The Miami Heat fought through a ton of adversity Tuesday night, including leg cramps that forced LeBron James to watch the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, to take Game 4, 104-98. The Heat now hold a commanding 3-1 edge in the NBA Finals and can clinch the championship in Game 5. Here are … [Read more…]
What a difference a week makes. Last week the San Antonio Spurs were on a historic roll, winning 20 in a row and were a perfect 10-0 in the postseason. Seven days later the unbeatable Spurs are going fishing after dropping four consecutive games to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs’ season ended Wednesday night … [Read more…]
The San Antonio game plan for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals was simple. Crowd Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden and put the onus on the offensively challenged Oklahoma City big men. In theory it’s an excellent well-conceived idea by Gregg Popovich and the Spurs coaching staff. But what Popovich didn’t anticipate … [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…]
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…]
The two biggest losers, without a doubt, during NBA “Tradefest” were the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. The Knicks got their man in Carmelo Anthony, but they practically gutted their team to get him. On the outside, the deal was a no-brainer and seemingly well worth a three-month headache. Melo is the most … [Read more…]
Kendrick Perkins is the anchor of the Boston Celtics and without him the Celtics sunk like the Titanic. Seven minutes into Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, the Celtics lost their starting center when he came down awkwardly on his right knee while trying to grab an offensive rebound away from Kobe Bryant and … [Read more…]
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers says Kendrick Perkins is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. So, why does this mild-mannered guy off the court keep getting whistled for technical fouls? “I’m not gonna answer that. I’ll let you guys [the reporters] answer that,” Rivers said after Game 5 of the 2010 Eastern … [Read more…]
Kendrick Perkins got the initial assignment on Dwight Howard and established a physical tone. Then, when Perkins needed a break, Rasheed Wallace came in and applied an even tighter grip on Howard. Perkins and Wallace, along with forward Glenn Davis, took turns in harassing Howard into a 3-for-10 night shooting from the field and held … [Read more…]
Defense wins championships. At least that’s the prevailing thought among athletes in any sport. In basketball, stopping the opposition from scoring is ultimately the difference between winning and losing in April, May and June. To win an NBA championship, you need that lockdown defender that can take away the opposition’s best option. It is equivalent … [Read more…]