nba-playoff Page 18 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Charlotte Hornets are doomed to run the ‘treadmill of mediocrity’
The “treadmill of mediocrity” is a term coined by former Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard in 2011. It’s pro basketball limbo — being good enough to sneak into the playoffs but not good enough to win, yet not quite bad enough to earn a top-5 draft pick and select a serious game-changer. And ...

The five most disrespectful dunks in NBA playoff history
It’s getting to be that time when important NBA basketball starts being played....

Which NBA teams are poised to end their lengthy playoff drought this year?
This NBA season has brought a fresh energy to the regular season. The new Play-In Tournament and the rise of new teams to prominence (the Knicks are good now, wut?!) have made this one of the most compelling NBA regular seasons in recent memory....

The Portland Trail Blazers are hotter than a seatbelt buckle in August
The Portland Trail Blazers are coming into the NBA playoffs on fire, in NBA Jam terms....

Jazz fans could be singing the blues if the Dubs are their first-round playoff opponent
There are few men as universally feared in the NBA as Steph Curry. You take your eye off of him for one second and — BAM! — he pulls up from 45 feet, and now you’re down two. But while Curry might instill terror into the hearts of his opponents, the Golden State Warriors definitely don’t. With just ...

The story of the New Orleans Jazz and their move to Utah, where jazz didn’t exist
With the NBA playoffs fast approaching, the Utah Jazz can boast the best record in the league. But the best team name? Not so much....

Blazers welcome back fans just in time to stick it to L.A.
I don’t think anyone will argue that the NBA playoff intensity was alive and well in the bubble last year. There were fantastic games that came down to clutch moments, and there were underdog teams like Miami making a run all the way to the Finals. It was everything on the court you could hope for. ...

Underperforming in playoffs isn’t new to Mike Budenholzer teams, but this time it may cost him
With the NBA Playoffs looming later this month, and due to the perceived attainability of this year’s championship, there’s a growing list of people out there who could be held accountable for coming up short....

Pierre oughta sit this one out
All I ask of TNT/TBS in their new deal with the NHL is to leave Pierre McGuire on the couch....

LaMarcus Aldridge joins loaded Nets, but we found the team they should STILL fear the most
Just because LaMarcus Aldridge has his lowest scoring average since he was a rookie, his lowest true shooting in five years, and his lowest rebounding average ever this season doesn’t mean he’s cooked at 35....

Caris LeVert’s Pacers debut tonight after overcoming kidney cancer is rare 2020-21 bright spot
When James Harden was traded to the Nets on January 14, one of Brooklyn’s prized outgoing pieces was rising swingman Caris LeVert. ...

Reports of Kemba Walker’s demise have been greatly exaggerated
Depending on who you ask, Kemba Walker might be anywhere from overly washed to overly joyous....

NBA is granting two-way players postseason-eligibility, per report, which could help some teams
Suddenly, depth may become even more important in this year’s playoffs. ...

Collin Sexton totally got in the way of Brooklyn Nets’ ‘Big 3' debut
We tuned in to see the return of Kyrie Irving as he was finally going to join James Harden and Kevin Durant in the most offensively-gifted trio in NBA history. What we wound up getting was a coming-out party from a rising star, as Cleveland’s Collin Sexton crashed Brooklyn’s bash as the Cavs defeate...

Steven Stamkos gets his Willis Reed moment
The “Willis Reed Game” has grown in proportion as an epic through the decades, as these things tend to do as the years tick off. By this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a lot of younger fans assume that Willis Reed hobbled out of the Knicks locker room missing a leg, hopped around for 65 points,...

Jalen Rose's Breonna Taylor shout-out takes ESPN to commercial break
Sorry ESPN, Jalen Rose ain’t sticking to hoops....

This is What Happens When You Piss Off LeBron
Earlier this summer, “The Last Dance” gave the world a look at how Michael Jordan used every slight, real or perceived, as motivation....

Against the Heat, are the Bucks Really Better Off Without Giannis?
When Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, caught a pass driving into the lane from Eric Bledsoe at the start of the second quarter of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, many thought that was a guaranteed layup....

My Son Is Also Named Dort: The Game 7 That Wouldn't End Because Refs Ref It Up
It was another primetime night for the NBA in Orlando, and generally their worst nightmare is when the refs hijack such an occasion. NBA refs can never decide if they want to be the show or not, and the indecision tends to just make it worse (credit the other sports arbiters for knowing exactly what...

Russell Westbrook Finally Gives Thunder Fans A Moment To Remember
The Bubble Domes continued at pace last night, and perhaps the story was OKC forcing a Game 7 against the Rockets in their first-round series. Or rather, the story within the story. ...