That photograph (screen shot, to be exact) to your left is the key factor in this series. Russell Westbrook will be walking to the arena on crutches, watching either from behind the bench at home or in a luxury box when the games move to Memphis. And you know what Mike Conley needs to do? Send a thank you note to Patrick Beverly. Let me tell you a story: The year before the Donnie Walsh era in New York began, I was
The New York Knicks spent the offseason – and the regular season – adding playoff-hardened veterans to challenge the Miami Heat for the NBA title. But it is some of those same veterans who are showing inexcusable immaturity in their first-round series vs. the proud Boston Celtics. Whether it be unnecessary elbows or dressing for a funeral or failing to defend their home court, the Knicks have let the Celtics back into the series. What once looked to be a sweep now
If I had to rank the top four players in the NBA at the current moment, my system for ranking those players would look a little something like this: 1. LeBron James 2A. Kevin Durant 2B. Chris Paul 2C. Carmelo Anthony If any other team than the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Finals at this point it will seem like a big surprise across the league. They are the two teams with the most experience not only in the playoffs, but
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice. For the Nets, a banged up Bulls team gave the Nets a chance to stay in this series. Thanks to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn is still alive. Home playoff games afforded the Hawks the chance to reverse their fortunes, but how drastically it turned this series around is astounding. And who will get the opportunity to shine for the Thunder in Russell Westbrook’s absence? All this and more in today’s StatBox playoff breakdown. [Read more…]
Before Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers handed out white towels to fans at the Staples Center. Apparently, someone in the marketing department didn’t understand symbolism. By halftime, those towels had become flags of surrender for the Lakers, the biggest underachieving team in the history of the NBA. Dwight Howard offered his own symbolism, figuratively throwing in the towel midway through the third quarter. Unwilling to grit his teeth and bang
HOUSTON — Mother Nature spent most of the Rockets do-or-die playoff Saturday drenching the Houston downtown area and beyond. And when it came time for the out-of-town Thunder to come down one final time inside the sold-out Toyota Center after blowing every last bit of a 26-point lead, the city’s hoopdom community was left high and first-round dry once again. Sure, it was a valiant spunky comeback from the Kiddie Corp. aiming for a sudden reversal of fortune against the resident Western Conference
Apart from the 1 vs. 8 and 2 vs. 7 series, the first round of the NBA playoffs has been incredibly competitive, just as much so as anyone could have reasonably hoped. The Clippers and Grizzlies are showing everyone how good they are – and how unfair it is that one will lose this series. The Warriors and Nuggets are playing must-see basketball. And just today, Chicago and Brooklyn went to three overtimes. [Read more…]
To say that winning a championship — in any sport — requires a certain amount of luck is a fair statement. But to say that the Miami Heat have not benefited from a high-degree of luck on their quest to repeat as NBA champions, well that would be a little naive. It’s unfair to criticize them for what is 100 percent out of their hands, but it is hard to ignore this fact: every respectable competitor of the Miami Heat has, or