Many will attribute Miami’s 93-86 Game 1 loss to Chicago on Monday to the seven days of rest the Heat had between its first and second round series. Can we blame the loss on Miami being “rusty,” “over-rested,” or given too much time between series, being punished for quickly finishing off the Milwaukee Bucks a week ago? “There’s no excuses,” said Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team had not played in more than a week. “We’re not making any excuses
Here’s the bottom line on Carmelo Anthony’s recent play. Using the measuring stick of points per shot, it is his worst four-game stretch of the postseason since the first four playoff games of his career. Furthermore, when compared alongside other worst four-game stretches of contemporary solo superstars, it is near the bottom. Following Sunday’s loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals opener, the Knicks are 1-3 in their last four games, including 0-2 at home. Their only win saw them nearly
It seems like the Chicago Bulls spent every last ounce of available energy and every last healthy or semi-healthy body simply to get out of the first round. It seems like the Miami Heat have not played in about a month, spending that time waiting for pretenders to wrap up their postseason series, chuckling to themselves and speculating on who was the lone wolf who did not cast a first-place MVP vote for LeBRon James. So it seems like the fifth-seeded Bulls
Who cast a first-place vote for Carmelo Anthony for Most Valuable Player, denying LeBron James the honor of being the first unanimous selection in NBA history? It was Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. [Read more…]
If I had to rank the top four players in the NBA at the current moment, my system for ranking those players would look a little something like this: 1. LeBron James 2A. Kevin Durant 2B. Chris Paul 2C. Carmelo Anthony If any other team than the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Finals at this point it will seem like a big surprise across the league. They are the two teams with the most experience not only in the playoffs, but
When Mike Brown was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers last week, there were multiple feelings of déjà vu. One was obvious – Brown was returning to a team that had fired him three years earlier. We have all been here before. But the other was more subtle and had to do with the fundamental reality not only of today’s NBA, but also of today’s professional sports. [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
NBA players always seem to question what the media knows when the voting for awards don’t go a certain way. That was again the case when it was determined that Marc Gasol won the Defensive Player of the Year award this season. Manu Ginobili, who has had the privilege of playing alongside the great defense of Tim Duncan all his career, clearly did not appreciate his big man getting snubbed for the award after having yet another impacting presence on the