-
Indiana Pacers Keys to Victory – Paul George Shutting Down Carmelo Anthony, Roy Hibbert Doing the Rest
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.
-
Spurs Formula to Victory – Attacking Stephen Curry and Stopping the Three Point Shots
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.
-
Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant Kept Getting Worse & Was Running on Empty
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.
-
Chicago Bulls – Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah & Nate Robinson Have Nothing to Be Ashamed Of
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.
-
Memphis Grizzlies – Zach Randolph & Marc Gasol Grind the Life out of Kevin Durant
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.
-
Miami Heat – LeBron James Finds Answers by Lowering His Head and Grinding it Out
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.
-
San Antonio Spurs – Tony Parker Makes Stephen Curry Look Injured
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.
-
Indiana Pacers – Paul George Defense on Carmelo Anthony Not Going Away
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.
-
Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant Isn’t Good Enough to Win Without Russell Westbrook
For about three quarters, Kevin Durant and the rest of the players around him were doing exactly what the optimistic among the Oklahoma City Thunder personnel knew they should be doing in order to win the series. Knock down their shots, and try to hurry up the game as much as possible. At some point, reality hit them in the face. Without Russell Westbrook it was easy to focus on their best player down the stretch, and the guy who thinks he should be the best in the NBA wasn’t good enough to live up to his own desires.
-
Chicago Bulls – Nate Robinson Finally Runs Out of Luck & Confidence
At some point, you can’t cover up for all those missing players, including Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich, with a point guard who is too small to make a useful defensive player. Tom Thibodeau looked at his bench and saw players he normally wouldn’t have used, but with Nate Robinson finally have the kind of game a lot of people were predicting he’d have at some point, there wasn’t much of a choice.