The rankings were posted a few hours later than usual this Sunday. With four guys on this list in action in a pair of compelling afternoon games, it behooved all of us to wait and see those outcomes. (Especially in the case of Carmelo Anthony, who gets a big bump this week. But it also was quite the thing to see the Clips sweep the season series from the Lakers and win the Pacific Division for the first time). Of course, it’s
Ice, ice, baby. Yes, it was a particularly fitting halftime act the Milwaukee Bucks booked Saturday night as they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder to drop even further behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Boylan’s boys dropped two games below .500 and three games behind Gang Green. Our hopes are fading, but the Bucks – losers of eight of their last 11 games – still have an outside chance to make up that ground and catch the
You will not find any members of the Denver Nuggets on this list, which somehow seems unfair for a team that has strung together a 15-game winning streak that almost nobody outside of Denver seems to be aware of – what with the Miami Heat’s 25-game streak, the NCAA Tournament and the alarming number of recent meteor showers all providing worthy distractions. You may not even see George Karl as the winner of Coach of the Year when that award is
Frank Vogel conceded the Eastern Conference to the Miami Heat on Saturday night prior to his Indiana Pacers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, stating the obvious — there is no hope of catching LeBron James and Co. for the No. 1 seed. This came one day after Pacers point guard George Hill, an Indianapolis native, criticized the local fans because so many of them were cheering for the Lakers during their visit to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday night. You look southward
The theme of today’s Power Rankings is springing forward. And, to a lesser degree, falling back. The clock on the wall said 5:15 this morning when the coffee started brewing, but that was an illusion. The actual time was 6:15, meaning sunrise will be coming later, sunset will be doing the same thing … and the NBA playoffs are that much closer. Oh, and the Lakers are going to be in them. This much we can say with quite a degree of
Now what, Pop? With Tony Parker out for a month, do you turn to the French rookie (Nando DeColo) … or the Aussie speedster (Patty Mills)? And yes, we agree with your statement that Parker should be given major consideration for every award out there, and yes, we agree that there hasn’t been an NBA point guard who has done as much for his team as Parker has done for the Spurs. [Read more…]
The career triple-double count is now up to 35 (including seven with the Heat). The road record is now 16-11 to get out of the shabby zone. The lead in the Eastern Conference is up to 5 1/2 games. The winning streak is at 10 and counting. Put it all together, and LeBron James is pulling away in the MVP race for a Miami Heat team that is finally playing with the pedigree, pride and determination befitting the defending NBA champions. The
All hail The King! I wrote that same lede once before, on May 31, 2007 when James had the first masterpiece playoff game of his career, scoring 29 of his team’s final 30 points in a Game 5 double-overtime victory at Detroit that gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a 3-2 lead over their nemesis, the Detroit Pistons, who they would go on to finish off in six games and advance to the NBA Finals … where they were swept. The King was not