The Houston Rockets probably don’t have the depth of physical talent to win an NBA title just yet. But mentally, James Harden’s team could already be there. They made that statement quite clear in Monday’s Game 4, a game most expected to be Golden State’s title coronation after grabbing a 3-0 series lead. Instead, led by 45 points from the MVP-runner-up, the Rockets improved to 4-0 this postseason in elimination games — and 7-2 in the Harden era. These Rockets are now just the
Was an unexpected comeback ever in the works for injured Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley in the Western Conference Finals? It depends who you believe. Rockets’ officials, including head coach Kevin McHale and general manager Daryl Morey, consistently stuck with the company line that he’s out for the entire playoffs, which the Rockets first said on March 30 after Beverley opted for surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left, non-shooting wrist. But Beverley himself has had other ideas. In April, he told Mark Berman
One year after falling two games short of the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs found redemption in the Western Conference Finals after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 Monday night. Tony Parker, frequently lauded as the league’s most forgotten superstar, scored 37 points in the clinching game, which the Spurs won 93-86. Nobody believes he’s a star, but game-after-game, year-after-year, these Spurs are still riding him into the final days of May. [Read more…]
The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs made a statement in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals with a 104-93 victory in Memphis. That statement might as well have been one of those old clichés like “never underestimate the heart of a champion.” Spurs—new and old—expressed their enthusiasm on Twitter after the game. [Read more…]
The evolution of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise since its infant days in Vancouver is really something to marvel at when you consider where they are as of today. They are currently on their 7th head coach in their franchise’s history with Lionel Hollins and are out of the first round for just the second time in their 18-year history. If you parlay that with the fact that Memphis traded their top scorer, Rudy Gay, at the end of January for Ed
Uvo, take me back to 2011. (Sorry, I’ve been watching too many Blake Griffin commercials.) Just two years ago, the eighth-seeded Grizzlies stunned the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, sending San Antonio back to its rocking chairs a little bit earlier than anyone expected. Memphis used a breakout performance by Zach Randolph (31 points, 11 boards in Game 6) to close out the Spurs, then took the Thunder to seven games before bowing out in the West semifinals. Back
Remember how Tim Duncan turned back the clock in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals and served a facial dunk on Serge Ibaka? Well, Ibaka decided a little payback was in order, and did more or less the same dunk against Duncan in Game 4, with a little more flair as he cuffed the ball before throwing it down: (via youtube user 1jzo) The shot-blocking artist was more than just a defender in this game, shooting a flawless 11-of-11 from the field
SAN ANTONIO – Even after victories, Gregg Popovich has a low tolerance for questions he considers pointless or silly. The query could be an innocent one, but something simplistic like “Can you talk about your 20-game winning streak” might result in Popovich answering, “No.” So when he was asked Tuesday night how many times had his offenses – which include those of four championship teams – been better than the current one, the possibility of a curt answer such as “How should