In today’s NBA, you won’t wake up one day and find yourself winning championships. The 2008 Boston Celtics were an anomaly, and their three main cogs each endured years of heartache and growing pains before they became champions. That’s why the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder has been interesting to witness. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are in just the fifth and fourth years of their respective careers, yet for the second consecutive season they find themselves poised to battle for the
SAN ANTONIO — In the jumble of head-scratching, mystifying plays that have turned Gregg Popovich’s white hair a lighter shade of pale, Manu’s Ginobili’s most famous one doesn’t stick out. In his formative years, Ginobili provided Popovich with many teaching moments, but the outcome of the discussions was sometimes more maddening than the flamboyant approach Ginobili found so inviting. “He would make passes that were unnecessary in certain situations and he could do it in a more efficient manner,” Popovich said. “I
Blake Griffin now has plenty of time to tell Hugo: “Play funk.” About six weeks to be precise. That’s the next time Griffin will be back to work, when he and teammate Chris Paul arrive in Las Vegas for Team USA training camp. (And guess what: They have to get ready to play Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) again, this time in the first round of the London Olympics.) Griffin and Paul played well Sunday night in their last playoff
If you are a fan of either of the Los Angeles teams, you might have had some trouble sleeping through Saturday night. If you predicted that the Clippers (me) or the Lakers (Sheridan) would move past the second round, you probably wish to have those predictions back, as both teams are now on the verge of being eliminated from of the Western Conference semifinals. Before discussing how each team blew their respective chances, it’s time to acknowledge and pay respects to one cold-blooded lanky
Did the Boston Celtics take the bait? After the Celtics easily handled the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3, reclaiming home-court advantage and the upper hand in their series with a convincing win, Sixers coach Doug Collins tried to plant a seed of overconfidence in Gang Green. “I think they are looking at that other series a little bit,” Collins said. “I think they see Chris Bosh being out (for Miami). They see a tremendous opportunity for themselves.” Whether Boston did or didn’t, it
Late yesterday after noon I tweeted a link to our preview column on Thursday night’s games, asking (rhetorically) whether we would see another epic meltdown from LeBron James and the Heat — you know, something resembling going the final 2:41 without scoring a single point, or missing 15 of 16 3-pointers as they had done in Game 2. The tweet was not well received by Heat broadcaster Tony Fiorentino, who was coaching Gus and Ray Williams at Mount Vernon high school
It has now been 22 1/2 months since LeBron James abandoned his home state to take his talents to South Beach. He did so in the hope of winning championships with a better supporting cast. What he didn’t anticipate was how much weaker that supporting cast would become if one of the big three were to miss time due to injury, which is exactly what the Heat are going through right now. Unfortunately for King James, no one is feeling sorry for
The Lakers looked tired and got absolutely manhandled by the Thunder on Monday night. If that game was any indication, the Clippers may be in for a long night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal vs. the Spurs. After just one day of rest since eliminating the Grizzlies on Sunday, the Clippers will go head to head against the well-rested San Antonio Spurs. We just saw what happens when a team with one day of rest goes up against a