nba-playoff Page 55 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

I Can't Stop Looking At This Washington Wizards Hustle Chart
The Washington Wizards are relatively dope this year, and are currently resting their legs after laying that five-game smackage on the Sad Chicago Bulls. What's changed this year, besides a great offseason (Otto Porter notwithstanding) and a great Marcin Gortat trade and the steady progression of a ...

Raptors Fan Goes For Kiss During Game, Gets Rejected
Daaaamn. That girl was just not feeling a kiss from her friend near the end of a tense Nets-Raps game. Either she was very focused on the Raptors, or that's the worst abrupt end to a date....

New Footage Shows The Based God's Curse On Kevin Durant Is Real
I don't know what kind of hidden frequencies or imperceptible light waves this Vine can pick up on, but we now have the best evidence yet for why Kevin "The Servant" Durant's shot wasn't hitting like it usually does last night....

Joey Crawford Is Still A Shit
Well, this was inevitable. We all knew that, at some point during these playoffs, Joey Goddamn Crawford was going to find away to thrust himself into the spotlight and whip up some controversy, because Joey Crawford is the worst....

Russell Westbrook's Steal And Dunk Puts Grizzlies-Thunder Into OT
The Grizzlies had the ball and a chance to ice the game for a 3-2 series lead over the Thunder. But Russell Westbrook hassled Memphis point guard Mike Conley, Jr. enough to jar the ball loose and tie the game up at 90 with a dunk....

Big Al And The Bobcats Deserved More Than What They Got
For a few short minutes during the Bobcats' Game 3 loss to the Miami Heat, Al Jefferson did his thing. Which is to say he stuck his ass into whatever helpless defender got himself dragged onto the left block, took a brief moment to size up the situation, and then bullied his way to the rim on the st...

The NBA Player No One Would Pass To
Early this season, we ran an item called "The NBA Players No One Will Pass To." It used newly accessible SportVU motion-tracking data to determine who among all the NBA players receives the ball the least. It was based on just a few weeks' worth of data, but ended up being representative. In short: ...

Angry Pacers Heckler Just Says What We're All Thinking
The Pacers, they suck. They suck so bad that they are now one loss away from being bounced out of the first round by the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks. They suck so bad that during last night's loss in Indiana, they drove one Pacers fan to his breaking point....

Kyle Korver Shows Off His In-The-Building Range
Kyle Korver draws all net from about 30 feet out and he's not even curling off a screen or walking into the shot; he's completely flat-footed. ...

For Real Though, We Need To Talk About Thomas Robinson's Block
I, like most basketball fans, have been thinking about last night's game between the Rockets and Blazers pretty much all day. But out of all the amazing shit that happened in that game—Wes Matthews torpedoing the ball and the win out of Patrick Beverley's hands; that brief stretch when Nic Batum, D...

Behold, The Most Useless Graphic Of The NBA Playoffs
The map above—from TNT last night—is one of those "who's getting the most buzz" graphics that are as ubiquitous as they are useless. Unfortunately, Houston and Portland both wear red, a nuance lost on whatever computer program generated this image. Better luck next time, computer program!...

Cool Charts: Where The NBA's Best Scorers Are Getting Their Shots
Last Friday on Grantland, Kirk Goldsberry released a great series of charts breaking down the top NBA scorers and shooters from various spots on the floor. The graphics—interactives, thanks to Bostonography's Andy Woodruff—are revealing as always, especially Dirk Nowitzki's:...

How Have NBA Pundits Fared In The First Round Of The Playoffs?
Most of the NBA's first-round playoff series are shaping up to be hotly contested matchups, so let's check in to see if the "experts" had them pegged right....

Blazers Win In Overtime, Mo Williams Wants To Fight Someone
The Rockets and Blazers went to overtime for the third time this series tonight and Portland beat Houston 123-120 in the extra session. The Blazers now lead the series 3-1. ...

Kevin Harlan With That Lean
Kevin Harlan expertly gives the world a better view of the Cosby-sweatered gentleman sitting behind the TNT booth during a break in the action between the Blazers and Rockets in Portland. Thanks, Kevin Harlan. ...

Mavs Beat Spurs On Vince Carter's Three-Point Buzzer-Beater
The Mavericks beat the Spurs 109-108 on a Vince Carter three-pointer at the buzzer. Down 108-106, Carter got the ball off the inbounds with 1.7 seconds left, pump-faked Manu Ginobili into the stratosphere, and drained a three from the corner as time expired. The play was reviewed and upheld, and th...

Nene Suspended One Game For Head-Butting Jimmy Butler
Wizards big man Nene has been suspended for Game 4 against the Bulls after this altercation with Jimmy Butler. Early in the fourth quarter of the Bulls win over Washington, Nene head-butted Butler, then grabbed him around the head and neck, and the two had to be pulled apart by referees and teamma...

Joakim Noah Got Into A Shouting Match With Wizards' Security
NBA teams enjoy many advantages when playing on their home court, but the Washington Wizards appear to have one thing going for them that others don't: a head of security who isn't afraid to get into it with visiting players....

Shaq Makes Inadvertent Dick Joke, Everyone Loses It
He was talking about Dick Bavetta. This is the kind of thing that happens when studio analysts have to stay up until 2:00 a.m. every night....