My dad likes to turn off the TV when a game is not going the way he wants. He does this all the time with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Green Bay Packers, his teams, and when he is feeling a little extra bold he will keep the game on the screen but mute the sound. Friday night was a lesson in how you don’t want to be like my dad. If you are a Lakers fan, you might have said “I
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers have something in common in the conference semifinals this season: Both lost the previous game in devastating manner. Of course, how and why they lost, and how that makes it sting so much, is a whole different story. The 76ers got blown out of their own house quite convincingly. The Lakers, as Andrew Bynum would say, played Santa Claus, gift-wrapped a victory and handed it over to Oklahoma City. Both teams look to recover
Before the start of the conference semifinals, some have considered the possibility of an NBA Finals rematch between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. Both teams will have to start playing much better for that to happen, especially for the Lakers, who have become serious underdogs against the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting blown out by 29 points in Game 1. Two games are slated for tonight on TNT, where silly contests happen. Boston (1-1) at Philadelphia (1-1): The long-time rivals have, predictably,
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t react well to Monday’s thumping in Oklahoma City. Center Andrew Bynum and forward Devin Ebanks drew fines from the NBA for their actions during and after the team’s 119-90 loss to the Thunder in the opener of their Western Conference semifinal series. Bynum wad fined $15,000 for refusing to speak with the media after Tuesday’s practice. Ebanks was fined $25,000 for his part in a late-game scuffle following a loose ball that resulted in his ejection. Game 2 is
// We might be looking at a 2-0 series lead for the Boston Celtics if their end-game execution was a little more sound. By ordering Rajon Rondo to commit a foul with 14.4 seconds remaining, Doc Rivers and the Celtics gave away whatever chance they had of getting a stop, calling a timeout and inbounding from midcourt to go for the win. To recap: Rondo missed an open foul-line jumper that would have given the Celts a three-point lead with 54 seconds to
Last week, we had a book review of Don’t Put Me In Coach, in which Ohio State benchwarmer and author Mark Titus repeatedly refers to teammate Evan Turner as “The Villain.” On Monday night in Boston, The Villian was The Hero. Turner shook off a tough shooting night to make a difficult driving, twisting layup that gave the Philadelphia 76ers the lead for good, then added two clutch free throws to help them hold on for an 82-81 victory over the Celtics
With the Clippers beating the Grizzlies on Sunday, the second round of the playoffs is now in full swing. We hoped for the basketball gods to stop hitting players with the injury bug after watching so many occur in the first round, but those hopes went out the window when Miami’s Chris Bosh suffered an abdominal strain Sunday, leaving him in doubt for at least the rest of the series against Indiana. Here’s hoping we can witness some good old basketball without
Life as a sports commissioner is often confusing. Sometimes you act tough and then critics accuse you of being a wimp. Sometimes you tell a little joke and it becomes a conspiracy theory. And then you think you are acting decisively only to be accused of negatively manipulating results and a team’s ability to compete for a title. It’s a complicated job ,and David Stern found that out again Saturday when Metta World Peace returned from a seven-game suspension for the