April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball. The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too. With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve. For the Chicago Bulls, the team with
Although Derrick Rose was able to start, he went 1-13 in 25 minutes and couldn’t finish. C.J. Watson, far from 100% healthy himself, played most of the fourth quarter and the overtime, scoring 16 points and adding 8 assists to spark the Bulls’ victory. LeBron James had 30, Dwyane Wade 21 and Chris Bosh 20 for the Heat, who moved Udonis Haslem into the starting lineup, sending Ronny Turiaf to the bench. As the Miami subs were outscored 47-7 by
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
NEWS Al Harrington of the Denver Nuggets does not want to sit out with a torn right meniscus as his team is in the middle of a playoff chase. Darren Collison of the Indiana Pacers will miss his second straight game with a groin injury. Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves is not sure if his surgically repaired left knee will be ready in time for training camp. NOTES This isn’t what Crawford expected when he signed with the Blazers four months ago. This summer,
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
NEWS With two weeks to go in the regular season, races are tightening up and down the standings in both conferences. There are bubble teams trying to leapfrog lower-seeded clubs for a coveted spot in the postseason; and middle-of-the-playoff-pack clubs vying for the most promising seedings. Perhaps the most intriguing races, however, are atop the respective conferences. San Antonio’s torrid second half has the Spurs (40-14. .741) percentage points ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-15, .732) in the Western Conference,