Wally Szczerbiak, a teammate of Kevin Garnett for seven seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, had a surprising take on the performance of the Big Ticket, who has been scorching hot in these playoffs but had a rare off-game in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, needing 18 shots to score 18 points.
Let’s get a little overly dramatic here, shall we? On what will forever be known as Black Wednesday everywhere from Boston to Brooklyn to Beijing to Barcelona, commissioner David Stern’s referees swallowed their whistles when Rajon Rondo got whacked in the forehead late in overtime, and Stern’s ping-pong ball machine magically delivered the No. 1 pick in the draft to the league-owned New Orleans Hornets — all on the same night Stern sounded as though he endorsed the idea of banning
The NBA draft lottery is set for tonight at 8 p.m. ET, with Game 2 of the Celtics-Heat series coming up at 8:30 p.m. In the meantime, take a gander at some of the news from around the NBA on Wednesday. After convincingly losing Game 1, Rajon Rondo stated “Nothing dirty, but they have to hit the deck, too.’’ Knowing that the Celtics want to get more physical, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had their say on the matter: “I expect to be quote,
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked the question, “Was there any doubt that it’d be us and Boston?” Did he watch the Celtics play? Certainly, they cast some doubt into our minds about a Celtics-Heat series after failing to close out the 76ers in Game 6 before finally edging out the pesky eighth seed. Nevertheless, the stage is set for another battle between Miami and Boston on Monday night for the third consecutive season in the playoffs, this time in the Eastern
The Boston Celtics have staggered into the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in five years, their “Big Three” era so close to complete that the moniker is outdated. It no longer even includes their best player, the mercurial and unpredictable Rajon Rondo. Just 48 hours after Rondo finished off the stubborn, pesky eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of a series that was borderline unwatchable for those without a rooting interest, those same time-tested and battle-proven Boston Celtics will
Turns out the “Boston Strangler”’ did show up Saturday night on the Garden’s parquet floor, where the Sixers valiantly made their last stand, yet still came up short, 85-75, to Rajon Rondo and the Celtics. Rather than Andrew Toney squeezing the life out of the opposition, this time the Sixers collectively did it to themselves. The Celtics were there to be taken. Through the bulk of three periods, they struggled with their shots and had a hard time keeping up with the younger,
So the Sixers and Celtics will resume hostilities in Game 7 at Boston on Saturday. The Celtics have a badly needed extra day of rest. They have the advantage of playing on their home floor. They have plenty of postseason experience. And they also have better players, which always helps. The Sixers were supposed to have started their offseason two weeks ago. They nudged their way into the playoffs as an eighth seed that had been playing poorly for six weeks. They
Wednesday was my 16th wedding anniversary. It also was the 30th anniversary of one of the most anticipated playoff games in NBA history – Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. The rivals met in the conference finals in three consecutive years from 1980-82. In 1981, the Sixers opened a 3-1 lead before the Celtics won the next three games by a combined five points. The following year, the Sixers again opened a 3-1
