Each of the eight teams remaining in the NBA playoffs have played a game in this second round, and some interesting trends have emerged that could be harbingers of things to come over the next two weeks (or however long the league decides to stretch out this round). [Read more…]
Every year when the NBA playoffs roll around, we hear about “adjustments” and how important they are. But are they? Danny Schayes thinks so. The 18-year NBA veteran and Sheridan Hoops columnist believes that over the course of a seven-game series, even the best teams have their warts exposed and have to find ways to limit their exposure. In this video with Cinesport’s Noah Coslov, Schayes discusses what adjustments need to be made by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, the higher-seeded
With much of the national discourse centering on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the reality of the matter is that a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine is the limit to what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is capable of doing. The rest falls on the shoulders of 29 team owners, as they—according to the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws—must vote with a 3/4’s majority to force the sale of the team. Players, media pundits and people all across the nation
In the midst of one of the best opening rounds in NBA playoff history, this weekend was marred by the alleged cruel words of shamed Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. There isn’t much use in rehashing Sterling’s comments, but if you have not read the coverage and are trying to play catch up you can find them here. While this put a serious black mark on a weekend set up for marvelous basketball — which we still did get, by the way
Washington Wizards forward-center Nene has been suspended one game without pay for head-butting and grabbing Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls around the neck with both hands and attempting to throw him down, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, the NBA’s President of Basketball Operations. The incident, in which Nene received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game, occurred with 8:28 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 100-97 loss to the visiting Chicago Bulls last night at Verizon Center. Nene will serve his suspension tomorrow when the Wizards host Chicago. To view the play, click on this link.
The Wizards made us really, really upset on the final night of the regular season by moving up from sixth place to fifth place, denying us a rematch of last year’s Bulls-Nets series that went seven games and was won by Joakim Noah in his old home borough. Well, I guess it wasn’t the Wizards’ fault. All the Nets needed to do to lock up that matchup (and avoid the Heat in the second round) was beat Cleveland. Instead, they lost
Would you sacrifice the possibility of hosting a Game 7 at home in the Eastern Conference finals if it meant a smoother path toward getting to those Eastern Conference finals? That is a question the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat have to be asking themselves with seven days left in the regular season. [Read more…]
It’s always a bad night when you lose a game in the NBA. Naturally, Marcin Gortat of the Washington Wizards wasn’t feeling too good after losing 98-85 to the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. The center could do little to stop Al Jefferson, who scored 26 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field, and the Bobcats reached within 2 1/2 games of overtaking the Wizards for the sixth seed in the East to avoid a dreaded first-round matchup against the Miami Heat