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
The lockout-shortened season has finally come to a close at 66 games
After 66 games of the wildest schedule the league has ever seen, the lockout shortened regular season has finally come to a close. No more four games in five nights or back-to-back-to-backs. The demanding schedule saw many key players suffer devastating and nagging injuries throughout the season. The Hawks and the Clippers will surely feel those losses as they head into the playoffs without Al Horford and Chauncey Billups, respectively. Without a real training camp and preseason, teams with new coaches and players were
Playoff races tighten in West, not East
There were so many games last night (14) in the NBA, your fingers go calloused from switching the remote and your brain got scrambled by considering all the playoff possibilities. Bottom line: There are still eight nights left of regular season basketball, a lot can happen over those eight days, and we need to find a way to give you a synopsis of what’s up. To do that, we’ll focus today on the teams with 32-30 records. There are three of them, they
Surging Celtics run past Heat; Knicks get “ripped” in Chicago
Could the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in a playoff series? Well, they couldn’t a year ago, when they managed more than 91 points just once in five games and looked a tad long in the tooth. If Boston was to beat Miami, it appeared it would have to find a way to stall LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in transition and make every game a walk-it-up, grind-it-out affair, where the Celtics excel and the Heat are not exactly comfortable. The Celts
Fantasy Spin: Wednesday April 11
I had a feeling that Richard Hamilton was due. Though still limited to 20 minutes, Rip scored 20 points, had 5 assists and 4 rebounds to make up for the absence of Derrick Rose (ankle) as he and Luol Deng (19 PTS, 10 REB) led the Bulls to a tough win. Carmelo Anthony had 29 for the Knicks, with Tyson Chandler (10 PTS, 15 REB, 3 BLK) playing well, but the point guard spot remains a problem. Baron Davis (8
News, Notes, and Rumors from around the NBA: March 28, 2012.
There are 10 NBA games scheduled for tonight, March 27, 2012. NEWS: Orlando Magic big man, Glen Davis, has been fined #35,000 for making an obscene gesture in a game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre on March 26, 2012. Stephen Curry’s sore ankle will cost two additional weeks. Even though Amare Stoudemire is able to avoid surgery on the bulging disk in his back, he will still be sidelined for 2-4 weeks. NOTES: The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ will host the 2012
Bulls sign Mike James — again
Mike James is back for his third temporary stint with the Chicago Bulls, unless this 10-day contract turns into something bigger and better. The Bulls today signed guard Mike James to a 10-day contract, and he will be in uniform tonight when the Bulls take on the Miami Heat at the United Center. Luon Deng (wrist), Richard Hamilton (shoulder) and C.J. Watson (ankle) are all listed as day-to-day. James, 36, appeared in seven games with Chicago earlier this year and averaged 6.1 ppg,
Tonight’s best game: New York at Chicago
The Bulls and the Knicks have something in common: They’ve both won a lot of games when the stars of their teams were out with injuries. The difference? Chicago kept winning when Derrick Rose came back while New York unraveled when Carmelo Anthony returned. The New York Knicks (18-23) look to find answers to snap a five-game losing streak against the league-best Chicago Bulls (34-9) in Monday night’s best game. The teams met back on February 2 — two games before the beginning