NBA playoffs Page 16 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Steph Curry Makes The Warriors Invincible
The version of the Golden State Warriors that dispatched the Spurs in five games and cruised to a blowout Game 1 win against the Pelicans is a fine NBA team. One that, if not destined to, certainly looked capable of winning the title while being led by top-five NBA player Kevin Durant. The version o...
Nobody Pukes Up A Game Quite Like The Raptors
I’m not here to argue that the Raptors’ collapse in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Cavaliers is proof that their 59-win season was totally hollow and that they are in fact fraudulent pretenders unworthy of the No. 1 seed and should be expelled from the NBA so that no one ever again ...
Meet Al Horford, Playoff Monster
Coming into this postseason, Al Horford’s playoff reputation never really stood out. He spent most of his career on a series of Hawks teams that were doomed to be steamrolled by LeBron James every spring. In the 17 times he met James in the playoffs, he only won one game, and that was on his 15th tr...
Ben Simmons Went Between The Legs
Ben Simmons was soundly outplayed by wee Terry Rozier in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Simmons still had 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting but did not connect on any shot farther than three feet from the rim. Many of his usual pinpoint passes landed in the hands of teammates who collectiv...
Terry Rozier Is Maybe Not Quite Ready To Let Go Of His Beef With Eric Bledose
Surely Terry Rozier reminding the world of how badly he smoked Eric Bledsoe will terrify the Sixers. Or maybe he’s just a fan of the Drew Bledsoe-era Patriots....
Sometimes LeBron Just Decides To Fuck You Up
This is in no way the most impressive highlight of LeBron James’s series-clinching performance in Game 7, which he started a perfect 7-of-7 from the field and finished with 45 points on 25 shots, but it’s the most representative of what it’s like to face LeBron James in a do-or-die scenario:...
NBA Says LeBron James's Outrageous, Pivotal Block Was A Goaltend
Victor Oladipo burned LeBron James one-on-one in what ended up being the Pacers’ last possession of Game 5, then went up for a scoop layup. James, in the mood to add some fresh tape to his career reel, recovered to pin the ball against the glass—but only after the ball had made contact with the gla...
Russell Westbrook Played Basketball And Stayed Alive
Once the Thunder were down 3-1, the Russell Westbrook obituaries had already begun to roll in; down 25, the eulogizers had probably started dipping their quills back in purple. What we’d already heard many times over was going to be repeated once again, at blaring, self-satisfied volume: You can’t w...
Old LeBron Is Young LeBron
By now the thought has surely ocurred to you. After watching enough replays of LeBron James’s stunning, game-winning shot to wrap up Game 5 of the Cavaliers’ series agains the Pacers, it’s impossible not to recall one of James’s earliest buzzer-beaters. ...
LaMarcus Aldridge Enjoys Playoffs' Shortest Press Conference
The Spurs were quietly bounced from the playoffs last night, thus ending a strange season that was marred by rare internal drama. LaMarcus Aldridge was San Antonio’s lone postseason bright spot, as he averaged 23.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 60 percent shooting from three for the series. In last nigh...
The Pelicans Actually Have A Chance To Give The Warriors Problems
Klay Thompson doesn’t have too many ugly nights these days. It’s easy enough to isolate the one so far this postseason: On Sunday, he shot 4-of-16 from the field and logged a -18 plus-minus in the Warriors’ sole loss to the Spurs. It was a reminder that the league’s best offense can still sputter ou...
“Bullshit” Blown Call At The End Of Game 5 Has The Bucks Frustrated<em></em><em></em>
The Boston Celtics fended off a tough Bucks squad last night at home to take a commanding 3-2 lead, thanks to a big night from Al Horford, solid defense from their bench, and a critical missed call late in the fourth quarter. With 1:14 left, Al Horford hoisted a three-pointer that clearly left his h...
A Video Of Kevin Garnett Yelling A Bunch Got Thon Maker Inspired To Start Kicking Ass In The Playoffs <em></em>
Stringy Bucks big man Thon Maker has come up huge for the Bucks in their surprisingly competitive and entertaining first-round series against the Celtics. Maker averaged just 4.8 points, 3.0 boards, and 0.7 blocks a game in the regular season, and he basically didn’t play through the series’ first t...
The Thunder Hit Rock Bottom, Where They Found A Gloating Mitt Romney
If you want a tangible explanation for why the Oklahoma City Thunder are down 3-1 in their playoff series against the Jazz and seem destined for a first-round exit, take your pick: Rudy Gobert has effectively canceled out Russell Westbrook’s ability to drive to the hoop; Russell Westbrook has no jum...
Giannis Antetokounmpo Baptized Al Horford And The Photos Were Beautiful<em></em>
Giannis Antetokounmpo laid waste to Al Horford with four minutes to go in Game 4 of Celtics-Bucks Sunday. It was devastating in real time, satisfying in slow-mo, and maybe at its most dramatic when slowed to a halt, thanks to Getty Images photographer Jonathan Daniel....
Bojan Bogdanovic Went Nuts And Buried The Cavs
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers put their stamp on Game 3 early. The Cavs established a comfortable 57-40 halftime lead and looked more like the team that many expected to coast into a second-round series with the Raptors than the stuttering bunch that nearly lost both home games at the sta...
Bradley Beal Says Scott Brooks Apologized To Him For His Role In Beal's Dreadful Playoffs
Bradley Beal, like his team in general, is not having a good playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. Beal shot just 3-for-11 in Game 2, scoring just nine points and picking up four fouls en route to an atrocious plus-minus of -34 in 25 minutes. Overall, Beal is scoring 14 points per game and has...
Goran Dragic Won't Let You Ignore Him
That’s my guy. Looking like Crossfit Benedict Cumberbatch. Love to see this type of vigor....
Steven Adams Will Respect Your Anime Shoes
There’s probably nobody in the NBA more fun to interview than Steven Adams, who manages to be charming even when he’s quite pissed off, or being outright evasive. He always manages to shine brightest when the conversation turns to one of his favorite topics: anime....
Hassan Whiteside Needs To Get His Shit Together
Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside entered the NBA playoffs grumbling about his diminished role on the team, and the proceeded to give his squad absolutely nothing of value while playing limited minutes in the first two games of their series against the Sixers. But last night offered a chance for re...