// If Dexter Pittman had done what he did to Lance Stephenson on the street instead of on the basketball court, he’d be facing felony assault charges. As it is, Pittman’s cheap shot in the waning moments of Miami’s Game 5 beatdown of the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night is certain to earn him a multiple-game suspension. (On the Artest scale, this one is worthy of a 10-game suspension, IMHO, because of the degree of premeditation). If you haven’t seen the foul
In the biggest game of the season for the Boston Celtics, the Big Four took a back seat to the Other One. All of the attention in Boston rightfully goes to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. They are the only four players remaining from the team’s last championship in 2008 and comprise perhaps the best quartet in the NBA. They are the reason the Celtics are still in the title hunt when most felt their window of
The Eastern Conference semifinals are interesting. The Western Conference semfinals are not — unless the Lakers make them so tonight. One night after the Clippers were swept out of the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers are one game away from losing their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers will look to extend their season in Game 5 while the Boston Celtics hope to regain control against the Philadelphia 76ers in the two games slated for Monday
Did the Boston Celtics take the bait? After the Celtics easily handled the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3, reclaiming home-court advantage and the upper hand in their series with a convincing win, Sixers coach Doug Collins tried to plant a seed of overconfidence in Gang Green. “I think they are looking at that other series a little bit,” Collins said. “I think they see Chris Bosh being out (for Miami). They see a tremendous opportunity for themselves.” Whether Boston did or didn’t, it
PHILADELPHIA — This was like spotting Tom Brady and the Patriots two quick touchdowns in the opening minutes, then spending the rest of the half doing everything else wrong. You just don’t recover from something like that. Unless, apparently, you’re the Philadelphia 76ers and the game is basketball rather than football. And your opponent isn’t Bill Belichick’s team, but Massachusetts’ other fabled team, the Celtics; a franchise that used to define winning. My, how times have changed. Yes, the Celtics are still proud,
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
Yesterday was another morning after for LeBron James. The morning after James played the entire second half, defended every position on the floor except center and collected 28 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists, doing all he could to pick up the slack for missing All-Star teammate Chris Bosh and struggling superstar teammate Dwyane Wade, who missed 14 shots, including a potential go-ahead layup in the final minute. It was also the morning after James missed five free throws, including