You know you’ve arrived as a legitimate superstar in the NBA when LeBron James gives you a dap in the heat of battle. Paul George followed his 27-point performance in Game 1 with an even better all-around effort in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against defending champion Miami. His loudest play came with … [Read more…]
LeBron James made sure there wasn’t going to be another fourth-quarter meltdown on his part. He flexed his muscles and put the Miami Heat on his broad shoulders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and put on a performance for the ages. James took apart the vaunted Boston Celtics defense for 45 points … [Read more…]
LeBron James was on fire Thursday night at Boston’s TD Garden. He set the tone for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals with a 30-point performance in the first half and finished with 45 — the second-best output of his playoff career. James shot 73 percent from the field, making 19 of his 26 … [Read more…]
There’s a commercial running on ESPN and NBA TV during the playoffs showing Ray Allen launching countless jumpers. He takes shot, after shot, after shot but the elbow stays the same. The message: unbroken habits lead to broken records. That motto is the very reason why Allen is considered the best 3-point shooter in NBA … [Read more…]
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…]
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…]
Watching Derrick Rose go right at LeBron James in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the 2011 Eastern Conference was pure basketball magic. It’s not often when you see the reigning league MVP and the two-time league MVP going head-to-head for much of the fourth quarters in the Heat-Bulls series. Rose unleashed his best … [Read more…]
Prior to the start of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer hinted that the Miami Heat have only two real superstars on the team, an obvious slap-in-the-face directed at Heat forward Chris Bosh. Bosh claims he wasn’t upset with the comment, but you bet he read Boozer’s remark and wasn’t very … [Read more…]
Doc Rivers has maintained since April that, at some point during the postseason, Nate Robinson was going to win a playoff game for the Boston Celtics. Throughout the 2010 NBA playoffs, Rivers made it a point after almost every Celtics practice to remind Robinson to stay focused, be ready and told him to “stay engaged.” … [Read more…]
Like a boxer who just got knocked down twice in the last two rounds, the Boston Celtics return home for Game 6 with a couple of bad headaches, an aching back and a little bit of doubt in their ability to knock out the suddenly surging Orlando Magic in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals. When … [Read more…]