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Kevin Durant Needs Kevin Martin to Stun the Memphis Grizzlies
Without Russell Westbrook, it seemed like the Oklahoma City Thunder were doomed. But Kevin Durant just happens to be one of the most unstoppable players in the NBA, even when he’s on his own. Kevin Martin remembered he used to be a big time scorer, and over the last two games has carried the Thunder along with Durant, helping set up the ground for the fourth quarter turnaround and snatching game 1 away from the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Paul George Makes Life Nearly Impossible for Carmelo Anthony
The Indiana Pacers proved to be difficult for the New York Knicks during the regular season, and the opening game of their semifinals series proved to be no different. Paul George guards Carmelo Anthony better than anyone has this season, not only making him miss a lot, but doesn’t send him to the free throw line while doing it. It took a lot out of him on offense, but there was David West and others to pick up the slack.
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NBA Playoffs, Conference Semifinals – Pacers vs Knicks Series Preview
In what was probably the ugliest series so far in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the New York Knicks came out as winners thanks to Tyson Chandler in the paint, and Carmelo Anthony not ruining things too much for his teams. Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers have shown that they might finally be over their road problems, and have the ability to play a little bit more “easy on the eyes” than they have for most of the season.
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NBA Playoffs, Conference Semifinals – Grizzlies vs Thunder Series Preview
One team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, are arriving in the conference semifinal as the top seed in the Western Conference, but reeling for their first round series and missing their second best player, while the Memphis Grizzlies, winning four consecutive games to climb out of a 0-2 hole, might actually be considered the favorites.
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NBA Playoffs – All 8 Teams in the Conference Semifinals
After three weeks, the 2013 NBA Playoffs field narrows down to eight, as the Conference semifinals begin, giving us two number one seeds (Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder), two number two seeds (New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs), one number three seed (Indiana Pacers), two number five seeds (Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies) and one number six seed (Golden State Warriors).
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Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin & James Harden Fail When it Matters the Most
Young teams need to go through growing pains, and losing in the first round of a postseason series qualifies as just that. Jeremy Lin shouldn’t have played but did, becoming possibly the least valuable player of the series, while James Harden refused to learn from the lessons of a previous game, trying to shoot his way out of trouble instead of slow down, stop and think, which might have led to better results.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Martin Was Brought Over For This
All the comparisons with the star of his former team haven’t really been kind to Kevin Martin, brought over to the Oklahoma City Thunder to fill the role of a spot up shooter from the bench, forced to do something bigger with Russell Westbrook falling down. Kevin Durant led the way to a Game 6 win, but it was Martin who was the difference maker, finally making the most of a terrible Rockets defense.
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Memphis Grizzlies – Zach Randolph Finishes What he Started
The series changed the moment Zach Randolph started being fed in the paint to do his thing, and the Memphis Grizzlies dominated ever since, winning four consecutive games to take their first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers in four straight games. Marc Gasol was excellent and Mike Conley shined in the point guard duel, but Randolph’s dominance down low seemed to be the difference maker in a no-hope situation.
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Indiana Pacers – George Hill Dominates on Both Ends For Once
For once, the Indiana Pacers didn’t fall apart heading into Atlanta. The had too many problems on offense and couldn’t make a late fourth quarter surge enough to save them, giving the Pacers game 6 and the series, while George Hill provided the spark on both ends of the floor thanks to his amazing defense and co-leading the offense along with David West, making up for Paul George having his weakest night of the series.
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New York Knicks – Iman Shumpert Finally Becomes the Third Weapon
The saying says that you can’t win in the NBA playoffs without a third scoring option. So with Carmelo Anthony being just OK and J.R. Smith being disappointing, it was up to Iman Shumpert to fill in the scoring void for the struggling New York Knicks, winning game 6 in Boston and sending the Celtics to what might be a painful summer while advancing into the conference semifinals for the first time in 13 years.