eastern-conference-finals Page 8 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

If the Bucks want to win these Finals, this is the change they need to make
In the days leading up to the NBA Finals, I thought the Ayton-Lopez matchup was going to be the most pivotal matchup of the series. NBA All-Defense First-Teamer Jrue Holiday could put the clamps on Chris Paul. Khris Middleton and P.J. Tucker could rotate to help on Devin Booker. Giannis could muscle...

The Middle man in Milwaukee
We talk about him more nowadays, and rightfully so, his resume demands it....

Brook Lopez turned back the clock, and a shoutout to Bobby Portis, while I'm at it
There’s a long list of heroic playoff performances made by All-Stars turned role players later in their careers, and now, Brook Lopez has entered the chat....

A report about the NBA wanting to add games, on the same day Giannis got hurt? The irony
Less is more, even if it causes you to leave money on the table....

Down 2-1, the Hawks are still capable… if Trae Young is active
John Collins has a point....

Khris Middleton must be better for the Bucks to avoid an upset
Khris Middleton was once a relatively unknown prospect, packaged by the Detroit Pistons — along with Brandon Knight and Viacheslav Kravtsov — to acquire Brandon Jennings eight years ago....

Basketball gods, please give us a Young-Booker NBA Finals
I’m not sure if the Atlanta Hawks won the series or if the Philadelphia 76ers lost it, but either way, the Hawks and Trae Young have surprisingly made it into the Eastern Conference finals. On the other side of the bracket, the Phoenix Suns and Devin Booker are surging. Dreams are forming in my head...

As expected, ‘The Process’ failed
When Keyzer Soze infamously said, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist,” at the end of The Usual Suspects, he wasn’t just talking about the con he’d just gotten away with. He was also foreshadowing what Sam Hinkie would do to Sixers fans....

In recent coaching trend, NBA stood for No Blacks Allowed... That MUST change
The NBA is finally back in the Black. In coaching, that is....

For Giannis, ‘greatness’ is an enigma
Giannis Antetokounmpo is becoming another NBA enigma....

The Kemba-Horford deal should work for both the Celtics and Thunder
Admit it. You woke up not knowing that NBA teams not currently playing could make trades during the playoffs. Don’t feel bad — a lot of people learned that today, in a startling way. ...

The Sixers chose Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Brett Brown over Jimmy Butler in 2019 and now they’re living with the result
Look at how we view the 2019 Toronto Raptors because a ball bounced in....

Can we all finally recognize Paul George for his greatness?
With Kawhi Leonard sidelined with an ACL injury, everyone rushed to their computers to rule out the Clippers in their series with the top-seeded Utah Jazz. Even though the series was tied 2-2, no one expected the Clippers to steal a game in Utah without Kawhi on the court. Much like my colleague Jon...

Paul George has chance, and not by choice, to lead a team to new heights
The NBA playoffs have been a brutal war of attrition, with nearly every team left standing dealing with injuries to star players. The Los Angeles Clippers are no different — Kawhi Leonard reportedly has an ACL injury and is out indefinitely. Much like how Kevin Durant was thrown into the fray withou...

Kevin Durant: Solo artist
We’ve never seen Kevin Durant do it on his own. It’s often felt like he needed a complementary piece to excel — or at least that’s the prevailing stigma. In Oklahoma City, he had Russell Westbrook and James Harden. In Golden State, he was second to Steph Curry. Sure, he has his ring (for which most ...

Stop the Bubble slander
The Denver Nuggets are down 3-0, meaning no team who reached the NBA’s Final Four in The Bubble has won a game past Round 1, and one of them didn’t even do that. But these four teams — the Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics — shouldn’t be diminished for accomplishing what th...

Is Brooklyn's rout of Milwaukee meaningful?
The Bucks lost by 39 points in Brooklyn on Monday night, and it felt like something of a denouement for this current Milwaukee team, which has gone 162-65 over the past three seasons but disappointed in the playoffs....

With Harden knocked out early, Nets remind Bucks they’re still stacked
James Harden left Game 1 of the Nets-Bucks series in the first minute, after aggravating the hamstring injury that cost him 21 games during the regular season. Steve Nash doesn’t know whether Harden will be available for Game 2 — either way, the former MVP’s health coming into question reshapes ever...

Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens are done — Boston should hire a Black coach – they do well there
Potential is a sly word, as it’s just a nice way to say someone hasn’t done anything yet. It’s a label we attach to people and things that we believe will be able to achieve a certain level of success. Potential is great to have until you don’t do anything with it....

If it’s not the Leafs this season, which teams have the best (worst?) shot at passing the Rangers 54-year Cup futility?
The New York Rangers are the historic gold standard for futility in the NHL, having gone 54 years without winning the Stanley Cup until finally getting the job done in 1994 (see Mark Messier with the Cup above) — after decades of being taunted with “1940” chants in enemy arenas....