Hinrich’s absence a big factor for Bulls Chicago may have been without top scorer Luol Deng in Thursday’s 95-92 Game 6 home loss to Brooklyn, but its loss of Kirk Hinrich for a second straight game may have hurt the team more. Deron Williams has played better over the last pair of Net wins with Hinrich out of commission, which is a major reason why the series has swung in Brooklyn’s favor. Hinrich last appeared on the floor in last Saturday’s Game
Deron Williams struggled to get going last night BROOKLYN — The buzzer at the end of the third quarter sounded. Some fans at Barclays Center clapped, but mostly there was just silence. Kind of like Deron Williams’ play. The same Nets fans who couldn’t get enough of their team’s 106-89 blowout Game 1 victory were silenced at the offensive end thanks to intensity and attention to detail by the Chicago Bulls. In stealing homecourt advantage with a 90-82 victory, the Bulls
Hey, how about those road teams in the playoffs, hunh? It was a lost weekend that would have made Ray Milland proud. I spent huge chunks of Saturday and Sunday at an AAU tournament and missed several games. When I finally got home and turned on the TV, I wished I was back at the AAU tournament. If you didn’t watch the NBA playoffs this weekend, you didn’t miss much. All eight road teams lost Game 1, the first time that has happened
On Thursday night in Chicago, with 1.5 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a tie game, Carmelo Anthony received a picture perfect inbounds pass from Jason Kidd and launched one of his signature one-dribble 20-footers. Beaten initially, Kirk Hinrich recovered just in time to get under Anthony and disturb his balance. The shot was long, and the Knicks went on to lose in overtime at the United Center. This is a scenario that could easily play out the same exact way when
Back in November, the Spurs sat out their best players (earning a fine from the league) and almost won in Miami. Last night, the Heat turned the tables. [Read more…]
Congratulations to the Chicago Bulls for clinching a playoff spot. They also accomplished something no other team had done since February 1 — they beat the Heat. Luol Deng (28 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL) played 44 minutes and hit four 3-pointers, while Carlos Boozer (21 PTS, 17 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK) made up for the absence of Joakim Noah (foot) by crashing the boards. [Read more…]
For fantasy basketball owners this is the most exciting time of the season. This long and tenuous regular season is finally reaching a conclusion. It is my experience that nearly every season for nearly every league, at least one dominant power-house fantasy team falls apart during the last couple weeks before playoffs due to injuries. The NBA season is unlike that of any other professional sport. The postseason ends in June yet the preseason starts in October. The grind for NBA
Call it motivational, maybe even inspirational. On a severely sprained ankle, Kobe Bryant actually started and played 12 minutes, though he was scoreless and spent the rest of the game as a self-appointed assistant coach. Dwight Howard (20 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK) was a force, Steve Nash (15 PTS, 9 AST, 4 REB) played well and Metta World Peace (19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL) raised his game, but it was the Lakers’ bench that made