Are the New York Knicks suffering from a selfish brand of basketball? When you think of this team, you primarily think of Carmelo Anthony as the team’s offense. That has always been the case (save for a brief period of Linsanity) for any team that ‘Melo has been a part of. And then, of course, you have J.R. Smith, who is known as volume-shooter number two on the team. So you have to figure that when Tyson Chandler is calling out
Monday brings with it two crucial second round Game 4s—with games between Miami and Chicago as well as Oklahoma City and Memphis—and the NBA announcing the All-Defensive Team. [Read more…]
One of the most intriguing elements of the NBA playoffs is what the spotlight reveals about certain players – especially those who weren’t expected to be in the spotlight at all. We expect established superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant to welcome the pressure of the postseason and elevate their play. That is part of the reason they are among the game’s best players. It is also not that surprising to see very good players such as Stephen Curry and
Every remaining NBA team is banged up right now. It’s a fact of the playoffs that they are a of endurance as much as skill. Since the start of the first round, the Thunder have lost Russell Westbrook and the Warriors have lost David Lee for effectively the remainder of the playoffs. The Knicks and Spurs have a number of nagging injuries. [Read more…]
Chicago Bulls backup center Nazr Mohammed lost his cool on Friday night, and it proved to be a costly decision for his team. In an incredibly tense atmosphere during Game 3 between the Miami Heat and Bulls – where the two teams refused to even shake each other’s hands to begin the contest – Mohammed tried to wrap up LeBron James in transition early in the second quarter. It was a rather strange decision to begin with, given that it was
Moving past the obvious in Miami’s Game 2 triumph How do you push past the obvious insight about Miami’s all-around 115-78 beatdown of Chicago in Wednesday night’s Game 2? What can you say besides the Heat shooting 60 percent to 35.5 percent for the Bulls? Let’s break down the major things that changed on both sides that helped lead to such a different result in Miami’s favor: Miami’s Big Three was way more efficient in Game 2, perhaps with more determination and urgency in
What goes into winning the prestigious NBA Coach of the Year award? Do you have to have the best record in the league? Do you have to defy the preseason odds of your team not making the playoffs? Must you overcome the absence of injured star players? Like most awards in the NBA, there are no standard guidelines as to why someone deserves votes moreso than others, and this makes it rather difficult for the writers to determine who the very
MIAMI – There’s no worry among the Miami Heat over their 93-86 Game 1 loss to Chicago on Monday. But on the Day After, there did seem to be some steely resolve from the defending champions to do better in the “effort” areas. Blend that with a healthy mix of “we’ve been here before,” and you have the tone of the chatter that followed the Heat’s practice Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. [Read more…]