We already told you who we believe will make the playoffs in the Western Conference. The picture in the Eastern Conference is a bit different. Just like the West, the East has six teams that are locks to play in May. They are the defending champion Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, who last season weren’t in (a) Brooklyn or (b) the playoffs. You can find whatever real or imagined faults you’d like with those
Quick look at one of this AM’s drills at @acceleratebball mob.li/_lJgip — Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) July 10, 2012 Tweet of the Day goes to Stephen Curry, who shared a video of him going through an intriguing drill to presumably help enhance his hand-eye coordination and ball handling abilities with Accelerate Basketball Training in his hometown in Charlotte. After repeatedly spraining his troublesome right ankle for the second consecutive season, Curry opted for arthroscopic surgery back in April, which proved to be successful. The timetable
Usually, the winners make the headlines. In today’s roundup, however, the losers were the story of Saturday night as a handful of teams fighting to make the playoffs came up short. With three different teams — Milwaukee, Utah and Phoenix — still within reach of the eighth and final playoff seed in their respective Conferences, how many of them came out with a victory? None. Starting with the most inexplicable blowout of the night – the only game on national television – the Spurs
With the NBA regular season winding down, it’s time for a look back at what I consider the top 10 individual performances of the year. One name is conspicuously missing, and one date on the calendar accounted for two of this season’s best performances. Here we go … 1. Tony Parker: 42 points, 9 assists, 0 turnovers in 39 minutes February 4 vs. Oklahoma City in a 107-96 Spurs victory. The four-time All-Star point guard, who I stated last week deserves consideration for the MVP
Sixteen days to glory. The title of Bud Greenspan’s documentary of the 1984 Olympics also is fitting for the NBA season, which has just 16 days remaining and a dozen playoff spots still up for grabs. For argument’s sake, we’re going to assume middle-of-the-packers Indiana, Boston, Atlanta and Orlando will eventually clinch berths in the Eastern Conference, while the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis will sew up spots in the West. All seven of those teams have fewer than 25
For the second straight game, LeBron James carried his team, with 34 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, four steals and a refusal to lose. Dwayne Wade did play, but had “only” 19 with 5 TO, while Chris Bosh (12) was quiet again. The Heat overcame 30 from Kevin Durant and 28 from Russell Westbrook by effectively shutting down everyone else. This game was rough and intense; if it really was a Finals preview, I can’t wait. In Other Games IND @ WAS:
The Sixers have now scored less than 80 points in five of their last 11 games. Jordan Crawford had 28 points for the Wizards, and 16 of them in the first quarter. The Spurs only scored 9 points in the third quarter. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the first time they have been held to single-digits since April 4, 2008. After missing the past 6 games, Ray Allen was held scoreless in the first half. It is his 17th scoreless first
