The second round of the playoffs is underway and with only eight teams remaining, it means another eight have been eliminated from title contention. The offseason is the time for these teams to retool to prepare for deeper runs next season. The Denver Nuggets finished the year with a franchise-best 57-25 record and were the third seed in the Western Conference. Boasting a 38-3 home record, many felt they would advance to the second round simply by winning all of their home games. Read More »

Basketball demands we break down its players not just by stats, but by the time and place they occur. That’s not the case in NBA fantasy hoops, though, where cold calculations rule the day and the matchup. Who are the Fantasy Doctor‘s choices for this week’s best pickups? Hit the jump to find out. Read More »

So how did you spend one of the greatest days of the sports year? There was wall-to-wall NCAA Tournament action from noon til past midnight on the East Coast and it seemed like more people than usual ditched work to disappear into bars to watch games (one of us even had a men’s league game at night where various members of the starting five showed up half in the bag – it did not go well) … But before we really get into yesterday’s action, you may be interested in the image leading off today’s Smack. Read More »

One of the best games all season went down in Milwaukee last night. With both the Bucks and the Jazz literally playing for their playoff lives, they staged a wild back-n-forth overtime matchup that ultimately swayed Milwaukee’s way because of one man: Monta Ellis. Read More »

A great recipe for disaster – at least if you’re the Lakers – is playing in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back. Old legs. The high altitude. The penchant of the Nuggets to play fast and frenetic. It almost never works out for L.A., and last night, not even 40 from Kobe Bryant was enough. 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 »

There were some spectacularly embarrassing moments this season. From Nick Young and Vince Carter air balling layups to Devin Harris and Brandon Knight getting showers in the crowd, you needed a thick skin to survive these 66 games. Everyone was getting roasted. But upon watching this video, I only have one question: WHERE IS JAVALE MCGEE? Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kevin Durant finished the first half of the season to the tune of 33 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block and two three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field, 100 percent (7-7) from the charity stripe and had two turnovers. Durant has been a stud, as expected, so far this season. He’s improved his field-goal percentage, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks from their marks in his 2010-11 campaign. Read More »

Remember when a LeBron James visit to Cleveland came with an undeniable whiff of potential danger? Not so much now. The fans at the Q last night for Miami’s win were plenty vicious – booing LeBron during pre-game intros and pretty much every time he touched the basketball – but it seems they’re almost over the whole thing. Almost. The Cavs have a bright future to look forward to with Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and this year’s Lottery pick, so for the fans (and the owner) to continue acting like Alicia Silverstone in The Crush over LeBron would be more pathetic than anything … Read More »

Last night, Denver ran away from L.A. in the Staples Center because they dominated at points in the second and late in the third quarter. George Karl trusts his bench, almost too much in fact. His goal this year might be to coach this team like its intramurals. That’s just speculation, but with the way he hands out minutes, 11 guys all average double figures, we wouldn’t be surprised. Having a decent bench is always important, but it’s never been stressed like this. Five games in six nights will leave your team playing more up and down than a seesaw if the second unit can’t hoop. Read More »