The Detroit Pistons founded the “Jordan Rules” in the late 1980s and early ’90s, while former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson came up with the “Hack-a-Shaq” more than a decade ago. Now, the Miami Heat are employing the “Rondo Rule” in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. On a night when Rajon Rondo carved his name … [Read more…]
Forget about who is going to the NBA Finals. The bigger question is “can anyone win a playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs?” In case you hadn’t looked it up, the last time the Spurs lost a game was on April 11 against the L.A. Lakers. That’s more than a month ago and the … [Read more…]
The biggest mistake Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks made in the Game 1 loss to San Antonio was his decision to play “small ball.” Instead of sticking with his normally rotation, Brooks tried to match the lineup Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went with in the fourth quarter and it totally backfired. The nine-point lead Oklahoma … [Read more…]
The Los Angeles Lakers need to fix their team on the fly. For the second straight year they got bounced out of the NBA playoffs in the second round by a better team. They played better than they did last year in getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks, but it still isn’t good enough for … [Read more…]
For the Miami Heat, the key to winning their Eastern Conference finals best-of-seven series against the Boston Celtics is simple: Stop Rajon Rondo. “Boston creates so many challenges, you can’t key on just one guy. But I think the biggest challenge is Rondo,” Heat forward LeBron James said of Rondo, who had a major hand … [Read more…]
Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden is the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, but Manu Ginobili showed Sunday night why he’s the best sixth man of all time. The San Antonio Spurs’ future Hall-of-Famer — yes, Manu is that good — put on a clinic on how to spark a basketball team as he … [Read more…]
ESPN basketball guru Stephen A. Smith — also known as Screaming A. or Stephen Naismith, whichever you prefer — says the San Antonio Spurs are unbeatable and doesn’t think any of the teams left in the NBA playoffs, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, can knock them off. “They don’t have a weakness,” Screaming A. says … [Read more…]
New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler was recently named the 2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, breaking Dwight Howard’s three-year stranglehold on the award. Chandler helped improve the Knicks defense significantly and was a big reason why the team earned a playoff berth despite numerous injuries. So why in the world was Chandler on … [Read more…]
Allen Iverson hasn’t played for the Philadelphia 76ers in two years, but he remains one of the most beloved athletes in the sports-crazed city. Iverson returned to the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday before Game 6 of the Sixers-Celtics Eastern Conference semifinal series to give the game ball to the officials. When his name … [Read more…]
Dwyane Wade sat in the media room wearing a Band-Aid over his right eye, looking like he went 12 rounds with Manny Pacquiao. Danny Granger left the arena in a walking boot, while Lance Stephenson may have injured his collarbone and David West is nursing a sprained knee. Things got so heated between Miami and … [Read more…]