There have been some fair comparisons drawn between the current 17-game winning streak of the San Antonio Spurs and the remarkable 27-game run put together a year ago by the Miami Heat. Both teams expect to compete for the NBA championship. Both teams found their rhythm at the most opportune time of the season. Both teams stormed to the league’s best record and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. There are obvious differences as well. For one, San Antonio still needs 10
The Miami Heat do not intimidate the Indiana Pacers. That much was very, very clear in their matchup Wednesday night. But you know what intimidates the Pacers? The moment. We saw it last year in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals when they looked like deer in the headlights. And we saw it again Wednesday night when George Hill went to the line with 1.8 seconds left and a chance to put Indiana ahead by 3 – and promptly missed both
While Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke chase Michael Carter-Williams for Rookie of the Year, a handful of other rookies are helping their teams chase postseason berths and higher seeds. The Eastern Conference has three teams in the playoff chase whose finish will be somewhat impacted by the play of their rookies. The Western Conference has five teams in the hunt with rookies playing a prominent role. The team relying most on rookies is undoubtedly the Atlanta Hawks, who have two rookies in
After March 1st had passed, most fans assumed there were no difference makers left to help NBA playoff teams. Those who follow the D-League would beg to differ. [Read more…]
Enjoy “February free agency” while it lasts, folks. After Metta World Peace and maybe even Danny Granger get bought out and waived, you know what awaits? The dark days. March Numbness … or Sadness … or Badness. If you think the Sixers are bad now, allowing 130 points to the Bucks on Monday night, just wait. It will be mind-numbing. The six weeks after All Star Weekend is the part of the schedule that players dread. It’s the part of the season
All-Star Weekend is over, and the young kids — John Wall and Kyrie Irving — stole the spotlight from their older peers by winning the Slam Dunk title and the All-Star MVP awards. The other “young” guy on prominent display was Adam SIlver, the new commissioner, whose news conference Saturday evening was both balanced and boring. We learned that Silver grew up a Knicks fan, has no plans to expand the league beyond its current 30 teams, and wants to have all
Before the season, championship expectations were attached to both the Knicks and the Nets. The Knicks were coming off the team’s first season with at least 50 or more wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals since the 1999-2000 campaign, when Jeff Van Gundy patrolled the sidelines, Patrick Ewing wrapped up his final season in New York and Allan Houston was in the prime of his career. The Nets were coming off their first trip to the playoffs in six years
Adam Silver is in a tough spot. Silver became the NBA’s fifth commissioner on Saturday. He follows David Stern, whose 30 years as the league’s top executive likely will be unmatched by anyone in any sport. Silver begins his term without facing a major problem that needs immediate fixing or a hot-button issue that requires immediate attention. With TV contracts running through 2016, labor peace assured until at least 2017 and most of the top stars in their 20s, the NBA is