0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/27/2016
There aren’t many good reasons to think the Chicago Bulls, currently in a state of free fall, can make the Eastern Conference playoffs and avoid humiliation. The Atlanta Hawks are one of them. We emphasize the word “good” here, because it owns a double meaning. The Hawks are a good reason why the Bulls are […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/26/2016
Everyone who follows the NBA knows when the 2015-2016 Detroit Pistons first made a very large impression on the league. It was the second Sunday night of the season — Sunday, November 8, 2015. The Pistons trailed by 13 at the start of the fourth quarter in Portland against the Trail Blazers. Then they made […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/25/2016
It never ends with LeBron James. To be fair, LeBron could prevent some of the fires of controversy and soap-operatic drama from burning at the edges of his daily NBA life. He could have refrained from unfollowing the Cavs; he could have not socialized with Dwyane Wade last Saturday in Miami; he could do a […]
Mar 23, 2016; Washington, DC, USA;Washington Wizards forward Marcus Thornton (15) shoots the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward Mike Scott (32) during the second half at Verizon Center. The Hawks won 122-101. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/24/2016
The Washington Wizards used to be called the Bullets. How fitting, because the Wizards are running out of shots to make the playoffs. After Wednesday night’s crippling loss at home to the Atlanta Hawks, the outlook for Washington is particularly grim. Five-game winning streak or not, Washington needed to make the streak six. This is […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Utah Jazz are the Detroit Pistons of the Western Conference. Sure, they’d love to make the playoffs — it would be great if they did — but as much as they’re locked in a present-tense battle, they’re more fundamentally playing for the future. A championship is not a realistic aspiration this season, and it […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Let’s repeat something that was said much earlier in the season: The main problem with the Chicago Bulls was not Fred Hoiberg, but the front office. Gar Forman and John Paxson were the poxes on the House of Chicago. That remains true in the Windy City. The twists and turns of one season are not […]
Feb 26, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) shoots the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) defends in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors won 99-97. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-233022 ORIG FILE ID: 20160226_ads_ss9_121.JPG
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/22/2016
The Toronto Raptors need to be mindful of the familiar expression, “Watch what you wish for — you just might get it.” It’s perfectly reasonable to say that the Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers should go after the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, if only because it’s important to have Game 7 on […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Charlotte Hornets did the San Antonio Spurs a favor on Monday night, but more about that later. The Hornets — with a remarkable comeback from a 23-point deficit and a seven-point first-quarter nightmare — stunned the Spurs in North Carolina, taking a 91-88 decision. The Hornets immediately wiped out the memory of Saturday’s home-court […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/21/2016
The NBA playoff pushes in both conferences are slowly beginning to acquire more moment-to-moment urgency. In light of plot twists such as the Cleveland Cavaliers declaring that they really don’t care about the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the final arrangement of postseason matchups becomes ever more intriguing in the East. In […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Sunday afternoon in the American Airlines Center, the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers played one of the more thrilling and remarkable games of the 2016 NBA season. The considerable importance of the game only magnified the proceedings. Mavs-Blazers was packed with fun, craziness and intensity, offering something for fans with wildly disparate tastes. The game […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/20/2016
The Golden State Warriors really can’t feel too bad about life on Sunday, as they settle in Minneapolis before Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sure, the Warriors lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. A game that was winnable in the final few minutes slipped away. Just a few accurate jump […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/19/2016
Before unpacking and expanding this discussion to any real degree, let’s get this much on the record: Jae Crowder means a ton to the Boston Celtics. The nuances of the debate are worth exploring at the edges, but the core of the matter can’t be denied: Crowder’s value to Brad Stevens as a wing defender […]
Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) shoots next to Indiana Pacers center Jordan Hill (27) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, March 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/18/2016
The Toronto Raptors know that when the NBA playoffs begin, home-court advantage and an accordingly high seed won’t matter all that much if their stars don’t shine at crunch time. Thursday night in Indianapolis, the Raptors found their true North when they stood oOf n the precipice of defeat. As a result, they realize that […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/17/2016
No one in and around the NBA is surprised whenever the Houston Rockets display a pronounced Jekyll-and-Hyde volatility. Yet, even by the Rockets’ trolling and teasing standards, this past week — a seven-day stretch which started last Friday in Boston — might have been their most typically bipolar week of the season. Wednesday night, the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Atlanta Hawks have performed a Dikembe Mutombo-style finger wag at idiots the past few weeks. Back on February 21, one idiot had the temerity to write that the Hawks’ hopes of putting together a successful season were shrinking to the point of being little more than a sliver. The path to the No. 3 seed? […]
