The idea of positions in basketball has been called into question a few times this year. The subject has been deemed “positionality” and most people are starting to believe that the traditional PG/SG/SF/PF/C line-ups are becoming outdated due to the advancement of NBA athletes and the way coaches use those athletes on the [...]
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The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Kendrick Perkins from the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline specifically for the Western Conference Finals. After the Los Angeles Lakers dispatched the Thunder in the first round last season Thunder General Manager decided that he needed to make a move to sure up the pivot defensively so [...] Every superstar around the league has a bevy of fan support and that support comes from three different kinds of people. First you have your casual fans, the ones that are generally following the team that plays closest to the city they live in. Then you have moderate fans, the ones that go to [...] On today’s very busy NBA slate, there are two nationally televised games. The first will be a battle of Western Conference powers as the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in a rematch of their epic first round playoff series from last year. The second game, which tips [...] I’ve already gone over the Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson trade for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic on the Boston side of things so now it’s time to take a look at what the Thunder got out of this deal. The Thunder won themselves this deal, easily, and if we are taking into account [...] Of all of the teams in the top half of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics were the club you’d least expect to make a move. The Miami Heat still need an extra piece or two on the bench at the point guard and center spots before their team can be considered complete, the [...]
The Celtics started off the game with the momentum, with their fans jacked up about the possibility of Ray Allen breaking the NBA record for three-pointers made. Allen’s first three attempt was errant, but the fans were still up, going crazy in anticipation. Allen ended up tying and breaking the record in the first quarter, which may have been the worst thing for the Celtics. They had a 15-point lead in the first half, but because Allen had already broken the record – and because Allen had to sit out a good chunk of the game because of foul trouble – the Garden crowd never got into in the second half. Allen hit a few mid-range jumpers in the first half as well, as Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and even Von Wafer helped to grow the Celtics lead. But once the second half begin, the Lakers took control of the ball game. Entering the third period down five thanks to a spurt at the end of the first half, the Lakers scored the first 10 points of the quarter thanks a three from Derek Fisher, a pair of nice finishes from Kobe Bryant and a Pau Gasol mid-range two. The Celtics would cut the lead to four to start the fourth period but the Laker reserves would keep them at bay – a Lamar Odom three, a Shannon Brown tip-in and a few nice plays from Steve Blake on both ends would help the Lakers maintain their cushion. Phil Jackson may have went with his reserve unit a bit too long in the fourth, as Kobe and Pau sat until the five minute mark in the period. By then, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had already returned, with Allen hitting a triple and Pierce getting to the bucket to cut the lead to three. But when Kobe checked in, the game was all but over. Bryant channeled Mamba mode for the first time all season and flat out dominated Boston down the stretch. He started things off with a 19-foot turnaround over Ray Allen, then he swished a 20-footer coming off a curl, then he took the ball to the basket for an easy deuce, then he drove baseline, drew the double team and gave Pau Gasol a beautiful pass for an easy two, and he finished things off with an isolation destruction of Ray Allen, taking him the half-court line to the free throw stripe, with Allen guessing every which way before Kobe pulled up and knocked down the jumper to seal the deal. More on the game after the break… With 25 seconds left in the game, Kevin Durant stepped to the free throw line looking to ice the game away for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the ball was tossed to him by the ref, Durant heard chants of “M-V-P” come down from the rafters. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. And [...]
However, adding Jefferson put the Spurs in a position they are not accustom to. Normally, the Spurs ran their franchise around three eight-figure contract guys, which has been Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Duncan over the past few years, and surrounded them with lesser cost players that worked hard – making the DeJuan Blair pick that much more meaningful and brilliant. Continue reading… Although there were two fairly large deals yesterday, the one deal that would have trumped both was denied by the team receiving the offer. According to reports, the Boston Celtics offered Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen to the Detroit Pistons for Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Some initial reactions were negative, which [...] |
     
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