With defensive tenacity and a punishing, menacing front line, the Indiana Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference finals. But if vanquishing the New York Knicks in six games seemed like a tall task, their path to the NBA Finals seems preposterously gargantuan in comparison. To defeat LeBron James in his prime and the Miami Heat in a best-of-seven series is akin to defeating a Michael Jordan-led Bulls team in his prime. James is the best player in the world. He has several
Sheridan: Spurs in 7 — in this round … and in NBA Finals
That has been my pick all along, and I repeated it today in this video with Noah Coslov of CineSport. [Read more…]
Perkins: I’ll never doubt Dwyane Wade again
MIAMI – I’m through doubting Dwyane Wade. I’ve done it a few times over the years for various reasons – knee surgery, shoulder surgery, ankle injury, etc… — and Wade, the Miami Heat’s superstar guard, always comes back strong. We saw it after his injury-shortened 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, we saw it in last year’s playoffs, we saw it in the second half of this season. We saw it again Wednesday in the Heat’s 94-91 Game 5 second round series-clinching victory over
Perkins: It’s looking like Heat vs. Knicks in East finals
MIAMI – There’s nothing more we need to see from the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. We’ve seen everything we need to see until the playoffs. James and Wade have earned their rest; the Heat have answered the questions. The New York Knicks (47-26), on the other hand, despite being the NBA’s hottest team with their nine-game winning streak, still have many unanswered questions. But solutions seem to be emerging, and they could be leading us to a Heat-Knicks matchup
Bernucca: Garnett is not old, just old school
Break up the Big Three? Maybe down in Miami, where the trio of so-called superstars have the collective toughness of your average 9-year-old girl. But not in Boston, where the Celtics are on the verge of a huge postseason upset, and Kevin Garnett looks like he is about to hand previously undefeated Father Time his first career loss. You don’t have to like Garnett. You don’t have to like the stream of R-rated language that comes from his mouth after every good play.
D’Angelo: Heat’s stars fail in the end as Celtics even series 2-2
BOSTON — When LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to join Dwyane Wade two years ago, the thought was the South Beach Trio one day would snatch the torch from the original Big Three of the modern era, Boston’s Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. And on Sunday night, James and Wade each had an opportunity to start the final countdown to a new championship era, and each fell short, breathing life into a team that was counted out just
SH Blog: Kevin Garnett does knuckle push-ups
If there is one thing we know about Kevin Garnett, it’s that he becomes quite an animated character once his adrenalin starts to flow, and you’ll never quite know what to expect from the big man, whether it’s taunting players or talking about bar fights. During Friday’s 101-91 victory against the Miami Heat in a critical Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Boxscore here), Garnett was dropped hard to the floor
Sheridan: Celtics, Thunder not done but have big tasks ahead
// After hanging around for a half, the Boston Celtics disappeared in the second half of their Eastern Conference finals opener vs. the Miami Heat. Before we vault Miami into the NBA Finals, however, let’s remember that the Celtics have had some stinkers in each of their first two playoff rounds and have bounced back rather nicely. The Celtics have the experience and character to get back in their series with the Heat, but there are a number of things