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 »

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 »

Yesterday, we debuted the first in a three-part interview series with the Knicks’ Tyson Chandler, where Tyson talks about his toughest NBA matchups (the insight into dealing with Tim Duncan is great).

In Part II, Chandler talks in detail about Kevin Garnett, Chandler’s post idol growing up, and about how KG, knowing his idol status, tried to kick Tyson’s ass when he came into the League: Read More »

Kevin Garnett has never been one to mince words, and the Celtics as as group have only made it this far (into the fifth year of a three-year plan as the most dangerous sleeper in the East) because they just don’t care what anyone else thinks. They have a lot of pride and always will, the edginess stemming from the 37 combined All-Star Games their top four players have played in. After a somewhat disastrous start to the year, historical-level defense and the rise of Avery Bradley pushed them into the No. 4 seed in the East where they’ll begin what’ll probably be their final run together in Atlanta. Read More »

You see that? That’s what all those people in Boston and Minnesota used to talk about; what all those people in Utah still talk about. Last night, that was Al Jefferson showing his entire skill set, showing why he should be right up there in the discussion with Andrew Bynum and whoever else you think might be the second-best center in the NBA behind Dwight Howard … In a game the Jazz needed to win to clinch the final playoff spot in the West and eliminate the Suns from contention, Jefferson put up 18 points and 16 rebounds to go with four assists and two blocks. Read More »

Utah has been an odd matchup all season for Memphis, and after they jumped out early against the Grizzlies, we figured this would be the game that killed Memphis’ shot at homecourt advantage in the first round. Instead, the Grit N’ Grind gang did what they do best, and took it over in the fourth quarter, pulling away 103-98. O.J. Mayo had 17 in the fourth quarter, and his weak side triple in the final minute put Memphis up four, completing an unexpected turnaround that saw Juice score 20 and yet not have a single assist or rebound in 24 minutes. Just before that, Rudy Gay (26 points, 12 rebounds) had knocked down a triple and had a couple of beastly plays to open up a little Memphis cushion. Even with the Jazz getting another 20 points from Devin Harris, they couldn’t match the talent. Read More »

Kobe who? If you would’ve told us that Bryant was going to sit out a game in San Antonio against the red hot Spurs, we would’ve said Gregg Popovich would’ve been pulling out the victory cigars early in the fourth quarter. You can’t fault us though because no one, repeat NO ONE, could’ve expected Andrew Bynum to set an NBA season high and in the process nearly outrebound San Antonio by himself: 33 to 30. The big man also chipped in 16 points, and with Pau Gasol putting in a quiet 21 and 11, the Lakers completed dominated inside in their blowout win. Read More »

Beast of the Night: DeMarcus Cousins finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds, three assists, six steals and two blocks last night. He shot 52 percent (11-21) from the floor and 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line, and had three turnovers. Cousins has been erratic lately, but he’s still averaging 19.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 block per game so far this month. Read More »

In a calmer, maybe more reasonable world, the Miami Heat could lose a game like the game they lost to the Boston Celtics last night and it wouldn’t be a big deal. In that world, LeBron James and Miami fans could adopt the same attitude Kobe Bryant and L.A. fans have after every one of their high-profile L’s in the regular season: Don’t panic, it’s only (fill-in-the-month). This is bigger to them than it is to us. We’ll be fine in the playoffs. … But there are five diamond-studded reasons why a Kobe-led team gets that kind of leeway and a LeBron-led team does not. Read More »

It being NBA Green Week and all, it seems natural a Dwight Howard-Van Gundy-Orlando issue would pop up again. It’s an evergreen issue, you see, and never quite goes away. So Dwight told someone in management he didn’t want SVG around as coach, and said manager told Stan, then Stan confirmed a TV report today. And then Dwight put his arm around Stan, not knowing what he’d just spilled. This is a soap opera. Read More »