Bruised and bloodied, the Chicago Bulls have no chance of overcoming a 3-1 deficit against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, right? Right? Well, don’t be so sure. Some pretty good players have been on the wrong end of 3-1 comebacks in the playoffs. Guys like Kobe Bryant. Patrick Ewing. Julius Erving. Charles Barkley. George Gervin. Jerry West. And Wilt Chamberlain. And Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and New York’s Carmelo Anthony don’t have enough help to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win their
The meeting did not go well. At a hotel restaurant in Memphis in February 2008, Chris Wallace, the general manager of the Grizzlies, was trying to explain to Agusti and Marisa Gasol, the parents of Pau Gasol, why he had just traded their son to the Lakers. Despite the obvious professional upgrade for their son, the parents weren’t all that keen on the move. They lived in Memphis. They had had one son in high school, a roly-poly, 3-point shooting leviathan
Or he lost his luggage and had to borrow a pair of pants from Nate Robinson. Perhaps Wade feels the need to fill the postseason haute couture void created by the season-ending injury to Russell Westbrook, who usually sets the tone for this sort of thing. Unless Wade is headed to a wedding reception on the beach, “fashion” in the NBA has officially reached a new low. (Hat tip to Deadspin, among many.)
One of the most intriguing elements of the NBA playoffs is what the spotlight reveals about certain players – especially those who weren’t expected to be in the spotlight at all. We expect established superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant to welcome the pressure of the postseason and elevate their play. That is part of the reason they are among the game’s best players. It is also not that surprising to see very good players such as Stephen Curry and
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the controversy engulfing Derrick Rose is that he has been supported by the majority of journalists who expressed an opinion. (For example, here.) That’s not to say his continued absence from the Bulls’ lineup has been universally endorsed. Some have ventured into the dangerous territory of suggesting that Rose should be playing after undergoing surgery on his left ACL, and certainly the Bulls encouraged such criticism in March when they announced that Rose had been
MIAMI – There’s no worry among the Miami Heat over their 93-86 Game 1 loss to Chicago on Monday. But on the Day After, there did seem to be some steely resolve from the defending champions to do better in the “effort” areas. Blend that with a healthy mix of “we’ve been here before,” and you have the tone of the chatter that followed the Heat’s practice Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. [Read more…]
The two best games of the playoffs thus far have clearly been Game 4 between the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls and Game 1 between the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, which had a number of similarities. Both games went multiple overtimes. Both games had plenty of big shots. Both games had role players becoming unlikely heroes. And unfortunately for the Nets and Warriors, both games had huge collapses late in regulation. [Read more…]
Here’s the bottom line on Carmelo Anthony’s recent play. Using the measuring stick of points per shot, it is his worst four-game stretch of the postseason since the first four playoff games of his career. Furthermore, when compared alongside other worst four-game stretches of contemporary solo superstars, it is near the bottom. Following Sunday’s loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals opener, the Knicks are 1-3 in their last four games, including 0-2 at home. Their only win saw them nearly