playoffs Page 41 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Forget Paris 2 - A Harden Day’s Night
The new Space Jam movie is coming soon, but James Harden has beaten LeBron James to the box office with a mid-1990s NBA film tribute of his own....

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...
![This Tokyo Olympics is fine [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/6c788899524642490434cc71d5a70b0c.jpg)
This Tokyo Olympics is fine [Update]
The Olympics shouldn’t be happening during a pandemic that continues to wreak havoc across the globe, but we’re well past the point of no return on that, so on we go — just knowing that COVID-19 is going to be as prominent at the Tokyo Games as Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky....

No, the Lightning didn’t cheat
At some point in the next couple days, the Tampa Bay Lightning will win their second consecutive Cup. Could be tonight, or maybe the Canadiens have one last death rattle in them and send this series back to Tampa on Wednesday. It’s hockey, weird things happen, we’ve seen 0-3 comebacks, but here it’s...

The Phoenix Suns’ Finals trip reeks to high heavens
The Phoenix Suns’ run to the NBA Finals is fugazi....

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....

Barkley has got this one right: Bucks have no killer instinct
Charles Barkley can be lazy and out of touch, and occasionally insightful, but he nailed it with the Bucks last night. That’s after he forgot who Jeff Teague plays for, which would seem to be the minimum requirement for his job. Anyway, at halftime, when the Bucks were down 20 to a Trae Young-less H...

Paul George didn’t let the call go to voicemail
It’ll take two more wins for it to really matter. And you can certainly say things bent toward Paul George to give him this platform. The Jazz had their injuries and problems. Kawhi Leonard got hurt, leaving the Clippers not much choice but to give George the keys and the blueprints. You still have ...

What to know for the upcoming Olympic Men’s Basketball Qualifying
As the NBA playoffs continue, 24 national teams across the world are vying for the final four open men’s basketball Olympic berths. The tournaments will run from June 29 through July 4 in Canada, Croatia, Serbia, and Lithuania. ...

The Golden Knights sure know how to lose, just like the tourists they’re built around
It’s no secret that Las Vegas is built on losers. They don’t construct a new hotel per week because everyone goes there and takes down the blackjack tables. It’s a town with a foundation on losing. You lose, they win....

HEAR ME OUT: MLB should restructure league like Euro soccer
It’s always neat when a European sporting event comes along and provides some games to watch during the daytime hours here in North America. Right now, it’s the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020 soccer tournament, and while the teams involved are national sides, part of the nature of soccer is that there’s...

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...

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....

Giving the ‘Suns in 4’ guy tickets and a signed jersey sets a bad precedent
Who wants to stage a fight at an NBA game next season? Any takers? I’ll let someone throw a few haymakers my way if it means I get tickets to a playoff game. I’ll take a signed Jayson Tatum or Mike Conley jersey. It can’t be that hard to fake a fight, right? The WWE scripts their fights all the time...

Crazy times for Dallas Mavericks
The Donnie Nelson-Rick Carlisle era in Dallas is over... and it’s shaping up to be a real ugly divorce....

Well, these playoffs took some unexpected turns in the past week
Less than a week ago, the second round of the NBA playoffs seemed like it was on its way to wrapping up quickly, with the 76ers and Nets looking far superior to the Hawks and Bucks, the Suns on the verge of sweeping the Nuggets, and the Clippers down 2-0 to the Jazz with no answers for Utah’s abilit...

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...

NYC should appreciate and take notice of what’s happening in Brooklyn
To: New York NBA fans ...

James Harden will reportedly test out his hamstring, taking a huge risk amid injury-plagued season
One day, we’ll learn how this collection of injuries from the 2021 NBA Playoffs could be quantified historically, but, unfortunately, this has to be one of the most football-ass NBA seasons yet....