The NBA conference finals normally bring out the best that the game of basketball has to offer. More often than not, the four best teams remain, and if we’re lucky, the best players on the planet. We are treated to some combination of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu and Paul George every night. These players give us performances to praise night in and night out. And sometimes they don’t. And it’s when they don’t that we
As the forces of nature push toward a rematch in the NBA Finals, fans may be treated to the end of the two current mini-dynasties. All teams have a life span measured in a small number of years, and both of these teams are nearing the end of theirs. The Spurs have been on top for a tremendously long stretch, equaled by only a few teams in recent memory. The Stockton/Malone Jazz teams coached by Jerry Sloan kept their core together
Sunday night the Oklahoma City Thunder were whole. Center Serge Ibaka made his return from what was previously thought to be a season ending injury. His return was much needed, as he provided the defensive energy necessary for the Thunder to play free on the perimeter without worry or fear of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili wreaking havoc in the paint near the rim. Ibaka had a profound impact on the game, as Oklahoma claimed a 106-97 Game 3 victory
We are still more than a month away from free agency, and everything seems so placid now. LeBron James? Looks primed for a three-peat. Carmelo Anthony? He wouldn’t leave New York, would he? He’ll be happy to take less than the max, as Phil Jackson has said he’ll need to do. He will be the backbone of the Knicks’ renaissance, right? No chance those two guys end up in Cleveland or Chicago. No chance, right? Well, five weeks out, and nobody can
It didn’t matter that the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs four times in the regular season and held them to an average of 96.8 points in those games. The Thunder knew that going up against the focused, tough veteran group with homecourt advantage would be a tough task. Especially without Serge Ibaka. During those regular season games, the Spurs scored an incredible 27.8 more points per 100 possessions when Ibaka wasn’t on the floor. On Monday in Game 1,
For the second straight year, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s playoff push has been derailed by a season-ending injury. Last year it was All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who went down in the first round with a knee injury as a result of a collision with Houston guard Patrick Beverley. This year it is forward Serge Ibaka, who suffered a left calf injury in the third quarter of Thursday’s clincher over the Los Angeles Clippers. Ibaka underwent an MRI on Friday that confirmed a left
Well, we might as well start things by reminding everyone how the Spurs should be the team calling themselves the defending champions, except for the part where Gregg Popovich had his three best players on the bench at the end of Game 6 in Miami. That’s when we stopped calling him “genius” and vowed to never do so again. So this spring, we will laud Pop with congratulations for finishing with the league’s best record, for putting together a 19-game winning streak,
At one point last night I thought I would win $1,000 in DraftStreet’s NBA Fantasy League. That didn’t happen for several reasons. Anthony Davis, my most expensive player, left the game early with back spasms. Arron Afflalo couldn’t put the ball in the ocean while playing against the measly defense of the Cleveland Cavs. Besides that, all of my other picks performed well. Today I quickly threw a roster together and will probably make tweaks throughout the day. I contemplated