nba-playoff Page 1 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The ghost of Golden State is starting to make some noise
Steph Curry’s high-arcing game-winner to sink the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night only strengthened his runaway case as The Association’s Most Clutch Player of the Year. An ensuing win over Utah on Monday positioned the Warriors back above the .500 mantle for the first time since Dec. 23. ...
Dear Santa: All I want for Christmas is my sports suggestions taken seriously
By and large, sports are pretty awesome. I have learned to keep my childhood favorite teams at a healthy distance and I advise all Chicago sports fans to do the same. I spend most of the year in awe of the artistic displays of the most brilliant athletes in the world. ...
After the ESPN shakeup, we still have Hubie Brown to keep teaching us basketball
Following its highest-rated NBA Playoff in two decades, ESPN decided to take a hatchet to its game coverage of the league. Gone from the network entirely are Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Replacing them on the No. 1 commentator team alongside Mike Breen are Doris Burke and Doc Rivers. Ryan Ruocco...
Sports are awesome, but the business is fascinating
Something about summer in America will always feel more like the true transition of the year as opposed to New Year’s Day. The holiday has so much pomp and circumstance that it’s difficult to take the time to truly reflect on the year, and it is also very cold in much of the country. During the summ...
The NFL and NBA players associations are taking questionable leadership routes
The first collective bargaining agreement in the history of professional sports was signed by the MLB and MLBPA in 1966. At that time the executive director of the MLBPA was the late Marvin Miller, formerly a union negotiator for workers of U.S. Steel. His fierce advocacy for labor rights is largely...
Jamal Murray’s excellence forces Lakers into a must-win Game 3
In an NBA playoff series, Game 2 is usually the forgotten game. A series usually needs a location change before bold predictions are made. After dominating the Los Angeles Lakers for most of Game 1, the Denver Nuggets’ fourth-quarter performance left much to be desired in a victory that they almost ...
The NBA Playoffs have earlier start times from here on out — God is good
In 2015, I was in Los Angeles for the annual Online News Association Conference. It meant that as a Michigan native, I was up at 9:00 am PST to watch the Wolverines obliterate BYU 31-0 in a college football game that had a noon kickoff on East Coast time. That was also the day that I understood the ...
Will no NBA playoff games on Saturday help the XFL Championship Game’s ratings?
On Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC (or ESPN+) in San Antonio, Texas, the D.C. Defenders (9-1) will face the Arlington Renegades (4-6) in the XFL Championship Game at the Alamodome. But, will anybody watch?...
Will the Warriors-Lakers series be determined by a dog on social media?
The defending champion Golden State Warriors pulled out a much-needed victory in Game 5 of their NBA Western semifinals series. Heart of a champion stuff after being down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers right? There was no way that the winners of four of the last eight NBA Championships were going to ...
Blood, sweat, and bodyslams: 10 moments that defined the Heat-Knicks playoff rivalry
The Miami Heat and New York Knicks have plenty of bad blood, dating back to the mid-90s. Even 30 years after Pat Riley left New York for Miami, storylines remain between the two teams. Riley is now the Heat’s president, while Tom Thibodeau, an assistant for Jeff Van Gundy, Riley’s successor in New Y...
Lakers-Warriors Game 4 doubled as a West Coast DJ set
It is a shame that TNT has the Eastern Conference Finals this season. I have enjoyed New Edition at halftime during the Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers second-round matchup, and once the Miami Heat finish off the New York Knicks I do want to hear all of the Slip and Slide and Rick Ross catalog...
James Harden actually rose to the occasion with Joel Embiid out
James Harden deserved to take a bow on Monday night, even if he decided to wait until he put back on his enormous pants to do so. In a game in which the Philadelphia 76ers were undermanned with their MVP candidate dealing an injury more serious than what was first made public knowledge, Harden was t...
How the NBA provides injury updates shows a lack of regard for fans
NBA injury reports have turned into politician media availability. Expect everything except for a straight answer. The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly ran an MRI on Joel Embiid’s knee 10 days ago. He was expected to be able to play early last week if necessary and most certainly be available for the s...
Which Jimmy Butler are the Knicks getting?
Jimmy Butler is the validation I needed that NBA playoff basketball is America’s fifth major professional sports league among the “Big Four.” From the pace to the way games are scheduled as a series to the effort, it’s almost a parallel Association. Golden State has been historically bad on the road...
The NFL Draft will win the day, but the NBA has already won the week
Thursday night will be one of those evenings when sports fans show their appreciation for the inventor of the “previous channel” button. Round One of the 2023 NFL Draft will be on ABC, while Game 6 of the First Round matchup between the No. 2 Boston Celtics and the No. 7 Atlanta Hawks (Boston leads ...
East Coast folks, get over yourselves if you can’t stay awake for a late playoff game
I’m well aware that the most visible of the loud sports fans reside between Boston and Washington. In that nearly 450-mile stretch of I-95, there are more than 16 million television households along with ESPN’s two main studios. Of course that will inevitably lead to East Coast griping about sports ...
Pointless NBA playoff gossip for your everyday life
I’ll admit, I am not an NBA expert. However, I am an expert in pointless NBA gossip. With Round 1 underway, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite pieces of information that scream Personal Life section on Wikipedia rather than another segment on NBA on TNT....
Warner Bros. is using <i>Dr. Pimple Popper</i> to ruin the NBA Playoffs
Some of us are old enough to remember when the television parental guideline ratings first debuted. The only programs that weren’t subject to the rating system were news and sportscasts. Athletics and information, what could possibly be inappropriate for children there? How about a grotesque mass of...
Overreacting to Game 1 of each NBA Playoff series
One game into each NBA postseason series feels like a good time to make some premature, bold declarations. The postseason tipped off with a fury of finishes that ranged from exciting to anesthesia. But Game 1 is a starter kit that we’ll try to extrapolate on. It would be wise to tread carefully in t...
Donovan Mitchell joins elite group of legendary NBA players in Cavs playoff debut
Donovan Mitchell had a magnificent start to his playoff career in Cleveland as he led all scorers in game one of the Cavs’ first-round series against the New York Knicks, dropping 38 points, albeit in a losing effort. Despite falling into a 0-1 hole and losing home-court advantage, Mitchell still ma...