The Lakers were pretty much done by the opening minutes of the third quarter, and by the end of the third frame, OKC had disposed of the bodies in a covered ditch. A 15-2 run spanning the end of the second quarter to the start of the second half, which was punctuated by a Russell Westbrook lob and then a pull-up transition triple from Kevin Durant, put the home team up by 22 and it only got worse from there. In Game 1 of perhaps the most hyped series of the playoffs so far, the Thunder strangled L.A., 119-90. In a way it was shocking. But then again, it wasn’t, even if Metta World Peace was shocked enough to leave center stage with nearly an entire quarter to go and head back to the locker room. Read More »

As broken down in Sunday’s Smack, the Sixers lost a hard fought Game 1 against the Celtics Saturday night. Although fingers can be pointed at Lou Williams for his poor shot selection and also at Doug Collins for his poor clock management and substitutions, the Sixers may have actually lost the game because their biggest fan was ejected in the first quarter. 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 »

Ivan Johnson doesn’t go out quietly. When he played professionally in Korea, he was banned for life for making an “obscene gesture at a referee.” That is a nice way of saying he dropped a middle finger on a ref over there and was subsequently the last time he played there. Last night in Atlanta’s last game of the year, a Game 6 loss in Boston, Johnson made his mark despite getting the dreaded DNP. Read More »

“Welcome to Atlanta where the playas play” … stop it. Stop the chorus of the Jermaine Dupri/Ludacris hit single right there.

It was an embarrassment.

I don’t know what the ratings were for Game 4 between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics, but it couldn’t have been funnier than watching a “Martin” re-run. The final score read 101-79, but it doesn’t tell the full story. It was a blowout of epic proportions. Fans at the TD Garden should get their money back and fans watching from home should get their time back. This type of poor basketball display is what initiates the discussion about the root of it all. The focus instantly shifted away from the series itself back to who is to blame. Read More »

It doesn’t take much to rile up the NBA’s version of Ghostface Killah, Kevin Garnett. After his first basket last night in Boston’s Game 6 win over the Hawks, he was already stringing together expletives, and using them in every way possible: as nouns, adjectives and probably even verbs. After the Old Ticket finished the night with 26 points and 14 rebounds, he led off his presser with a shot at Atlanta owner, Michael Gearon Jr. Read More »

Seven games. Four overtimes. One hundred and eight lead changes. No Kevin Garnett (outside of him mean mugging a lot on the bench), but a whole lot of drama. The 2009 Eastern Conference First Round Series between Boston and Chicago was tighter than the Virgin Mary, and it spawned everything from a ridiculous Ben Gordon contract to a budding rivalry between Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo. With the Bulls and Celtics both playing in big Game 6′s tonight, we figured we’d take a look back at one of the greatest playoff series we’ve ever seen. 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 »

If you’ve been keyed in on the most disappointing playoff series at all, you’d know that before the Knicks dramatically eluded elimination yesterday against Miami, Carmelo Anthony owned the prestigious title of having the worst playoff record of any player with at least 50 postseason games. Now after his drama-bursting, 41-point Game 4 performance to keep the Knicks alive, he’s entered the record books for something else entirely. Read More »

What goes into being the best shooter on the planet? For Ray Allen, the obvious answer is “jumpers.” Lots of them. Every single day.

Yesterday, the Boston Celtics posted a video to their YouTube channel called “The Routine.” Shot by team photographer Brian Babineau, the short film gives you a little look into the kind of work Ray puts into that ratchet on a daily basis. Read More »