After 66 games of the wildest schedule the league has ever seen, the lockout shortened regular season has finally come to a close. No more four games in five nights or back-to-back-to-backs. The demanding schedule saw many key players suffer devastating and nagging injuries throughout the season. The Hawks and the Clippers will surely feel those losses as they head into the playoffs without Al Horford and Chauncey Billups, respectively. Without a real training camp and preseason, teams with new coaches and players were
Five Factors: Nuggets-Lakers Playoff Preview
Like the June gloom, there is one thing you can count on in May in Los Angeles — panic from Lakers Nation. And all it usually takes is one loss. This year, the panic is beginning already with Metta World Peace suspended for the first six games of the series, further depleting a roster that is not as deep as last year when Lamar Odom was bringing a little of everything off the bench. Lest we forget, those deeper Lakers
Five Factors: Magic-Pacers Playoff Preview
You can watch paint dry, or you could watch every single second of this series. OK, that’s a little harsh. But the star power that this series would have had is gone with Dwight Howard out with season-ending back surgery, and you have to wonder whether the Magic are kicking themselves for not trading him to the Lakers when they had the chance. It has been a soap opera season for the Magic, and soap operas usually have tragic ends,
NBA Playoff Schedule
NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE (All Times EDT) Western Conference San Antonio vs. Utah Game 1 - Sun Apr 29 Utah at San Antonio 1:00PM ESPN Game 2 - Wed May 2 Utah at San Antonio 7:00PM TNT Game 3 - Sat May 5 San Antonio at Utah 9:00PM TNT Game 4 - Mon May 7 San Antonio at Utah TBD TBD Game 5 * Wed May 9 Utah at San Antonio TBD TBD Game 6 * Fri May 11 San Antonio at Utah TBD TBD Game 7
Tonight’s best game: New York at Charlotte
The New York Knicks looked to some like a team that may not be interested in facing the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs when they nearly let the Clippers come back from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit in last night’s 99-93 victory. After scoring 17 points, Carmelo Anthony sat out the entire fourth quarter, but he certainly did not seem concerned about who his team will face. ”Right now it really doesn’t matter,” Anthony said. ”Whoever we play, we’ll
Unfinished business: Scoring title, playoff matchups – UPDATED
Here is what you need to know heading into the final night of the regular season: If he had decided to play, Kobe Bryant would have needed to score at least 38 points at Sacramento to win the scoring title over Kevin Durant. It would be Bryant’s third title, as he won it in 2004-05 averaging 35.4 points per game (the highest average since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 in 1986-87), and in 2005-06 averaging 31.6. But Bryant is sitting out long with
Spurs, Thunder still neck-and-neck for top spot in West
After trouncing the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s return, the San Antonio Spurs are in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the West. They have four games left, and they only need to win three to be the West’s No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season. If they win all four, they could finish with the best record in the entire NBA. As for the Lakers, they may need to win out in their final two games against
Bernucca: NBA playoff races are 16 days to glory, for some
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