NOTES Paraphrasing Yogi Berra, it’s getting dark early for the Miami Heat (40-16) as it tries to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Chicago Bulls (44-14) owning a three-game cushion. The Heat, however, still has some time to turn back the clock, beginning tonight when it visits the front-running Bulls (8 p.m. ET, TNT). The teams will play once more, in Miami, April 19. They have split the first two games of their regular-season series. The Heat
The Chicago Bulls could inch closer to securing the best record in the league while locking up the number one seed with a win against the second best team in the Eastern Conference. Whether they might actually want to secure the number one seed is another story. Holding the best record in the league, the Chicago Bulls (44-14) play host at the United Center to the visiting Miami Heat in Thursday’s best game on TNT. The two teams split the first two games of
Could the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in a playoff series? Well, they couldn’t a year ago, when they managed more than 91 points just once in five games and looked a tad long in the tooth. If Boston was to beat Miami, it appeared it would have to find a way to stall LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in transition and make every game a walk-it-up, grind-it-out affair, where the Celtics excel and the Heat are not exactly comfortable. The Celts
After looking old and uncertain at various times during the season, the Boston Celtics have hit their stride just in time to take a convincing Atlantic Division lead as the playoffs draw near. As usual, defense has been the key. They have allowed just 89.3 points per game this season, good for third best in the league. Since the insertion of Avery Bradley in the starting lineup nine games ago, they have been even better, giving up an average of 81.7 on
MIAMI – Nobody has reported this … until now. The last time Boston played Miami, the Celtics won so convincingly (91-72 on April 1) it prompted the Heat to call a players-only meeting. “Everybody who was here last year had something to say at that meeting,” guard Mario Chalmers told SheridanHoops.com. That April Fool’s Day loss at Boston dropped the Heat to 4-7 on the road since the All-Star break. It was time to address a truth, one first mentioned by coach Erik
This column was originally going to be a convincing piece as to why Maurice Cheeks (full disclosure: my favorite player of all time) deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Then Stan Van Gundy decided enough was enough and exposed for all of us Dwight Howard’s true character – a selfish brat whose childish demands and indecision make him utterly impossible. When this mess in the Magic Kingdom shakes out sometime in May, Van Gundy will be unemployed, because that’s what
After having trouble on the road, the Miami Heat have predictably stepped up at home to help erase some bad karma. The team has an astounding home record of 23-2 and a win tonight would match the best home winning streak in franchise history with 18 consecutive victories. LeBron James and the Miami Heat look to extend their overall winning streak to three straight games as they host the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in Friday’s best game. This is the first and only meeting
The following sentence you are about to read is true. In Tuesday night’s home win over Philadelphia, LeBron James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter. Look, a lot has been made of James’ disappearing acts in the guts of the game. Some of it is hater bait, but some of it is warranted. And most of what has been warranted dates to when he arrived in Miami at the beginning of last season. For the most part, James wasn’t like