The second round did not start well for Miami. The Pacers looked to be more game for an East semifinal than Miami, the team with the MVP (LeBron) who’d just accepted the award before the game from David Stern. The building was loud, even by TV — and South Beach — standards. But it was like Indiana came out with Bose headphones on, with Roy Hibbert (17 points) and David West (17 points, 12 boards) knocking out all the noise and knocking down all the shots in the early going. Well, every drama needs three acts, and the second, an abdominal injury to Chris Bosh, beget a third, where James and Dwyane Wade took over and stole Game 1 in the process. Read More »

As long as Rajon Rondo doesn’t have to shoot with the game on the line, he’s good money. We’ve constantly heard that the Celtics’ point guard is the John Nash – the genius – of the NBA. Maybe he just really is that smart. The dude fouls the Sixers up three, and then watches as Lou Williams botches it by making both instead of missing the second. Then, Doc draws up a spectacular play and Rondo runs into the backcourt all alone for a touchdown. Evan Turner couldn’t catch him for a foul, and that was that. Rondo bamboozled Philly’s whole team; Game 1 to Boston, 92-91. Read More »

The beast is back. The monster from Marion (Ind.) that carried the Memphis Grizzlies to last year’s incredible first-round playoff upset of the top-seeded Spurs had been relatively quiet this season — thanks to a major knee injury and his team’s offensive balance — but last night Zach Randolph picked the perfect time to dominate. Z-Bo put up 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Griz to a 90-88 road victory in Game 6 of their first-round series with the Clippers, forcing a Game 7 back in Memphis … Read More »

Does a dwindling lead equal diminished confidence? It was the question on our mind Thursday as Chicago went from 12 down, to five down, to three up in the final minute. Philadelphia, after going Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in the season’s final weeks before slipping in, was never the most headstrong team. This is a way of saying that when Doug Collins threw up his arms after the final buzzer in obvious jubilation, it was about relief as much as celebration. Read More »

Say what you want about Carmelo Anthony, but at least he competed. At the end of five games, he finished with the same number of point as LeBron James. The only problem was ‘Bron had four wins and he only had one. The Heat are moving on and the Knicks are going home after Miami put out the flames rather easily, 106-94. Miami and New York went the way we predicted: the Heat and LeBron James were just too good while Carmelo Anthony could do nothing outside of compete hard. Early on, neither team could get it down, and at one point in the first quarter, Mike Miller and Mike Bibby lead both teams in scoring. Read More »

The good and bad of Rajon Rondo surfaced in the final 10 seconds of Atlanta’s 87-86 Game 5 win against Boston. With Boston down one, the point stole the inbounds pass and came racing up court with a chance to win. Off a switch, he was matched up with Al Horford, dribbled in place for a few seconds, tried to go baseline, lost the ball, and then threw it to Kevin Garnett even as the buzzer sounded. Rondo never even got a shot off, and thus all he did (13 points, 12 assists, five steals) won’t be remembered. Read More »

Oh, we want to put an asterisk by this so, so bad. But damn, Chris Paul is just too, too good. We can forget that CP and Blake Griffin will probably wake up today with whiplash from all of their flopping and flailing. Paul dropped eight overtime points, cooked half the Grizzlies roster, and finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Clippers went up 3-1 on Memphis, 101-97. After not having a single second-chance point all game, L.A. had two buckets in a row off misses in overtime, and even with Mike Conley (25 points, seven rebounds, eight dimes) playing the game of his life, the Grizzlies couldn’t finish. Again. … Read More »

Is this the end of the No. 1-seed Bulls as we know it? It was Jrue Holiday who finally mopped up Philly’s Sunday Game 4 win over Chicago. With Philly up just one, Holiday came down on back-to-back sets and hit two straight dagger triples. That ended a run where Holiday made six of his previous eight shots, turning it around after starting the afternoon 1-for-14. One-for-14. But those threes made a one-point lead become seven, and a one-game lead become two. It follows then that Chicago’s doubt without D-Rose has become a full-blown migraine. Holiday had 20 on the night, second to Spencer Hawes‘ 22 for the Sixers. Read More »

Thank you James Harden. With Dallas in danger of extending the inevitable, – OKC in the second round – the super sub stepped up and destroyed the defending champs down the stretch. Harden finished with 29 points in the Thunder’s six-point win to complete the sweep, and was so good, everyone forgot about KD (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Westbrook in crunch time. Dirk Nowitzki (34 points) was struggling to hold Dallas’ once 13-point fourth quarter lead as OKC hit them with a 12-0 run, which including one spurt where Westbrook had two straight steals, leading to big dunks from Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka. Eventually, it spread to a 21-5 run and Durant was in everyone’s face during a timeout to end the series. Read More »

It took a couple of hours, but Rajon Rondo finally found his groove in the fourth quarter of Boston’s overtime 90-84 mercy win over ailing Atlanta. With the Hawks down to throwing anyone they could find into the game outside of the security guys along the bench, this was very nearly a must-win for the Celtics. Losing to this pickup squad from Atlanta wouldn’t fly. The Hawks had more talent on their bench in street clothes than they did on the court. They had to start Jason Collins, who proceeded to somehow score one-on-one against Kevin Garnett, and yet still is so bad offensively that he makes Greg Ostertag look like a once-upon-a-time low post beast. Read More »