theeasternconferencefinals Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The waiting is the hardest part
The Colorado Avalanche are waiting. And waiting for a Stanley Cup Finals opponent hasn’t treated those favorably in returning from mini-vacations in the past. We’re finishing up the 35th NHL postseason in which first-round games are contested as a best of seven, starting in 1987 and featured every y...
Pat Riley challenges Heat stars Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry to be better
The Miami Heat had a great season that ended one missed Jimmy Butler three-point attempt short of their second trip to the NBA Finals in three years. Heat President Pat Riley addressed the media this week to close out the year, and addressed many concerns for the team moving forward. Two of the more...
2022 NBA Finals: How the teams stack up and storylines to watch
The NBA Finals are finally upon us, and it’s one of the better matchups anyone could’ve hoped for. There is plenty of star power, and each game should be tightly contested as both teams are known for their stifling defense. The league should be thoroughly pleased with the series we’re set to embark ...
We got a fun Game 7, and here are the players who made their mark the past two weeks
The playoffs just haven’t felt the same since that thrilling Game 6 between the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors. Blowouts, unfortunately, littered the conference finals, especially in the east. The Dallas Mavericks only got thoroughly walloped in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, ...
I feel great about not trusting the Hurricanes again
The problem with upping the degree of difficulty on your playoff run is that no matter how good you are, eventually you’ll push yourself off the cliff. The NHL playoffs are hard enough as is without trying to navigate them like they were a bar bet. The Hurricanes didn’t bother to win a road game in ...
Reformatting the NBA Playoffs could solve the league’s injury issue
The NBA Playoffs are gradually winding down, and to be honest, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag where quality is concerned. Despite the rating increase early in the postseason, some of these games have been hard to watch. Injuries to stars and the lack of downtime between games have some thinking it m...
Not to worry Luka, it happens to the best of them
Sure he had to hear his eulogy while he was still living after Andrew Wiggins read him his last rites in Game 3, but Luka Dončić has nothing to be ashamed of. The Dallas Mavericks star led the NBA postseason in scoring, but his singular output was futile against a Golden State Warriors team that pla...
What are the Miami Heat?
Three teams have been pillars of culture in the modern NBA: The San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Miami Heat. No matter the players, these three franchises have established systems where players come in to fill a role, commit to the vision, and buy in completely. Of the trio, onl...
The Grizzlies and Heat reacted completely differently to plays where their stars were seemingly injured
Acting like you’ve been there before might be cliché in the world of sports, but it really is the only way to operate for some franchises. For other organizations, it’s a few words some lame old guy threw together ages ago....
For a little bit we were complimenting or condemning Derrick White, then it was just time to celebrate Rihanna’s baby
For a second there, Derrick White’s child was going to be the most interesting and discussed birth in the world. The Boston Celtics tweeted out shortly before 10 a.m. that Derrick White would be missing Game 2 due to personal reasons. That’s quite a blow to their roster the morning of Game 2 of the ...
We're seeing an NBA coaching reformation
If the success of Boston’s Ime Udoka and New Orleans’ Willie Green has taught NBA ownership anything, when it comes to hiring coaches, it should be out with the old, in with the new. These two rising coaching stars stepped into dysfunctional messes, with Udoka trying to bring together a team that wa...
Those Game 7s were a dud, but that doesn’t dilute the outstanding performances from the second round that deserve recognition
That was quite an exhilarating second round of NBA Playoff action… until it wasn’t. ...
For the Bucks to win a third game in Boston, it’s going to take one helluva homecoming for Pat Connaughton
The Milwaukee Bucks did not have enough to finish off the Boston Celtics in Game 6 at home on Friday. Just like in the Bucks’ win on Wednesday night in Boston, they were down double digits going into the fourth quarter after a third-quarter Celtics run. The Celtics would extend the lead early in the...
Milwaukee empathizing with last season’s Brooklyn Nets
It’s deja vu all over again for the Milwaukee Bucks — their conference semifinals are looking eerily similar to last year’s series against the Brooklyn Nets. To refresh your memory, they were saved from being sent packing by none other than Kevin Durant’s big toe, juuuuust landing on that three-poin...
Jimmy Butler is the most underrated star left in the NBA playoffs
In any sport, the postseason is where stars carve out their legacy. The NBA playoffs are no different. In the NBA, it’s said that teams usually need a superstar or multiple stars to compete for a championship. Jimmy Butler is the man for the Miami Heat, but he’s never considered among the upper eche...
NBA finally puts respect on Monty Williams’ name
Finally, somebody from the Phoenix Suns organization is getting the respect they deserve. This week, head coach Monty Williams was named NBA Coach of the Year, and it’s about damn time. Williams ran away with the voting racking up 81 first-place votes for a grand total of 458. Memphis Grizzlies head...
How every team will lose in the 2022 NHL playoffs
As the chase to the Stanley Cup begins, the Eastern and Western Conferences have completely different outlooks. Colorado or Calgary look the part to be the Western Conference champions, and I’m not sure there’s anything the rest of the field of six can do about it. The Eastern Conference is as wide ...
The NBA is always best with celebrity fans, but Jack Harlow needs to do better
So Jack Harlow is gunning for the top NBA celebrity fan award. It’s clear with him taking logo threes during the celebrity all star game, recording singles about Tyler Herro, and getting advice from Kawhi Leonard about how to improve his game. Part of the charm of the NBA is the celebrities in court...
Trae Young can be a lot of things, but he can’t be the No. 1 scoring option on a title team
You can blame Trae Young for a lot of Atlanta’s first-round exit to Miami. He was 22-for-69 from the floor, shot 17 percent from 3, and had as many turnovers (31) as he did assists (31). He didn’t even listen in on the huddle before the last play of their season, so if you want to destroy him, feel ...
Only the NBA has teams in all three of Atlanta, New Orleans and Memphis and the league is much better for it
At Smoothie King Center in New Orleans they serve frozen daiquiris, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta there is a barbershop, at FedExForum in Memphis they regularly play, from the Oscar winning film Hustle and Flow, “Whoop that Trick.” ...