Somewhere in San Antonio, be it in somebody’s basement or in some large warehouse, are thousands upon thousands of “I Want Some Nasty” t-shirts with bleak futures as dishrags. Turns out the signature phrase of the 2012 NBA Western Conference finals was uttered by Gregg Popovich once again, but this one doesn’t have much of a future as a fashion statement. “We’re in trouble” was what Pop told point guard Tony Parker at the beginning of the fourth quarter, imploring his playmaker
By now, most are aware of the similarities between the games of James Harden and Manu Ginobili, who play the role of sixth man for their respectively dominant teams. Both are crafty left-handed assassins that can cause havoc driving into the paint with one euro-step after another and knock down deadly three-pointers. They even flop the same way. The mirror-images of each other dominated Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, and while Ginobili had the better stat-line, it was Harden
With the season over for all but four teams, lots of folks are looking ahead to the draft and free agency, which were big topics in today’s NBA news. So while we await Game 4 between the Spurs and Thunder, check out our roundup of what’s been going on today. If Steve Nash leaves Phoenix, the Suns are looking to make a push for Deron Williams, says Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, citing a person with knowledge of
Time for a look around at what’s happening today in the NBA. We’ll be doing this every day from now on, right around 7-8 p.m. EDT. Doc Rivers was irate for receiving a technical foul in Game 1 against the Miami Heat for simply saying “Come on Eddie” to referee Ed Malloy, and rightfully so. From Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston: “I know mine wasn’t (deserved). I can tell you that much,” said Rivers, whose team got hit with three individual technicals, a
In today’s NBA, you won’t wake up one day and find yourself winning championships. The 2008 Boston Celtics were an anomaly, and their three main cogs each endured years of heartache and growing pains before they became champions. That’s why the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder has been interesting to witness. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are in just the fifth and fourth years of their respective careers, yet for the second consecutive season they find themselves poised to battle for the
In the biggest game of the season for the Boston Celtics, the Big Four took a back seat to the Other One. All of the attention in Boston rightfully goes to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. They are the only four players remaining from the team’s last championship in 2008 and comprise perhaps the best quartet in the NBA. They are the reason the Celtics are still in the title hunt when most felt their window of
The Eastern Conference semifinals are interesting. The Western Conference semfinals are not — unless the Lakers make them so tonight. One night after the Clippers were swept out of the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers are one game away from losing their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers will look to extend their season in Game 5 while the Boston Celtics hope to regain control against the Philadelphia 76ers in the two games slated for Monday
If you are a fan of either of the Los Angeles teams, you might have had some trouble sleeping through Saturday night. If you predicted that the Clippers (me) or the Lakers (Sheridan) would move past the second round, you probably wish to have those predictions back, as both teams are now on the verge of being eliminated from of the Western Conference semifinals. Before discussing how each team blew their respective chances, it’s time to acknowledge and pay respects to one cold-blooded lanky