forever. The Cavaliers entered the NBA in 1970 and didn’t even make the Finals
See that guy? That white silhouette inside the red and blue? That’s Jerry West. He’s the NBA logo and has been since 1969, when he was still playing. Jerry West’s nickname was “Mr. Clutch.” Former Boston Celtics radio announcer Johnny Most, who disliked every player not wearing green and white, used to call him “Gentleman Jerry.” To my knowledge, Jerry West and Julius Erving are the only visiting players who ever received polite applause upon entering the lion’s den known as Boston
Kevin Love is expected to seriously study the free-agent market this summer and consider leaving the Cavaliers after one year with the franchise, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. “He’s got options,” the Yahoo! Sports NBA insider said in a radio appearance on The Jason McIntyre Show on Yahoo! Sports Radio. “He could stay another year [by not opting out] and go into free agency next year. “But he’s had injuries, and he might just want to sign a four-year deal somewhere else,”
Despite all the talk of a parity-filled, wide open, volatile NBA postseason, the top two teams from each conference advanced to the conference finals. For those of you who ignored the Eastern Conference outside of Cleveland and Chicago, the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games and are the top seed out East. Game One is Wednesday night in Atlanta, with LeBron James’ Cavaliers wearing the road burgundy, or those unattractive navy alternates. Atlanta went 3-1 against Cleveland during the regular season, although
Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving is set to play in tonight’s crucial Game 5 between the Cavaliers and Bulls despite injuries to both of his legs. Irving’s right foot has been strained since Game 2 of Cleveland’s first round series against Boston, and now he’s said to be truggling with tendinitis in his left knee after overcompensating for the sore right foot. From Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com: “If the consideration is now, then, I mean, I should have been sitting out maybe about
What a weekend it was — buzzer beaters from Paul Pierce and LeBron James, a foulfest in the Rockets-Clippers yawnfest, not a peep out of future ESPN castoff Bill Simmons … but a mouthful from LeBron James, who threw David Blatt under the bus again. And rightfully so. I’ve known Blatt longer than any U.S.-based journalist covering basketball, and this site has reported on his successes overseas more than any other American basketball Web site. When he won the Euroleague Final