The New York Knicks stayed alive in the NBA playoffs and their battle with the Indiana Pacers is the only second-round series still going, with Miami, San Antonio and Memphis all punching their tickets to the conference finals over the past two nights. TheSportsNotebook’s overview of each series will start with Knicks-Pacers, which resumes Saturday night (8 PM ET, ESPN) and then look at how the Heat, Spurs and Grizzlies closed things out.
Throughout the NBA season and into the playoffs we’ve found ourselves asking whether a team can win without a just-injured star. From Rondo to Lee to Westbrook and a few others along the way, injuries have defined the 2013 chase for the NBA title. Now, with four teams within a victory of the conference finals, there’s another question lurking—can Miami win without Dwayne Wade?
All four second-round matchups in the NBA playoffs are knotted at a game apiece, and now it’s up to the underdogs (Golden State, Memphis, Indiana, Chicago) to prove they can defend their home floor as the venues shift for the middle games that start on Friday night. Other than the Bulls, the other three underdogs give the feel of being in control of their series none more so than Golden State.
Fourth-quarter comebacks, upsets and near-upsets marked the opening games of the NBA’s second round and nowhere was it more dramatic than last night in Miami. The Chicago Bulls took their wounded talents to South Beach and came up with a 93-86 upset over the Miami Heat, and it’s there that our NBA commentary will start as we look at what the four Game 1s might mean for each overall series.