Is it safe to say that NBA teams always enjoy home court advantage? It may actually be an understatement when it comes to home court in this postseason. All but two games in the playoffs so far have been won by the home team, and the lone two teams that won on the road basically needed to pull off miracles to get their victories. Of course, there’s the simple fact that the home teams are also generally the better teams, which is why
// csprtContainer(); // ]]> The Chicago Bulls played 27 games without Derrick Rose during the regular season, and they won two-thirds of them. They were without Richard Hamilton for more than half of the season. They lost Luol Deng for a long stretch. So if there’s any team prepared to deal with the calamity that was the season-ending injury to Derrick Rose, it is them. C.J. Watson will take over the starting point guard duties for the Bulls as they resume their first-round playoff
I know I should be writing about the playoffs. Derrick Rose tore his ACL. The Orlando Magic have a pulse. The New York Knicks might never win another playoff game. Yada, yada, yada. At some point, I’ll get around to it. Instead, I’m going to write about something I thought would not happen in my lifetime: The 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers are no longer the worst team in NBA history. I have been following the NBA for 40 years. I have always been fascinated by
So the playoffs began on Saturday afternoon, and they could not have gotten off to a worse start. A much anticipated day of postseason action turned absolutely tragic when two key players for the Bulls and the Knicks – Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert – each suffered devastating knee injuries – a torn ACL. Chicago was well on its way to the first postseason win of the season. Then, with less than two minutes remaining in the game, the reigning MVP jumped up
The travails of the Sixers have been well-chronicled here, partly because we have a big Sixers fan on the staff, partly because everyone likes to watch a train wreck. The Bulls, meanwhile, have been at the top or near the top of Sheridan’s Power Rankings and Heisler’s Power Rankings since this truncated season began on Christmas Day, and no number of injuries could knock them from their perch. Five things to watch for in the first-round playoff series between the
Well, they’re in. The Philadelphia 76ers are in the playoffs. They might not be there very long, and once they exit, their leading scorer might be leaving as well. But for now, all is well in the City of Brotherly Love. The Sixers won a game they were supposed to win, had to win, needed to win, pulling away for a 105-87 road victory over the shorthanded New Jersey Nets that clinched their second playoff berth in as many years under coach
Imagine how mad Doug Collins would have been had the Philadelphia 76ers lost. Collins was fined $15,000 for verbally abusing a referee as he left the Bankers Life Fieldhouse floor in Indianapolis on Saturday night – after his 76ers won, 109-106, in overtime. The fine was announced Monday by NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson. The Sixers held a three-point lead when Indiana’s Danny Granger missed a 3-pointer. There was some serious pushing and shoving underneath the basket, and Pacers
Despite a near catastrophic meltdown over the last two months, the Philadelphia 76ers have done just enough – winning the last two games against Indiana and Cleveland – for a comfortable three-game lead for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. A win against New Jersey or loss by Milwaukee tonight would secure the Sixers a playoff berth, and they are just a half-game behind the New York Knicks for the seventh seed. The Sixers (33-30) look for their third