0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/26/2016
The Cavs of Cleveland do not have to win in Toronto on Friday night in Game 6 — not in a narrow, immediate, technical sense. The Cavs could lose. Heck, they could even get drubbed by the Raptors. It wouldn’t matter in the Eastern Conference Finals — not in all likelihood. LeBron James and head […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Eastern Conference Finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers is the five-minute series. No, this isn’t a reference to the length of time in which these games cease to be competitive; it’s a reference to an old saying about climate change (in the older and less political sense of the term): Don’t […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 22: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts to their 133 to 105 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/25/2016
Professional basketball possesses the most intense spotlight in North American team sports — perhaps not in terms of the amount of media coverage devoted to the endeavor (the NFL wins that distinction), but in terms of the extent to which one or two players get a disproportionate share of credit or blame for their team’s […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
It’s not an original observation, but it’s the main observation which should be advanced at this point in the NBA playoffs: The 2016 postseason is shattering our perceptions of the league and its balance of power. The power of the statement lies not in any relevatory quality — the revelations taking place on the court […]
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How great Thou art — no, the “Thou” is not a deity, if you believe in one, but the Oklahoma City Thunder. The beloved old-time hymn, as many of you will recall, includes these lyrics: I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Oklahoma City is the home […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 22: Draymond Green #23 and head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors argue a call with referee Tony Brothers #25 in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/24/2016
A major postseason sporting event featured an important kick on a Sunday… and it had nothing to do with three points in an NFL playoff game. This wasn’t a missed 27-yard kick by Blair Walsh. This was a made one-yard kick by Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors. He committed what the NBA called […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 22: Stephen Curry #30 and Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors react in the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on May 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/23/2016
The Golden State Warriors have been here before. Last year, the Memphis Grizzlies took a 2-1 lead into Game 4 of a Western Conference playoff series on their home floor. The Warriors defeated them to turn around a series they eventually won in six games. Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-1 lead into […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Shake down the Thunder? That’s what Oklahoma City did to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. This surge might mean that the Thunder — viewed with legitimate skepticism entering these playoffs, especially the West semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs — are about to cast away the dark […]
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What’s true in the larger global theater of sports is true in the NBA’s Wild, Wild West. It is a first-world problem, but a problem nonetheless, for many professional athletes: How do you perform well over a broader expanse of time when so many games lack rhythm? How does a tennis player sharpen her groundstrokes […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/22/2016
Whenever a best-of-seven NBA series begins with two wins by the home team, Game 3 invariably becomes a do-or-die occasion for the trailing team, even though it’s not technically an elimination contest. Students of sports history are well aware that no NBA team has successfully overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven battle. Three teams […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/21/2016
The Golden State Warriors are playing more than one opponent in the Western Conference Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder represent the official foe for the NBA champions, but Steve Kerr and his roster know that an opponent as formidable as OKC can be found within the Warriors’ own bones and marrow. Golden State is its […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Strain is not just the FX thriller about a destructive and virulent microorganism. It’s the toll a long season takes on a team whose record is 82-12 entering Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. My colleague at Crossover Chronicles, podcaster and columnist John Cannon, has taken care to note how constantly the Golden […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/20/2016
The Cleveland Cavaliers gained a lot of rest before the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs are rolling past the Toronto Raptors. The rested team is rolling. Why is it rolling? Because of rolling rest. * What’s rolling rest, you ask, and why the seemingly cute introduction to this story? Very simply, this is not a […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs have provided a number of timely reminders to sports fans. One reminder is that the playoffs need to be desegregated in terms of conferences, and ideally turned into a conference-free bracket. The NBA’s need for conferences no longer exists. The concept has outlived its usefulness. Another reminder is more specific […]
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The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the injured yet still scuffling Toronto Raptors are drawing very little reaction from #BasketballTwitter… and really, who can blame folks for not having much to say about this series? Say this much for Cavs-Raptors, though: At least one team’s playing well. Sometimes, neither team does. You […]
