While the San Antonio Spurs have figured out how to stop Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, getting their big three going all at one has been a bit more difficult in the playoffs. So while Tim Duncan was benched in crunch time and the Tony Parker – Manu Ginobili tandem proved to be on one of their worst days this season, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter proved there’s plenty of depth behind the old, beaten up names. More
With their backs to the wall, the New York Knicks didn’t get the finest out of Carmelo Anthony. Not an MVP-like performance, but whatever it was, it was good enough to keep them alive in the conference semifinal series, forcing a game 6, by finally showing up to the fourth quarter with some big shots against Paul George and some big defense on the other end against David West. More
The New York Knicks have been embarrassingly bad in their postseason series with the Indiana Pacers, letting Roy Hibbert lead the way in the utter and complete domination under the paint, while their only option on offense, Carmelo Anthony, has been been experiencing the closest thing to legal torture under the hands of Paul George, making the NBA’s top scorer look like an average player at best. More
It seems that as we approach game 6 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors, the Spurs are coming in confident they have the Warriors figured out. Yes, Harrison Barnes has been surprising after an OK rookie season, but comes down to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson making three point shots. Once you take that away, while forcing Curry to be the on-ball defender as much as possible, and it seems that Mark Jackson doesn’t have too many rabbits to pull out of his hat. More
A true superstar doesn’t hit only 23.8% of his field goals attempts (taking 21 shots) as his team faces elimination. But Kevin Durant had to be everything for the Oklahoma City Thunder in their conference semifinals series, and ended up without anything left to give in the final two games. Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson actually put up the numbers they were supposed to in giving him the helping hand he needed, but it was a little too late, as Durant couldn’t find anything left in his arsenal in the fourth quarter. More
For the second time in three years, the Chicago Bulls lose to the Miami Heat in a playoff series, both of them lasting only 5 games. Yet with so many injuries to begin with, from Derrick Rose to Luol Deng and finishing with Kirk Hinrich, the effort, heart, sacrifice and ability that Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson have shown in this postseason is nothing but commendable. More
If last year after losing in the NBA finals Kevin Durant looked sad, he looked exhausted and empty after losing in 5 games to the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s hard to say when looked more pitiful. Zach Randolph pulled a number on him and his entire front line by destroying them in the paint, while Tayshaun Prince, Marc Gasol and Tony Allen did on the defensive end. More
It’s been well established that for LeBron James and the Miami Heat to succeed in the playoffs and win NBA titles (which they’ve already done once), they won’t be able to turn away from winning by scoring in the paint. Dwyane Wade only started helping in the fourth quarter, but it was enough to put a lid on the Eastern conference semifinals series, closing it out in five games, as the big three advance to their third conference finals in three years. More
Don’t always believe it when NBA players and their head coaches speak of injuries. It’s all about perception, and when Tony Parker leads the San Antonio Spurs to a huge win in Game 5 while making Stephen Curry (with the help of others) look like someone who doesn’t really know what he’s doing for once, the injury card for Curry suddenly becomes a lot more significant, trying to make us forget the point guard in front of him is older and just as injured. More
It’s one thing to “help” Carmelo Anthony shoot with horrible accuracy from the field; the sheer volume of his attempts from the field aid with that. But Paul George is leading the Indiana Pacers towards the Eastern Conference Finals without being too incredible on offense, but doing an incredible work on the NBA’s leading scorer in the regular season, aided by the fact that his team is annihilating their rivals on the board and in the paint. More