Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. For the Nets, a banged up Bulls team gave the Nets a chance to stay in this series. Thanks to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is still alive. Home playoff games afforded the Hawks the chance to reverse their fortunes, but how drastically it turned this series around is astounding. And who will get the opportunity to shine for the Thunder in Russell Westbrook’s absence? All this and more in today’s StatBox playoff breakdown. [Read more…]
To say that winning a championship — in any sport — requires a certain amount of luck is a fair statement. But to say that the Miami Heat have not benefited from a high-degree of luck on their quest to repeat as NBA champions, well that would be a little naive. It’s unfair to criticize them for what is 100 percent out of their hands, but it is hard to ignore this fact: every respectable competitor of the Miami Heat has, or
Just in the nick of time, Memphis found its elite defense on Thursday night. But where was it hiding? Should the Nets reconsider its contract extension of its general manager after its offensive performance against the Bulls? How can Brooklyn get back in this series? Is Milwaukee’s backcourt worth keeping? The answers to all these questions and a whole lot more in today’s StatBox breakdown. Milwaukee’s backcourt problems continue There are very few teams that could survive a poor night in the
Deron Williams struggled to get going last night BROOKLYN — The buzzer at the end of the third quarter sounded. Some fans at Barclays Center clapped, but mostly there was just silence. Kind of like Deron Williams’ play. The same Nets fans who couldn’t get enough of their team’s 106-89 blowout Game 1 victory were silenced at the offensive end thanks to intensity and attention to detail by the Chicago Bulls. In stealing homecourt advantage with a 90-82 victory, the Bulls
When Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets played their first game on Saturday in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs, most expected a high-scoring game between two of the better offensive teams in the league. The final score of the contest? 97-95. Not exactly what we had in mind. [Related: Why the Warriors can beat the Nuggets in 6 games] Both teams suffered from what appeared to be a case of the butterflies, and the Warriors actually did a better
We’re one and a half-days into the playoffs, Miami and Milwaukee just tipped off, and so far there haven’t been any big surprises result-wise. But like last year, when Derrick Rose tore his ACL in the first playoff game, one team has already lost a key contributor, with the Warriors’ David Lee going down to a hip injury. For more details on Lee’s injury, head over here. Also on Sheridan Hoops, we’ve got a roundup of what we learned on the
Peeling oneself off the sofa was no easy task after a day and night spent sinking deeper and deeper into the upholstery. But the more you watched, the more you learned Saturday on Day One of the NBA Playoffs. Four lessons taken away: You do not want to have Draymond Green as your primary on-the-ball defender on the biggest play of the game – especially against a guy who has been in the league since Green was in diapers. You are in trouble
Is it even worth bringing up Derrick Rose’s name? To quote the man himself: “Only God knows.” Heaven forbid we should get some clarity out of the former MVP, who has been practicing with the team for more than a month and keeping everyone on edge – to the point of frustration – with the waiting game surrounding his return. If he decides to give it a go in Game 1, it will be the one-year anniversary of the very same game