The first round of the NBA playoffs officially ended yesterday afternoon as the Los Angeles Clippers won Game 7 over Memphis, while the second round continued, as Miami beat Indiana. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to a doubleheader tonight…
The Los Angeles Lakers closed out one series with a tough win and the Boston Celtics opened another with a narrow escape, as the NBA playoffs sits on the fulcrum between the first and second rounds this weekend. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games…
The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers both took care of business as favorites in their first-round playoff series, closing out the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic respectively, in five games. On Sunday the Heat and Pacers tip off their second-round series and TheSportsNotebook previews the action…
Miami was the favorite to win the East to begin with and the fall of Chicago and to the extent anyone even considers the possibility they might lose prior to the Finals, those thoughts focus on Boston rather than Indiana. That drastically underrates the Pacers’ chances.
The second round of the NBA playoffs opens tonight when Boston hosts Philadelphia in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals. Both teams won their opening series without the benefit of homecourt advantage and closed the deal in last-second Game 6 finishes on Thursday. The Celtics and Sixers have had some epic playoff battles in their history, especially 1981 and 1982. TheSportsNotebook previews the 2012 edition of this rivalry…
The Memphis Grizzlies’ frontline has awakened just in time to save the season. After a strong showing in a must-win Game 5, the Grizzlies’ inside duo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol again played big in a 90-88 survival win in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers last night. The Grizzlies have now rallied to the tie the series at three games apiece and hold homecourt for Sunday afternoon’s decisive seventh game.
The growing pains of April are officially behind the Miami Marlins. Between a combination of bad baseball ( an 8-14 record), bad politics (Ozzie Guillen’s love for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro) and bad PR (Guillen’s actually saying so out loud to the press), Miami had the markings of a team that wouldn’t live up to the hype of the offseason. But in May, the bats are slowly starting to pick up, Guillen’s managerial skills are taking hold and the Marlins have gone 8-1. They’re now above .500 and right back into the mix in the NL East.
The Eastern Conference semi-finals are set, as Philadelphia and Boston each won Game 6 thrillers at home to clinch and set up a second-round date with each other, joining Indiana and Miami. Out west, there’s still more work to be done, as the Denver-LA Lakers series will go to a seventh game. TheSportsNotebook looks back on last night’s three games and ahead to tonight’s Game 6 with Memphis and the LA Clippers…
The Game 5 sequence in the NBA playoff schedule came to an end last night, and we’re halfway through paring down the bracket. The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks to put a wrap on their series and join Indiana, Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the second round, but the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination and forced a Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clippers. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to a trio of Game 6 battles on Thursday night…
Tuesday night had the chance to be a Close-Out Night, with four teams having Game 5 clinching opportunities. Only one of them—the Indiana Pacers—took advantage. And no failing was more surprising than the Los Angeles Lakers losing at home to Denver. TheSportsNotebook recaps the four games from Tuesday and looks ahead to two more Game 5 clinch possibilities tonight…
If you believe in the virtue of rebounding as a big key to winning playoff games in the NBA—and TheSportsNotebook does, as does another recommended blog over at Stat Intelligence—then last night was a challenge to the belief system. Because even though San Antonio and the LA Clippers were beaten on the boards—decisively in fact—it didn’t stop the Spurs from completing a four-game sweep of Utah and it didn’t stop the Clippers from taking a 3-1 lead in games against Memphis. TheSportsNotebook looks back on both games and ahead to potential Grand Slam Clinch Night on Tuesday…
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have to get a win in Denver to win their first-round series, but championship teams find ways to scrape out W’s on the road and shorten a series. That’s exactly what Los Angeles did last in Game 4, as they beat Denver. With the Lakers, along with the Sixers and Celtics, taking 3-1 leads in their first-round series, it feels like we’re living some early 1980s retro—all we need is Dr. J, Magic and Bird in the house to make it complete. And the fourth game going Sunday, Heat-Knicks, is also at 3-1, although in this case it’s because New York staved off elimination. TheSportsNotebook recaps Sunday’s grand slam and looks ahead to Monday’s doubleheader…
The NBA’s Grand Slam Weekend, with four games Saturday and four on Sunday had an entertaining start yesterday. Indiana and the LA Clippers won nailbiters, Oklahoma City moved on to the second round and San Antonio kept methodically moving forward. TheSportsNotebook looks back on Saturday and ahead to Sunday…